Visiting the family in the village..

[catawampuscat]

I have made several visits to boy's families in villages over the years. However, this time the boy will go home
to earn merit and be a monk for about a week. Other boys will be do the same thing at the same time .
I've been told it's a big party and the boys get shaved including eyebrows.
As it could turn into almost a week, I am curious of other farangs experiences, specifically with bf monk ceremony
and the experience in general. Best to stay for a day? Stay in hotel? Avoid the parties? Skip the whole thing?

I am only interested in first hand experiences and will ignore the jerks as usual. Thanks

I took a Thai boy to a church service once. I was unable to provide a running commentary so he was bored beyond belief and listened to his Walkman (remember the days before iPods?). Are you sure you wouldn't feel the same?

[Smiles]

Catwampuscat ... lucky you! There is a rather famous post by Brad The Impala regarding his first hand experiences with his boyfriend (still is I believe ... over all these years) going through the Monk stage. This thread was very well received when written and is juicily full of detail and observation. I remember enjoying it very much. ( becoming-monk-ceremony-t19350.html?hilit=boyfriend%20becoming%20a%20monk (http://sawatdeenetwork.com/forum/becoming-monk-ceremony-t19350.html?hilit=boyfriend%20becoming%20a%20monk) ).

The thread linked above was actually started by LonelyWombat in 2010 for some reason (but it includes the original post by Brad, in about 2002 or 2003) ... his post, if I recall, was made very early on in the life of Allen Briggs' PattayaGay message board. So thanks to Lonely for reproducing it into a post on Sawatdee.

After reading that, look down the end of the thread in the 'Related Topics' area and find more topics on Monkhood.

[catawampuscat]

Thanks smiles.

Note to kommen, I'd be bored out of my gourd at a church as well.

[colmx]

monk party requires big money... Maybe 100,000B depending on the status of your guy in the village... so bring your cheque book
It may be cheaper if there are loads of boys getting ordained on the same day... as the villagers will spread out and visit multiple parties..
Of course whoever throws the best party will get the best parade etc.
So unfortunately from a financial perspective its always in the boys interest to have the best party!

[Manforallseasons]

I'm sure the 100,000 will be no problem as that is the reason you are the guest of honor.

[lego]

I've been to the ordination party & ceremony of a Thai friend's younger brother at a village temple in Sisaket. One of my nicest trips to Isaan over the years.

I really loved the experience, but quite frankly, it was a big plus that it wasn't my friend himself who got ordained when I joined. So I always had some guidance, someone to sit with and someone to talk to. That would be less important now that my Thai is better than back then, but something to keep in mind. I staid there for two nights and we could stay at the family home. The nearest hotel would have been in a town some 15 klicks away, and staying there would have been somewhat dangerous (drunk moto driving after the party, no public transportation). Thanks to prior farang contributions (LOL) to my friend's family's well-being, they did have a Western bathroom complete with a hot shower for my convenience.

They (the family) also had to pay quite a bit of money for the privilege of having their son ordained, and "the more the merrier" the way I remember it. I wasn't asked for a financial contribution towards the donation to the wat, but it was much appreciated that I volunteered some cash as well. I also brought along some whiskey for the party, and that along with the cost of getting my ass to Sisaket was pretty much it.