We went today to what, February 18th, what I can only describe as a riot!

It was supposed to be the ceremony, well it was, for the boy becoming a monk. There seems a certain laxness in how many days, or even hours, nowadays, you have to be a monk!

The guy was wandering around, looking dazed, in a nice white dress. Here the Thais of course can not explain it exactly, but has something to do with the big snake, or naga, wanting to be a monk.,,One day I will read all this.
Anyway the upshot was that a large crowd of people, about 200, mostly unmarried girls who I gather were so flighty no-one would marry them, and all of whom were seriously drunk, danced for about an hour in front of a pickup from which deafening dance music and live songs were played. Following this there came another pickup on which sat the prospective monk and his parents, on nice red plastic chairs, while everyone hung onto the pickup, soberly, for good luck.
This circus arrived at the Wat, eventually, where another crowd had been hanging around, mainly eating and drinking.
The monk to be is sat down. There is competing music from the dance loud speakers on the pickup and a rather dour gathering of traditional musicians playing drums, shawms, etc. Eventually the dance music packs up, but the dancing goes on. A Phu Yai, ie big cheese who I think was the Doctor then starts an endless ceremony of chanting etc. While this was going on the drunk ladies were so raucous that he had to give up on occasions. Mayhem! This will go on all night, with dancing, films, likay performances and then in the morning 9 monks will appear and I presume impose some order. Seems like a good excuse for a bash.
Elodie was, as usual, the centre of jaw dropping attention!