While this monk is actually just made out of wax (I found it on the Jatujak weekend market), it’s not uncommon to find smoking monks in Thailand.
Even though strict monks won’t smoke, there are some monks who don’t take the rules that serious. “Mai pen rai” as they say in Thailand.
When you see pictures of the Wat Pho temple in Bangkok most of the time it’s the Golden Buddha or the majestic temple walls.
But if you look around a bit more, you’ll also find things like this – catching dust in an abandoned corner.
There was actually a group of Thai teenagers listening to American ganster rap and smoking in a secluded area inside the temple compound, but right next to the Golden Buddha.
I find it funny to see that just 10 meters from an area were tourists are almost constantly rubbing ellbows on each other because it’s so overcrowded, and then you walk a couple of steps and you find an area were nobody goes and a group of “outlaws” occupies the space inside a temple compound. The monks don’t seem to care, and the tourists don’t seem to notice.
Surat Osathanugrah, a Thai businesman, politician and recently photographer who’s net worth has been estimated by the Forbes magazine to be $180.000.000,00 died of blood infection at the age of 78.
His funeral will be held at the That Thong Temple’s Chao Chom Pavilion on May 9th.
Surat Osathanugrah was president of the Royal Photographic Society of Thailand and his photographes became widely known with the “Vanishing Bangkok” exhibition where he featured different Bangkok lifestyles and the rapidly dimishing group of people who live along Bangkoks “klongs” (canals).
Vanishing Bangkok was also made into a beautiful photobook.
He also published two other photographic books titled Luang Phrabang and Goodbye Bangkok.
Mr. Osathanugrah already had a good start with his family business that he inherited from his parents. Back in the 20th century his parents ran a pharmacy and supplied the Thai army with a traditional medicine – they then recieved a title from the king of Thailand. Fast forward till the 1980s and Mr. Surat Osathanugrah who’s running the business in the third generation oversees the M150 energy drink, which will become one of the companies most successfull products. His children follow in his artistic footsteps and both sons and grandsons are involved in the music industry.
