[Pedr]

All boys do a period as a Monk. ( Kinda like our National Service, but with a much more peaceful undertone ) Boys from as young as seven become monks and depending on their situation may remain so for the rest of their life, others for as little as three months.

This boy was about 15 and was washing one of the small chedi's. My mum called him a "little monkey", which as a westerner sounds awfully racist and derogatory; but in the Thai language the common nickname given to children is "look-ling", which means cheeky monkey and is a great compliment

The chedi's are a spire and they are important in the Wat. There are usually a specific number of them, which relates to the origins of buddhism. Some of the chedi's are large enough that they have a room inside them. One in this Wat in particular has the ashes of a King of Thailand.

There are numerous Wat's all around the city. It appears that every street that you turn down there's another wat.

Most of them are covered in gold, and not just gold leaf.