Stray [Cambodian] Monks Begging a Long Way from Home

01 Feb 2012
Pattayta People

As Pattaya police officers were out on patrol in the early hours of Sunday morning, they came across two monks walking along Beach Road, begging for alms and money from passing tourists. As 4am is a forbidden time for monks to be seen outside of temples, police approached them and requested their monkhood registration books. At first they refused, but when handed over, officers discovered that the monks were a long way from their home temple; in fact they were Cambodians and their visas had expired on the 19th January. The two men in their 30s were taken to the police station for legal proceedings and then sent back to Cambodia.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-BtpLAwXFM

Life of Cambodian monks in Preah Vihear on 18 July, 2008

Buddhist monks sit with Cambodian soldiers on a road leading to the Preah Vihear temple near Thai border. Thailand sent more military reinforcements to a disputed part of the Cambodian border Friday, after the tense four-day standoff nearly erupted into gunfire during the night.(AFP/Tang Chhin Sothy)
Cambodian soldiers stand guard as Buddhist monks watch at the Cekakiri Svarak pagoda in the Preah Vihaer temple compound, 245 km (152 miles) north of Phnom Penh, July 18, 2008. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said on Thursday a border row with Thailand was "worsening" and urged the immediate withdrawal of Thai troops from a disputed ancient temple. In a letter to Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej, Hun Sen said the stand-off at the Preah Vihear temple was "very bad" for relations, but he still hoped to "resolve the problem through negotiations" at a border meeting on Monday. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea
Cambodian Buddhist monks walk in the Preah Vihaer temple compound, along the Thai-Cambodian border July 18, 2008. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said on Thursday a border row with Thailand was "worsening" and urged the immediate withdrawal of Thai troops from a disputed ancient temple. In a letter to Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej, Hun Sen said the stand-off at the Preah Vihear temple was "very bad" for relations, but he still hoped to "resolve the problem through negotiations" at a border meeting on Monday. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea
Cambodian Buddhist monks walk near the Cekakiri Svarak pagoda in the Preah Vihaer temple compound, along the Thai-Cambodian border July 18, 2008. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said on Thursday a border row with Thailand was "worsening" and urged the immediate withdrawal of Thai troops from a disputed ancient temple. In a letter to Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej, Hun Sen said the stand-off at the Preah Vihear temple was "very bad" for relations, but he still hoped to "resolve the problem through negotiations" at a border meeting on Monday. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea
Cambodian Buddhist monks walk through a temple gate where Thai soldiers have occupied the temple near Preah Vihear temple in Preah Vihear province, Cambodia, Friday, July 18, 2008. A Cambodian general said a border standoff between his soldiers and Thai troops came close to a shoot-out overnight as the confrontation over disputed territory surrounding the ancient temple entered its fourth day Friday. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)