Chanting Monks

I stumbled on these chanting monks in Chiang Mai last night.  Then a monk gave a long talk (I stayed for almost an hour).  I didn't use the word "sermon" because, although I could only understand about 1 out of every 100 words, I could tell he was conversational in tone with a great theatrical sense of humor, and periodically the crowd would erupt in laughter!  This was a clearly religious but laid-back ceremony carried out in the "Sala" (meeting area) of a Wat (temple).  All around were people of all ages, listening, chatting, coming and going on motorcycles or cars, including one very drunk guy stumbling around. Nobody seemed pressured to listen or sit still (or sit at all), unlike the average religious rite I've experienced.  I spotted only one other foreigner despite this being the touristy capital of Thailand (from what I can tell).  It was very, very interesting.

 the drunk guy...