I flew into Chiang Mai late one night in October 2003. As I waited to collect my luggage on the carousel I could see a group of half a dozen monks and mae chee waiting for me through the doors to the arrival hall; sitting in two separate groups, the respective orange and white of their robes created blocks of colour amidst the chaos of the airport. I was greeted with huge smiles, myself and my friends meeting each other with happy wai's. I was returning to the monastery after an absence of a few years to ordain as a mae chee and spend fifteen months conducting participant observation. I was whisked through the streets of Chiang Mai high up in the comfort of the monastery's air-conditioned mini-van. I enquired about the health of monks and mae chee. It had been a few years since my last three-month stay in Wat Bonamron and I learnt that my arrival had been much anticipated and talked about. We rolled into the sleeping monastery and I was shown to my room in the mae chee quarter behind the kitchen and left for the evening. My room was basic but very comfortable with a wooden bed, a bedroll, blanket and pillow, a Buddha image and a bathroom. I unpacked my bag as the monastery slept, listened to the occasional dog barking at the night and the industry of the insects in the bamboo outside my door.