Fake monks are quite a common occurrence in Thailand but they usually stick to the busier areas where there are more Thai tourists or workers. It can be good money and you will never go hungry.
Very occasionally I see monks on the quiet stretch of beach near our place. Sometimes they are from elsewhere in Thailand and visiting the local temple and just taking a walk around. But as monks shouldn’t be outside the temple in the afternoons they do stand out a bit when they are loitering on the beach at sunset, especially when they are snapping away with digital cameras – as the three I saw a couple of days ago were.
Seems like I wasn’t the only one who thought they looked a bit dodgy, as the police were out looking for them and one was caught, with his girlfriend, the following day. The footage of this monk bust made the Thai breakfast news. Impersonating a monk is a big ‘no no’.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_m7HULY5mcI
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