A friend of mine in Thailand is a University Professor, a historian, and he also restores ancient temples.Every year a group of his friends visit him and he takes them on small intimate tours.That year we took a trip to Laos to one of the only surviving remote hilltop Thai temples in Laos and spent New Year's Eve with the monks.These novice monks were shy of strangers, but curious, since no tourists go up as it is only accessible to scholars like our friend Viti.They found us amusing!