I had been tipped off about this ceremony by a local shopkeeper, who had handed me a leaflet a few days before, which proudly proclaimed a gathering of 10,000 monks and I must admit to being dubious about whether that would be true or not. I had trouble envisioning what 10,000 monks, let alone everyday people, would look like assembled in one of Chiang Mai's ancient streets, far less imagine how they would organise themselves.  Yet here I was confronted In the dawn twilight with this  surreal sea of saffron, orange and yellow robed boys and men.