CHAI NAT - Apiyot Viwatwongworakul never forgets what has made his family come this far and Sunday was the time to show his appreciation.
Mr Apiyot rode a backhoe from his house in Manorom district to Wat Dhammakhan in a parade to enter monkhood at the temple.
A man entering monkhood normally sits on another man's shoulders or uses a vehicle for this occasion but Mr Apiyot had a reason to make it different.
He grew up in a family-run construction business in the central province and said the business flourished because of backhoes.
"Backhoes are the equipment making money for my family. We have a better life and my parents could send all children to finish schools because of them," said the man, who works for Ban Ratchaburi Co, a firm owned by his parents.
"Using a backhoe to take me to the temple was a way to show it my appreciation," he added.
Mr Apiyot sat on the loader of the heavy machine decorated with flowers with his father Wichawut and mother Waranya on a two-kilometre parade to the temple. It drew attention from people along the way.