Pau Son Kula, 9, waits for his turn to have his head shaved at Wat Pa Pao temple in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Pau Son Kula, 9, has his head shaved by a monk that symbolizes the removal of all vanity. Every ethnic Shan child between 9 and 14 years old will participate in the traditional initiation ceremony during the Poy Sang Long festival in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Pau Son Kula, 9, in his bedding corner at Wat Pa Pao monastery, where his mother's friends do make up the boy or the ceremony during the Poy Sang Long festival in Wat Pa Pao temple, Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Pau Son Kula, 9, wears one of the ceremony dresses with the help of his mother's cousin Lumong. During the festival in Chiang Mai, Thai kids are dressed in luxury garments like prince Siddhartha before becoming the Buddha.

Eleven novice monks take part at the ceremony in Wat Pa Pao temple in Chiang Mai, Thailand. During the three day ceremony, music and dance are played by traditional Shan musicians.

Pau Son Kula, 9, is carried on the shoulder of his father's friend. During the ceremony, the boy prince is only allowed to touch the ground either inside a family home or a temple as part of his novice ceremony at the Wat Pa Pao temple in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

The novice monk sits in a chair behind a pick up car during the Poy Sang Long festival in Chinag Mai, Thailand. On the first day, the novice has to do a small pilgrimage, visiting four Shan Buddhist monasteries in the town.

The novice monks pose for a picture with a senior monk at Wat Phra Singh temple in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The novices had a small parade with drums and dancing, performing a three-time loop around it, for each of the four temples they visited.

Pau Son Kula, 9, and a novice friend, receive a donation from a family's friend in his home. During the second day of the ceremony in Chiang Mai, Thailand, the novices receive all the family members and friends, and every time they get a donation they have to recite a small prayer for them.

Each novices, ceremony attendants and a mass of dancing and drumming participants set off in a parade around the temple every morning during the Poy Sang Long festival in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

When night falls, novice monk Pau Son Kula, 9, has time to relax between the visits of parents and friends he is received the day. His mother's cousin brings him to a drink in a stall inside the temple courtyard.

After a full day on his friends and parents shoulders, Pau Son Kula, 9, gets some massage to relax after many hours without walking during the Poy Sang Long festival in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Pau Son Kula, 9, plays with an electric car in the small corner where he is allowed to touch the floor. Each novice's family has a corner where they sleep, cook and offer food to guests as part of the Poy Sang Long festival in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

The ordination of a son is a proud moment for all Buddhist parents, as they believe it will give them the highest merit. Pau Son Kula's parents invited and gave food to 700 guests during the three-day ceremony as part of the Poy Sang Long festival in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

The Wa Pa Pao temple was built late in the 19th Century by the Thai Yai community, an ethnic group originating in the Shan States of Burma. During the novice ceremony of Poy Sang Long festival, in Thailand, hundreds of people visit the temple which for the occasion is full with food stalls and other vendors.

Shan ethnic group visits Wat Pa Pao temple to pray during the Poy Sang Long festival, a three-day Buddhist holiday in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Wat Pa Pao is a striking example of a Burmese style temple and was built by Shans in 1883, who had come to Chiang Mai to work with the British in the logging industry and desired their own Buddhist place of worship.

On the last morning of the Poy Sang Long festival, the novice gets ready to be ordinated as a monk. For the last time, the boy dresses the lavish prince garment. The novice's mother Saengkaew dresses and gives her affection to her son.

Pau Son Kula's father Sailong and the housing mother Lumong take care of the last details before the novice is ordinated as a monk. This is the last day of the three-day ceremony during the Poy Sang Long festival in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

As part of the ceremony, novices show their respect and care for the parents, a gesture that has an important role as they become young Buddhist monks. Parents hold their sons in an intimate moment while the abbot of the monastery gives a speech during the last day of the Poy Sang Long festival in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

The little princes undress all their possessions and their lavish clothes to wear the monk robe and experience the monk life. Pau Son Kula's father helps his son to change clothes. This is the last day of the Poy Sang Long festival in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Pau Son Kula, 9, at the final stage of the three-day ceremony in Chiang Mai, Thailand. This is the point when the extravagance and party comes to an end and the young boys begin their lives as Buddhist monks.

Novice monks reciting Buddhist prayer following the direction of the senior monks. These boys went through a three-day ceremony during the Poy Sang Long festival in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and now have began their lives as Buddhist monks.

On the next morning after be ordinated as novice monks, the young boys walk with their senior monks who show them the town. These boys went through a three-day ceremony during the Poy Sang Long festival in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and now have began their lives as Buddhist monks.