This was the scene at Gate C2A at the Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok as I waited for Thai Airways Flt. 574 to Vientiane, Laos. I was 17 hours into my 19 hour flight from New York, and was intrigued to see that Buddhist monks were listed first on the Priority Seats close to the check-in counter. Before elderly people, people in wheelchairs, pregant women, and mothers with babies. I'm pretty sure, however, that a monk would get up and readily give his seat (with a small bow) to any of the other parties listed.