First there was planking or the lying down game which became an instant hit in Thailand. Celebrities, protesters, and politicians have gamely uploaded their planking photos. The Bangkok Planking Community Facebook page was established which allowed ordinary people to post their planking photos from unusual places.

From the Facebook page of Princess OftheMoon YathAkira

But this planking photo of a person dressed in a monk robe stirred a heated online debate. There is even a cash reward for anyone who would be able to identify the person.

From the yfrog page of CrimeWatchCH

The Culture Watch Centre has also declared nude planking as ‘inappropriate.’ Saksith Saiyasombut rejects this position

Well, well – “inappropriate”, again! Of course such a thing is not meant to be ‘constructive’, it’s a nonsensical gag just for laughs or ‘for the lolz’, as the kids today might say it.

Instead of just keeping quiet and wait until it fades out (and today’s internet memes die out fast), the self-proclaimed cultural heralds make a huge fuss about it. How about this for the next time, be a good role-model and not make a knee-jerk rant about protecting whatever you think is appropriate. Just ‘go with the lulz’ for once!

But planking was immediately overshadowed by a bigger craze: Pub Peab. It’s called planking with a Thai twist that involves sitting in a kneeling position.

Its Facebook page has more than 200,339 likes. It also has a twitter account.

Even authorities are supportive of the ‘Pub Peab’ craze because of its positive promotion of Thai culture.

From the Facebook page of NuAe Pichaya