This little girl exploded with squeals of delight and peals of laughter when she saw her picture being taken, which she seemed to think was the funniest thing ever. At Wat Sai Areerak in Ratchaburi, west of Bangkok

Primary school students with their teacher on a class tour to Wat Phumin in Nan, northern Thailand

Student sketching at Wat Prathat Lampang Luang, in Lampang, south of Chiang Mai

Four delightful little girls at a festival in Sisaket, northeast Thailand—uncertain whether to smile or be bashful when surprised by the photographer

Near the Cambodian border in Surin Province, an inquisitive look from a passerby with one enormous hat

Mother and child at "The Highest Spot in Thailand," atop Doi Inthanon, in the north

Father and daughter at Wat Ket Karam, Chiang Mai

Schoolgirls at a playground adjoining Wat Ket Karam, Chiang Mai

'Here: You can have another sip!" Chiang Mai

Three-way discussion, Chiang Mai

Young lad perched atop his mother's food cart on a street in Chiang Mai

Youngster in Chinatown, Bangkok

Little girl overseeing her mother's wares at a sidewalk market in Chiang Mai

Mother and baby on a sidewalk in Chiang Mai

Schoolchildren on a commuter ferry on the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok, amused to discover their picture being taken. As we were getting off the boat, the girl in the middle said, jokingly, 'See you tomorrow!'

At Wat Traphang Ngoen in Sukhothai, these girls asked if they could ask me some questions, clearly an assignment for an English class. When they finished, I asked if I could take their picture. They seemed to rather like the idea. . . .

A puzzler: I spotted this little guy, apparently asleep, on a street in downtown Sukhothai, holding what I hope was just a toy gun in his left hand.

School's out in Mukdahan, northeast Isaan, on the Mekong River

Muslim girl with her mother and brother on a longtail boat at Krabi, southern Thailand. The father was the skipper.

Another little Muslim girl, seemingly transfixed by the camera, Ao Nang, southern Thailand

Three generations (and a bear), Rasi Salai, northeast Thailand

What the fashionably dressed young man is wearing these days in Santichon, northern Thailand

School children studying their heritage at Wat Changkam, near the city of Chiang Mai

Three friendly fellow visitors at the 11th-century Khmer temple Prasat Sa Kamphaeng Yai, Sisaket Province