Loet's excursion into the coffee shop coincided with Thaksin's early schooling. As a result, Thaksin went to a nursery in a shabby sala of the local wat and started primary at the local school in Sankamphaeng. He helped his father in the coffee shop, and later in his cinema and other businesses. But in truth, the hard times were relatively brief. After just three years at primary school, Thaksin moved to Montfort College, one of Chiang Mai's most established, prestigious, and expensive schools, for the remainder of his primary and secondary schooling." On finishing, he with the idea of civil engineering like his uncle, but ultimately chose the military cadet school. He explains: