Monkey Business!

Yesterday we headed to Lopburi for their annual Monkey Party! Yep - a party - for Monkeys!!!

We got the Sky Train to Asok, then the subway to Hua Lamphong then got a train to Lapburi - 150 km north of Bangkok. The train journey took 3 hrs and cost us each 50bht (92p). Once there, we headed toward the Phra Prang Sam Yot temple about a 3 min walk from the station. Basically we just followed the noise! 

Entrance fee to the Monkey Party was also 50 bht... and what a party! Every year this little village hosts a party to honor their Macaques Monkeys...aka. little terrors! They have free range of the town and the locals believe they bring good luck and fortune to the town. Every day the locals bring food to the Monkeys but once a year, on the last Sunday in November they have a banquet party and present the Monkeys with soda, energy drinks, fruit, eggs, rice pudding, chocolates and lots of other yummy treats! 

The Monkeys love all the attention and pose for the tourists, but watch out....if you get too close they will jump on you, grab your sun glasses, phones, cameras and terrorise you! I got jumped. I got terrorised! One little bugger jumped on me and went straight for my earring... he was a pro - knew exactly what to do! Then another little fella jumped on me, opened my bag and started to chew my i-phone charger. Then they decided to give me a new hair-do and then....then... well they pooed all over me!!! I could smell something bad after my encounter with them and some very sweet, half laughing girl gently informed me 'Hey - you know you got Monkey Shit all over ya right?!' Eeeekkkkk!!! OMG!!! Kev got most of it off but there was no hiding what had happened, my already brown top was a much darker brown at the back! I'm told that little experience will bring me good luck...it better!

The Monkeys were then presented with their buffet tables and its all go! The tables are covered in red tablecloths and full of delicious treats. They grab the energy drinks, cola and chocolate bars first...it's brilliant, they they go in for the other treats. They throw food at each other and the tourists and really do have the most awful table manners. The baby monkeys were just too cute, they got so excited to see the lovely spread, i wanted to take one home with me but had enough monkey memorabilia already.

The 3 hr train journey back to Bangkok was super hot (no air-con!) and packed! Luckily i got a seat to myself as no one wanted to sit next to the girl smelling like a Monkey Loo, sweaty and with only one earring in...oh the state of me!