Lopburi

This past weekend I visited the quiet town of Lopburi. It is just 3 hours North of Bangkok and this weekend the town hosted their annual Monkey Festival. (Yes, you read that right. Outside of the cities, Thailand is just one big jungle. And what lives in the jungle? Monkeys.)

I will start with the "getting there" part. I think they say that travel broadens the mind because most of the time it is unpleasant. I left the OEG office at 4 pm. I walked down the road about 15 minutes to catch the MRT or the subway. Took the MRT to the Hua Lampong train station. So far so good. I tried to buy a ticket for the 6:10 train to Lopburi. But there is no train. The only explanation I received from the ticketing staff was "We have flood." Ok. A kind employee who spoke English well told me to take the number 49 bus to Mochit to catch the bus to Lopburi. So I adjusted my backpack and quickly walked to the crowd of people waiting for the bus.

The #49 bus came and I jumped on. For the next hour I sat on the bus (no AC of course) stopping throughout the capital city during rush hour. By the time I made it to Mochit the sun had set and I had no idea where to go next. Fortunately, Thais near bus/train stations know that when they see a farang with a backpack walking in circles that probably means that she doesn't know where to go and most likely is thinking of every single Thai word she knows before she asks for help. A kind man asked, "You go?" I said "Lopburi". He laughed because I said it wrong, of course. Then he pointed me toward the station and told me platform 96.

Well he meant 6. But there was no bus. Because we have flood. So I was told to take the wan. "The what?" "The wan". Oh right. The van. I boarded a 15 passenger van on the very bumpy, bumpy road to Lopburi. It was a good thing I had no time to eat dinner because it all would have come up on that journey in the back of the wan.
On Saturday morning, I explored Lopburi. The old town is very small so I was able to walk to all the famous ruins. (No taxis! Yay!) I have always enjoyed ruins and learning about the history behind them. Lopburi was the home to a former Thai king and many of the ruins are left from old palaces and temples. I also visited a museum full of 12th century smiling Buddhas found in the Lopburi province.

After lunch I headed Prang Sam Yot. A shrine that is over run with wild macaques. The closer got to the shrine the more monkeys I saw. Climbing on telephone lines, hiding under cars, inching closer to the noodle stands. At the shrine the monkeys ran about the grounds, scurried up the walls and laid in the shade of the temple's shadow. Some of my friends let the monkeys jump onto their backs or eat food out of their hands. The Thai people keep 3 foot poles on their person at all times so that the monkeys cannot get too close. If the Thais, the Buddhists who would never harm a living thing, do not touch the monkeys, then I am not going to touch the monkeys. The monkeys pulled hair and nibbled at legs. They are smart enought to open a water bottle or a bag of chips. It was absolute insanity.
Later I went with all the other English teachers to the sunflower fields and bat cave outside the town of Lopburi. We all piled into the back of a truck and took off. I can't even imagine all of the jokes that must have been told when the Thais saw us farang all squeezed into a truck bed together. The sunflowers have just started to grow, no where near their full height. We arrived at the bat cave just after sunset so we say the thousands of bats zip out of the cave to go find their dinner. That night the English teachers gathered at a bar and swapped classroom stories. I was eager to hear about all of their experiences since I have yet to start teaching yet.

Sunday was the day of the monkey festival. Thais and Westerners alike gathered at the Prang Sam Yot to watch the monkeys devour the banquet so experty prepared for them. The food was on plates. The plates were on tables with table cloths. The feast included tropical fruit, candy, sweets, Coca-Cola, juice. Everything a monkey could want. The banquet serves as a thank you to monkeys for bringing them success. Now don't get me wrong. Thais find the entire situation ridiculous. But it seems to me that they would rather celebrate these unwanted pests once a year than exterminate them. The festival was full of light-hearted fun. A day to laugh with family. A day to come together as a community. A day to celebrate our furry little cousins.

Photo: One of the tables from the monkeys' feast and Mary at a ruin site.