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17 Lopburi Monkey Temples
Mayhem and mythology in the legendary town of Lopburi
It sounds too weird to be true. No, but really, there is a small city in central Thailand, about 150 kilometers northeast of Bangkok, where thousands of monkeys live on rooftops and inside a couple of Angkor-era shrines. The creatures swing from power poles, try to pickpocket tourists and scamper down the street.
Wait. It gets weirder. Locals see them as incarnations of Hanuman, the monkey god of Hinduism, so they generally treat them with respect.
If that still isn’t odd enough for you, these macaques are as territorial as gang-bangers from New York. The monkeys are separated into three different packs, depending on whether they live at the Khmer-style temple of Phra Phrang Samyod Temple or the Sam Phra Karn Shrine, or whether they dwell on top of the apartment buildings surrounding the downtown. The marauding members of the gangs do get in scrapes, and the losers are taken to the Monkey Hospital, the world’s first and only such facility, which is on the grounds of the zoo and open to the public.
Believed to number at least a thousand, the monkeys belong to three closely related species, namely, the crab-eating macaque, the pigtail macaque and the rhesus macaque. They have been living in the city since around the turn of the 17th century when Lopburi was considered the second capital of Siam. Dating from this time, King Narai the Great’s Palace is the city’s biggest time capsule and within walking distance of the Angkor-era shrines.
Each year, the weirdness factor spikes in late November when locals put out a gigantic smorgasbord for the monkeys to thank them for bringing so much good fortune, and so many tourist dollars, to the city. The event quickly turns into a feeding frenzy and food fight to rival the most drunken frat party.
Opening Times The Phra Phrang Sam Yot Temple is open from daily from 8 am–6 pm
Address Wichayen Road
Getting There Catch the frequent trains to Lopburi from Bangkok’s Hualamphong Station, which take three hours or the buses from Bangkok’s Mor Chit Station (two hours) or Ayutthaya (one hour)
Admission Fee 30 baht
18 A Thai Village Homestay
Live, sleep and eat like a local
As the realm of “experiential travel” grows and melds with voluntourism and community-based tourism, visitors crave more and more experiences that blur the boundary lines between cultures and the distinctions between tourists and locals.
To really see the country and the cultures through local eyes, homestays are the best bet. These involve staying with a host family in their home, eating at least two meals a day with them and even visiting the local market or taking a stab at planting rice or going out on a hunt for red ant eggs, sometimes served with omelets and considered a delicacy in the northeast.
Homestays are available all over the country, from the coffee-growing hill-tribes of the mountainous north to the rice-farming lowlanders of the central plains. In this immense field, one small-scale tour operator, stands out. Andaman Discoveries has bagged a series of big awards from companies like Virgin for its dedication to sustainable, ecologically correct and culturally sensitive travel. In 2010, they won the Best Tour Operator, in the category of Responsible Tourism Award, from Wild Asia.
One of their pilot projects took off in Bahn Talae Nok (“Village by the Sea”) not long after the tsunami killed off a quarter of the 200 villagers. To help the survivors get their heads above water, Andaman Discoveries’ founder Bodhi Garrett introduced tourism and home-stays to the village. Visitors can go out fishing with the men, take lessons in batik making, soap making, nipa palm weaving and spicy southern cuisine from the women, or volunteer to teach children in the local school. A mangrove boat trip, kayaking and a visit to a jellyfish farm are other options. The village houses are simple and comfortable and offer a private sleeping area with mattress, pillow, mosquito net and fan. A rotational system managed by the village ensures everyone gets their turn at being a host.
Far from the mainstream media’s stereotypes of hostile, Islamic warriors, the Thai Muslims in this area are a peaceable and welcoming people. No alcohol or bikinis are permitted in the village, and this is the whole point of a homestay: to live like a local not a tourist.
Contact Andaman Discoveries, 120/2 Sukapiban 3 Road, Moo 1, Kura, Kuraburi District, Phang Nga Province; +66 (0) 87 917 7165
19 Ko Samui’s Wellness Retreats
Healing holidays from yoga to colonics detox
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