On February 18, I went to Lopburi. For those of you who don't know, it is a provincial city a few hours north of Bangkok. The town used to be a favorite of Thai royalty who wanted to get away from Bangkok for a while. Well, those days are gone, but the city still holds some charm.
Especially for me, since it was the first area I served in on my mission. Since I took so many pictures, I'll break this post into a few different sections.
To begin with, we boarded one of these 15-passenger vans to ride from Bangkok to Lopburi. It took about 2.5 hours due to various stops along the way. It also cost about 110 baht ($3.50). The entire day, including meals/travel/admission to events, cost about 500 baht ($16). I spend that on one meal in the US.
As you get off the bus, you are immediately confronted with monkeys. These macaques, aside from the fact they draw in tourists, are pretty much a pest for the city. They have a limited range, but within that range, they get all over - homes, cars, stores, etc. They poop on everything.
When I was a missionary, they were notorious for chewing apart our bike seats if we left them unattended.
The main attraction of Lopburi is Phra Prang Sam Yod. It was a Buddhist monument likely build during the 13th or 14th century composed of three main towers. Within the towers are some Buddhist statues.
There are monkeys everywhere. When you pay the admission fee (50 Baht for foreigners - about $1.60), you are paying for both maintenance of the structure and assistance from a monkey guard. He carries a sling shot and chases off monkeys if they get too close.
As there are many tourists and only one or two guards, the monkeys occasionally get past the watchful eye of the men. The younger monkeys love to climb on tourists to steal anything shiny they can get their hands on. Or food.
My friend Dew wasn't vigilant enough, and she was monkey-rushed when she tried to take a picture next to a few. As she started screaming the guard ran over with his sling shot and picked them off.
Anyways, the monkeys make short work of anything that can be torn, chewed, or shredded such as the robes which had been placed on this Buddha image. If you look closely, you can see the monkeys tearing through the remains of the yellow robe.
Monkeys are kept out of the temple, as it is considered sacred. This does not stop them from dangling on the bars and reaching their paws through in hopes of getting a handout from a tourist.
As we were leaving, this brave fellow jumped on a French man enjoying a beer outside the gates. Within a few seconds the monkey had pried the beer can from the man and retreated to sit atop one of the gate posts.
He then proceeded to finish off the beer with great gusto and an ease that made me believe he had done it before.
Alcoholic monkeys. What will they think up next?
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