Frolicking for Food and Fun

The dawn rouses the long-tailed macaques that live atop the Wat Prang Sam Yot, and soon monkeys are starting to scamper down the ancient Hindu temple to begin their daily search for food and fun.

What begins slowly with only a few animals turns into a stampede racing through the traffic of Lopburi. Motorists swerve or brake to avoid hitting them.

Macaques searching for unguarded edibles make forays to hotels and other businesses, drawing swats and curses from shopkeepers.

But not everyone considers them a nuisance. To many, their presence is considered good fortune for Lopburi, and every year this city about 90 miles north of Bangkok honors the mischievous monkeys with a feast of watermelons, pineapples and a giant cake.

During a day trip out of Bangkok, English tourist Carly Swallow watches amazed as a band of chattering monkeys swings along power lines and heads toward the railroad tracks. “This is the craziest place,” she says.

The macaques are on their way to where “cyclo” drivers park their pedal-powered taxis. There, Panee Thanboosilp is laying out a meal of raw vegetables and fruit. It’s a job the elderly woman has been doing for 12 years.

“Feeding the monkeys is fun,” she says, dumping a basket of food on the ground. Instantly, howls and squeals begin as older macaques squabble with younger ones for the choice pieces.

For restaurant owner Noppadon Oh, the monkeys mean money -- the annual celebration draws thousands of Thai and foreign tourists. “They make business double during the festival,” he says.

But they aren’t all fun, sometimes taking purses and attacking passers-by.