Thailand's Lopburi province hosted the famous "Monkey Festival" on November 27. Nearly 4,000 monkeys compete for a variety of delicacies, and the scene is quite spectacular.
Located 150 kilometers north of Thailand's capital Bangkok, Lopburi province is known as the "Monkey City", where there were originally just over 300 monkeys, but slowly grew to nearly 4,000. In Lopburi Province, monkeys are not afraid of people at all, and have even become an important tourist resource, attracting many tourists from home and abroad.
American tourist Jana Swift: "Well, my husband loves monkeys very much, and this is one of the things he looks forward to most when he comes to Thailand. ”
In order to thank the monkeys for their contribution to the local tourism industry, Lopburi has held the "Monkey Festival" every year since 1989. Local residents place fruits, vegetables, snacks, sweets and soft drinks near the ancient ruins of the Three Pagoda Temple to feed the monkeys.
And the scene of monkeys gathering from all directions to grab food is really daunting.
Carlos Rodeway, an American tourist: "I'm not nervous, but when people give monkeys food, they're a little crazy, a little bit confusing. ”
One of the sponsors of the Monkey Festival and a local businessman, Rongyuk Givatananum, said that 2 tons of fruits and vegetables worth more than $2,800 were distributed this year. The monkeys' favorite are expensive fruits such as durians, cherries, and blueberries.
Soda is also a favorite among the monkeys, and it tastes good.
Because monkeys are not afraid of people, they jump on people from time to time to find something special, such as sunglasses for tourists.
Aisha Bart, an English teacher from the United States: "When I wanted to take a selfie, a monkey jumped on my back, it snatched the sunglasses directly from my face, ran to the top of the lamppost, and spent a while trying to eat it. Eventually I managed to get my glasses back because it realized it couldn't eat sunglasses. ”
The "Monkey Festival" in Lopburi Province has been held for 34 consecutive years, and it has not stopped during the epidemic.