Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
or the special Monkey Beer. The top rooms come with enormous bathrooms. Look for off-
season discounts.
Lopburi Inn Resort
( 0 3642 0777;
www.lopburiinnresort.com
;
1144 M.3 Th Pahonyohtin, Tambon Tha Sala; r 1800-2600B;
)
Still Lopburi's best resort, the pool, grounds and facilities ensure it is constantly busy. A
minibus makes the 5km run to the old town.
RESORT
$$
MONKEY MAGIC
Grown men arm their catapults, old women grab 2m-long poles and toy crocodiles peer out from shop windows.
Welcome to Lopburi, a town that fights a losing battle to keep its iconic monkeys at bay. Every day the monkeys
put on a public performance as they swing, somersault and scamper across town, while residents make up the
supporting cast.
The monkeys, a type of macaque, are an integral part of Lopburi's character. Stay in one of the old town's ho-
tels and you will see them scurrying across power cables, pounding over corrugated roofs or squabbling over a to-
mato.
Prang Sam Yot (
Click here
). While visiting these places, put bottles of water and anything that may be mistaken
for food inside your bag. Any bottles on display will be considered fair game. It is also wise to only take your
camera, and not its carrying bag.
It may appear that the locals can't stand their simian neighbours, but the monkeys are never harmed due to the
Buddhist belief of preserving all life. Some feel the animals are 'descendants' of the Hindu god Kala and so to in-
jure one would be seriously bad karma. Monkey souvenirs are nearly as omnipresent as the real thing; there is
even a 'monkey beer' brewed by the Lopburi Inn Hotel and Resort.
A feeding station has been set up to discourage the monkeys from pilfering tourists' food, and so at 10am and
4pm every day heaps of vegetables and fruit are distributed, and quickly scoffed down, next to San Phra Kan.
Things could be about to change, though. A survey in 2012 revealed that many business owners want to restrict
the monkeys to the temple ruins, so there are rumours that some troops could be rounded up and taken to an out-
of-town location.
Care should be taken when being around the monkeys. They may look cute but they are wild animals, and
wherever there is a sweet baby monkey, you can bet a protective mother is not far behind. Take a look at the arms
of the young guides who offer to show you around for proof that the monkeys can, and sometimes do, bite.
Eating & Drinking
Street markets and pull-up-a-stool restaurants are the best ways to feast in Lopburi. On
Wednesdays a market fills Th Phraya Kamjat, while in the evenings vendors selling
noodles and desserts line up along Th Na Phra Kan.
Khao Tom Hor
CHINESE-THAI
$
