Locals and tourists descended on Lopburi in Thailand to witness hundreds of macaques enjoy the annual ‘Monkey Buffet Festival’ on Sunday.
“It’s quite chaotic but I’ve heard to monkeys are distracted by food so not us, because we’ve had bad experiences with monkeys in the past,” admitted one student from Bangkok University. “It’s quite fun, there’s lots going on, and I think they keep on feeding them throughout the day, which is quite exciting.”
Footage shows the banquet in the ruins of the Phra Prang Sam Yot Temple, with the animals tucking into tons of fruit, vegetables and sweets, prepared by locals and arranged over a huge number of tables. They are also seen interacting with the human visitors.
“I am travelling here in Thailand, Yesterday I was still on Ko Kut but I travelled all the way here to see the monkey festival,” said a tourist from the Netherlands. “I found this YouTube movie with all these monkeys, it got me so impressed that I looked up and decided to get here and to see them in real, well it is unbelievable, it is craziness.”
According to one version of Thai legend, Hindu gods Rama and Hanuman – who resembled a monkey – built Lopburi together, with the macaques said to be his descendants.
Lopburi is located around 154 km north-east of Bangkok. Media reports suggest thousands of visitors make the journey for the Monkey Buffet every year, with locals believing the event brings good luck to the area and its inhabitants.
