LOPBURI: Watched by tourists and locals, thousands of monkeys in Lopburi in central Thailand feasted on two tonnes fruits and vegetables after the town’s Monkey Festival resumed following a two year hiatus caused by the pandemic.

Hundreds of macaques, also known as long-tailed monkeys, were seen climbing on people and stacks of fruit, munching away on bananas and pineapples.

The feast, which cost over 100,000 baht ($3,000), is an annual tradition for locals to thank the monkeys for doing their part in drawing in tourists to Lopburi, which is sometimes known as “Monkey Province.” “Today’s special is durian, which is expensive. Lopburi monkeys like expensive things,” said Yongyuth Kitwatananusont who has previously organised over 30 monkey festivals.

The theme for this year’s festival was wheelchair monkeys, and Yongyuth planned to donate 100 wheelchairs to needy people. Tourists have been gradually returning to Thailand after the government launched a quarantine-free travel scheme for vaccinated tourists in November, and the festival proved a popular draw.

Published in Dawn, November 29th, 2021