Thailand
Lopburi
Macaques rule the Khmer ruins, snatching sunglasses from anyone who climbs the temple steps.
The macaques own the temple. They sit on the 13th-century laterite of Prang Sam Yot like landlords, groom each other on the lintels and relieve visitors of sunglasses with practised speed. Lopburi is what you get when an ancient city cedes its most sacred monument to long-tailed monkeys — and the humans work around them.
Lopburi in central Thailand has roots reaching back past the Dvaravati period, over a millennium deep, and Khmer-era ruins anchor the old town — above all Prang Sam Yot, the triple-towered Hindu-Buddhist shrine the macaque troop has made its home. Every November the Monkey Banquet lays a buffet of fruit and sweets for them in the temple grounds, a surreal spectacle that draws cameras from around the world. Behind the monkey theatre, King Narai's 17th-century palace and a handful of quiet temples reward anyone who looks past the headline act, and the town sits right on the Bangkok–Chiang Mai railway.
Solo
A compact old town, an easy train from Bangkok and the sheer absurdity of the macaque situation make a memorable day trip — keep bags zipped and let the monkeys keep their distance.
Friends
The monkey encounters generate months of stories and footage, and November's banquet festival is a group spectacle unlike anything else in Thailand.
- Long-tailed macaques hold the Khmer shrine at the town's centre — landlords of a 13th-century monument.
- November's Monkey Banquet lays a buffet of fruit and sweets for the troop in the temple grounds.
- Behind the monkey chaos sit genuine Khmer ruins and King Narai's palace, largely ignored by visitors.
- Lopburi sits right on the Bangkok–Chiang Mai railway — easy to reach, rarely overnighted, unforgettable.
Lopburi chalk-salted egg, its rich yolk served with rice or rice porridge.
Som fak, the province’s gently sour fermented fish speciality.
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