Daily Archives: November 22, 2010

Each year on the last Sunday of November, locals in the Thai province of Lopburi, 100 miles north of Bangkok, honor their long-tailed macaque monkey inhabitants with over 6,000 pounds of fresh fruit, vegetables, soda and even lollipops!

The feast, which is prepared by some of Bangkok’s top chefs, is a way for the community to express their gratitude to the monkey population that draws tourists from all over the world.

According to Thai citizens, this annual giving also provides an opportunity to accrue good karma, so bring along some of your own offerings to donate to the Monkey Buffet and reap the spiritual benefits of this unforgettable celebration!

If you tire of watching monkeys gorge themselves, be sure to visit one of the province’s other popular tourist attractions. Among the most well known is Phra Narai Ratchaniwet, a giant palace complex encompassing almost too many structures to count.

Also worth a trip are the beautiful natural sites like the Wat Khao Wongkot, the region’s largest bat cave, and the local Bee Farm.

While you are in the area, experience the world-famous Sunflower Fields. As luck would have it, the sunflowers are in full bloom each year beginning in November, so this makes the perfect companion destination to the Monkey Buffet. As a bonus, if you check out the Oasis Agro-Farm while the sunflowers are blooming, you can catch the farm’s ostriches lounging and grazing among the blossoms, which is always good for a photo-op.

You will likely encounter a number of mischievous monkeys throughout your travels, so be sure to save some of your buffet offerings to prevent the wild monkeys from taking something else of yours—like your hat, camera, or even jewelry. After all, for the monkeys in Lopburi, every day is Monkey Buffet day.