Monkey gods hailed in Thai festival

Monkey gods hailed in Thai festival
Updated: 14:21, Friday November 30, 2012
Monkey gods hailed in Thai festival

More than 3,000 monkeys were enticed to come out and play in Thailand for the annual monkey festival.

Four tonnes of fruit and other sweet treats were offered to the cheeky creatures in front of a Hindu temple in the Lopburi province - around 150km from Bangkok.

In some parts of Thailand monkeys are considered gods and the locals believe the monkeys are the soldiers or protector of the king.

A local hotelier, Youngyuth Kitwatananusont, has held the festival for the last 24 years. He hopes that by offering fruit to the monkeys they will in turn give him good luck in business.

'This year, the theme of the party is 'Monkey Party ASEAN' to celebrate ASEAN to becoming one community. All of the decorations, flags, and dolls are related to ASEAN countries to promote ASEAN's tourism,' Kitwatananusont told Reuters.

Local and international tourists have made the journey over the last few years to watch the monkeys congregate and gorge themselves on the fruit bounty.

Sam Smith, a tourist from Britain, told Reuters:

'We heard about the monkey festival. But I didn't think it would be anything like this. This is amazing like it's an eye-opener. You will never see this anywhere else. This is unbelievable.'

Sourced: skynews