Fruit in abundance: Thai monkey competition returns as vacationers return

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Visited by vacationers and locals, hundreds of monkeys feasted on two tons of fruit and veggies in central Thailand’s Lopburi when town’s Monkey Festival resumed after a two-year hiatus because of the pandemic.

Hundreds of macaques, also called long-tailed monkeys, had been seen climbing onto piles of individuals and fruits, munching on bananas and pineapples.

Monkeys cling to an organizer as they eat fruit through the annual Monkey Festival that has resumed after a two-year hiatus because of the COVID-19 pandemic on November 28, 2021 in Lopburi Province, Thailand. (Reuters)

The feast, which price over 100,000 baht ($3,000), is an annual custom for locals to thank the monkeys for attracting vacationers to Lopburi, generally generally known as the “Monkey Province”. Is.

“Today’s special is durian, which is expensive. Lopburi monkeys love expensive things,” mentioned Yongyuth Kitawatanusont, who has organized greater than 30 monkey festivals previously.

The theme of this yr’s celebration was Wheelchair Monkeys, and YongYouth plans to donate 100 wheelchairs to these in want.

Tourists are slowly returning to Thailand after the federal government launched a quarantine-free journey scheme for vaccinated vacationers in November, and the competition proved to be a well-liked attraction.

Thailand noticed greater than 100,000 inbound passengers in November, equal to the variety of mixed arrivals within the first ten months.

Ayub Bukhari, a Moroccan vacationer, mentioned, “I am very happy to see this and now I am thinking of going to the next festival.”

“It’s quite unpredictable and the monkeys are quite stupid.”

Some vacationers had been seen taking part in with monkeys with their cameras. The restoration of the custom additionally happy the native individuals.

“For the first time in two years, monkeys have got to eat all kinds of fruits and vegetables,” Thanida Fudjib mentioned. “I am happy for them.”

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With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS

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