Guide to Bangkok, the Lopburi Monkey Festival and Phuket, Thailand

Female: Whether you want to get swept up in the frenetic phase of Bangkok or can’t wait to escape to a remote island or just want to get up close and personal with the local Lopburi.

Thailand has something for everybody. Bangkok is famous for every element being over powering—the scent of frying food, the speed of traffic, the sounds of shouting and car horns and the high temperatures and annual monsoons. Tourists either love or hate Bangkok. Some get swept up in the chaotic, frenetic way of life but others can’t wait to escape it.

Bangkok is the capital city of Thailand. It has approximately eight million residents but some people estimate they were unregistered migrants that number could actually be around 15 million plus tourists. The most popular way to see it all in Bangkok is on a Tuktok.

The Tuktoks are a small convenient – by a local resident so you don’t have to battle the traffic. One of the places you might ask to your driver to stop at is Khaosan Road.

Khaosan Road is a major tourist destination. It is home to cheap back packer hostels and a multitude of shops and restaurants. It has become the place for travelers to meet and congregate swapping stories and planning new journeys. But one of the best place to shop in Bangkok is at the market stalls. Outdoor shopping and eating in Bangkok is a major draw card.

One hundred and fifty kilometers northeast of Bangkok with the population of around 26,000 people and 3,000 monkeys plus the city of Lopburi, Lopburi is famous for its local residents— Crab-eating Macaques.

Macaques are a type of monkey that lived in the middle of the city. They are fed by the local people especially during the Monkey Festival in November

Every year, local people come together for a spectacular festival—the Macaques —. Villagers prepare giant colorful ice blocks filled with various fruits and flowers, a real delicacy for the furry guest of honor.

Yongyuth: I have the hotel — where the business is quite successful. Each year we celebrate by preparing a monkey banquet. Every year as we make the monkey banquet, it seems like our business is also getting better.

Female: The villages also prepare a lavish banquet, a table stock of 2,000 kilograms of fruit, cookies, candy and Thai desserts. Some local believed the monkeys bring good luck or good karma.

Every year, the guest of honor followed the same traditions; binding over the food, stealing treats from each other and tossing their leftovers onto the ground.

Locals and tourists need to keep watch over the monkeys. They like to grab things. The organizers say it’s much more challenging to organize a monkey banquet than a human one.

For a different experience and one that you won’t forget in a hurry, check out Phuket.

Phuket is Thailand’s hottest tourist destination. It’s easy to see why when you gaze out of the aqua blue sea, stroll along white sandy beaches and have the options of going diving, snorkeling, rock climbing, kayaking or just reading a book on the beach all day. And at night time, there’s no shortage of entertainment.

Phuket is Thailand’s largest island approximately the size of Singapore. The island is connected to mainland Thailand by a bridge. It is situated off the west coast of Thailand in the Andaman Sea. The island was one of the major trading routes between India and China and now the region draws much of its income from tourism.

One of the most popular ways to spend the day in Phuket is to go snorkeling. Phuket has some of the best diving conditions in the world; crystal clear water, warm temperatures and tropical fish are bound.

Tourists operate daily around Phuket offering tourists the chance to see a mere of underwater life including coral, fish and other marine life.

In 2004, a tsunami devastated the region. Much of the coastline and buildings were destroyed but it is now been mostly rebuilt meaning that Phuket is once again a holiday paradise.