Last weekend was yet again jam-packed with traveling to new places and seeing new things. On the itinerary: Ayuttaya, another popular city full of grassy ruins and rich culture. It is not too far North of Bangkok, making it an easy to get to destination. I took a couple vans and met up with two girls from the OEG program. I wasn't feeling so hot that morning, but I figured that if I started to feel better I would rather be at ruins then in my bed. During the van rides I was second guessing my decision a bit, but after having some coconut water and resting in the shade for a bit, I started to feel much better. By the time the girls got there I was ready to explore! We saw the main ruins of Wat Phra Si Samet, Wat Chai Wattanaran, and the big bronze Buddha in Wihaan Mongkhon Bophit, but decided to miss some of the other smaller ones. This was a different experience then I had had in Sukhothai, since here the ruins were spread across the city, not in a historic park. We opted for tuktuks instead or bikes, which was the right plan since we would have gotten totally lost otherwise.
After a late lunch, a leisurely stroll in the park and sipping on a beer through the night market, we parted ways, they getting a tuktuk to go home, I getting a motorcycle taxi to the train station to go to Lopburi. (note: blog on transportation soon I promise)
Next up: Lopburi.
Amazingly I got lucky and the train to Lopburi left about 5 minutes after I bought my ticket and cost me only 14B (50 cents). This was my first train ride in Thailand! Not too bad, although there were lots of bugs and no announcer telling you what the stops were. Since it was dark already I couldn't see anything so I asked a Thai girl where Lopburi would be. She counted 4 on her fingers. I said ok, so 1, 2, 3, and then Lopburi? No, it was 5 stops actually. Whew! I kept very close track of the stops and ended up getting there about 2 hours after I had gotten on. I knew there were many people from the program there and had talked to a couple I was sharing a room with. I knew the hostel was pretty close, but since it was dark I hopped on a scooter (less then a dollar) and got there is a jiffy. They were all just going out to dinner so I joined them.
This was probably the first weekend I reunited with so many of the other teachers from my program. There must've been about 20-25 of us altogether! It was fun to reconnect and share funny/crazy stories about our teaching experiences and see how similar and different they really are. We were having so much fun, that instead of finding a bar, we decided to go to the rooftop of the hostel and hangout. The guys found some chairs and boards and in 5 minutes had built a table to play flip cup! (some of you reading this might not know what that it.....that's ok haha)
So I have left out a MAJOR part of the story. Why were we all in Lopburi this particular weekend you ask? Well, this city is well know its notorious residents---monkeys. These macaques usually live in the ruins that scatter this charming town, but they also roam the streets, buildings, and cables. Many of the shop owners have slingshots or poles to keep these thieves at bay. But it is also believed that the monkeys bring the town good luck by attracting the tourists who come to see them. They actually feed the monkeys twice a day at a designated feeding area. This helps so that they do not steal as much from the people. I know many people think that monkeys are mean, and they can be. They will take anything that looks like food, or even hair clips and sunglasses if they get their hands on them, but I think they are just more curious than mean. Each year the town throws the monkeys a festival in their honor at one of the ruins. There is usually a theme, they make towers of food, lay out tables and sheets all over the ground, and even perform dances. They don't have to tell them to help themselves, the monkeys are all over it!
It was quite the experience seeing the monkeys and having them jump on you unexpectedly. There were some really cute little babies and some big mean ones that would get into fights. No one got bit, but the monkeys did score some new sunglasses and hair clips. It was so hot and sunny, that by the afternoon everyone was whipped out and ready to head home. This mean bus, bus, taxi, skytrain, bus and motorcycle for me. No wonder I'm always exhausted Monday when I get up at 6 am to go to work!
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