Lopburi, the monkey village, and temples at Ayutthaya

The next day, we paid a taxi driver 3000 Baht (about $100) to escape Bangkok. First we visited Lopburi, a town north of Bangkok where some parts of the city are controlled entirely by monkeys. Now nothing against the monkeys, but they have really let the place go to hell. The infrastructure is crumbling, law and order is absent, and the citizens crap wherever they please.

Buddhist Monkeys


Monkeys have taken over the dilapidated buildings in the background. They control the sidewalks, interiors and the roofs.


Here the monkeys took over a public fountain. They kept jumping into the water, making enormous splashes. . . while the ones around the sides enjoyed taking a spritz. . .


The monkeys even created their own gold statue of Buddha. . .

Ayutthaya

On the way back to Bangkok, we visited the ancient palaces in Ayutthaya, a long-ago kingdom that was sacked by the Burmese. During the sacking, many Buddhas had their heads purposely misplaced.



Monet Buddha


Leaf Buddha


Cool Old Surviving Buddha


Old Buddha with Cell Tower


I call this one, "Temples with Rainbow Umbrellas" Nice photo, right? You want to buy? Cheap cheap!


Puppets watching a motorbike go past. . . "Hey Frank, what's you doing?" "Just hanging around."


Okay, folks. That was our big day in the outskirts of Bangkok. Tomorrow we get out of Dodge. . . I'll leave you with another elephant sighting. This one a pink elephant. No, we weren't drunk. We actually think that they painted the poor thing. . . or perhaps this is the rarely seen white elephant? Eh, I don't thinks so. . . . Ugh.


NEXT DAY