Surprising Things You’d Only See in Thailand

In Lopburi, the guests of honor at one annual feast do not bother with table manners. Macaques descend on piles of fruit prepared for the city’s Monkey Buffet festival, climbing over the food and one another while spectators watch the banquet disappear.

Monkeys have become one of Lopburi’s most recognizable symbols and a major tourist attraction, particularly around the ancient Three Pagodas temple. The relationship is complicated, as the city has also struggled with an oversized urban monkey population. But during the buffet, there is little doubt about who gets served first.