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Days Out

This month we take a trip across the country to Lopburi, a sleepy town with a famous past.
The town is 150 km north of Bangkok and can be easily reached by car, bus or train. As a weekend retreat it’s a great place to relax and enjoy a town far removed from the business of Bangkok or Pattaya.

Forget the ruined temples, the street markets and the museum. If Lopburi is famed for one thing, it is the troop of monkeys that run the town. These macquaes don’t just live here, they dominate. When they’re not looking for scraps among the temple ruins, you can find them running around outside your hotel room, swining from power lines or competing for that last bit of banana. Lopburi is a small town that can be easily walked around over a weekend. Dating back to the 11th century, the Khmer Empire made Lopburi, then known as Lavo, a frontier town. As Sukothai’s empire grew, Lopburi ‘s power lessened but it retained some importance. Today Lopburi’s main attractions, aside from monkey, are the Khmer-influenced temples that sit dotted around the town. We’re not talking Angkor Wat here, but some of the sites have been restored well, while some are little more than a few scattered bricks.

Among the ones worth searching out is Phra Narai Ratchanivet, or King Narai’s Palace. This grand site was built in the 17th century with help from French and Italian designers and has been well preserved. The large grounds include an old elephant kraal; easy to spot as the hedges have been pruned into elephant shapes. There’s also a good museum which outlines the history of Lopburi and has examples of old pottery, farming tools and Buddha images. At the entrance to the old town sits the Phra Kahn Shrine, dedicated to the monkeys. The animals have free reign here, so keep an eye on any water bottles or food, as these are considered fair game. The shrine is nothing special but locals do occasionally stage monkey shows in a pavilion in the grounds. If monkeys jumping through hoops and playing basketball are your thing, then you’re in luck.

Close to the train station there’s an area set up as a feeding station for the monkeys and every day at around 4pm vast quantities of cucumber, apple and lettuce are dumped here and quickly devoured. Across the road from the shrine is Phra Prang Sam Yot, the best-known and most-photographed site in Lopburi. The Khmer-style with its large lotus-head peaks defines the Lopburi look.

When it comes to sleeping options are pretty limited. There are simply no decent guesthouses in the old town. Out of town there are a few more choices, but then you’ll need transport to get in to see the ruins. In old town, about the best option is the Nett Hotel. It’s dated and faded but it’s also cheap and smack bang in the centre of town. The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) office is just around the corner, and from there you can pick up good maps of the town and the surrounding area.

Once you’ve seen the temples, heading out into the countryside offers some great views of cloud-capped mountains and verdant fields. If you’ve got your own car there are some pleasant drives to remote temples.
Once you’ve returned to the town for the evening, don’t expect anything that comes to close to Pattaya. In fact, don’t expect anything that remotely approaches Pattaya. Lopburi has a handful of Chinese-Thai restaurants that offer good value food, often with seats out on the pavement. If you want something a little fancier, then head to the old town and Thanon Naresuan, where there is a small collection of restaurants with live music.

Lopburi can easily be covered in a couple of days and as such works well as a weekend option. The ruins may not be remarkable but the busy food markets and intriguing sidestreets make it a great place to come and get lost in.