INTERNATIONAL: Watched by tourists and locals, thousands of monkeys in Lopburi in central Thailand feasted on two tonnes fruits and vegetables on Sunday. This was after the town's Monkey Festival resumed following a two-year hiatus caused by the pandemic. Hundreds of macaques, also known as long-tailed monkeys, were seen climbing on people and stacks of fruit, munching away on bananas and pineapples.

A local resident Thanida Phudjeeb says, "It's the first time in two years that monkeys get to eat various kinds of fruits and vegetables and I'm happy for them."

The feast, which cost over $3,000, is an annual tradition for locals to thank the monkeys for doing their part in drawing in tourists to Lopburi, which is sometimes known as "Monkey Province." The theme for this year's festival was "Wheelchair Monkeys Party", and organiser Yongyuth Kitwatananusont planned to donate 100 wheelchairs to the needy.

The event’s organizer Yongyuth Kitwatananusont says, "Today is the 33rd time that we held this event. This year, under the theme of 'Wheelchair Monkey Party' where we (organizer) will donate 100 wheelchairs to people in need. I would say the event is very successful, many Thais and tourists are visiting."

Tourists have been gradually returning to Thailand after the government launched a quarantine-free travel scheme for vaccinated tourists in November, and the festival proved a popular draw.

One tourist named Ayoub Boukhari says, "We (Ayoub and friends) came here since yesterday. We get to see this and it quite unexpected and the monkeys are quite silly. I'm really happy to get to see this and now I'm thinking about going to the next festival."

Thailand saw more than 100,000 inbound travelers in November, as high as the number of arrivals in the first ten months combined.

^{PHOTO: MONKEYS EATING OFF WHEELCHAIRS DECORATED WITH FRUITS AND VEGETABLES, SOUNDBITES OF TOURIST LOCAL EVENT ORGANIZER, MONKEYS EATING ON TABLES SITTING ON PAGODA}