Lopburi is famous for three things ~ it was once the capital of Thailand, it has some ruins to that effect, and its citizens share their turf with a tribe of monkeys.
As the story goes, once upon a time, a faction from a large family of monkeys inhabiting a nearby country temple decided to head for the city, found Lopburi, and begat and begat and begat. They hang out and down from telephone wires and street signage, stroll the sidewalks, make off with tourists' cameras and bags, and inhabit some of the ruins.
As the story goes, once upon a time, a faction from a large family of monkeys inhabiting a nearby country temple decided to head for the city, found Lopburi, and begat and begat and begat. They hang out and down from telephone wires and street signage, stroll the sidewalks, make off with tourists' cameras and bags, and inhabit some of the ruins.
They were particularly prolific at one ruin site and on the shop-lined street in front of it. In one coffee shop, an air rifle sat on a counter and another on a Nestle's ice cream freezer on either side of the front door; the same shop owner went out front to hand out pineapple cores and attracted even more monkeys and their antics. In the ruins, the monkeys made their rounds, slept, played, and cleaned themselves and eac
h other, with little monkey dramas going on here and there. They approached us as tentatively as we approached them. As I was setting up a photograph, one little guy made his way to me on a brick ledge and swiped at my neck. I jumped and scared him as much as he had startled me. They were all so cute and fascinating; I could have spent all afternoon hanging out with them. But as the sign says: No touch monkey!
In the historical museum, I saw a Buddha statue I might have seen from up front but hadn't seen from behind: Buddha seated on the curled tail of a naga (protective snake) , with the snake's body climbing up Buddha's spine and its hooded head hanging protectively over Buddha's. I wondered if there was a connection between Kundalini imagery and Buddhism, and a quick Google search found this:"Psychologically, Naga energy can be associated with libido, Kundalini or life force. The whole process of enlightenment is determined by how wisely one handles his or her own Naga energy. The practice of Tantric Kriya Yoga is devoted to the safe awakening and use of Kundalini for higher consciousness. In Tantric Buddhism quite beyond any folkloristic beliefs, there are privileged esoteric levels for the advanced Tantrician. It is stated that the historical Buddha Shakyamuni took rebirth in the Naga realm just before his last incarnation on earth, and while sitting under the Bodhi Tree in India was magically protected by a Naga." (http://www.jeweledlotus.com/tantra_nagaraj.htm)
Leaving Lopburi, Eric and I took a seat on the outbound third-class train, the same as we had ridden in, with big open windows that let in the fresh countryside. As we waited to depart, a team of a few Thai folks relayed between the station and train with around 20 plastic bags filled with fresh-cut meat and chicken, which were set on the floor and steps just inside the train door. En route, the owner of the meat struck up a conversation with me, with the ritual "Where you from?" We chatted for a while, going back over what we said and gesturing a lot, from which I gathered that he owned a store where he sold the meat. I asked him if he did this every day (taking the train 30 minutes into Lopburi, picking up meat, hauling it back to his town) and he got this far-away look in his eyes and said, "yes, every day, for a long, long time." When we pulled up at his town for the one-minute stop, he scrambled, pulling bags of meat and chickens out of the train and handing them to the other small team who had met the train.
We just got to Ayutthaya from Khao Yai National Park; will report more when there's time. There's also a bunch more pics to post ~ these machines are sloooow!
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