Monkey Mayhem - Hua Hin, Thailand

 

I’ll let you in on a little secret; I have a few irrational fears. Two in particular are clowns and monkeys. I know they are ridiculous things to be scared of, but I guess that is the irrational part of it all. Throughout the years, friends and family have taken great pleasure in tormenting me with clowns of all shapes and sizes. However, it wasn’t until a recent trip to Thailand that I realized that I was equally terrified of monkeys. One or two monkeys I can handle, it was the gaggle of monkeys that did me in.

On a recent Christmas vacation, I made my way to Thailand to visit my dear friends Nat, Hendo, and Patrick, who were living in Bangkok for the year. After a few days in Bangkok, Hendo drove us the 200km to the Gulf of Thailand and the Royal resort town of Hua Hin for Christmas. After a few days of lolling around in the sun and playing in the pool, we decided to venture out and check out Hua Hin. The agenda for the day was to explore the Khao Takiab area south of Hua Hin.

As we drove up the steep winding mountain road to the temple, Wat Khao Lad, I was a bit apprehensive because this area is known for its monkeys. In fact, the temple is often called Monkey Temple or Monkey Mountain. And the name certainly delivered. There were monkeys everywhere.

As soon as we got out of the car, I was painfully aware that I was surrounded by dozens and dozens of macaque monkeys. They were on the rooftops of the rickety one-story buildings selling trinkets and beverages, crawling across the electrical wiring draped between the buildings, and surrounding the few tourists at the base of the temple stairs. Did I say surrounding? I meant climbing. They were climbing the limbs of the tourists who were crazy enough to be feeding them. They were lurking everywhere; clearly far too many monkeys for my liking.

I found myself slowly retreating from the heart of the monkey madness, much to the laughter of Hendo and Jack, my travel companions for the day. I was so glad that Nat had decided to stay home with baby Patrick. I didn’t know how I was going to get to the stairs of the temple with the sea of monkeys blocking the way, let alone climb the stairs with the gauntlet of scampering monkeys holding court on the concrete steps.

I made a break for it, when a fresh feeding frenzy broke out on the left-hand side of the staircase and diverted their attention. I climbed the stairs as quickly as I could in the 90 degree heat and was relieved to find no evidence of monkeys at the top of temple. I made it!

The views of Hua Hin calmed my nerves and after taking in the scenery, I made it back down the temple stairs with stealth-like ninja skills and went undetected by the monkeys, who were distracted by the arrival of a family with small children. I couldn’t get into the car fast enough.

Still high on the anxiety from Monkey Temple, I was relieved to find that our next destination was monkey-free. At the base of Monkey Mountain, is the 20 meter tall Lord Buddha, which dominates the water’s edge and overlooks Chopstick beach. Still weary from the morning adventure, I slowly made my way to the base of the Buddha and kept my eyes peeled for any prowling monkeys. Luckily, the only creatures I encountered were a few stray dogs and cats milling around the feet of the Buddha. Hopefully that was the last of the monkeys.

Later that day, while relaxing with beers at Supatra’s, a lovely beach restaurant overlooking Monkey Mountain and Lord Buddha, I tried to downplay my new-found fear of monkeys to my travel companions. But it was too late. I had given too much away. Now I just have to wait to see how they will use this information against me!