Lop Buri Monkeys

There are monkeys in Lop Buri, Thailand. These are not zoo monkeys. These are long-tail macaques that live around a temple that was built in the 8th century. They climb all over it, sit all around it, and their young scramble and play everywhere. The monkeys are not contained at the temple. They cross the street and steal bags of food from people passing by. They swing along power lines and climb up to the rooftops of buildings surrounding the special "prasat" from ages past. There is also a special temple (more recently built) for worshiping the spirits of the monkeys (or something like that). A jungle gym of sorts has been set up for the monkeys, and people sell food for tourists to feed the monkeys.

Earlier this month we passed through Lop Buri on our way to some meetings. We didn't have time to stop on the way down, but as we were traveling back to Chiang Mai we decided to stop and have a look at the monkeys. It was worth it!

Hmong Village Camping

Several weeks ago, we had the opportunity to go experience camping in a Hmong village. We drove for several hours, a couple of which I spent hanging on to the edge of my seat and stomping on my non-existent passenger brake. The road went up at a 45-50 degree angle in some places. It didn't help that our trip up the mountain took place after dark. There were major ruts in the road making our drive slow and unpredictable, when adding in the hairpin turns.

Once we arrived in the village, we tried to set up our tent and eat dinner quickly so that we could bathe and go to sleep since it was so late already. There was a fire burning near one house near where our cars were parked, and several of our group sat around talking with the villagers there. The church in Chiang Mai has many youth who are Hmong and they participated in this camping trip/evangelism. Some of the villagers speak Thai as well as Hmong, though many of the older generation do not.

The next morning, we woke up to the sounds of the thousands of roosters crowing all over the village and in the forest. Out our window we were greeted with the curious stares of the little children looking back at us. We got dressed, brushed our hair, and headed out for breakfast.

After breakfast, we spent the morning helping to clean up the village. The school bathroom was the focus of the group that Hope and I found ourselves a part of, although my focus was more on keeping Hope focused :)

After lunch, it was time for games and just playing around some. I took the opportunity to shoot a whole slew of photos. It was fun to get so many good pictures of the time we spent there.

After games and playing for a while it was time for baths (before the sun went down so that we wouldn't be too cold), and dinner. Our girls were tired, so they headed to bed before the evening program began. The evening program was a concert put on by mostly the youth of the Chiang Mai church. I was also asked f I would sing a song that I had sung at the church a few weeks before, and there was also another foreigner who sang a song as well.

The next morning was spent getting ready to go and handing out clothing that had been collected to bring to the villagers. We really enjoyed our time in the Hmong village. Although I couldn't speak any Hmong I enjoyed visiting these precious people and pray that they will come to know Christ and His love.