OUTSIDE BANGKOK: KHAO WANG PALACE IN PHETCHABURI (A.K.A. MONKEY MOUNTAIN)

On the way home from Hua Hin we stopped in the Thai province of Phetchaburi (located about 120 km. from Bangkok). Although the main city is a combination of ancient and modern elements, the first thing you'll notice about the place is that it's overrun by wild monkeys.


In my previous entry I stated that it's I found it interesting to observe these monkeys in their natural setting (in that case, a National Park). It's also interesting to see them in an unnatural setting as well, at least at first. Then when you see how many of them there are and how aggressive they can be, it gets to be kind of unsettling. Right after I snapped this picture, the monkey started urinating off the roof of this building (missing me by about a foot). At that point, the creatures went from cute to annoying.


The main tourist trap here is the Khao Wang Palace, built by King Rama IV in 1859-60. Located high on a mountain, it is best reached by cable car.


When the short ride up the mountain is completed, you are immediately confronted with - surprise - more monkeys!


We literally had to carry sticks around to keep these things at a safe distance.


Once you get past the monkeys you can start to visit the complex of buildings which includes several palaces, temples, an astronomical observatory and a museum that is home to an impressive collection of ceramics and many other priceless antiques.


The buildings are spread out over three different mountain peaks. When you are at one peak, the others actually look like they are quite far away, but they can be easily reached by a series of paths.


The view of the Phetchaburi province from atop the mountain is also quite impressive.

Despite the historical buildings and spectacular views, the most memorable part of this trip occured at the very end. We took the cable car back down the mountain and exited into a building that had a gift shop, snack bar, etc. We bought our kids some ice cream and in a matter of seconds, a monkey came out of nowhere and snatched our daughter Julia's cone right out of her hand. The whole thing happened so quickly that I didn't get a chance to take a picture (although I could have gotten one of Julia screaming bloody murder if I had thought of it). The whole thing was actually pretty funny, but we were glad that she didn't get bitten or scratched (and we did have to splurge for another ice cream).