Morning sunrise and 396 steps. Avoiding the monkeys 🐒

Today we awoke to a beautiful sunrise.  It felt tropical and reminded me of early mornings in Bali.

Without bicycle hire (don't ask, it is frustrating), we walked to Wat Thammikaram Worawihan (aka The Monkey Temple).  It is located at the top of Khao Chong Krajok hill that overlooks the bay of Prachuap Khiri Khan.  Climbing to the top takes 396 steps, and is quite challenging in the morning heat.  The steps are also home to many macaque monkeys who roam freely up and down.  

The monkeys are largely unfazed by visitors.  If you ignore them and walk by they don't care.  If you feed them this may result in fights and potential scratching.  Believe me, we don't want another visit to a hospital for a course of Rabies vaccines.  Mind you, there were a couple of tourists feeding them bananas 😩.  You must also remember to have your possessions locked in your bag, otherwise they will nab them.  

The locals do arm you with bamboo canes to a) help with the climb and b) act as a deterrent so the monkeys take one look at you and move on. Luckily they weren't interested in us.

Here I am, suitably sweaty with my cane at the top of the hill.

When we reached the top, we were rewarded with some great views and thankfully some sea breeze.

And this is looking all the way back down the yellow walled steps to the bottom.

George also got a blessing outside the temple by a monk.  The monk also gave us a lesson in diaphragmatic (belly) breathing.  Not sure why, but we obviously looked a bit hot and bothered from the climb!

We are really enjoying this seaside town as it is not touristy - no Starbucks, big chain hotels etc.