LOPBURI, Thailand (Reuters) - An annual monkey's food party thrown in the Thai province of Lopburi on Sunday proved a big draw, even though most of the primates stood up their human hosts and eager tourists. Ignoring table manners, only a handful of primates dived for the platters containing nine kinds of food including bananas, nuts and cakes served up by the provincial organisers of the food festival. Most others chose to hang around buildings, on telephone poles, pagodas or just stroll the streets instead of rushing for the exotic food prepared in their honour. Despite the virtual no-show, the hundreds of tourists who had turned up to watch the event were so moved by the bond between man and animal that they dug deep into their pockets and donated money to charity in boxes set up at strategic spots by the organisers. Lopburi province, about 150 kms (94 miles) north of Bangkok, is the only one in Thailand where monkeys have co-habited freely with man for decades. More than 600 monkeys live in close proximity to people in Lopburi province in the central, ancient Hindu-Buddhist Brahmanic shrine, ageing Khmer-style pagodas and at the local market. The owner of a local hotel, who uses the monkey sign as the hotel's logo, said the primates had brought him prosperity and he was returning the favour by organising the annual food festival for them.