These sweltering monkeys had their own fun in the water - cooling off in a pond as temperatures reached 38C at the start of Thailand’s new year.<br /><br />The annual Songkran festival - which is the hottest period of the year - sees tens of millions of locals and tourists take part in ceremonial water fights. <br /><br />The wild monkeys showed that they can also enjoy splashing around in the hot weather.<br /><br />The primates were filmed leaping into the lake and swimming on the outskirts of Bangkok this afternoon (April 12).<br /><br />The annual Songkran festival, a national public holiday, lasts from April 12 until businesses re-open again on April 17. <br /><br />It began hundreds of years ago as a celebration of Buddha images with villagers sprinkling each other with water for good luck as they welcomed in the coming rainy season. <br /><br />But in recent years it has developed into a booze-fulled water fight festival that attracts many holidaymakers and backpackers.
