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| Monkeys looking innocent. Are they well behaved or are they cheeky? |
occupies '27 lush, green acres at the lower end of Jalan Monkey
Forest in the village of Padangtegal. Home to over 600 long-tailed
macaques (Macaca fascicularis) which are divided into 4 troups
that occupy different areas of the forest.
http://www.monkeyforestubud.com
According to Hindu belief, the monkeys are the holy protectors of
the temple of the forest, preventing evil spirits from entering.
However, they are also a daily nuisance, stealing shiny objects like
jewelry, cameras, cell phones off the and occasionally even biting
them. Plus they run rampant on the streets stealing from shops and
restaurants. The Balinese will never hurt them or restrict them,
because they are considered holy and it would be bad karma to do
so.
the temple of the forest, preventing evil spirits from entering.
However, they are also a daily nuisance, stealing shiny objects like
jewelry, cameras, cell phones off the and occasionally even biting
them. Plus they run rampant on the streets stealing from shops and
restaurants. The Balinese will never hurt them or restrict them,
because they are considered holy and it would be bad karma to do
so.
I visited a Balinese temple with monkeys hanging out of
the trees on both sides of the entry path. When a monkey jumped
down from a branch onto my shoulder, using me as a spring board,
he 'snatched my glasses and ran into the forest, like a naughty little
bandit. Soon afterwards, the monkey took his fist and smashed
my glasses on a rock, scratching the glass, biting and tearing off
the nose pieces, while all I could do is to watch him helplessly.
The glasses were torn apart and basically a worthless piece of
trash. One of the temple guides finally rescued the glasses from
the monkey with his secret bribes and then afterwards, he came
running after me with my broken glasses, like he had golden
treasure in his hand. And then what??? ......he wanted a tip!
the trees on both sides of the entry path. When a monkey jumped
down from a branch onto my shoulder, using me as a spring board,
he 'snatched my glasses and ran into the forest, like a naughty little
bandit. Soon afterwards, the monkey took his fist and smashed
my glasses on a rock, scratching the glass, biting and tearing off
the nose pieces, while all I could do is to watch him helplessly.
The glasses were torn apart and basically a worthless piece of
trash. One of the temple guides finally rescued the glasses from
the monkey with his secret bribes and then afterwards, he came
running after me with my broken glasses, like he had golden
treasure in his hand. And then what??? ......he wanted a tip!
Tips Before Entering The Forest
1. If you want to feed a monkey peanuts or bananas, stand near
a forest guide.....sometimes they jump on you (the monkey, not
the guide) and it is handy to use the guide to get rid of the "monkey
on your back".
2. Don't carry food such as candy, trail mix, fruit, in your backpack
or purse....monkeys can smell food a mile away.
3. Take off anything shiny, earrings, watches, glasses, including
sun glasses. Monkeys love to snatch items and run off.
4. If they jump on you, don't swat at them, they might bite if they
are alarmed. They will eventually jump off or call for a guide to
help.
5. Beware of getting too close to the baby monkeys, as his large
mother is watching and ready to protect.
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| Ohhhhh.....No you don't! |
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| Keeping my distance from the monkey behind me. ' |
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| Wonderful little acrobats |
Has anyone out there besides me had a bad or good
monkey experience??
Hi Rose, Nice to see you have some interaction with the locals ;-)
ReplyDeleteWhen I visited the monkey forest I had a little encounter with one of them as well. Nothing serious though, I wanted to give a piece of banana to one of them, and when the monkey took it, I just didn't let go right away. You should have seen the evil stare that came back to me… :-) Very funny. They seem very human.
Enjoy your time in Bali! Maybe you should also check out Lombok, it is probably more like the Bali you know from 25 years ago.
Ciao, Alfredo
Hi Alfredo
DeleteI might take the nauseating ferry over to Lombok but it is a different culture, primarily Muslim, and I'd miss out on the Bali smiles and Hindu ceremonies.
So I will see how the flow goes!
Sending Bali Hugs.....Rose
Misty....My pembantu lives in Lombok, and has a rambutan farm there. They believe their daughter, Putu, is the reincarnation of my sister, so they named her Lotus. There is a significant Hindu culture there...not as beautiful as Bali...but with a lot of pluses and a very friendly dwarf elephant. In the meantime...stop giving the Ubud monkeys a bad rap. I love those critters, and was tight with them when the "Monkey Temple" was just the jungle between Pengosekan and Ubud. Love 'em...just don't mess with the machu monkey's harem (*c*). Had a penang fishing boat and tried to sale it from Djakarta to Bali. Got caught in a monsoon.....and....the dolphins kept crying "help, help," amidst the huge phosphorescent waves. I thought people were drowning, 'til the phosphorous lit up a few of the dolphins, bobbing the surface. Critters are a lot smarter than we humans tend to realize. If you see Robin again, please give her a hug from me. Senang, sehat, dan cinta....
ReplyDeleteI will give Ibu Robin a hug from you, when and if I see her again! It seems you have had some unforgettable rich experiences while in Bali and Lombok and probably have a book load of stories. Monkeys are incredibly smart and can be fun little critters, but I prefer to swim with the dolphins rather than mess with the monkeys.
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