Monyet-Monyet

Bali is home to the Long-tailed Macaque. These monkeys are only slightly smaller than Colby. They live in groups of 5-60 called troops. The girls never leave their original troop, while the boys jump to another troop when they are about 5 years old. And they are everywhere! There were monkeys on the way to Uluwatu Beach.

Sometimes they climbed up the cliff to visit us at the Resort.

On Thursday, we left Uluwatu and headed North to Ubud (pronounced Oo-bood) which is known as the artistic center of Bali. Not only is the place silly with art and textiles, it is also home to a plethora of Macaques. We spent our first morning in Ubud visiting the Monkey Forest Sanctuary. This sanctuary was not like the typical animal preserves or zoos at home. The word sanctuary in this instance refers less to a protected area and more to the Hindu temple within the forest.

Another big difference - In the U.S., humans and animals generally occupy separate spaces. In most instances, there is at least a fence maintaining this separation. At the Monkey Forest Sanctuary, there is no attempt to separate primate species made by man or beast. One can fantasize that the Sanctuary is where man can be one with nature – you know a harmonious existence and what not. This is not the case. Instead, getting through the forest is more a test of your stealth and fortitude. Think of it like a video game. You are Mario and the object is to get through the Monkey Forest with your treasures – camera, cell phone, sunglasses, water bottle, and keys. Two unwitting souls actually purchased bananas on their way in!

Colby thought the whole placed ROCKED. He giggled hysterically and ran full force towards the monkeys. He wanted to pet them and hug them and love them.

Admittedly, it was pretty cool. There are 4 troops of monkeys in the Forest currently. We witnessed some inter-troop skirmishes – mostly just yelling matchings (Krra!Krra!). They were all more than willing to be out in the open, though.

And definitely not shy about their daily activities -- sheesh!

Once we were comfortable maneuvering in the Forest and protecting our treasures, we ventured down a set of stone stairs where more temple buildings were located. I felt like we were in an Indiana Jones movie. The staircase is a serpentine staircase.

At the bottom, covered in moss are two gigantic stone Komodo dragons looking out over the jungle river!

“We do not follow maps to buried treasure and X never, ever marks the spot." (Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade - 1989)