The Sacred Monkey Forest, Ubud, Bali, Indonesia
Warning: extreme cuteness, and extreme grossness ahead:
Our friends Misti and Yvette came to Bali on their honeymoon. One story of theirs that really stood out for us was that of the monkey forest, and what NOT to do to a monkey. Just in case you’re wondering, it is not a good idea to take a stick away from a monkey. Right Misti?
The Monkey Forest was only about a 15 minute walk from where we were staying (Jati Homestay). There is an entrance fee of IDR 20,000 (USD $2.25) per person to get in. You can also buy a bunch of bananas for the same price.
The bananas are for feeding the monkeys. Here’s how it works.
You hold a banana over your head in one hand.
Then when you least expect it, a monkey will jump on you from behind,
climb up your back, grab the banana,
and sit on top of your head eating it.
If there are no bananas handy, sweet potatoes work as well.
If you’re really lucky, two monkeys will jump on you.
One of them may even try to take your glasses off your face – because they’re a shiny object and all.
When that doesn’t work, one monkey might check your hair for lice and start grooming you.
And if you are one of the luckiest people around, one of those monkeys will poop on your shoulder while it’s enjoying the snack you gave it.
Yeah, I got pooped on. It’s that monkey. Right there. The one on the left (my right shoulder).
Thankfully we were pretty close to a bathroom, so I was able to wash my shirt off.
The monkey forest is teeming with monkeys. It’s really quite amazing.
There are all kinds: from big dominant male monkeys with big teeth,
to mammas nursing tiny baby monkeys.
And they’re all so cute sporting their monkey Mohawks.
Maybe that’s why they’re macaque monkeys.
To see more monkey pictures, visit our photos page – there is an entire album dedicated only to monkey pictures.
TAGS: bali, forest, indonesia, monkey, poop, sacred, temple, Travel, ubud
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February 16th, 2011
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To make sure you get this in time–please do all your friends a BIG FAVOR AND TELL THEM TO NOT EVEN GET NEAR TO ANY MONKEYS, & ESP.
don’t hold up anything, including food (bananas) for them to take out
of your hand. DANGEROUS. STAY AWAY FROM ANY MONKEYS. OK, so I’ve been where you are, but animals are animals and you have NO IDEA WHAT THEY MIGHT DO TO YOU. Luckily, usually in the monkey reserves, I think they give the monkeys AIDS shots, but I’m not sure–you can ask them if you care. On my trip over India, we all went out into the forest to see old
temple ruins (where all the tours go) & monkeys are ALL OVER THE PLACE, even SOLID IN THE CITIES, & we had 2 very educated young women from
Brazil on our large tour bus–one was actually a Psychiatrist & one
lady happened to be a Doctor, so I thought they’d know better, but guess not. I think it was the Doctor girl, that was simply looking up at a monkey above her & decided to just take a picture of him with her small digital that had a little zoom on it. The monkey decided he wanted the camera so he jumped down onto her shoulder & tried to take it from her. She had it with the small strap around her hand so when he saw he could not take it immediately and run, he bit a HUGE HUNK OUT OF HER
SHOULDER—yes blood and all. The Director had to take her to a hospital for stitiches AND so the rest of our trip, she had to carry an ice chest around with her & GIVE HERSELF RABBIES SHOTS IN HER STOMACH. Not a very good way to enjoy your vacation & we had JUST STARTED.
So, what ever it’s worth to you—you have been “advised!!
When I travel, I do not even touch the animals. NONE OF THEM–DOGS AND ALL. Just remember that animals are animals & even your own dog is unpredictable. Yes, I’ve had all kinds of animals including a horse
(there are a lot of rules about being safe around horses), but all animals are unpredictable & can turn on you. ESP. MONKEYS that can carry aids & a lot of other diseases. Even my son that was doing medical research in a Medical School lab, took out one of the monkeys just to move him to another cage & he got bit on the shoulder & he also
had to take rabbies and AIDS shots or whatever the correct medical name,
& we were scared to death until the tests returned from the monkey.
Some Medical students in Georgia were bitten & not so lucky & one boy
did get AIDS from him. Our govt. does not do a good job of protecting us as all incoming wild animals should be tested automatically for these
kind of diseases. SO TAKE CARE AND PLEASE BE CAREFUL. Bali is a fabulous place to see. Be sure to go through the fabulous hotels–I think one was the Nusa Dua, but sure plenty better ones there now–ask around. Also DON’T MISS THE BANJAR HOT SPRINGS, THE BUTTERFLY PARK AND THE SNAKE CAVE!!! Think the HUGE BATS (they are as big as a cat) are
at Tabasan. All of these places are a MUST. HAVE SAFE FUN.
It’s just not worth it to take any chances is ruining my trips.
Sorry, forgot to tell you–if you can take a flight over to nearby
Lombok–& see the Lombok Springs Temple–very large beautiful water
pools, plants, flowers, etc. Really neat. You could even do it
from Bali as a full “Day Tour.”