Naughty Monkey

Bali is known for their naughty monkeys and depending how you look at it I was luckily or unluckily to have an encounter. During our day long tour, our driver took us to the Scared Monkey Forest in Ubud. In this area the monkeys are considerable nicer than in other parts where the monkeys are trained to snatch your glasses from your face, slide their hand down your pocket to steal your wallet or grab your camera. To get the items back, you have to pay a small price.

I happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Don’t get me wrong, I too found it adorable walking amongst the monkeys and if you put your hand out you get a high five. Some of the locals carry fruit to help bribe the monkeys to sit on your head. The mamas, like they should be, are protective and at times become aggressive if you get to close. I walked past a medium sized monkey who jumped from the wall to my hip and used my scarf to quickly climb to my shoulder. He then grabbed at my ear in the hopes of scoring my horn earring. This monkey must not have experienced gauge earrings before given his aggressive tugs at my ear confused how to get them. Mike reached for his phone hoping for a cute photo when he quickly realized this wasn’t a friendly encounter. He came to my rescue and helped scare him off. Lesson learned, keep your distance and don’t wear jewelry even around the ‘nice’ monkeys.