The Monkeys of Ubud

By far, the most famous tourist attraction in Ubud is its Monkey Forest - a temple where monkeys free-roam and are taken care of by their human guardians. It's a place where long-tailed macaques, a species already infamous for their boldness in proximity to humans, get even bolder and surround people at every opportunity, fuelled by people bringing food into the sanctuary.

Monkeys aside, Monkey Forest really is quite a lovely area, with moss-covered stone walkways and massive trees. It's a forest that is really allowed to grow, despite its being a tourist hot-spot, but the forest has certainly thrived because of it.

Along the way, you might see some souvenir shops selling a variety of different things to take home. While I didn't walk away with anything, it's hard not to be drawn into the souvenirs on display - especially the metal elephant wind-chimes painted in bright and beautiful colours!

Here is the temple around which Monkey Forest is built.

These monkeys know no fear. They've associated humans with food, and let me tell you - they will stop at nothing to get it.

Bit of a story here. When I was 9, my family went on holiday to the Batu Caves in Malaysia. My sister, then a mere five years old, had taken out a bottle of water to drink - except that before she could, a monkey snatched the bottle out of her hands and unscrewed the cap and had it all for itself. You read that right - the monkey unscrewed a bottle cap. (Sister was scarred and terrified of monkeys after that incident. Who wouldn't be, at five?)

The monkeys may be sacred here, but they're cheeky devils.

I present Exhibit A: the monkey that climbs humans in hopes of food. Screams were heard every time a monkey climbed onto an unsuspecting person who happened to be carrying anything vaguely resembling a grocery bag.

On the bright side, the bridge carvings are beautiful.

And I suppose sometimes you do get nice moments like when monkey and Homo sapiens hands touch. Even if the only reason for that happening is food. Monkeys will do anything for food.