Wrath of the Monkey
- Aug 11, 2016
- 5 min read
Location:
Ubud, Bali, Indonesia
If there is one thing to say about Asia, it’s this, everyone knows each other. We back to the café that we visited on our first night in Bali, for a bit of food. We mentioned to the owner we were leaving to go to Ubud. He asked us where we were staying in Ubud. We had somewhere booked, but we didn’t know the name. Before we could even blink an eye, he had someone get on the phone to a driver they knew. Jason got on the phone to the driver and negotiated a good price for us, so we were happy. The drive itself was only around ninety minutes long. As the homestay, ‘Balibbu Villa’ we booked was not well known with the locals, our driver had a very hard time trying to find it. At one point I thought we would have to get out and look for it ourselves. Luckily it didn’t come down to that as it was pouring outside.
First impressions of our homestay are really good. Very friendly staff, a nice big room with amazing views overlooking the rice fields. While it rained buckets, I had to get out onto the balcony with my camera and start photographing the amazing view we had. Even in the rain, it still looked incredible. Even though it was raining, myself and Jason needed food, and the only way to get food was to walk in the rain. Thank God for rain jackets and umbrellas. While we were an hours walk outside the town, at least there was a little restaurant in the resort next to us that ended up doing really good food. It became our local. Cheap, local food with the odd bit of seafood mixed in. There calamari skewers were incredible! Cooked perfectly. It makes my mouth water, thinking about them!
As I lay awake in bed, trying to go to sleep, all I could hear was the rain outside. It’s no fun being in a middle of a tropical storm. I was convinced we would have to spend the day indoors. While the rain continued, eventually it stopped, apart from the odd light shower, but who is going to moan over that. Feeling like we need to do something, the two of us decided to take a chance and walk all the way to the ‘Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary.’ It was a long, but nice walk. What I really like about Bali is how they have kept their culture and identity even though more and more Westerners are entering their shores every year. The entrance to each house is decorated usually with a sculpture of that family’s god. As one looks through the slightly opened gates, one will be able to see the family shrine. The richer the family, the bigger the shrine is. Even over shops, you can just about make out some incredible shrines. So beautiful!
Entering the Monkey forest, I was a little bit reluctant as I didn’t really hear the most positive things about them, only to say that they are very aggressive, and while Thailand’s are similar, these are in a league of their own. One thing was for sure, we were not going to be feeding them bananas and have them jumping all over us and snatching my camera. That is a no, no! I have to say, we had no issues with them. They are even better looking than the Thai ones. Seeing how they interact with each other, from a mother’s natural instinct to protect her child, to them helping each other, it really is a very special place. A photographers dream. While there were monkeys of all different sizes, the cutest had to be the forests newest arrival, a tiny little monkey that was not afraid to leave the clutches of his mother as he tried to do his ‘Monkey business.’
After our rather cute experience, we walked into the town where we enjoyed a nice massage. Later on when it came to getting home, we ended up walking back as one of the few taxi drivers we saw didn’t drop his price low enough, it was decided that we would have to walk home. All that for a measly $1. Why so evil? Talk about getting our steps in. It’s okay walking back during the day! At night, it’s a long a dark route! At least it will keep us fit, and I suppose the fresh air was kinda nice. Just don’t tell Jay I said that.
One of the more pleasurable things to do in Asia has to be the very cheap and enjoyable day tours. We hired a driver for the day for only $60. That’s $6 an hour for ten hours. That is insane! We agreed where we wanted to go at the start of the day, and he told us what was feasible and what wasn’t. Our first stop was a nice picturesque waterfall and with all the rain over the last few days, it made it even nicer. After our nice waterfall, we were driven to ‘The Elephant Cave,’ a sacred place where myself and Jason had to cover up our lovely legs with sarong’s. While the cave was only very small, the rest of the area was very interesting. From there we went to a coffee plantation where we got to try the world’s most expensive coffee, ‘Luwak Coffee.’ Just like ‘Weasel Coffee,’ the coffee beans are passed through the animal’s digestive system, only to arrive out the other side. Not even thinking about that, the coffee had a nice strong taste. Quite enjoyable, considering where it came from. As a complimentary selection of the different flavoured teas with certain healing attributes were offered to us, I thought to myself, ‘I’m liking this day even more.’
The next stop was a quick one that gave us just enough time to admire the areas stunning rice terraces and at the same time be pestered in to buying some postcards. To be fair, they have to make a living. The only problem is, because they see us as having lots of money, they expect us to pay even more for things. Listen love, we don’t really want the postcards, we are just helping you out, but don’t think you can rip us off. The highlight of the day was the sunset at the picturesque ‘Tanah Lot Temple.’ It was a long drive to get there and traffic building up because of very slow moving trucks did not help. Thankfully, our driver knew all the back roads, which speeded things up for us. When we arrived, we were rewarded. What a picture perfect place! How the sun came down over the temple, above a large rock surrounded by water, is breathtaking. Our wonderful travel buddy, Kathrin would be very impressed. Our day finished with a long drive back to Ubud and some nice food.
As the fast boat to the Gili islands was fully booked, we had to stay an extra night in Ubud. We didn’t mind as it gave us an opportunity to explore the town properly. While we ventured into the town previously, we didn’t get to do all the touristy things like visit the palace or stroll through the open market or simply take in the atmosphere. Yes, the town is very touristy, but it has a really nice feel to it, with quirky little laneways, and plenty for the eyes to feast over. Unlike last time, we got a driver to bring us in and collect us later on that evening. Being able to jump in a taxi instead of walking was so nice!
Ubud is one of those place that will simply stay in your hearts. While there may be no beaches, what Ubud has to offer is a quiet, relaxed place with picturesque views and lots to do! It may not be your typical ‘Bali’ place to visit, but we had quite an enjoyable experience. While the rain threatened to wreak havoc on our plans, thankfully it behaved itself!
By Andrew
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