Monkey Mischief and Fish that Clean Feet

On Tuesday morning we enjoyed our usual Bali “kopi” (coffee) and sliced fresh papaya, mango, pineapple and banana with toast, egg and pancake. We planned to visit the monkey forest preserve and opted to walk rather than take a “taksi.” The walk was a longer, more strenuous two kilometers than we knew before we set out. When we reached the entrance to the monkey forest, we were amazed to see so many there to size up the visitors and look for handouts of bananas, the only approved monkey food. These were long-tailed macaques and we read carefully the warnings about not bringing in edibles or even water bottles because the monkeys could be aggressive. We witnessed this right away when one bold, but sneaky fellow did a skillful snatch and grab raid in a blindside attack of a woman vendor selling bananas to the visitors. We were careful to clutch our handbags tightly and keep our water bottles hidden. Monkeys like shiny objects and much to Dara’s surprise, a bold macaque leaped from ground to her shoulder, grabbed the sunglasses perched on her head and jumped off again before she knew what was happening. The thief went a short distance, then stopped to inspect his prize. We figured that was the last we would see of those sunglasses. To our delight, a valiant Frenchman stepped forward to lure the robber with a banana. When the monkey dropped the glasses and snatched the food, the man bolted forward and retrieved the glasses. Vive la France! Dara quickly tucked the glasses into her bag. We walked up the paved pathway toward the sacred monkey temple when we began to hear music and saw a procession of men and women in mostly white festive garb make their way to the temple site. We watched the ritual proceedings before wandering off to view a large gathering of humans and monkeys around an enormous tree hundreds of years old. The humans busily aimed cameras and recorders while the simians mostly scratched, preened and ignored them.

We left the monkey forest and found a nice café where we enjoyed our lunch and a refreshing breeze from the rice field in the rear of the building hidden from street view. It was very typical, the juxtaposition of urban streetscape and the rural acres of crops or pasture seen only from the backside. We took a taksi back to Sari Bamboo and enjoyed a nice dip in the pool. Then, a little local shopping for a few more gifts before a light supper at a small local Japanese restaurant, followed by yet one last shopping at a Balinese costume (and tiara!) boutique. While we shopped, Aron indulged his curiosity (and ours) with five minutes of fish therapy. Feet placed into a tank teeming with minnows called Garra Ruffa or doctor fish would immediately be swarmed by the fish nibbling at the dead skin, an effective, but very ticklish and rather creepy way to clean one’s feet. However, it was a highly entertaining form of therapy. Afterward, we stopped for more substantial food at the only California style Mexican restaurant in Ubud. We returned to our home base, packed and prepared for an early departure and long day on Wednesday, our last day in country.