Rude, Cheeky Monkey

On our tour of Indonesia, we eventually arrived to the town of Ubud. The city is located in the center of Bali and therefore has no beachfront. However, the hotel would turn out to be our favorite of the entire trip. Stepping into Ketut’s Place was like stepping into a secret garden. The grounds were lush and well-manicured. There were two and three-story buildings. Each had a different view of the surroundings. It’s one of those places that just gives off a feeling of joy and tranquility for simply being itself.

Once settled, we walked to The Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary. It’s both a monkey forest and the location of a Hindu temple. The monkeys are known as the Balinese long-tailed monkey, scientifically called Macaca Fascicularis. In English they’re called macaque. The forest is located in the middle of town. As we got closer, we saw a few monkeys scattered among the store fronts, sidewalks and parking lots. One was by himself and I wondered if he had been ostracized by his clan, and if so, what had he done to be a bad monkey?

Entering the sanctuary is like being transported to another world. At the entrance is the heart of Ubud with its shrill and never-ending motorized vehicle sounds. But stepping inside the sanctuary, it is peaceful, lush and beautiful. We can see large trees with thick vines being used by the monkeys to travel. We can hear the water from the waterfall and…