Visit the sacred monkey forest in Ubud

“We’d been there barely ten minutes before the rain started. It rained every day in Ubud, not just a light drizzle but furious, fat drops of rain which fell thick and fast, pelting and soaking you to the skin, causing the pavements to turn into rivers. We knew enough to just wait it out under shelter for the storm to pass. When we emerged we stopped to watch a small monkey playing in a puddle, spellbound by its cuteness. Then, abruptly the monkey turned on Andrew, leaping gracefully onto his shoulder, nipping around his neck and working his way down to his waist. With seasoned ease, he promptly shoved his skinny, thieving hand deep into Andrew’s pocket, rummaging around for treasures.”

“I was definitely pretty worried and excited to go to see the monkeys. It was a bit scary having wild animals running free around you with the fear they could attack you, but really if you respect them and leave them alone, they will leave you alone. The fear quickly wore off! [...] I had one of the guys hold a banana over my shoulder and then a monkey jumped up and proceeded to just use my shoulder as a perch to eat his snack on. I had a perfectly safe experience feeding the monkeys. Granted I had my fists clenched at first because I was so scared and I think the monkey thought I had food in them and tried to open my hands with his hands and teeth. Don’t worry he didn’t really bite me, no blood was drawn!”

“The Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary in Ubud is unlike other monkey places around because this is actually a sanctuary built in the natural habitat of Balinese long tailed Monkey where they are cared for (aka fed) but tourists can not touch or pose for pictures with them. That said, they are hungry little creatures and at even the slightest inkling of food, they will be all over you (see photos below of them trying to climb up my dress)! [...] After feeding we left the main area exploring the paths through the rain forest and as I was being taken by an expert local guide we got down to the river and into the monkeys habitat before any other visitors which led to some great photos and even better monkey encounters.”