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Do Yourself a Favor:

Leave the Nuts Behind

Monkey's run the show in Ubud and they have the sunglasses to prove it. Like natives introduced to the Western way of life, these nimble primates have embraced the evolution from resident monks to foreign visitors in Bali's Sacred Monkey Forest, taking advantage of the tourists with their loose fitting aviator sunglasses and the free meals they carry clutched to their chests, hence the parks two unspoken rules: The big monkey always wins and the paranoid tourists have good reason to be paranoid.

Located in the outskirts of Ubud (pronounced oo-bood) on the Indonesian island of Bali, The Sacred Monkey Forest is a small Hindu nature preserve that attracts thousands of visitors annually for its natural beauty, stone temples, local artisans and the Macaques monkey- a bearded primate with a worldly reputation for their charm, mastery of the five finger discount and very poor people skills. And although Do Not Feed the Macaques' signs are clearly posted throughout the park, the local fruit and nut vendors have plenty of business.

The reason lies just inside the park entrance. It's the Macaques in their posted positions along the parks stone temples in their trademark really cute human like poses, counting on the passing tourists to succumb to their charm. If all goes in the monkeys favor, money for nuts is exchanged and the nave enter, unknowing victims of a well rehearsed plot that goes a bit like this:

A nice lady buys nuts. As she walks through the park gates, she imagines how she will feed the cute little baby monkeys as the parents stand by grateful for a day off from foraging. But much to her surprise, she instead finds herself assaulted by the much larger ones, each too busy vying for a spot on the top of her head to notice what would later turn out to be a very embarrassing scream. Within seconds the largest monkey abruptly disembarks his hysterical nut holder and calmly collects what she's thrown about, and as smooth as a robbery in full daylight, he staggers away with his goods. The spectators and victims of the Who's Smarter than a Macaques Show all most often agree that the bait and switch routine is very smart, especially for a monkey sporting a Mohawk.

But don't let their funny little antics sway you away towards another predictable vacation to the local zoo. Instead, choose adventure and a bit of Bali history, just be sure to read the signs placed for your own safety or be prepared to leave your pride in the back pocket. Because after all, at the end of the day we are just simple voyeurs of the Macaques kingdom, visitors of their microcosm and sometimes a courageous tourist carrying, you guessed it, nuts.

*For more information on The Sacred Monkey Forest, go to www.uluwatu.org/monkey-forest. shtml

Learn more about this author, Heather Domnick.
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