We (my wife Shobha and me) are just back from a trip to Malaysia and Bali. We were specifically told to watch sunset aat Uluwatu at Bali. On the last day of our trip to Bali we planned this after checking out of the hotel before reaching the airport.
There are 2 things to see at Uluwatu - an old Shiva temple for which the entry is highly restricted. There is a specific dress code which we were not aware of and so we could not enter the temple as such. Then however, there was the sunset to watch and it can be watched from many points. You get a good view of the ocean too.
There are many monkeys at Uluwatu. In fact they are encouraged and pampered. There is an exclusive swimming pool for the monkeys - something I have not seen anywhere. And there are very many monkeys. One an sit and relax in the benches provided from where the sunset is not visible. One could watch from the edge of the wall but it is not possible to sit there. We were sitting on one of the open benches when we net a family of 3 French ladies 2 sisters and their mother. The mother had a bandage on her little finger. On inquiry, she revealed that the injury was due to the monkey attempting successfully to snatch a banana in her hand. In the process he scratched and bit the little finger. She had to visit a hospital meant for the foreign tourists and and was given a shot of tetanus toxoid and one of ARV. The whole thing cost her a whopping 100 $! The monkey's prank turned out to be expensive indeed!
As the sun set was approaching, I called my wife to stand near the wall so that the sunset can be viewed better. She did so. She was busy talking to me and the people around us. Then she moved back to the open benches saying that there is still more time. 2 guides belonging to 2 other groups were sitting beside her on both sides. Just then in one swift move she felt her glasses being snatched from her face suddenly. Before she could realize it was a monkey, he fled with the glasses and sat above the wall near which I was standing. On the other side of the wall below the spot where the monkey was sitting, there was the ocean in full glory. There was a patch of grass just beside the wall where I was standing.
The monkey carrying the Cartier glasses which indeed was an expensive gift, jumped up and sat exactly above me and started to examine the glasses. My wife was desperate as there was no way we could reach the monkey and get the glasses back. There was very little time and little we could do. I wa about to shout at the monkey when a local man advised me to remain calm. He gave the monkey a small chocolate in his right hand. The monkey gladly took the chocolate, for a while held the chocolate in his roght hand and the glasses in the left hand and examine both. He must have found the chocolate more interesting and therefore threw the glasses down and was busy eating the chocolate. Now came the second hurdle. The glasses fell down into the patch of grass behind which was a cliff leading to the ocean. There was no way we could reach the spot where the glasses lay. The same man helped again. He jumped the wall and in one swift move retrieved the glasses and jumped back to safety and returned the glasses to us. The whole thing was so sudden that we were stunned. Even before we could recover and thank him or offer him a gift, the man had vanished. All along, a Chinese tourist was video recording the whole thing and he had his dark glasses on his forehead. The monkey came back and in one swift move removed his dark glasses, jumped up to the same high spot, turned round the gasses, had a good look cut it into 2 parts and sincerely gave one part back to the gentleman and threw the other part into the ocean. The glasses were destroyed forever.
I shudder to think what would have happened if that fate had befallen my wife's glasses. In fact, my heart was beating in my mouth when the monkey was examining the glasses. It was a stroke of good luck that the unknown gentleman came along and helped us. My only regret was that we could not thank him properly.
Need I say that we immediately proceeded to the airport without caring to watch the sunset. We proceeded to the airport in a taxi driven by Made Yasa who by then had become our friend. I made fun of my wife all along the way. We reached the airport, completed the security formalities and I found a newspaper and settled down to read it as there was time for departure. That is when I realized that my gasses with the case were missing. Obviously, the monkey had taken it even without my knowledge! I am not too sure who had the last laugh - my wife or the monkey!
There are 2 things to see at Uluwatu - an old Shiva temple for which the entry is highly restricted. There is a specific dress code which we were not aware of and so we could not enter the temple as such. Then however, there was the sunset to watch and it can be watched from many points. You get a good view of the ocean too.
There are many monkeys at Uluwatu. In fact they are encouraged and pampered. There is an exclusive swimming pool for the monkeys - something I have not seen anywhere. And there are very many monkeys. One an sit and relax in the benches provided from where the sunset is not visible. One could watch from the edge of the wall but it is not possible to sit there. We were sitting on one of the open benches when we net a family of 3 French ladies 2 sisters and their mother. The mother had a bandage on her little finger. On inquiry, she revealed that the injury was due to the monkey attempting successfully to snatch a banana in her hand. In the process he scratched and bit the little finger. She had to visit a hospital meant for the foreign tourists and and was given a shot of tetanus toxoid and one of ARV. The whole thing cost her a whopping 100 $! The monkey's prank turned out to be expensive indeed!
As the sun set was approaching, I called my wife to stand near the wall so that the sunset can be viewed better. She did so. She was busy talking to me and the people around us. Then she moved back to the open benches saying that there is still more time. 2 guides belonging to 2 other groups were sitting beside her on both sides. Just then in one swift move she felt her glasses being snatched from her face suddenly. Before she could realize it was a monkey, he fled with the glasses and sat above the wall near which I was standing. On the other side of the wall below the spot where the monkey was sitting, there was the ocean in full glory. There was a patch of grass just beside the wall where I was standing.
The monkey carrying the Cartier glasses which indeed was an expensive gift, jumped up and sat exactly above me and started to examine the glasses. My wife was desperate as there was no way we could reach the monkey and get the glasses back. There was very little time and little we could do. I wa about to shout at the monkey when a local man advised me to remain calm. He gave the monkey a small chocolate in his right hand. The monkey gladly took the chocolate, for a while held the chocolate in his roght hand and the glasses in the left hand and examine both. He must have found the chocolate more interesting and therefore threw the glasses down and was busy eating the chocolate. Now came the second hurdle. The glasses fell down into the patch of grass behind which was a cliff leading to the ocean. There was no way we could reach the spot where the glasses lay. The same man helped again. He jumped the wall and in one swift move retrieved the glasses and jumped back to safety and returned the glasses to us. The whole thing was so sudden that we were stunned. Even before we could recover and thank him or offer him a gift, the man had vanished. All along, a Chinese tourist was video recording the whole thing and he had his dark glasses on his forehead. The monkey came back and in one swift move removed his dark glasses, jumped up to the same high spot, turned round the gasses, had a good look cut it into 2 parts and sincerely gave one part back to the gentleman and threw the other part into the ocean. The glasses were destroyed forever.
I shudder to think what would have happened if that fate had befallen my wife's glasses. In fact, my heart was beating in my mouth when the monkey was examining the glasses. It was a stroke of good luck that the unknown gentleman came along and helped us. My only regret was that we could not thank him properly.
Need I say that we immediately proceeded to the airport without caring to watch the sunset. We proceeded to the airport in a taxi driven by Made Yasa who by then had become our friend. I made fun of my wife all along the way. We reached the airport, completed the security formalities and I found a newspaper and settled down to read it as there was time for departure. That is when I realized that my gasses with the case were missing. Obviously, the monkey had taken it even without my knowledge! I am not too sure who had the last laugh - my wife or the monkey!
