My client told me she wanted to sit down in the forest and take a photo with the monkeys. I told her there’s a way to make it look like the monkey is taking a selfie, while she smiles in the background. That’s the trend now—selfies with monkeys.
You can do this only in Ubud Monkey Forest, not with just any monkeys on the island. Ubud is a village in Bali that has now become very popular with tourists visiting this art center. In the middle of Ubud town, there is a 4-hectare forest maintained by the local people, home to around 1,300 monkeys.
I think the monkey population is growing fast. About 40 years ago there were only around 180 monkeys, but now there are more than a thousand. According to the shopkeepers around the forest, sometimes the monkeys jump out into the streets of Ubud and wander into shops. And trust me, they are not “good customers.”
It’s quite easy to walk around the forest since there’s a paved path. Big trees are still well maintained along the way into the middle of the forest. On the road and in the trees, you can see monkeys playing, eating, fighting, and carrying their babies.
My client sat on a bench by the side of the path. The staff at the Monkey Forest helped her take what she called the photo of a lifetime—the monkey selfie.
Here’s how it works: first, the client sits on the bench. Then, the staff gently places a monkey on her lap. The staff holds the phone camera with his left hand, pointing it toward himself and the monkey, while holding a peanut or corn near the phone with his right hand. The monkey stretches out its hand to grab the snack close to the camera, and at that moment, the staff snaps the photo.
| selfie 1 | selfie 2 |
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The result? In the picture, it looks like the monkey is taking a selfie, with my client smiling happily in the background. She was very pleased with the result.
After that, we explored the forest a bit more. We walked around until we reached the Bali temple called Pura Dalem. We crossed the bridge along the riverbank, where we saw cliffs, tall trees, and ancient roots spreading through the forest. Then we headed back.