When we were coming to Ubud in Bali, I had heard about the monkey forest through watching videos of others that had made the visit.
I was interested in also coming this close to such a fascinating animal. They are so human like and comical, however many people speak of their unpredictable behaviour and their potential to attack or just simply steal your things. Apparently they love sunglasses, and small items. Of course food and snacks would be on the top of their list.
It is a forest where they run free and some run around outside of the forest. Inside the forest they are fed regularly. Sweet potatoes is said to be one of the main staples.
I had mixed feelings about going inside. I am not a fan of zoos or any kind of place that keeps wildlife in captivity for the purpose of public viewing. This monkey sanctuary is not a zoo in that they can roam freely uncaged, but the fact that people can pay to walk into these grounds and be assured that they will be surrounded by monkeys sounds a bit like zoo like to me.
I am not judging this place. I just don't know what to think so I chose not to go in.
There was no need to go in after all. Several monkeys hang around outside of the forest crossing the streets which is not easy to do in Ubud due to the insane non stop traffic, but these guys don't seem to be concerned in the least. I was fortunate to get close to several of them.
They say you shouldn't look them in the eyes or smile at them. They find this to be threatening so I proceeded with care and respect, in taking some photos.
