Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Moustache monkeys & mangosteens

Today we took a car and driver and explored north Bali. We stopped at a large Hindu temple where I saw two cats swiping the offerings left by devotees.







We also went to large botanical garden and stopped at a Buddhist & Hindu temple. It was ok but am very spoiled by the amazing Buddhist temples we saw in India and china. At a later stop, We did a short 20 minute hike down too a large, breathtaking water fall.

The highlight was the monkeys I call moustache monkeys as they look like little old men with moustaches. Their real name is long tail macaques. They were gathered on the side of the road and of course I had to stop by and see them. And anywhere monkeys and tourists gather there will be someone selling monkey treats. I bought some bruised, over priced bananas as I am a sucker for monkeys and the old kukum (grandma) like lady selling them. So in reality I supported local women and fed monkeys. A word to the wise when feeding monkeys toss them the food, do not hand it to them. Sure they are adorable and sweet but you can't trust them. They are like little people with a low moral code, and high thrill seeking. Thankfully I already know that rule and I was not monkey mugged. And leave your hat, glasses etc in the car (as the driver insisted I do).

On the way back we stopped and bought mangosteens, my new favorite fruit! Mmmmmmmm

1 comment:

Kate said...

I love mangosteens! Too bad you can't bring them back to Canada! I also love the pictures that you are posting on the blog. Keep them coming! They really bring your stories to life. I am so happy you are in Bali and having such a great time.