Saturday, April 16 – Ubud and the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary

Jero had breakfast ready for us this morning and we sat outside with Robin and Peter and enjoyed the fruit, muesli and yoghurt. Then we set off walking to Ubud. We revisited the Signature Road where I thought we had seen a store called Threads of Life, and sure enough it was there. Robin and Peter had been there 10 years ago, and it was still here! Threads of Life is a “fair trade business” that works with traditional artists, for example textile weavers, and basket makers, across Indonesia to “form independent cooperatives, to manage their resources sustainably, and to express their culture identity while building their financial security.” Robin and Peter were particularly interested in their “double ikat weaving”, and we looked at some high quality woven sarongs, and scarves. In short, “double ikat” is created by “resist-dyeing” both the warp and the weft prior to weaving through a complicated process that I can’t even begin to explain! The work that goes into making these pieces is creative, long, and exact, but the results are stunning.

Then we moved on and headed up Monkey Forest Road to ....yes you guessed it The Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary!! We paid our small fee and entered into the monkey reserve and Hindu temple. It was really touristy, but quite fun all the same. The long tailed macaques are quite cheeky and will land on your head and stay with you for a few moments as they did with Peter! You have to be somewhat careful as you certainly don’t want to get bitten by them, but all in all, they are more curious than dangerous. We watched the park attendants feeding the monkeys sweet potato and the public feeding them bananas – guess which they appeared to prefer!!  There were babies, and mothers, and males, and different ages; about 600 monkeys live there I believe. According to its mandate, the forest has a philosophical goal of creating peace and harmony for visitors from all over the world according to the Hindu principle of  “Tri Hata Karana”. The forest is also home to 3 temples: The Temple of Death, a temple for the worship of Hyang Widhi in personification of the Goddess Gangga, and a temple for the worship of Hyang Widhi in personification of Prajapati.

When we had had our fill of the monkeys we walked back into town, ate some lunch at Watercress and then wandered through the market before heading back to the villa and cooling off in the pool. It is pretty hectic out there walking along the roads into town and the sidewalks in town. The roads are filled with motor scooters, cars, and people. Somehow, everyone survives it!!

We ate dinner at the Dream Resort and were in bed at a reasonable hour. The heat really tires you out, and so we haven’t had many late nights.