Primates are plentiful in the tropical areas we are visiting.  I think they may even outnumber the tourist traps… although not by much.  So it should come as no surprise that the monkeys have integrated into the tourist business.  But what is surprising is that the humans are not taking advantage of the monkeys… rather it is the other way around.

Our first experience was on a visit to Monkey Beach in the Phuket area of Thailand.  The beach belongs to the monkeys, and they make that clear.  The humans bring them snacks.  The humans clean their beach.  And in return the humans get to take pictures with friendly monkeys.  We honestly did not expect to enjoy the experience all that much, but it turned out to be one of the highlights of our visit to Phuket.

So when we heard of the Monkey Forest Temple in Ubud, we made a point of dropping by.  Where the beach was a fairly small area for monkeys to gather and interact (read: take advantage of) with humans, the temple area was huge, comprising of multiple temples, bridges, streams, and paths.  And the monkeys were everywhere.  The humans brought bananas and other treats, but we learned from the beach, that their favorite treats were drinks – so we went armed with bottles of water.  Again, the monkeys got the better end of the deal, grimacing for the camera, and getting drinks and treats along the way.  Clearly they were prospering thanks to the care of the tourists and related industry.

Our favorite monkey story is probably from the beach.  One ugly human (ugly being a reference to both her personality and her looks) was trying to get one over on the monkeys.  She wanted to pull their tails and tease them with food and water.  The monkeys would have none of that.  They ganged up on her, and while one distracted her, the other pulled down her bathing suit.  She got the point and behaved more appropriately after that.

Those monkeys really gave her the business.