I am forever changed by this day and it has nothing to do with the spiritual journey that people typically seek out in Bali. I was attacked by a monkey at the monkey forest in Ubud. For $2, you too can be harassed and picked at by a monkey. Here's what happened. When we got out of the car, V wisely advised: no hats, no sunglasses, no food or water, and clutch your belongings. I transferred my things to a plastic bag because I didn't want monkey poop on my purse. We entered the gate and immediately see a monkey from afar perched at the end where the path first turns. As T, V and I approach it with our cameras, he turns his attention from the little boy that is trying to feed him and begins to walk towards us.T clutches my arm as V commands us, "don't act scared, act normal, don't act scared!" The monkey (with a Mohawk) increased his speed and began running right to us... to me! T releases my arm and the monkey grabbed my forearm as I try to clutch my plastic bag. I was looking right at him, as I spun him around and around to release him. He was basically clinging onto me with his hands while his feet tried to tear up the plastic bag he thought contained food. I happened to glance at A and M a few yards behind who are clearly disturbed by what is happening, have their mouths wide open and decide to turn around towards the entrance as I spin this monkey around. He finally lets go, with a piece of plastic torn out from below me. When he realized that I basically had bug spray, hand sanitizer, tissues and a camera case with zero food, he left me alone. We quickly stuffed the contents into V's bag for security. We proceeded to find crazies who were encouraging the monkeys' aggressive behavior with food and taunts. One stupid lady must have held bananas in her purse because these monkeys wanted it. When it wasn't fun for her anymore to have monkey butt on her head and claws trying to grab everything, her husband literally tried to swat them off with his baseball cap. Not cool. We proceeded through the forest quickly, as we were clearly outnumbered by monkeys of allsizes.
Since we were in Ubud, we located our first must-eat destination, Ibu Oka. Ibu Oka is famous for their suckling pig, which is brushed with coconut water and loaded with spices. We ordered $4 plates of the good stuff (with skin). I happened to forget my camera forthis part of the trip since I was so disoriented by the monkey experience. For $4, you really can't beat this meal. I did like eating on the floor with my shoesoff, too.
After lunch, we drove to some of the local rice terraces for pictures and then went back to the center of town for some shopping. Haggling here is definitely different than anywhere I have been. For example, I walked into a shop to buy a little Buddha, and the seller tells me it is 75k RP, which is about $6, "but you can go lower"! I bargained down to $5 because I was willing to pay it, but I have never seen a seller try to encourage me to buy at a lower price so soon. After more souvenir shopping, we had about an hour until Wayan had to be back near Seminyak.
With our spare time, we decided to go "see" the Yoga Barn, which we read about having drop-in classes. When we got there, we realize that it is virtually next to Bebek Bengil: Dirty Duck Diner, another must-eat locale. Walking to the barn, we leave the main street and notice that behind the bustle of all these buildings and traffic are beautiful rice paddies, very serene. The lady at the Yoga Barn informed us that they have a community yoga session at 6pm (in 20 minutes!) and it's free :) T, M and I decide that the yoga class timing was meant to be and decide to stay in Ubud for a few more hours. V & A decide to drive back to the villa with Wayan, but only after grabbing some Bebek Bengil to go.
Yoga class, overlooking the rice paddies and the semi-outdoor setting during sunset was out of this world. The lesson learned on this session was to make the most out of our practice so we can make the most of our time here on this island and this Earth. Yoga allowed us to push ourselves physically and mentally. Therefore, we had no problem splurging at dinner :) The staff at Bebek Bengil brought us to the best table in the house. But we couldn't actually see anything. T, M, and I sat comfortably drinking Bintang beer, eating dirty duck rice, salad and crispy duck with our favorite: Balinese sauce! We were just very thankful for the amazing moments we have been able to spend together, still in wonder of all the world we have left to see!
best dinner ever!
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