PEACE, SERENITY AND A MONKEY MUGGING

Jem's Travel Tip #1: Never walk into a monkey forest holding a bag of bananas...

I arrived in Bali last night and for the first time ever was picked up by someone at the airport holding a card with my name on it (cross that one off the list!). On the hour drive to Ubud from Denpasar the streets were alive with people and motorbikes (a lot of them transporting families of 4 or mothers riding side saddle holding sleeping babies!) as there was a big ceremony going on at all the temples. We also had to swerve several times as stray dogs sauntered onto the road - they are everywhere here.

The greeting at my hotel was amazing - as I checked in they brought me a glass of fresh watermelon juice and a cold flannel for my face. The cottage I'm staying in is incredible with stone carvings, marble floors and a balcony complete with a day bed to lie on. I ran around the room several times like an over excited toddler before crashing out.

I woke up this morning to the sound of roosters and crickets and to find the view from my balcony is of rice terraces and palm trees. I had breakfastt watching a man tilling the rice fields.

<>After brekkie I wandered down to Ubud itself which was a bit of an assault course as there are offerings outside every doorway so I constantly had to watch my clumsy feet! Ubud is a nice little place though a bit on the touristy side and I was a bit suprised and dissapointed to find a Ralph Lauren shop here!

After doing my chores (money changing, 'here safe' emails etc) I stumbled across the Monkey Forest. Now, I don't know what I was expecting (probably a sad zoo type thing with 2 or 3 monkeys) but I thought I'd have a look and bought a bag of banans from a lady outside. Ubud Monkey Forest really does what it says on the tin. There are monkeys everywhere roaming around. About two steps into the forest a monkey wandered up towards me - I took a banana out of the bag and held it towards him. Now Mr Monkey looked at me as if to say 'don't be silly - dumbarse tourist', ignored my offered banana, climbed up my leg and grabbed the whole bag of bananas in my other hand and snatched them off me. He then jumped down - grabbing the other banana on his way and took off up a tree. The his mate came along - obviously unhappy about missing out on the banana bonanza and thought I might be hiding more bananas in my handbag (Thank God I wasn't!) and took hold of the bottom. As I had just been to the money changers I held on to the bag tight and on the off chance he'd undersatnd told him 'there's none in there'. Lucky for me, my budget and my camera he gave up. I spend a while after that watching the monkeys play (and attack almost every other dumbarse tourist who wandered in holding a bag of bananas) and got some great photos. I don't have my cable with me but will upload photos when I can.

I'm off back to the hotel now to meet the group who I'll be doing the retreat with so will write again in a few days once it's finished.

Keep in touch!

Jem