Monkey Forest, Orchid Garden and Bali Bird Park

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Our guide, Apel, took us to a local market with no tourists. People asked Apel in Indonesian where we were from and if we were rich. They thought I was a movie star. Unlike the tourist markets, no one really spoke to us because they didn’t speak English. The hallways were narrow and there was a lot of clutter like other markets I’ve been in but the one difference was the water flowing below in cement streams. This seemed to keep it cool inside all the tarps. My mom and dad tried mangosteens for the first time. They share my obsession now. I had snake skin fruit for the first time which was also yummy. At a certain point Aple told us to stop and turn around. He said we were approaching the part of the market that stinks. I assume that’s where they have the meat.

Ubud Monkey Forest is right in the heart of Ubud. We stopped for a quick trek through the jungle full of Banyon trees and streams. It gave made dad ample opportunities to crack jokes about going bananas. If you buy bananas you better have a plan because the monkeys will jump on your shoulders and they won’t get down until you hand over the goods. The monkey forest is part of a Balinese Hindu temple but the area for tourists is more like a zoo. Well worth it if you like monkeys. We saw lots of babies holding on under their mothers and entire families grooming each others fur.

We opted to pay the 23 us dollars for the Bali Bird Park and we were not disappointed. I took so many pictures. The park has aviaries inside which is a lot less depressing than cages, although there are some cages. We saw some crazy looking birds and a Komodo Dragon, the only remaining pre-historic creature on earth. Bonus.

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