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Published: February 28th 2013
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I'm not a big fan of monkeys, but since everyone I talked to said I should go, I decided to check out the monkey forest. One guy at my hostel warned me to not take any water with me because the monkeys will want to steal it, and then went on to tell me about what happened when he visited a few weeks ago. While I thought perhaps he was exaggerating a bit, I did leave my empty bottle in a trash bin.
I bought my ticket and saw a woman selling bananas by the gate. I refused, feeling smart and safe since I know the monkeys would probably chase me for the bananas. Three steps into the park, I was suddenly flat on my bottom, blood gushing from my leg. It took me a moment to realize what happened and for the pain to hit. A few people gathered around, genuinely concerned and offering me some help. I replied that I was fine and had just slipped on a banana peel. (See, it doesn't just happen in cartoons!) The blood on my knee was from an old wound I got when I tripped a week earlier. A man by
the gate suggested I go to the ticket office to see if they could provide me with some first aid.
I hobbled and limped up to the office, people looking at me, horrified. Had the monkeys had attacked me... no the banana peel did. In the ticket office, a few very concerned, handsome Balinese men put me in a chair and knelt down to tend to my knee and foot. If one has to get hurt, this is the place to do it!
At a less speedy pace, I set out to conquer the forest again. I was extra careful where I fell, though I noticed that they were now sweeping up the discarded peels.
The forest really is quite spectacular, almost like being in another world. Trees tower overhead, light filtering through the tops, sprinkling us with a cool glow in the warm afternoon. Streams rush below, seen only after descending mossy steps. Lots of nooks and crannies to explore. The only thing I didn't like was that each of the three temples was a dead-end, so you couldn't just keep moving--backtracking was required. I saw most of the forest and a few aggresive monkeys (and
one water bottle incident), and then left at 4 when the afternoon rains started to fall.
Back at the homestay, Papa took one look at me and immediately offered medicine. Next thing I knew, I was sitting in the common area and he had taken a very sharp knife to a very large banana tree leaf and was scraping and slathering it onto my wounds. After it dried and I showered, he put more on. It looks very out of place, black and sticky, but it really does seem to be working. (Irony?)
While I was resting my leg later that night, mama came by my room and said, "I have fresh avocado, you want juice?" I smiled and said yes. She came back a few minutes later. "When you stay here, you family." You just can't get love and care like Mama and Papa's if you stay in a hotel.
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Ali
Ali Watters
The last time I was there...
I saw a woman with a horribly bitten hand. Monkeys are not cute. Hope the banana leaf medicine works out for you!