Visiting Uluwatu Temple in Bali is a must. Uluwatu Temple, or Pura Luhur Uluwatu, one of the six key temples believed to be Bali’s spiritual pillars, is renowned for its magnificent location, perched on top of a steep cliff approximately 70 meters above sea level.
As I was hoping to enjoy that splendid sunset coming down over the temple and the Indian Ocean, a monkey caught my attention. That is when I discovered that I was dealing with a monkey thief… playing harmonica.
Meeting the monkey thief
I was told to be mindful of the monkeys as they can take you by surprise with their ability to steal anything shiny or colorful, and yet, I kind of said to myself “Oh, yes, sure!”. Until the unexpected happened!
As I was walking on the serpentine pathway fortified by concrete walls on the cliff side, looking to find a good spot to take some pictures, I saw the small forest nearby where hundreds of monkeys dwell. I was just about to sit down when suddenly a monkey jumped high from a tree branch and in the blink of an eye got what it wanted all along… a pair of shiny Burgundy glasses from a Japanese tourist. It happened so fast, I didn’t have time to capture it on camera. And a few seconds later, as if nothing had happened, our monkey sat down and took a closer look at the capture.
The first cautious and delicate bite was followed by a second stronger bite. At first she didn’t seem to care about the crowd of people starring at her. Yet, only a few seconds later, her face said something else!
But the crowd kept staring at the monkey thief, while the Japanese lady desperately tried to get back her glasses back. Decisions had to be made!
Playing Harmonica
From that moment, all that happened was very much like a totally surprising scenario from a TV series where the villain, in our case the monkey thief, has a sudden change of personality. Shortly after, our monkey thief turned into a musician! A musician playing the harmonica! 🙂
And she tried, and she tried, hoping to see a sign of good will form the crowd, but nothing happened.
But, instead she saw the Japanese lady taking a few steps towards her, clearly determined to try to take back what was rightfully hers. And the musician turned again into the thief!
And our monkey graciously moved with delicate steps a little bit further.
Meanwhile, not very far from the crowd, two more relaxed and wiser monkeys… One seemed just simply tired at the entire scene happening in front of her yeas. By contrast, the second monkey looked both puzzled and frustrated.
Note: Article also published on Pets of Champions.
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