The Monkey Forest is in the very southwest area of Ubud.  There are a few sacred temples within the grounds, beautiful hilly landscape, a ceiling of trees wherever you walk, and monkeys... many, many monkeys. 

I, being from the Midwest, have not had much experience with monkeys outside of a few zoos.  I knew there were monkeys in the forest, but I certainly did not know quite what to expect.

When my two friends and I (all American) arrived at the entrance, we paid the entrance fees and walked past a few people selling bunches of bananas for the equivalent of one dollar each.  We did not buy any, thinking that it was kind of like feeding animals at the zoo or in a national park: it's just something one doesn't do.  So we passed the vendors and entered the forest.

At first all I could think of was how cool it was in there!  We had not yet experience many cool areas in Bali except for our big chartered bus.  The trees covered us in welcomed shadows, allowing us to look up to them and not be greeted by the glaring sun.  I looked and strained to see monkeys... and I saw none. 

My disappointment was soon gone.  As we walked further into the forest on the well-defined concrete paths, I began spotting them.  Just a few in the trees here and there, far away.  I began taking pictures.  We were lucky enough to be there during the season when most of the baby monkeys are born.  Tiny monkeys looked at us curiously, and then inched toward the mama monkeys for reassurance.  It was quiet and tender.

We encountered some more tourists.  These tourists had bought bananas from the vendors outside, and were becoming very popular with some of the monkeys.  As we approached them I put my camera away, remembering the stories I'd heard of monkeys snatching tourists' cameras and running away with their new treasures.  Right after I did this, a monkey came up to me and grabbed the water bottle out of my hand.  It was disappointed when the bottle's contents disappeared into the soil.

The monkeys were taking the bananas from the tourists, unpeeling them, eating them, and looking for more.  It was fun to watch.  As the group was breaking up, a woman noticed me watching and offered me her last banana.  "We're about to leave; would you like to feed them?"  I thanked her and turned around, seeing the new small friend I was about to make.  The little monkey was standing on a stone ledge where my friend Marc was sitting just a few feet away.  I held out the banana on the palm of my hand, and the tiny fingers encircled it.  The monkey took a few steps away and began unpeeling the banana.  As it was eating, it walked next to Marc, putting it's hand on his leg.  Soon the monkey had decided Marc was comfortable and hopped into his lap, happily eating the banana.

As I was watching this in amazement, I felt a tug on my skirt.  Thinking I had stepped on it, I stepped back and pulled at it; it pulled back.  Turning to see what had happened, I saw a much larger monkey holding onto my skirt!  I was startled, but figured it had seen me with a banana and wanted one for itself.  I had no more, so I ignored the monkey.  Julia, the other friend with me, was nervous about it, as she had heard of incidences in which they had bit.  I was not concerned at that point.

Soon I felt another tug.  I looked at the monkey, told it to "shoo", and tugged back.  It did not move, but tugged harder.  My skirt was slipping, so I tugged again.  The monkey hissed and tugged very hard.  Julia was looking for help at that point and I was becoming more than concerned.  I tried pulling my skirt back up and the monkey bared it's teeth at me, put the bottom of my skirt in it's mouth.  As my skirt began to tear, a man working at the forest ran toward the monkey, shooing it away.  The monkey ran off, chattering angrily, and my heart was still racing. 

We walked around the forest some more, and fed a few more monkeys.  We bought a bunch of bananas, but I let Marc do most of the feeding.  We left a while later, and I was still a little shaken.

I still have the skirt.  I figure I will wear it somewhere, and when someone says, "Hey, your skirt is ripped", I can answer, "Yeah, I know.  A monkey ate it."