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.
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!
It all started with a walk ... step by step ...
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.
“Yes, I've got them! Why are you starring?"
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!
"Hope it works!
"WOW! Are you for real?!"
"Yes, I've got them and they are all mine! So, what's your problem?! Stop staring!"
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!
"Hmmm, what do I do??! Ok, I've got an idea..."
The Monkey Thief 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! :-)
"Let's play!"
"This should do the trick!"
"A bit of passion never hurt anyone!"
And she tried, and she tried, hoping to see a sign of good will form the crowd, but nothing happened.
"Hmmm... Something is not right! Does this really work?!"
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!
"No way! Not a chance! Told you, they are mine now!"
"Ok, obviously I need to take some distance..."
And our monkey graciously moved with delicate steps a little bit further.
"Why are they so puzzled?! No applause?! No “encore”?! Didn't they like my song?"
"Well, that's too bad! It's mine now!"
Meanwhile, not very far from the crowd, two more relaxed and wiser monkeys...
"Oh, no! Not again, darling! Aren't you tired of this game?!"
"The little one is hopeless! I failed again! What did I do so wrong?! I tried so hard to teach her to steal the real goodies, some bananas, some papaya, or at least some corn, but nothing. She still gets the wrong stuff!"
Author: Ana Maria Bogdan
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