Bali - Read the Sign!

I will long remember today. We cruise to our berth at Benoa before breakfast. After docking, the formalities with the authorities are quickly completed, and we begin our three day stay in Bali. 

Bali is like Texas. A native identifies himself as Balinese first, Indonesian second. While over 90% of Indonesians are Muslim, Bali is predominantly Hindu. 

Navigating our way through the cruise terminal is a challenge. It is hard to go past the many stalls without being made an offer you can’t refuse. Eve finds a couple of items she likes and haggles her way through several mutually satisfying transactions. 

We leave the terminal to explore our surroundings. We are in a well landscaped industrial area. Beyond the green spaces, not much to see. 

Returning to the ship, we prepare ourselves for our afternoon bus excursion to Uluwatu, a 16th century Hindu temple on a rocky overlook on the coast. 

Uluwatu is a popular tourist attraction.  On our arrival our guide cautions us that the monkeys roaming freely in the park are very quick, and will grab anything shiny from you, such as jewelry, eyeglasses, or cell phones. Eve leaves her earrings in the bus. I clench my phone, and pull my hat down to cover my ears and glasses. And off we go. 

We encounter monkeys immediately. They are not afraid of us. We snap photos and shoot videos like wild. Almost immediately, one in our group has her eyeglasses snatched. A local in the park is able to trade the monkey some nuts for the glasses. Stories are making the rounds of tourists who are not so lucky. Eve and I grip our things tighter. 

We continue to the cliff’s edge, and are rewarded with wonderful views. Where there are trees, there are monkeys. 

I witness this little fellow grabbing the water bottle from a young woman, unscrewing the cap, and taking a couple of gulps. Clever. 

The temple itself is made up of several structures, none of them imposing. We start our return to the bus. The monkeys are watching. 

I hear a scream and shouting. Scanning the crowd, with my hands at my sides, I look for the source of the shouting. Then suddenly I feel my phone slip out of my hand. Turning quickly, I watch, stunned, as a monkey disappears with my phone into the trees. 

I start trying to calculate what content I have lost. A little girl, with her sharp eyes, finds my phone’s plastic hull in the bushes near the walkway. Eve concentrates on finding someone who might help get the phone back. 

She finds someone. He sets off into the bushes, looking for the monkey and the phone. Within a minute (seems like an eternity) he reaches down and picks up my phone, which the monkey apparently has lost interest in. 

I thank him profusely and give him a big tip. 

The phone and my glasses now get buried deep in my pockets for the rest of the walk to the bus. 

We are back at the cruise terminal by dusk. There are no monkeys lurking around here, as far as I can see. But you never know.