My New Sunblock

-
my new sunblockInterview with the Uluwatu Monkey:

Me: What do you think of the sun set in this place.

Monkey: the sun set is always beautiful to see. But don't expect to see it everyday. Mind you, though it beautiful just as people think, we don't really care about it. We just care about food. We like fruits, peanut, sweet potato, cucumber, mineral water, coke and anything tourist bring here.

Me: Okay, sounds interesting. So, basically, you are here for the food?

Monkey: Of course. We have a lot of food supply as long as tourist coming.

Me: Pardon me, is that a sunblock in your hand?


Monkey: Yes, it is.

Me: That's for blocking the sun shine to get into you eyes, I presume.

Monkey: Of course not, you idiot. Pardon my language because we used to use harsh language with other fellow monkeys. That shows our intimacy. Anyway, this sun block I got from snatching a tourist who came here just now. You see, this is how we get our delicious food. We steal people property, but we don't intend to keep theirs. We just hold it until they come to us again and bring us food. Then we barter the food with their properties.

Me: Oh, I see. Where do people get food for you?

Monkey: Well, there are many vendors selling our food lurking in the temple yard. Just buy from them, bring it to us, and maybe if it is not too late you can get your properties back.

Me: What do you mean "it's not too late"?

Monkey: We are not very patience. Just like you, people, we want every thing fast. So, we may break your glasses or sun block, or maybe drop it down from the cliff, because we are a bit careless.

Me: I see. Do you always get food with this method?

Monkey: well, yes. Even their tour guides tell them to be careful with their belongings, please be careul with monkeys, hold your possession, your camera, cell phone, credit card, blah..blah.. blah.. but people still are careless. So, this is why we always succeeded in getting food. Besides, people also bring food such us that we can snatch directly without the need for bargaining. We snatch biscuits, coke, or mineral water.

Me: Thank you for this conversation.

This post is cross posted at my other blog.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Swastika symbol in Bali?

-
Swastika sign can be seen in Bali, especially in Balinese Hindu temple. I must say almost all the Hindu Balinese are familiar to this symbol. Besides temple, one can also see it in houses, or community building. Even the 'Swastika' word is used as a person name, for example, Ketut Swastika. But why and what does Swastika mean? It simply means balance in relationship. The Balinese Hindu see the life is ideal when they live a balanced life indicated by three good relationship. The first is good relationship between human and the Almighty God. All the festivals, offering in temples, praying activity that you witness in Bali are examples that the Balinese really long for a great relationship with Sang Hyang Widhi Wasa, The Almighty God. Next, the harmonious relationship among the human race. The Balinese values good relationship between themselves. Many activities in villages in Bali involve community of villagers . When one family in a certain village hold a ceremony such as cr...
Read more

Is Cow a Sacred Animal in Bali?

-
The answer you get of this question may vary if you ask different people. The priest may say, yes it is. But many Balinese, although they are Hindu, consume beef. And people in Bali breed cows for meat. You will not see cow wander in the streets, because they are just cattle. Some people don't eat beef because they think they should not eat beef because they think it is a sacred animal. They say they will have a headache if they do so. Well, may be because of the cholesterol or some thing like that. And another thing, we don't consume cow milk or any other milk in the past. We just recently do this, because it is been advertised a lot in the media, that milk is healthy for our body. But many of the older generations, many of our parents or grand parents don't fancy milk. They don't drink milk, they'd rather drink coffee than drinking milk. I can understand that, because milk taste awful sometimes. Oh, did I mention that our cow doesn't produce any milk? Their mi...
Read more

Why Can't A Woman in Period Enter A Temple?

-
Image
"Sorry, I can't go to the temple this full moon. I have my period," that's what Made, a friend of mine, once said to me when we talked about going to a temple. In Bali, women talk openly about their menstruation especially when it is related to temple activities. There is nothing embarrassing about that. But instead of saying in period, they merely say that they have their "monthly guest" coming. When you visit a temple in Bali, you must not be in your period when entering temple complex. Why is that? People, especially the lady tourists, ask with inquisitive and accusing look at me that we don't treat our Balinese women fairly. Okay, let me tell you, that is not the case. There some reasons why people are not allowed to enter the temple, this is called cuntaka (pronounced chun ta ka). If there is a mourning because of there is a death in one family, they can not go to the temple. Because it will cause the temple "leteh" or dirty. The woman wh...
Read more