One of those minor deviations from schedule happened one afternoon when we visited a temple along the southern coast of Bali. We were minding our own business, enjoying the scenery and fresh salty air. Of course, there were monkeys everywhere. I was worried about disease spread. EBOLA! YELLOW FEVER! MONKEYPOX, FOR GOODNESS SAKES! (Thanks PHLT156 Infectious Disease) I told my Mom and Laura over and over about we could not touch ANY monkeys. I was worried, but I figured if we didn't bother them, the wouldn't bother us.
There's where I went wrong. I was standing a few feet away from my mom who was sitting on a bench. I noticed a monkey sauntering towards us and observed him with mild curiosity. The next few seconds happened in a blur. He jumped up behind my mom, reached around her face and grabbed her glasses. Before I could even believe what was happening, he was galloping away, glasses secured firmly in his mouth. My mostly blind mother immediately freaked out.
I threw all caution to the wind and started running after that monkey. My mind was racing a mile a minute: monkey diseases! that little shit! I HAVE TO GET THOSE GLASSES!! I quickly came to terms that I when I caught up with that monkey, I would have to wrestle him down and pry the damn glasses from his fierce grip. Misson accepted. (true daughterly love at its best). But right as I was entering the jungle, about to real-life Lara Croft that monkey, a man started yelling in Balinese and threw a bag of crackers at my monkey. The monkey smirked, dropped the glasses and ran away with his ransom. I quickly ran, grabbed my mom's chewed up glasses and hugged the sweet man that saved my mother and our entire trip.
It took a solid twenty minutes for the three of us to relax, recover and realize that shit could have really hit the fan if we hadn't gotten those glasses back. Only two days into our two-week trip and my mom would be forced to wear her only backup option: prescription snorkeling goggles. The thought of Marie Kingsbury walking around town, wandering the markets, and chowing down on nasi goreng all while wearing her goggles was enough to cheer us all up.
Disclaimer: monkeys photographed below were not the glasses disaster culprit.
There's where I went wrong. I was standing a few feet away from my mom who was sitting on a bench. I noticed a monkey sauntering towards us and observed him with mild curiosity. The next few seconds happened in a blur. He jumped up behind my mom, reached around her face and grabbed her glasses. Before I could even believe what was happening, he was galloping away, glasses secured firmly in his mouth. My mostly blind mother immediately freaked out.
I threw all caution to the wind and started running after that monkey. My mind was racing a mile a minute: monkey diseases! that little shit! I HAVE TO GET THOSE GLASSES!! I quickly came to terms that I when I caught up with that monkey, I would have to wrestle him down and pry the damn glasses from his fierce grip. Misson accepted. (true daughterly love at its best). But right as I was entering the jungle, about to real-life Lara Croft that monkey, a man started yelling in Balinese and threw a bag of crackers at my monkey. The monkey smirked, dropped the glasses and ran away with his ransom. I quickly ran, grabbed my mom's chewed up glasses and hugged the sweet man that saved my mother and our entire trip.
It took a solid twenty minutes for the three of us to relax, recover and realize that shit could have really hit the fan if we hadn't gotten those glasses back. Only two days into our two-week trip and my mom would be forced to wear her only backup option: prescription snorkeling goggles. The thought of Marie Kingsbury walking around town, wandering the markets, and chowing down on nasi goreng all while wearing her goggles was enough to cheer us all up.
Disclaimer: monkeys photographed below were not the glasses disaster culprit.
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