Monkey Island
Deciding to do something more constructive than drinking, we hired some motorbikes to explore the area around Nha Trang.
Setting off in good spirits, we were told to go to Monkey Island, an island where they used to breed monkeys that were exported to Russia. With the break up of the USSR though, the monkey export market dried up and now the island is full of monkeys that noone wants and has become a tourist attraction.
We drove for miles and were sure we were lost several times, but then my monkey acting skills were a bit of a hit with the locals, so we made it to the ferry port eventually. We got on this fishermans boat and we were the only people on the boat. We could see Monkey Island on the horizon through the gloom and rainclouds. At that point, I began to hear the Psycho theme tune in my head. That place looked creepy.
As soon as we landed on the island, it began to rain and we fled through some strange gates that led us to a path that ended with caged ostriches. Out of the mist, we could see a man, so we tried to get his attention and he pointed us in some direction. We followed it, when we made it to a little enclosed area where there were some Korean tourists sitting around watching a monkey show. It was the strangest thing. The monkeys were doing tricks like riding a bike and balancing on chairs. They didn't really enjoy it. We didn't really enjoy the show. It was kind of a case of mutual non-enjoyment. We left and walked around some more, when we realised we were being followed by some wild monkeys. They were staring at us and following us and the deeper we went into the island, the more monkeys there were and they were all looking at us and talking to each other. I have never heard monkeys 'talking' like this. They were going 'hooo hoooo hooo' really high pitched and it sounded more like wolves howling or something.
Then they all came rushing down from the trees and there were seriously hundreds upon hundreds of monkeys crowding around us shouting and wanting food. One of the monkeys then reached up and grabbed my hand and then ran away - I almost freaked out! It was so scary and eerie. Then some man began feeding them by throwing handfuls of corn at them out of a bucket and they went mental. They were coming from everywhere by the dozen and the ground was swarming with monkeys, making it look alive with swarming bodies. I was thinking 'Outbreak' rather than 'Jungle Book' at that point and got away sharpish. So freaky!
We made it back to the boat and then returned to Nha Trang - what an outing...
On the way back, we got a taste of Nha Trang's rush hour and the traffic was mental but the boys did really well with the driving!
Setting off in good spirits, we were told to go to Monkey Island, an island where they used to breed monkeys that were exported to Russia. With the break up of the USSR though, the monkey export market dried up and now the island is full of monkeys that noone wants and has become a tourist attraction.
We drove for miles and were sure we were lost several times, but then my monkey acting skills were a bit of a hit with the locals, so we made it to the ferry port eventually. We got on this fishermans boat and we were the only people on the boat. We could see Monkey Island on the horizon through the gloom and rainclouds. At that point, I began to hear the Psycho theme tune in my head. That place looked creepy.
As soon as we landed on the island, it began to rain and we fled through some strange gates that led us to a path that ended with caged ostriches. Out of the mist, we could see a man, so we tried to get his attention and he pointed us in some direction. We followed it, when we made it to a little enclosed area where there were some Korean tourists sitting around watching a monkey show. It was the strangest thing. The monkeys were doing tricks like riding a bike and balancing on chairs. They didn't really enjoy it. We didn't really enjoy the show. It was kind of a case of mutual non-enjoyment. We left and walked around some more, when we realised we were being followed by some wild monkeys. They were staring at us and following us and the deeper we went into the island, the more monkeys there were and they were all looking at us and talking to each other. I have never heard monkeys 'talking' like this. They were going 'hooo hoooo hooo' really high pitched and it sounded more like wolves howling or something.
Then they all came rushing down from the trees and there were seriously hundreds upon hundreds of monkeys crowding around us shouting and wanting food. One of the monkeys then reached up and grabbed my hand and then ran away - I almost freaked out! It was so scary and eerie. Then some man began feeding them by throwing handfuls of corn at them out of a bucket and they went mental. They were coming from everywhere by the dozen and the ground was swarming with monkeys, making it look alive with swarming bodies. I was thinking 'Outbreak' rather than 'Jungle Book' at that point and got away sharpish. So freaky!
We made it back to the boat and then returned to Nha Trang - what an outing...
On the way back, we got a taste of Nha Trang's rush hour and the traffic was mental but the boys did really well with the driving!
posted by Phil and Tanja @ 6:42 AM
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