Monkey Business on Borneo

Filed in archive A World Away on July 31, 2007

While monkeys often seem charmingly person-like, they can be quite aggressive. This is the case in Indonesian city of Banjarmasin. Vendors at a place called Monkey Island (Pulau Kembang) sell nuts to tourists who, in turn, feed them to the long-tailed macaques that inhabit a decrepit temple on the island. Perhaps feeding the monkeys is the wrong way to describe this activity. The monkeys will do there best to yank the bag of treats right from people's hands. They will do the same to anything else that might appear edible (or even slightly interesting) to them. Some tourists find this assault fun. Others obviously do not.

Banjarmasin, itself, is a city of canals. Floating markets can be found on the city's waterways early in the morning. Though not quite as extensive or interesting as Bangkok's khlongs, Banjarmasin's canals are still worth a look.

Banjarmasin is on the southern tip of Borneo, and is considered the gateway to the island. It is best reached by plane from Jakarta or Surabaya.