After having lunch with Ladiina and my friend Hawa, we went by a house where an old woman kept 2 monkeys on a leash outside.

I love monkeys, and it makes me sad to see people keeping them on a leash.

We were invited to come inside, and I became (as often) the attraction of the village.

This one was: “The bald white dude who got accepted by the black monkeys.”

In the picture above is Reva, a young female who seemed to think we were from the same family, probably because of my hairy legs.

Ladiina, as always when a monkey is around, was super annoyed, and she didn’t seem to appreciate the way the male monkey, Boy, was trying to “court her”.

The first thing that came to my mind was that I needed to bring them to the island, so they can freely roam around, in a safe environment.

No other monkeys there,
no predators.

And above all, no leash..

The old woman told me she was about to give one of them (Reva) away to someone else who paid for her, but wanted to keep the other (Boy).

I just stayed there, and after 2 hours of “cerita-cerita” (talking / telling personal stories), she became my best friend.

Turns out that we gave a job to some of her family members on the island.

And she likes that we are doing our best to help locals there, working on shared interests instead of ourselves only.

After meeting with her family, eating a homemade durian ice cream, and sharing stories in Bahasa.

She told be she would be happy if I could take both of the monkeys to the island for them to have a better life.

We also happened to have shared interests in doing business together in the future.

I still don’t know what to do with those monkeys.

They are adorable, already socialized with human beings, vaccinated and definitely deserve better than staying on a leash all day long.

But I know how important are those “random days” when you just go from house to house, following people inviting you, and connecting with locals.

Indonesia is a community-based country, and being the only white guy around means that people can’t possibly forget you.

This, speaking the language, and being a genuine human being (or at least trying to), are 3 very strong advantages, when it comes to connecting with people.

Especially in a country like Indonesia, where the people you know can make your life considerably easier, especially if you always do your best to help them first.