One of the very first things we did in Ubud was visiting the Monkey Forest nature reserve. It's actually interesting how there are some places that one just 'must' visit while in Bali, and this was one of them. Conveniently located just at the end of the main street (Jalan Raya), it was a fun place to start discovering this magical town that lies in the middle of lush jungles and rice paddy slopes and is also recognised as one of Bali's cultural hubs. 

And while this forest, like the name suggests, is full of monkeys, not all of the 350 are nice ones. A word of advice: They do jump at every opportunity to snatch something out of your hands and pockets, or maybe they even grab the hat or sunnies you're wearing! Like I said, not nice. We had heard some stories prior to coming here and knew to take all precaution possible by hiding removable things that potentially could end up in wrong hands. Seriously, in the blink of an eye they could already be tossing away your phone or snapping pictures with your camera if you didn't pay attention to your surroundings...they're way more skilled than you'd think. 

After a scenic 4-hour bus ride we arrived in Luang Namtha. The town is located next to the Nam Ha National Protected Area where one can undertake many sorts of activities. We decided to go on a 1-day kayak trip, which turned out to be a fun day out! Here's some GoPro footage from the river...