The picturesque Pulau Beras Basah exuded an aura of peacefulness that many beach-goers look out for but once you step onto the island; it will be a different story as you have to be particularly mindful of your belongings!
Reason: the colony of resident monkeys that wasn't afraid of humans although their standard had yet to reach that of their thieving cousins at Bali's Uluwatu Temple.
As i didn't venture into the water and there's about an hour to spend on White Rice Island; i spent much of my time taking photos of the wary primates. To them, i guess we are intruders to their kingdom even though we bring food / drinks they can't find in the nature.
There are obviously the internal fights, especially when a precious commodity (banana etc) was imported. As with most animal strifes, winner goes to the most courageous fighter! We humans should just stay far away; in case we are caught in the middle.
Be particularly mindful with those carrying the cute, young ones; the mothers can be protective and the last thing you want is a bite that would require emergency evacuation to Langkawi.
More monkey photos; as mentioned previously, i had plenty of time!
A signpost is only useful if we understand what it says and for the above; i could only guess it means no feeding or risk a fine of RM 2,000! Turned out i was wrong about the feeding as it just means no littering.
From what i see, humans willingly passed their food to the monkeys. Other than that, the monkeys were guilty of rummaging through the rubbish bins and snatching food from the visitors. Since they have no concept on penalty and litter; it would be hard to collect any fine from them!
No matter what, i only have one piece of advice; stay away from the monkeys; they reside on the island and are not tame even if they appear to beg you for food and drinks. Take pictures but don't touch them and don't pass them any food / drinks.
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Location
Pulau Beras Basah (White Rice Island),
Langkawi, Malaysia
