30 Jan 2023
It is difficult not to give this tour 5 stars, as it was truly one of the best experiences of my life. Monkeys have been my favorite animal since I was a child and I jumped at the chance to go on a tour of "Monkey City," despite the friends I was traveling with telling me I was crazy due to the risk factor and leaving me to go on my own. I did not think anything of their warnings as I assumed if there is a guided tour that there would be nothing to worry about; however, after researching more when I got home, interacting with Macaques is incredibly dangerous due to the majority of them carrying Herpes B virus (and sometimes rabies), and visitors are advised to steer clear- meaning DO NOT FEED THEM. My tour guide let me know that feeding the monkeys was part of the tour and he purchased plenty of food for us to feed them. I could not have been happier in the moment to have the monkeys jumping all over me as I fed them, but I now realize just how dangerous this was and how lucky I was that I did not get bitten. I did, however, notice after looking at my photos that one monkey had it's mouth around my water bottle that I later drank from and of course that sent me into a spiral thinking I now have rabies and herpes B and went to seek expensive treatment just in case. Moral of the story, this tour is absolutely amazing, but please take precautions prior and during- get a rabies shot before and DO NOT FEED THE MONKEYS. The tour organizer should also make participants aware of these risks.