Monkey Brain

Written by Kyle about Myanmar. Feelin' amused

Normally, I'm not a fan of monkeys. While they look cute, they're usually clever little bastards and like to create havoc wherever they can. But, there is something about them that makes them captivating. They're cute an animal-like, yet they still look enough like humans that we tend to assign human qualities to them.

At Mt. Popa (a couple of hours away from Bagan), there are no shortage of these cute little critters roaming around. In fact, as soon as our taxi stopped, a monkey started climbing through the window and grabbed the steering wheel. Presumably, he was going to try out his own version of Grand Theft Auto. Here's our first shot of the place:

Seeing as we're not used to being places with free-roaming monkeys, we spent a good deal of time taking photos of the little guys. And while I know that they are animals and we shouldn't assign human qualities to them, it's just too hard not to (and it's super fun). So, here are some monkeys we met along the way, as well as what I believe is actually going on in the mind of the monkeys.

"You have the hiccups. I remember once when I....BOO! Did that fix them. No? Damn."

Mount Popa near Bagan, Myanmar

"Finally a quiet moment when I'm not picking tics out of someone's hair and I can just be with my kid."

Mount Popa near Bagan, Myanmar

"I am king of this...ummm...concrete thing."

Mount Popa near Bagan, Myanmar

"Get any closer and I'll mace you until your eyes fall out."

Mount Popa near Bagan, Myanmar

"Hey, Mr. Photographer. Here's what you look like to me."

Mount Popa near Bagan, Myanmar

"Hey, look at me. Hey! I'm going to jump down. Watch me! Seriously, it's going to be awesome! Hello!"

Mount Popa near Bagan, Myanmar

"These adult parties are sooooo boring."

« Friendship Prevails in Touristy Bagan

How we got those shots »

November 16, 2011 mumsie: I never knew how expressive their little faces are! Thanks for making me smile! (Well . . . okay . . . there were alot of audible giggles, too. heh-heh!)

November 16, 2011 Brian: Great photos!

How can you not like "cute clever little bastards that create havoc wherever they go?" They're like two-year olds only way better.

And I think these little guys have more human qualities than we give them credit for. I recall reading a paper where researchers were trying to figure out if monkeys could understand the concept of money . . . using "A" as a medium to buy "B". They intended for the monkeys to use the money to buy fruit from one another. They did for a while, but it wasn't long before the male monkeys figured out they could use the money to buy sex.

Clever little bastards indeed. ;-)

November 16, 2011 Kyle: That is the funniest story that I've heard in a long time. I wonder how long it took for monkeys to become pimps...

November 20, 2011 Mica: Your captions to the pictures are hilarious! Such cute monkeys!

November 22, 2011 Erica: After playing with the monkeys in Costa Rica I'm convinced they do have quite a few of the same thoughts we do. :P I think you're spot on for a few. ;)