The Monkey Loop

Joy here...When we first arrived in Kuala Lumpur, I resumed running around the 3km loop close to my cousins' house where we were staying, a loop where I have run before.  Usually there are monkeys who come out mid-afternoon to be fed by passing motorists, and while they can be annoying, there is something charming to this Canadian about having to run around monkeys.  I mean, c'mon, that's not really a hazard that I run into in Ottawa!

Tropical neighbourhood running route!

However, over time, these monkeys have become more and more of a pain in the butt.

Literally.

The other day, I was forcing myself out the door to run and knock off my run workout, when, lo and behold, what should appear?  But a whole posse of monkeys.  Like a gang of teenagers up to no good, oblivious to those around them, and oozing a kind of menace, these monkeys were lolling all over the road.  I ran by most of them, dodging here and there, but, you see, because people are in the habit of feeding these monkeys, they tend to see people as sources of food.  I, therefore, running by with my water bottle jiggling and sloshing, must have been to these monkeys like the siren call of an ice cream truck on a summer afternoon.  Who can resist that?

It turns out that the monkeys can't.

Don't mess with this fella!

As I was weaving my way through a particularly large crew of the fellas, one of them reached out with his arm for a swipe at me (or my water bottle strapped to my waist).  I did a little hop skip to avoid his sticky, clutching fingers, all too similar to some pervert groper's and carried on with my run, my heart in my throat and my adrenalin pumping through me in a burst.  By the time I reached the bottom of the hill, my planned 5km time trial was blown, my heart rate stilled, and my anxiety levels returning to normal.

But I guess I have to find another running loop to avoid the dreaded gauntlet of the monkey loop.

Over and out,
Joy