Monkey Servants

We landed in Christchurch today, and the first thing I did was book myself a hydro therapy massage at the Polynesian spa. Did I enjoy it? Not really. While someone is massaging you, a bunch of shower heads are spraying water all over your body. While it did feel somewhat relaxing, I was stressing the entire time about the amount of water they were wasting. Next time, I'm just going to stick with a plain jane swedish massage.

Before getting our massages, we got a chance to soak in their hot mineral baths. They had 4 lakeside pools, and the temperature range was 36 - 42 degrees Celsius. The baths get progressively hotter, and you choose which one you are most comfortable with. The beauty of travelling in the off season is that no one is around. We basically got these hot baths to ourselves, it was great.

After the spa, I decided to take a short nap. An hour later, I woke up to New Zealand news, and this monkey servant story was the first thing I saw. I thought it was pretty hilarious so I wanted to share it with you.

Sick of bad waiters, and tipping for their bad service? Head to Japan where your waiters are not necessarily human, but all you have to tip are boiled soya beans.

The Japanese sake house, Kayabukiya Tavern, has employed two Macaque monkeys to help serve their customers. The two monkeys, Yat-chan and Fuku-chan, hand out hot towels and serve drinks to customers.

The two monkeys were originally kept as household pets. However, the owner soon realized that Yat-chan and Fuku-chan could be useful as waiters when Yat-chan starting mimicking him. Out of curiosity one day, the owner handed Yat-chan a hot towel, and the monkey immediately brought it to the customer.

For the animal activists out there, Yat-chan and Fuku-chan are certified by local authorities to work at the tavern, and the pair of monkeys will work no longer than 2 hours a day due to Japanese animal rights regulation.

This video will give you a good idea of what these monkeys are capable of: