Michelle Monaghan recounts visiting Indonesia to see Komodo dragons

American actress Michelle Monaghan has recounted her experience of returning to Indonesia on holiday to see Komodo dragons.

In an interview on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Michelle Monaghan explained that her decision to holiday in Indonesia again was influenced by a conversation with actor and producer Robert De Niro, who asked whether she had seen a Komodo dragon.

“Yes, we had just returned from Indonesia. Then he (Robert De Niro) said ‘oh, that’s great, did you see a Komodo dragon?’. I replied ‘what Komodo?’, and he said ‘a Komodo dragon’,” Monaghan said, as quoted from the @fallontonight Instagram account on Sunday (22/8).

After researching Komodo dragons on the internet, the Mission: Impossible III star eventually planned a return trip to Indonesia with her family to visit Komodo National Park.

“I immediately googled ‘Komodo’. I thought ‘wow, this is an incredible animal’. So we started planning this holiday. I told my family ‘we are going back to Indonesia and going to Komodo National Park. Because Bob De Niro suggested it’,” Monaghan said.

Monaghan and her family eventually holidayed in Indonesia, visiting Komodo National Park, and she shared the moment through photos posted on her personal social media.

When Jimmy Fallon asked about the social media post showing Monaghan on holiday in Indonesia meeting a Komodo dragon, she admitted she learned a great deal about the animal during the trip.

“I learned a lot about Komodo dragons. But the most important thing was getting that photo. As soon as I got back on the boat that took us there, I immediately thought ‘I’m going to send this photo to Bob’,” Monaghan said.

“As soon as I got on the boat and got Wi-Fi, I sent the photo to Bob. I said ‘Bob, this is incredible, I’m at Komodo National Park, just as you said’,” she added.