Quit monkeying around

The only sight-seeing we really wanted to do in Nepal was seeing the monkey temple in Kathmandu. It's called the monkey temple because there's a ton of monkey's there. Duh. 

Now, I'll openly admit we are not good "tourists", we don't really like sight seeing, for many reasons; first off, the sights usually aren't all that interesting. When it is interesting, there are ten billion people there, if it isn't there's still three million. An unfortunate side effect of cramming all these rich foreigners into one place is that it also attracts beggars. I try not to be heartless, I often give to them, which you are explicitly told not to do (giving them money only promotes the act making everything worse, or something). But they do make the whole experience a touch hard to enjoy. The last, and certainly the worst part about it is the "touts" or un-licensed tour guides. They often begin talking to you rather innocently, start throwing in random facts and tidbits, then at the end try to charge an exorbitant amount of money. You often get the same treatment from taxi/rickshaw drivers. We had a fairly unfortunate experience with a rickshaw driver when we visited the monkey temple. We had agreed to pay him 500R for a ride there, back, and maybe a little sight seeing along the way. This was supposed to take an hour. We had no idea of how long this should take, so the hour was thrown in by the driver. He seemed like a very nice guy, smiley and cheerful, and we were quite pleased with him. At the end of the trip, he told us we took three hours, and we would have to pay him 2700R. We refused, said we agreed on 500R, and eventually grabbed a police officer to translate/mediate. The officer didn't really seem to care and sort of just walked away. After a few minutes a small crowd had gathered around us and finally I handed him 550R and said "take this, or nothing", he took it and we got out of the crowd. It's unfortunate but true that ninety percent of the time, someone is trying to rip you off. It makes sight seeing a heck of a lot less fun.

Despite all that, we still had a good time at the monkey temple, there were really monkeys everywhere, including some swimming in a pool, which was very cute. Enjoy the photos.

Grooming.

Just a guy playin' his guitar.

Uhh... yeah...

Its a full time job.

Hiding in the shade.

This guy got himself an apple.

Monkeys in the trees.

Drying out.

Climbing out after a couple laps.

Monkeys dog paddle...or monkey paddle.

Big eyes.

The temple portion.

The view down then hill towards the city.

We love monkeys!

Couch Surfing Mumbai

We arrived in Mumbai at the ungodly hour of three am, luckily we had arranged a place to stay with a gracious host via couchsurfing.With a little bit of confusion, and a lot of stopping to ask for directions we found Ankush and his waving arms at  four thirty in the morning. Big hugs like we had been friends forever, but of course this was the first time we'd met. We stayed four nights in Mumbai, and spent our days experiencing it in every which way, taking in chai, Indian food, constant traffic jams, and smells that ranged across the entire good to bad spectrum. The best part was of course our hosts. Not only were they fun to hang out with, but they helped us catch trains and buses, told us where to go, and what to do. We also got to experience the true Mumbai driving experience by risking our lives multiple times getting into Ankush's car, who drives way crazier than even the auto-rickshaw drivers, who notoriously drive the craziest. Think fast and the furious, but real. India has the highest number of road accidents in the world, causing a death every 4.5 minutes. It's hard to put words to a city with almost fourteen million people living in it. Life is cheap in this city. The distribution of wealth is very divided, there are a lot of very wealthy people,  and there is a lot of very poor. The sight of a Rolls-Royce dealership with homeless people living in the street in front of it is an image I have burned into my brain. As Ankush put it, India isn't a good experience, it isn't a bad experience, its just an experience. 

Never before have I eaten good tasting airplane food.

Naan, saffron rice, curried veg, salad, desert, and a bun. Delicious, and vegetarian to boot!

Ankush showing us how the metro train system works, we would have been lost on our own.

Sunset over the Indian Sea.

Saurab and our host Ankush on our first day in India.

Glasses switch! Luc wearing Ankush's glasses.

Big smile! 

Christian church in Bandra.

Delicious orange despite its weird appearance, the fruit separates from the skin.

Playing "Carrom" a very frustrating yet fun board game.

Hukka bubbles.

On these streets, only the cows have the right of way.

The gateway of India at Mumbai harbor.

Cows are everywhere.

While at Elephanta island, lots of Indian men wanted their pictures taken with Luc, on account of his mustache.
 ( Baghat Singh)

Crafty monkey knocks over a garbage can in search of a refreshing drink.

A monkey drinks the fruits of his labor. Sort of sad despite its cuteness...

Birthday chai, we have made an effort to have at least one, or two, or three a day. The street vendors serve up the best cup.

Ginger feeding the holy cows, touching their head, then her chest to bless herself. Very Indian experience. 

Before dissection...

Vegetables, yum.

Preparing dinner, pasta sauce in the works.

Birthday dinner party! The wine is in the coffee cup, keep it classy kids.

Crazy packed subway, ginger being the only female, baring her shoulders, got lots of stares.

We're constantly taking tips, how to make food look good. The street vendors here have it down.

New specs! One of two pairs, the other is smaller... and wire.

Bumper to bumper traffic.

Pedestrian traffic jam.

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We love and miss you all, we hope you're having as much fun as we are. Check back soon for more India madness. xoxo!