I guess it shouldn’t be that surprising, but there are monkeys everywhere in India. We’ve spotted a few in the wild, but most have been hanging around rooftops and historic forts. When Dave or I would spot monkeys on our safari in Corbett Reserve, all the locals just shrugged as if to say, “just a monkey”. I suppose monkeys here are like stray cats at home – which of course we also love. We didn’t care to take a picture of the largest wheeled cannon in the world (a $1 camera fee applied), but we took a half dozen or more pictures of monkeys loitering around the fort. If they don’t already, the Indians must think we are pretty strange. But monkeys are great fun. It’s really fascinating to watch them interact, play, fight, pick each other’s fleas and even scratch their dirty monkey bums. Of course, we haven’t had the experience of having food snatched from our hand or worse, being bitten. As our Kiwi friends would say, monkeys are quite cheeky! They are quite the headache for some locals. Check out this video of monkeys helping themselves to the local fruit stand. We caught a little video of our own at the Monkey Temple at Galta just outside of Jaipur. Despite not being loved by all, many Hindus do worship Hanuman – a monkey deity renowned for his power, courage and faithful service. (video forthcoming)
