SUNDAY (March 31)

My first full day in Bali started out with a modest attempt at surfing. At only $2.50 an hour to rent a board, I just couldn’t pass it up. However, while I can now say that I have been on a surfboard, I have yet to actually stand up on one. After a morning of surfing and swimming in the pool, we set out for a quick lunch before paying a visit to the Tanah Lot temple, which is apparently famous for its beautiful seaside sunsets.

For lunch, we asked our driver to bring us to a restaurant that served food typical of the area. We were given one menu between six people, and asked a few times if we could each have a menu before realising that there was only one item on it. The meal was delicious, consisting of a few different meats (one of which was very spicy), rice and veggies.

Getting to Tanah Lot involved first walking through the entrance pictured above, and then through a market. Despite constantly being asked to buy this or that, I actually enjoyed walking through the market as it was filled with more than a few interesting objects and several vibrant colours.

I really enjoyed walking around and looking out into the ocean. As a bonus, I found a little crab sitting on some rocks.

The temple itself was very interesting, and these photos certainly do not do it any justice. My only complaint was that the clouds hid the sunset that it is so famous for.

MONDAY (April 1)

This was the first extremely jam-packed day, and also the day that I had been most excited about, because I knew I would be riding an elephant.

Because the elephants were very popular when we arrived, we were first given a quick tour of a chocolate factory. We were also given samples of white, milk and dark chocolate.

The elephants were very impressive and well-trained. Part of their performance involved playing a harmonica with their trunks.

The actual elephant riding was quite the experience. It took a while to get used to the swaying, and I never quite got used to working my camera with all that motion. I can no longer remember whether it was going up or down hills that frightened me, but one of the two had me feeling like I was going to fall out of my seat.

After the elephant ride, we were given the opportunity to pose with the elephants.

While from what I saw of the way the elephants were treated, I can’t say that I would be keen on riding them again. It was, however, an interesting and worthwhile experience.

We made a surprise last-stop for the day at a monkey forest. I was fairly cautious the whole time that I was there, as I had been warned that the monkeys tend to walk away with more than their fair share of sunglasses and hats. Lucky for me, I had nothing stolen, even though at one point I had three monkeys climbing all over me.

Weekly Photo challenge: Lost in the details*hugs*

Of course, nobody else on the street batted an eye and I was the only one who appeared to be so enamored by the vision above. I mean, who in San Francisco has seen first hand one cockerel and two hens perched on a tree, without a care in the world? Only in Mumbai would you expect to see something like that!

So I thought to myself, things can’t get any more strange, and I continued to make my way to my house, when I noticed a few people scattered around, all eyes gazing in one direction. Following their gaze, I was met by a bunch of monkeys hanging out in the balconies of a building, scoring for food. I noticed one even get into the kitchen of a house, grab some food, and munch on it. Here is evidence of the monkey business that was the focus of entertainment of many a people on a Sunday afternoon:

Apparently, a bunch of monkeys have infested my neighborhood and have  made my neighborhood their home since the last 4-5 months, scouring buildings and roof tops in search of food and shelter. Again, I was mesmerized by what I was seeing, smack in the middle of a bustling city. As if seeing cows, bullocks, stray dogs, cats, and rodents, were not enough!

The next day, I made my usual trip to the bazaar for my veggie shopping and happened to look at the tree tops. What do you think I saw? There was a family of monkeys hanging out right above the stall of a vegetable vendor, looking downwards toward the food. I asked the vendor if he was concerned about the monkeys or if he was bothered by them in anyway. He was not. Not in the least bit! Au contraiare! In fact, the vendor took a tiny plastic bag, filled it with sprouted chick peas, and threw a couple of such packets to the monkeys who immediately grabbed them and started devouring the goodies:

I was amazed by the fearlessness and conviction of the vegetable vendor, until I reminded myself that in Hinduism, the monkey is symbolic of the Hindu God, Hanuman. Considered one of the major deities in Hinduism, Hanuman is revered (colloquially) as the “monkey god”, one that plays a major role in the Hindu epic called the Ramayana. Since Hanuman is so ardently worshiped by the Hindus, the vendor feeding the monkeys came as no surprise to me.

Hanuman

However, I was concerned that the feeding of these wild monkeys may make them get habituated to the city life and they would lose their natural and predatory skills of the wild.

So far, as far as I have heard, the municipality has not taken any affirmative action around this monkey business, and I have a feeling that this is the last thing on their mind.

One often hears the slogan, “Incredible India” as a means of marketing and advertising the many splendors of India. But I say, to hell with that! Welcome to “Incredible Mumbai”, a city of milk and honey, cows and monkeys, and many other stupendous sights that promises to take your breath way!

Out of tea? — Just microwave a bottle of Nestea.

PROTIP: Loosen cap first to prevent pressure buildup.

This is not the only video on this topic, you should do your own research, but nevertheless it will get you thinking, which is what this site is all about.