i wasn’t supposed to make a stop at Galtaji (aka Galwar Bagh, “monkey temple”) but as i had extra time on my last day due to Air India moving my flight five hours later (luckily worked out great for me), my driver suggested it. i was a bit hesitant because well, i’m not really too much of an up-close-and-personal-with-wildlife person, but i’m glad i did it if only to cross off a monkey temple from a non-existent list.
in actuality, it’s a really scenic mountain temple complex (with or without the monkeys roaming around), and on the day we went (Sunday), full of people bathing in the sacred waters.
you can buy food for the monkeys from vendors outside the temple (or even bring your own, i suppose, if you want to save some money), and you must pay a 50 rupee fee for camera usage (people will spot check the receipt, so hold on to it). regarding feeding the monkeys: i (via the guide) fed them bananas, peas, and peanuts. you can get as close as you want to them, even feeding them directly to their mouths. you can also hold the food up high and make them reach up and grab for it. of course, having a monkey sit on your shoulder is also an option — just not one for me; i was uncomfortable enough just being in such proximity to them; who knows what diseases they’re carrying! just be sure to have some (or lots of) Purell on hand.
and this infamous shot:
My eyes and delicate sensibilities!!!! pic.twitter.com/NSqP4X8rrg
— Jonathan Khoo (@jonk) November 30, 2014
update heh Google+’s AutoAwesome made this:
Monkey stole my food while I was eating in Thailand. Never liked monkeys since then 😛
lol!!! i was worried about my wallet! 😀
Awe how cute! Great pics as always 🙂
haha thanks!
They are actually quite beautiful up close. I’m glad you didn’t run into any problems with their sticky fingers though. A few years ago a friend of mine visited a temple in India where there were only a few monkeys. Since they were hanging rather high on the rafters, neither he nor any of his other companions paid much attention to them. Up until the moment when two jumped down and almost simultaneously snatched a sunglasses off two of their companions before scampering off. Sounds like they can be quite tricky to handle.
yeah! i was always really aware of the stuff in my pockets just in case. luckily nothing else outside of my bag/on my head!