Ty got punked by a monkey

An update on our touring adventures by Holbie and Ty.

We started off the morning by going to the Monkey Temple (Swayambunath).  Ty, Brad, Angel and Myles all took the scenic route of 365 steps to the top. The rest of us took the sane route and drove up the hill.  We all met at the top and began our tour, walking clockwise around the temple and learning about its origins.  The main temple, called a stupa, had no known creator which makes it especially holy to the people here. It was cool to learn that the Buddhist and Hindu religions share the space in peace.  We spent a ton of time looking a the religious structures, and of course the monkeys. There were so many of them and they couldn't care less about us taking pictures and hollering about their cuteness.

The 365 steps up to the Monkey temple.

A momma monkey and her baby

Panoramic view of Kathmandu from the monkey temple - click to enlarge

Our group at the monkey temple

Our next stop was the Buddhist stupa of Boudhanath one of the larest stupas in the world.  It was huge and very, very hot!  The stupas are  painted whie which conveniently reflects all of the suns's rays onto unprepared tourists!  We got to explore the view from the second level of the stupa AND a Buddhist monastery. It was a very cool area to look at and explore.

Our group at Boudhanath

Our final destination was the Hindu temple complex Pashupatinath. To access it, we had to cross a toll bridge on which Ty was the only payee  It was a metal bridge about 3 feet wide spanning the river, maybe 300 feet across.  As we crossed, enjoying some snacks, Ty was the lucky winner of the monkey snack drawing.  A monkey swooped down upon him from above, grabbing his hand for his granola bar. It screeched, making it's demands known with a mouthful of very long, very sharp teeth.  To defend himself Ty threw his granola bar at Count Monkula, and quickly exited the bridge. After a brief recovery time spent climbing the many stairs to the temple we met a lady who was better prepared for handling monkeys.  She was equipped with a slingshot and sheer determination to stop them from stealing the snacks she was selling.  We walked through the rest of the temples to the holy river, where we got to observe a body being prepared for cremation in a sacred ceremony. It was an incredible event to see.  We got back to the bus and our friend and travel coordinator Shree Ram Pandey gave us all mango juice to make up for Ty's repossessed granola bar.  We had an awesome lunch at a Nepali fried chicken restaurant and returned to our hotel exhausted.  It was a great, sweaty, adventurous way to start off our second week!

(Instructor commentary: The above monkey story has become increasingly more dramatic with each retelling today. Keep this in mind as you read. :-)