The Monkey Temple, Jaipur

A few weeks ago some other interns and I visited the "Monkey Temple" on the East side of the city. We were greeted by numerous monkeys, all who could probably care less about the travelers passing by their home. On the way in you, you are haggled to buy food to feed them and guides to lead you up, I suggest not getting any food cause the monkeys are very forward and good thieves of cameras and purses. So try to keep them at a distance and not look them directly in the eye.

Monkeys hanging out at the gate of the Temple of the Sun God (Monkey Temple)

Road to the temple

 This is one thing that I really love about India, nothing is sugar coated here. You go to a famous tourist attraction and you are still surrounded but the roaming animals (cows, pigs, sheep, goats) and lack of a garbage or sanitation systems. It is, what it is.

This was a very knowledgeable guide that lead us up to see the Temple. These kids are very talented and if you are not sure where you are going they can get you up there with some interesting diversions along the way. Make sure you ask how much they are going to charge as a guide and they will usually say "What ever you want, if you like it you can pay me, if you don't you can kick me!" At the end of our tour we provided them with a few hundred rupees but that apparently was so appallingly low that he could not accept it. Eventually, he devastatingly took the money from us and led us back down. This was the same rate as what you pay the professional tour guides in the city and I was later assure that it was more than enough.