Follow the Monkeys

So a lot of people had told me how nice Jaipur is and how it doesn't feel like one of the big Indian cities. I can confirm that this is largely nonsense. The hustle and bustle are still there. And added to that the people come across as slightly less helpful. It seems that everything is designed just to make it that little bit more difficult for you.

Lassiwala is a case in point. It's possibly the most famous lassi stand in India. It's surrounded by four other shops all also called Lassiwala. For reference you can tell the original by the catchphrase "Kishan Lal Govind Narian Agarwal" written just above the awning so you can't see it from the street. Easy.

So yeah, Jaipur. The Pink City. I figured that's the most famous bit so I started there. Some bits of it are pink, more than you'd like are a murky orange colour. And it is a bit of a smelly city. And not in a good way. Didn't add to the charm. The Jantar Mantar is a big thing in Jaipur, rather than the minor curiosity that it is in Delhi. And don't get me started on Hawa Mahal. The most overrated Major Tourist Attraction (TM) I've seen since Manneken Pis [Insert your own joke about the previously mentioned smell].

Sightseeing highlight of Day 1 was probably the Pigeon Watching Area. Yes it was marked on the map.

Day 2 was outside of the city proper, box ticking forts Amber, Tiger, Jal Mahal. Ticked. And then the tuktuk driver casually mentioned The Monkey Temple. To say it was an assault on the senses would be an understatement.

It started innocuously enough. I say innocuously, I saw a monkey riding a pig. If that's not a good omen, nothing is. So there was a temple and some monkeys and that might have been it, but there seemed to be a steady stream of people heading into the mountains. And there were more monkeys that way.

And then it all got weird. I saw some freak cows. And I think a man put a curse on me for not giving his freak cow any money. And there were more monkeys. And people. And colours. And firecrackers. And a snake charmer. And more monkeys. And then I was in a festival where a queue of people were prostrating themselves before bathing whilst an MC was commentating and I really didn't know what was going on but it was brilliant.

That kind of nonsense is the reason I travel.