Monkey Business

In preparation for our trip, Sandy made us an appointment to ensure that we had all of the necessary inoculations. After a thorough consultation, the nurse explained all of the shots to us, many of which were optional. After I had a half dozen shots queued up for myself we came to another shot. I asked the nurse what it was for and she said that we would likely never need it. It was an inoculation against a disease that we would only get by touching a monkey for example. Relieved, I told her that we would not be venturing out into the jungle. "No monkey touching on this trip. We can just skip that one.", I said.

Well, on our first full day here we went to visit the Buddhist worship center in Kathmandu. Many worshipers bring fruit sacrifices for the idols. Once the worshiping is over the fruit (including bananas) is just discarded over the side of the hill. Because of this, there is a huge population of monkeys hanging around. As you ascend the steps to the stupa they are everywhere. I found myself thinking, "Man, maybe I should have gotten that shot anyway!"