Taken on March 29, 2014 near Madikeri
This was taken at the Golden Mist coffee and tea plantation near Madikeri in Coorg. There are two kinds of coffee, arabica and robusta. Arabica is the tastier variety, and the arabica tree requires more shade. Robusta is hardier, but is rarely consumed without being blended with arabica–unless one wants chest-hairs to grow on one’s chest hair. So wherein most agricultural pursuits eschew competing plants, coffee plantations need shade.
Taken on March 30, 2014 in Madikeri, India
Taken March 29, 2014 at Namdroling Monastery in Bylakuppe.
Namdroling Monastery is the largest teaching center of the Nyingmapa sect of Tibetan Buddhism in the world. It is located in Bylakuppe in southern Karnataka. Bylakuppe is a series of settlements that constitute one of the largest collections of Tibetans in Southern India (about 20,000 Tibetans live here.) This monastery was established by the Penor Rinpoche in 1963, after the Tibetan diaspora of 1959. The original monastery was a small bamboo temple, from that it has grown to a large campus of buildings.
This, the “Golden Temple”, is a must stop visit for travelers in southern Karnataka. For those with interest in Tibetan Buddhism, one may want to arrange a longer stay. Be aware that there are certain permitting requirements for visits longer than day visits.
Taken March 23rd at Nandi Hills.
Taken March 23, 2014 at Nandi Hills
Many say that baby macaques are cute. Those people may not have seen a true infant, hairless and wrinkled, looking–ironically–like an old man.
This one hasn’t even grown to fully look like H. Ross Perot. You see, all young macaques look like H. Ross Perot, and some adult macaques look like Gary Busey.
Taken on March 23rd at Nandi Hills.
No. I didn’t push them off.
Taken on March 24, 2014 at Nandi Hills.
One monkey was hanging off the fascia of Tipu Sultan’s old hunting lodge. The other was either being a helpful monkey–trying to help his brother up–or being a mischievous monkey–trying to make him fall.
You figure out which.
Here’s a photo from moments later.
Still can’t tell?
If you said they were in the middle of a mixed martial arts knock-down-drag-out, you were correct. Here you can see the monkey who had been hanging getting a single-leg take-down on his tormentor.
FYI- For those who think one needs to get all “roided up” for strength building: Note this apparently puny monkey had the upper body strength to pull himself onto a roof while successfully fighting off an attack.
Taken March 22, 2014 in Bangalore.
V.B. Bakery is a 60-year-old Bangalore institution located on Food Street (proper name: Old Market Road) in Visveswarapuram (a.k.a. VVpuram.) As you can see from the middle shot, it was thronged on Saturday night.
Tiger Riding for Beginners 