Coconuts and Monkeys

Today I got up early and was able to go golfing with my dad. It was great to get a round in late in December. As mentioned the club house appears to be that of a castle, and the course itself is breathtaking. I will be getting better pictures of the course later, but here is a picture of the clubhouse.

After amorning nine holes, we headed off to a Hindu temple that was built inside of a cave in the hill side. We had to climb 200 some odd stairs to get to the top and inside the cave was their temple with all of their multi-armed-elephant-looking-red-dotted god statues shrined everywhere. It was really neat to see the cave itself and all the detailed sculptures, but I could have done without all the harsh inscense that was burning.

On the giant staircase there were dozens of monkeys all fighting for any food or items that you had in your hands. You were able to buy fruit and flowers to give to the monkeys, which is probably why they live on the staircase. You were able to get right up to them ... but upon seeing the unsterile animals that no doubt had diseases from eating potato chips and drinking pop (I saw a monkey take a can of Sprite from someone), I decided against touching them. Here are some of the better monkey pictures we got.

After playing with the monkeys, we went down for a bite to eat, at which point my brother and I celebrated the warm weather with a freshly cut coconut. The deal was that they cut open a coconut on the spot and give you a spoon and a straw to eat it with, and you give them 60 cents. So even though coconut milk isnt the most refreshing thing in the world to drink, it still makes for quite the exotic drink.

As for the next week, we will be in Thailand on a small resort on an island in the Indian Ocean. I know most people are jealous that I am over in the rain forest and on the beaches for the holiday, but I am still missing snowboarding incredibly much. That is why I am working extra hard to cover up my jealousy of those who are carving up the slopes, which means taking pictures of myself bare-chested, lying on a beach in the hot sun. So you guys can look forward to those in the net couple of days.