Sunrise with the monkeys

After much badgering from our new-found friend Ganesh (aka 007, as he first introduced himself), we agreed to a trip out to Hanaman (the monkey god) Temple to catch the sunrise. He had followed us around for 2 days, as if he was our best friend...and his tactic worked--he slowly wore us down. He met us at 5:30 in his autorickshaw. Tim, Katie and I still bleary eyed in the wee hours of the morning, climbed in the backseat and we began bouncing along the narrow dirt road. There was only a hint of light in the sky as we arrived at the temple. We climbed 500+ steps to arrive at the whitewashed temple perched on the top of the granite hillside. The caretakers were just beginning to stir, and the roosters were beginning to crow awaking the valley below. Light was creeping into the hazy, smoky sky...but there was no sign of the sun yet. The caretaker came out and tossed some food out. Within moments, the area was crawling with monkeys--stretching and yawning as they came out of their slumber. Then suddenly the sun appeared, a giant swollen red ball magically shining through the haze well above the layers of hills off in the distance. As the sun shone down on the valley, the noise of busses and motorcycles joined the crowing roosters and barking dogs. The valley below began to crawl with activity, as we watching from up above with the monkeys.