Monkeys are Prevalent All Around the World

On February 13, 2024February 13, 2024 By Living The Q Life Travel AdventuresIn Gibraltar, Kenya, Mexico, Nepal, Rwanda, South America, Tanzania, Vietnam2 Comments

In some ways we are surprised that it seems like no matter where we travel to, there is a chance that we will see monkeys at some point during our visit. Whether it is North America, Central America, South America, Europe, Asia, or Africa, we have seen monkeys in so many different locations throughout our travels. Because of how expressive they are and the way that they share human traits, they are often fascinating to watch, but more often than not, they are troublemakers that have to be watched carefully. We have seen monkeys steal items from people who are not prepared for the fact that they will grab almost anything that they can get their hands on. They are extremely curious, and that curiosity often leads to a desire to explore items that you might have in your possession, especially if it is shiny.

Although monkeys can be found in the wild in Mexico, our first encounter with monkeys was actually in captivity during our trip to Puerto Vallarta, which is certainly not the experience that we prefer. Our second encounter was in Gibraltar during our trip to Southern Spain where we saw the Barbary Macaque Monkeys. During our trip to Panama, we actually took a tour that took us to several of the “monkey islands” that were created when the area around the Panama Canal was flooded to allow for the massive ships to pass through the canal. The smaller monkeys were trapped on the islands and are kept alive by the tourists who visit and feed them.

Up Close and Personal with Monkeys in Panama

It is no surprise that we encountered monkeys in the Amazon Jungle both during our trips to Bolivia and Ecuador. In Vietnam, we saw monkeys on the shoreline of Halong Bay after our boat went through Sung Sot Cave. For obvious reasons, we saw plenty of monkeys, especially baboons, during our safari in Kenya and Tanzania as they were prevalent at each of the parks that we visited. Earlier last year, we visited “Monkey Temple”, more appropriately Pashupatinath Temple, just outside of Kathmandu in Nepal. Then later in the year, we decided to trek to visit the larger primates, gorillas and chimpanzees in Rwanda.

As long as you know that these amazing creatures are unpredictable and you keep your eyes on them to ensure that they don’t take advantage of your curiosity, these animals are truly fascinating to watch. You can often see them almost deep in thought as they watch everything going on around them. Of all of the monkeys that we’ve seen, the ones that we trusted the least were the baboons as they almost acted like a gang where several of them will group together to distract you while others attempt to get away with your belongings. Our time with the gorillas was probably the most incredible experience that we’ve had and will be something we will treasure forever. What is your favorite or least favorite monkey experience that you’ve encountered?

Hidden Gems from Our Travels Around the World

On February 6, 2024February 6, 2024 By Living The Q Life Travel AdventuresIn Bulgaria, Egypt, Laos, TurkeyLeave a comment

We have had many memorable moments traveling in various parts of the world and we are always thrilled when we come across something that was completely unexpected or planned. Whenever we travel to a location, we research the top sites to visit as most people do, but we will also look for something interesting that might be located just outside of the city that we are visiting or perhaps something that isn’t on the typical tourist list. These hidden gems are just a few of the places that we have seen during our travels, but each of these should be on your list should you visit that particular city.

Getting a Sense of the Scale of Aphrodisias in Turkey

The Ruins at Aphrodisias near Kusadasi, Turkey – One of the day trips that we took from Kusadasi in western Turkey was to see the Greek ruins at Aphrodisias. Of all of the ruins that we visited, Aphrodisias was actually our favorite even though it is not as excavated as the ones at Ephesus. The cruise ships don’t typically do tours to Aphrodisias, so you will not be surrounded by crowds and will be able to get up close to all of the different sites within the area. The ancient city gets its name from the Temple of Aphrodite that is located at the site, but one of things that makes Aphrodisias so unique is that was the location of the school where artists learned to carve statues, so there is a museum featuring many statues that the students had created.

The Statues of Buddha Park near Vientiane, Laos – Located near Vientiane, Laos is a park that is filled with sculptures representing Buddhist and Hindu images. Built in 1958, the park is a popular tourist attraction for those who travel to Vientiane. Buddha Park is also called Xieng Kuan or Spirit City and has over 200 statues of various sizes. We visited the park with a guide who was able to explain the meaning behind many of the different statues, which made the experience even more interesting.

The Fascinating Rila Monastery near Sofia, Bulgaria – We took a day trip from Sofia to visit the Rila Monastery, which is located about two hours away in the Rila Mountains southwest of the capital of Bulgaria. The monastery was first founded in the 10th century and gets its name, as does the mountainous region, from the hermit Ivan of Rila who founded it. Although the monastery bears some resemblance to the fortified churches that we saw in Romania a few years back, it did not serve the same purpose as the mountains were fortification enough. Even though it takes a couple of hours to reach the monastery from Sofia, it is definitely worthwhile because of its historical significance as well as the beauty of the surrounding mountain range.

The Historic Ottoman House in Old Town Cairo, Egypt – If you are looking for something of a hidden gem while visiting Cairo, then we would suggest putting Bayt Al-Suhaymi, a historic Ottoman house, on your list of places to visit. On our final day in Cairo, we made a last-minute decision to book an “Islamic Cairo” tour through our hotel and we were certainly not disappointed. We saw several ancient mosques, but just as interesting was wandering the narrow streets of the Old City of Cairo. Just wandering the streets is quite exhilarating, but the highlight was taking a tour of an Ottoman era house that was built in 1648 and is in excellent condition as it was refurbished in 1997 as part of restoration project for the entire area. Since it is located near the Khan el-Khalili Bazaar, it would certainly be worth adding a visit to the house before or after doing shopping in the market.

Many Items for Sale and a Vendor Ready to Bargain in Khan el-Khalili Bazaar

It is often the case that these special excursions become some of your favorite memories as you share your adventures with friends and family upon you return home. If time allows, it is always a good idea to research locations that can be visited just by driving an hour or two outside of the city. It is often possible to hire a guide to take you so that you don’t have to rent a car, but if you are adventurous or already have a vehicle, then it is certainly worth the effort to visit them on your own.

Visiting the Busy Kimironko Market in Kigali, Rwanda

On January 30, 2024January 30, 2024 By Living The Q Life Travel AdventuresIn Rwanda2 Comments

We spent about a day and half in Kigali during our trip to Rwanda to trek to see gorillas and chimpanzees. Of the things that we saw while we were in Kigali was the Kimironko Market, which is the busiest market in Kigali. Like many markets, the number of vendors and the variety of products available can sometimes be overwhelming. It is often a sensory overload with all of the fragrances, colors, and people bustling through the narrow walkways. We were there with a guide, but it could have easily been visited on our own, but you do have deal with many people coming up to you and trying to get you to spend money in their particular section of the market.

Fresh Vegetables and a Variety of Bottled Sauces

The bins of fruit and vegetables were so colorful and many of the items were very familiar like bananas, pineapples, mangos, and potatoes, but there were equally as many items that we were not familiar with and are local to that region of the world. In addition to all of the food, you can find all of your clothing needs from shirts to shoes to hats. There are even about a dozen people sewing clothes tailored specifically for you. Of course, there are many different arts and crafts for sale that make for wonderful items to take home from Rwanda that are unique to the local culture.

People come from all of the surrounding countries including Uganda, Kenya, and the Democratic Republic of Congo to buy and sell goods, which definitely made the market insanely busy. Kimironko Market was certainly very interesting and markets in general are almost always on our itinerary when we travel. We especially like markets such as these that are more about supporting the local community than catering to tourists. You could certainly spend hours browsing through the market, but we were on a fairly tight schedule, so we only spent about an hour walking amongst the various vendors.