Lonavala

We went to Lonavala for our 5th wedding anniversary. Unfortunately, we got the last monsoon rain of the season which prevented us from scaling Bhushy Dam and being able to have a good view from Tiger's Leap. However, the mountains were beautiful with all the green foliage and mists. I took this photo when we stopped to buy some roasted corn masala.
View from Tiger's Leap . . .
Back in town, we bought some chikki (the Indian version of peanut brittle). I saw this little mule looking for treats next to a motorcycle amidst the traffic.

Happy Birthday Pauly

Happy Birthday Paul! We celebrated Paul's 30th birthday tonight. Of course, after working 12 hours one does not feel like going out to party, but he had cake and flowers, and we went out to a nice dinner. We were staying at Le Meridien Pune at the time which is why the odd background in the photo. Tomorrow, we leave for London where Paul is excited to have a good pint and any type of meat product!

Well, it was supposed to be a quick 3 and 1/2 hour trip to Mumbai from Pune. But of course there was a traffic jam. Luckily, our driver was able to come up with some quick maneuvers and we went through the quiet, resort town Lonavala. I was very excited to see a rooster protecting a doorway.
When we passed out of Lonavala and made it back to the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, we saw that we were still in a massive traffic jam. Observe the photo below. We later learned that an accident caused a backup for more than 8 hours. Luckily, since we cut through Lonavala we were able to make our flight to the UK on time.

Here are some trucks trying to squeeze pass one another in the mad rush to get down the mountain.

On our way down the mountain, through the traffic, we encountered some little friends. These little guys were hoping to grab a bite to eat from the passers-by.

They are cute, but I will admit I would rather just see them in the zoo and not inches away from my car window.

Luckily, we were not attacked by monkeys and made it to the airport on time to catch the flight to London.