Varanassi
The breeze was light and the warmth of the sun continued to pour over my skin as I sat at my usual table, at the roof's edge with my back to the railing and my eyes fixated on the winding Gunga (Ganges) below, at the hostel's rooftop restaurant. As conversation on some topic began to dwindle, Ren - sitting to my left - began rummaging through his LP in search of places to stay in Kolkatta, Boudie - facing me, his back to the Gunga - lit up a cigarette and I got up to play a round of pool while red-faced monkey's and their babies kept up their daily routine of scaling up toward the canopy above us.
The table's green felt was smooth and the balls glided over it nicely like a puck on ice. As I was setting up a cross-side shot on the 7 I heard a commotion. I looked up to find everyone in the restaurant backing toward the pool table as if they were being cornered by some type of beast ... they were. A large male Langur had climbed the building and set up camp at the table that Ren, Boudie and myself had been sitting at. He looked across the table and then scanned his audience, sensing the blend between curiosity and fear that was brewing in all of us. He wanted a fight, singling people out with his wild eyes while continuously flaring his lips letting the his sharp fangs shine. He was taunting us ... begging for the right chance to attack.
He went from table to table, knocking over plates and glasses that were in his path. He stepped closer, we stepped back. After what seemed like a few mintues at the time but in actuality only one or two, the staff came out with a pot of boiling water which the Langur recognized immediately ... he had done this before and knew exactly what the contents of that pot contained; scalding pain. As the staff came running, he vanished out of sight only to reappear on top of a building 30 meters away. (See video to get the jist of what a Langur is and note, the one I'm describing, yeah... not playful at all.)
After the tables were cleaned everyone settled back into their respective seats, including myself, to talk about the event that had just ensued. After we had finished recanting the details, Ren, referring to our table because the Langur had come up on the corner right by his seat, posed the question "What if we had just stayed right here? Do you think he would have done anything?"
"Why would you take the chance?" I said. "All they have to do is get one bite and well, you lose."
Boudie agreed. "Yeah, he wouldn't just bite". And then morphing his hand into something like a claw and then moving it toward his newly exposed neck he said, "He would bite and rip the flesh from your neck".
"It would really suck to get bit by a monkey" I said.
One minute later, it happened. I felt a quick sharp pain run through my neck and I knew I had been bit. I jumped out of my seat and turned around to find an adolescent hastily climbing up toward the canopy.
"Dammit."
Ren replied half-smiling "Dude, are you alright? You just got bit by a monkey."
The rest of the people at the restaurant began looking around, talking amongst themselves trying to figure out what was going. Then the staff came over to find out what had happened. After I explained and they saw the small wound (it wasn't painful except for the initial sting and there was little bleeding) they concluded that I had only been scratched by the monkey.
"No man, he got bit by a monkey. I was sitting there, right there" pointing, "and I saw him get bit by a fucking monkey" Ren replied, still half-smiling.
Finally they conceded that I had in fact been bit by a monkey as they applied some disinfectant to the wound. I told them in a calm manner that I would like someone to take me to the hospital to get treated for rabies. First I was told that it was nothing to worry about and that everything would be fine. Still calm, I explained that the reason for me going to the hospital was not because of pain or loss of blood, but rather the possibility of disease. I figured I must have bad luck because so far I had been the only person to ever be bit by a monkey and because of said bad luck, I might be unlucky enough to get bit by the one that had rabies. The staff then conceded and arranged for someone to take me to the hospital.
The story goes on with one thing after another. First the the man assigned to take me to the hospital was trying to make a commission by trying to take me to a private clinic which more likely than not his friend worked at. Then we made it to the hospital but only the emergency room was open. Apparently rabies is not an emergency because they didn't have the vaccine. They were able to give me an extra tetanus shot - I had to go across the street to buy the syringe and vile - that I did not need and advised me to come tomorrow when the general hospital was 'open' at 8 AM to get the rabies shot. The hospital opened at 8 but doctors were said not to arrive until 10, maybe 11 in the morning. After being disgusted by a pool of blood in a corner, smeared blood on the now off-white tiles and the used syringes on the ground, I then decided to leave and buy the rabies vaccine and syringe and just do it myself.
First of all, what do I know about injecting anything into me? I have had plenty of shots in my lifetime but never did I think to ask a doctor how to do it or to say "Hey let me try just in case I get bit by a monkey in India and have to inject myself with a rabies vaccine because the government hospital's there are unsanitary". I also thought I could just ask someone who had diabetes to help me out but was I seriously about to walk up to random people, fellow tourists or locals, and ask them if they had diabetes and if so, would they give me a quick jab. Hell, they could think I'm a junkie.
Thankfully, I decided against that ridiculous idea and had a rickshaw driver take me to the university hospital. I would have done this in the first place, but I figured a private clinic would have comparable rates to those in the states, and if you look up how much a rabies vaccine costs in the states, you would know that it is a ridiculous amount. This experience was amazing though. No forms or hour long waits. I simply told the receptionist I had been bit by a monkey and she immediately took me to a doctor, who took care of me in an incredibly timely matter. The visit to the private hospital came out to a grand total of about $10 (5 shots will be needed in total). In a travel clinic in the states, I would 1) have to fill out numerous forms, 2) wait hours on end and 3) paid the large sum of $180/shot. Ridiculous, no?
Rickshaw to university hospital: $1
Rabies vaccine: $10
Getting bit by a monkey, seeing blood smeared tiles, entertaining the idea of vaccinating oneself and finally finding a bit of sanity in such a crazy, overwhelming place: Priceless.
