Travel Photolog

Vypin Island, Kerala-Dolphins and Chinese Net Fishing

2009-11-08T17:58:00.011+05:30

Vypin Island is criss crossed by canals. Though the area nearer to mainland is now waiting to see a boom in construction of multi storey buildings, the island and its beaches still have a serenity and beauty which is becoming rarer by the day.

Standing in front of a noisy school on the bank of the backwaters, one could see a school of dolphins popping in and out while a few fishermen were busy catching fish, standing right on the bank. Dolphins and fish seem to move together and the alert fishermen lower the Chinese nets into the water to pick up whatever fish can be netted. Not a very effiecient way, but then interesting to watch.

Trekking along Kovalam beach, Kerala

2009-11-08T12:08:00.010+05:30

Kovalam beach is a favourite with tourists for swimming in the sea. There are coast guards around who keep a watchful eye. The beach is advertised as 'jelly fish Free' on the various travel sites.

So it was a surprise to find large number of purple jellyfish being washed onto the shore by the waves.

The coast guards assured us they are dead and harmless. The fishermen throw them out when they get caught in their nets. It seems there is a migration of jelly fish for about a fortnight in October, when the sea gets foamy with the gelatine in the jelly fish.

Kovalam beach never fails to arouse curiosity!

Squids which made jelly fish their home, were seen crawling inside and attracted other beach goers. I am sharing a small clip uploaded in 'wildbytes' channel of youtube.

IndianWildlifeClub is a finalist in DELL-UTVi awards

2009-09-27T16:58:00.003+05:30

IndianWildlifeClub is a finalist in DELL-UTVi awards.

http://www.dellhero.com/India/news.asp?id=44

Indian Wildlife Club - Gurgaon, Haryana, an Online Community of Practice, has leveraged latest technologies and a fresh approach to spread the message of conservation and environment education. The portal enables users to share their knowledge through articles in e-zines, Blogs, discussion groups and documentaries, submit multi-media trip reports, and share their observations on interesting places/ideas, and also browse and place orders for photographs and calendars, from the online repository.

A Trip to Morni Hills, Chandigarh

2009-08-23T07:58:00.025+05:30

August 15, Independence Day-An ideal day to check out the hill station near to Chandigarh since we were already in Chandigarh on a visit.

The weather was good. It had rained for two days so the drive up was picturesque. We stopped the car many times just to take in the scenery. On the way we passed many other cars doing the same. Ha! this is like heaven after the hustle bustle of daily life.

View of Chandigarh from half way up Morni Hills, on the Shivalik range

Lush green creeper, the leaves of which are used for making leaf plates(patthal)

" Nature Camp, Forest Department" My husband noticed the board. Shall we check this out? But then we cannot make it to the top which is still 12 km away. Remember we need to go back by evening." A quick decision was made -nature camp it is. After all Forest Dept would have selected the most scenic spot on the hill, I reasoned.

It was a scenic spot. On top of a small hill surrounded by nurseries for trees and freshly planted variety of trees. The thatched roof dining hall looked inviting. The stilted huts reminded us of the tourist huts we had seen in the islands of South Korea.

The carefully tended nursery at nature camp

Scenic view from nature camp. Double click on the photo and notice the blue water tank on the left.

Thatched roof dining hall

Stilted huts for tourists to stay

But the place seemed strangely quiet. No tourists were visible. A few workers appeared. " Madam, we have not started operations. After the place was built we found there is no water here. The water table is so low and the khads (rivulets fed by rain water) below are always bare because of mining." Mining? "Yes, the auction for this year is about to begin."

We decided to take a different route back to Chandigarh. A short cut from the other side of Morni Hills. A road not well developed and full of potholes. Each pothole reminded us of the reality of our country's serious efforts to preserve the pristine. The roadside was dotted with trucks and stone crushers for miles on end. The houses and slum dwellings seemed to have just one focus-cutting the mountain, mining the stones and crushing them.

Down the hill from the other side- (Double click on the photo, a truck is there near the dwelling )

The Shivalik Hills sliced and cut for mining

The alternate route is certainly not inviting!

Stone crushers and trucks dot the landscape on all sides

Close up view of crushed Shivalik

Slums of stone workers -a few yards from Chandigarh city

We entered Chandigarh city, into the up market residential colony, Panchkula. The beauty of Morni Hills seemed a distant dream, even though we had experienced it just an hour ago.

Visiting the ski slopes of Auli

2009-03-31T15:59:00.007+05:30

Given above is the poster with which I boarded the train to Haridwar from Delhi, en route to JoshiMath by road. "Auli has the best slopes in the world facilitating snow skiing during winters beginning January to the end of March." My friend and I were looking forward to seeing the International skiing festival organized in February every year. 'Snowfall predicted for 24 Feb 2009, temperatures expected to fall below -12 degrees' my brother looked up some weather forecast on the Internet and warned me before I boarded the train.

The road journey was hot-the sun became hotter as we climbed up. Joshimath: Local people informed us that there has been no snowfall in Joshimath this year, unlike last year. But they carefully added that weather in these parts is always unpredictable. Auli is sure to have snow. We hurried to make it to the cable car which will lift us to Auli, at 10,000 feet. "No cable car today, we were informed at the cable car base; Today is maintenance day after a three day strike by workers". Sumo drivers appeared from somewhere offering to drive the stranded passengers of Cliiftop Club. Our own car driver backed out saying the 14 km drive is too risky for his car. Snow makes roads slippery, he averred.

As we drove up through steep, dusty and winding roads, the peaks Nanda Devi, Kamet, Mana parbat and Dronagiri began to look closer and closer. The landscape looks a bit like Leh with brown rocks all around -Leh in summer that is, my friend observed. The snow tipped Nanda Devi was tantalizing, I forgot we had come to see snow and the skiing festival.

ClifftopClub did not look like the pictures on the web- The building was there. But where is the snow and the Deodar trees around? Instead there were huge bulldozers working up the roads in dusty clouds, removing the last bit of vegetation which clung desperately to the slopes.

Then the realization dawned. Auli has had just one snowfall this year. The January snow fall did not last enough for snow to harden. In winter 2008 Auli had 3-4 feet snow compared to the usual 8 feet or so every year. The writing was on the wall and Government authorities moved in with an ambitious plan to create artificial snow slopes. The bulldozers and mules around were busy getting the slopes ready for December 2009, for the South Asian Skii festival.

When it snowed on 24 February for about ten minutes, the bulldozers were silent just for a few minutes till the flakes melted away and the fierce sun dried the slopes again.

Global warming was here and too close. We were in for a different kind of holiday!
I have divided this photo blog into four parts

1. The mountain and the snow
2. The Flora
3. The treks
4. The destruction

The mountain and the snow

When you reach the lap of Nanda Devi, height 25,643 feet and second only to the Everest, you are overwhelmed.

Nanda Devi Peak

The nearest mountain ranges of Dronagiri seem bare, stripped of snow, in the peak of winter.

Dronagiri

The Brahmkamal peak with spikes resembling the actual flower is an instant hit.

Brahmakamal Range

So is Hathi Ghoda Palki with the glaciers clearly visible. But we came here to see and feel snow. Where are the snowflakes? On 24 February, it snowed for nearly fifteen minutes. Our new friend from the hotel wrote in her diary

" Snowflakes-some slow, some fast, some feisty doing a jig before succumbing to gravity...."

Honeymooning couples danced on the terrace in the snow

Sunrise on Nanda Devi-a picture I laboured to get right on a cold morning at 6.30 am

Sunrise at Nanda Devi

The Flora

The trees and plants one sees above 10,000 feet surprise you with their sturdiness. The trees look majestic and protective. The sturdy bushes and grass support your heels while climbing up. Pretty flowers smile at you lighting up unknown corners. Trekking on foot is the best way to appreciate the terrain and the flora.

Here is a Basant tree with Nanda Devi in the background. The tree is having flower buds in February. Normally at this time it will be covered with snow.

"Blushing unseen"

Blooming in times of global warming

The golden oak trees

The ‘Nahar Bush’ has lovely smelling leaves and is an insect repellent. Here is Rakesh, our guide with the Nahar Bush

We are fascinated by the pink white flowers of Basnt tree. Here is a pic of me holding a bunch in my hand.

We found beautiful flowering trees lining the roads on our way back to Joshimath. We wanted to know the name of the tree. Some Bank officials whom we met, who were posted in the area, could not help. Nor could the hotel owner at the hotel where we had lunch. The most common local tree had no name!

I had seen the same flowers in Mandal (on the way to Kedarnath) a few years back. Here is a photo of the tree in Mandal. The flowers resemble cherry blossoms.

But we saw ‘bottle brushes’ and ‘gulmohars’ being planted on the roadside by PWD (or Forest dept) to make up for trees cut down during widening of roads. The question which came to us was, why are we not propagating the local trees?

The most majestic of all the trees in Auli? The Golden Oak, no doubt. Two hundred of these more than hundred year old trees, are slated to be mowed down for the ski slope.

The treks
R.R Point
Absence of snow at Auli had a silver lining to it. We could go for small treks around the place with our normal trekking shoes. The easiest trek was just 1.5 km, to R.R Point, an army communication center.

From R.R point one could see the Hemkunt range and the Valley of flowers enveloped in clouds far away. Immediately below is a village, which is shaped like the map of India.

India map village against rhododendron flowers blooming in February

Gorson Bugyal 3.5km

Many ventured on this trek as Gorson meadow had a patch of hard snow where one could get basic lessons in skiing.

Gorson from the hotel

Bharati, a black dog and Sheru a brown dog faithfully accompanied us on all treks. In the pic below, Sheru waits patiently for the tekkers to catch up while Bharati is following us close on the heels. The feeling of oneness with nature one experiences on treks is reinforced by these two best friends of man.

Sheru and Bharati

This trek is indeed beautiful. A temple called “Padiyar Devta’greets you half way up the climb.

As we near Gorson point, one is within reach of the snow clad peaks.

Beyond Gorson

The Forest Trek- 4km

This trek through steep golden oak forest is rated as difficult-mainly because the climb is continiuosly steep without plain resting spots. It is made tougher these days since one has to climb up the ski slopes- now being shorn of grasses and bushes thanks to the bull dozer razing through it many times to create the artificial ski slope.

As we neared the golden oak trees, we saw some with huge cavernous holes ( Black bears sleep there, our guide informed). Fresh diggings in the mud were attributed to wild boar. Distant trees moved with the weight of animals or birds flying about-monkeys or Himalyan monals? Here is the lichen with which monals make nests on trees, our guide showed a clump on the ground

As we moved down I collected a few branches of golden oak leaves. The trees marked with the "death warrants" continue to haunt me when I look at these leaves dried but golden, weeping silently in my vase.

The destruction

Golden Oak Trees marked for felling

Just completed! Swimming pool for storing water which will be turned to ice and then sprayed over the slopes.

The ski slope and swimming pool for snow in perspective

Bull dozers and men at work

Dislodging grass and bushes which held together the mountain slopes for years

Army training camp

A very cryptic message!

Sky Meets Sea in Singapore!

2009-02-04T19:19:00.002+05:30

A country with no natural wealth of its own, is attracting tourists worldwide who want to study animal behavior. This country is Singapore. Jurong Bird Park and Santosa Island are the subjects of this short travel film embedded below. Full versions of some of our videos can be purchased at our online product store ( secure payment gateway) http://www.wildscapes.net

Animals Teach

2009-01-08T16:20:00.003+05:30

With forests fast disappearing around the world, Singapore open zoo is almost like a Noah's ArK, showcasing animals of the world in near natural surroundings. The open zoo and night safari attracts tourists from around the world.

read more | digg story

The Walled City, Delhi

2008-12-30T15:38:00.006+05:30

Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib, is the most well known Urdu poet of the Indian sub-continent. His ghazals and poems reflected the difficult times he lived in-the 1857 revolution, the transition of power from Mughal empire to the British empire.

He was one of the celebrated residents of the walled city.

The heritage walk, led by Ms. Surekha Narayan began at the Town Hall in Chandni Chowk and the first stop was Ghalib's haveli, acquired by the Delhi Government in 1999 and restored as a museum to Ghalib.

Street where Ghalib lived during the 19th century.

The walkers passed through Ballimaran bazaar and witnessed Mahal Sara, the haveli belonging to Umrao Begum, Ghalib's wife. It has now been converted into Rabea Girls' School.

The walk culminated at Rabea Girls' School where the students enacted a "mushaira" in the "durbar" of Bahadur Shah Zafar.

Watch a slide show of photographs taken during the walk, by clicking on the picture below.

http://indiaphotolog.wildbytes.in/#31

Watch a short movie clip from the mushaira by clicking below

Kashmir-August 2006

2008-12-13T19:07:00.005+05:30

I visited Kashmir for the first time in August 2006. The tender beauty of Dal lake in the morning, the cheerful Lidder river en route to Pahalgam and the majestic fir trees in Gulmarg- add to it a very hospitable people, and one wonders if Kashmir is cursed for possessing too much beauty. The presence of army at every 100 meters or so in Srinagar, too many restricted areas and the dead silence of the roads after nine pm or so, tells you things are not normal in Srinagar.

Our tour organizer, Discovery Journeys, made sure that we could make the most of our trip by organizing stay in the elegant but grand houseboat called “ Lotus Retreat” and arranging for all transport in and around Srinagar, taking care of all permissions etc.

Seeing how silk is extracted from silk worms in a traditional factory, catching rainbow trout in a government sponsored center at Pahalgam, seeing the grey langurs in Dachigam, the laughter of the Lidder-these are memories I will cherish for ever.

See a side show of my stills at

http://indiaphotolog.wildbytes.in/#30

A trip report on our visit to Dachigam National Park has been posted at

http://indianwildlifeclub.com/usercontent/userArticle.asp?id=4
and here is a short video of me rowing the shikara in Dal Lake

Taj Mahal, Agra, India

2008-12-03T17:30:00.003+05:30

The Taj Mahal is considered the finest example of Mughal architecture. This marble edifice is a mausoleum located in Agra, India, built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal.
In 1983, the Taj Mahal became a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Building of the Taj began around 1632 and was completed around 1653, and employed thousands of artisans and craftsmen.

"The sight of this mansion creates sorrowing sighs;
And the sun and the moon shed tears from their eyes.
In this world this edifice has been made;
To display thereby the creator's glory."

-Emperor Shah Jahan

Click below for a slideshow on the Taj Mahal
http://indiaphotolog.wildbytes.in/#23

Heritage monuments in Lodhi Gardens, New Delhi

2008-11-25T20:25:00.002+05:30

Lodhi Gardens in New Delhi was landscaped in 1930 by Lady Wellington. The park is a favourite with morning walkers and yoga enthusiasts. The park also houses heritage monuments of the Lodhi era, remnants of the decorated walls of these structures taking us to a period in history when rulers spent money and labour in creating tombs and mosques. Intach ( Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Hertage) organizes heritage walks in the Gardens regularly.

http://indiaphotolog.wildbytes.in/#29

South Korea-Modernity and Tradition

2008-11-25T20:18:00.000+05:30

The synthesis of the modern and the traditional that S.Korea has achieved is remarkable. S. Korea comes through as a Society which is truly at peace with its tradition, culture and modernity.

South Korea as a country has many similarities with India and their fast transformation from a developing country to a developed country is inspiring.

This theme inspired my documentary on Seoul called "Seoul-Where Modernity Bows to Tradition"

Here are some still photographs from South Korea

http://travelphotolog.wildbytes.in/#28

Seoul (South Korea)

2008-11-20T12:02:00.000+05:30

Seoul (South Korea) hosted World Cup Football in 2002. These pictures were taken in Seoul during the series which was won by Brazil with S.Korea coming in fourth place.

My sons Sumit and Sushant are happy to witness the world cup football.

A slide show of 12 photographs of the event as seen by Sushant is given at

http://travelphotolog.wildbytes.in/#27.0

http://travelphotolog.wildbytes.in/#27

South Korea as a country has many similarities with India and their fast transformation from a developing country to a developed country is inspiring.

This theme inspired my documentary on Seoul called "Seoul-Where Modernity Bows to Tradition"

Download a poster of the film here!

See clips from the film at youtube by clicking here

http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=B8QKmmpI92Y

Barcelona, Spain

2008-11-01T17:00:00.000+05:30

I visited Barcelona in 2005, a short three day visit. The city is mesmerising for a tourist. The creativity of the place seems to get into you in more ways than one. There is much more to the place than what I have captured in my camera.

http://travelphotolog.wildbytes.in/#22.6

http://travelphotolog.wildbytes.in/#22

Alps-Jungfrau

2008-10-10T09:30:00.001+05:30

Those of us familiar with the idea of "Himalayas" as the abode of "Shiva" would be pleasantly surprised when you reach "Top of Europe" Jungfrau. The head of a young woman, etched by nature on permanent snow at a height of nearly 4000 meters, bears a striking resemblance to Lord Shiva, with his tresses and the third eye.

The Jungfrau (maiden/virgin in German) is the highest peak located in the Bernese Oberland region of Swiss Alps. Accessible by train, hotels/restaurants, an Ice Palace,an Observatory are some of the attractions at Jungfrau.

For high resolution pictures of Jungfrau region visit http://www.wildscapes.net

Here is a slideshow of impressions from our visit

http://travelphotolog.wildbytes.in/#21

Alps-Schilthorn

2008-10-09T11:53:00.001+05:30

Most of us have seen Schilthorn -in the Bond movie "On her majesty's secret service". Here is what it feels like to be there in real.

Schilthorn is a 2970 meter high summit in the Bernese Alps in Switzerland. The panoramic views from this summit, of the Jungfrau, Thun, Black forest and Mont Blanc(in clear weather) makes this mountain a photographer's delight.
Some of our best photographs are there at the site wildscapes.net. Have a look at

http://www.wildscapes.net/ImageList.aspx?t=k&id=43

Here is the slideshow of my digital impressions about the place.

http://travelphotolog.wildbytes.in/#20

Glacier inside Alps

2008-10-09T11:48:00.001+05:30

Trummelbach is the place in Switzerland where you can watch a waterfall inside a mountain!

20 km from Interlaken, Switzerland, is 'Trummelbach' where you can watch the glacier waterfalls finding their way through the mountains before jumping out of the mountain heights as a waterfall.

The Swiss have built a tunnel lift inside the mountain which carries you to the top where the glacier melts of Eiger, Monk and Jungfrau enter the mountain crevices. The well illuminated stairways with landings constructed at vantage points, enable the tourist to watch the path of the waterfall inside the mountain. The roar of 20,000 litres of water per second carrying boulder debris takes one close to raw nature.

Watch the slideshow.
http://travelphotolog.wildbytes.in/#19

Here are some video clips of the glacier waterfall

Ballenberg, Switzerland

2008-10-09T08:40:00.000+05:30

Rural Switzerland, recreated for tourists in Ballenberg, is a must visit for all Indians. It helps us appreciate our own rural crafts and artifacts even more!

At Ballenberg, in Switzerland, about 100 rural houses have been erected as architectural and socio-historical witnesses of everyday life and rural culture of past times. Ballenberg is a living village with farmhouse gardens, meadows and 250 odd farm animals.

See the slideshow here

http://travelphotolog.wildbytes.in/#18

Interlaken, Switzerland

2008-10-06T15:31:00.000+05:30

Interlaken (meaning between lakes) is a popular tourist destination in Switzerland. The town lies in the foothills of the Alps flanked by the lakes of Thun and Brienz.

Making Interlaken as the base, one can visit many places nearby. But Interlaken itself has a lot to offer-as the following slideshow shows.

Shashi could photograph some breathtaking views of the Alps at Jungfrau and Schilthorn. Some of these can be viewed at

http://www.wildscapes.net/ImageList.aspx?t=c&id=25

Here are a few slides taken at interlaken ( Adults only! please)

http://travelphotolog.wildbytes.in/#17

Beatenberg, Switzerland

2008-10-06T15:25:00.000+05:30

Switzerland is a beautiful country with beautiful people.

To absorb the beauty of the Swiss countryside, a trek through Beatenberg is ideal. This countryside on the banks of Thun lake, is charming and offers various adventure sports as well.

If you are a wildlife enthusiast, the higher reaches of Beatenberg is home to the rare ibex.

A few freezes from my experience of Beatenberg are given below.

http://travelphotolog.wildbytes.in/#16

Duomo, Milan, Italy

2008-10-05T15:03:00.000+05:30

Duomo is the main cathedral in Milan, Italy. This cathedral was five centuries in the making, built from the late 14th well into the 19th century. There is a very evident mixture of style in the architecure and facade.

A slide show of this masterpiece cathedral in Milan which is known the world over.

http://travelphotolog.wildbytes.in/#15

Culture Museum at Milano, Italy

2008-10-05T14:54:00.000+05:30

Michaelangelo's last and unfinished work can be found in this museum. A museum showcasing the works of many unknown sculptors as well, the Milano museum unfolds the history of art through many centuries.

Sforzesco Castle which served as ducal residence and army barrack during the 15th century is now tranformed into a museum centre.

There is no ban on photography inside the museum and guides provide you with detailed pamphlets ( photocopies) of each exhibit. The photocopies are thanks to an initiative by the rotary Club of Milano.

Here is a slideshow of some of the pieces which I found interesting.

http://travelphotolog.wildbytes.in/#14

Green Austria!

2008-10-05T10:50:00.000+05:30

Many of the historical cities of the world would not be as attractive and captivating but for the green areas and the flora of the country, which is maintained and preserved with great care.

While in Austria, my camera took special note of the beautiful green areas. Here is a slideshow of what captivated me.

There are a number of excellent hiking trails that run through the Schonbrunn palace grounds. Another green area is the Stadtpark.

The vegetation in Stadtpark is thick and lush throughout the year. This natural setting in the centre of Vienna Austria provides a glimpse of what Vienna was like prior to development.

http://travelphotolog.wildbytes.in/#13

Two days in Vienna, Austria

2008-09-16T16:13:00.000+05:30

My most memorable event in Vienna, capital of Austria, was a visit to the Schonbrunn Palace. Amidst the opulence of the palace rooms lay the death mask of a young man clutching his pet bird, a crested lark. This bird lover was the son of Napolean who conquered Vienna twice. The only legitimate son of Napolean with Marie Louise.

Sadly I could not take a photograph as photography is prohibited inside the palace.

Vienna has, however, a lot to offer and the slide show below is but a teaser!

http://travelphotolog.wildbytes.in/#11.5

http://travelphotolog.wildbytes.in/#11

Villach, Austria

2008-09-16T16:08:00.000+05:30

I visited Villach, Austria in Sep 2006 to present a paper at the ICL(Interactive Computer-aided Learning) conference organized by the Carinthia Tech Institute. These are the memories I cherish from the conference. Villach is a small town in Austria situated on the banks of the Drau river. My impressions at Villach at the link

http://travelphotolog.wildbytes.in/#10.18

http://travelphotolog.wildbytes.in/#10