For sunrise is just too common and moonrise is equally beautiful but much more serene!
Sea beaches, clouds and then some more, coming up soon 🙂
Cheers!
Tag: Travelling
TTL: Kamakhya and Suwalkuchi
On the last phase of the trip, the second last day that is, we were in Guwahati. We went to Kamakhya and Suwalkuchi.
Kamakhya temple is a considered to be one of the most revered of Indian Temples and the deity, goddess Durga, and here, in the temple, the presence is felt, quite heavily. The spiritual souls, will be mesmerized. A quick wiki look up helps, read here.
 
  
From the temple, we made our way towards Suwalkuchi. Its a small town on the other bank the Brahmaputra, which is famous for handlooms.
By the noon, we headed back to our hotel and we were tired . That evening was spent lazying in the hotel and arranging stuffs we had with us. Next day, we were on our way back. And since it was the similar view on the trip back, I calmly dozed off.
This concluded the Assam and Meghalaya trip for me. Next up…Delhi and Rajasthan. I leave in 5 days from now, but this time, its a solo backpacking trip. I ll have a rucksack, some clothes, the laptop and charger, the camera and lens, and my tripod. Next post might take some time.
Till then,
Cheers!!
TTL: Kaziranga and Pobitora
Continuing from Shillong, next stop was the Rhino country, Kaziranga.
Now, the Kaziranga and Pobitora National Parks, both closed down by the 14th of May, and we were arriving a week too late. Expectations of getting to see the rhinos were low.
We enjoyed the road, for it was really very beautiful. And then, we came across these cute ones, ambling down the road.
A few photos hence, the journey continued. After some time, we came across a patch of land, and stared into the wilderness.
Rhinos Galore!
We stood there ogling at the rhinos, and they couldn’t be any less bothered. Soon, we got bored too, and continued towards the rest house.
Next day, while going back towards Guwahati, we detoured via Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary. That too was closed, but some rhinos were kind enough to give us a peek.
Satisfied with our Rhino sightings, we headed back towards Guwahati.
Next day, scheduled trip being the Kamakhya temple and a local handloom hub, Suwalkuchi. Coming soon 🙂
Cheers!!
TTL: Cherrapunji (Sohra)
From Shillong city, we went to the Shillong viewpoint, which is located within the Air Force Base. The route was dense with fog, and the visibility was rather limited. From the view point, only a few pine trees and their cones were visible.
As we came to lower altitude, the weather cleared and we got an amazing view of green fields, dark mountains and blue sky specked with clouds.
Before turning towards Elephant Falls, our driver, made one last detour. This time, into a pine forest.
Next stop, was the Elephant falls. I ll be honest, this was just the way I had thought it would be, and was prepared. I had lugged my tripod, for just this kind of a shot, and I got it.
There are 3 stages of this falls, rest two were pretty, but this one, the stage 1, was the best, by me!
Next, we turned towards the once wettest place on earth, Cherrapunji or as locally known as, Sohra.
The route is nothing short of majestic and in every turn, you feel like stopping for a shot.
At Cherrapunji, we met up with more dense fog and by the time we went to the tallest plunge waterfall of India, the Nokalikhai Falls, the cliff was blanketed in fog, and nothing, absolutely nothing was visible. We turned back, a little disappointed that we missed the view.
But then, we were excited too. We were off to Kaziranga the next day! Rhinos…coming up shortly 🙂
Cheers!!
TTL: Shillong
Hi all,
Continuing now. From GAU, we went on our way to Shillong. The maps had shown twisty turny roads, what it didnt mention was the quality. For most of the route, it was 4 lane wide and pretty gentle. And the views all around, simply marvelous.
On the way to Shillong, we came across the Umium Lake, rightly called Barapani, meaning, big lake, in Hindi.
Some HDR and stitched photos of the lake are under process, hopefully, I ll have them up soon.
At Shillong, the first place we went was the Don Bosco Museum. I ll be honest, I didnt pay much attention to the artifacts within, and almost ran up to the top and went to the sky walk, for a panoramic view of Shillong, and it was superb.
From here, we went to our hotel, and were tired. Next day, was towards Sohra, or as more commonly known, Cherrapunji. Coming up, soon 🙂
Cheers!!
30,000 ft and climbing…
Taxi, accelerate, take off and climb. Look outside, you are enveloped in the fluffy cloud cover. Fly safe!
This marks the beginning of the North East trip posts. Follow the posts for some more breath taking views of landscapes and wildlife.
Check out the entries for Enveloped right here!
Cheers!!
Slow!
For the love of smooth milky waterfalls!
Shot at Elephant Falls in Shillong, Meghalaya. A lot more to come soon!
Cheers!!
At the Pottery Town
Hi all, While I was at Bangalore, with the 9 to 5 job, it used to be difficult to get time to out for photo shoots. But, once a while, like on this certain Sunday, I managed to make it to the Pottery Town in Bangalore. It looks like a sleepy part of the town but by around 10 am, people were up and about their respective business. This gave me a good opportunity to snap a few photos and also get to know the people there. Since they get lots of visits from the local photography clubs and individuals, they are pretty comfortable around the camera and quite like being photographed. 
To the ones who are in Bangalore, go to this place to get some awesome photos. Its a little far flung, but the returns will be totally worth it. I shall be on my North East trip from 15th of this month. So, next post might be a bit late. But, if I manage to execute some of the plans I have, you are all in for some treats! Have fun, happy shooting! Cheers!!
April AtoZ Challenge: PH – X: X-Process
X for X-Process (Cross Process)
This is a throwback to the old film processing days. Cross Processing was a case when developing solutions for a certain type of photo was used, either by mistake or intention to a different one. The results used to unpredictable and fairly in consistent, and in a lot of cases, made the photos distinct and appealing. Now, with softwares like Picasa and mobile apps like Pixlr-o-matic, cross process photos are easy to make. Dont over use this, but once a while, they do liven up the photos.
This is a part of April AtoZ Challenge. Previous entries can be found here.
Cheers!!
TTL: Darjeeling III
As my cellphone started playing the acoustic version of Coldplay’s Shiver, I woke up. Time on the clock..0330h. Nice! On time!
Got dressed up and ready and I met up with the rest of the cab-mates to the trip to Tiger Hill. The cab would take us to Ghoom, and back. I would get down at Ghoom and head back to my base camp, at Siliguri.
A point to note, if you are interested to go to the hill in the morning, you must book your cab the previous day evening. Normally, the hotel where you stay will assist. And yes, go early if you want a decent spot. It gets very crowded really soon.
Anyway, we made it there by around 0545, sun being scheduled to rise at 0600h. Clouds dominated the scene and disappointment loomed absolutely like the dark clouds.
I jostled around, trying to make a bit of space for myself, just in case the sun came up good and I managed some shots, just in case.
And then, the clouds moved away, just a bit though, but enough I feel.
As for the sunrise, this is all you can see…and frankly, the “sunrise” didnt impress me much.
But this did!
I loved the view of the mountains and the way the clouds moved about. Also, as an after thought, maybe visiting the Tiger Hill, a little later in the day, around 1000h, would have been better. The sun would be brighter, less crowed, and the reflections on the peaks much more clearer. Need to verify this idea actually.
On the way back, a few more shots which made me happy.
Eventually, we reached Ghoom and I parted ways. Took a few shots at the Batasia Loop and then, flagged a taxi and slept in it till I reached Siliguri.
So, this is how my trip was of Darjeeling. I hope you liked the series. The rest are here – D1, Loco and D2.
Next trip?? Not sure yet, but I have a few plans 🙂
See you all back in TTL again soon.
Cheers!!
TTL: Darjeeling II
Hey there all…
Continuing from Darjeeling station now!
I walked towards the Mall. En route, I stopped for a cup of refreshing coffee at a shop just past Das Studios. If you want to buy old photos or anything related to photography, this place is a good place to start.
The road has shops lining it, selling woolens and other collectibles too.
Finally, the Mall. In the nutshell, its an open meeting ground of sorts. A balcony of sorts on one side, normally  used as a Durga Puja Mandap or for delivering speeches is on one side. Shops line the other side. There are two paths leading to Mahakal temple and the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute and the Zoo. All three places are worth visiting. Bear in mind though, the HMI and Zoo follow a 1000h-1600h operating schedule.
The Mahakal temple is situated after a climb, not a lot though. You will not get any mountain views from there, but its serene and peaceful, right within a jungle of tall trees. Be advised, there are lots of monkeys here. But normally, if you do not bother them, they will not bother you.
As I returned from the temple back to Mall, I noticed this certain kid, posing to his father. I couldnt resist taking a few shots. I sent them the photos once I returned back.
 
 
 On the route to the HMI and Zoo, I came across some local flora. This certain flower, a variation of Bougainvillea, it seemed, looked native and abundant there.
On the way back, I again stopped at a roadside cafe, had a cup of coffee, a plate of Momo. The view from there, had there been lesser clouds, would have been amazing, but I had to be content with shooting this windchime in the sun.
Just before I left, I met with this local fauna! He was fluffy, and cute and was aptly named Bhaloo!
On the way back, I had another cup of tea at a stall in the Mall, and loitered around there, checking out the local shops to buy anything interesting. Ended up buying some handmade incense sticks from a shop.
While coming back, I hit the Glenary’s. They serve awesome food in reasonable rates and is one of the best places to have a hearty meal. Do try it.
I returned back to the hotel, switched on the lights, and saw this, on the wall.
I dont mind the kisses, but I wish they werent just on the wall though.
Anyway, with a wake up call scheduled at 0330h, next morning, i retired for the day. You may ask, why so early? Well, I was going to Tiger Hill the next day. Do I make it on time, see the sunrise? Find out in the next post. Coming up soon!
Cheers!!
TTL: Darjeeling – Loco Special
This is a continuation of my trip to Darjeeling. How I reached here, and what I saw, check them here
Now, I was refreshed, and off I went walking back to the station. Now, there are two types of locos here, the Diesel one, and the heritage steam one.
The diesel trip from Darjeeling to Ghoom and back will cost you Rs 650 while the steam one, for the same distance will cost you Rs 1050. Be advised, there is pretty immense rush there, so book in advance.
Enough talk, now the photos!
One thing is for sure..you can never get enough of steam engines! They are simply wow!
Flora and fauna exploration, in the part II.
Cheers!
TRAVELOGUES AND TREASURES 