July 2007 ~ Travel In Home

A Sunday Drive

Sunday evening we drove over to our new favorite cinema to see The Simpsons Movie, which has gotten astonishingly good reviews. But the parking lot was absolutely packed and we knew the theater would be too, so we turned around and went home.But it was such a beautiful evening, and you know from my whining that that has been a rarity these days, so we took our time getting home. David took us for

by Jour ~ Monday, July 30, 2007 0 comments

Cornwall: Old Stones, Fish & Chips and a Castle

Sunday morning we had a decent breakfast in our Exeter B&B, where we sat next to a 60s-ish couple and their granddaughter. They were very chatty and immediately asked where we were from upon hearing our accents. They are from Dallas and their kids live in England; their cute little granddaughter had an English accent. Immediately after breakfast we set out on the road again, continuing west

by Jour ~ Saturday, July 28, 2007 0 comments

Halal Food Hilal Town in South Thailand(27-31 July 2007)

Starting in the first year of 2005, the festival was seen as a massive success and saw a big crowd of Muslim population on the island itself and even the nearby provinces like Phang-Nga and Phuket. They had a good time getting together and showed off their charm and hositality.

The second year’s venue was relocated to the large Thalang Historical Memorial Site at Ban Riang in Theppkasartri area, on the north of the island as the PPAO is develoing it into a provincial historical site. This year’s third ‘Halal Food Hilal Town’ event will also be held at the same location during July 27 – 31 2007.
Featured at the 5 day festival will be a great selection of food prepared strictly under the Halal requirements.

Other interesting activities include cooking contests, bird singing contests, local arts and traditions like an ancient wedding, and folkore at the cultural ground.

There will also be an exhibition and sale of local products from all 14 southern provinces, as Alee Kumban an organizing committee member explained.

The highlight of the 5 day event is the light and sound show telling the tragic story of the legendary Princess Mahsuri and it is on every night.

[Source from; thaisnews.com]

by Jour ~ Thursday, July 26, 2007 0 comments

Exeter

David took Monday and Tuesday off and we had a nice four-day weekend in the "West Country." We spent Saturday night in Exeter and then Sunday and Monday in Penzance (yep, of Pirates fame) near the western tip of Cornwall. It was a three-hour drive from home to Exeter, which is in the county of Devon. Like Cornwall, Devon is known for its green countryside and delicious cream teas. As often

by Jour ~ 0 comments

Cuddesdon

Saturday afternoon we walked up the hill to the village of Cuddesdon. Its church was great and the village was lovely, too. Here's a few pics.Some heavy traffic on the way up the hill.Road signs in Cuddesdon.Gate to Cuddesdon Church. Cuddesdon Parish Church, which is good and old - founded 1180.12th-century carved capitals - note the beastie on the right. Looks like Bigfoot!Another medieval

by Jour ~ Tuesday, July 17, 2007 0 comments

Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary

Frayed nerves and a tired mind came along with my incentive last quarter .Not to mention , an irritable mood with low tolerance and a nagging migrane that just refused to go away. A quick remedy was a short weekend getaway and so, it was a day trip to Rangantittu Bird Sanctuary , near Mysore

At first I thought it was a bad idea ... i ran away from people to see more people, loud and brash , the picnicking variety who come in hordes to scare even the birds away...but once we got into the waters for a short boat ride around the islands , it was a different experience

Several birds,mainly the migrants flocked in huge numbers, almost outnumbering the tourists who were waiting at the deck for the boats. The painted stork, herons, darters, cormorants are just some of them ...crocodiles are in plenty and you can often see them sun bathing or just lazing on the rocks ...

I am not too much into birds, but am slowly getting fascinated by the winged creatures...I am making another trip soon and will update if i see any rare varieties
Getting there
Just a couple of hours if you are driving from bangalore towards Mysore...a small deviation near srirangapatna and you are into this winged territory ..
Best time to visit - this is a tough one ...to me its throughout the year . If you however want to see migratory birds its October to March, but mainly during winter ...Its not an ideal period to visit during monsoons as there are ususally floods . Beware of crocodiles who are usually sunbathing on rocks

by Jour ~ Sunday, July 15, 2007 0 comments

Village People

On Saturday afternoon, after completing the morning errands into Oxford and watching the Formula One qualifying race (which is in Britain this weekend!), we went for a walk around our new hometown of Great Milton. We had a wonderful time.A road sign just outside Great Milton (also seen at the top). A road into the village. It looks like a bike path, but it is actually for cars, a few of which

by Jour ~ Wednesday, July 11, 2007 0 comments

The Oxford era comes to an end.

I'm pleased to be able to report that I passed my exams and will actually receive an MPhil degree!! Hooray!!! (For background, I was studying Early Christian and Greco-Roman religious history, I took exams on June 14-15, defended my dissertation on June 29, and June 27-30 we moved from Oxford out to the nearby village of Great Milton.)We drove into Oxford this morning to check my results and do

by Jour ~ Saturday, July 7, 2007 0 comments