November 2008 ~ Travel In Home

Camera Critters

The pictures make me think how innocent people have been slaughtered by the terrorists in Mumbai last week. I was in no mood to post, until I saw the pictures that were taken in a small village called Chikeyelshetti in Bandipur , near Bangalore in Karnataka .For more pictures around the[...]

by Jour ~ Sunday, November 30, 2008 0 comments

Do we need Jayanthi Natarajan and Alyque Padamsee's sound bites ?

The crisis is over and a new day will hopefully dawn. Questions are being asked.Some of the right questions are facilities and equipment for our police forces and what is the government doing..And media houses still want sound bites and we have spokespersons like Jayanthi Natarajan holding[...]

by Jour ~ Saturday, November 29, 2008 0 comments

A dark morning

Its dark in Chennai where I am currently, as it has been raining cats and dogs. My house is an island and I am stranded, waiting for the waters to recede .On the other side of the coast in Mumbai, it is been raining bullets. I feel extremely hollow and sad as I wake up to the killings[...]

by Jour ~ Wednesday, November 26, 2008 0 comments

A wild trip to Londa and Goa

This trip was wild..though it had little to do with wild animals - we did manage to see a sambhar deer when we crossed the Dandeli forests at 3 am as we returned from Palolem Beach ..Where did I go ? Londa, Ganeshkudi, Dandeli and Goa and it was really a wild trip on the banks of the[...]

by Jour ~ Monday, November 24, 2008 0 comments

The Bandipur Diary . Wild Conversations - Part 3

" Can you see the cattle ?" A herd has just stopped our jeep from moving any further.."Yes, so .. in India, you see cattle everywhere." " Yes, but this is forestland and you see cattle grazing right in the middle of a forest ..thats the problem..beginning of man-animal conflict." Mithun[...]

by Jour ~ Wednesday, November 19, 2008 0 comments

The Bandipur Diary - Wild Conversations - 2

"Morning." " Morning ." "Good sighting yesterday - elephants, gaurs, deer .Didnt know South India had so much wildlife." 6 am and the moon shines out of a bright blue sky .There are only 3 of us in the jeep. Olaf ,Katja and I . " First time here ?" Yes.But we've been to Kanha,Ranthambore,[...]

by Jour ~ Tuesday, November 18, 2008 0 comments

The Bandipur Diary - Wild conversations -Part 1

" Karnataka alone has lost 100 elephants in less than a year and it is mainly female elephants that are dying ." The wood cracked as the smoke curled up , warming up the air. Mithun the naturalist in Bandipur is speaking to the guests. He moves on from one group to the other .The conversation[...]

by Jour ~ Tuesday, November 18, 2008 0 comments

Back from Bandipura

Thanks for your wishes. I am back in Bangalore and it has been a day of power cuts and traffic jams.It was refreshing to be in the wilds again..I was staying at Bandipur Safari Lodge, a beautiful property of Jungle Lodges and Resorts overlooking the hills.A bit of a bad luck as I missed[...]

by Jour ~ Monday, November 17, 2008 0 comments

Off to Bandipur

After a long time, I am off to the jungles..The last time I went a bit wild was probably a year ago..2008 has largely been heritage except for Coorg and Karwar. Finally I get to go to Bandipur courtesy JLR (Jungle Lodges & Resorts .)Few destinations are alluring enough to be visited[...]

by Jour ~ Friday, November 14, 2008 0 comments

The skies at 15,000 feet in Arunachal Pradesh

We were in Arunachal Pradesh beyond Tawang driving at 15,000 feet, probably a bit lesser as the picture indicates. It was bright and sunny out there although it was freezing and we were breathless , but the blue sky was a perfect foil to the rocky mountains .The mountains, sometimes filled[...]

by Jour ~ Thursday, November 13, 2008 0 comments

India through my eyes - Direct marketing !

The title says it all..in Warangal . No, we didnt eat or have a drink there[...]

by Jour ~ Wednesday, November 12, 2008 0 comments

Travel and travel stories

There has been a bit of a slow down recently in my writing as well..the reason being I dont want to become a factory churning articles by the day.Travel writing is an intense personal experience, sometimes even more exhilarating and draining than the journey itself and just putting it[...]

by Jour ~ Friday, November 7, 2008 0 comments

Thanjavur -The Big Temple against the sky

The 216 feet high Vimana (tower )of the Big Brihadeshwara Temple seems to be touching the sky in Thanjavur in interior Tamil Nadu. Built in the 11th century, by Raja Raja Chola 1 of the Chola Dynasty , this temple is one of its kind in the world and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site called[...]

by Jour ~ Thursday, November 6, 2008 0 comments

Hampi Utsav

The annual Hampi Utsav (festival) starts from today and I am not going. I have been to Hampi many times before and it remains my all time favourite destination. I discovered Hampi in 1995 during a college trip . The Utsav was going on and the ancient Vijaynagar capital on the banks of[...]

by Jour ~ Sunday, November 2, 2008 0 comments