Travel Pictures

Jul 112014
 
Sunset over Chinese Fishing Nets Cochin

Photographing Sunset in Fort Kochi behind Chinese Fishing Nets Clichéd it may sound, but a visit to Fort Kochi in Cochin, Kerala is incomplete without clicking a picture of Sunset behind the Chinese Fishing nets. For us visitors ( tourists, travelers take your pick), it is a photo opportunity but for the fishermen of Kerala, it is a lot of hard work. I am not sure exactly when the Chinese fishing nets came to India and when they became ubiquitous on the Cochin Skyline. Today they are kind of symbol of your visit to Fort Kochi in Kerala and every [Continue Reading By Clicking Here…]

Jun 242014
 
Philadelphia Chinatown

  A Picture from Philly Chinatown  desis or the diaspora from Asia and Indian subcontinent are one of the most widespread ethnic groups in USA, but for some reason they are just clubbed as Asians or in some cases South Asians.  But while desis started migrating en masse to US mainly after 80s and more so in 90s with the IT boom, Chinese diaspora has been in US for more than a 100 years in a large number. I had no knowledge about the same till I watched the Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson movies with absolutely crazy plots [Continue Reading By Clicking Here…]

May 202014
 
Evening Ganga Aarti at Varanasi Dashashwamedh Ghat

 Ganga Aarti at Varanasi: In praise of the River Goddess In Travel Tuesday post today we will talk about Ganga Aarti at Varanasi, the spiritual capital of India. Banaras as the city is known locally is now in limelight because of political reasons due to a very well publicized electoral battle between Narendra Modi and Arvind Kejriwal. Of course, now this is old news and Mr. Narendra Modi emerged victorious in what turned out to be a no contest. But desi Traveler is not a political blog, so we will restrict our discussion to our topic of the post the evening Aarti on Dashashwamedh [Continue Reading By Clicking Here…]

May 062014
 
Travel Tuesday Picture: Jogi Mahal Ranthambore

Where Tigers Rule: Jogi Mahal Today’s travel pictures is from Rang Rangeelo Rajasthan, the state equally famous for Royal Palaces, and the most Royal of the beasts -The Royal Bengal Tiger in Ranthambore National Park near the Sawai Madhopur town.  Here I am giving the picture of Jogi Mahal, on the bank of Padam Talab inside the Ranthambore National Park. This picture was taken from the top of Ranthambore Fort on a sunny afternoon. From the top of the fort Jogi Mahal looks as if trying to hide in the dense jungle, thanks to always full Padam Talab, who [Continue Reading By Clicking Here…]

Apr 292014
 
Travel Tuesday Picture: Village Life in Art of India

Life and Art of Rural India in Batik Print They say beauty lies in the eye of the beholder, so what is beauty to me, may not be good for you and vice versa. So browsing through some old pictures I found this simple bed sheet, that I find beautiful both for its art as well as for what it depicts in the print. For today’s picture I have chosen a picture of a bed sheet from one of the hotels I stayed in Pondicherry to attend an international marriage in a resort. Now on the face of it this bed [Continue Reading By Clicking Here…]

Apr 222014
 
Kathakali Playing Gods in God's Own Country Travel Tuesday Picture

  Bheema and Draupadi in Mahabharata: A Kathakali Performance I have seen Kathakali a few times earlier, but to watch Kathakali in its birthplace is a very special moment for any body who loves performing arts.  So I had my chance when we were at Vivanta by Taj -Kovalam and they organized a show for the guests.  In this particular show the artists portray Bheem and Draupadi from a scene in Mahabharata.  Kathakali is all about expressions and the highly accomplished artists can depict every single emotion known to man by his eyes only.  I say his because almost [Continue Reading By Clicking Here…]

Apr 172014
 
The Man Who Saw Jesus

Making of Jesus in the Backwaters of Alleppey in Kerala Happy yet humbled at our discovery of the ancient Portuguese church in the backwaters of Alleppey during our Houseboat ride, I and Nelson my friend from Portugal decided to explore  some more around the church.  I was pondering of higher questions like divine, god, religion etc. and one thought kept on coming to my mind, “  God made man or man made God? , if God is one, why do we have so many religions? And how come every religion claims  as the only true one? Can there be more than [Continue Reading By Clicking Here…]

Apr 082014
 
Travel Tuesday Picture: Holi in Kerala

Holi Hai :  International Travel Bloggers Play Holi in Kerala Holi is one of the most colorful festivals of India.  Countless poems, paintings, songs can be found celebrating the joy of Holi. There was a time when no Bollywood movie would be complete without drenching the heroines white sari in colors of Holi.  Even latest movies like  Yeh Jawani Hai Diwani, had the mandatory Holi song,  even though they are in the cold mountains of Manali, which was actually Gulmarg. Anyways this post is not about the movie or Holi in movies, it is about how Holi is considered  an [Continue Reading By Clicking Here…]

Mar 312014
 
A Gandhian and a Plantation Homestay in Wayanad Kerala

The Gandhian Who runs a Plantation Homestay & promotes Eco Tourism in Wayanad The Azure sky above and the colorful attire of Kerala Express Bloggers are the only challengers to the monopoly of green during our plantation visit in Wayanad. We are touring a plantation that grows spices like Pepper, Areca nut, coffee, and fruits like coconut, banana and many more. The plants around me are showing stress due to a rain-less month, and at 34 degree Celsius, Wayanad is making a new high compared to the average of  30 degrees. We cross paddy fields that soon bow out to a serpentine [Continue Reading By Clicking Here…]

Mar 192014
 
Watching Snake Boat Race in Kerala

Snake Boat Race at Ashtamudi Lake Backwaters Every where in Kerala we are greeted with big smiles and shown great hospitality. On our journey towards Kollam we stopped by at Welcome Group Hotel Raviz in the outskirts of Kollam. After a great welcome with trumpeting elephants and Kathakali dancers, we boarded their houseboat Fort Raviz where there team has spread a lavish buffet for us on the upper deck of the luxury houseboat. Our plan was to take a ride in the secluded backwaters of the magnificent Ashtamudi Lake. But it was our lucky day as the hotel has organized [Continue Reading By Clicking Here…]