Saturday Morning saw us heading towards Orlando, with tickets to the Sea World. Its a 2 Hour drive from jacksonville to Orlando. Florida can be so lush green that we were left wondering if this wasnt "Gods own Country!!".
Though this was my second trip to the Sea World, I still found it every bit as exciting as the first time. Its amazing to see how the trainers bond with the animals. Its evident that its not just a job for them, its a passion and a love for these animals that goes well beyond the calls of duty. And this is what makes these shows so special. Its simply a must visit place for anyone, kids especially.
We did see quite a few unexpected animals as well, a manatee - closest relative of an elephant apparently, an ant eater, a lemur , a koala, a kangaroo, a camel!!, foxes and cheetah's to name a few.
And ofcourse Shamu, sea lions and the dolphins. A fun day overall.
And do you know why Flamingo's are pink?
he he.. cos they eat shrimps.
Showing posts with label Travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Travel. Show all posts
Monday, May 04, 2009
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
The Belgian Golden Boy
Well i've been moving again... Bangalore to hyderabad and now in Brussels, Belgium.. the land of chocoloates, diamonds..
But thats not what this is about... This is bout the pissing boy...
For those who thought Tintin was the golden boy.. he he you ought to see this to believe it...
This dude is one hell of a popular guy...
check him out.. i have been told u should NOT miss it if you are in belgium..
Tuesday, March 08, 2005
Horny Indians
I miss the krrrrrrrrrrrr from the autos, trrrng trrrng from the cycles, Pom Pom from the buses, peeeeeeah peeeeeah from the cars and various other varieties of horns and expletives that resonate in Indian roads. Be it men, women, kids , young or old, not a soul hesitates to use the horn. Not without a reason though. You would feel absolutely incapacitated without a horn in your vehicle. I mean, just imagine!!!
I guess its tough to imagine. Just as it would be for an Aussie to imagine someone honking at them for no apparent reason. A horn is the most unlikely thing you’d hear on the roads here. To get honked at is akin to being sworn at.
As far as India is concerned, the ‘People’ factor does inject itself everywhere. Here, Time, Tide and People wait for none. So use the horn and make way for yourself!!
After all rules are meant to be broken and horns are meant to be honked.
I guess its tough to imagine. Just as it would be for an Aussie to imagine someone honking at them for no apparent reason. A horn is the most unlikely thing you’d hear on the roads here. To get honked at is akin to being sworn at.
As far as India is concerned, the ‘People’ factor does inject itself everywhere. Here, Time, Tide and People wait for none. So use the horn and make way for yourself!!
After all rules are meant to be broken and horns are meant to be honked.
Sunday, October 31, 2004
Deccan Dexterity
It was on a recent trek which covered Mullyangiri, Kammengundi, Halebidu, Belur and Donigal, that the aura behind the deccan struck each an every one of us. Though for most part of the journey we trekked sitting comfortably inside a Qualis, I still prefer to call this trip a trek, because we did trek for a few hours towards the end.
Not only were we awestruck by the beauty of the deccan plateau, its history and the complex intermingling of geology, history, religion and economics in this region, but also by our ignorance of these facts. Adding to the insult, I managed to grab a book on the Deccan titled “Diving the Deccan” written by Bill Aitken, which not only exposed my ignorance, but also that of multitudes of Indians living their lives in blissful ignorance.
What does the word ‘Deccan’ mean to you? In all probability the geographical region that we know as deccan today or nothing at all.
Deccan is derived from the Sanskrit word ‘dakshina’, which also means “On the right hand” (from which incidentally the word ‘dexterity’ is also derived). It also referred to the southern direction in general. Today, in the hugely popular field of Vastu Shastra, the south is considered very auspicious.
Dakshina was corrupted by the British, probably to suit their tongue, to the word ‘Deccan’, which they defined as the semi arid land in the south central plateau.
The Deccan plateau is a semi arid region, that does not even boast of fertile lands. What is it here then, that has attracted people here? What is it in this land, that has caused so many battles to be fought over it?
People would argue that most of these battles were based on religion. But just a closer look would reveal that religion was hardly the reason. Hindus hated the Muslims, Buddhists and Jains, the Deccani Muslims hated the Mughal Muslims as much as they hated the Hindus, Buddhists and Jains, and Orthodox Muslims hated the Unorthodox Muslims as much as they did hate any other religion. In fact there have been repeated instances of alliances between the Hindu and Muslim rulers.
Though many of these battles have often been camouflaged by religious motives, these should be viewed from the diametrically opposite side, as battles for power, land and wealth. To the rational mind, it all made pure economic sense.
What the Deccan did possess was wealth. The Deccan throws up some of the earth’s richest minerals.
The Deccan to us today is a fusion of the North and South. It is a cultural melting pot, having ingredients from the Dravidian and the Aryan Culture, resulting in a flavour that is unique to the Deccan. The region boasts of high quality architecture, influenced by history geology and religion. To a theologist this region forms a treasure trove of competing religious ideologies.
My visit to Halebid and Belur, left me flabbergasted at what I saw and at my own blissful ignorance of it. ‘Halebidu’ in kannada, as I was told means, ‘destroyed house’ or ‘old house’. It was so named after it was attacked by the Alaudin Khilji. It was earlier called Dwara Samudra, the Capital city of the Hoysalas.
Many small stories that our Guide had to tell us, brought to life the carvings in the temple, each one of them telling us a story of its own.. For example, the story behind the name Hoysala. Apparently while a group of students were being taught by their Tutor, they were attacked by a Tiger. One of the students Sala stood his ground while most of the other students fled. The master throws a weapon towards sala and shouts ‘Hoy Sala’, which means ‘Kill Sala’, instructing him to kill the Tiger. Sala later went on to found the Hoysala Dynasty.
There was this one statue with a boy embracing a girl. But what was strange about it was that the girl had a donkeys head. The guide went on to explain what the artist was trying to explain here and it made a lot of sense to all of us. It simply meant, to a boy. at the age of sixteen even a donkey looks like a beautiful girl.
What was planned as a short 10 minute trip in and out, took us a whole two hours. The details of the carvings were simply breathtaking.
A trip down the Konkan coast, exposes us to the western tip of the Deccan Plateau. These gigantic rocks, which also happen to be one of the oldest on the surface of the earth, command respect as you look at them. You cant but help get the feeling that some of the rulers that the Deccan has churned out, owe their qualities of strength, ruggedness and enduring character to these very rocks.
Unlike the deserts or the oceans, where one is engulfed by the same constant monotony for miles to come, or the Himalayas, where each and every step is distraught with danger, the Deccan explodes with a mind boggling range of emotions, drawing you further towards it.
Looking forward to visit a lot more places.
Not only were we awestruck by the beauty of the deccan plateau, its history and the complex intermingling of geology, history, religion and economics in this region, but also by our ignorance of these facts. Adding to the insult, I managed to grab a book on the Deccan titled “Diving the Deccan” written by Bill Aitken, which not only exposed my ignorance, but also that of multitudes of Indians living their lives in blissful ignorance.
What does the word ‘Deccan’ mean to you? In all probability the geographical region that we know as deccan today or nothing at all.
Deccan is derived from the Sanskrit word ‘dakshina’, which also means “On the right hand” (from which incidentally the word ‘dexterity’ is also derived). It also referred to the southern direction in general. Today, in the hugely popular field of Vastu Shastra, the south is considered very auspicious.
Dakshina was corrupted by the British, probably to suit their tongue, to the word ‘Deccan’, which they defined as the semi arid land in the south central plateau.
The Deccan plateau is a semi arid region, that does not even boast of fertile lands. What is it here then, that has attracted people here? What is it in this land, that has caused so many battles to be fought over it?
People would argue that most of these battles were based on religion. But just a closer look would reveal that religion was hardly the reason. Hindus hated the Muslims, Buddhists and Jains, the Deccani Muslims hated the Mughal Muslims as much as they hated the Hindus, Buddhists and Jains, and Orthodox Muslims hated the Unorthodox Muslims as much as they did hate any other religion. In fact there have been repeated instances of alliances between the Hindu and Muslim rulers.
Though many of these battles have often been camouflaged by religious motives, these should be viewed from the diametrically opposite side, as battles for power, land and wealth. To the rational mind, it all made pure economic sense.
What the Deccan did possess was wealth. The Deccan throws up some of the earth’s richest minerals.
The Deccan to us today is a fusion of the North and South. It is a cultural melting pot, having ingredients from the Dravidian and the Aryan Culture, resulting in a flavour that is unique to the Deccan. The region boasts of high quality architecture, influenced by history geology and religion. To a theologist this region forms a treasure trove of competing religious ideologies.
My visit to Halebid and Belur, left me flabbergasted at what I saw and at my own blissful ignorance of it. ‘Halebidu’ in kannada, as I was told means, ‘destroyed house’ or ‘old house’. It was so named after it was attacked by the Alaudin Khilji. It was earlier called Dwara Samudra, the Capital city of the Hoysalas.
Many small stories that our Guide had to tell us, brought to life the carvings in the temple, each one of them telling us a story of its own.. For example, the story behind the name Hoysala. Apparently while a group of students were being taught by their Tutor, they were attacked by a Tiger. One of the students Sala stood his ground while most of the other students fled. The master throws a weapon towards sala and shouts ‘Hoy Sala’, which means ‘Kill Sala’, instructing him to kill the Tiger. Sala later went on to found the Hoysala Dynasty.
There was this one statue with a boy embracing a girl. But what was strange about it was that the girl had a donkeys head. The guide went on to explain what the artist was trying to explain here and it made a lot of sense to all of us. It simply meant, to a boy. at the age of sixteen even a donkey looks like a beautiful girl.
What was planned as a short 10 minute trip in and out, took us a whole two hours. The details of the carvings were simply breathtaking.
A trip down the Konkan coast, exposes us to the western tip of the Deccan Plateau. These gigantic rocks, which also happen to be one of the oldest on the surface of the earth, command respect as you look at them. You cant but help get the feeling that some of the rulers that the Deccan has churned out, owe their qualities of strength, ruggedness and enduring character to these very rocks.
Unlike the deserts or the oceans, where one is engulfed by the same constant monotony for miles to come, or the Himalayas, where each and every step is distraught with danger, the Deccan explodes with a mind boggling range of emotions, drawing you further towards it.
Looking forward to visit a lot more places.
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