It was really very difficult to find just one image for each of these seven categories from among all my cherished travel photos, but I think I have done a good job with my picks. It is very nostalgic to go back through old photos and remember how amazing those trips were.
So, without further ado, here are my seven super shots in seven categories !

1. A photo that…takes my breath away

Lonar crater lake in Maharashtra is third largest meteorite crater in the world. I knew this, but not, how it would take my breath away when I’d see it standing at the rim of it. The 50 thousand years old sylvan crater walls were enticing with lush green trees and so was abundant emerald green water…. in almost perfect round lake. Travel information on the net was very sparse and though people were aware of this lake, not many of them have visited it and hence no commercialization of the place. I can never get over how beautiful this lake was. I have written about it here.

2. A photo that…makes me laugh or smile

For this category I had many photos… mis-spelt sign boards, funny road signs, laughing people and photos that make me smile. But I chose this laughing mannequin which always makes me laugh. In Phuket, Thailand there is one market which has only laughing mannequins in it and awestrucked I was running like a headless chicken to see them all.
Looking at my craziness, my husband reminded me, ….. “They are all laughing at you !” ha ha ha

3. A photo that…makes me dream

Any trip to Philippines is not complete without hiking on these famous mountainous rice terraces of Batad, one of the most difficult hikings in the world. And what an experience it was to hike during monsoon. The Sun hides behind the mountains very early and it becomes quite cold after that. The place has bare minimum facilities with virtually no internet or phone connection. I dream of spending quite a few months in this place before my knees & legs refuse to take me there.

4. A photo that…makes me think

Cambodia has a very disturbing history and its people are still going through rough times. Even today nearly 20% of landmines are yet to be cleared which take a life or make people physically disabled… at least one case everyday! I applaud them for their courage and determination to come out of it, both physically and emotionally. I recently came back after volunteering in that country and it was an experience to remember.
This photo of human skulls stacked in a temple reminds of the daunting time they have faced… makes me think.. WHY?

5. A photo that…makes my mouth water

This is another category where I had a tough time to select just one photo and in the end I thought of posting a picture of street food. I love to try out and taste local food and what better way than to have tempting street food being cooked right in front of you !

6. A photo that…tells a story

This wall of Jalianwala Bagh is full of bullet holes that tell a horrifying story where human life has no value over barbarousness of some people. The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre, where British Indian Army soldiers on General Dyer’s orders opened fire without any warning on an unarmed gathering of men, women and children from all religions. The firing lasted about 10 minutes and 1650 rounds were fired or 33 rounds per soldier !! This place is an open enclosure with tall buildings on all the four sides with only a narrow passage which lead into it. At the time of firing, this exit was blocked.

7. A photo that…I am most proud of (aka my worthy of National Geographic shot)

National Geographic can feel free to get in touch with me to negotiate the price of this photo.
Ostriches are very fidgety, not for a second they can stay still. This one was no exception and of course, it was much taller than me. It wasn’t allowing me to click a shot. The moment I touched my camera, it used to come running towards me and would look straight into my eyes craning its long neck. This was one of those rare moments when I was faster.

Isn’t it a good photo?

And so, those are my seven super shots! Now it’s my turn to tag a few other bloggers to show us their 7 Super Shots.
I throw this open to everybody, anyone can pick up the tag from here. But I would also love to see the awesome range of photos clicked by Payaniga, Dave and Anuradha.
Whoever does this tag, please link back to this post so that we all can see your super shots.

P.S.- This article belongs to Le Monde-A Poetic Travail. If you are viewing this on a website instead of your RSS feed reader, then that website is guilty of stealing my content. Kindly do me a favour. Please visit my site and help me taking action by letting me know against this theft. Thank you.

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Guided tours are privately owned, and they usually charge through the roof, so if you do a bit of preparation beforehand by looking up places of interest to visit in the city, the public transport system is more than adequate and should serve you well.

There are generally three ways of getting around the city, short of renting a vehicle yourself.
• You can take the train
• You can take the bus
• You can hail cabs

A train station.

The train system is managed by two companies, and thus there are two separate lines (broadly), they are, the KTM and the LRT. The KTM commuter trains are generally inter-city, and there is only one such line for local use. These trains have a frequency of 30 minutes, so be sure to plan a schedule accordingly! Also, they tend to be more crowded because of the low frequency.
The LRT is short for Light Rail Transit, and is an exclusively local transit system. It has lines spreading out throughout the city starting radially from KL Sentral (the hub station of the city). Recently, the LRT stations were revamped so that you can change lines between different LRT trains within the station after buying a ticket. This makes travel to different parts of the city much more convenient. Here is a short video of LRT which I took on one of my previous visits.

Here are a few notable train stations to keep in mind:
• Bukit Bintang (For going to the Bukit Bintang area)
• Imbi (this monorail station opens directly into the mall Berjaya Times Square)
• KLCC (this stop opens into Suria KLCC, the mall on top of which are the Petronas Twin Towers)
• Plaza Rakyat (this is the nearest stop to the Puduraya bus station, and is within walking distance to Petaling Street, or as its generally referred to by tourists, Chinatown)
• Mid Valley (this stop is on the KTM line, so you will have to travel to KL Sentral, and switch to the KTM line)

The Bus network is pretty good too. There are basically 2 networks.

One is by private operators, I guess it is called the metrobus. However, I find that this bus service is less frequented by the tourists and more used by the locals. They are all aircon and quite comfortable. In fact some parts of KL are accessible by bus or taxi only. (like Batu caves for instance). If you do use this service of bus tours please ask the people around as to which bus goes where.
• The other set of buses are the feeder services run by Rapid KL. They take you to prominent points from the main metro stations. Now-a-days you could buy a card that is valid on both LRT and Rapid KL. This is called Rapidpass Flexi and can be bought for 1, 3, 7, 15 or 30 days number of days. This is probably the most useful pass which affords unlimited travel on metro and Rapid KL Bus network.
• The card itself is the Touch’n’Go card that was initiated a few years back , which is a type of prepaid card that can be used for paying for variety of expenses including road tolls. Just pick up one of these cards from any LRT station and activate it for flexipass facility.
• Of course there are other networks like the shuttle bus service from the airports and the intercity buses.

A Teksi (Taxi) in Kuala Lumpur.

The public transportation is extensive, but if you plan on travelling late at night, or if the place you want to visit is not on the network, you can always hail a cab to take you there. There are a multitude of taxi companies, but broadly there are two kinds of taxis available to the public. The basic service, and the executive taxis. Executive taxis are blue in colour, and are roomier. Compared to other means of transport, cabs are not cheap, and the minimum fare will set you back by RM 3(RM 6 if it is an executive taxi), but it is the most convenient way to travel. You can also go to the nearest bus or train stop to your destination and hail a cab from there to save some money. If the traffic is not high, cabs will usually get you to your destination faster than train and bus travel.

P.S.- This article belongs to Le Monde-A Poetic Travail. If you are viewing this on a website instead of your RSS feed reader, then that website is guilty of stealing my content. Kindly do me a favour. Please visit my site and help me taking action by letting me know against this theft. Thank you.

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The Tourism minister with the speakers.

The topics ranged from creating an Engaged Tourism Social Media Community to Measuring ROI in tourism using social media. I was requested to speak on the most difficult (I think so) and sought after topic. It was “Monetizing via social media- where to start and how to grow”. I was approached by students, bloggers and other entrepreneurs from the first day itself to know what it is going to be.

Students of tourism attending keenly.

Lunch with staff of tourism ministry.

At the gala dinner. The stage was on fire !

On first night of the conference, we were invited for a gala dinner at the award ceremony where local bloggers were awarded and we had a wonderful time. The stage was on fire. We did Chicken dance with the tourism minister YB Dato’ Dr Ng Yen Yen and her staff. The minister herself is a bundle of energy. I wish our ministers are as enthusiastic and participative in nature as her.

When it comes to work, she is one of them who interacts to learn and teach rather than preach, makes an impact whenever she enters a roomful of people. So the same approach and attitude flows down to all the officials of tourism ministry. I found each one of them very warm in their disposition.

High tea with Tourism minister Dr Ng Yen Yen and her officials was the last official item on agenda on second day but our exploration wasn’t over yet. First, we went to a night tour to their awesome new capital Putra Jaya, especially designed to decongest the main city Kuala Lumpur. It hosts several government offices and their officials.

Next day I headed to Melaka, one of my favourite cities in Malaysia, with Anuradha, one of the other invitees. Ministry of Tourism made all the arrangements for our transport & stay. We were accompanied with a registered tourist guide who unfortunately knew less than me about the place. A lovely woman tourist officer was also deputed on duty because we two women were travelling. In short, we were pampered to no end.
Two days in Melaka and we were soaked in history. Came back to Kuala Lumpur, the city I am at home.

Today evening I fly back to India to share more interesting stories and photos of Malaysia with you all.
Keep watching my Facebook page.

Note:- Once again, if you are not checking my Facebook or Twitter, you are losing on detailed timely information. If you want to travel with me, join me on Facebook fan page and Twitter.

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It was a new year for them and I was at Jalan Tun Perak with a local woman. Just as I was waiting to cross the road, this person also came & stood there. He was coming from the Masjid (mosque) after offering prayers.

The woman with me explained why this man had dressed up like that and I wished to click him. Mind you, in Malaysia generally you can not click photo of a person without his/her permission.

So the friendly woman requested him in Malay.

So shy that he couldn’t face the camera!

He felt very shy and smiled…. could not look into the camera. I respected his apprehension. The lights to cross the road became green and I clicked him before he vanished into crowd.
P.S.-This article belongs to Le Monde-A Poetic Travail. If you are viewing this on a website instead of your RSS feed reader, then that website is guilty of stealing my content. Kindly do me a favour. Please visit my site and help me taking action by letting me know against this theft. Thank you.
If you want to travel with me, join me on Facebook fan page and Twitter.

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