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Jal Mahal

2012-04-07T20:00:00.000+05:30

Jal Mahal Palace, Jaipur by dusk

Although it has been more than 6 months since I updated my blog, this post from Jaipur covers our experience from the very same day as my last post: 27th February 2010.

The Hawa Mahal (Palace of the Winds) which was the star of my last post is definitely the most famous of Jaipur's landsmarks, but another of the elements has its own landmark her: Jal Mahal or Palace of Water.

You cannot actually visit the Jal Mahal - at least not at the time of our visit - but its scenic location in the middle of a lake on the highway to Delhi, makes it an extremely popular photo stop for most visitors. And justifiably so: It i a very attractive sight, particularly as darkness falls and the palace becomes beautifully lit.

A picture taken a few hours earlier than the one above. It is attractive even in daylight.

We were lucky enough to visit the Jal Mahal during a full moon, adding even more to the atmosphere

Palace of the Winds

2011-09-11T18:29:00.000+05:30

Small front section of the Palace of the Winds, Jaipur

First off, a small apology for the inactivity of the blog. I have no intention of stopping my blogging, but a couple of big changes have happened in our lives, which have prevented me from blogging for a while. The biggest of these is that we have moved from India! More about that later, now back to our adventures in Incredible India:

In a pleasant February month in 2010 we decided to bring our 6-month old boy Valdemar and his nannies on a trip outside Delhi. We wanted somewhere close and since Nitoli had never been to Jaipur before we chose the famous "pink city". Besides we could make it fit with Jaipur's annual Elephant Festival.

Single window section of the Palace of the Winds with coloured glass seen from the inside

I had a visited Jaipur two times earlier (see here, and here) and as with many other tourists my impression was not the very best. I found the place to be over crowded, ill maintained and the local economy way too tourism dependent for its own good. However, third time turned out to be the charm, as this would turn out to be my best visit by far - although not due to the disappointing elephant festival.

The classic from view of Hawa Mahal, adourning thousands of tourist brochures. Here photographed bathed in the warm sunlight of the early morning hours

We started at the city's undisputed landmark, "Hawa Mahal" or "Palace of the Winds" in English. This iconic structure was built to allow the local Maharaja's wives and concubines to be entertained by observing street life, without themselves being subject to the gleary stares of local men. The many small windows would secure this and secure maximum discretion.

More from Jaipur coming soon...

Less famous backside view of the Palace.

Tourists on top of the tall thin palace building

Jaipur is surrounded by hills, which can be clearly seen from the top of the Hawa Mahal.

The other nanny, Sosang

Valdemar's nanny Likok inside the Palace

Valdemar and mommy in the courtyard of the palace

The Massive Stepwell of Abhaneri

2011-05-24T08:00:00.002+05:30

Chand Baori Stepwell, Abhaneri Village, Rajasthan

The stepwell is a peculiar architectural phenomenon, which is unique to the Indian Subcontinent, where the hot and dry climate creates a need for shaded water reservoirs - especially in the and around the desert landscape of Northwest India.

So far, the deepest, biggest and most amazing stepwell I have seen is 9th century "Chand Baori" located in the small village of Abhaneri a few kilometres of the Jaipur-Agra highway. It is absolutely massive and I think the picture above really doesn't convey the full scale of it. We stopped there on the way back from Ranthambore to Gurgaon and that was definitely a good call.

Many stepwells feature simple designs as they are basically just - as the name suggest - a series of steps leading down to a water source. But a few of them are much more elaborate than this suggesting that apart from the practicalities of providing water they also played a ceremonial and recreational role within the local community. This particular stepwell at Abhaneri has a small palatial complex built into its design, making it one of the more impressive archaeological sights in India.

Until recently Chand Baori could not even be found in guide books, but these days it has started appearing on the tourist radar, although still not attracting anything near the throngs of tourists the masses you see in nearby Agra and Jaipur. This is however, bound to be just a matter of time, since the stepwell is ideally located as a road stop when travelling in India's Golden Triangle. It won't be long before the visitors roll in by the bus load.

Abhaneri is also home to a few stone temple ruins, including some with erotic motifs, which is not something you see that often in these parts.

Chand Baori is undergoing restauration efforts - probably in
expectation it's coming increased importance on the tourist circuit

My travel companions inside one of the palatial pavilions facing onto the well

One of the nearby temples, which is being painstakingly restored from scattered piles of of old rubble, stones and sculptures

One of the erotically themed reliefs. I believe these were quite common in India in the old days, but few survived the more prudish invaders that overran India over the years. Perhaps this one survived by being already ruined at that time?

A little further down the road to Delhi: A colourful assembly

Ranthambore Birds

2011-05-18T08:00:00.000+05:30

A pair of Spotted Owlets, Ranthambore

As with any trip to a national park, part of the fun in Ranthambore (at least for a nature lover/geek like me) is to see how many different species of birds you can spot or even capture on camera.

On this trip we had lots of good sightings including a couple of species I haven't seen before. This post has a small selection of some of the best sightings/pictures.

Juvenile Crested Serpent Eagle in the canyon through which you enter Ranthambore

Grey Francolin

Male Bluethroat

Male Plum-Headed Parakeet

Grey Heron

A handsome male White-Naped Woodpecker

Nearby we found his companion: Female White-Naped Woodpecker

Black-Tailed Godwit

Rufous Treepie - a very bold bird which will eat from tourists' hands

The Queen's Subjects and her Realm

2011-05-11T08:00:00.004+05:30

Crocodile, Ranthambore National Park. The lakes of Ranthambore are filled with crocs

Ranthambore attracts throngs of visitors each year, all hoping to catch a glimpse of one of the world's few remaining tigers living in the wild. And this is understandable for it is a truly electrifying event to see the regal creature up close in its natural habitat. I wrote in my last post about our amazing meeting with the Queen of the Lakes.

That being said, there is more to Ranthambore than it's royalty - the tigers rule a beautiful realm with many other amazing creatures as their subjects. They are of course not benevolent rulers as most of the non-flying inhabitants of the park live in fear of the tigers. But whereas we rightly deplore such systems of governance in human society, there is drama, beauty and poetry to be found in the ever-intense battle for survival, which in Ranthambore unfolds itself for the very eyes of the tourists on a daily basis.

Ranthambore is a beautiful park entered through a dramatic narrow gorge, which helps in giving a total sense of isolation from the nearby human settlements in and around the town of Sawai Madhopur. The park is dominated cliffs, lakes and adjacent meadows and finally a dry bush-like forest. The narrow gorge which today acts as a fairy tale entry gate to the park once served as an easily defended road to the mighty Ranthambore fort. The area was densely populated by humans, resulting in historical fort and palace ruins being dotted around the park, furthering the sense of regal grandeur and mystique, which can be found in the air here.

I hope the pictures in this post manage to convey a sense of the atmosphere of the park and why I consider it to be one of the greatest attractions that India has to offer. The only real drawback are the crowds of tourists, but it's no wonder that other people have discovered the attraction of roaring Ranthambore.

The dusty road out of the park - past a grand lake and Ranthambore fort at its spectacular hilltop location

Sambar dear enjoying the shallow waters in front of the ruins of an abandoned palace

Sambar mother with her baby

The golden glow of the late afternoon sun lighting up the colourful leaves of the trees of one of Ranthambore's many dirt roads

Langurs blending in perfectly with the surroundings

In several places you pass under defensive gates of old ramparts in the process of being eaten by the jungle

An old Maharaja's hunting pavillion (possibly used as late as 1970 when the last royal hunt took place here)

Chinkara, also known as Indian gazelle

View of Ranthambore from the ramparts of the massive fort in the middle of the park

Massive Structure inside Ranthambore Fort. Allegedly this is where the Princesses' swimming pool was

Cliffs of Ranthambore's canyons

Emily, James - two of my co-travellers - and myself descending a slope to get a closer view of a couple of crocodiles (Photo: Lone Aagaard Østerbøg)

Our little group visiting Ranthambore together. From the left: Myself, Joanne, Lone, Emily and James

An Audience with the Queen in Ranthambore

2011-05-07T17:32:00.002+05:30

Tigress T17 looking straight at me as she walks towards our canter in Ranthambore

In February 2010 I went with a group of friends to Ranthambore National Park in Rajasthan and we were lucky enough to have an audience with the local Queen. Not a human queen of course, but a tigress known locally as the Queen of the Lakes or to the local park rangers and conservationists as T-17.

I visited Ranthambore once earlier in 2005 and at the end of our fourth and very last safari we saw two cubs and finally their mother: legendary tigress Machli who become world famous and was the first pronounced Queen of the Lakes.

As it so happens T-17 is the daughter of Machli and younger sister to the two cubs we saw in 2005. At some point she deposed her mother and took over her territory, making her the new Queen.

Natural born killer stalking her prey - less than an hour after this picture her hunt would prove succesful

My best close-up of the tigress. A truly royal creature.

Although we were not the first canter to spot T-17, we had an excellent guide and driver who managed to navigate the traffic and get us close to the tiger for three separate sightings as we followed her across the park stalking deer. As you can see in the pictures T17 is wearing a collar tracker, but this is only used for scientific and protective purposes. She is in every sense a completely wild animal, and the collar is not used by the tourist guides to track her. So managing to get so close to a wild tiger was a truly majestic experience, just as it was back in 2005. This time we only saw one tiger, but we got much closer and had much more time with her, so overall it may still have been a better sighting.

The tiger - being used to the crowds - takes hardly any notice of the crowds as she lies on the road silently observing a herd of deer not far away.

Our audience with the queen ended in with a bang: As we were parked on the lakeside we could hear T17 catching a sambar deer on the other side of the lake. She had not made a kill for a several days earlier so this was an important catch for her. According to the guide this was her first kill in several days, so she must have been very hungry.

Ranthambore is a fantastic park for watching tigers in the wild, although you should hurry up and go - there is talk of shutting down all tourist visits to the park. However, the park has more things to offer than just tigers. Apart from many other animal and bird species it is also home to some fantastic scenery and interesting ruins. I will return to these things in my next few posts.

Nervous deer drinking water by a lake deep inside T-17's territory

Myself and T17 (Picture by: Lone Aagaard Østerbøg)

Guwahati's Golden Langurs

2011-03-19T22:36:00.000+05:30

Golden Langurs, Guwahati

I never thought of Guwahati as much more than a crowded, concrete-dominated transport hub, which has nothing much to offer the visitor except for a few moderately interesting temples. But this perception was at least partially shattered when I found out about a well kept "secret" about some amazing inhabitants of Guwahati. The city is home to a small troop of Golden Langurs, an endangered and very rare species.

My previous perception of Guwahati: Cluttered, ugly, disorganized concrete sprawl

The Golden Langur's primary habitat is a small area on the border of Indian and Bhutan where only few humans live, so it is truly a surprise to find any of them in the middle of a dense urban centre like Guwahati. Perhaps around a dozen individuals have managed to hang on to existence on a small island in the Brahmaputra river, surrounded by Guwahati city on both the opposing banks. Peacock Island, as it is named, is also home to an old temple, which attracts worshippers throughout the day. The monkeys have probably survived partially due to feeding by pilgrims, but even so they remain wild animals too this day. Fortunately they have undisturbed nights as all humans leave on the last ferry around 17.00 in the afternoon.

The approach to Peacock Island ferry

Ferry worker

Peacock Island is tiny - but big enough to sustain its Golden Langurs

After learning about this rare primate species I was excited to spend half a day in Guwahati waiting for our flight back to Delhi. This gave me a chance to head to Peacock Island to look for the monkeys. But after searching the fairly small island for about 30 minutes I was unable to find them anywhere, and a Dutch couple who had heard my tales of the monkeys became convinced that they were not there and gave up the search. But suddenly on my third circling of the island I heard some noises and followed it to discover the flock in an almost perfect position to be photographed!

This individual clearly demonstres why the species is described as Golden

A younger individual, which is just starting to acquire its golden fur

Another young monkey jumping from tree to tree

I spent a good half hour with the Golden Langurs and while doing so attracted lots of locals, who were curious to find out why I was so fascinated with a little group of monkeys - not knowing that they were looking at a very special and endangered species. The Golden Langur looks fairly similar to the common langur which is very common in India. But as the name suggests it is clearly distinguished by the golden colour of the fur found in the mature adults.

After bidding the monkeys farewell I made my way back to the mainland and went for a walk through Old Guwahati, which provided another pleasant contrast to the dirty and the crowded bazaars of central Guwahati. It consists of several leafy neighbourhoods with a variety of parks, temples, ponds, lakes and quiet streets sprinkled out over the area. I ended up at the Dighalipukhuri water tank opposite Assam State Museum and was amused to find the locals walking on water in a big water and air tight plastic bubble. So of course I had to try it also! Overall, it was by far my best day in Guwahati so far.

Scenic Urra Tara temple next to one of Old Guwahati's pleasant ponds

Busy, but leafed and broad street in Old Guwahati

A couple of locals trying out walking on water

Your's truly in the bubble - not actually walking in the bubble since it is almost impossible to stay upright

The Funfair

2011-03-13T19:32:00.002+05:30

My niece Ina looking down on Mokokchung's Funfair from the ferris wheel

During our Christmas days Mokokchung I noticed a big Funfair erected on one of the town's major sports grounds. Such fairs travel all over India according to local festivals and holidays. Nagaland is an obvious place to set up shop for Christmas.

The fairs in India are still a bit on the primitive side, with various stands made of bamboo and a few kid-oriented amusement rides that are all a bit on the slow moving side - which is probably fortunate given the general safety standards of the place. The stands vary from those selling snacks, to those selling little magic trick kits (with live demonstration of how to use it) to game stands.

The most popular game taking up about 1/3 of all the stands is a simplified Roulette-ish game where you can bet money on certain outcomes generated by a little spinning wheel. There is a selection of prizes you can win, like teddy bears and various items for the home. These prizes seem to be mostly for show though, as all winnings were paid out in hard cash. This of course makes it gambling, and therefore illegal in India, but if anyone asks they were all just trying to win one of those really cool wall clocks in a flowery frame.

Local men trying their luck at one of the gambling stands

A view of some of the different stands. It is my nieces Ina and Avi with their father Lima on the right side of the picture.

Ina and Avi riding the Carousel

The machine room for the ferris wheel. I would not imagine this to be 100% reliable.

The entry gate to the Funfair or "Disneyland Mela" as it is apparently named

Nearby fireworks celebrating Christmas

(The events described in this post took place on 25 December 2009)

Running for Cake and Glory

2011-02-20T22:31:00.000+05:30

The annual Christmas Cake Race in Mokokchung, Nagaland

The Ao "capital" of Mokokchung has a peculiar and a fun Christmas tradition. Every year on the 24th of December a grand relay foot race takes place between the young adults of the town. The young runners compete as part of teams each representing one of Mokokchung's 16 wards, which are the administrative units into which the town is divided. It's called a "cake race", since apparently the triumphant team wins a christmas cake, rather than a trophy.

Each team consists of two girls and a handful of boys. The girls run the first two stretches, which are short sprints in the centre of town that are more about gaining position than about gaining time. The boys then take over and run much longer distances all over the town's the hilly terrain. Anyone who has walked up and down the hills of Mokokchung will know that even a stroll up and down is physically taxing. So it takes many months of serious trainings for the young boys, who take part in this race - and it is taken very seriously. The ward which wins will own the bragging rights for the entire next year!

The boys are being driven to their various posts around town, where they will wait for their team's relay to reach them

A local politician stands ready to wave the flag which marks the beginning of the race

The race is off with the first batch of girls doing the first short sprint! You can see the next batch of girls waiting for the relay at the end of the road

The second relay change - from the girls to the boys

In the race we saw it was Lijaba Lijen Ward, which took the first place - and to do a bit of bragging of my own I had picked them as winners before the race. Just by looking at their physiques they seemed to be the most fit bunch, and indeed they did lead the race pretty much from start to finish. Of course we couldn't see what happened throughout the race but a car would follow the leading runners throughout the route and send updates back to the awaiting crowd through the huge loudspeakers mounted in the town's central square.

The leading runner from Lijen Ward passes the central roundabout roughly halfway through the race - followed by the official car of the race organisers

The winning runner has just crossed the line to the celebrations of his elders and team mates

The race is followed and preceded by various performances and speeches and some some sort of local revue with various performed sketches, which I did not really understand. But it looked like the crowd enjoyed it all.

One of the performed sketches, involves a car from BSNL, a major telecommunications company in India

The Cake Race draws big crowds into the centre of town

It was nice to see such a well arranged event in a remote place like Mokokchung. In general it seems like a very well organised civil society, which can also be seen in the local town plan which requires dust bins to be prominently place everywhere while all storefronts must be painted in white and blue colours and live up to certain specifications. It makes Mokokchung a very clean and aesthetically pleasing town, especially considering the general urban standards of the Indian subcontinent.

Mokokchung Street dominated by blue and white colours

The Ancestral Village

2011-01-30T14:01:00.000+05:30

Ceremonial Log Drum, Longmisa Village in Nagaland

In India, most city dwellers have an ancestral village to which they trace their lineage, sometimes countless generations ago. My wife Nitoli - coming from a tribal community - is certainly no exception. Since she is the outcome of an inter-tribe marriage there are two different ancestral villages, but ties are much more recent to her maternal ancestral village of Longmisa belonging to the Ao tribe in central Nagaland.

It's been a long time since any of Nitoli's family lived in the village - her grandparents left when they were young in favour of greater economic opportunity in the district capital of Mokokchung. Nevertheless the family's ties to the village are still strong and in fact we have gotten a couple of nannies for our son Valdemar from the village. It's a great way for us to find someone who is known to the family and can be trusted to take good care of the baby, while the young girls get a good chance to experience the big world beyond the village.

Since we were going to Mokokchung to visit family for Christmas, we decided to throw in a visit to the ancestral village. It's a fairly standard Naga village, but a lot of fun to see where Valdemar's great grand parents ran around as kids - and I also wanted to meet a local shaman who is believed to have "tiger spirit". This concept is a remnant from Nagaland's pre-Christian animist beliefs and is still held in high regard even amongst those who have long since converted to Christianity.

Those with tiger spirit are believe to have their fate tied completely to the fate of a tiger living in nature. They will wake up with blood in their mouths in mornings after their tiger has made a kill. And if the tiger dies, then so do they very shortly thereafter. They are also believed to be able to summon the tiger at will, and the shaman promised us that we would see his tiger on our drive back from Longmisa to Mokokchung. Sadly the tiger didn't show up, and we were later told that it was due to abnormally high degrees of traffic on the stretch scaring away the tiger (which had however, observed us from its hiding place).

Longmisa Village occupies a hill-top, which is standard in Nagaland. Nowadays the Church is always the dominating building

Preparations for Christmas taking place in the village main church

During the Christmas season every Christian house hold raises a red star over their house

One of the few remaining non-Christians: The Shaman with Tiger Spirit

Typical Longmisa house partially built on wooden stilts to manager the hilly terrain

Nitoli's niece Alovi taking a walk down Longmisa's main street which is the only paved street here

A beautiful old lady who asked me to take her picture. A few months later her granddaughter Likok, came to work for us as an au pair and she is still with us today, a year later. We were not aware of the family relation before Likok saw this picture on my computer.

Having lunch in the house of the village committee chairman. I love the wooden flooring, but unfortunately there is not much prestige in this kind of house, with the preference going towards less comfortable and more expensive concrete house

Shillong's Arrows of Outrageous Fortune

2011-01-16T20:07:00.000+05:30

Khasi archers, Shillong

Most types of gambling are illegal in India, but in Meghalaya's capital Shillong betting on archery is a tradition, which is practised completely openly everywhere in the town and even other parts of the state.

The archery contests take place every afternoon year round. We had been to Shillong before and seen most of the sights, but somehow didn't make it to the archery so we made sure to catch the action this time around, en-route from Cherrapunjee.

The archery arena in Shillong. The archers are always seated and place in a half-circle around the target

In reality the gambling on archery is nothing more than a disguised lottery. Although there are two teams of archers that do compete against each other in some sort of tournament structure, the bets are not about picking winners or losers of this contest. Rather you must guess the last digit(s) of the number of arrows that hit the target, something on which there seem to be no rational basis to hold one outcome as more likely than another making this type of betting a game of pure chance.

For instance if a total of 612 arrows hit the target, you would win if you played 2 as the last digit (giving you close to 10 times your money back) or 12 as the last two digits (giving you close to 100 times your money back). According to my memory the odds are pretty good, as they are close to being even to the likelihood of the outcome. However, the receipts confirming your bet are very small and easy to loose, so I suspect the bookmakers have a higher level of earnings from lost or forgotten winning slips, rather than from the margins built into the odds.

Eyeing the Target

Large sums change hands and even from other states and abroad significant sums are gambled, primarily by locals who have moved out of the Meghalaya. People with mobile phones will convey the results immediately to the anxiously waiting gamblers.

Any tourists visiting Shillong should consider spending an hour for this uniquely Meghalayan event. Any person in town should be able to explain the way to the archery range.

Towards the end of the contest the target becomes filled with arrows making it look like an over-utilized pin cushion

There are both young and old archers, but the seniors do seem to be in majority

Collecting the arrows for counting is a major, time consuming task

Several old-timers help in on the collection

The coloured tips of each arrow make it possible to identify the archer, thereby making it possible to determine the wining team and also reveal the contributions of the individual team members

First the arrows are sorted according to colour (and thereby team)

Then the arrows are grouped into bunches of ten and then hundred to count the total number. Many eyes observe to insure against any miscounts or deliberate attempts at manipulation

Finally the results will be announced to the waiting crowd including archers and gamblers

Cliffs of Cherrapunjee Revisited

2011-01-02T17:45:00.000+05:30

Nohkalikai Falls near Cherrapunjee

On the way back from our trip to the living bridges we had the welcome chance to revisit the beautiful cliffs of Cherapunjee, which we visited 3 years earlier in 2006. Still looks about the same as last time, but none the less impressive for that reason.

Cliffs just outside Cherrapunjee Town. This is one of the wettest places on earth, although vast majority of this rain falls in monsoon season. You can literally see the traces of the water masses in the landscape, even several months after monsoon season

(We visited Cherrapunjee on 21 December 2009)

Living Bridges of Meghalaya

2010-12-25T18:01:00.001+05:30

Nitoli and Sidsel on one of Meghalaya's Living Root Bridges

It is time for me to take on a very special sight, which to me is grotesquely overlooked as a tourist attraction in India: The living root bridges of Meghalaya located in and around the villages in the hilly area south of Cherrapunjee towards the Bangladeshi border.

Not many people have even heard of these marvellous creations of man and nature combined. And that goes equally for Indians and foreigners. I find that to be a big mistake, as the bridges - to me - are extremely ingeniously designed and aesthetically fit to appear in any scene written by Tolkien. I can just so clearly visualize a battle between humans and orcs taking place over control of one of these bridges.

The most famous of the living bridges - the amazing double decker allowing traffic in both directions simultaneously

The bridges alone make this area worth the major journey, which is required to get there. But on top of everything else, the hike to reach the bridges is very appealing as well. The hike is very strenuous, but this is actually good for the few tourists that do make it here since it means that the bridged are not crowded with hordes of day trippers, which they would most likely be if they were a bit more accessible. To get here from Delhi, you must first fly to Guwahati, then drive about 5 hours through Shillong and Cherrapunjee and then walk for several hours to reach even the first bridge.

The double decker seen from the opposite side. At the time we visited in late November there was barely a small trickle of water, but in monsoon season this would be a gushing stream

Basically the story behind the bridges is that some very smart folks figured out that they could guide the roots of the tree Ficus Elastica to grow across the many rivers and streams of the area to form comfortable and sturdy bridges allowing villagers to cross safely. In other words the bridge is grown, not built. A living bride can last for hundreds of years and only grows stronger with the years. According to what I was told, it seems that the practice of using living trees to make bridges was developed over 1000 years ago.

Sadly the practice of creating living bridges has died out now in favour of cheap and fast but ugly steel wire bridges. We have probably lost the vast majority of the many bridges that once covered so many of the streams and tivers of the area. However, the wonderful owner of the Cherrapunjee Holiday Resort where we stayed is working hard to conserve, promote and restore the dousin or so remaining bridges. I don't normally make hotel recommendations on my blog, but here I'll gladly make an exception and recommend everyone to stay there. Not so much for the resort itself, which is ok, but especially for the wonderful folks running this place. It is also by far the best base for reaching the bridges.

The actual walkway. The path you walk on is enforced with big flat rocks,
which the tree grows around

Nitoli and Sidsel on each level of the double decker

Sidsel - our friend (and my colleague) - on the lower bridge

This is a bridge which is under restoration or construction - not sure which. It grows over a steel wire bridge and will over time completely eat up the steel bridge

The bridges come in all sizes - here is a minor one which crosses just a minor stream. You might not even notice that it was there if you were not looking for it

A 3-section bridge crossing a major river (dried out in this picture) via two small islands in the river. You can see two of the sections here, but sadly the middle one has fallen into such a state of disrepair that you have to cross using a nearby steel wire bridge

It's a tough hike down to the bottom of the canyon where the bridges are. The steps seem to have no end. It gets even worse on the way up, and we only barely made it back before dark. And not without some tears of pain being shed!

After the steps there is a flatter stretch through the thick, lush jungle

One of the ugly new bridges you cross on the hike to the living bridges - but look at the colour of that water! I have not manipulated the colour on this picture, if anything it's even better in real life

Nice tri-colured fruit. Anyone got any idea what this plant is?

You pass through a few small village on the way to the bridges - here is a family in Nongriat Village where we stopped for a tea break in the small shop owned by the man int he picture, Andreas.

Andreas gave us some complimentary fresh oranges plucked right off the tree. So sweet!

Beautiful wild flowers near the village

The hike ends at some nice natural swimming pools

A Girl and her Cake

2010-12-05T21:49:00.001+05:30

This is a picture from the 2-year birthday of, Rovi, the daughter of two of our friends. In the picture above she is looking with awe and wonder at her beautiful lady bug birthday cake. I think this picture in a way conveys the magic time that is early childhood.

Below are a few snaps from my own son Valdemar' first birthday - an event he won't remember, but at least he'll have the pictures to remember:

Being the centre of attention can be a bit over whelming!

Valdemar also had a cake - then the mood improved a bit

Mighty Tughlaqabad Fort

2010-11-29T08:00:00.002+05:30

Tughlaqabad Fort, with modern South Delhi visible in the distance

After more than 4 years in Delhi I finally got around to visit the largest of Delhi's many historical monuments: The mighty fort of Tughlaqabad!

The fort was built by Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq in 1321 and abandoned just a few years later - according to myth due to a curse from contemporary Sufi saint Nizamuddin. Tughlaqabad is not in the best conditions and not very well maintained - shrubbery grows over the ruins everywhere. But it's still an imposing sight especially when taking in the size of it - more than 6.5 km in perimeter. It must have been nothing short of a spectacular sight in its 6 short years of use some 700 years ago. Today it's located right smack in the middle of South Delhi.

Below are a few pictures of the fort and the tomb of Tughlaq, located just outside the walls of the fort.

Tughlaqabad is protected by massive stone ramparts. The downfall of the fort was not due to lack defensibility

Our friends Lone and Troels in one of the huge water tanks providing fresh water to the inhabitants of the city

Locals exploring the ruins (and in the process providing a reference of scale)

The aesthetically appealing tomb of Tuglaq

No matter how mighty they are, they all end up the same way - Tughlaq
was allegedly helped to his destiny by his son who orchestrated an
assassinationagainst him

Weather Changes

2010-11-27T08:00:00.000+05:30

Sudden rain temporarily interrupting a company party, Gurgaon

Being from Denmark, I am not used to very dramatic changes in weather - it's just pretty much cloudy and drizzling all year round. Delhi gives you a bit more bang for the buck with sudden rains, sudden sand storms and dramatic dark clouds suddenly coming in the middle of the day.

Sunshine after the rain

A picture taken from my office window in the middle of the day and in the middle of the summer. In less than 5 minutes it went from a normal bright day to as dark as night - only in the far horizon was there any light to be seen!

My Best Goan Bird Shots

2010-11-24T08:00:00.052+05:30

Brahminy Kite in flight near the road from Candolim to Panjim

In my final post from Goa, I want to share the few best of my (many) bird pictures from the trip. Most of them were spotted in the garden of the villa we had rented or just nearby.

Asian Paradise-Flycatcher, rufous male

Black-Lored Tits

Not sure if it is the best of the pictures, but perhaps the nicest sighting: A Crimson Sunbird

Purple-Rumped Sunbird

Brahminy Kites in Palm Tree

Dolphin Spotting off the Goan Coast

2010-11-22T20:00:00.010+05:30

A pair of dolphins off the coast of Goa

Those who know me - or follow my blog - know that I have a strong affinity for observing and photographing various animals in the wild. So naturally I couldn't go to Goa without organising a trip to go out to sea looking for the dolphins living in the Arabian Sea. Some of you may remember I also went dolphin spotting in Hong Kong.

It was an OK trip. We had a couple of decent dolphin sightings - although I am yet to experience the classic scene of dolphins jumping out of the water and flying through the air. We also enjoyed seeing the Goan coastline and the cooling ocean breeze giving some respite from the heat.

My family on the lookout for dolphins in our surprisingly large boat

There were other people also looking for dolphins but in much smaller and faster speed boats. Ironically, though, we got much better sightings than they did since the Dolphins seemed to dislike these boats and hide from them

Nice coastal scenery

A colonial building converted into a prison. It's a location worthy of a five star hotel, yet I don't think you'd want a vacation here

Prisoners looking out to see, probably longing for freedom

Spices of Goa

2010-10-24T16:22:00.000+05:30

Being welcome with flower petals at Sahakari Spice Farm, Goa

Virtually all tourists in Goa spend a major part of the time one the beach sunning themselves, while sipping drinks and watching the kids try para-sailing and jet skiing. But when they get tired of the beach and want to do something the next most touristy thing to do is to go visit one of the several open-for-visitors spice plantations located a few kilometres inland, complete with dining halls, visitor centre, souvenir shop and guided tours.

Each plantation is visited by hundreds of visitors each day, so you can debate the "authenticity" of the farm as an actual commercial spice farm rather than as a tourist spot. Nevertheless, it actually still makes for a very interesting trip. The plants and spices are real enough and the guides at Sahakari Spice Farm (at least ours) were knowledgeable and friendly. My mother in particular enjoyed seeing the origins of the many everyday spices, like cardamom, pepper, coffee, ginger, cinnamon and many others that come in little glass bottles back home in Europe.

Our guide showing us a type of nut

Plantation worker demonstrating
how to harvest coco and cashew nuts

Turmeric fresh out of the ground

Vanilla as it looks when still on the tree

Coffee Plant

Cocoa plant popular with red ants

The plantations are homes to countless of these huge but harmless banana spider

My sister sampling the locally brewed cashew nut-based liquor, Feni

Rikke and Ole took the opportunity to take a ride on the plantation elephant

The Story Told by Goa's Religious Ruins

2010-09-30T23:27:00.001+05:30

Old Goa: Church of St. Francis of Assisi in the front and behind it Sé Cathedral - Asia's largest church

During the Portuguese rule of Goa, the capital Velha Goa (Old Goa) rose to become one of the most populous, wealthy and grand cities in the world, filled with broad boulevards, luxurious mansions and great cathedrals. Eventually the city would be riddled with disease, largely torn down and abandoned, but during its golden age it grew - in a matter of few decades - larger than major European cities like London and Lisboa, and according to contemporary accounts it was a truly spectacular place to visit.

However, this amazing spurt of creation was accompanied by equal degrees of shameful destruction. The Portuguese rulers were highly intolerant of other religions and were not content in spreading catholicism through just means of persuasion. The existing religions were banned and all ancient Hindu Temples and Muslim Mosques were destroyed. That is, all except one: The small 13th century Tambdi Surla, is the only surviving pre-Portuguese stone temple. It was hidden in the jungle by devout Hindus and never discovered by the Europeans before we had reached more civilized times.

We visited both of these important sites, each rescued from the grip of the jungle. In Old Goa only the main religious buildings had been left standing in the middle of nowhere, but they are impressive enough to still give a small sense of wonder over the great city that once stood there. Tambdi Surla, by contrast, is just a small - but aesthetically pleasing - stone temple in a peaceful and remote spot, surrounded by jungle; it is a sombre testament to the fate of Hinduism (and Hindus) in Portuguese-ruled Goa. We visited the latter on a side trip from Dudhsagar.

Tambdi Surla:

Hindu temple Tambdi Surla in a jungle clearing, interior Goa

Tambdi Surla seen a bit closer - a simple but appealing building

Inner chamber of the temple

Old Goa:

The old city gate leading from the busy harbour into town

Basilica of Bom Jesus, final resting place of legendary Jesuit missionary Francis Xavier, who worked in Goa and achieved sainthood after his death. He was instrumental in bringing the oppressive Holy Inquisition to Goa as he considered the Portuguese in Goa to be insufficiently pious.

The body of Francis Xavier can be seen through glass windows in his casket. He worked for many years in Goa, but died in China in 1552 before being returned to Goa the year later

Last remains of the grand, pre-Portuguese Muslim palace of Adil Shah is this ruined doorway. It reminds me of a portal to another dimension. This palace was taken over by the Portuguese and some of the worst atrocities of the Goan Inquisition took place here.

Dudhsagar Falls

2010-09-15T08:00:00.001+05:30

Rikke and Ole swimming in the pools beneath Dudhsagar Falls

Goa is home to India's second highest falls, known as Dudhsagar meaning literally Sea of Milk. So along with my dad, brother Ole and sister Rikke I went on a day trip from our rented house in Calangute to check it out.

The falls are tiered rather than vertical so they lack a bit of the drama of other falls, like for instance the beautiful Nohkalikai Falls in Meghalaya, although in a better monsoon than that of 2009 the sheer masses of water might be enough to increase the dramatic effect. But in any case, it's still a worthwhile day-trip that feels very adventurous despite being just 70 km. from Goa's crowded beach resorts.

You have to drive the last few kilometres through the jungle in a jeep as you cross a number of streams, which a normal car would never manage - even some of the jeeps didn't make it through. For the last few hundred metres even the jeep won't do, so you have to go by foot through the hot and humid jungle - crossing another several gushing streams. The water level is not particularly high, and the currents manageable but the rocks on which you have to find your footing are incredibly slippery, making it very difficult to cross without any stumbles. We later found out that foot-bridges are put up shortly after the monsoon season, and that we only missed them by a few days. But I'm actually glad that we did, because it was more fun this way.

Apart from the adventure of getting there, the truly great thing about Dudhsagar is the pool of water beneath the falls in which you can take a cooling swim. Again, it is surrounded by slippery rocks, so not without it's dangers - in fact we saw a young Maharashtran man almost drown as he had exhausted himself by swimming around and couldn't pull himself up on the nearest rock. But the setting of the pool is fantastic and the water cool and clean, so it's a great place to spend some time.

Jeeps stuck in a stream on the way through the jungle

Ole and Rikke crossing one of the treacherous, slippery streams

Ole after conquering a stream

Ole, my dad and Rikke walking the final stretch

Dudhsagar Falls in its full glory

Domestic tourists enjoying the cooling waters of the pool. The young man in the bottom right corner is the one we saw almost drown

A Week in Goa

2010-09-12T08:00:00.000+05:30

Church of Our Lady, a famous landmark in Goa's capital Panjim

After Valdemar was born, my family in Denmark were obviously dying to see him - so they came to visit. But rather than just sit around in the apartment for 10 days, we decided to all go to Goa together. It was October, which meant it was rather hot and humid. My mother and Valdemar (and therefore also Nitoli) did not appreciate that much, but the rest of us enjoyed the trip.

I have to many pictures to show in just one post, so they will come dripping in "themes" over the next few days / weeks. I have worked on my blog template to increase the size of my images so that the pictures can do more of the talking, and I guess they do that better if I don't post too many of them in every go. Today I'll show just a few of the most classic (or you could say clichéd) Goa images.

A classic Goa image: The beach. Here it is southern end of Candolim beach with the tip of Taj Fort Aguada Beach Resort visible

Along with my siblings I tried parasailing. Here
my sister Rikke getting buckled up for parasailing

My brother Ole on his way up

Up in the air - view a great view

Goa has more domestic tourists, than international ones and blonds like my sister draw lots of attention. Here she is getting
her picture taken with an Indian family we had never met before. This is quite common when traveling in India.

Gandhi Smriti - Gandhi Remembrance

2010-09-10T08:00:00.007+05:30


The path Gandhi walked from Birla house in the moments before his assasination

The spot where Mahatma Gandhi was shot

In the winter of 1947-48 the father of the Indian nation, Mahatma Gandhi, had come to Delhi in an attempt to stop communal violence in the capital of newly independent India. It was a cause he would pay for with his life. On 30 January 1948 he was assassinated by a religious fanatic just after he gone out to the garden of the house in which he was staying at the time. It fell upon Gandhi's close friend and ally Jawaharlal Nehru to inform the nation of the tragic event via a radio address. He did so with the words:

Friends and Comrades, the light has gone out of our lives and there is darkness everywhere. I do not know what to tell you and how to say it. Our beloved leader, Bapu as we called him, the Father of the Nation, is no more.

Today, the property in which Gandhi met his fate, stands as a museum and memorial to his life and legacy. It has been renamed from it's original, Birla House, to "Gandhi Smriti" meaning "Gandhi Remembrance". It is a sombre place to visit for anyone even remotely interested in Gandhi and his doctrine of non-violence, which he pursued with such exceptional courage into martyrdom. No place conveys that better than where it all took place.

The whole museum can be roughly divided into three parts. The first - and for me most important part - is the garden in which the actual assassination took place. A string of stone footsteps show the path, which Gandhi took up to the point where he was killed. A small, unimposing monument marks the spot.

The second part of the museum, which is indoors on the ground floor, is dedicated to telling the story of Gandhi's life. Highlights include the glasses he wore when he was shot and other of his (very few) personal artifacts.

The third part is a curious multimedia section on the first floor, which for the most part look more like a modern art museum than a place dedicated to the memory of Gandhi. It is actually not bad or uninteresting, but just seems strangely misplaced.

The actual specs Gandhi wore

Mahatma Gandhi and his wife Kasturbi

From the multimedia part of the museum: A modern interpretation of the three wise, Japanese monkeys embodying the very Gandhian principle of "See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil"

At places Gandhi Smriti
looks like an art museum

More multimedia, here with a wooden motif of Gandhi

Delhi's Toilet Museum

2010-09-08T08:00:00.046+05:30

The main room of the Sulabh Toilet Museum in Delhi. Our friend Lone in the corner

Yes, Delhi has a toilet museum, perhaps the only one of it's kind in the entire world. It may sound like a quirky attraction (and it is) but there is also a very serious side to it. It has been created by an NGO by the name of Sulabh International Social Service Organisation as a part of their mission to improve sanitation all around India. The lack of proper toilet facilities is a huge problem, particularly in rural parts of India, and it leads both to spread of disease and to horrible working conditions for sanitary workers belonging primary to the lowest castes.

After 4 years in Delhi we finally managed to go there last September with our friend Lone. The museums covers different toilet related themes, including displays about the historical development of sanitation techniques, actual historical toilet, toilet-related humourous displays and finally - outside the main hall - some examples of simple, modern sanitation techniques, which if spread across the country could vastly improve quality of life for millions.

As an attraction I would not say that the toilet museum is worth a huge detour, but if you have enough time and you are in Western Delhi anyway it's worth spending an hour or so as a fun and quirky eye opener to the importance of sanitation.

Nitoli and a fancy historical toilet

A statue symbolising what Sulabh is working against:
A human having to carry another human's waste

The outside section showing how very simple latrines can work hygienically without running water

Wild Cat in Gurgaon?

2010-09-06T08:00:00.001+05:30

Face to face with large cat in Gurgaon -could it be wild?

One day in our new apartment in Gurgaon, Nitoli suddenly called on me frantically from our balcony. The reason was that she had spotted the animal above, which to me does not look like a normal domesticated cat. It has no collar, a pattern which looks like wild camouflage and most importantly it seemed to be significantly bigger than normal house cats. Perhaps +50% body size. It's behaviour also seemed quite wild to me as it was searching for eggs on a small slope full of nesting holes used by our local Mynas.

I am in no way a cat expert so of course I could be wrong. This could be a cat owned by someone in the neighbourhood or perhaps more likely a domesticated cat, which has been let loose and therefore partially reverted to its pre-domesticated, wild behaviour. It has been suggested to me that it might be a Bengal, which is a hybrid between domesticated cats and the wild Asian Leopard Cat. However, when I check the pictures on Google it doesn't seem like a perfect match to me.

In any case, I grabbed my camera and took a few pictures with my telephoto lens from our 6th floor balcony, after which I ran down to catch some pictures from the ground level helped by phone instructions from Nitoli who kept her eyes on the cat's movements from above and told me where to go. I managed to sneak close enough to get the very nice facial shot you see above, through a small opening in the shrubbery surrounding our building.

If any of my visitors can shed any light on the likely origins of this cat, I would be very curious to hear their input. Thanks in advance!

Searching a slope for birds eggs. Picture taken from 6th floor balcony

Spotted fur pattern, nice for camouflage - and no collar