Over 2000 Km by road, in around 10 days. Stunning landscapes, wonderful people. That sums up our Ladakh trip. But how did it actually work? How did we make it happen? Read on to find out! Leh, the capital of Ladakh , is accessible by air and road. Flying into Leh is the easiest, and time-saving option, while the road is the time consuming one, but with the added advantage of driving past some of the most beautiful landscapes in our country. Each option has much to recommend it, and we chose the road for just one reason – altitude sickness. Altitude sickness was one of my biggest concerns, since I suffer from motion-sickness. Yes, I do travel a lot, but that is despite my condition, and, over the years, have learnt how to handle it. I struggled with it when we visited Nathu-La in Sikkim, and wondered if I would be able to manage a week at the even higher altitudes that we would encounter in Ladakh. This was the reason we stuck to a basic plan, of only 9 days in Ladakh, thoug...
There is something fascinating about termite hills or termite mounds, (ant hills as we usually call them). You don't agree? Well, most of my family doesn't either, except Samhith of course! He has the same fascination for these huge settlements built with nothing but mud, and stops every time he sees one!
Tirupati abounds in these termite hills - the Lord himself is said to have appeared in one, so undoubtedly there is something special about them!
Well, we have seen many ant hills, some small, some even bigger than me.... See this one we photographed in the Zoo... Its about 5 feet high!
We have often wondered what it would be like, inside this hill. It is believed that snakes live there too.... whether before or after the termites, I am not sure..... However, this time, the zoo not just gave us the opportunity to see some caged wild animals, but also some un-caged ones, among which were some termites - the hill had broken, probably thanks to some careless tourists - but we were able to see inside it as the termites swarmed all over! While I waved Samhith away and asked him to watch from afar, my mom wondered what attraction the repulsive creatures had for me..... as to my sister, you should have seen the expression on her face when I showed her these pics.... Now, tell me what you think about them!
To know more about termites, click on the following links.
http://www.termite-pictures.com/index.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Termite
http://hubpages.com/hub/Termites
wow wonderful pics
ReplyDeleteyou should get a job with National geographic!!
Lovely, the pictures are lovely Anu! Hope your sister reads your post :D
ReplyDeleteLovely, the pictures are lovely Anu! Hope your sister reads your post :D
ReplyDeleteBeautiful images... Looks a whole kingdom!!
ReplyDeleteThis world is full of innovative creatures!! Termite hill of 5ft!!! Lots of hard work by these tiny creatures with absolutely zero tool support. These structures are quite strong too. Infact the early day homes of Kerala had the same kind of walls (mud walls).
ReplyDeleteHappy new year to you and your family !!!!
nice photos and good info..
ReplyDeleteha ha.. Samhith sounds like me- filled with curiousity :)))
ReplyDelete@ssstoryteller: thanks so much, sowmya.. your comments brighten up my day!! now, if only the NatGeo people would think like you :)
ReplyDelete@Mridula: thanks.. usually she does, but she's really busy now, so should remind her to take a look!
@Arti: thanks.....it is indeed an entire kingdom!
@subu.ps: so true! i read somewhere that forts were inspired by such anthills...
@Team G square: thanks...
@Aarti: oh he is!!
Very interesting information. I simply loved your post.
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot, Sandipan!
ReplyDelete