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Ladakh - Planning The Trip

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...
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Birds from my window - Asian Koel

Since the last few weeks, as I have been busy by the comp, writing my Sikkim series, the Asian Koels have been creating a racket! They choose the time I am inspired to write, to call, and I rush with my camera, leaving everything behind, only to see them hide behind the leaves - the male, that is. The female has remained so well hidden, I have yet to see her! And then, this morning, Samhith's bus was late, and I was bidding him goodbye from the window, I spotted this chap.... 




Camera in hand, I waited for him to come out, or his partner to show herself, but in vain. I turned to the comp, and began typing, and there it was - the frenetic call. I ignored it for a while, but then, it has been a long time since I went birdwatching. I have to be satisfied with the birds I see from my window, so off I went again, with the camera of course. There were two males around, though the female was missing. And then, just by fluke, I captured this....



The Asian Koel with a berry from the Ashoka tree in his mouth! I might have not seen the female yet, but clicking this pic made my day! 

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  1. Shubhakara V Mahadeva SarmaApril 23, 2015 at 4:18 PM

    I am also seeing some Koels of this type from our kitchen window on some occasions but never had an idea of catching them through my camera. Hope I will catch one and post it soon. It was interesting to read your article. Fine!

    ReplyDelete
  2. AzulMay 10, 2015 at 9:37 PM

    Wow! Its beautiful and those eyes are absolutely charming.

    ReplyDelete

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