Swaraj Dweep

It looked like the Dollarbird was posing for me with the tilt of his head.

Went bird watching at Swaraj Dweep (Havelock Island of Andaman Nicobar) and was lucky to have spotted quite a few  birds.

The Dollar bird is a first for me and is found in Australia to Korea, Japan and in the Andaman Nicobar islands.

The other first for me was the White bellied sea eagle.

In the video you can see how majestically he flies over the beach.

While clicking some pictures of the sunset, I sensed some activity behind me and saw some red breasted parakeets busy chatting away before sunset.

The common Kingfisher and the White throated Kingfisher took turns to share the same pole to perch itself for fishing.

Found these Eurasian Moorhen at the same waterbody where the Kingfisher was.

A pair of Black naped Oriole were right on top of the tree and they looked good against the rising sun.

Greater Racket tailed Drongo, is capable of mimicking other bird calls.

The Andaman Coucal is slightly different from what we see in mainland India.

There were many more birds that we spotted but I could not photograph.There was an opening in the forest and I liked the way the sunlight was falling on these tall Padauk trees.

This picture will give you an idea of how tall and huge this tree is

This tree stump must have witnessed many activities over here especially during WW-II when the Japanese used this as a surveillance point.

After sunset, it is worth venturing out to have a peep at the nocturnal birds and insects (with proper guidance) Mr Prathamesh is a good guide who can show you around. Here you see the Signature spider. The spider gets its name by the individual signature you see on the web.

The highlight of the stay was the coral walk. I got to learn many things about marine life, especially around the corals.

By the way if you stay at "Barefoot" you get to experience many things including  the coral walk.

Sri lanka - Part four

The title of this blog should have been "Escape from the cyclone Ditwah" That is what we felt like after landing in Mumbai. The previous night itself looked very ominous as I looked out of my hotel window.

Not being able to view the Lotus tower at close quarters and heading straight to the airport was a blessing in disguise, as it helped in reachiing the airport well in time to catch our flight.

We took a halt on the beach road near Galle Face Hotel. The palm leaves will give you a general idea of the wind speed.

Not far from the Taj Samudra Hotel I got to see some birds who were busy fishing in the sluice spillover point. Managed to capture a painted stork in flight as I was clicking the Lotus tower.

Got another one with the painted stork in the forefront.

You can see the other birds in the video. Notice the silver feet of this crane?

When some time was alloted for shopping, we headed for the grocery stores. Wifey was tempted with some fresh vegetables and took the help of a regular lady in the store to select the right vegetables

while I was tempted by the coconuts. The colour and texture and size said that they were good ones, but the addition of weights to the luggage dissuaded me.

Two days before our departure, we visited a nonprofit Sea Turtle conservation centre. Got to see an Albino turtle for the first time.

We don't realise the extent of damage that we cause with the plastic that we create and carelessly discard.  The video speaks for itself and the guide over there was knowledgeable and had a good voice. 
By The way I hope the authorities keep clearing the donation box more frequently, or make it deeper than an arm's length because when I put in my hand to drop my note, I could feel and touch the other notes inside. (why to tempt anti social elements)

Sri Lanka tour Part One

Our first stop was for breakfast at Vivanta Colombo, airport garden. What caught my attention was the presence of massive prop roots hanging from a Banyan tree near the entrance. The only picture I could click was from the bus on the way out.

When I spoke to the manager of the property, he said that the previous owner from whom they had purchased the land about 40 years ago had a condition that no trees should be cut in the property. Good to see that the promise was kept.

For once I was happy to see Elephants in captivity with no chains on their feet. Some of them were having problems but they were well taken care of.

This sign kept at strategic places in Pinnawala Elephant Sanctuary speaks a lot about eradicating bribery and corruption.

Our guide had told us that there was a pair of twins amidst them and right enough we spotted them.

While I was concentrating on the elephants, this yellow billed babbler was trying his best to catch my attention.

The app Merlin bird helped me identify the bird. It also shows a Kingfisher being present but I couldn't locate it.

The cultural show put up by the Kandian Cultural Centre was remarkable. A glimpse of it is in the video. All were impressed by the "walk on fire" and "spitting fire".

Visited the sacred tooth relic at Kandy and before entering the premises I saw this elderly man sitting outside the shrine selling lottery tickets. The donation box wasn't far off.

The drummers kept their tempo and were in sync.  The sound echoed well in the confined place and could be heard well in the upper floors too.

While exiting I saw a family praying and couldn't resist clicking.
Faith keeps us going.

Mallu Stories

I don't know if I should give credit to the ambiance or the food.  The fact is that both were equally good.

Yesterday we went to Mallu Stories, a great place for Malayali cuisine. I ordered a fish meal while wifey ordered Pothi chor (rice and curry wrapped in a banana leaf).

All the items on the plate were tasty, especially the Sambhar. The fish curry was a bit spicy (for me) but then that is how fish curry is supposed to be.  The Cheera thoran was just yummy. Had pappadam after a long time.
Along with the food we were served semiya payasam. We were told that on sadhya dates, they serve paal payasam or parippu payasam. (Sadhya dates are announced through their instagram posts)
I liked the illustrations on each page of the menu card.

But better than that, the illustrations on the walls speak for themselves.

The twirled moustache of Innocent says that it is from the movie Mithunam where he acts as a tough brother in law.
Those who have watched Malayalam movies would relate better as most of the famous dialogues from the movies are put up there.
Like this lady Philomena who is famous for using crass language in almost all her movies

Below is one of the famous dialogues between Mohanlal and Srinivasan in the movie Nadodi kattu "Etra Manoharamaya nadakatta swapnam"

Harishree Ashokan's dialogue in Punjabi House "Chappatti  nahi, Chor Chor"

In the same frame above you can see the Genzee's heart throb Fahadh Faasil with his dialogue "Eda Mone"
A typical scene from a rural part of Kerala where a KSRTC bus arrives while the elderly sit under a tree reading newspaper and engaging in discussions on "current topics"

I was a bit disappointed with the pazham pori (banana fritters) . Usually nicely ripe bananas are used for preparing this. What we got was a bit on the raw side. 

There is no problem for parking as they have enough parking space.
I heard that there is a lot of wait time involved, but we got a table quickly as it was a weekday. 
A special mention should be made about the pocket friendly prices. Our total bill came to Rs 620/- for two (about $7)  after having a sumptuous meal.

It is located at Dhole Patil Road in Pune (not far from Pune station)
As a typical Mallu I would reiterate what Ashokan said "Chapati nahim nahim'