April Flowers

The theme at Tina’s picstory this week is April Flowers.

These are a few winter blooms which are surviving the extreme summer heat here in North India.I have them in a corner in the shade.Hope you like them.                                          

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Kaziranga National Park-Part 3

Welcome back to the Jungle.So,we had a sumptuous lunch and went straight to where Chameli was waiting for us.Oh!let me introduce her to you…

Chameli ready to push off

The best way to get a feel of this particular forest is on an elephant’s back and Chameli did full justice to our expectations.The kids were thrilled  to see her.I was a little apprehensive but Chameli was too cute and friendly.But the moment she entered the jungle I saw her true spirit.She was fast,she was smart and she knew where to go.And soon enough we saw ourselves (or rather Chameli)in hot pursuit of a Mother and Baby Rhino pair.All the cameras went berserk clicking and flashing.

At one point,Chameli nearly brought us to the edge of the river and she was so fast that I closed my eyes visualizing ourselves in the water.Thankfully,she turned.Next,we spotted a wild buffalo.

And some more trampling of the tall grass,some more jerks ,but more importantly more Rhinos.

The feeling of being so close to the Rhinos in their own habitat cannot be put into words.Both the girls were “Mumma see” and “Mumma look”,through the entire ride.But the star of the show for me was undoubtedly,our dear Chameli.So,I would recommend to all those visiting the Kaziranga to take the Elephant Safari only which is open twice a day,once early in the morning and again in the afternoon.Its worth it!

And this last one for my Star…even her shadow looks gorgeous…Doesn’t it?

 

Kaziranga National Park-Part 2

We came back from the Jeep safari excited and lusting for more.Our Elephant Safari was booked for the evening .So we had time on our hands to explore the neighbourhood and have lunch.So off we went looking for some authentic Assamese food.

A lush green tea estate we came across

We also came across a retail outlet for tea and picked up a few varieties-the hubby being a complete tea lover was really enthusiastic about it.

Amusing caption there?For all tea-lovers…

We gorged on some juicy,fresh pineapples served on banana leaves..

We asked around and reached this beautiful resort ,Iora-The Retreat,in our search for the authentic Assamese food..Bhatbaan was the name of the restaurant.

At Bhatbaan

The restaurant had a typical assamese ambience and we were served traditional food that included rice(staple food of Assam),Khar Anja(dish made with raw papaya),Masor Tenga(a sour fish curry),Bengena pura(a brinjal dish) and mati mahor dal(black gram).The flavours were all subdued and light with no heavy spices or oil,yet tasty.The best part was you could eat as much as you wanted to.

Our hunger satiated we headed back to the jungle in anticipation and a little anxiousness as this was to be the first time I would be riding on an elephant.Phew!
Are you excited too?I will be back in just a while…Till then….

Trip to Kaziranga National Park-Part 1

I am planning to do a series of posts on the places we visited in the last year.This is the first in the series.This post has been in lying in the draft stages for quite a long time now and everytime I have been unable to complete it for one or the other reasons.Anyway, the Hubby being posted in the North -eastern part of the country we made this trip to the  Kaziranga National Park with the two girl last December.Kaziranga in Assam is home to the One Horned Indian Rhinoceros and also a variety of other wild lives.

Since we were staying close to Tezpur which is only  an hour and a half’s drive from Nagaon, we decided to make it a day’s trip.Woke up the girls in the wee hours of the morning ,packed chicken sandwiches and some juice for breakfast and set off in the hired Bolero.It was an enjoyable ride where we took in  breathtaking views of the India’s North -east plains,lush tea plantations and  quaint bamboo cottages.We reached the park at around 10 where we immediately took the Jeep safari which we had booked in advance.The girls were all excited as it was their first trip into a Jungle.

The Jeep safari took us into the forest on a planned route  through narrow dusty roads.The forest was not a dense one as one would expect the forests to be but a dry,open grassland.The vast area was covered with tall Elephant Grass.

The only spottings we made on this safari were antlers and deers.But the kids were all excited the moment they saw any movement and scared the animals away.

Perky looking in

The first that we spotted and then we spotted many more

Then we reached this viewpoint from where we saw the entire wilderness around us as well as the river Brahmaputra flowing by.

That is Hubby darling with the two girls.

We are still on the lookout for the elusive Rhino but nevertheless enjoying the rustic beauty and the sounds and feel of the jungle…

Coming up soon is our rendezvous with Chameli

So stay tuned..

Bye for now..

Weekend Flowers -Sunny Beauties

Wordless Wednesday

Picstory Tuesday- Bottom up

This is a picture I clicked of The Qutub Minar in New Delhi ,India.

The Tower Bridge in London