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Opulent Elegance: A Journey through Ornate India (Part-5)

Posted by Ripple (VJ) : Main places to Visit in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India : ripple, Vijay Kumar Sharma, ripple4photography, Frozen Moments, photographs, Photography, ripple (VJ), VJ, Ripple (VJ) Photography, Capture Present for Future, Freeze Present for Future, ripple (VJ) Photographs , VJ Photographs, Ripple (VJ) Photography.

Posted by Ripple (VJ) : Main places to Visit in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India : ripple, Vijay Kumar Sharma, ripple4photography, Frozen Moments, photographs, Photography, ripple (VJ), VJ, Ripple (VJ) Photography, Capture Present for Future, Freeze Present for Future, ripple (VJ) Photographs , VJ Photographs, Ripple (VJ) Photography,

The title of this post doesn't do this place justice. The institute is so much more than a beautiful building. Set a little off the road, the Namgyal Institute of Tibetology is surrounded by trees and mountains. Under deep blue skies, this red and white building stands out gracefully and yet merges perfectly with the natural surroundings.The institute was established in 1958 and since then has been sponsoring research in religion, art, culture, history, and language of the people of Tibet. The institute publishes the Bulletin of Tibetology, which it has been doing since 1964, and has also published several other books related to Tibetology. The institute also has one of the largest collection of Tibetan works in the world. And apart from all this, the institute also houses a museum of Tibetan iconography and religious art. It is hard to believe that so much happens in such a small building. One look at the exteriors and I estimated that it wouldn't take more than 10 minutes to explore the place. But it turned out that I would end up spending more than an hour there, reading about each and every exhibit in the museum. There were ancient manuscripts in Sanskrit, Tibetan, Chinese, and Lepcha. There were scultures, and icons of Bodhisattvas. Some of the rarest relics of Tibetan history can be found in this museum. This place is great if you want to do some serious research on Tibet and its culture. The texts are extensive and the museum itself tells you a lot about Tibetan Culture. Apart from this there are two libraries where visitors can reference informative, even rare, texts. One can't issue books, but can spend the entire day at the library and even make copies of extracts from all books, except the ones that are rare. After spending about an hour inside the museum, we came out and sat on the verandah. It was wonderful to see people pouring into the museum. Not all of them were interested in looking at the displays though. I guess, it is this way with museums anywhere - you cannot force people to take interest in them. Personally I feel, museums are a great source of knowledge, and I do not remember even a single museum that hasn't interested me. I have been to art museums, science museums, money museums, religious museums, natural history museums, mountaineering museums, and I am yet to find one that did not interest me. Religion in itself doesn't interest me much, but when coupled with history and culture of a place, there's hardly anything more interesting. Buddhism and Tibetan culture fascinate me a lot, though there is a large part of it that I don't yet understand. May be with places like Namgyal Institute of Tibetology, curious people like me can find a source of information that is easily accessible. It is just a matter of finding time to study about it.

The title of this post doesn't do this place justice. The institute is so much more than a beautiful building. Set a little off the road, the Namgyal Institute of Tibetology is surrounded by trees and mountains. Under deep blue skies, this red and white building stands out gracefully and yet merges perfectly with the natural surroundings.The institute was established in 1958 and since then has been sponsoring research in religion, art, culture, history, and language of the people of Tibet. The institute publishes the Bulletin of Tibetology, which it has been doing since 1964, and has also published several other books related to Tibetology. The institute also has one of the largest collection of Tibetan works in the world. And apart from all this, the institute also houses a museum of Tibetan iconography and religious art. It is hard to believe that so much happens in such a small building. One look at the exteriors and I estimated that it wouldn't take more than 10 minutes to explore the place. But it turned out that I would end up spending more than an hour there, reading about each and every exhibit in the museum. There were ancient manuscripts in Sanskrit, Tibetan, Chinese, and Lepcha. There were scultures, and icons of Bodhisattvas. Some of the rarest relics of Tibetan history can be found in this museum. This place is great if you want to do some serious research on Tibet and its culture. The texts are extensive and the museum itself tells you a lot about Tibetan Culture. Apart from this there are two libraries where visitors can reference informative, even rare, texts. One can't issue books, but can spend the entire day at the library and even make copies of extracts from all books, except the ones that are rare. After spending about an hour inside the museum, we came out and sat on the verandah. It was wonderful to see people pouring into the museum. Not all of them were interested in looking at the displays though. I guess, it is this way with museums anywhere - you cannot force people to take interest in them. Personally I feel, museums are a great source of knowledge, and I do not remember even a single museum that hasn't interested me. I have been to art museums, science museums, money museums, religious museums, natural history museums, mountaineering museums, and I am yet to find one that did not interest me. Religion in itself doesn't interest me much, but when coupled with history and culture of a place, there's hardly anything more interesting. Buddhism and Tibetan culture fascinate me a lot, though there is a large part of it that I don't yet understand. May be with places like Namgyal Institute of Tibetology, curious people like me can find a source of information that is easily accessible. It is just a matter of finding time to study about it.

The title of this post doesn't do this place justice. The institute is so much more than a beautiful building. Set a little off the road, the Namgyal Institute of Tibetology is surrounded by trees and mountains. Under deep blue skies, this red and white building stands out gracefully and yet merges perfectly with the natural surroundings.The institute was established in 1958 and since then has been sponsoring research in religion, art, culture, history, and language of the people of Tibet. The institute publishes the Bulletin of Tibetology, which it has been doing since 1964, and has also published several other books related to Tibetology. The institute also has one of the largest collection of Tibetan works in the world. And apart from all this, the institute also houses a museum of Tibetan iconography and religious art. It is hard to believe that so much happens in such a small building. One look at the exteriors and I estimated that it wouldn't take more than 10 minutes to explore the place. But it turned out that I would end up spending more than an hour there, reading about each and every exhibit in the museum. There were ancient manuscripts in Sanskrit, Tibetan, Chinese, and Lepcha. There were scultures, and icons of Bodhisattvas. Some of the rarest relics of Tibetan history can be found in this museum. This place is great if you want to do some serious research on Tibet and its culture. The texts are extensive and the museum itself tells you a lot about Tibetan Culture. Apart from this there are two libraries where visitors can reference informative, even rare, texts. One can't issue books, but can spend the entire day at the library and even make copies of extracts from all books, except the ones that are rare. After spending about an hour inside the museum, we came out and sat on the verandah. It was wonderful to see people pouring into the museum. Not all of them were interested in looking at the displays though. I guess, it is this way with museums anywhere - you cannot force people to take interest in them. Personally I feel, museums are a great source of knowledge, and I do not remember even a single museum that hasn't interested me. I have been to art museums, science museums, money museums, religious museums, natural history museums, mountaineering museums, and I am yet to find one that did not interest me. Religion in itself doesn't interest me much, but when coupled with history and culture of a place, there's hardly anything more interesting. Buddhism and Tibetan culture fascinate me a lot, though there is a large part of it that I don't yet understand. May be with places like Namgyal Institute of Tibetology, curious people like me can find a source of information that is easily accessible. It is just a matter of finding time to study about it.

Before our trip this year, Darjeeling sounded like a faraway fantasy land with amazing landscape and sparse human population. The toy train too chugged through this fantasy landscape in our imagination, mostly because of the song "Mere Sapno Ki Rani". Darjeeling of our imagination and Darjeeling in reality turned out to be much the same, except the population part. The town is extremely crowded and the most of it is because of Tourism.

The Japanese temple is a tiny, two-floored building, built in traditional Japanese style. Inside the temple you will find some scrolls with Japanese kana and kanji script on them. Photography is allowed inside the temple. However, it is not allowed inside the prayer room when the prayer is on. Inside the prayer room, you will find several statues of Buddha in various positions. The room is vibrant with red, gold, and brown colors dominating the scene. The building is mostly silent as people prefer to quickly move on to the more prominent Peace Pagoda.

I...am time. Men and women all alike, have moved along like shadows and mist. Radha and Salil are two such souls, who meet to separate... And I fly by, from one end to the other and I see them retreat from love to misery and back to love again. From the times when Slaves ruled and Aibak rose to heights with the Qutub Minar, still differences brew in the name of religion, caste and gender to the times when the Mughal sultans would slay those, whose orders they wouldn't abide by..though Love was splurged in money and stones and the Humayun's Tomb became a symbol of Mughal pride.Prayers are still read in the Jama Masjid was read then, the only difference I find is in the hearts of those they call 'divine'. They make laws and practices they define..And yet the ownership of God is given to make them suffice.I see them today as I rest under a tree's shade looking at the risque weather at India Gate.. They are crying in each other's arms, fearing of a tomorrow not together..(Write-up courtesy - Priyanka Dey)Here is a photograph of Jantar Mantar. I loved the way these stairs look through this window. These stairs take to a very high top-point from where whole campus can be seen.Here is a photograph of President's House lit very well on the evening of 'Beating Reatreat Ceremony' on 29th January 2011.Here is a night photograph of Humayun's Tomb in Delhi. This one was done during a project on Lunar Eclipse night. We had to through a long process to get permissions for getting entry into the campus for whole night.A silhouette of RED FORT in Delhi with shining Sun on top of it. One of my friend (Ashu Mittal) captioned it as - 'Like a Diamond in the Sky'One of the rare photograph of Qutub Minar with it's reflection if water @ Delhi, IndiaIndia Gate with wonderful lighting around Republic Day in 2011. During these days, tri-colored light is flashed on top of India Gate and it looks amazing...

There are many houses which are built with these stones put in layers but in a very tight and think way. Roof is usually wooden and filled up with dry grass to keep these structures warm. Gradually people are building concrete houses as well but keeping the interiors the same like old houses. Keeping these houses warm is very first need of Nako village.

Every house looked the same yet different. Some of the houses had area outside the house to maintain a little garden and some of the houses were attached to each other.

Here is a closer view of the Monastery in Nako village of Kinnaur district in Himachal Pradesh. The background of white snow in the background makes this monsatery very special. Most of the vehicles coming to Nako village are parked in this huge ground. This Monastery is on the other end of the village and after reaching this point we had to just follow the road towards the other end of Nako village.

On our way, we also took a detour of Gue Monastery. This is little away from the main road and this drive takes you to anther beautiful terrain with another river flowing on your right and then you hit Gue village with beautiful houses. One thing you need to do is to talk to someone in the village to check if the room with mummy is open or not. If its not open, you need to take someone with you who can open the room. The famous mummy is places in a separate room outside the monastery building.

One highlight of our trip to Sikkim and Darjeeling was the Buddhist Monasteries we explored. While the essentials - the prayer rooms, the prayer wheels, the drums, the chants, the temple - remain the same, each monastery still retains its own individual charm and personality. The Dali Monastery, also known as Druk Thupten Sangag Choeling Monastery, rises above the surrounding buildings and its yellow rooftops are visible from quite a distance.

We had seen little monks in the past, but had never had an opportunity to observe them at such close quarters. They were playing with a puppy and talking in a language we could not understand. Some of them were about 5-6 years old and the oldest among them 10, maybe. We wondered about their lives. I had read in the past that monks have to conform to tough schedules and follow a very disciplined regime. Observing the little monks, it was, however, clear that children were allowed at least some time in a day to be children.

After roaming around the courtyard for some time, we noticed a sign pointing to a Cafe called the Kunga Paljor Coffee Shop. We hadn't had lunch and as before this we had never had food in any monastery, this presented itself as a unique opportunity. With great anticipation, we entered the building. It was definitely much more than a cafe. It had a small shop which sold mementos and items of daily needs. There were soaps, toothpastes, detergents, biscuits, maggi etc on sale here.

When we start listing down main places to visit in Spiti Valley, Key Monsatery is must visit place and is very well connected with Kaza town. Road condition is much better than the other roads which lead to Kaza from other parts of the country. Above photograph shows the gate for Key Monastery which is near the main road going towards Kibber village from Kaza. First we visited the Key Monastery and then planned to visit Kibber.

Finally we reached Kibber village and above is a closer shot of the Kibber village. These is an open place to park your vehicle and then roam around the village. We didn't spend much time inside the village but wanted to have tea break here. We noticed one shop but didn't want to delay our next journey towards Langza, so headed back. One needs to take the same road till a point and then again start the up climb for reaching Langza.

As we reached Langza village and near the Statue, we thought of spending some time around these hills which were further surrounded by snow covered mountains all around. I loved these houses and if you notice there is a layer of grass on the roof and that's mainly for maintaining temperature inside the house, especially in winters.

A big part of the itinerary of our trip to Sikkim was decided on the go. Because of unpredictable weather, we chose West Sikkim (Pelling, Yuksom) over North Sikkim (Gurudongmar lake, Lachen, Lachung, Yumthang). We had read great things about Yuksom in particular and were dying to find out whether they were true. With this in mind, we boarded a shared taxi with 7 others and started out for Pelling. We decided to make a hotel booking upon reaching the town. How we chose our hotel and what all we did in Pelling will be another post altogether. In this post, let us talk about the places we explored on our way towards and in Yuksom.

If there was any regret during our Sikkim tour, it was that we didn't spend enough time at Yuksom. This little town in West Sikkim is about 40 kms from Pelling, and is located at the entrance of Kandchendzonga National Park. We spent about half a day here and managed to see all important points here, but our hearts yearned for more. Too bad we had left our things at Pelling, else we would have definitely spent the night here. Because it looked like a place where pastel-colored musicals are filmed. A place where nothing bad can ever happen.

Here is a photograph of Kalpa village. We were staying in one of the hotels on top hill from where village was clearly visible. Some of the main places to explore in Kalpa are - Trekking to Chakka, Kinner Kailash Views, Suicide point near Roghi village, Narayan-Nagini temple, Hu-bu-lan-kar monastery, Sapni Fort & walks around the woods.

The monastery was the main seat of the Karma Kagyu sect for a long time. However, when 16th Karmapa, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje arrived here in 1959 after fleeing from Tibet, he found the monastery in ruins. He was so convinced of this being the perfect seat for him and his lineage, that he decided to rebuild this monastery despite many other options being available. The monastery's location, the mountains and streams around it made it the perfect place.

If you plan to go to Gangtok, do visit Rumtek. You may want to plan half a day for travelling to this Monastery and back, but if you are interested in Tibetan architecture and the lifestyle of the monks, this trip will be worth it.

Coming back to the Rumtek Monastery - not only is the monastery famous because of its size, but also because it is at the centre of a controversy. In order to understand the controversy, we would need to understand the monastery's history. The monastery was built under the direction of Changchub Dorje, 12th Karmapa Lama in the 18th century.

If you plan to go to Gangtok, do visit Rumtek. You may want to plan half a day for travelling to this Monastery and back, but if you are interested in Tibetan architecture and the lifestyle of the monks, this trip will be worth it.

If you plan to go to Gangtok, do visit Rumtek. You may want to plan half a day for travelling to this Monastery and back, but if you are interested in Tibetan architecture and the lifestyle of the monks, this trip will be worth it.

If you plan to go to Gangtok, do visit Rumtek. You may want to plan half a day for travelling to this Monastery and back, but if you are interested in Tibetan architecture and the lifestyle of the monks, this trip will be worth it.

Now our Spiti trip was coming to an end and we were ready to head back to Kalpa from Dhankar. After driving through Nako, Kaza, Key, Kibber, Langza, Kourik, it was time to head back to Kalpa from Dhankar. This post shares about our interesting journey to Kalpa through Nako & some of the special encounters on our way. And don't miss the highly recommended Dhaba on the way to Jeori and next to Taranda Mata temple.

The next morning things started looking up. The sun was up early and though the clouds kept drifting, the snow-covered peaks made a splendid appearance. Papa was happy, and so were all of us. It was really cold, and hot water was only available for a few hours, which was being heated manually (because no electricity). The hotel staff were delivering the water in buckets to the rooms. Somehow, we all managed to take bath. Breakfast was simple but tasty.

A little more than 3 years back, we were invited to spend a couple of nights at a Haveli turned hotel known as Malji ka Kamra. While the other guests were taking the train, we decided to drive. Google Maps at that time weren't as advanced as they are now. They showed us that the shorter route was the one through Rewari and it would take us a little more than 4 hours to reach there. At that time, I was the only driver among the two of us, and four hours seemed doable even though it was the first time that we would be going on a long drive. We set out early in the morning and the initial 100 kms went pretty fast. We stopped at a dhaba after Rewari for Breakfast. I still remember the parathas were really tasty and the tea must have been okay too. However the smooth ride ended right there.

A well-maintained and inhabited haveli in Churu

When I look back at all the trips VJ and I have done together, Churu stands out for more reasons than one - the long drive to Churu and back, my first experience of sand dunes, the thrill of staying in a century-old Haveli, the delight of discovering beautiful frescos on random walls, the joy of listening to Rajasthani folk artists and so much more. There is no dearth of lingering memories when I think about our trip to Churu. But let me share the ones that have left a deeper impression than the others.

History-rich streets of Churu

We started back early next day, when it was still dark. It was really dark and dusty and the drive was slow. Moreover, the fact that we had office that day took the joy out of the drive. Also the fact that this time we were aware of the terrible roads that lay ahead. It took surprisingly long to cross Gurgaon and we reached Delhi at around 11. It was a shame that taking a leave wasn't an option for either of us that day. We could have done with a day off. The trip, though exciting, had been really tiring too. But given a chance, I would visit Churu again, with more time in my hands, and may be dwell among those ancient walls to soak in all the history.

Sethani ka Johara at twilight

When we reached the monastery it was already late afternoon and a gentle drizzle had started. It was cool and refreshing. We were set to return to the mall road after this to plan for the next day, and wanted to spend some time at this last stop.

The monastery sits cozy in the lap of the Himalayas and the gentle mountain breeze brings with it the fragrance of the surrounding forest and the songs of myriad birds that stay hidden, just out of sight, enticing the listeners with their calls. But the bird songs soon faded away, or may be they became a part of the symphony that was just about to start.

Minutes after we reached, a prayer started, and the chants were accompanied by sounds of the various instruments. If you haven't heard Buddhist prayers in progress, you will probably not be able to relate to this thought, but the music seems to seek out your soul from the very depth of your being. It is haunting and mesmerizing.

And the sound! It wasn't quiet, yet it was peaceful. When you are there and the prayers are in progress, you cannot think of anything else. I guess that too is a form of meditation. It helps you connect to yourself and to the natural world around you. I stood there for quite some time though the drizzle was gradually transforming into a steady rain.

Even after the prayers completed, the crowd stayed quiet, as if people were afraid to break sacred connection that had been established. It was strange to see so many people around and yet almost complete silence. All except the songs of the birds who had resumed their individual performances.

We came out of the Gonjang Monastery feeling light and refreshed, though a little wet. If I think of it now, I am so glad we made this stop. If we had followed our brains, which were telling us "you see one monastery, you've seen them all", we would have carried on and missed Gonjang. It does pay to follow your intuition most of the times.

When you ask people about main places to visit in Banglore, most of the folks would mention Vidhan Soudha, Legislative assembly of Karnataka. I headed towards Vidhan Soudha in morning and plan was to walk around this place & explore other places like Cubbon Park, Science Museum, Fish Aquarium and Art Museum. All of these are at walkable distance from Vidhan Soudha. This is such a beautiful building in Banglore and spread over acres of land. Vidhan Soudha is a huge compound and well connected through Metro. There is a metro station near Vidhan Soudha and just across the state high court. All photographs shared in this post are clicked with Huawie P9 Mobile phone. Weather in Banglore is usually pleasant and that's why it was very convenient to walk around & explore this part of the city. Now there is another, relatively new, building called Vikas Soudha. Green lawns towards the road are very well maintained and you can see people coming here and enjoying the beauty. Lot of folks stop by to get a photograph clicked in front of Vidhan Soudha. Surroundings are green and clean. Most of the times, you would find police van patrolling around the place.

When you ask people about main places to visit in Banglore, most of the folks would mention Vidhan Soudha, Legislative assembly of Karnataka. I headed towards Vidhan Soudha in morning and plan was to walk around this place & explore other places like Cubbon Park, Science Museum, Fish Aquarium and Art Museum. All of these are at walkable distance from Vidhan Soudha. This is such a beautiful building in Banglore and spread over acres of land. Vidhan Soudha is a huge compound and well connected through Metro. There is a metro station near Vidhan Soudha and just across the state high court. All photographs shared in this post are clicked with Huawie P9 Mobile phone. Weather in Banglore is usually pleasant and that's why it was very convenient to walk around & explore this part of the city. Now there is another, relatively new, building called Vikas Soudha. Green lawns towards the road are very well maintained and you can see people coming here and enjoying the beauty. Lot of folks stop by to get a photograph clicked in front of Vidhan Soudha. Surroundings are green and clean. Most of the times, you would find police van patrolling around the place.

When you ask people about main places to visit in Banglore, most of the folks would mention Vidhan Soudha, Legislative assembly of Karnataka. I headed towards Vidhan Soudha in morning and plan was to walk around this place & explore other places like Cubbon Park, Science Museum, Fish Aquarium and Art Museum. All of these are at walkable distance from Vidhan Soudha. This is such a beautiful building in Banglore and spread over acres of land. Vidhan Soudha is a huge compound and well connected through Metro. There is a metro station near Vidhan Soudha and just across the state high court. All photographs shared in this post are clicked with Huawie P9 Mobile phone. Weather in Banglore is usually pleasant and that's why it was very convenient to walk around & explore this part of the city. Now there is another, relatively new, building called Vikas Soudha. Green lawns towards the road are very well maintained and you can see people coming here and enjoying the beauty. Lot of folks stop by to get a photograph clicked in front of Vidhan Soudha. Surroundings are green and clean. Most of the times, you would find police van patrolling around the place.

This is what happens when you confuse between 'Fort' and 'Palace'. While in Bangalore, few friends suggested to visit Bangalore Palace and when I booked taxi, I mentioned Bangalore Fort as destination and here I reach. When taxi guy picked me from my hotel, he confirmed where I want to go. He was not really aware of the place as it’s one of the most crowded region in Bangalore (that’s what I perceived while driving through those narrow lanes. ). The taxi guy dropped me in front of a hospital and then I asked folks about Bangalore Fort. They gave me directions and it was just 2 mins walk towards the entry gate. There is no entry ticket for the fort. It was open at 9:15 am. The security person smiled and shared about the place. He said, it’s not huge and some parts are not approachable and closed for public. I moved in and came across this temple which is just in front of the entry gate. It seemed security folks live inside the fort. The family was just settling in for the day. There were few buckets around the lawn. I took a walk and noticed few beautiful birds around this place. It was peaceful inside the fort and these birds made it more cheerful. I sat there for some time and talked to the security people. Soon after another gentleman joined us and asked if I am from any newspaper. I smiled and said no. Clicked some portraits but they asked not to publish those photographs, so not sharing here. There is a huge vegetable market near the fort. Above photograph was clicked from taxi, while we were driving through this market towards the Fort. Above photographs don't give good perspective about the scale but these are huge doors around the outer wall of Banglore Fort. Above is the entry gate for Banglore Fort.

This is what happens when you confuse between 'Fort' and 'Palace'. While in Bangalore, few friends suggested to visit Bangalore Palace and when I booked taxi, I mentioned Bangalore Fort as destination and here I reach. When taxi guy picked me from my hotel, he confirmed where I want to go. He was not really aware of the place as it’s one of the most crowded region in Bangalore (that’s what I perceived while driving through those narrow lanes. ). The taxi guy dropped me in front of a hospital and then I asked folks about Bangalore Fort. They gave me directions and it was just 2 mins walk towards the entry gate. There is no entry ticket for the fort. It was open at 9:15 am. The security person smiled and shared about the place. He said, it’s not huge and some parts are not approachable and closed for public. I moved in and came across this temple which is just in front of the entry gate. It seemed security folks live inside the fort. The family was just settling in for the day. There were few buckets around the lawn. I took a walk and noticed few beautiful birds around this place. It was peaceful inside the fort and these birds made it more cheerful. I sat there for some time and talked to the security people. Soon after another gentleman joined us and asked if I am from any newspaper. I smiled and said no. Clicked some portraits but they asked not to publish those photographs, so not sharing here. There is a huge vegetable market near the fort. Above photograph was clicked from taxi, while we were driving through this market towards the Fort. Above photographs don't give good perspective about the scale but these are huge doors around the outer wall of Banglore Fort. Above is the entry gate for Banglore Fort.

This is what happens when you confuse between 'Fort' and 'Palace'. While in Bangalore, few friends suggested to visit Bangalore Palace and when I booked taxi, I mentioned Bangalore Fort as destination and here I reach. When taxi guy picked me from my hotel, he confirmed where I want to go. He was not really aware of the place as it’s one of the most crowded region in Bangalore (that’s what I perceived while driving through those narrow lanes. ). The taxi guy dropped me in front of a hospital and then I asked folks about Bangalore Fort. They gave me directions and it was just 2 mins walk towards the entry gate. There is no entry ticket for the fort. It was open at 9:15 am. The security person smiled and shared about the place. He said, it’s not huge and some parts are not approachable and closed for public. I moved in and came across this temple which is just in front of the entry gate. It seemed security folks live inside the fort. The family was just settling in for the day. There were few buckets around the lawn. I took a walk and noticed few beautiful birds around this place. It was peaceful inside the fort and these birds made it more cheerful. I sat there for some time and talked to the security people. Soon after another gentleman joined us and asked if I am from any newspaper. I smiled and said no. Clicked some portraits but they asked not to publish those photographs, so not sharing here. There is a huge vegetable market near the fort. Above photograph was clicked from taxi, while we were driving through this market towards the Fort. Above photographs don't give good perspective about the scale but these are huge doors around the outer wall of Banglore Fort. Above is the entry gate for Banglore Fort.

This is what happens when you confuse between 'Fort' and 'Palace'. While in Bangalore, few friends suggested to visit Bangalore Palace and when I booked taxi, I mentioned Bangalore Fort as destination and here I reach. When taxi guy picked me from my hotel, he confirmed where I want to go. He was not really aware of the place as it’s one of the most crowded region in Bangalore (that’s what I perceived while driving through those narrow lanes. ). The taxi guy dropped me in front of a hospital and then I asked folks about Bangalore Fort. They gave me directions and it was just 2 mins walk towards the entry gate. There is no entry ticket for the fort. It was open at 9:15 am. The security person smiled and shared about the place. He said, it’s not huge and some parts are not approachable and closed for public. I moved in and came across this temple which is just in front of the entry gate. It seemed security folks live inside the fort. The family was just settling in for the day. There were few buckets around the lawn. I took a walk and noticed few beautiful birds around this place. It was peaceful inside the fort and these birds made it more cheerful. I sat there for some time and talked to the security people. Soon after another gentleman joined us and asked if I am from any newspaper. I smiled and said no. Clicked some portraits but they asked not to publish those photographs, so not sharing here. There is a huge vegetable market near the fort. Above photograph was clicked from taxi, while we were driving through this market towards the Fort. Above photographs don't give good perspective about the scale but these are huge doors around the outer wall of Banglore Fort. Above is the entry gate for Banglore Fort.

This is what happens when you confuse between 'Fort' and 'Palace'. While in Bangalore, few friends suggested to visit Bangalore Palace and when I booked taxi, I mentioned Bangalore Fort as destination and here I reach. When taxi guy picked me from my hotel, he confirmed where I want to go. He was not really aware of the place as it’s one of the most crowded region in Bangalore (that’s what I perceived while driving through those narrow lanes. ). The taxi guy dropped me in front of a hospital and then I asked folks about Bangalore Fort. They gave me directions and it was just 2 mins walk towards the entry gate. There is no entry ticket for the fort. It was open at 9:15 am. The security person smiled and shared about the place. He said, it’s not huge and some parts are not approachable and closed for public. I moved in and came across this temple which is just in front of the entry gate. It seemed security folks live inside the fort. The family was just settling in for the day. There were few buckets around the lawn. I took a walk and noticed few beautiful birds around this place. It was peaceful inside the fort and these birds made it more cheerful. I sat there for some time and talked to the security people. Soon after another gentleman joined us and asked if I am from any newspaper. I smiled and said no. Clicked some portraits but they asked not to publish those photographs, so not sharing here. There is a huge vegetable market near the fort. Above photograph was clicked from taxi, while we were driving through this market towards the Fort. Above photographs don't give good perspective about the scale but these are huge doors around the outer wall of Banglore Fort. Above is the entry gate for Banglore Fort.

At 5pm, one of the chief gardeners of Taj took us on the tour of the property. He started with the fact that Taj WestEnd is oldest Indian Hotel which was started at hotel. There are can be other old buildings which are not hotels, but they were built for different purposes, like various havelis or palaces. He also showed us one of the oldest post-box which is still in use (see above photograph of oldest post-box). He seemed to be very passionate guy about plantation, green landscapes and very well appreciates the importance of natural resources.

This morning, we had to pack some clothes and essentials as the night stay was planned in KSTDC Kabini River Lodges (Jungle Lodges).

After breakfast, we boarded the bus and headed towards Mysore Palace.

Mysore is commonly described as the City of Palaces. There are about seven palaces inclusive of this. However, Mysore Palace refers specifically to the one within the Old Fort. Built by the Maharaja Rajarshi His Highness Krishnarajendra Wadiyar IV , Mysore Palace is now one of the most famous tourist attractions in India , after the Taj Mahal. The only sad part is that you can’t click photographs inside the Mysore Palace. Our guide Nazir took us through the whole campus and told various stories associated. There are some brilliant paintings inside Mysore palace depicting various forms of processions. There are paintings which are called as 3D paintings by guides because subject moves as you move in different directions. One of the painting depicts ambulances that were used during that period. Elephants used to be an integral part of the palace.

By the time we came back everyone was covered with thick layer of dirt, so it was important to have shower before heading towards the Viceregal cottage where a 45-minute-long movie was shown . That was the moment when I missed Vibha a lot. Vibha has keen interest in Tigers and she keeps watching documentaries on tigers from different wildlife sanctuaries in India. She knows a lot about many of the named tigers and she has written a lot about tiger conservation. She would have loved this documentary where Sundari was also mentioned.

After that we planned to visit Tipu’s tomb. That’s the place where Tipu, his father & mother’s tombs are.

Golden Chariot guests get to spend one day at Goa and then it heads back to Bengaluru. And in my opinion, Goa needs at least a week to really enjoy it’s beaches, restaurants, casinos, nigh life and explorations in old Goa. If you plan to take Golden Chariot trip and have more time in hand, I would strongly recommend to extend your stay in Goa and conclude your Golden Chariot journey here.

Srirangapatana town is also famous for a very ancient temple dedicated to Sri Ranganathaswamy , a form of Lord Vishnu. There is also Kalyani Siddhi vinayaka temple in front of the Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple. Other temples in Srirangapatna include the Lakshminarasimha Swamy Temple, the Sathyanarayana Swamy Temple,Jyothi Mahaswara Temple, the Gangadhareswara Swamy Temple, Bidhcotta Ganesha Temple, the Anjunaya Swamy Temple, the Ayyapa Temple, and RaganathaNagara Ganesha Temple, Lakshmi Temple, Sri raghavendra swamy math on old post office road, surrounding Srirangapatna in fort 8 Ganesh & Anjunaya temples. The Karighatta and its temple of Lord Srinivasa is situated a few kilometres from the town. The deity is that of Kari-giri-vasa (one who resides on the black hill). The renowned Nimishambha Temple is located about 2 km from the town.

Tipu Sultan Gumbaz - The Gumbaz is an impeccably detailed mausoleum and houses the remains of Tipu Sultan, his father Hyder Ali and his mother Fatima Begum. Apart from these there are various tombs of other relatives surround the gumbaz, some with small signs offering guidance on which specific individuals are buried here. And this whole space is surrounded with lush green gardens which are maintained pretty well.

The outer gumbaz columns are made of amphibolite, a very dark rock that exudes a somber richness. Notice the pillars in above photograph. In whole structure, only these pillars look black. Handcrafted door frames covered in a deep lacquer finish lead into an inner tomb illuminated only by natural light. All visitors are welcome inside, and even encouraged to enter by the friendly doormen.

Overall it was a short trip for me and I wish to go there again during winters. Please do share your questions, inputs, feedback and suggestions through comment section below.

Overall it was a short trip for me and I wish to go there again during winters. Please do share your questions, inputs, feedback and suggestions through comment section below.

At the end of the trek around Khecheopalri Lake, is a dainty little canopy offering a great view of the lake. Right next to the canopy is a little kiosk that sells water and some snacks. We had water here and some chips. They proved to be life-saving. This kiosk is manned by a local family that has its home right next to the Kiosk. We spent some time chatting with the family who owned the Kiosk. The man inquired about our political inclinations etc. The woman, in the meanwhile, was up to something very interesting. She had just washed her Pomeranian - it was sitting - almost dripping wet near the shop. Now she was in the middle of washing two guinea pigs. Several hens and cocks were casually strolling about. It was a wonderful place to discover.

Record your Memories and get them Printed: While our generation is comfortable with flipping through the photographs on Instagram, parents will cherish printed photographs more. So make sure you select good pictures and create a printed album for each of your trip. There is no better way to re-live a past travel than flipping through an old-fashioned printed album.

This weekend we planned an outing with office friends and after various discussions, we zeroed down at Agra. Personally I couldn't relate it as I never think of visiting these hot places in summers. But certainly there are various aspects associated with office trips and place where you stay plays an important role. We decided to stay in ITC Mughal, Agra. This post shares about the experience of staying in ITC Mughal, services offered, food variety & quality and other related stuff.

There are 2 swimming pools in the hotel - one is specifically for folks staying in Suites. I don't have photograph of that pool but the one you see above is accessible to everyone staying in ITC Mughal. We had great time in the pool. We felt same service level here as well. Drinks ordered came pretty late and some of the orders were completely missed, so we had to remind again. I completely failed to understand if it was overload it's a norm for service at ITC. Other thing I could think is that staff distribution is more for the other wing which can suites. From business point of view that makes sense but not serving appropriately is not good for such hotels and brands.

There is a section with various indoor games and stuff for outdoor games. Inside the sports room, you can find Chess, Carom, Table-tennis, pool table, billiard table etc. You can also grab badminton or cricket kit to place in one of the lush green ground in ITC Mughal. We dared to play cricket in scorching heat and it was fun :). I loved this part of the hotel, which is very green and lively. I could notice lot of birds here in morning but couldn't click as I was not carrying any zoom lens with me.

Interiors of some of the it's restaurants is awesome, although some of them were quite empty while few of them were always crowded. I was just checking out and there are some interesting deals available for ITC Mughal. Be aware of all the details before making the decision but I see value for money if you want to visit Agra for 3 nights.

I felt in love with these lights used in the reception. It stood out brilliantly in the beautiful reception of ITC Mughal at Agra.

Above is photograph of Moorang fort. If you notice in above photograph, vegetation has gone down in comparison to photographs shown above. That's what you experience as move closer to Spiti. Gradually you reach the land with no leaves around, only some patches of trees & grass which are maintained by villages or families in that region.

India is the seventh largest nation in the world with a population spanning billions. Urban growth has intensified and along with it, so have the public transportation systems. Mega cities Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata are among the largest in the world in terms of population. Rail and road travel account for a majority of public transportation in India. Economic growth has been followed by the advent of technology, and along with it, new innovations such as the monorail and the sky bus. With lots of low cost carriers, Indian aviation has also seen a rise in the number of commuters. From the Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission to road development, several policy initiatives have taken place to change the way people use public transport in India. Several cities have started luxury bus services with improved quality of service to mitigate congestion and pollution levels. Metro and monorail services are now available and several Indian cities have also taken up the BRTS (Bus Rapid Transit System). Also on the anvil is the sky bus. Systematic Growth of Public Transport Transportation in India has recorded a considerable growth in terms of spread of network and output of the system. India has one of the largest rail and road networks in the world. It has many national and state highways as well as district and village roads. About 90 percent of the nation’s commercial cargo is transported by ships. India has the largest merchant shipping fleet among developed nations and around 12 major ports and 200 non major ports. India also has 14,500 km of navigable waterways including rivers, canals, backwaters and creeks where boats and ferries ply. Some of the most scenic areas where inland water transport systems operate include the Kerala backwaters, inland waters in Mumbai and the Ganga and Hooghly river systems. Train Train travel is an unforgettable experience in India. With the exception of certain Northern and NE states, rail network covers almost every part of India. Three types of passenger trains in India are the super fast, local passenger and inter-city/express mail. Toy trains also carry tourists across short distances in hilly terrains. Rail fares are calculated for the specific distance travelled. Luxury tourist trains are another innovation for tourists and passengers to enjoy the different parts of India and explore its unique cultural heritage. Airplanes

Few weeks back I was in Mumbai for 2 days and had great company to explore this beautiful town in monsoons. This Photo Journey shares about Gateway of India, which is one of the most visited places in Mumbai and things to do around it. Gateway of India is surrounded by some of the best architectures in Mumbai and few popular restaurants & cafes.And if you are visiting Gateway of India, it makes sense to also know about other interesting things to do around it. So this post also talks about main things to do around Gateway of India and the famous Taj Mahal Palace Hotel.Gateway of India is located on waterfront and was built in 20th century. This beautiful architecture is in south Delhi. I was staying near Airport and it took 1.5 hrs to reach Gateway of India from our hotel. This is most visited place in Mumbai city.If you like knowing or photographing architecture, there are some beautiful buildings around Gateway of India. I highly recommend to walk around Gateway of India on foot and explore some of the beautiful buildings around the famous Taj Mahal Palace hotel.There is also a street behind Taj Mahal Palace hotel for people who love to do some shopping. There are lot of kiosks selling artificial jewelry. I didn't do any shopping here, but it seemed that lot of negotiation happens in these street, which is not very surprising.There are lot of beautiful buildings all around. It was my first visit to Mumbai and the city lot of old structures surrounded by high-rise apartments.Here is a photograph of the famous Leopold Cafe & Bar . I am sure you would have heard of this name. If it's getting a little difficult, let me help in reminding that cafe was impacted by terror attack in 2008. I loved these windows. This whole street behind famous Taj Mahala Palace Hotel has beautiful windows. I wish I had more time to observe them in a better way and capture through my Travellingcamera.I know traffic of Mumbai is talked about a lot, but I must say that traffic police does a great job. And most of the drivers are quite disciplined. Lack of these 2 would certainly convert the whole thing into chaos. We drove from Sahar to Colaba in a cab at around 3pm and it took us 1.5 hrs. During evening it may take somewhere around 2.5 hrs to 3 hrs (told by our hotel staff).Above is photograph of famous Taj Mahal Palace Hotel and you can see horse carts in front of it. Tourists can have a tour around this place in these horse carts.When I pointed my camera towards this building, this couple was wondering what am I clicking here. Notice the smile on the face of this boy and girl is looking back to figure out my subject :)Group of photographer friends around Gateway of India. It was time to relax a bit. These guys click photographs of tourists around Gateway of India and hand-over the printouts in few minutes. It's certainly a very tiring job to be on feet all the day, creating beautiful memories for tourists and try best to deliver good quality.

Art Museum in Banglore is brilliant place to explore and has lot to offer for folks who are looking for creative inspirations. Initially I was not planning to visit this place and I feel lucky to come towards this side of the city & explore Art Museum. It's located just behind Karnataka High Court and near Cubbon Park.

It's adjacent to Vishvesvarya Science & Technology Museum. Entry ticket for Art Museum just costs 4 Rs to you. I took one ticket and asked if I have to buy another ticket for Camera. The person on counter said "no, just go inside and have lovely time. We recommend that you spend more time exploring archives rather than clicking photographs". I loved that but I also need to take care of viewers of this blog, so clicked some of these photographs :).

The museum has a model of Srirangapatna , the fort of Tipu Sultan . There is a slab in the museum from Tipu's times that has 12 persian couplets. The museum also showcases various old musical instruments. The priced collections of the Museum include the earliest Kannada inscription - the Halmidi inscription , Begur inscription, Atakur inscription slabs are found in this museum.

While walking with GPS directions, St. Marks Cathedral came on my way and I planned to step in as my friend was getting late due to popular 'traffic' of Bengaluru.

Dalhousie has become second home for me now and whenever I visit there, it's always a confusion if I should visit Chamba or not. Visiting Chamba town has never been so tempting but dil hai ki manta nahin. This time again we landed in Chamba after trekking in Dainkund & a visit to Khajjiar Chamba is district headquarter in Himachal Pradesh comparatively bigger town. Certainly much bigger than Dalhousie in terms of population. Many times viewers of Travellingcamera.com have asked about main places to visit in Chamba town, which was quite surprising for me. But then I understood the reason. Most of the folks book taxi to visit Khajjiar and Chamera dam from Dalhousie . Chamba is an easy option comes on the way and if you have whole day, you can certainly stop at Chamba and visit the famous Bhuri Singh Museum, Laxmi Narayan Temple, Chamunda Temple and the famous Chaugan.Chamba weather is bit harsh and it's harsher when you coming down from Dalhousie & Khajjiar. If you are in Chamba town, do visit Bhuri Singh Museum which showcases some of the old things from local kingdom and how it was related to art & religious beliefs. It's in middle of the market and easily approachable. Entry ticket would cost you 20 Rs.Laxmi Narayan Temple is also near market, so you can walk from Bhuri Singh Museum to the temple. I would recommend to walk around the town as you would come across various interesting architecture. Try local food. It's different from other parts of Himachal.Chaugan is again near market and if you to other end of Chaugan, you can see Ravi river flowing through hills and various water streams merging into it. The view is even better during Monsoons.I am Chamba can offer much more if you plan to spend more time around the town. Chamba Chappal is very famous, so if you like shopping do check out some of the footwear shops. Also check out local stuff in Buttico for pure wool wears. Chamba rumal is again very special. You have to see it to believe. Although I am not sure if it's worth thousands. It was depends upon your interest and how much your pocket can afford.If you plan to visit Chamba and want to know more, drop a comment. I will certainly respond back in reasonable time.If you liked this post and found it helpful, I would request you to follow these things when traveling -- Manage your waste well and don’t litte- Use dustbins. Tell us if you went to a place and found it hard to locate a dustbin.- Avoid bottle waters in hills. Usually you get clean water in hills and water bottles create lot of mess in our ecosystem.- Say big no to plastic and avoid those unhealthy snacks packed in plastic bags. Rather buy fruits.- Don't play loud blaring music in forests of jungle camps. You are a guest in that ecosystem and disturbing the locals (humans and animals) is not polite

A visit in an year to Khajjiar has made me click less photographs and rather experience different weather there. I was in Khajjiar during monsoons and this is probably the best season to experience lush green landscapes all around. Khajjiar, at times, is not accessible during winters because roads get closed due to snowfallThis is the first view of Khajjiar lake when you are coming from Dalhousie. This is the point where you should start looking for parking slot. Road condition is usually not very good during monsoons. Maintaining roads in hills is very challenging, but still Himachal has been aggressive in maintaining it's roads. Especially roads in tourist regions.During Monsoons, it's very important to keep umbrella with you, even if sun is shining and there is no patch of clouds. This change in minutes and hence very unpredictable. Our day started with clear sky and by the time we reached Khajjiar it started raining heavily. Fortunately we were carrying few umbrellas and borrowed one from our cab driver.While it was raining, we took a table in one of the restaurants around Khajjiar Lake. It was lunch time and we thought of utilizing this time and had lunch. I am forgetting the name of the place where we had lunch and it was good Punjabi food.A few kilometers ahead there is a temple with this huge Shiva idol. Now let me share a very useful tip. If you came to Khajjiar from Dalhousie in a bus and want to go back in bus only. Reach this place 30 minutes back. Usually there are lot of folks who board bus in Khajjiar and it becomes very challenging to get in. Since this temple is a stop before Khajjiar, there is good probability to get in comfortably and also find a seat. There are 2 buses from Khajjiar to Dalhousie between 1pm to 3pm.So if you come early in the morning, the timings would suit you.These days paragliding is also quite popular activity around Khajjiar. One flies from a surrounding hill. You need to climb of the hill, so be sure about it. After flight, depending upon the flow of wind you can have a top view of Khajiar, but landing happens in village behind the shiva temple. I haven't done paragliding here so don't know the charges. Bir Billing is best place for Paragliding in Himachal Pradesh and I had that experience.Another view of Shiva from road connecting Khajjiar with ChambaMonsoon is a good time to taste local produce. Local cucumber is much tastier than what we get in cities through cold storage. During Monsoons, you would see lot of folks selling fresh fruit salad around Khajjiar and what can be best snack when travelling in himalayas.Clouds make this place more beautiful. I made some videos of clouds covering this place and going upwards to play in woods, but unfortunately we lost those videos due to card corruption. As I see some herbs vendor in above photograph, so let me warn you about a group of folks who sell you local herbs (don't know what that means and I never bought). But I have heard bad experiences of folks who dealt with these vendors. Please note that most of them are not local folks. and things they sell are not locally produced. They bring stuff from Jammu or Pathankot and sell to tourists. So if you can judge the originality of stuff being sold, go have a talk. Otherwise avoid even talking. Pre-wedding shoots and post wedding shoots are getting popular in our country. And I noticed lot of couples here at Khajjiar with professional photographers. Some of these photographers roam around the lake and click photographs to hand-over in form of prints. Some of the photographers had come with couples, were indulged in finding appropriate location and guiding these couples for some unique shots.I also wanted to do a shoot with my model, but this time she was acting like celebrities. And even weather was not favoring us. So this time, I couldn't click much.Here is path outside the green meadows, which is used for horse riding. You can hire a horse to have a round of Khajiar or roam around the neighboring villages. I never took the other route where these folks promise to show village and apple orchards. Carefully notice this photograph. Imagine the view when these clouds are slowing coming out of these forests. This was the best moment and experience at Khajjiar.There are lot vendors selling toys for kids. Urvi also wanted few but settled at one, which didn't reach home safely :). We had long day, so that was expected... I like some of these things at tourist places which provide opportunities for local folks. Some selling these toys, few making fruit salad and others selling juicy bhuttas. And all these things are also available at reasonable costs if you compare with prices quoted in bigger cities like Delhi. And it's not about money, it's more about purity and love of these local folks.This was shot when I was just leaving for Chamba. These colorful baloons in front of these green landscapes looked awesome. Over the years I have seen this place transforming, in good as well as bad ways. Local authorities don't allow people to play any kind of sport on these lawns but there areNames of horses around Khajjiar are very interesting :) ... Romeo, Chetak etc.. If you intend to stay around Khajjiar, there are 3 reasonable options - HPTDC hotel, HPPWD Guest-House and Forest Guest-House. Apart from there are there are various private properties.

A visit in an year to Khajjiar has made me click less photographs and rather experience different weather there. I was in Khajjiar during monsoons and this is probably the best season to experience lush green landscapes all around. Khajjiar, at times, is not accessible during winters because roads get closed due to snowfallThis is the first view of Khajjiar lake when you are coming from Dalhousie. This is the point where you should start looking for parking slot. Road condition is usually not very good during monsoons. Maintaining roads in hills is very challenging, but still Himachal has been aggressive in maintaining it's roads. Especially roads in tourist regions.During Monsoons, it's very important to keep umbrella with you, even if sun is shining and there is no patch of clouds. This change in minutes and hence very unpredictable. Our day started with clear sky and by the time we reached Khajjiar it started raining heavily. Fortunately we were carrying few umbrellas and borrowed one from our cab driver.While it was raining, we took a table in one of the restaurants around Khajjiar Lake. It was lunch time and we thought of utilizing this time and had lunch. I am forgetting the name of the place where we had lunch and it was good Punjabi food.A few kilometers ahead there is a temple with this huge Shiva idol. Now let me share a very useful tip. If you came to Khajjiar from Dalhousie in a bus and want to go back in bus only. Reach this place 30 minutes back. Usually there are lot of folks who board bus in Khajjiar and it becomes very challenging to get in. Since this temple is a stop before Khajjiar, there is good probability to get in comfortably and also find a seat. There are 2 buses from Khajjiar to Dalhousie between 1pm to 3pm.So if you come early in the morning, the timings would suit you.These days paragliding is also quite popular activity around Khajjiar. One flies from a surrounding hill. You need to climb of the hill, so be sure about it. After flight, depending upon the flow of wind you can have a top view of Khajiar, but landing happens in village behind the shiva temple. I haven't done paragliding here so don't know the charges. Bir Billing is best place for Paragliding in Himachal Pradesh and I had that experience.Another view of Shiva from road connecting Khajjiar with ChambaMonsoon is a good time to taste local produce. Local cucumber is much tastier than what we get in cities through cold storage. During Monsoons, you would see lot of folks selling fresh fruit salad around Khajjiar and what can be best snack when travelling in himalayas.Clouds make this place more beautiful. I made some videos of clouds covering this place and going upwards to play in woods, but unfortunately we lost those videos due to card corruption. As I see some herbs vendor in above photograph, so let me warn you about a group of folks who sell you local herbs (don't know what that means and I never bought). But I have heard bad experiences of folks who dealt with these vendors. Please note that most of them are not local folks. and things they sell are not locally produced. They bring stuff from Jammu or Pathankot and sell to tourists. So if you can judge the originality of stuff being sold, go have a talk. Otherwise avoid even talking. Pre-wedding shoots and post wedding shoots are getting popular in our country. And I noticed lot of couples here at Khajjiar with professional photographers. Some of these photographers roam around the lake and click photographs to hand-over in form of prints. Some of the photographers had come with couples, were indulged in finding appropriate location and guiding these couples for some unique shots.I also wanted to do a shoot with my model, but this time she was acting like celebrities. And even weather was not favoring us. So this time, I couldn't click much.Here is path outside the green meadows, which is used for horse riding. You can hire a horse to have a round of Khajiar or roam around the neighboring villages. I never took the other route where these folks promise to show village and apple orchards. Carefully notice this photograph. Imagine the view when these clouds are slowing coming out of these forests. This was the best moment and experience at Khajjiar.There are lot vendors selling toys for kids. Urvi also wanted few but settled at one, which didn't reach home safely :). We had long day, so that was expected... I like some of these things at tourist places which provide opportunities for local folks. Some selling these toys, few making fruit salad and others selling juicy bhuttas. And all these things are also available at reasonable costs if you compare with prices quoted in bigger cities like Delhi. And it's not about money, it's more about purity and love of these local folks.This was shot when I was just leaving for Chamba. These colorful baloons in front of these green landscapes looked awesome. Over the years I have seen this place transforming, in good as well as bad ways. Local authorities don't allow people to play any kind of sport on these lawns but there areNames of horses around Khajjiar are very interesting :) ... Romeo, Chetak etc.. If you intend to stay around Khajjiar, there are 3 reasonable options - HPTDC hotel, HPPWD Guest-House and Forest Guest-House. Apart from there are there are various private properties.

Chamba is popular town name in bollywood movies but not that popular on tourist map. Places like Dalhousie and Khajjiar around Chamba are quite popular. Very few tourists visit the town. Chamba is district headquarter in Himachal Pradesh and today we are going to share about Bhuri Singh museum, which shares a lot about the history of Chamba kingdom & other small kingdoms around this place. Also a glimpse of old art-forms from this part of the world. Bhuri Singh Museum is located in the middle of the Chamba town. As you enter Chamba town and reach Chugan ground, take left to enter into Taxi parking. Park your car there and museum is at 5 minutes talk on same road. One needs to buy entry ticket to the Museum, which is 20 rs per person and if you are carrying a camera, pay 50 rs extra. (These charges may vary over time) The Museum is unique in it's own way. It makes to go back in history and imagine how people in these Kingdoms would have lived. How the houses looks, how they created sources of water, the importance of art at these sources of water etc. Above is a photograph of door with different kinds of paintings on each block. There are various paintings created in last century depicting various things about religion, kingdoms and lifestyle. Some of these painting ask very hard and strong questions about the social norms followed at that time Of-course, most of these are open for interpretation, but some are subtly forcing you to ask some basic questions. Some of the are still true as of today. Here is the photograph showing jewellery style popular amongst royal families of Chamba. I am sure there must be commonalities between various kingdoms in India and hence, you would have seen some of them earlier. Interestingly, some of these designs are still in use, but in relatively smaller sizes. This room had carved stones collected from various villages of Chamba Kingdom. These stones were part of water sources in different villages. Imagine the way art used to influence daily life of people in this kingdom. Some of the old painting of Royal family are put on common areas of the Museum. These old paintings made me wonder about artists who created these at that time. Brilliant details. If you have time and visit Chamba, do visit this Museum. Don't go in a hurry. I know lot of folks don't like visiting museums in India but spend lot of money for international museums. I can strongly say that we have great history and art-forms to explore to know.

When in Mumbai, we drove around few of the popular places in Mumbai and Travellingcamera visited Sea-link twice in 2 days and loved shooting here. Sea Link connects old Mumbai with new city. This Photo Journey shares more photographs of Sea Link and places from where this beautiful bridge is viewed and clicked.I was staying at JW Marriot near Airport and didn't want to go to other side of Mumbai city and there is a toll at beginning of Sea Link. So we went till the beginning of Sea Link and took u turn from left after clicking few shots of sea, sea link and high-rise buildings on other side of the sea.I was not happy with what I clicked at this place, so planned to come again but overall all the photographs in my opinion are average. I have seen some of the stunning photographs on web but then realized that I needed to know more about the geography of the place and what makes the best choice to shoot Sea Link.The weather was rainy and it was hazy all around. I clicked some of these plain shots of high-rise buildings on other side of the sea.After taking u turn before the sea link starts, we went to bandstand. After little disappointment about Shahrukh Khan's house at Bandstand, we headed towards Taj LandsEnd and came across these amazing views of Sea link. This certainly is beautiful place to shoot Sea Link and I was imagining how the bridge would look in night when lights on the bridge shine.Next day, plan was to visit Gateway of India and we had to cross the Bridge, so we planned to stop our cab again. Light was a little better, but there was hardly any scope of moving around and trying different things and we were in little hurry.Now we had to cross the bridge, but stopping the cab on bridge was not allowed and our driver strictly conveyed the same to us. So we calmly sat on the back seat and made our cameras to shoot while driving.As we hit the bridge, it started raining heavily and now wiper was also running on the front glass. So we had to manage our clicks in such a way that we shoot front view without much distraction :)Mumbai rains are crazy and very unpredictable. That was one of the main reason that we booked the cab for whole day. It was my first attempt to book Ola cab for whole day and it was not so bad, like my earlier experience with Ola.Overall it was fun driving around Bandra-Worli sea link and clicking these photographs. I wish to spend more time in Mumbai and understand these places in better way.

When in Mumbai, we drove around few of the popular places in Mumbai and Travellingcamera visited Sea-link twice in 2 days and loved shooting here. Sea Link connects old Mumbai with new city. This Photo Journey shares more photographs of Sea Link and places from where this beautiful bridge is viewed and clicked.I was staying at JW Marriot near Airport and didn't want to go to other side of Mumbai city and there is a toll at beginning of Sea Link. So we went till the beginning of Sea Link and took u turn from left after clicking few shots of sea, sea link and high-rise buildings on other side of the sea.I was not happy with what I clicked at this place, so planned to come again but overall all the photographs in my opinion are average. I have seen some of the stunning photographs on web but then realized that I needed to know more about the geography of the place and what makes the best choice to shoot Sea Link.The weather was rainy and it was hazy all around. I clicked some of these plain shots of high-rise buildings on other side of the sea.After taking u turn before the sea link starts, we went to bandstand. After little disappointment about Shahrukh Khan's house at Bandstand, we headed towards Taj LandsEnd and came across these amazing views of Sea link. This certainly is beautiful place to shoot Sea Link and I was imagining how the bridge would look in night when lights on the bridge shine.Next day, plan was to visit Gateway of India and we had to cross the Bridge, so we planned to stop our cab again. Light was a little better, but there was hardly any scope of moving around and trying different things and we were in little hurry.Now we had to cross the bridge, but stopping the cab on bridge was not allowed and our driver strictly conveyed the same to us. So we calmly sat on the back seat and made our cameras to shoot while driving.As we hit the bridge, it started raining heavily and now wiper was also running on the front glass. So we had to manage our clicks in such a way that we shoot front view without much distraction :)Mumbai rains are crazy and very unpredictable. That was one of the main reason that we booked the cab for whole day. It was my first attempt to book Ola cab for whole day and it was not so bad, like my earlier experience with Ola.Overall it was fun driving around Bandra-Worli sea link and clicking these photographs. I wish to spend more time in Mumbai and understand these places in better way.

When in Mumbai, we drove around few of the popular places in Mumbai and Travellingcamera visited Sea-link twice in 2 days and loved shooting here. Sea Link connects old Mumbai with new city. This Photo Journey shares more photographs of Sea Link and places from where this beautiful bridge is viewed and clicked.I was staying at JW Marriot near Airport and didn't want to go to other side of Mumbai city and there is a toll at beginning of Sea Link. So we went till the beginning of Sea Link and took u turn from left after clicking few shots of sea, sea link and high-rise buildings on other side of the sea.I was not happy with what I clicked at this place, so planned to come again but overall all the photographs in my opinion are average. I have seen some of the stunning photographs on web but then realized that I needed to know more about the geography of the place and what makes the best choice to shoot Sea Link.The weather was rainy and it was hazy all around. I clicked some of these plain shots of high-rise buildings on other side of the sea.After taking u turn before the sea link starts, we went to bandstand. After little disappointment about Shahrukh Khan's house at Bandstand, we headed towards Taj LandsEnd and came across these amazing views of Sea link. This certainly is beautiful place to shoot Sea Link and I was imagining how the bridge would look in night when lights on the bridge shine.Next day, plan was to visit Gateway of India and we had to cross the Bridge, so we planned to stop our cab again. Light was a little better, but there was hardly any scope of moving around and trying different things and we were in little hurry.Now we had to cross the bridge, but stopping the cab on bridge was not allowed and our driver strictly conveyed the same to us. So we calmly sat on the back seat and made our cameras to shoot while driving.As we hit the bridge, it started raining heavily and now wiper was also running on the front glass. So we had to manage our clicks in such a way that we shoot front view without much distraction :)Mumbai rains are crazy and very unpredictable. That was one of the main reason that we booked the cab for whole day. It was my first attempt to book Ola cab for whole day and it was not so bad, like my earlier experience with Ola.Overall it was fun driving around Bandra-Worli sea link and clicking these photographs. I wish to spend more time in Mumbai and understand these places in better way.

Few weeks back we planned to visit Mandi from Delhi and this time we thought of taking a little different route. We planned to visit Naina Devi temple and Bhakhra dam . I visited Naina Devi 15 years back and wanted to know how this part of Himachal has changed over the years.So instead of taking right from Kiratpur Sahib, we went straight towards Una and took right from Anandpur Saheb . Naina Devi temple is 12 kilometers from the cut from main highway.Road condition is good, even when we drive in monsoons. And it's not steep. It' goes up steadily and offer great views from top.After reaching near Naina Devi temple, you have 2 options to park the car. One is near bus stand, which is paid parking and from here you need to walk up for 1.5 kilometers to reach temple.Other way is to park near ropeway station, take ropeway and reach at the top of the hill. Main temple is 5-10 walk from here. We realized it after we parked the car at Bus stand, climbed up and came down through ropeway. Taxi also goes up till ropeway station near temple, so that's 3rd option if you have driver. I didn't check this place, so not very sure if there is parking there.Weather was lovely so walking up went smooth, but we realized that it's bad idea to come down on feet as we saw few folks slipping down badly.I found this very interesting - this boy was giving 9 coins for 10 rupees and it seems that he does good business. So usually people keep the change and keep giving on the way to folks cleaning the compound.Overall it was nice experience to take a break at Naina Devi and started our next journey towards Bhakhra Dam.Be prepared with papers of your vehicle and an identity card. There would be 3 places near dam where your car and documents would be checked.This drive is beautiful with Govind Sagar Lake on right side.crossing Bhakhra Dam and driving for few kilometers, we stopped Sea Rock hotel for food. Food was nice but we found it little expensive w.r.t. portion size. All the prices were matching to good restaurant in Delhi, but portions were small. But overall we enjoyed what they served.Anyways, the journey continued without any break after that. And we reached when it was dark. The day had started early at 4am, but it was day well spent around natural beauty and Naina Devi.

If you have been following my series of Photo Journeys by Huawei P9 , you must have noticed the potential of it's dual cameras. I am loving this camera and would be sharing various Photo Journeys clicked through it's dual lenses powered by Leica . This Photo Journey shares some of the mobile clicks from Mumbai. It was a short trip to Mumbai . I wanted to spend more time in streets but monsoons didn't allow me to do so. I could hardly walk around the city. We had booked a cab and went to various place. The taxi was our shelter during rain and rest of the time was spent around Bandstand, Sea Link , Gateway of India , Haji Ali and Marine Drive.Huawei P9 is a good phone to carry while travelling and I enjoyed clicking nature shots with it. Few days back I also curated a post explaining about various camera features of P9 and best ways to use them. Personally I loved clicking Time-Lapse videos Above is a panoramic shot clicked with mobile phone and it was pretty simple. Camera guides you to move camera and the speed to follow.Another shot of Bandstand. These rocks on seashore were extremely slippery. One has to be very careful when walking around this part of the sea-shore.After Bandstand we walked towards Taj Land's End and then Bandra fort from where you can capture Sea Link. Above is panoramic view from Castella de Aguada.Huawei P9 is also considered good for Monochrome photography but I am yet to explore it well. Hopefully I would be sharing a Black & White Photo Journey clicked through it's dual camera.We spent significant time around Castella de Aguada. It certainly offers great views of ocean and Sea Link.Some were busy looking at the sea, few were getting ready to get clicked and others were wondering what to do next...As we landed Juhu, it was the most disappointing experience of Mumbai. It was very dirty. This man was just setting up his stall for the evening, but rain was making his job very challenging.There were more crows than humans around the beach. We hardly spent 10 minutes at this place and came back to our hotel.Mumbai treated us well and Huawei P9 was a good companion to capture these memories for future. Stay tuned for more through this camera. And do follow our social media channels to get continuous updates.

If you have been following my series of Photo Journeys by Huawei P9 , you must have noticed the potential of it's dual cameras. I am loving this camera and would be sharing various Photo Journeys clicked through it's dual lenses powered by Leica . This Photo Journey shares some of the mobile clicks from Mumbai. It was a short trip to Mumbai . I wanted to spend more time in streets but monsoons didn't allow me to do so. I could hardly walk around the city. We had booked a cab and went to various place. The taxi was our shelter during rain and rest of the time was spent around Bandstand, Sea Link , Gateway of India , Haji Ali and Marine Drive.Huawei P9 is a good phone to carry while travelling and I enjoyed clicking nature shots with it. Few days back I also curated a post explaining about various camera features of P9 and best ways to use them. Personally I loved clicking Time-Lapse videos Above is a panoramic shot clicked with mobile phone and it was pretty simple. Camera guides you to move camera and the speed to follow.Another shot of Bandstand. These rocks on seashore were extremely slippery. One has to be very careful when walking around this part of the sea-shore.After Bandstand we walked towards Taj Land's End and then Bandra fort from where you can capture Sea Link. Above is panoramic view from Castella de Aguada.Huawei P9 is also considered good for Monochrome photography but I am yet to explore it well. Hopefully I would be sharing a Black & White Photo Journey clicked through it's dual camera.We spent significant time around Castella de Aguada. It certainly offers great views of ocean and Sea Link.Some were busy looking at the sea, few were getting ready to get clicked and others were wondering what to do next...As we landed Juhu, it was the most disappointing experience of Mumbai. It was very dirty. This man was just setting up his stall for the evening, but rain was making his job very challenging.There were more crows than humans around the beach. We hardly spent 10 minutes at this place and came back to our hotel.Mumbai treated us well and Huawei P9 was a good companion to capture these memories for future. Stay tuned for more through this camera. And do follow our social media channels to get continuous updates.

Lush green meadows, grazing sheeps, beautiful cottages, high deodars and high hills of Khajjiar makes it a popular destination for traveller, explorers and tourists from India & abroad. Khajjiar is also known as mini Switzerland of India. Khajjiar is located on the way from Dalhousie and Chamba. This Photo Journey shares more about the ways to reach Khajjiar and other interesting things to explore & do around Khajiar/Dalhousie.How to reach?Here I am sharing details about reaching Khajjiar from Delhi and then will share some pointers about options from Chandigarh, Amritsar, Jalandhar etc. HRTC bus for Chamba starts from Delhi at 7pm. The link shares has more details about booking bus from Delhi to Dalhousie. The one which starts at 7pm is 2*2 AC bus. Apart from this 2 ordinary buses go from Delhi to Chamba/Dalhousie. Any of these buses can drop you at Dalhousie, which is closest main station near Khajjiar. Khajjir is just 22 kilometers from Dalhousie. Other option to reach Khajjiar is by taking a train from Delhi to Pathankot. From Pathankot, you can either hire a taxi or board local bus from Dalhousie. Please note that most of the buses going to Chamba can drop you at Dalhousie but there is rare possibility to find direct bus for Khajjiar. There are few buses from Dalhousie to Chamba which cross through Khajjiar. There is one which starts from Dalhousie at 9:15am. When I was staying in Dalhousie, I chose to take this bus to reach Khajjiar and then took 2:30pm bus to come back. Expect lot of passengers in these buses between Dalhousie and Khajjiar. If you are coming from other cities like Chandigarh, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Dharmshala or Shimla; there are various bus routes. Check HRTC, PRTC websites to know timings. Apart from these private buses are also available for Dalhousie. Hope these details are helpful. If not, please drop a comment with your specific question and I will try to share appropriate details. Let's talk about options to stay around Khajjiar. Where to stay? I have been to Khajjiar many times, but most of the times stayed in Dalhousie. I wish to spend a night around Khajjiar. There is one HPTDC hotel which faces Khajjiar lake (dry lake). Apart from this there is one forest guest house and a HPPWD guest house around Khajjiar. All of these beautiful properties are best located around lush green meadows of Khajjiar. Apart from these prime location properties, there are few resorts around Khajjiar, but they are not around the main lake. 3 options mentioned above offer brilliant views of lush green grounds of Khajjiar. During summers, it's hard to get booking in Khajjiar. The next good option is Dalhousie. Dalhousie has comparatively more hotels & resorts. But it's recommended to do advance booking if you are going to Khajjiar or Dalhousie in main tourist season. Activities at Khajjiar - 1. Paragliding - Now you can enjoy paragliding at Khajjiar. Like Solang nala, kids can also enjoy small flights within Khajjiar and adults can enjoy the longer flights from surrounding hills, which usually land in Khajjiar. 2. Horse riding - You can ride around the Khajjiar. There is a proper path defined for horses and this is one of the early & popular activity to enjoy at Khajjiar. The horse owners also tell you few tricks to ride the horse. On the halfway, you feel like controlling the horse on your own :). That's fun ! 3. Zorbing - You would see zorbing balls rolling on other side of Khajjiar lake. 4. Photo shoot in Himachali dress - This is typical activity which is offered in most of the hill stations in Himachal and Kashmir. I think, I need not explain this more. 5. Interacting with rabbits and getting some photographs clicked - You would find few kids with rabbits. They allow you clicking photographs with these rabbits and charge 10 rs. During tourist season, they may ask 20 rs or so. 6. Enjoy local folk music - There is a gentleman, who sings local songs around the dry lake of Khajjiar. He sings brilliantly and you can find his videos on Youtube.You can carry your own stuff with you. Many times, we carry Badminton, frisbee, a football and picnic stuff. Khajjiar is appropriate place for picnic. Folks living in Dalhousie and Chamaba usually come to Khajjiar during sundays with friends and family.Main places to explore around Khajjiar - Dalhousie - Churches, Mall road, walks Panchpula Waterfalls Dainkund TrekKalatop wildlife sanctuary trek, Chamera Lake Dam, Chamba Town - Bhuri Singh Museum, Laxmi Narayan Temple, Chattradi Temple, Chugan and lot more , Ravi river , View of snow covered Pir Panjal mountain ranges, I was there in Khajjiar again in August and it looks awesome in the month of August & September. It was a day out with my niece Urvi and enjoyed clicking her photographs. Above photograph shows deodar cones. August is the month when you can see all these cones on deodar trees. Khajjiar is surrounded by dense forest of high deodars. There is water in the middle of the lake. More than water, it's quicksand. This wooden pathway takes you to the water pond and this time I saw lot of fish in this. Although scene is not very interesting. Kids really enjoy to see fish in the pond. A gentleman sits around this place and sell some eatable for the fish. That's a good way for kids to interact with fish. Direct sunlight, fresh & cold breeze, lush green meadows, grazing sheep & cows, beautiful huts surrounded by dense forests of Deodar make Khajjiar a irrisistable place in Himachal Pradesh . Khajjiar is my favorite place around Dalhousie and Chamba regions of the himalayan state. Here is a panorama of Khajjiar. Notice the size of people walking around and try to imagine the size of this beautiful green meadow. It's huge. If you love walking, this is perfect place with appropriate weather. At times sun can be too harsh, so choose to walk around the edges with shade of deodars. Hope this post would help you plan your trip to Khajjiar and by now you must have an idea about things to expect at Khajjiar. Please feel free to drop your comments for further questions or suggestions.

Rashmi Villa, Dalhousie Public School

While in Mumbai , we visited Bandstand that was a little disappointing experience for me and if you are wondering why, check this . After roaming around Bandstand, we walked towards Taj Lands End and finally reached Castella De Aguada towards the end. It's just across the sea and Sea-Link looks awesome from this place. This Photo Journey shares more about Castella De Aguada and why it's so popular amongst locals and tourists visiting Mumbai.It's also called at Bandra Fort. The Portuguese had established a base in this area during 1530s after defeating Bahadur Shah of Gujarat state of India. And they built various sea-forts along the western Indian coastline. Castella de Aguada was one such strategically located fort, overlooking the Mahim Bay to the south, the Arabian Sea to the west, the islands of Worli to the south and the town of Mahim to the south west.During the Portuguese rule, it was armed with seven cannons and other smaller guns as defense. Here is huge wall of Castella De Aguada from where you can enjoy awesome views of Sea Link and get photographs clicked. And in monsoons the views are even better with clouds in sky and everything cleaned up by drizzles.Above photograph shows the open space just in front of the fort and if you would try to search the fort, you would be disappointed. There is hardly anything which remained and look like a fort. There are high walls from where you can see Sea-Link and observe sea waves. You can find vendors roaming around to sell snacks. Structure of Castella De Aguada has been renovated a decade back and now it doesn't look like old forts but some of the walls still look strong and have old charm. Are you wondering what is the significance of Castella De Aguada?Bandra Fort Garden is very well maintained. Not sure if it seemed like that because of freshness of Monsoons or it's really handled well by authorities.Lot of folks come here, spend some quality time with friends by looking at the waves. Some of them just cross the wall and sit on rocks around the wall. Just notice folks sitting on the rocks in photograph below.Quick facts . How to Reach Castella De Aguada - It's at walking distance from Shah Rukh Khan's house :). So if you are visiting Bandstand, just walk from there towards Taj Lands End and cross that. Castella De Aguada Timings - I didn't find a way to close this but it seems castle is open from 6:30am to 7pm. There must be some entry gate which I missed.

Hi Folks, As you are aware of MobileGIRI series by Travellingcamera today we share a very special Photo Journey with you. There are different reason for it to be special, but to know more you need to go through the post and photographs clicked with newly launched Oppo F1s.As most of the folks know that Oppo phones are popular for selfies and they have innovated a lot when it comes to selfies. It sounded crazy when I heard of it first time, but then I realized that it makes sense in the world where most of the photographs are clicked as selfies with phone cameras. Oppo F1s is latest selfie expert in the street.Interestingly Front camera has higher megapixels as compared to rear camera. I don't know any other camera which prefers front camera over rear. At the same time, you might have read on my blog that I don't give much preference to megapixels and thing which matters is quality which depends on lot of things. Oppo F1s has 16 megapixel front camera and 13 megapixel rear camera.Here is a Selfie with master - Daboo Ratnani. Daboo clicked some of the best selfies with Oppo F1s during his recent abroad trip with family. This video below shares about some of the photographs he clicked and Daboo himself sharing about this phone & the photographs clicked with it.Monsoon is probably the best season to explore Mumbai and shoot. This season takes out the real character of the city. Monsoons of Mumbai are pretty different from other parts of the country.I loved these beautiful buildings around Gateway of India. This is a little zoomed-in photograph. And I am happy with clarity of the photographs. I don't have any indoor photograph here, but when clicked and compared with my personal phone, this phone wins in terms of sharpness of the photograph. In this post, I would avoid to pass on my opinion but share the photographs clicked with Oppo F1s phone camera. I have also tried to share some of the specifications of this Selfie Expert.Above photographs is clicked around Haji Ali and it was already dark as you can make out that lights are on. Shooting in low light is real test of any camera. Now we can debate that multiple light sources can lit us a scene like this. Let's also look at the photograph below, which is a wide angle shot from other side of Haji Ali and certainly there is no light to lit the water and other regions around the boundary.While roaming around Gateway of India, we came across a small street with lot of these shops where you can buy artificial jewelry. It was pretty dark as all the shops were facing each other under a covered building. For last few months, I am very comfortable clicking with phone cameras and it becomes easier if results are encouraging.Body of Oppo F1s is very elegant. Back side of the phone looks awesome. Above photograph shows both front and back side of this phone. It's sleek and elegant.Two thread-thin metallic bands - It's a beauty to see and to hold. While roaming around Gateway of India, we also reached the famous Leopold Cafe which is just behind the famous Taj Mahal Palace Hotel.A panoramic view of Marine driver Mumbai. This panorama is created with same phone.And the last one is special, which I clicked after coming back to office in Delhi. Monsoons make Delhi colorful and greener.Since I have this phone and would be using it in future. Please drop us a comment below, if you want me to test anything specific for you.

Hi Folks, As you are aware of MobileGIRI series by Travellingcamera today we share a very special Photo Journey with you. There are different reason for it to be special, but to know more you need to go through the post and photographs clicked with newly launched Oppo F1s.As most of the folks know that Oppo phones are popular for selfies and they have innovated a lot when it comes to selfies. It sounded crazy when I heard of it first time, but then I realized that it makes sense in the world where most of the photographs are clicked as selfies with phone cameras. Oppo F1s is latest selfie expert in the street.Interestingly Front camera has higher megapixels as compared to rear camera. I don't know any other camera which prefers front camera over rear. At the same time, you might have read on my blog that I don't give much preference to megapixels and thing which matters is quality which depends on lot of things. Oppo F1s has 16 megapixel front camera and 13 megapixel rear camera.Here is a Selfie with master - Daboo Ratnani. Daboo clicked some of the best selfies with Oppo F1s during his recent abroad trip with family. This video below shares about some of the photographs he clicked and Daboo himself sharing about this phone & the photographs clicked with it.Monsoon is probably the best season to explore Mumbai and shoot. This season takes out the real character of the city. Monsoons of Mumbai are pretty different from other parts of the country.I loved these beautiful buildings around Gateway of India. This is a little zoomed-in photograph. And I am happy with clarity of the photographs. I don't have any indoor photograph here, but when clicked and compared with my personal phone, this phone wins in terms of sharpness of the photograph. In this post, I would avoid to pass on my opinion but share the photographs clicked with Oppo F1s phone camera. I have also tried to share some of the specifications of this Selfie Expert.Above photographs is clicked around Haji Ali and it was already dark as you can make out that lights are on. Shooting in low light is real test of any camera. Now we can debate that multiple light sources can lit us a scene like this. Let's also look at the photograph below, which is a wide angle shot from other side of Haji Ali and certainly there is no light to lit the water and other regions around the boundary.While roaming around Gateway of India, we came across a small street with lot of these shops where you can buy artificial jewelry. It was pretty dark as all the shops were facing each other under a covered building. For last few months, I am very comfortable clicking with phone cameras and it becomes easier if results are encouraging.Body of Oppo F1s is very elegant. Back side of the phone looks awesome. Above photograph shows both front and back side of this phone. It's sleek and elegant.Two thread-thin metallic bands - It's a beauty to see and to hold. While roaming around Gateway of India, we also reached the famous Leopold Cafe which is just behind the famous Taj Mahal Palace Hotel.A panoramic view of Marine driver Mumbai. This panorama is created with same phone.And the last one is special, which I clicked after coming back to office in Delhi. Monsoons make Delhi colorful and greener.Since I have this phone and would be using it in future. Please drop us a comment below, if you want me to test anything specific for you.

Hi Folks, As you are aware of MobileGIRI series by Travellingcamera today we share a very special Photo Journey with you. There are different reason for it to be special, but to know more you need to go through the post and photographs clicked with newly launched Oppo F1s.As most of the folks know that Oppo phones are popular for selfies and they have innovated a lot when it comes to selfies. It sounded crazy when I heard of it first time, but then I realized that it makes sense in the world where most of the photographs are clicked as selfies with phone cameras. Oppo F1s is latest selfie expert in the street.Interestingly Front camera has higher megapixels as compared to rear camera. I don't know any other camera which prefers front camera over rear. At the same time, you might have read on my blog that I don't give much preference to megapixels and thing which matters is quality which depends on lot of things. Oppo F1s has 16 megapixel front camera and 13 megapixel rear camera.Here is a Selfie with master - Daboo Ratnani. Daboo clicked some of the best selfies with Oppo F1s during his recent abroad trip with family. This video below shares about some of the photographs he clicked and Daboo himself sharing about this phone & the photographs clicked with it.Monsoon is probably the best season to explore Mumbai and shoot. This season takes out the real character of the city. Monsoons of Mumbai are pretty different from other parts of the country.I loved these beautiful buildings around Gateway of India. This is a little zoomed-in photograph. And I am happy with clarity of the photographs. I don't have any indoor photograph here, but when clicked and compared with my personal phone, this phone wins in terms of sharpness of the photograph. In this post, I would avoid to pass on my opinion but share the photographs clicked with Oppo F1s phone camera. I have also tried to share some of the specifications of this Selfie Expert.Above photographs is clicked around Haji Ali and it was already dark as you can make out that lights are on. Shooting in low light is real test of any camera. Now we can debate that multiple light sources can lit us a scene like this. Let's also look at the photograph below, which is a wide angle shot from other side of Haji Ali and certainly there is no light to lit the water and other regions around the boundary.While roaming around Gateway of India, we came across a small street with lot of these shops where you can buy artificial jewelry. It was pretty dark as all the shops were facing each other under a covered building. For last few months, I am very comfortable clicking with phone cameras and it becomes easier if results are encouraging.Body of Oppo F1s is very elegant. Back side of the phone looks awesome. Above photograph shows both front and back side of this phone. It's sleek and elegant.Two thread-thin metallic bands - It's a beauty to see and to hold. While roaming around Gateway of India, we also reached the famous Leopold Cafe which is just behind the famous Taj Mahal Palace Hotel.A panoramic view of Marine driver Mumbai. This panorama is created with same phone.And the last one is special, which I clicked after coming back to office in Delhi. Monsoons make Delhi colorful and greener.Since I have this phone and would be using it in future. Please drop us a comment below, if you want me to test anything specific for you.

It is Monday and it is time again for our weekly Time-Turner series. This is the series through which we focus on our lingering memories of a trip that we undertook in the past. Monsoon, regular rains, sparkling greenery, all reminded me of the trip to Goa we undertook in August 2013 immediately after our wedding. That being our "honeymoon" we were really looking forward to a romantic getaway. Some of our friends had cautioned us about visiting Goa during the monsoons. It could rain for hours together, it would be humid, the seafood shacks will be closed etc. We decided to take a risk, and what a decision it turned out to be.The first thing we did upon reaching goa was rent a car. Since it wasn't the peak season, we got a really good deal. We got a good WagonR in Rs. 1400 per day. Though I had been driving for years, it was the first time I was driving in a city other than Delhi. I remember I was nervous at first. Roads in Goa are different from the roads in Delhi. Some of them are just a single lane running through fields. Moreover, the road was a few feet higher than the fields and it meant that we would be in trouble if another vehicle approached from the other side. We were lucky that we didn't come across any other vehicle, however someone had tied their buffalo alongside the road and the buffalo had decided to climb up and sit on the road. However, as soon as the animal saw our car approaching, it got up and jumped into the field. We were massively relieved and thankful to the buffalo for its quick thinking.This was also the first time I drove on the "hills". It really isn't fair to call the slight incline that one needs to traverse when travelling to the Manguesh Mahalaxmi temple a "hill", but nevertheless there are curves and steep turns involved. It was thrilling and exciting, and I still look back at that drive and can remember the roadsides that appeared like green blur as we drove across. Our hotel was located a few minutes from the quiet and peaceful Candolim Beach. On the way to the beach was the market with some very interesting shops and quaint restaurants. We spent many an evening sitting in these restaurants, looking down at the market street below, sipping on chilled beer/feni. Walking through these streets was fun, as was the beach. It was a comparatively quiet beach and we sat there till late in the night, staring, first, at the setting sun and then at the lights from the fishing boats becoming bigger and brighter as they prepared to come home with the catch of the day.The weather was very conducive to our first trip together. At least during the days, it never rained heavily. There were light showers and drizzles that weren't successful in keeping us indoors. It felt like a refreshing spray on our faces as we strolled together on the beach. The constant breeze rustled through the dense vegetation that lined the beach. It was like music. And we were more than happy to dance to its tunes.This is one trip that is so full of adventure and happy memories that we wouldn't mind repeating the exact itinerary. Even though there is a huge part of Goa that we couldn't explore, we never felt the need to pack our trip with day excursions that would leave us too tired to actually enjoy the place and togetherness. And looking back, we are happy about the decisions we made back then.

It is Monday and it is time again for our weekly Time-Turner series. This is the series through which we focus on our lingering memories of a trip that we undertook in the past. Monsoon, regular rains, sparkling greenery, all reminded me of the trip to Goa we undertook in August 2013 immediately after our wedding. That being our "honeymoon" we were really looking forward to a romantic getaway. Some of our friends had cautioned us about visiting Goa during the monsoons. It could rain for hours together, it would be humid, the seafood shacks will be closed etc. We decided to take a risk, and what a decision it turned out to be.The first thing we did upon reaching goa was rent a car. Since it wasn't the peak season, we got a really good deal. We got a good WagonR in Rs. 1400 per day. Though I had been driving for years, it was the first time I was driving in a city other than Delhi. I remember I was nervous at first. Roads in Goa are different from the roads in Delhi. Some of them are just a single lane running through fields. Moreover, the road was a few feet higher than the fields and it meant that we would be in trouble if another vehicle approached from the other side. We were lucky that we didn't come across any other vehicle, however someone had tied their buffalo alongside the road and the buffalo had decided to climb up and sit on the road. However, as soon as the animal saw our car approaching, it got up and jumped into the field. We were massively relieved and thankful to the buffalo for its quick thinking.This was also the first time I drove on the "hills". It really isn't fair to call the slight incline that one needs to traverse when travelling to the Manguesh Mahalaxmi temple a "hill", but nevertheless there are curves and steep turns involved. It was thrilling and exciting, and I still look back at that drive and can remember the roadsides that appeared like green blur as we drove across. Our hotel was located a few minutes from the quiet and peaceful Candolim Beach. On the way to the beach was the market with some very interesting shops and quaint restaurants. We spent many an evening sitting in these restaurants, looking down at the market street below, sipping on chilled beer/feni. Walking through these streets was fun, as was the beach. It was a comparatively quiet beach and we sat there till late in the night, staring, first, at the setting sun and then at the lights from the fishing boats becoming bigger and brighter as they prepared to come home with the catch of the day.The weather was very conducive to our first trip together. At least during the days, it never rained heavily. There were light showers and drizzles that weren't successful in keeping us indoors. It felt like a refreshing spray on our faces as we strolled together on the beach. The constant breeze rustled through the dense vegetation that lined the beach. It was like music. And we were more than happy to dance to its tunes.This is one trip that is so full of adventure and happy memories that we wouldn't mind repeating the exact itinerary. Even though there is a huge part of Goa that we couldn't explore, we never felt the need to pack our trip with day excursions that would leave us too tired to actually enjoy the place and togetherness. And looking back, we are happy about the decisions we made back then.

During our Odisha trip, we planned to visit Museum of Tribal Art and Artefact. It's a nice place to hang around, see some inspiring art and know the lifestyle of Odisha tribes. Check out this Photo Journey to know more about Museum of Tribal Art and Artefact, how to reach there, what to do, where to eat and what makes this an interesting place to explore in Bhubaneshwar. Museum is open from 10am till 5pm. The gardens around the museum were green due to monsoons and there were lot of paintings all around. There were lot of trees around the place which have nice paintings, as you can see in first photograph of this post.Museum has dresses, ornaments, weapons and household stuff. It's a good place to know about tribals of Odisha - the way they live, what they do, how they celebrate and lot about their lifestyle.There is a canteen in Museum campus where you can enjoy local food of Odisha and we enjoyed it.Musuem is approachable through bus no. 801, which goes pretty close to the museum. Museum is located off National Highway 5. It's located at Gopabandhu nagar.Museum is very well maintained and there is no entry fee. We were not surprised by the fact that UNESCO recognized this museum as best maintained museum in India. There is a small library inside the museum. Please note that museum is closed on Sundays and public holidays.

Few weeks back I was in Mumbai for 2 days and had great company to explore this beautiful town in monsoons. This Photo Journey shares about Gateway of India, which is one of the most visited places in Mumbai and things to do around it. Gateway of India is surrounded by some of the best architectures in Mumbai and few popular restaurants & cafes.And if you are visiting Gateway of India, it makes sense to also know about other interesting things to do around it. So this post also talks about main things to do around Gateway of India and the famous Taj Mahal Palace Hotel.Gateway of India is located on waterfront and was built in 20th century. This beautiful architecture is in south Delhi. I was staying near Airport and it took 1.5 hrs to reach Gateway of India from our hotel. This is most visited place in Mumbai city.If you like knowing or photographing architecture, there are some beautiful buildings around Gateway of India. I highly recommend to walk around Gateway of India on foot and explore some of the beautiful buildings around the famous Taj Mahal Palace hotel.There is also a street behind Taj Mahal Palace hotel for people who love to do some shopping. There are lot of kiosks selling artificial jewelry. I didn't do any shopping here, but it seemed that lot of negotiation happens in these street, which is not very surprising.There are lot of beautiful buildings all around. It was my first visit to Mumbai and the city lot of old structures surrounded by high-rise apartments.Here is a photograph of the famous Leopold Cafe & Bar . I am sure you would have heard of this name. If it's getting a little difficult, let me help in reminding that cafe was impacted by terror attack in 2008. I loved these windows. This whole street behind famous Taj Mahala Palace Hotel has beautiful windows. I wish I had more time to observe them in a better way and capture through my Travellingcamera.I know traffic of Mumbai is talked about a lot, but I must say that traffic police does a great job. And most of the drivers are quite disciplined. Lack of these 2 would certainly convert the whole thing into chaos. We drove from Sahar to Colaba in a cab at around 3pm and it took us 1.5 hrs. During evening it may take somewhere around 2.5 hrs to 3 hrs (told by our hotel staff).Above is photograph of famous Taj Mahal Palace Hotel and you can see horse carts in front of it. Tourists can have a tour around this place in these horse carts.When I pointed my camera towards this building, this couple was wondering what am I clicking here. Notice the smile on the face of this boy and girl is looking back to figure out my subject :)Group of photographer friends around Gateway of India. It was time to relax a bit. These guys click photographs of tourists around Gateway of India and hand-over the printouts in few minutes. It's certainly a very tiring job to be on feet all the day, creating beautiful memories for tourists and try best to deliver good quality.

Few weeks back I was in Mumbai for 2 days and had great company to explore this beautiful town in monsoons. This Photo Journey shares about Gateway of India, which is one of the most visited places in Mumbai and things to do around it. Gateway of India is surrounded by some of the best architectures in Mumbai and few popular restaurants & cafes.And if you are visiting Gateway of India, it makes sense to also know about other interesting things to do around it. So this post also talks about main things to do around Gateway of India and the famous Taj Mahal Palace Hotel.Gateway of India is located on waterfront and was built in 20th century. This beautiful architecture is in south Delhi. I was staying near Airport and it took 1.5 hrs to reach Gateway of India from our hotel. This is most visited place in Mumbai city.If you like knowing or photographing architecture, there are some beautiful buildings around Gateway of India. I highly recommend to walk around Gateway of India on foot and explore some of the beautiful buildings around the famous Taj Mahal Palace hotel.There is also a street behind Taj Mahal Palace hotel for people who love to do some shopping. There are lot of kiosks selling artificial jewelry. I didn't do any shopping here, but it seemed that lot of negotiation happens in these street, which is not very surprising.There are lot of beautiful buildings all around. It was my first visit to Mumbai and the city lot of old structures surrounded by high-rise apartments.Here is a photograph of the famous Leopold Cafe & Bar . I am sure you would have heard of this name. If it's getting a little difficult, let me help in reminding that cafe was impacted by terror attack in 2008. I loved these windows. This whole street behind famous Taj Mahala Palace Hotel has beautiful windows. I wish I had more time to observe them in a better way and capture through my Travellingcamera.I know traffic of Mumbai is talked about a lot, but I must say that traffic police does a great job. And most of the drivers are quite disciplined. Lack of these 2 would certainly convert the whole thing into chaos. We drove from Sahar to Colaba in a cab at around 3pm and it took us 1.5 hrs. During evening it may take somewhere around 2.5 hrs to 3 hrs (told by our hotel staff).Above is photograph of famous Taj Mahal Palace Hotel and you can see horse carts in front of it. Tourists can have a tour around this place in these horse carts.When I pointed my camera towards this building, this couple was wondering what am I clicking here. Notice the smile on the face of this boy and girl is looking back to figure out my subject :)Group of photographer friends around Gateway of India. It was time to relax a bit. These guys click photographs of tourists around Gateway of India and hand-over the printouts in few minutes. It's certainly a very tiring job to be on feet all the day, creating beautiful memories for tourists and try best to deliver good quality.

Few weeks back I was in Mumbai for 2 days and had great company to explore this beautiful town in monsoons. This Photo Journey shares about Gateway of India, which is one of the most visited places in Mumbai and things to do around it. Gateway of India is surrounded by some of the best architectures in Mumbai and few popular restaurants & cafes.And if you are visiting Gateway of India, it makes sense to also know about other interesting things to do around it. So this post also talks about main things to do around Gateway of India and the famous Taj Mahal Palace Hotel.Gateway of India is located on waterfront and was built in 20th century. This beautiful architecture is in south Delhi. I was staying near Airport and it took 1.5 hrs to reach Gateway of India from our hotel. This is most visited place in Mumbai city.If you like knowing or photographing architecture, there are some beautiful buildings around Gateway of India. I highly recommend to walk around Gateway of India on foot and explore some of the beautiful buildings around the famous Taj Mahal Palace hotel.There is also a street behind Taj Mahal Palace hotel for people who love to do some shopping. There are lot of kiosks selling artificial jewelry. I didn't do any shopping here, but it seemed that lot of negotiation happens in these street, which is not very surprising.There are lot of beautiful buildings all around. It was my first visit to Mumbai and the city lot of old structures surrounded by high-rise apartments.Here is a photograph of the famous Leopold Cafe & Bar . I am sure you would have heard of this name. If it's getting a little difficult, let me help in reminding that cafe was impacted by terror attack in 2008. I loved these windows. This whole street behind famous Taj Mahala Palace Hotel has beautiful windows. I wish I had more time to observe them in a better way and capture through my Travellingcamera.I know traffic of Mumbai is talked about a lot, but I must say that traffic police does a great job. And most of the drivers are quite disciplined. Lack of these 2 would certainly convert the whole thing into chaos. We drove from Sahar to Colaba in a cab at around 3pm and it took us 1.5 hrs. During evening it may take somewhere around 2.5 hrs to 3 hrs (told by our hotel staff).Above is photograph of famous Taj Mahal Palace Hotel and you can see horse carts in front of it. Tourists can have a tour around this place in these horse carts.When I pointed my camera towards this building, this couple was wondering what am I clicking here. Notice the smile on the face of this boy and girl is looking back to figure out my subject :)Group of photographer friends around Gateway of India. It was time to relax a bit. These guys click photographs of tourists around Gateway of India and hand-over the printouts in few minutes. It's certainly a very tiring job to be on feet all the day, creating beautiful memories for tourists and try best to deliver good quality.

Few weeks back I was in Mumbai for 2 days and had great company to explore this beautiful town in monsoons. This Photo Journey shares about Gateway of India, which is one of the most visited places in Mumbai and things to do around it. Gateway of India is surrounded by some of the best architectures in Mumbai and few popular restaurants & cafes.And if you are visiting Gateway of India, it makes sense to also know about other interesting things to do around it. So this post also talks about main things to do around Gateway of India and the famous Taj Mahal Palace Hotel.Gateway of India is located on waterfront and was built in 20th century. This beautiful architecture is in south Delhi. I was staying near Airport and it took 1.5 hrs to reach Gateway of India from our hotel. This is most visited place in Mumbai city.If you like knowing or photographing architecture, there are some beautiful buildings around Gateway of India. I highly recommend to walk around Gateway of India on foot and explore some of the beautiful buildings around the famous Taj Mahal Palace hotel.There is also a street behind Taj Mahal Palace hotel for people who love to do some shopping. There are lot of kiosks selling artificial jewelry. I didn't do any shopping here, but it seemed that lot of negotiation happens in these street, which is not very surprising.There are lot of beautiful buildings all around. It was my first visit to Mumbai and the city lot of old structures surrounded by high-rise apartments.Here is a photograph of the famous Leopold Cafe & Bar . I am sure you would have heard of this name. If it's getting a little difficult, let me help in reminding that cafe was impacted by terror attack in 2008. I loved these windows. This whole street behind famous Taj Mahala Palace Hotel has beautiful windows. I wish I had more time to observe them in a better way and capture through my Travellingcamera.I know traffic of Mumbai is talked about a lot, but I must say that traffic police does a great job. And most of the drivers are quite disciplined. Lack of these 2 would certainly convert the whole thing into chaos. We drove from Sahar to Colaba in a cab at around 3pm and it took us 1.5 hrs. During evening it may take somewhere around 2.5 hrs to 3 hrs (told by our hotel staff).Above is photograph of famous Taj Mahal Palace Hotel and you can see horse carts in front of it. Tourists can have a tour around this place in these horse carts.When I pointed my camera towards this building, this couple was wondering what am I clicking here. Notice the smile on the face of this boy and girl is looking back to figure out my subject :)Group of photographer friends around Gateway of India. It was time to relax a bit. These guys click photographs of tourists around Gateway of India and hand-over the printouts in few minutes. It's certainly a very tiring job to be on feet all the day, creating beautiful memories for tourists and try best to deliver good quality.

Few weeks back I was in Mumbai for 2 days and had great company to explore this beautiful town in monsoons. This Photo Journey shares about Gateway of India, which is one of the most visited places in Mumbai and things to do around it. Gateway of India is surrounded by some of the best architectures in Mumbai and few popular restaurants & cafes.And if you are visiting Gateway of India, it makes sense to also know about other interesting things to do around it. So this post also talks about main things to do around Gateway of India and the famous Taj Mahal Palace Hotel.Gateway of India is located on waterfront and was built in 20th century. This beautiful architecture is in south Delhi. I was staying near Airport and it took 1.5 hrs to reach Gateway of India from our hotel. This is most visited place in Mumbai city.If you like knowing or photographing architecture, there are some beautiful buildings around Gateway of India. I highly recommend to walk around Gateway of India on foot and explore some of the beautiful buildings around the famous Taj Mahal Palace hotel.There is also a street behind Taj Mahal Palace hotel for people who love to do some shopping. There are lot of kiosks selling artificial jewelry. I didn't do any shopping here, but it seemed that lot of negotiation happens in these street, which is not very surprising.There are lot of beautiful buildings all around. It was my first visit to Mumbai and the city lot of old structures surrounded by high-rise apartments.Here is a photograph of the famous Leopold Cafe & Bar . I am sure you would have heard of this name. If it's getting a little difficult, let me help in reminding that cafe was impacted by terror attack in 2008. I loved these windows. This whole street behind famous Taj Mahala Palace Hotel has beautiful windows. I wish I had more time to observe them in a better way and capture through my Travellingcamera.I know traffic of Mumbai is talked about a lot, but I must say that traffic police does a great job. And most of the drivers are quite disciplined. Lack of these 2 would certainly convert the whole thing into chaos. We drove from Sahar to Colaba in a cab at around 3pm and it took us 1.5 hrs. During evening it may take somewhere around 2.5 hrs to 3 hrs (told by our hotel staff).Above is photograph of famous Taj Mahal Palace Hotel and you can see horse carts in front of it. Tourists can have a tour around this place in these horse carts.When I pointed my camera towards this building, this couple was wondering what am I clicking here. Notice the smile on the face of this boy and girl is looking back to figure out my subject :)Group of photographer friends around Gateway of India. It was time to relax a bit. These guys click photographs of tourists around Gateway of India and hand-over the printouts in few minutes. It's certainly a very tiring job to be on feet all the day, creating beautiful memories for tourists and try best to deliver good quality.

Few weeks back I was in Mumbai for 2 days and had great company to explore this beautiful town in monsoons. This Photo Journey shares about Gateway of India, which is one of the most visited places in Mumbai and things to do around it. Gateway of India is surrounded by some of the best architectures in Mumbai and few popular restaurants & cafes.And if you are visiting Gateway of India, it makes sense to also know about other interesting things to do around it. So this post also talks about main things to do around Gateway of India and the famous Taj Mahal Palace Hotel.Gateway of India is located on waterfront and was built in 20th century. This beautiful architecture is in south Delhi. I was staying near Airport and it took 1.5 hrs to reach Gateway of India from our hotel. This is most visited place in Mumbai city.If you like knowing or photographing architecture, there are some beautiful buildings around Gateway of India. I highly recommend to walk around Gateway of India on foot and explore some of the beautiful buildings around the famous Taj Mahal Palace hotel.There is also a street behind Taj Mahal Palace hotel for people who love to do some shopping. There are lot of kiosks selling artificial jewelry. I didn't do any shopping here, but it seemed that lot of negotiation happens in these street, which is not very surprising.There are lot of beautiful buildings all around. It was my first visit to Mumbai and the city lot of old structures surrounded by high-rise apartments.Here is a photograph of the famous Leopold Cafe & Bar . I am sure you would have heard of this name. If it's getting a little difficult, let me help in reminding that cafe was impacted by terror attack in 2008. I loved these windows. This whole street behind famous Taj Mahala Palace Hotel has beautiful windows. I wish I had more time to observe them in a better way and capture through my Travellingcamera.I know traffic of Mumbai is talked about a lot, but I must say that traffic police does a great job. And most of the drivers are quite disciplined. Lack of these 2 would certainly convert the whole thing into chaos. We drove from Sahar to Colaba in a cab at around 3pm and it took us 1.5 hrs. During evening it may take somewhere around 2.5 hrs to 3 hrs (told by our hotel staff).Above is photograph of famous Taj Mahal Palace Hotel and you can see horse carts in front of it. Tourists can have a tour around this place in these horse carts.When I pointed my camera towards this building, this couple was wondering what am I clicking here. Notice the smile on the face of this boy and girl is looking back to figure out my subject :)Group of photographer friends around Gateway of India. It was time to relax a bit. These guys click photographs of tourists around Gateway of India and hand-over the printouts in few minutes. It's certainly a very tiring job to be on feet all the day, creating beautiful memories for tourists and try best to deliver good quality.

Few weeks back I was in Mumbai for 2 days and had great company to explore this beautiful town in monsoons. This Photo Journey shares about Gateway of India, which is one of the most visited places in Mumbai and things to do around it. Gateway of India is surrounded by some of the best architectures in Mumbai and few popular restaurants & cafes.And if you are visiting Gateway of India, it makes sense to also know about other interesting things to do around it. So this post also talks about main things to do around Gateway of India and the famous Taj Mahal Palace Hotel.Gateway of India is located on waterfront and was built in 20th century. This beautiful architecture is in south Delhi. I was staying near Airport and it took 1.5 hrs to reach Gateway of India from our hotel. This is most visited place in Mumbai city.If you like knowing or photographing architecture, there are some beautiful buildings around Gateway of India. I highly recommend to walk around Gateway of India on foot and explore some of the beautiful buildings around the famous Taj Mahal Palace hotel.There is also a street behind Taj Mahal Palace hotel for people who love to do some shopping. There are lot of kiosks selling artificial jewelry. I didn't do any shopping here, but it seemed that lot of negotiation happens in these street, which is not very surprising.There are lot of beautiful buildings all around. It was my first visit to Mumbai and the city lot of old structures surrounded by high-rise apartments.Here is a photograph of the famous Leopold Cafe & Bar . I am sure you would have heard of this name. If it's getting a little difficult, let me help in reminding that cafe was impacted by terror attack in 2008. I loved these windows. This whole street behind famous Taj Mahala Palace Hotel has beautiful windows. I wish I had more time to observe them in a better way and capture through my Travellingcamera.I know traffic of Mumbai is talked about a lot, but I must say that traffic police does a great job. And most of the drivers are quite disciplined. Lack of these 2 would certainly convert the whole thing into chaos. We drove from Sahar to Colaba in a cab at around 3pm and it took us 1.5 hrs. During evening it may take somewhere around 2.5 hrs to 3 hrs (told by our hotel staff).Above is photograph of famous Taj Mahal Palace Hotel and you can see horse carts in front of it. Tourists can have a tour around this place in these horse carts.When I pointed my camera towards this building, this couple was wondering what am I clicking here. Notice the smile on the face of this boy and girl is looking back to figure out my subject :)Group of photographer friends around Gateway of India. It was time to relax a bit. These guys click photographs of tourists around Gateway of India and hand-over the printouts in few minutes. It's certainly a very tiring job to be on feet all the day, creating beautiful memories for tourists and try best to deliver good quality.

Few weeks back I was in Mumbai for 2 days and had great company to explore this beautiful town in monsoons. This Photo Journey shares about Gateway of India, which is one of the most visited places in Mumbai and things to do around it. Gateway of India is surrounded by some of the best architectures in Mumbai and few popular restaurants & cafes.And if you are visiting Gateway of India, it makes sense to also know about other interesting things to do around it. So this post also talks about main things to do around Gateway of India and the famous Taj Mahal Palace Hotel.Gateway of India is located on waterfront and was built in 20th century. This beautiful architecture is in south Delhi. I was staying near Airport and it took 1.5 hrs to reach Gateway of India from our hotel. This is most visited place in Mumbai city.If you like knowing or photographing architecture, there are some beautiful buildings around Gateway of India. I highly recommend to walk around Gateway of India on foot and explore some of the beautiful buildings around the famous Taj Mahal Palace hotel.There is also a street behind Taj Mahal Palace hotel for people who love to do some shopping. There are lot of kiosks selling artificial jewelry. I didn't do any shopping here, but it seemed that lot of negotiation happens in these street, which is not very surprising.There are lot of beautiful buildings all around. It was my first visit to Mumbai and the city lot of old structures surrounded by high-rise apartments.Here is a photograph of the famous Leopold Cafe & Bar . I am sure you would have heard of this name. If it's getting a little difficult, let me help in reminding that cafe was impacted by terror attack in 2008. I loved these windows. This whole street behind famous Taj Mahala Palace Hotel has beautiful windows. I wish I had more time to observe them in a better way and capture through my Travellingcamera.I know traffic of Mumbai is talked about a lot, but I must say that traffic police does a great job. And most of the drivers are quite disciplined. Lack of these 2 would certainly convert the whole thing into chaos. We drove from Sahar to Colaba in a cab at around 3pm and it took us 1.5 hrs. During evening it may take somewhere around 2.5 hrs to 3 hrs (told by our hotel staff).Above is photograph of famous Taj Mahal Palace Hotel and you can see horse carts in front of it. Tourists can have a tour around this place in these horse carts.When I pointed my camera towards this building, this couple was wondering what am I clicking here. Notice the smile on the face of this boy and girl is looking back to figure out my subject :)Group of photographer friends around Gateway of India. It was time to relax a bit. These guys click photographs of tourists around Gateway of India and hand-over the printouts in few minutes. It's certainly a very tiring job to be on feet all the day, creating beautiful memories for tourists and try best to deliver good quality.

After reading various posts about Churu & Ramgarh , lot of viewers have asked very questions in past – how to reach Churu, what’s good time to visit these place, any recommended place to stay, main things to see/explore or something which shouldn’t be missed when in Churu region of Rajasthan, India. All these questions make me think about the quality of my earlier posts :), but then I found reasons to justify it. Anyways, all my earlier posts were more about the experience of various places in Churu & Ramgarh and I hardly talked about the way I reached there etc.How to reach Churu, Rajasthan - So we chose to drive from Delhi to Churu, but I don’t recommend that. Haryana roads are pathetic and frustrates you to the core. Although roads in Rajasthan are amazing. Since there is railway station is there in Churu, why not travel comfortably and hire a taxi for local commute. And in fact, try out local transport system to enjoy the trip in better way.Where to stay in Churu (Rajasthan) -As far as stay in concerned, I was invited by Malji Ka Kamra which is a haveli converted into hotel. A nice place to stay. Apart from that you should be able to find some home stays in this region.Main places to do/explore around Churu region of Rajasthan state in India – I am sure there must be lot of things which I didn’t explore. But here I would mention some of the places I visited or recommended by close friends or bloggers I know.Haveli Tour - Churu is popularly known for it's heritage and havelis left behind by Kothari business families. There are huge havelis spread over the streets of Churu and lot of them are in ruins. Accompany a local who can tell you some eye opening stories about different families who owned these Havelis. Families of care takers are living in some of these Havelis, but it's certainly hard to maintain these huge buildings in Churu.Lacquer Jewelry of Rajasthan state is very popular and there are few families in Churu as well, who are into this business for many generations now. That can be a good gift for your family and friends, when you return from your trip.Pabuji ki Phad is dying craft of Rajasthan. It seems that there are very few folks now who can tell the whole story accurately. It's essentially a story depicted through songs, music, dance and pictorial representation. Some publications have tried to capture the history and stories associated but it seems that skill of telling stories is the key and that was honed by few families. In Churu you can experience it.Desert Camping Churu is also surrounded by desert on one side and hence one can plan to camp in desert. I am not sure, if there are camps to stay overnight but one can certainly go there for few hours, enjoy snacks and star lit sky.Wood Carving Artists (National Award Winner Family)Churu has National Award winning family which is famous for it's unique wood-carved art pieces. This was my best experience to see unimaginable art-pieces and family of artists who won national awards multiple times and shown the talent over the generations.Prem Sarovar is another water body nearby surrounded by farms and trees. Such water bodies are spread over different parts of Rajasthan.Golden Temple of Jains There is a beautiful temple near clock-tower in the middle of Churu market. Beautifully designed. Check out the link to see more photographs of the place.Desert Bonfire - Bonfire in desert can also be a good idea. Thanks to Malji Ka Kamra folks, who arranged everything for us. It was very special experience during Churu trip. Do check out the link to know more.Sethani ka Johara is a beautiful place in Churu town. It's a huge water body surrounded by beautiful architecture. I found it a good place to spend time around sunset. It's little away from hustle bustle of the town and safe as well.Shopping options (Silver utensils) - While visiting Churu, I got to know that lot of Silver stuff is made in these streets and exported to different parts of the world. This boy was making beautiful silver spoons and there were good number of such shops making silver utensils.Here are few options which Tripadvisor suggests - 10 Best places to visit in Churu.

After reading various posts about Churu & Ramgarh , lot of viewers have asked very questions in past – how to reach Churu, what’s good time to visit these place, any recommended place to stay, main things to see/explore or something which shouldn’t be missed when in Churu region of Rajasthan, India. All these questions make me think about the quality of my earlier posts :), but then I found reasons to justify it. Anyways, all my earlier posts were more about the experience of various places in Churu & Ramgarh and I hardly talked about the way I reached there etc.How to reach Churu, Rajasthan - So we chose to drive from Delhi to Churu, but I don’t recommend that. Haryana roads are pathetic and frustrates you to the core. Although roads in Rajasthan are amazing. Since there is railway station is there in Churu, why not travel comfortably and hire a taxi for local commute. And in fact, try out local transport system to enjoy the trip in better way.Where to stay in Churu (Rajasthan) -As far as stay in concerned, I was invited by Malji Ka Kamra which is a haveli converted into hotel. A nice place to stay. Apart from that you should be able to find some home stays in this region.Main places to do/explore around Churu region of Rajasthan state in India – I am sure there must be lot of things which I didn’t explore. But here I would mention some of the places I visited or recommended by close friends or bloggers I know.Haveli Tour - Churu is popularly known for it's heritage and havelis left behind by Kothari business families. There are huge havelis spread over the streets of Churu and lot of them are in ruins. Accompany a local who can tell you some eye opening stories about different families who owned these Havelis. Families of care takers are living in some of these Havelis, but it's certainly hard to maintain these huge buildings in Churu.Lacquer Jewelry of Rajasthan state is very popular and there are few families in Churu as well, who are into this business for many generations now. That can be a good gift for your family and friends, when you return from your trip.Pabuji ki Phad is dying craft of Rajasthan. It seems that there are very few folks now who can tell the whole story accurately. It's essentially a story depicted through songs, music, dance and pictorial representation. Some publications have tried to capture the history and stories associated but it seems that skill of telling stories is the key and that was honed by few families. In Churu you can experience it.Desert Camping Churu is also surrounded by desert on one side and hence one can plan to camp in desert. I am not sure, if there are camps to stay overnight but one can certainly go there for few hours, enjoy snacks and star lit sky.Wood Carving Artists (National Award Winner Family)Churu has National Award winning family which is famous for it's unique wood-carved art pieces. This was my best experience to see unimaginable art-pieces and family of artists who won national awards multiple times and shown the talent over the generations.Prem Sarovar is another water body nearby surrounded by farms and trees. Such water bodies are spread over different parts of Rajasthan.Golden Temple of Jains There is a beautiful temple near clock-tower in the middle of Churu market. Beautifully designed. Check out the link to see more photographs of the place.Desert Bonfire - Bonfire in desert can also be a good idea. Thanks to Malji Ka Kamra folks, who arranged everything for us. It was very special experience during Churu trip. Do check out the link to know more.Sethani ka Johara is a beautiful place in Churu town. It's a huge water body surrounded by beautiful architecture. I found it a good place to spend time around sunset. It's little away from hustle bustle of the town and safe as well.Shopping options (Silver utensils) - While visiting Churu, I got to know that lot of Silver stuff is made in these streets and exported to different parts of the world. This boy was making beautiful silver spoons and there were good number of such shops making silver utensils.Here are few options which Tripadvisor suggests - 10 Best places to visit in Churu.

After reading various posts about Churu & Ramgarh , lot of viewers have asked very questions in past – how to reach Churu, what’s good time to visit these place, any recommended place to stay, main things to see/explore or something which shouldn’t be missed when in Churu region of Rajasthan, India. All these questions make me think about the quality of my earlier posts :), but then I found reasons to justify it. Anyways, all my earlier posts were more about the experience of various places in Churu & Ramgarh and I hardly talked about the way I reached there etc.How to reach Churu, Rajasthan - So we chose to drive from Delhi to Churu, but I don’t recommend that. Haryana roads are pathetic and frustrates you to the core. Although roads in Rajasthan are amazing. Since there is railway station is there in Churu, why not travel comfortably and hire a taxi for local commute. And in fact, try out local transport system to enjoy the trip in better way.Where to stay in Churu (Rajasthan) -As far as stay in concerned, I was invited by Malji Ka Kamra which is a haveli converted into hotel. A nice place to stay. Apart from that you should be able to find some home stays in this region.Main places to do/explore around Churu region of Rajasthan state in India – I am sure there must be lot of things which I didn’t explore. But here I would mention some of the places I visited or recommended by close friends or bloggers I know.Haveli Tour - Churu is popularly known for it's heritage and havelis left behind by Kothari business families. There are huge havelis spread over the streets of Churu and lot of them are in ruins. Accompany a local who can tell you some eye opening stories about different families who owned these Havelis. Families of care takers are living in some of these Havelis, but it's certainly hard to maintain these huge buildings in Churu.Lacquer Jewelry of Rajasthan state is very popular and there are few families in Churu as well, who are into this business for many generations now. That can be a good gift for your family and friends, when you return from your trip.Pabuji ki Phad is dying craft of Rajasthan. It seems that there are very few folks now who can tell the whole story accurately. It's essentially a story depicted through songs, music, dance and pictorial representation. Some publications have tried to capture the history and stories associated but it seems that skill of telling stories is the key and that was honed by few families. In Churu you can experience it.Desert Camping Churu is also surrounded by desert on one side and hence one can plan to camp in desert. I am not sure, if there are camps to stay overnight but one can certainly go there for few hours, enjoy snacks and star lit sky.Wood Carving Artists (National Award Winner Family)Churu has National Award winning family which is famous for it's unique wood-carved art pieces. This was my best experience to see unimaginable art-pieces and family of artists who won national awards multiple times and shown the talent over the generations.Prem Sarovar is another water body nearby surrounded by farms and trees. Such water bodies are spread over different parts of Rajasthan.Golden Temple of Jains There is a beautiful temple near clock-tower in the middle of Churu market. Beautifully designed. Check out the link to see more photographs of the place.Desert Bonfire - Bonfire in desert can also be a good idea. Thanks to Malji Ka Kamra folks, who arranged everything for us. It was very special experience during Churu trip. Do check out the link to know more.Sethani ka Johara is a beautiful place in Churu town. It's a huge water body surrounded by beautiful architecture. I found it a good place to spend time around sunset. It's little away from hustle bustle of the town and safe as well.Shopping options (Silver utensils) - While visiting Churu, I got to know that lot of Silver stuff is made in these streets and exported to different parts of the world. This boy was making beautiful silver spoons and there were good number of such shops making silver utensils.Here are few options which Tripadvisor suggests - 10 Best places to visit in Churu.

When loitering around in Cannaught Place or navigating traffic on Barakhamba Road, it is difficult imagine that barely 5-minutes away, hidden amongst trees, lies the magnificient stone structure of Agrasen ki baoli. The 14th-century step well was restored by the Archaeological Survey of India in the year 2002. Now the Baoli is clean and well-maintained. We visited Agrasen ki Baoli on a humid Sunday afternoon and were expecting to find a more or less abandoned structure with may be a couple of people loitering about here and there. But we were in for a surprise. The baoli was buzzing with well-dressed, pouting, selfie-clicking youngsters. They were there in such large numbers that it was difficult to capture even a single shot without people in it. This was heartening. I don't know whether this popularity is because the Baoli was recently featured in the popular Bollywood film PK or because the Baoli is clean, litter-free and situated barely a kilometre away from the heart of the city. It may be all of these, but it is wonderful to see the hard work of the ASI bearing fruit. Usually when we head out to explore the city, we make sure that we carry a DSLR and all the required lenses, but this time we had decided to do something different. The impact of camera phones on the photography ecosystem is the hot topic for debate nowadays, and we decided to settle it with a practical. So this time instead of a DSLR, we were carrying a smartphone - Honor 5c to be precise. All the pictures that you are seeing in this post have been clicked using Honor 5c. Based on the results, we can comfortably say that for everyday non-professional use, a smartphone, if used well, can suffice. One would of course need to study all the capabilities and features of the particular smartphone camera in details to be able to use them in appropriate situations. Coming back to the Baoli, we captured the structure, the pigeons peeping out of the gaps in the walls, the contrast between the modern skyscrapers of CP and the medieval architecture of the Baoli, the people exploring the structure and a lot more. The baoli is situated in one of the lanes branching out of the very pretty Hailey road, and this lane is dotted with some very interesting grafitti. We captured some of that too. If you haven't yet seen Agrasen ki Baoli, we recommend that you should. But make sure that the day is pleasant and you have time on your hands, because there is a lot to take in at the Baoli and in the surroundings.

When loitering around in Cannaught Place or navigating traffic on Barakhamba Road, it is difficult imagine that barely 5-minutes away, hidden amongst trees, lies the magnificient stone structure of Agrasen ki baoli. The 14th-century step well was restored by the Archaeological Survey of India in the year 2002. Now the Baoli is clean and well-maintained. We visited Agrasen ki Baoli on a humid Sunday afternoon and were expecting to find a more or less abandoned structure with may be a couple of people loitering about here and there. But we were in for a surprise. The baoli was buzzing with well-dressed, pouting, selfie-clicking youngsters. They were there in such large numbers that it was difficult to capture even a single shot without people in it. This was heartening. I don't know whether this popularity is because the Baoli was recently featured in the popular Bollywood film PK or because the Baoli is clean, litter-free and situated barely a kilometre away from the heart of the city. It may be all of these, but it is wonderful to see the hard work of the ASI bearing fruit. Usually when we head out to explore the city, we make sure that we carry a DSLR and all the required lenses, but this time we had decided to do something different. The impact of camera phones on the photography ecosystem is the hot topic for debate nowadays, and we decided to settle it with a practical. So this time instead of a DSLR, we were carrying a smartphone - Honor 5c to be precise. All the pictures that you are seeing in this post have been clicked using Honor 5c. Based on the results, we can comfortably say that for everyday non-professional use, a smartphone, if used well, can suffice. One would of course need to study all the capabilities and features of the particular smartphone camera in details to be able to use them in appropriate situations. Coming back to the Baoli, we captured the structure, the pigeons peeping out of the gaps in the walls, the contrast between the modern skyscrapers of CP and the medieval architecture of the Baoli, the people exploring the structure and a lot more. The baoli is situated in one of the lanes branching out of the very pretty Hailey road, and this lane is dotted with some very interesting grafitti. We captured some of that too. If you haven't yet seen Agrasen ki Baoli, we recommend that you should. But make sure that the day is pleasant and you have time on your hands, because there is a lot to take in at the Baoli and in the surroundings.

When loitering around in Cannaught Place or navigating traffic on Barakhamba Road, it is difficult imagine that barely 5-minutes away, hidden amongst trees, lies the magnificient stone structure of Agrasen ki baoli. The 14th-century step well was restored by the Archaeological Survey of India in the year 2002. Now the Baoli is clean and well-maintained. We visited Agrasen ki Baoli on a humid Sunday afternoon and were expecting to find a more or less abandoned structure with may be a couple of people loitering about here and there. But we were in for a surprise. The baoli was buzzing with well-dressed, pouting, selfie-clicking youngsters. They were there in such large numbers that it was difficult to capture even a single shot without people in it. This was heartening. I don't know whether this popularity is because the Baoli was recently featured in the popular Bollywood film PK or because the Baoli is clean, litter-free and situated barely a kilometre away from the heart of the city. It may be all of these, but it is wonderful to see the hard work of the ASI bearing fruit. Usually when we head out to explore the city, we make sure that we carry a DSLR and all the required lenses, but this time we had decided to do something different. The impact of camera phones on the photography ecosystem is the hot topic for debate nowadays, and we decided to settle it with a practical. So this time instead of a DSLR, we were carrying a smartphone - Honor 5c to be precise. All the pictures that you are seeing in this post have been clicked using Honor 5c. Based on the results, we can comfortably say that for everyday non-professional use, a smartphone, if used well, can suffice. One would of course need to study all the capabilities and features of the particular smartphone camera in details to be able to use them in appropriate situations. Coming back to the Baoli, we captured the structure, the pigeons peeping out of the gaps in the walls, the contrast between the modern skyscrapers of CP and the medieval architecture of the Baoli, the people exploring the structure and a lot more. The baoli is situated in one of the lanes branching out of the very pretty Hailey road, and this lane is dotted with some very interesting grafitti. We captured some of that too. If you haven't yet seen Agrasen ki Baoli, we recommend that you should. But make sure that the day is pleasant and you have time on your hands, because there is a lot to take in at the Baoli and in the surroundings.

When loitering around in Cannaught Place or navigating traffic on Barakhamba Road, it is difficult imagine that barely 5-minutes away, hidden amongst trees, lies the magnificient stone structure of Agrasen ki baoli. The 14th-century step well was restored by the Archaeological Survey of India in the year 2002. Now the Baoli is clean and well-maintained. We visited Agrasen ki Baoli on a humid Sunday afternoon and were expecting to find a more or less abandoned structure with may be a couple of people loitering about here and there. But we were in for a surprise. The baoli was buzzing with well-dressed, pouting, selfie-clicking youngsters. They were there in such large numbers that it was difficult to capture even a single shot without people in it. This was heartening. I don't know whether this popularity is because the Baoli was recently featured in the popular Bollywood film PK or because the Baoli is clean, litter-free and situated barely a kilometre away from the heart of the city. It may be all of these, but it is wonderful to see the hard work of the ASI bearing fruit. Usually when we head out to explore the city, we make sure that we carry a DSLR and all the required lenses, but this time we had decided to do something different. The impact of camera phones on the photography ecosystem is the hot topic for debate nowadays, and we decided to settle it with a practical. So this time instead of a DSLR, we were carrying a smartphone - Honor 5c to be precise. All the pictures that you are seeing in this post have been clicked using Honor 5c. Based on the results, we can comfortably say that for everyday non-professional use, a smartphone, if used well, can suffice. One would of course need to study all the capabilities and features of the particular smartphone camera in details to be able to use them in appropriate situations. Coming back to the Baoli, we captured the structure, the pigeons peeping out of the gaps in the walls, the contrast between the modern skyscrapers of CP and the medieval architecture of the Baoli, the people exploring the structure and a lot more. The baoli is situated in one of the lanes branching out of the very pretty Hailey road, and this lane is dotted with some very interesting grafitti. We captured some of that too. If you haven't yet seen Agrasen ki Baoli, we recommend that you should. But make sure that the day is pleasant and you have time on your hands, because there is a lot to take in at the Baoli and in the surroundings.

When loitering around in Cannaught Place or navigating traffic on Barakhamba Road, it is difficult imagine that barely 5-minutes away, hidden amongst trees, lies the magnificient stone structure of Agrasen ki baoli. The 14th-century step well was restored by the Archaeological Survey of India in the year 2002. Now the Baoli is clean and well-maintained. We visited Agrasen ki Baoli on a humid Sunday afternoon and were expecting to find a more or less abandoned structure with may be a couple of people loitering about here and there. But we were in for a surprise. The baoli was buzzing with well-dressed, pouting, selfie-clicking youngsters. They were there in such large numbers that it was difficult to capture even a single shot without people in it. This was heartening. I don't know whether this popularity is because the Baoli was recently featured in the popular Bollywood film PK or because the Baoli is clean, litter-free and situated barely a kilometre away from the heart of the city. It may be all of these, but it is wonderful to see the hard work of the ASI bearing fruit. Usually when we head out to explore the city, we make sure that we carry a DSLR and all the required lenses, but this time we had decided to do something different. The impact of camera phones on the photography ecosystem is the hot topic for debate nowadays, and we decided to settle it with a practical. So this time instead of a DSLR, we were carrying a smartphone - Honor 5c to be precise. All the pictures that you are seeing in this post have been clicked using Honor 5c. Based on the results, we can comfortably say that for everyday non-professional use, a smartphone, if used well, can suffice. One would of course need to study all the capabilities and features of the particular smartphone camera in details to be able to use them in appropriate situations. Coming back to the Baoli, we captured the structure, the pigeons peeping out of the gaps in the walls, the contrast between the modern skyscrapers of CP and the medieval architecture of the Baoli, the people exploring the structure and a lot more. The baoli is situated in one of the lanes branching out of the very pretty Hailey road, and this lane is dotted with some very interesting grafitti. We captured some of that too. If you haven't yet seen Agrasen ki Baoli, we recommend that you should. But make sure that the day is pleasant and you have time on your hands, because there is a lot to take in at the Baoli and in the surroundings.

When loitering around in Cannaught Place or navigating traffic on Barakhamba Road, it is difficult imagine that barely 5-minutes away, hidden amongst trees, lies the magnificient stone structure of Agrasen ki baoli. The 14th-century step well was restored by the Archaeological Survey of India in the year 2002. Now the Baoli is clean and well-maintained. We visited Agrasen ki Baoli on a humid Sunday afternoon and were expecting to find a more or less abandoned structure with may be a couple of people loitering about here and there. But we were in for a surprise. The baoli was buzzing with well-dressed, pouting, selfie-clicking youngsters. They were there in such large numbers that it was difficult to capture even a single shot without people in it. This was heartening. I don't know whether this popularity is because the Baoli was recently featured in the popular Bollywood film PK or because the Baoli is clean, litter-free and situated barely a kilometre away from the heart of the city. It may be all of these, but it is wonderful to see the hard work of the ASI bearing fruit. Usually when we head out to explore the city, we make sure that we carry a DSLR and all the required lenses, but this time we had decided to do something different. The impact of camera phones on the photography ecosystem is the hot topic for debate nowadays, and we decided to settle it with a practical. So this time instead of a DSLR, we were carrying a smartphone - Honor 5c to be precise. All the pictures that you are seeing in this post have been clicked using Honor 5c. Based on the results, we can comfortably say that for everyday non-professional use, a smartphone, if used well, can suffice. One would of course need to study all the capabilities and features of the particular smartphone camera in details to be able to use them in appropriate situations. Coming back to the Baoli, we captured the structure, the pigeons peeping out of the gaps in the walls, the contrast between the modern skyscrapers of CP and the medieval architecture of the Baoli, the people exploring the structure and a lot more. The baoli is situated in one of the lanes branching out of the very pretty Hailey road, and this lane is dotted with some very interesting grafitti. We captured some of that too. If you haven't yet seen Agrasen ki Baoli, we recommend that you should. But make sure that the day is pleasant and you have time on your hands, because there is a lot to take in at the Baoli and in the surroundings.

When loitering around in Cannaught Place or navigating traffic on Barakhamba Road, it is difficult imagine that barely 5-minutes away, hidden amongst trees, lies the magnificient stone structure of Agrasen ki baoli. The 14th-century step well was restored by the Archaeological Survey of India in the year 2002. Now the Baoli is clean and well-maintained. We visited Agrasen ki Baoli on a humid Sunday afternoon and were expecting to find a more or less abandoned structure with may be a couple of people loitering about here and there. But we were in for a surprise. The baoli was buzzing with well-dressed, pouting, selfie-clicking youngsters. They were there in such large numbers that it was difficult to capture even a single shot without people in it. This was heartening. I don't know whether this popularity is because the Baoli was recently featured in the popular Bollywood film PK or because the Baoli is clean, litter-free and situated barely a kilometre away from the heart of the city. It may be all of these, but it is wonderful to see the hard work of the ASI bearing fruit. Usually when we head out to explore the city, we make sure that we carry a DSLR and all the required lenses, but this time we had decided to do something different. The impact of camera phones on the photography ecosystem is the hot topic for debate nowadays, and we decided to settle it with a practical. So this time instead of a DSLR, we were carrying a smartphone - Honor 5c to be precise. All the pictures that you are seeing in this post have been clicked using Honor 5c. Based on the results, we can comfortably say that for everyday non-professional use, a smartphone, if used well, can suffice. One would of course need to study all the capabilities and features of the particular smartphone camera in details to be able to use them in appropriate situations. Coming back to the Baoli, we captured the structure, the pigeons peeping out of the gaps in the walls, the contrast between the modern skyscrapers of CP and the medieval architecture of the Baoli, the people exploring the structure and a lot more. The baoli is situated in one of the lanes branching out of the very pretty Hailey road, and this lane is dotted with some very interesting grafitti. We captured some of that too. If you haven't yet seen Agrasen ki Baoli, we recommend that you should. But make sure that the day is pleasant and you have time on your hands, because there is a lot to take in at the Baoli and in the surroundings.

When loitering around in Cannaught Place or navigating traffic on Barakhamba Road, it is difficult imagine that barely 5-minutes away, hidden amongst trees, lies the magnificient stone structure of Agrasen ki baoli. The 14th-century step well was restored by the Archaeological Survey of India in the year 2002. Now the Baoli is clean and well-maintained. We visited Agrasen ki Baoli on a humid Sunday afternoon and were expecting to find a more or less abandoned structure with may be a couple of people loitering about here and there. But we were in for a surprise. The baoli was buzzing with well-dressed, pouting, selfie-clicking youngsters. They were there in such large numbers that it was difficult to capture even a single shot without people in it. This was heartening. I don't know whether this popularity is because the Baoli was recently featured in the popular Bollywood film PK or because the Baoli is clean, litter-free and situated barely a kilometre away from the heart of the city. It may be all of these, but it is wonderful to see the hard work of the ASI bearing fruit. Usually when we head out to explore the city, we make sure that we carry a DSLR and all the required lenses, but this time we had decided to do something different. The impact of camera phones on the photography ecosystem is the hot topic for debate nowadays, and we decided to settle it with a practical. So this time instead of a DSLR, we were carrying a smartphone - Honor 5c to be precise. All the pictures that you are seeing in this post have been clicked using Honor 5c. Based on the results, we can comfortably say that for everyday non-professional use, a smartphone, if used well, can suffice. One would of course need to study all the capabilities and features of the particular smartphone camera in details to be able to use them in appropriate situations. Coming back to the Baoli, we captured the structure, the pigeons peeping out of the gaps in the walls, the contrast between the modern skyscrapers of CP and the medieval architecture of the Baoli, the people exploring the structure and a lot more. The baoli is situated in one of the lanes branching out of the very pretty Hailey road, and this lane is dotted with some very interesting grafitti. We captured some of that too. If you haven't yet seen Agrasen ki Baoli, we recommend that you should. But make sure that the day is pleasant and you have time on your hands, because there is a lot to take in at the Baoli and in the surroundings.

When loitering around in Cannaught Place or navigating traffic on Barakhamba Road, it is difficult imagine that barely 5-minutes away, hidden amongst trees, lies the magnificient stone structure of Agrasen ki baoli. The 14th-century step well was restored by the Archaeological Survey of India in the year 2002. Now the Baoli is clean and well-maintained. We visited Agrasen ki Baoli on a humid Sunday afternoon and were expecting to find a more or less abandoned structure with may be a couple of people loitering about here and there. But we were in for a surprise. The baoli was buzzing with well-dressed, pouting, selfie-clicking youngsters. They were there in such large numbers that it was difficult to capture even a single shot without people in it. This was heartening. I don't know whether this popularity is because the Baoli was recently featured in the popular Bollywood film PK or because the Baoli is clean, litter-free and situated barely a kilometre away from the heart of the city. It may be all of these, but it is wonderful to see the hard work of the ASI bearing fruit. Usually when we head out to explore the city, we make sure that we carry a DSLR and all the required lenses, but this time we had decided to do something different. The impact of camera phones on the photography ecosystem is the hot topic for debate nowadays, and we decided to settle it with a practical. So this time instead of a DSLR, we were carrying a smartphone - Honor 5c to be precise. All the pictures that you are seeing in this post have been clicked using Honor 5c. Based on the results, we can comfortably say that for everyday non-professional use, a smartphone, if used well, can suffice. One would of course need to study all the capabilities and features of the particular smartphone camera in details to be able to use them in appropriate situations. Coming back to the Baoli, we captured the structure, the pigeons peeping out of the gaps in the walls, the contrast between the modern skyscrapers of CP and the medieval architecture of the Baoli, the people exploring the structure and a lot more. The baoli is situated in one of the lanes branching out of the very pretty Hailey road, and this lane is dotted with some very interesting grafitti. We captured some of that too. If you haven't yet seen Agrasen ki Baoli, we recommend that you should. But make sure that the day is pleasant and you have time on your hands, because there is a lot to take in at the Baoli and in the surroundings.

When loitering around in Cannaught Place or navigating traffic on Barakhamba Road, it is difficult imagine that barely 5-minutes away, hidden amongst trees, lies the magnificient stone structure of Agrasen ki baoli. The 14th-century step well was restored by the Archaeological Survey of India in the year 2002. Now the Baoli is clean and well-maintained. We visited Agrasen ki Baoli on a humid Sunday afternoon and were expecting to find a more or less abandoned structure with may be a couple of people loitering about here and there. But we were in for a surprise. The baoli was buzzing with well-dressed, pouting, selfie-clicking youngsters. They were there in such large numbers that it was difficult to capture even a single shot without people in it. This was heartening. I don't know whether this popularity is because the Baoli was recently featured in the popular Bollywood film PK or because the Baoli is clean, litter-free and situated barely a kilometre away from the heart of the city. It may be all of these, but it is wonderful to see the hard work of the ASI bearing fruit. Usually when we head out to explore the city, we make sure that we carry a DSLR and all the required lenses, but this time we had decided to do something different. The impact of camera phones on the photography ecosystem is the hot topic for debate nowadays, and we decided to settle it with a practical. So this time instead of a DSLR, we were carrying a smartphone - Honor 5c to be precise. All the pictures that you are seeing in this post have been clicked using Honor 5c. Based on the results, we can comfortably say that for everyday non-professional use, a smartphone, if used well, can suffice. One would of course need to study all the capabilities and features of the particular smartphone camera in details to be able to use them in appropriate situations. Coming back to the Baoli, we captured the structure, the pigeons peeping out of the gaps in the walls, the contrast between the modern skyscrapers of CP and the medieval architecture of the Baoli, the people exploring the structure and a lot more. The baoli is situated in one of the lanes branching out of the very pretty Hailey road, and this lane is dotted with some very interesting grafitti. We captured some of that too. If you haven't yet seen Agrasen ki Baoli, we recommend that you should. But make sure that the day is pleasant and you have time on your hands, because there is a lot to take in at the Baoli and in the surroundings.

When loitering around in Cannaught Place or navigating traffic on Barakhamba Road, it is difficult imagine that barely 5-minutes away, hidden amongst trees, lies the magnificient stone structure of Agrasen ki baoli. The 14th-century step well was restored by the Archaeological Survey of India in the year 2002. Now the Baoli is clean and well-maintained. We visited Agrasen ki Baoli on a humid Sunday afternoon and were expecting to find a more or less abandoned structure with may be a couple of people loitering about here and there. But we were in for a surprise. The baoli was buzzing with well-dressed, pouting, selfie-clicking youngsters. They were there in such large numbers that it was difficult to capture even a single shot without people in it. This was heartening. I don't know whether this popularity is because the Baoli was recently featured in the popular Bollywood film PK or because the Baoli is clean, litter-free and situated barely a kilometre away from the heart of the city. It may be all of these, but it is wonderful to see the hard work of the ASI bearing fruit. Usually when we head out to explore the city, we make sure that we carry a DSLR and all the required lenses, but this time we had decided to do something different. The impact of camera phones on the photography ecosystem is the hot topic for debate nowadays, and we decided to settle it with a practical. So this time instead of a DSLR, we were carrying a smartphone - Honor 5c to be precise. All the pictures that you are seeing in this post have been clicked using Honor 5c. Based on the results, we can comfortably say that for everyday non-professional use, a smartphone, if used well, can suffice. One would of course need to study all the capabilities and features of the particular smartphone camera in details to be able to use them in appropriate situations. Coming back to the Baoli, we captured the structure, the pigeons peeping out of the gaps in the walls, the contrast between the modern skyscrapers of CP and the medieval architecture of the Baoli, the people exploring the structure and a lot more. The baoli is situated in one of the lanes branching out of the very pretty Hailey road, and this lane is dotted with some very interesting grafitti. We captured some of that too. If you haven't yet seen Agrasen ki Baoli, we recommend that you should. But make sure that the day is pleasant and you have time on your hands, because there is a lot to take in at the Baoli and in the surroundings.

Continuing our explorating of our favorite city Delhi with the new smartphone on the block - Honor 5c, our next stop was the park that offers different things to different people - Lodhi Gardens. For people in search of greenery, Lodhi Gardens offer trees of a wide variety and velvetty carpet-like lawns. For people in search of birds butterflies, there are 100s of species that can be spotted here. For health-freaks, there's an open gym and walking tracks. For people in search of history and architecture, there are four structures from the time of the Lodhis. For couple looking for some us-time, there is plenty on offer. Even for kids there are options of entertainment such as hillocks and swings. If you happen to be at Lodhi Gardens early in the morning, you will not only see joggers and walkers, but also people doing various activities such as yoga, aerobics and other sports. come a little late and you will come across people walking various breeds of dogs. In the afternoon, the garden transforms into a lovers' paradise, and in the evening, families descend upon it to sit in the grass, to let their toddlers play, and to feed the geese and ducks. Talking about geese and ducks, there are some very friendly Geese and some reclusive ducks near the little artificial lake. The geese like to stay around people and on days when the birds are feeling extra-social, you can easily walk amongst them without having your feet pecked at by them. These geese are very popular with the people visiting the park and receive a lot of love in the form of bread crumbs and corn. The ducks though prefer to stay at the other end of the lake, or on the tiny island in the middle of the lake. They make it clear that they don't like people. Apart from these, there are other birds such as egrets, parrots, kingfishers, and a strange green bird, we don't know the name of. The monuments in the garden are Mohammad Shah's tomb, Sikandar Lodi's tomb, Shisha Gumbad, and Bada Gumbad, all built by the Lodhi's in the 15th century. The structures are interesting and the ceilings and walls have some interesting Mughal carvings. In the past we have visited Lodhi Gardens many times with our DSLR, but this time we were equipped only with a smartphone with a decent camera - Honor 5c, and were pretty pleased with the results. When photography is more about the composition, you do not necessarily need high-end equipment to achieve desirable results, unless you are doing a professional photo shoot. With its various offerings Lodhi Gardens are a photographer's dream come true especially on bright sunny days right after the monsoon rains. There are a lot of opportunities and a lot of moments worth capturing in these lawns. Imagine children running down the hillocks or a toddler learning to run. Imagine a flock of birds suddenly taking flight. Imagine the geese cleaning their feathers. Imagine an egret poised for a strike. Imagine an old man watching a family play from a distance. It is all there, all waiting to be captured, waiting to be eternalized. So what are you waiting for. Grab your camera or smartphone and go get that perfect shot!

Continuing our explorating of our favorite city Delhi with the new smartphone on the block - Honor 5c, our next stop was the park that offers different things to different people - Lodhi Gardens. For people in search of greenery, Lodhi Gardens offer trees of a wide variety and velvetty carpet-like lawns. For people in search of birds butterflies, there are 100s of species that can be spotted here. For health-freaks, there's an open gym and walking tracks. For people in search of history and architecture, there are four structures from the time of the Lodhis. For couple looking for some us-time, there is plenty on offer. Even for kids there are options of entertainment such as hillocks and swings. If you happen to be at Lodhi Gardens early in the morning, you will not only see joggers and walkers, but also people doing various activities such as yoga, aerobics and other sports. come a little late and you will come across people walking various breeds of dogs. In the afternoon, the garden transforms into a lovers' paradise, and in the evening, families descend upon it to sit in the grass, to let their toddlers play, and to feed the geese and ducks. Talking about geese and ducks, there are some very friendly Geese and some reclusive ducks near the little artificial lake. The geese like to stay around people and on days when the birds are feeling extra-social, you can easily walk amongst them without having your feet pecked at by them. These geese are very popular with the people visiting the park and receive a lot of love in the form of bread crumbs and corn. The ducks though prefer to stay at the other end of the lake, or on the tiny island in the middle of the lake. They make it clear that they don't like people. Apart from these, there are other birds such as egrets, parrots, kingfishers, and a strange green bird, we don't know the name of. The monuments in the garden are Mohammad Shah's tomb, Sikandar Lodi's tomb, Shisha Gumbad, and Bada Gumbad, all built by the Lodhi's in the 15th century. The structures are interesting and the ceilings and walls have some interesting Mughal carvings. In the past we have visited Lodhi Gardens many times with our DSLR, but this time we were equipped only with a smartphone with a decent camera - Honor 5c, and were pretty pleased with the results. When photography is more about the composition, you do not necessarily need high-end equipment to achieve desirable results, unless you are doing a professional photo shoot. With its various offerings Lodhi Gardens are a photographer's dream come true especially on bright sunny days right after the monsoon rains. There are a lot of opportunities and a lot of moments worth capturing in these lawns. Imagine children running down the hillocks or a toddler learning to run. Imagine a flock of birds suddenly taking flight. Imagine the geese cleaning their feathers. Imagine an egret poised for a strike. Imagine an old man watching a family play from a distance. It is all there, all waiting to be captured, waiting to be eternalized. So what are you waiting for. Grab your camera or smartphone and go get that perfect shot!

Continuing our explorating of our favorite city Delhi with the new smartphone on the block - Honor 5c, our next stop was the park that offers different things to different people - Lodhi Gardens. For people in search of greenery, Lodhi Gardens offer trees of a wide variety and velvetty carpet-like lawns. For people in search of birds butterflies, there are 100s of species that can be spotted here. For health-freaks, there's an open gym and walking tracks. For people in search of history and architecture, there are four structures from the time of the Lodhis. For couple looking for some us-time, there is plenty on offer. Even for kids there are options of entertainment such as hillocks and swings. If you happen to be at Lodhi Gardens early in the morning, you will not only see joggers and walkers, but also people doing various activities such as yoga, aerobics and other sports. come a little late and you will come across people walking various breeds of dogs. In the afternoon, the garden transforms into a lovers' paradise, and in the evening, families descend upon it to sit in the grass, to let their toddlers play, and to feed the geese and ducks. Talking about geese and ducks, there are some very friendly Geese and some reclusive ducks near the little artificial lake. The geese like to stay around people and on days when the birds are feeling extra-social, you can easily walk amongst them without having your feet pecked at by them. These geese are very popular with the people visiting the park and receive a lot of love in the form of bread crumbs and corn. The ducks though prefer to stay at the other end of the lake, or on the tiny island in the middle of the lake. They make it clear that they don't like people. Apart from these, there are other birds such as egrets, parrots, kingfishers, and a strange green bird, we don't know the name of. The monuments in the garden are Mohammad Shah's tomb, Sikandar Lodi's tomb, Shisha Gumbad, and Bada Gumbad, all built by the Lodhi's in the 15th century. The structures are interesting and the ceilings and walls have some interesting Mughal carvings. In the past we have visited Lodhi Gardens many times with our DSLR, but this time we were equipped only with a smartphone with a decent camera - Honor 5c, and were pretty pleased with the results. When photography is more about the composition, you do not necessarily need high-end equipment to achieve desirable results, unless you are doing a professional photo shoot. With its various offerings Lodhi Gardens are a photographer's dream come true especially on bright sunny days right after the monsoon rains. There are a lot of opportunities and a lot of moments worth capturing in these lawns. Imagine children running down the hillocks or a toddler learning to run. Imagine a flock of birds suddenly taking flight. Imagine the geese cleaning their feathers. Imagine an egret poised for a strike. Imagine an old man watching a family play from a distance. It is all there, all waiting to be captured, waiting to be eternalized. So what are you waiting for. Grab your camera or smartphone and go get that perfect shot!

Continuing our explorating of our favorite city Delhi with the new smartphone on the block - Honor 5c, our next stop was the park that offers different things to different people - Lodhi Gardens. For people in search of greenery, Lodhi Gardens offer trees of a wide variety and velvetty carpet-like lawns. For people in search of birds butterflies, there are 100s of species that can be spotted here. For health-freaks, there's an open gym and walking tracks. For people in search of history and architecture, there are four structures from the time of the Lodhis. For couple looking for some us-time, there is plenty on offer. Even for kids there are options of entertainment such as hillocks and swings. If you happen to be at Lodhi Gardens early in the morning, you will not only see joggers and walkers, but also people doing various activities such as yoga, aerobics and other sports. come a little late and you will come across people walking various breeds of dogs. In the afternoon, the garden transforms into a lovers' paradise, and in the evening, families descend upon it to sit in the grass, to let their toddlers play, and to feed the geese and ducks. Talking about geese and ducks, there are some very friendly Geese and some reclusive ducks near the little artificial lake. The geese like to stay around people and on days when the birds are feeling extra-social, you can easily walk amongst them without having your feet pecked at by them. These geese are very popular with the people visiting the park and receive a lot of love in the form of bread crumbs and corn. The ducks though prefer to stay at the other end of the lake, or on the tiny island in the middle of the lake. They make it clear that they don't like people. Apart from these, there are other birds such as egrets, parrots, kingfishers, and a strange green bird, we don't know the name of. The monuments in the garden are Mohammad Shah's tomb, Sikandar Lodi's tomb, Shisha Gumbad, and Bada Gumbad, all built by the Lodhi's in the 15th century. The structures are interesting and the ceilings and walls have some interesting Mughal carvings. In the past we have visited Lodhi Gardens many times with our DSLR, but this time we were equipped only with a smartphone with a decent camera - Honor 5c, and were pretty pleased with the results. When photography is more about the composition, you do not necessarily need high-end equipment to achieve desirable results, unless you are doing a professional photo shoot. With its various offerings Lodhi Gardens are a photographer's dream come true especially on bright sunny days right after the monsoon rains. There are a lot of opportunities and a lot of moments worth capturing in these lawns. Imagine children running down the hillocks or a toddler learning to run. Imagine a flock of birds suddenly taking flight. Imagine the geese cleaning their feathers. Imagine an egret poised for a strike. Imagine an old man watching a family play from a distance. It is all there, all waiting to be captured, waiting to be eternalized. So what are you waiting for. Grab your camera or smartphone and go get that perfect shot!

Continuing our explorating of our favorite city Delhi with the new smartphone on the block - Honor 5c, our next stop was the park that offers different things to different people - Lodhi Gardens. For people in search of greenery, Lodhi Gardens offer trees of a wide variety and velvetty carpet-like lawns. For people in search of birds butterflies, there are 100s of species that can be spotted here. For health-freaks, there's an open gym and walking tracks. For people in search of history and architecture, there are four structures from the time of the Lodhis. For couple looking for some us-time, there is plenty on offer. Even for kids there are options of entertainment such as hillocks and swings. If you happen to be at Lodhi Gardens early in the morning, you will not only see joggers and walkers, but also people doing various activities such as yoga, aerobics and other sports. come a little late and you will come across people walking various breeds of dogs. In the afternoon, the garden transforms into a lovers' paradise, and in the evening, families descend upon it to sit in the grass, to let their toddlers play, and to feed the geese and ducks. Talking about geese and ducks, there are some very friendly Geese and some reclusive ducks near the little artificial lake. The geese like to stay around people and on days when the birds are feeling extra-social, you can easily walk amongst them without having your feet pecked at by them. These geese are very popular with the people visiting the park and receive a lot of love in the form of bread crumbs and corn. The ducks though prefer to stay at the other end of the lake, or on the tiny island in the middle of the lake. They make it clear that they don't like people. Apart from these, there are other birds such as egrets, parrots, kingfishers, and a strange green bird, we don't know the name of. The monuments in the garden are Mohammad Shah's tomb, Sikandar Lodi's tomb, Shisha Gumbad, and Bada Gumbad, all built by the Lodhi's in the 15th century. The structures are interesting and the ceilings and walls have some interesting Mughal carvings. In the past we have visited Lodhi Gardens many times with our DSLR, but this time we were equipped only with a smartphone with a decent camera - Honor 5c, and were pretty pleased with the results. When photography is more about the composition, you do not necessarily need high-end equipment to achieve desirable results, unless you are doing a professional photo shoot. With its various offerings Lodhi Gardens are a photographer's dream come true especially on bright sunny days right after the monsoon rains. There are a lot of opportunities and a lot of moments worth capturing in these lawns. Imagine children running down the hillocks or a toddler learning to run. Imagine a flock of birds suddenly taking flight. Imagine the geese cleaning their feathers. Imagine an egret poised for a strike. Imagine an old man watching a family play from a distance. It is all there, all waiting to be captured, waiting to be eternalized. So what are you waiting for. Grab your camera or smartphone and go get that perfect shot!

Continuing our explorating of our favorite city Delhi with the new smartphone on the block - Honor 5c, our next stop was the park that offers different things to different people - Lodhi Gardens. For people in search of greenery, Lodhi Gardens offer trees of a wide variety and velvetty carpet-like lawns. For people in search of birds butterflies, there are 100s of species that can be spotted here. For health-freaks, there's an open gym and walking tracks. For people in search of history and architecture, there are four structures from the time of the Lodhis. For couple looking for some us-time, there is plenty on offer. Even for kids there are options of entertainment such as hillocks and swings. If you happen to be at Lodhi Gardens early in the morning, you will not only see joggers and walkers, but also people doing various activities such as yoga, aerobics and other sports. come a little late and you will come across people walking various breeds of dogs. In the afternoon, the garden transforms into a lovers' paradise, and in the evening, families descend upon it to sit in the grass, to let their toddlers play, and to feed the geese and ducks. Talking about geese and ducks, there are some very friendly Geese and some reclusive ducks near the little artificial lake. The geese like to stay around people and on days when the birds are feeling extra-social, you can easily walk amongst them without having your feet pecked at by them. These geese are very popular with the people visiting the park and receive a lot of love in the form of bread crumbs and corn. The ducks though prefer to stay at the other end of the lake, or on the tiny island in the middle of the lake. They make it clear that they don't like people. Apart from these, there are other birds such as egrets, parrots, kingfishers, and a strange green bird, we don't know the name of. The monuments in the garden are Mohammad Shah's tomb, Sikandar Lodi's tomb, Shisha Gumbad, and Bada Gumbad, all built by the Lodhi's in the 15th century. The structures are interesting and the ceilings and walls have some interesting Mughal carvings. In the past we have visited Lodhi Gardens many times with our DSLR, but this time we were equipped only with a smartphone with a decent camera - Honor 5c, and were pretty pleased with the results. When photography is more about the composition, you do not necessarily need high-end equipment to achieve desirable results, unless you are doing a professional photo shoot. With its various offerings Lodhi Gardens are a photographer's dream come true especially on bright sunny days right after the monsoon rains. There are a lot of opportunities and a lot of moments worth capturing in these lawns. Imagine children running down the hillocks or a toddler learning to run. Imagine a flock of birds suddenly taking flight. Imagine the geese cleaning their feathers. Imagine an egret poised for a strike. Imagine an old man watching a family play from a distance. It is all there, all waiting to be captured, waiting to be eternalized. So what are you waiting for. Grab your camera or smartphone and go get that perfect shot!

Continuing our explorating of our favorite city Delhi with the new smartphone on the block - Honor 5c, our next stop was the park that offers different things to different people - Lodhi Gardens. For people in search of greenery, Lodhi Gardens offer trees of a wide variety and velvetty carpet-like lawns. For people in search of birds butterflies, there are 100s of species that can be spotted here. For health-freaks, there's an open gym and walking tracks. For people in search of history and architecture, there are four structures from the time of the Lodhis. For couple looking for some us-time, there is plenty on offer. Even for kids there are options of entertainment such as hillocks and swings. If you happen to be at Lodhi Gardens early in the morning, you will not only see joggers and walkers, but also people doing various activities such as yoga, aerobics and other sports. come a little late and you will come across people walking various breeds of dogs. In the afternoon, the garden transforms into a lovers' paradise, and in the evening, families descend upon it to sit in the grass, to let their toddlers play, and to feed the geese and ducks. Talking about geese and ducks, there are some very friendly Geese and some reclusive ducks near the little artificial lake. The geese like to stay around people and on days when the birds are feeling extra-social, you can easily walk amongst them without having your feet pecked at by them. These geese are very popular with the people visiting the park and receive a lot of love in the form of bread crumbs and corn. The ducks though prefer to stay at the other end of the lake, or on the tiny island in the middle of the lake. They make it clear that they don't like people. Apart from these, there are other birds such as egrets, parrots, kingfishers, and a strange green bird, we don't know the name of. The monuments in the garden are Mohammad Shah's tomb, Sikandar Lodi's tomb, Shisha Gumbad, and Bada Gumbad, all built by the Lodhi's in the 15th century. The structures are interesting and the ceilings and walls have some interesting Mughal carvings. In the past we have visited Lodhi Gardens many times with our DSLR, but this time we were equipped only with a smartphone with a decent camera - Honor 5c, and were pretty pleased with the results. When photography is more about the composition, you do not necessarily need high-end equipment to achieve desirable results, unless you are doing a professional photo shoot. With its various offerings Lodhi Gardens are a photographer's dream come true especially on bright sunny days right after the monsoon rains. There are a lot of opportunities and a lot of moments worth capturing in these lawns. Imagine children running down the hillocks or a toddler learning to run. Imagine a flock of birds suddenly taking flight. Imagine the geese cleaning their feathers. Imagine an egret poised for a strike. Imagine an old man watching a family play from a distance. It is all there, all waiting to be captured, waiting to be eternalized. So what are you waiting for. Grab your camera or smartphone and go get that perfect shot!

Continuing our explorating of our favorite city Delhi with the new smartphone on the block - Honor 5c, our next stop was the park that offers different things to different people - Lodhi Gardens. For people in search of greenery, Lodhi Gardens offer trees of a wide variety and velvetty carpet-like lawns. For people in search of birds butterflies, there are 100s of species that can be spotted here. For health-freaks, there's an open gym and walking tracks. For people in search of history and architecture, there are four structures from the time of the Lodhis. For couple looking for some us-time, there is plenty on offer. Even for kids there are options of entertainment such as hillocks and swings. If you happen to be at Lodhi Gardens early in the morning, you will not only see joggers and walkers, but also people doing various activities such as yoga, aerobics and other sports. come a little late and you will come across people walking various breeds of dogs. In the afternoon, the garden transforms into a lovers' paradise, and in the evening, families descend upon it to sit in the grass, to let their toddlers play, and to feed the geese and ducks. Talking about geese and ducks, there are some very friendly Geese and some reclusive ducks near the little artificial lake. The geese like to stay around people and on days when the birds are feeling extra-social, you can easily walk amongst them without having your feet pecked at by them. These geese are very popular with the people visiting the park and receive a lot of love in the form of bread crumbs and corn. The ducks though prefer to stay at the other end of the lake, or on the tiny island in the middle of the lake. They make it clear that they don't like people. Apart from these, there are other birds such as egrets, parrots, kingfishers, and a strange green bird, we don't know the name of. The monuments in the garden are Mohammad Shah's tomb, Sikandar Lodi's tomb, Shisha Gumbad, and Bada Gumbad, all built by the Lodhi's in the 15th century. The structures are interesting and the ceilings and walls have some interesting Mughal carvings. In the past we have visited Lodhi Gardens many times with our DSLR, but this time we were equipped only with a smartphone with a decent camera - Honor 5c, and were pretty pleased with the results. When photography is more about the composition, you do not necessarily need high-end equipment to achieve desirable results, unless you are doing a professional photo shoot. With its various offerings Lodhi Gardens are a photographer's dream come true especially on bright sunny days right after the monsoon rains. There are a lot of opportunities and a lot of moments worth capturing in these lawns. Imagine children running down the hillocks or a toddler learning to run. Imagine a flock of birds suddenly taking flight. Imagine the geese cleaning their feathers. Imagine an egret poised for a strike. Imagine an old man watching a family play from a distance. It is all there, all waiting to be captured, waiting to be eternalized. So what are you waiting for. Grab your camera or smartphone and go get that perfect shot!

Continuing our explorating of our favorite city Delhi with the new smartphone on the block - Honor 5c, our next stop was the park that offers different things to different people - Lodhi Gardens. For people in search of greenery, Lodhi Gardens offer trees of a wide variety and velvetty carpet-like lawns. For people in search of birds butterflies, there are 100s of species that can be spotted here. For health-freaks, there's an open gym and walking tracks. For people in search of history and architecture, there are four structures from the time of the Lodhis. For couple looking for some us-time, there is plenty on offer. Even for kids there are options of entertainment such as hillocks and swings. If you happen to be at Lodhi Gardens early in the morning, you will not only see joggers and walkers, but also people doing various activities such as yoga, aerobics and other sports. come a little late and you will come across people walking various breeds of dogs. In the afternoon, the garden transforms into a lovers' paradise, and in the evening, families descend upon it to sit in the grass, to let their toddlers play, and to feed the geese and ducks. Talking about geese and ducks, there are some very friendly Geese and some reclusive ducks near the little artificial lake. The geese like to stay around people and on days when the birds are feeling extra-social, you can easily walk amongst them without having your feet pecked at by them. These geese are very popular with the people visiting the park and receive a lot of love in the form of bread crumbs and corn. The ducks though prefer to stay at the other end of the lake, or on the tiny island in the middle of the lake. They make it clear that they don't like people. Apart from these, there are other birds such as egrets, parrots, kingfishers, and a strange green bird, we don't know the name of. The monuments in the garden are Mohammad Shah's tomb, Sikandar Lodi's tomb, Shisha Gumbad, and Bada Gumbad, all built by the Lodhi's in the 15th century. The structures are interesting and the ceilings and walls have some interesting Mughal carvings. In the past we have visited Lodhi Gardens many times with our DSLR, but this time we were equipped only with a smartphone with a decent camera - Honor 5c, and were pretty pleased with the results. When photography is more about the composition, you do not necessarily need high-end equipment to achieve desirable results, unless you are doing a professional photo shoot. With its various offerings Lodhi Gardens are a photographer's dream come true especially on bright sunny days right after the monsoon rains. There are a lot of opportunities and a lot of moments worth capturing in these lawns. Imagine children running down the hillocks or a toddler learning to run. Imagine a flock of birds suddenly taking flight. Imagine the geese cleaning their feathers. Imagine an egret poised for a strike. Imagine an old man watching a family play from a distance. It is all there, all waiting to be captured, waiting to be eternalized. So what are you waiting for. Grab your camera or smartphone and go get that perfect shot!

Continuing our explorating of our favorite city Delhi with the new smartphone on the block - Honor 5c, our next stop was the park that offers different things to different people - Lodhi Gardens. For people in search of greenery, Lodhi Gardens offer trees of a wide variety and velvetty carpet-like lawns. For people in search of birds butterflies, there are 100s of species that can be spotted here. For health-freaks, there's an open gym and walking tracks. For people in search of history and architecture, there are four structures from the time of the Lodhis. For couple looking for some us-time, there is plenty on offer. Even for kids there are options of entertainment such as hillocks and swings. If you happen to be at Lodhi Gardens early in the morning, you will not only see joggers and walkers, but also people doing various activities such as yoga, aerobics and other sports. come a little late and you will come across people walking various breeds of dogs. In the afternoon, the garden transforms into a lovers' paradise, and in the evening, families descend upon it to sit in the grass, to let their toddlers play, and to feed the geese and ducks. Talking about geese and ducks, there are some very friendly Geese and some reclusive ducks near the little artificial lake. The geese like to stay around people and on days when the birds are feeling extra-social, you can easily walk amongst them without having your feet pecked at by them. These geese are very popular with the people visiting the park and receive a lot of love in the form of bread crumbs and corn. The ducks though prefer to stay at the other end of the lake, or on the tiny island in the middle of the lake. They make it clear that they don't like people. Apart from these, there are other birds such as egrets, parrots, kingfishers, and a strange green bird, we don't know the name of. The monuments in the garden are Mohammad Shah's tomb, Sikandar Lodi's tomb, Shisha Gumbad, and Bada Gumbad, all built by the Lodhi's in the 15th century. The structures are interesting and the ceilings and walls have some interesting Mughal carvings. In the past we have visited Lodhi Gardens many times with our DSLR, but this time we were equipped only with a smartphone with a decent camera - Honor 5c, and were pretty pleased with the results. When photography is more about the composition, you do not necessarily need high-end equipment to achieve desirable results, unless you are doing a professional photo shoot. With its various offerings Lodhi Gardens are a photographer's dream come true especially on bright sunny days right after the monsoon rains. There are a lot of opportunities and a lot of moments worth capturing in these lawns. Imagine children running down the hillocks or a toddler learning to run. Imagine a flock of birds suddenly taking flight. Imagine the geese cleaning their feathers. Imagine an egret poised for a strike. Imagine an old man watching a family play from a distance. It is all there, all waiting to be captured, waiting to be eternalized. So what are you waiting for. Grab your camera or smartphone and go get that perfect shot!

Continuing our explorating of our favorite city Delhi with the new smartphone on the block - Honor 5c, our next stop was the park that offers different things to different people - Lodhi Gardens. For people in search of greenery, Lodhi Gardens offer trees of a wide variety and velvetty carpet-like lawns. For people in search of birds butterflies, there are 100s of species that can be spotted here. For health-freaks, there's an open gym and walking tracks. For people in search of history and architecture, there are four structures from the time of the Lodhis. For couple looking for some us-time, there is plenty on offer. Even for kids there are options of entertainment such as hillocks and swings. If you happen to be at Lodhi Gardens early in the morning, you will not only see joggers and walkers, but also people doing various activities such as yoga, aerobics and other sports. come a little late and you will come across people walking various breeds of dogs. In the afternoon, the garden transforms into a lovers' paradise, and in the evening, families descend upon it to sit in the grass, to let their toddlers play, and to feed the geese and ducks. Talking about geese and ducks, there are some very friendly Geese and some reclusive ducks near the little artificial lake. The geese like to stay around people and on days when the birds are feeling extra-social, you can easily walk amongst them without having your feet pecked at by them. These geese are very popular with the people visiting the park and receive a lot of love in the form of bread crumbs and corn. The ducks though prefer to stay at the other end of the lake, or on the tiny island in the middle of the lake. They make it clear that they don't like people. Apart from these, there are other birds such as egrets, parrots, kingfishers, and a strange green bird, we don't know the name of. The monuments in the garden are Mohammad Shah's tomb, Sikandar Lodi's tomb, Shisha Gumbad, and Bada Gumbad, all built by the Lodhi's in the 15th century. The structures are interesting and the ceilings and walls have some interesting Mughal carvings. In the past we have visited Lodhi Gardens many times with our DSLR, but this time we were equipped only with a smartphone with a decent camera - Honor 5c, and were pretty pleased with the results. When photography is more about the composition, you do not necessarily need high-end equipment to achieve desirable results, unless you are doing a professional photo shoot. With its various offerings Lodhi Gardens are a photographer's dream come true especially on bright sunny days right after the monsoon rains. There are a lot of opportunities and a lot of moments worth capturing in these lawns. Imagine children running down the hillocks or a toddler learning to run. Imagine a flock of birds suddenly taking flight. Imagine the geese cleaning their feathers. Imagine an egret poised for a strike. Imagine an old man watching a family play from a distance. It is all there, all waiting to be captured, waiting to be eternalized. So what are you waiting for. Grab your camera or smartphone and go get that perfect shot!

At the very heart of Delhi lies the "showpiece of Lutyen's Delhi", the business and commercial centre we know as Connaught Place or CP. The place not only houses some of the biggest names in the financial scene of the country, it is also one of the most happening places as far as restaurants, shopping options, and crowd is concerned. A favorite amongst young couples, foreign tourists, college students, and families, Connaught Place offers immense opportunity to photographers as well. Teeming with hawkers dressed in colourful traditional clothes, young and old beautiful faces, colonial architecture complete with pillars, arches, and buttresses, a photographer cannot resist the charms of CP. Portraits, architecture, candid - you name it and CP offers it. So we, armed with our Honor 5C, descended upon CP for photography on a Saturday. But we decided to add a twist to it. We went there after sunset to capture the CP of the shadows. When the crowds have dwindled, the hawkers are wrapping up their make-shift shops, and the practical jeans and t-shirt of the days are replaced by night dresses and high heels, a new CP emerges. Less "happening", but yet glamourous. Just a reminder - this series is an attempt to see if we need a DSLR camera for day-to-day photography or whether a smartphone suffices. All photographs in this post are shot using Honor 5c in CP under low-light conditions. Be it the panning shot of the auto in motion, or the dog sitting like royalty under the lamps, our phone managed to shine through. Now you can see for yourself and decide whether you need to purchase a DSLR if you don't intend to shoot like a pro, and are happy with regular shots based on a good composition. After spending some time in and around CP, we headed home. However, our explorations with Honor 5c are not over yet. Next we will head out of the city to the mountains with the smartphone that hadn't yet given us a single opportunity to complain. To find out how that goes, stay tuned.

At the very heart of Delhi lies the "showpiece of Lutyen's Delhi", the business and commercial centre we know as Connaught Place or CP. The place not only houses some of the biggest names in the financial scene of the country, it is also one of the most happening places as far as restaurants, shopping options, and crowd is concerned. A favorite amongst young couples, foreign tourists, college students, and families, Connaught Place offers immense opportunity to photographers as well. Teeming with hawkers dressed in colourful traditional clothes, young and old beautiful faces, colonial architecture complete with pillars, arches, and buttresses, a photographer cannot resist the charms of CP. Portraits, architecture, candid - you name it and CP offers it. So we, armed with our Honor 5C, descended upon CP for photography on a Saturday. But we decided to add a twist to it. We went there after sunset to capture the CP of the shadows. When the crowds have dwindled, the hawkers are wrapping up their make-shift shops, and the practical jeans and t-shirt of the days are replaced by night dresses and high heels, a new CP emerges. Less "happening", but yet glamourous. Just a reminder - this series is an attempt to see if we need a DSLR camera for day-to-day photography or whether a smartphone suffices. All photographs in this post are shot using Honor 5c in CP under low-light conditions. Be it the panning shot of the auto in motion, or the dog sitting like royalty under the lamps, our phone managed to shine through. Now you can see for yourself and decide whether you need to purchase a DSLR if you don't intend to shoot like a pro, and are happy with regular shots based on a good composition. After spending some time in and around CP, we headed home. However, our explorations with Honor 5c are not over yet. Next we will head out of the city to the mountains with the smartphone that hadn't yet given us a single opportunity to complain. To find out how that goes, stay tuned.

Question: What is that one place in Delhi that symbolizes patriotism, the "coolness" factor, the common man, and the top bureaucracy, peace, and struggle, all at one go? And the right answer is... you guessed it. India Gate!The simple, yet imposing, structure, the India Gate is also home to the Amar Jawan Jyoti - the eternal flame that is kept alight in the memory of soldiers who were martyred in the various wars and during India's struggle for freedom. India Gate is also at the centre of the annual Republic Day Parade, which fills every Indian's heart with pride and also showcases the strength of Indian Armed Forces to the world. Today, India Gate has also come to be known as the place where the common people of Delhi and beyond gather on a pleasant day or in evenings and hangout till late in the night munching on spicy bhelpuri, golgappe, and sweet potato chaat. It is the place where women-hawkers, draped in colorful Rajasthani or Haryanvi attire, sell trinkets to tourists, where patient young men lighten up the surroundings with magical soap-bubbles in an attempt to entice children into buying the soup solution and the bubble blower. Tea-sellers roam the lawns with their shiny aluminium kettles selling tea to youngsters sitting on the green lawns, while photographers try to convince people to get their pictures clicked with India Gate in the background. The entire vista is bubbling with happiness and life. And this becomes even magical in the monsoons when the sky is clear and the puddles form everywhere offering opportunities to click spectacular reflections of India Gate. All pictures in this post are shot with our smartphone Huawei Honor 5c. We take pride in calling ourselves the Huawei Honor family as almost all of us own a Honor phone. And we can't be more pleased with the results. At India Gate, this gathering of common people is happening in the backdrop of the President's House. And this is what Delhi is all about - the land of contrasts and contradictions. Even though we are mighty proud of the pictures in this post, no picture can ever do justice to the enigma that is India Gate of today.

Question: What is that one place in Delhi that symbolizes patriotism, the "coolness" factor, the common man, and the top bureaucracy, peace, and struggle, all at one go? And the right answer is... you guessed it. India Gate!The simple, yet imposing, structure, the India Gate is also home to the Amar Jawan Jyoti - the eternal flame that is kept alight in the memory of soldiers who were martyred in the various wars and during India's struggle for freedom. India Gate is also at the centre of the annual Republic Day Parade, which fills every Indian's heart with pride and also showcases the strength of Indian Armed Forces to the world. Today, India Gate has also come to be known as the place where the common people of Delhi and beyond gather on a pleasant day or in evenings and hangout till late in the night munching on spicy bhelpuri, golgappe, and sweet potato chaat. It is the place where women-hawkers, draped in colorful Rajasthani or Haryanvi attire, sell trinkets to tourists, where patient young men lighten up the surroundings with magical soap-bubbles in an attempt to entice children into buying the soup solution and the bubble blower. Tea-sellers roam the lawns with their shiny aluminium kettles selling tea to youngsters sitting on the green lawns, while photographers try to convince people to get their pictures clicked with India Gate in the background. The entire vista is bubbling with happiness and life. And this becomes even magical in the monsoons when the sky is clear and the puddles form everywhere offering opportunities to click spectacular reflections of India Gate. All pictures in this post are shot with our smartphone Huawei Honor 5c. We take pride in calling ourselves the Huawei Honor family as almost all of us own a Honor phone. And we can't be more pleased with the results. At India Gate, this gathering of common people is happening in the backdrop of the President's House. And this is what Delhi is all about - the land of contrasts and contradictions. Even though we are mighty proud of the pictures in this post, no picture can ever do justice to the enigma that is India Gate of today.

Question: What is that one place in Delhi that symbolizes patriotism, the "coolness" factor, the common man, and the top bureaucracy, peace, and struggle, all at one go? And the right answer is... you guessed it. India Gate!The simple, yet imposing, structure, the India Gate is also home to the Amar Jawan Jyoti - the eternal flame that is kept alight in the memory of soldiers who were martyred in the various wars and during India's struggle for freedom. India Gate is also at the centre of the annual Republic Day Parade, which fills every Indian's heart with pride and also showcases the strength of Indian Armed Forces to the world. Today, India Gate has also come to be known as the place where the common people of Delhi and beyond gather on a pleasant day or in evenings and hangout till late in the night munching on spicy bhelpuri, golgappe, and sweet potato chaat. It is the place where women-hawkers, draped in colorful Rajasthani or Haryanvi attire, sell trinkets to tourists, where patient young men lighten up the surroundings with magical soap-bubbles in an attempt to entice children into buying the soup solution and the bubble blower. Tea-sellers roam the lawns with their shiny aluminium kettles selling tea to youngsters sitting on the green lawns, while photographers try to convince people to get their pictures clicked with India Gate in the background. The entire vista is bubbling with happiness and life. And this becomes even magical in the monsoons when the sky is clear and the puddles form everywhere offering opportunities to click spectacular reflections of India Gate. All pictures in this post are shot with our smartphone Huawei Honor 5c. We take pride in calling ourselves the Huawei Honor family as almost all of us own a Honor phone. And we can't be more pleased with the results. At India Gate, this gathering of common people is happening in the backdrop of the President's House. And this is what Delhi is all about - the land of contrasts and contradictions. Even though we are mighty proud of the pictures in this post, no picture can ever do justice to the enigma that is India Gate of today.

As part of our explorations armed with nothing but the camera in our Honor 5c smartphone, we have taken you to Agrasen ki Baoli, India Gate, Lodhi Gardens, and Connaught Place. Next we decided to head to somewhere more exotic - our home town in Himachal Pradesh. With the onset of monsoon, we were really excited about this impromptu trip. Mountains are a real delight in the monsoons. Emrald green hills, cool rains, cool days and cold nights, field explorations - there was so much to look forward to. Moreover, we would be meeting our family after a long time.when we say our hometown, there are two places in Himachal Pradesh we call home. One is a little village called "Chauntra" in the Hamirpur District, and the other is a slightly larger village called "Bidahin" in the Mandi district. The former is where the maternal side of our family stays and the latter is where the paternal side stays. Both the villages have their own unique charms. This time we were headed to Chauntra. Our grandparents' house in Chauntra is a traditional Himachali house with mud walls, ingineous home-built plumbing, and tiled roofs. The kitchen is on the first floor with a mud choolha, and the bathroon is a hundred feet away from the actual home. One entire cluster of houses belongs to our family and one just has to step out of the house to run into uncles and aunts. The panoramic shots in this post are of that same cluster of houses. Our grandparents also own a buffalo and a little calf. Our grandparents' lives revolves around taking care of them. They also have some fields, some close by and some far flung that need tending to. Apart from taking care of the livestock and fields, they also need to bring fresh grass for the buffalo. All this might appear charming and exotic, but it involves a lot of hardwork. They wake up at around 5 in the morning and go to bed at around 9:30. And in between, they hardly take 15 minutes of break.The snack in the photograph above is called Pattaure. They are made from colocasia leaves, layered with chick peas flour and various spices. This is one of the common monsoon snacks of Himachal Pradesh, and is a good example of how people in the rural places try to use every part of a plant that can be used. The pictures in this post are all shot using the in-built camera of Honor 5c. The results for these compositions are satisfactory and go a long way in proving our hipothesis that if you don't intend to shoot professional quality photos, you don't need to purchase an expensive DSLR. The camera in your smartphone should be enough if you take care to choose the smartphone well.

As part of our explorations armed with nothing but the camera in our Honor 5c smartphone, we have taken you to Agrasen ki Baoli, India Gate, Lodhi Gardens, and Connaught Place. Next we decided to head to somewhere more exotic - our home town in Himachal Pradesh. With the onset of monsoon, we were really excited about this impromptu trip. Mountains are a real delight in the monsoons. Emrald green hills, cool rains, cool days and cold nights, field explorations - there was so much to look forward to. Moreover, we would be meeting our family after a long time.when we say our hometown, there are two places in Himachal Pradesh we call home. One is a little village called "Chauntra" in the Hamirpur District, and the other is a slightly larger village called "Bidahin" in the Mandi district. The former is where the maternal side of our family stays and the latter is where the paternal side stays. Both the villages have their own unique charms. This time we were headed to Chauntra. Our grandparents' house in Chauntra is a traditional Himachali house with mud walls, ingineous home-built plumbing, and tiled roofs. The kitchen is on the first floor with a mud choolha, and the bathroon is a hundred feet away from the actual home. One entire cluster of houses belongs to our family and one just has to step out of the house to run into uncles and aunts. The panoramic shots in this post are of that same cluster of houses. Our grandparents also own a buffalo and a little calf. Our grandparents' lives revolves around taking care of them. They also have some fields, some close by and some far flung that need tending to. Apart from taking care of the livestock and fields, they also need to bring fresh grass for the buffalo. All this might appear charming and exotic, but it involves a lot of hardwork. They wake up at around 5 in the morning and go to bed at around 9:30. And in between, they hardly take 15 minutes of break.The snack in the photograph above is called Pattaure. They are made from colocasia leaves, layered with chick peas flour and various spices. This is one of the common monsoon snacks of Himachal Pradesh, and is a good example of how people in the rural places try to use every part of a plant that can be used. The pictures in this post are all shot using the in-built camera of Honor 5c. The results for these compositions are satisfactory and go a long way in proving our hipothesis that if you don't intend to shoot professional quality photos, you don't need to purchase an expensive DSLR. The camera in your smartphone should be enough if you take care to choose the smartphone well.

While in Bhubaneshwar ( Odisha , we planned to drive to Konark Sun Temple and witness it's grandness & heritage.Temple has beautifully carved stone wheels, pillars and walls. A lot of portions of temple are in ruins, although remained part is being maintained. Some work was happening when we visited the temple this month (july’2016).Sun Temple in Konark is 65 kilometers from Bhubaneshwar and 35 km from Puri.ASI maintains the temple and it’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Konark Sun temple is also featured in the list of 7 wonders in India, along with Meenakshi Amman Temple of Madurai, Dholavira of Gujarat, Red Fort of Delhi, Jaisalmer Fort of Rajasthan, Nalanda of Bihar and Khajuraho of MP.The name Konark comes from Sanskrit words - Kona and Ark. Europian sailors had 2 important temples in this part of India - Konark Sun Temple and Jaganath Temple in Puri, which are called Black Pagoda and White Padoga respectively.Konark Sun Temple has used iron beams for it’s structure. It was made to look like Surya-Rath (Chariot of Sun God). There are 12 carved stone wheels which are 3 meters wide and is pulled by a set of seven horses, which you see on entry gate of the temple. It followed popular Kalinga Architecture.Maintenance of Konark Sun Temple was in progress and it made us feel good about the care ASI is taking of these beautiful heritage buildings in India. Although it made us worry about the way these structures are restored. Plain stones without any carving are being added to give support to the structure. It's understandable that same carving might be difficult to achieve but some creative stuff can be done. More than structure, the craved stones are decaying with time and wondering if there is a good way to avoid it. I am sure ASI must thinking about all these things.Konark Sun Temple is one of the most visited tourist places in Odisha and it's considered as one of the most popular places to visit around Bubaneshwar. We didn't want to miss and happy that it was a nice experience to be there. Although the weather was not suitable, but we had fun.There are some interesting facts about the architecture of Konark Sun Temple. Original temple had one part of the compound, which was 70 mgr high. Now the highest structure of the Sun Temple is 30 meters high, which is essentially the audience hall along with smaller structures like Dance hall and Dining hall.Orissa Tourism website lists few interesting details around history behind this temple.Surrounding of the Konark Sun Temple is pretty green and the weather made it greener for us.We had great time roaming around this beautiful campus of Konark Sun Temple, which has lot to surprise you and make you think how it was built many centuries ago. Here we tried to click family selfie with our DSLR and it came out well :)These are the Ashvas (horses) of Surya Rath. Somehow the faces are different and I am not sure why. There must be some reason behind these shapes.

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