Sunshine Coast Birds

Birding and other wildlife experiences from the Sunshine Coast and elsewhere in Australia - and from overseas - with scribblings about travel, environmental issues, kayaking, hiking and camping.

Sunday, 3 March 2013

India - Culture, Scenery, People

Town of Dasada - Gujarat
Some images of the culture, scenery and people encountered during our trip to India (Gujarat province in the north-west and Kerala and Tamil Nadu provinces in the south-west) and Sri Lanka. Cattle were a frequent presence on roads in northern India.

Children - Little Rann of Kutch
These kids are from one family. Their home was a tiny hovel in the middle of a vast saltpan in Gujarat.

Hornbill Camp

Glenn at Hornbill Camp
Periyar River, Hornbill Camp
Rubber-making, Thattekkad
Hornbill Camp at Thattekkad, Kerala, was one of our favourite places.

Red Fort
The Red Fort in Agra was impressive.

Taj Mahal
And of course the Taj in Agra is a stunner.

Boys with camel - Greater Rann of Kutch
Camels tended by young boys was a common sight in Gujarat.

CEDO, Gujarat
The Centre for Desert and Ocean was our base for exploring the Greater Rann of Kutch near the Pakistan border.

Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary
At the Chinnar reserve in Kerala, we went for a strong along the river with a park guide.


Roadside eatery near Delhi 
We generally steered clear of roadside eateries for hygiene reasons but indulged occasionally.

Joji at Mudumalai
The vehicle we drove through south-west India and our very capable driver, Joji.

Jungle Hut
We enjoyed our time at the Jungle Hut, Mudumalai, although a couple of us had food poisoning here. Glenn is at the far left of the pic, Sandra at the right.

Jungle Hut
The Jungle Hut grounds are very birdy.

Greater Rann of Kutch 
Typical thornbush scrub that is found in much of Gujarat, here surrounding a small Hindu temple.

Danish Trogon
Our birding guide at Thattekkad, Danish Trogon, proved to be very good.

Thattekkad
This vegetation, a mix of dry scrub and monsoon forest in rocky terrain, was typical of much of the Western Ghats in Kerala.

Kochi - old fort
A fort built by the Dutch in the 1550s was one of the sites in Kochi.

Kochi
Bath-time at Kochi.

Little Rann of Kutch
The arch that forms the entrance to the Little Rann of Kutch Reserve, Gujarat... It was built 1000 years ago.

Modhba - boy with donkeys

Modhba - camels
The coast of Gujarat offered plenty of interesting people moments.

Olive-Tree Resort
The Olive-Tree Resort at Munnar was a delightful place to stay. Glenn at right of pic.


Tea plantations
Tea plantations were plentiful around the hill towns of Munnar and Ooty

Munnar
Munnar was in festive mood during our visit, with these dancers in the street.

Little Rann of Kutch
Dancing was also the go at the Rann Riders Lodge, where some women put on a show.

Sikandra
The site of Akbar's tomb was another site visited near Agra.

Munnar
Our hotel in Munnar proved to be the venue for a continual procession of traditional Hindu weddings. Here, the groom sits atop his (lame) horse.

Greater Rann of Kutch
 We were to see plenty of sunrises and sunsets in the arid steppes of Gujarat.


Great Rann of Kutch
A rocky gorge in western Gujarat.

 A highlight of our trip was a boat journey through the backwaters of the Allepey region in Kerala for two nights. These were scenes from the trip. Our boat, like other tourist boats, was a converted rice barge.

Allepey
Locals, Allepey

Ex-rice boats, Allepey

Our boat, Allepey

Allepey
At one point our boat had to make its way through a tightly packed flock of thousands of domestic ducklings.


We enjoyed a traditional Keral meal on board.  L-R - Bill, Sandra, Glenn, Greg.

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