Late Post: Beach hopping at Mangalore – 2

There wasn’t enough time to explore Surathkal Beach because we had to save some time to visit the more famous Panambur Beach which is a short drive away.

The Panambur Beach was a picture in contrast to the Surathkal Beach. It was crowded and noisy with almost all the space on the shores taken up by visitors and businesses of all sorts.

The ship of the desert was the cynosure of all attention. It was funny seeing him on a beach though, that too amidst the hullabaloo. His owners seemed to be lost in a conversation.

Amidst all the noise, one dog seemed to be enjoying a sand bath.

A man was offering rides on a horse cart and was desperately scouting for customers.

Motor boats were a big draw with lots of adventure-seekers heading for them.

I have for long been nursing dreams of taking pictures of the sun setting on a beach and was hoping to fulfil it that day. Alas! That was not to be. The clouds spoilt my party :( . Mercifully, I managed to take some pictures of sunny boy long before he sank into the sea.

Once dusk fell on the shore it was time to move. Someday, I wish to return here, spend more time and take better pictures.

 

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Weekly Photo Challenge: “Partners”

My entry for this week’s photo challenge is this photograph of the dancing trees of Lal Bagh (that’s what I call them 😉  )

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Late Post: Beach hopping at Mangalore – 1

It always feels great visiting my place of birth. A sea of happiness engulfs me at a mere mention of the name. Sadly, all my visits to Mangalore have been fleeting ones. When I got an opportunity to visit the port city in early April I was overwhelmed with excitement and joy although this was going to be another short stay.

The occasion was a family function and my stay was cut short from two days to one owing to my niece’s dance exam coming in the way. I left Bangalore on a Sunday night (April 10) on a sleeper bus. It was the first time I was travelling by one and I was wondering how the journey would be. All my doubts were put to rest in the next one hour.  I thoroughly enjoyed the bumpy ride. It felt like sleeping in one big rocking cradle. It being the holiday season, the bus was not surprisingly packed with all seats (or rather sleepers) occupied.

It must have been around 5.30 in the morning when we reached our destination. We took a rickshaw to the hotel which would be our residence for part of the day.

When we got to our room I immediately headed for the large windows. My eyes caught sight of  a beautiful Cannonball tree in a courtyard. As it was pretty dark, I  couldn’t get a good picture of it. Much later I finally got a picture. It turned out that the place was an educational institution.

The function at a nearby hall must have taken up most of the morning. Some of my cousins agreed to my idea of visiting the beach in the evening. After a quick round of shopping, I and my cousins hopped on to the van we would be using for our beach trip.

Our first stop was the Surathkal beach. A major draw here is the Light House which allows visitors. It turned out to be quite a climb. There was a lot of machinery at the place and it was quite dark inside. Finally, when we got to the top of the tower, the aerial views we got to see of the beach and the surroundings were beautiful. The sands looked white and the beach looked spotless clean. Even as we were awestruck by the views, a gentle breeze from the sea caressed our faces and wiped off every trace of sweat caused by the climb up the flight of stairs. Nature’s Towel I would say! And there was enough time for some aerial clicks  :)  Have a look:

 

 

Weekly Photo Challenge: “Curve”

My entry for this week’s photo challenge:

These are pictures of a pot that I had painted years ago when I attended a pot-painting class:

 

 

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Weekly Photo Challenge: “Pure”

As pure as can be – Emerald Lake in Ooty

Late Post: In Quest of the Tree of Gold – 5

Day 5
16 March 2016

I left home very early on Wednesday morning with a glimmer of hope of seeing the Trees of Gold (Tabebuia argentea) in full bloom. In all probability, the heavy downpour last night would have brought down most of the flowers.

It must have been a quarter past eight when I reached Cubbon Park. As I walked up to the Bandstand, my fears turned out to be true. The heavy rains last night had come down heavily on the yellow canopies. Perhaps I should have visited the place on Tuesday morning.

As it was a working day, there weren’t many people around. I could spot some joggers and there was this one man who seemed to be meditating.

The overnight rains had created many tiny ponds on the lawns much to the relief of the critters here who were till then reeling under the intense summer heat.

I left the park after what would have been my shortest visit here. And with that I decided to end my quest for the Tree of Gold this year.