Thursday, January 10, 2008

Flight delays, touts and miscellaneous hazards

The cheapskate's guide to travelling in India:

1) Take photos of those dressed in ethnic clothes from a distance because those in any clothes with any hint of their ethnicity will ask you to pay for pictures.

2) Bolt out of the toilet once you have finished your business. Do not make a pit stop at the washing basin because that's where the ravenous toilet attendants will prove impossible to dodge. These ravens will shove towels/paper into your face in double-quick lightning time but stare at you at the longest time should you fail to offer a shred of rupiah behind...

3) Take Air India. Flight delays confirmed. Not just once but a few times, especially when you have connecting flights to take. Pray it exceeds the minimum you need to claim from your insurance company. The price to pay for this is minimal: just a little bit of annoyance from looking at the stock market-like flight times on the departure screen flicker (towards later and later times) a few times... and oh, by the way, you can also miss your flight by neglecting to ask for a stamp on your baggage tag when the screening staff conveniently forgets to do so after X-raying your stuff.

4) Same as 3 but claim under something different. Due to the exquisite piloting skills, besides the usual ringing in the ears in some other air trips, your jaws will hurt too, experiencing the much-spoken about but rarely literally experienced "jaws drop" effect. Claim for dental expenses.

Wednesday, January 09, 2008

The friendly smiles of Indians..

The friendly smiles of Indians...







Kids at Ranthambhore Fort






More smiley kids along the way out of Ranthambhore

(FYI, they don't do it for money/to get stuff - they just love to wave at tourists on their canters)
Even the nilgai is friendly...









Birding at Bharatpur

Glad to go to Bharatpur despite tour agent's advice not to because of conditions so bone-dry waders don't bother coming anymore. Who cares, so long I get my picture-perfect Saras cranes & anyway, grassland birds attract me more.... such as catching 3 types of owls in broad daylight, especially a cute pair of collared scops sleeping fluffily on a branch


and the hard- to- spot orange laughing thrush which got our calm, "seen-it-all" guide (900 birds in India in 10 years) excited for once...



...and after I got lazy, he found me an Indian rock python within 15 minutes of my asking. ...



+ over 30 lifers at least, it was really hard to decide on the sighting of the day.... Even the spotted greenshank with its batik-like dots on its feathers' edge deserves a top ten ranking for opening my eyes to the differences in waders.... somehow they had all looked uniformly dull to me previously....

Tigers @ Ranthambhor National Park, Rajasthan


2 Jan 2008 Ranthambore National Park, Rajasthan
One of those posts where I let my picture does the talking... A much prized possession taken at a serendipitous moment that united my slow camera and cursory look of the tiger at the hordes of tourists going gaga over it.

Tuesday, January 08, 2008

Superstar Virgo Cruise 20 Dec 07

Have never understood the fascination with cruise ships? What's fun about staying put in a mall-like structure with a bit of everything when you can enjoy such trappings in a mega-mall like Singapore?

Still left wanting for an answer at the end of my maiden cruise. Everyone is cramped claustrophobically everywhere, from lifts to restaurants where crowds have to be turned away so that people don't have to be eat sitting on each other's laps... The food is far from a gastronomic fantasy, although the selection of deserts did manage to salvage the offer from a sinking straight into a watery grave...

As for the programme, the programme for kids was a pathetic one limited to the host's rather limited (and ungrammatical) range of getting kids' involvement in shaking their butts to dance.
Even the most undiscerning kid will feel let down by the equally inane show put up by 'Mr Bean' and gang...

The only saving grace for the only cruise was 'The Musicians of Bremen' musical comedy incorporating eyecandies from Brazil & Belarus in eyecatching garb.... + the breathtaking acrobatics from the Guangxi artisans, limbs timed to perfection with their props & the lighting.

But then, why pay over $250 for one show? (no discounts for kids at all !)