Shivanasamudram or Shivasamudram is a place where one of the beautiful waterfalls can be seen in full flow. It is a good place for picnic around the garden city of Bangalore. The place is located around 120km towards Mysore and the drive is comfortable except for small patched on the state highway.

The waterfalls are known as Gaganchukki and Barachukki which look quite magnificent post monsoon in the months after August/September.

The falls of Barachukki can be seen from road level but to reach the base one has to climb down tiring steep stairs. The water can be heard falling on rocks making it difficult to enter the waters. Incase there is less rainfalls, then you can even get into a coracle boat and get a joy ride. The place of Gaganachukki is even more beautiful with water gushing in front of you and reaching the base.

At Gaganchukki, one reached at the top of waterfalls with a large flat area good to just sit down relaxing watching the water gush down. The view is panoramic at both the places and worth a visit. Both these places are located around 2 km apart and make a beautiful day’s outing.

Enjoy some of the pictures from the gallery link below.

GALLERY VIEW LINK

Renuka Lake is a small place in the hills of Shivalik in North India. More accurately it is situated in Nahan town under Sirmour district of Himachal Pradesh.

The state of Himachal Pradesh is full of unknown or lesser known tourist spots which are a treat to visit. One can get really to know interesting and scenic places after talking to local people there. The tradition of talking to locals and gathering information is nothing new for a traveler but I feel it holds more importance in this state.

The words "Himachal Pradesh" are derived from 3 words namely Him meaning Himalayas, anchal meaning lap and Pradesh meaning State. In completeness this is the land which lies in the lap of Himalayas. The snow clad mountains are easily visible from virtually any place in this state.

My visit to Renuka Lake was during my studies when it was a backpack weekend trip accompanied by a friend who happened to be a local from that region. The location is a small, hardly populated place with a small lake.

It can get close to freezing at nights and protective gear is advised for winters. It is beautiful to enjoy the anticipation of first sun rays of the morning after spending the night with angeethi in the room. Angeethi is a portable fireplace made of clay fueled with coal and wood.

There is a small Temple near the lake of goddess Renukaji where evening chants echo in the valley. The chants, matras and shlokas empower you with unknown divine feelings and a feeling of complete relaxation.

As the day progresses the wildlife around the lake becomes active and is a visual treat for wildlife lovers like me.

Here is a GALLERY LINK where I have shared some photos from our trip to this beautiful place.

The Dubai shopping festival was setting in and was the second day after inauguration. I had extended my stay to accommodate the luxurious experience of shopping fiesta of Dubai. It was my last outing from Sharjah as I was returning back the same weekend. The shopping festival is also a good time to find deals on almost every product on display.

It was a Friday and the weekly holiday for my father as well. He planned to stay home and take rest from the past hectic week and we started a little late in morning. We headed directly to the Dubai Festival city which is supposed to be the heart of all shopping bonanza.

During the shopping festival time, all the city outlets participate in some way or the other but this is the central place for rippling out any effect to the city. It is a permanent shopping arena with multiple brands present under one roof. The only difference at festival time is that the deals kick in and the number of people visiting increases manifold.

As any other shopping area, it was huge with multi-level floor facility and lavishly decorated. The economic slowdown seemed to have had an impact on the buying power of people. There were lot of window shopping being done but the number of serious buyers was less. The food court on the top floor was busting with families on a picnic event. A good time and place for the entire family to enjoy the experience.

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A country which is a city alone and also part of union of emirates. This city has changed the world map and shines bright with its power of Liquid Gold and the attraction to tourists.

It is the dream city of Dubai which is admired by many people to just visit once and enjoy the cityscape beauty created by engineers and workers. The story of Dubai is not centuries old but matter of few decades.

I happened to be one of the lucky folks to stay in the dream city for about 4 weeks and live life king size. Every day of those 4 weeks were joyous and exciting to find something new and marvelous.

The photos exemplify my feeling ans the grandeur of the city. Once a desert city now boasts of world’s tallest tower, only 7 star hotel and some of the most expensive places to stay in the world. Enjoy the photo by following the link below.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE GALLERY

Lalbagh is a local botanical garden spread over an area of around 230 acres. It is a very nice place for people of all ages.

People like me are even more attracted to the nature and the photographic opportunities it has on offer. Last weekend I went for capturing the early morning environment of this place.

Surprisingly I was up and ready to go by about 5:30 am on a Saturday morning which seemed quite a bit early. o my surprise, once I reached there I saw many more people in the garden but they were mostly doing exercises or a routine morning walk.

It was an excellent opportunity to capture the mood of the rising sun and the enthusiasm of such spirited people. Below is a link which directs you to the photo gallery I have captured and then edited using Lightroom 2.5.

VISIT THE GALLERY HERE An example shot can be seen below.

Lalbagh early morning rays

Hope you have a good time viewing them. As always, all kind of feedback is welcome.

Days were ending and I was looking to exploring the city of Dubai more. There are just so many places which have become famous that you would like to visit them in your tour. Some of the places are truly iconic in their appearance.

This day was marked to the urban architecture and the might of Dubai’s infrastructure. We started at around 10 am and the first destination was the Jumeirah mosque on the posh Jumeirah road. It is a beautifully crafted mosque which symbolizes the art and culture of the Arabic society. The mosque is liberal in outlook and people from different religions can also visit it during the tour hours. The mosque is located in one of the most luxurious places in Dubai on the Jumeirah road with bungalows around it.the skyscrapers are distant from this landmark and is heavily dominated by the whites.

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A preview of the worlds tallest tower under construction in Dubai. This photo is captured almost a year back and seems to be almost done from the exteriors. The interiors are the one which takes a lot of time for completion.

It is placed adjacent to the Dubai mall which is also one the biggest malls in Asia. The tendency of making things big in size is in the genes of Middle east. It is a trade hub and architectural marvel. Another one of them is the Palm Jumeirah, Palm Jebel Ali and the much talked about Dubai World which has now caught attention of all after the debts issue with the project and repayment problems.

The official website of the tallest tower is www.burjdubai.com . The website has details of the tower and its structural components. It also compares the tower with other tall buildings of the world.

Click on the image below to see a bigger version.

Dubai is a dream place for people all over the world to just come , enjoy the city and around.

The travelogue of my Desert Safari in Dubai found here was a textual description of how the desert has activities to offer for people living in that terrain. The culture and lifestyle depends or is largely influenced by the topography of that place.

Images are worth a thousand words and I have showcased some of them here which will help you visualize the fun and excitement generated from the activities I wrote in the travelogue.

The gallery of photos can be found here

Dune bashing, roller coaster rides in a heavy-duty vehicle across the Arabian desert is a dream journey.

This was just what I had dreamed and living it for my 25th birthday was the dream realizing and getting true. It was an overnight trip in the Deserts of Dubai. The tour was again a conducted one and it was the same driver who had taken us to Hatta. He is a Philippine and became friendly with us.

As the safari is in desert area, it is a little away from the main Dubai city on route to Hatta. It was a Friday and we could see many local people getting ready to enjoy the desert safari. For tourists like me any day of the week is suitable. We halted at a store where many vehicles waited before the journey in the desert. The air pressure in tyre were reduced which I assume was done for ease in maneuverability of the vehicle in desert terrain.

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Sharjah is a state adjoining the famed Dubai state. It has probably got a step sister kind of affection in the past, but it still has a lot of beautiful places to visit and enjoy.

The last post described the Central souk of Sharjah and the adjoining lagoon which is a good place for picnics and evening walks. People can be seen in the surrounding parks of the lagoon all time.

Following is the location where some photo can be found of the location of Sharjah showcasing the 30-year-old mall which would have been an envy for surrounding states and the lagoon which is at a stone throw distance form the mall.

VISIT THE PHOTO GALLERY