Who doesn't love spotting the occasional shooting star streaking across a starry skies. Over the years I've been lucky enough to spot quite a few. Thanks to growing up in a small village at the foothills of the Nilgiri, aka Blue, Mountains in southern India. Its always a special moment spotting those random shooting stars. Neither planned nor predicted they just show up unannounced and makes you feel lucky. Lucky to be looking up at the sky at the exact moment a meteor decides to crash and burn on our planets atmosphere. Guess thats why they say that you should make a wish when you spot a shooting star, luck must be on your side albeit for just that fleeting moment.

A meteor shower on the other hand is a totally different experience. One one hand it takes away the serendipity of spotting a random shooting star and replaces it with the boring law of averages, stare at the sky long enough during a meteor shower and u are bound to spot a few shooting stars. So the question it, does that take away the magic ?

So, it was my last weekend in Beijing before my short trip to India. I was having drinks with a friend and i remarked to her about how i had always wanted to go see the flag hoisting ceremony at Tian'anmen square but never did. She hadn't see it herself but then she proceeded to tell me about all these people who make it their pilgrimage to come to the capital, witness the flag hoisting ceremony and then go pay respects to chairman Mao's memorial. Thousands, she told... thousands of them can be found waiting out the night, out on the streets around Tian'anmen square.

I was amazed, not surprised, but just amazed and impressed with the nationalistic zeal the government here has imbibed into its people. Piety has been substituted by nationalism and i'am not sure if that is such a bad thing. Mass nationalistics, i like to call them.

Growing up, I had never given eclipses much thought. I remember a few happen around Chennai when i was growing up. The Surya Grahanam was not an auspicious sign and we were usually told to stay indoors when it happened. You were not allowed to take a bath or eat anything during the eclipse. And once it was over, the family would do a small prayer, offer food to the gods and the crows and only then you can get back to your regular routine. Superstition or a ritual with some practical meaning behind it.. I'm not so sure.

Anyway, that was then. Now, i didn't have any such misgivings and the moment i heard about the eclipse from one my friends i made up my mind to go see it.

There are only a couple of ways to enter Bhutan. One is by taking a flight directly to Paro, which is what all the international tourists do. And the other is by road through the border town of Phuentsholing. Independant travel is discouraged in Bhutan and traveling inside the country is expensive for most tourists. This article is mostly intended for the tourists from the India sub-continent for whom the above restrictions don't apply. There are however a few permits to be obtained after which they are free to travel on their own within this magnificent country.

A few interesting tips and caveats about traveling inside Bhutan. First of all be aware that independent travel is restricted in Bhutan, the only exception to this rule being for citizens of India and other SAARC countries. Other tourists need visit the country on pre-arranged tours organized by one of the many registered travel agencies in Bhutan. This article is mainly intended towards the Indians who are lucky enough to travel freely in this friendly and magnificent country.

The Takin (Budorcas taxicolor) is a goat-antelope found in the mountains of Bhutan. It is the national animal of Bhutan. 

A trip to the tiger temple can normally arranged from the hotel or guesthouse that you are staying at. But if you are feeling a bit more adventurous, then you can rent a bike and drive down to the tiger temple. The temple is located about 40km from the Kanchanaburi town, so the drive would take about an hour or so. The directions are pretty easy to follow..

Recently i saw a program on NGC about the conflict between elephants and humans in India and around the world. It was pretty graphic program with them showing elephants being culled and people getting crushed to death by the beasts and being thrown around like little rag dolls. It was gripping and sad to watch, i was glued to the TV till the program ended.. it ended with more questions than answers. The future looks grim...

Situated at an altitude of around 4200m, Pangong Tso ('Tso' being Tibetian for lake), is the largest and most visited of all of Ladkah's high altitude lakes. The lake is around 130km long.. so long that over two-thirds of the lake is across the international border in China. The lake is brackish and it is one of the largest and most beautiful brackish lakes in the country.

Located 15km to the south of Leh on the Leh-Manali highway is the Shey Palace. The 3 storey palace is perched on a hillock overlooking the beautiful Shey village. 'Shey' loosely translated into Ladakhi means mirror (or maybe reflection) and it is the reflection of the palace on the still waters of the lake below which gave origins to its name.

For most people Tangtse is no more than a passing signboard on their way to Pangong. But you owe yourself a couple hours stopover to explore this beautiful village.