The Pushkar Mela was the reason i decided to go on the Rajasthan trip during my 'extended' Diwali holidays. Once i knew that the camel fair will happen in the first week of November, there was no looking back and i wasn't disappointed. Read on..

Tigers always fascinated me and its been a long dream of mine to see them in the wild. However i never ever dreamed that i could get close to one and touch it. Ever since i saw the documentary on the Tiger temple in the Discovery channel i've wanted to go there. And it should be no surprise that when i decided to go to Thailand the tiger temple was on the top of my list of places to visit.

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.

Ever since i joined the "Travel China Beijing" group on facebook, i've always wanted to go on one of the 'wild' great wall treks organized by Davis. Usually the prospect of waking up early in the morning (6am!!) would put me off from joining the trip but this time during the 3-day dragon boat festival weekend (between 28'th to 30'th May) i decided to stop being lazy for a change and join the trip. As per Davis, this section of the wall was one of the best spots for photography. The following is in his own words..

"If you look carefully at the recent published Great Wall photo albums, you will quickly find that many of the pictures are taken at Jiankou Great Wall. Due to its unique style, steep mountains and beautiful scenery, Jiankou Great Wall has become a photographic hotspot and also a hot travel destination among the local hikers these days. 'Jiankou', is translated as 'Arrow Nock' in English, because the shape of the mountain is like an arrow, with the collapsed ridge opening as its arrow nock."