Travel Bits: April 2016

By -
An unexpected trip was the highlight of the month of April for me. A dinner with friends sometime in March resulted in a last minute decision to collectively travel together to India to attend another friend's wedding.

Kathakali Dancer (female character), Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India (2016)

A quick booking of air tickets was followed by an application for an e-tourist visa for the visit. With the air tickets confirmed and the e-tourist visa approved, I was soon booked for my quick 2-day trip to the city of Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala State of India.

Despite the short trip, everything about the trip was new and interesting to me. This was my first time visiting India and I was glad I made the short weekend trip despite my initial doubts about taking time off from my busy work schedule. 

Indian-style breakfast, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India (2016)

This was also my first time attending an Indian traditional wedding and to do so in India itself makes the occasion even more special. Even though I was told that the bridegroom and bride had simplified the wedding ceremony to accommodate the bride's family who are Malaysian Chinese, the ceremony was still a great joy to attend. The colour, the culture, the music, the beautiful stage and clothes and of course the food were simply awesome.

During this trip, I also learned about the traditional Kathakali which is a classical dance with highly stylised characters who come complete with elaborate costumes.

Kathakali Dancer (male character), Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India (2016)

This trip was an eye-opener for me to the great travel opportunities that abound in India. I shall return soon and will of course start my exploration of the vast country from none other than the sate of Kerala.

Bus-stop, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India (2016)

Street traffic, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India (2016)

Motocycle at a traffic junction (note the relatively complex alpha-numeric characters on the license plate of the vehicle), Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India (2016)

Street-view, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India (2016)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Japan, Takayama - Dining on Wasakana

By -
Image
The city of Takayama is also known as Hida-Takayama and is located in the mountainous Hida region of Gifu Prefecture in Japan. A popular dish in Takayama is Wasakana or river fish. There are many species of river fishes in Takayama but the ones that are regularly served as part of the local cuisines are Ayu ( Plecoglossus altivelis , ) a.k.a sweetfish and Iwana ( Salvelinus leucomaenis ), a species of river trout.  Wasakana (River Fish). This fish was pickled and then grilled. I am not sure of the species of this fish which was caught in the river behind the Ryokan where I resided during my stay in the mountains. Takayama, Gifu, Japan (2014) The fishes are usually marinated with sea salt and grilled. This method of cooking the river fishes is most popularly shown in pictures or on travel documentaries. During my visit to Takayama in October 2014, I finally got to savor the delicious tastes of the Wasakana prepared in authentic local styles by the locals....
Read more

Singapore, Horsburgh - Deep Sea Fishing

By -
Image
Horsburgh Lighthouse (or Horsburgh) is located on an outlying small island (a.k.a Pedra Branca meaning "White Rock" in Portuguese) near the entrance to the east of the Straits of Singapore. The lighthouse was named after Cpt James Horsburgh, who was a hydrographer with the then East India Company. Horsburgh is located about 54km (34 miles) east of Singapore. It was raining in the morning as we set off for the long anticipated trip which was planned as far back as 3 months ago in August 1998. There were four of us; YK, Kenneth, CC and myself.  
 Soon, we were on our way to the suppossedly rich fishing grounds near Horsburgh Lighthouse. This locale is considered a good fishing ground for recreational fishing because commercial trawling is supposedly not permitted.  
 We reached our first fishing spot at exactly 5.00 pm local time. Looking around, we couldn't see actually any lighthouse but who cares, it was the fishing that we were coming for, not a visit to so...
Read more

Estonia, Tallinn - Palace of Ungern-Sternberg

By -
Image
I was awestruck by the grandness and magnificence of this building during my walking tour of the Old Town of Tallinn. While there, I had no opportunity to enter the building itself. Thus, admiring its facade and photographing its structure as I walked around its perimeter had to suffice.  The  Palace of Ungern-Sternberg, Tallinn, Estonia (2017) Without knowing what this building was, its history and its name, the photographs I took allowed me to conduct basic research on it after the trip.  Based on my rudimentary research into the building long after my trip to Tallinn, I was to discover that it was built in the year 1865 by the German architect, Martin Gropius. Also known as the Palace of Ungern-Sternberg, the building is today the home of the Estonian Academy of Sciences. The Academy is a group of scientists whose aim is to promote research & development and scientific cooperation as well as knowledge dissemination.  The main build...
Read more