November 9-13. Sri Lanka.

On Nov 9,  at about 3pm, we received official note that because of the Diwali holiday on 13th, the 12th will also be a paid leave. Thus with this last minute news I scrambled the net to check any available flight out of Singapore.
Most destinations flights are either full or the fares are insanely high. The only reasonable flight available is Colombo. I called Jude in Colombo and he was so willing to accommodate my holiday there. Thank you Jude.

Upon arrival at 2am, I took a cab to Chintaka's place. We left at 4am with some of his friends towards Yala National Park.y daybreak, we were cruising along the southern tip of Sri Lanka. Big waves, beach front resorts, fishermen fishing  dotted the scene.

Galle is awesome. Brings back sweet memories of my last visit there in 1983.

The downpour initially killed our hope for Yala. Fortunately, Upon arrival at the entrance the rain stopped.
Our first encounter was the Crested Hawk Eagle in close distance and with piercing eyes on us.

A great pelican roosting high up on the tree.

We stopped over at this beautiful site by the beach in Yala for a Pee Break. We are not allowed to get off our jeep at any time for fear of being attacked by wild animals particularly leopards around. Yala has the highest concentration of leopards in all of Sri Lanka. This is a very safe spot away from all kinds of predators.

Along the route we spotted many other birds, crocs by the banks, wild buffaloes, wild boars, mongoose, spotted dears, samba deers, elephants. but unfortunately the leopard is no where to be spotted.

Jus before we left Yala, a bull elephant appeaded before. I had to use my phone to click at her instead

Thank You Chintaka for making this trip possible.

The next day, Jude came early morning at 4am and took me to 2 large wetland reservoirs - Anavilundawa and Nawadamkulama "Tanks". They arre basically man made reservoirs which are a heaven for many flora and faunas.

Near the entrance, we were welcomed by the Crested Serpent Eagle who posed for us

In Anavilundawa and Nawadamkulama  "Tanks"  Whistling ducks, purple swamphen and little cormorant dotted the landscape.

At Nawadamkulama Tank..

On ur way back, Jude brought me to this place where they served yummy hoppers , a typical Sri Lankan food.

Thanks Jude for teaching me how to shoot flight shots  and the trip there. Was so excited to see the pied kingfisher hovering near us as we were leaving.  This  may not be the best but I am trying.

One of the highlight of the trip was to go for whale watching. Again at the wee hour at 4am, Jude came to pick me up at Mount Bay Hotel and then picked Chintaka up. We travelled down south pass Galle to  Mirrisa Fisheries Habour. We boarded the whale watching boat to the open sea in the Indian Ocean.

Here is Jude and Chintaka before they get knocked out with sea sickness

Jude and Chintaka was very sea-sick and lying flat most of the time.  Unfortunately, we didn't get to see any whale but there were many dolphins frolicking and racing with our boats.

Thanks again Jude and Chintaka. Even though we didn't get to see the whale, it was another memorable experience.

The grand finale of the trip was was the invitation by Sriyan to his beautiful new home for dinner. My biggest regret was not able to take some pics. Glad to see Anil who graciously picked me up. We had great drinks together and super dinner prepared by Sriyam's wife. The home was gorgeous and Chintaka designed it. 

Thank You Sriyan and your family for being such a wonderful host. The drinks and the food were fantastic, and I came back to the hotel a little tipsy :)

Finally, thank you Anil for graciously sending your driver, Chattura to take me to the airport. Thank You guys. This page is specially for you and your kind hospitality that makes my stay another memorable event.

November 2-4, 2012. Mae Wong National Park, Thailand

Arrived Don Mueng Airport in Bangkok.
Guide K was there waiting for us. Immediately we began an arduous 5 hours journey to Mae Wong National Park north of Bangkok.

Arrived there almost midnight and thankful that Guide K has the bungalow reserved for 2 nights. Awesome place with 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms and toilets, facility on the edge of the cliff with the sound of waterfall in front.

The bungalow where we stayed

Early each morning we waited at the front balcony overlooking the waterfall waiting for the elusive crested kingfisher but without any success

After that, we headed up to the top of the mountain where Chong Yen National Park is.

On our way up, we were met with a pleasant surprise of the rare Female Khalij Pheasant

She is beautiful indeed.

Up at Chong Yen National Park, we had to spend the morning and afternoon cope in these hides waiting for other birds to appear. 

The star bird was the Grey Peacock apart from many other lifers we were lucky to shoot.

Overall the experience at Mae Wong was great with John and Abhishek. Guide K, has certainly delighted us with his dedication of his passionate service and  friendship. Thank you guys for the opportunity to shoot together.and K, you are a wonderful Guide.

October 20-29 2012. Mongolia

Way back in 1975, I have always wanted to visit this LAND OF GENGHIS KHAN. At the invitation of my dear friend, Kashi whom I had known since 2004,  I found myself catching flight to Ulaan Baatar, Mongolia via Beijing on October 20th at 00.30am.

I was full of excitement like a little kid touching down UB. The broadcast on the PA system in the plane was Minus 7 deg C. Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Due to some unforeseen circumstances, Kashi was not able to pick me up at the airport. I was finally taken by his brother to Futura Guest House.Kashi came that night and we had a great reunion.

The next day, I was welcomed by a white blanket of snow.

I fell in love with Mongolia..the food obviously (it was awesome), the scene, the wonderful and beautiful people especially at Lotus Lodge, and promised myself that I want to be back for a longer time.

I love the temperature. One day, I was excited to watch th temprature dropped to a chilling ?????
I LOVE IT.

One of the restaurants that Kashi and I went often is the Modern Nomad, which is not far from the lodge where I stayed. Our first food was this beef dish. It was covered with slices of beed topped with friend sliced onions. Beneath if lies some rauteed rice and vegetable. The food is enough for more than 2 and certainly sumptous.

The above pic is just one of the four that I managed to salvage. One unpleasant experience I encounter was loosing my iphone 5 whom I had for 2 weeks.  Most of my pics were shot using iphone 5 which I had kept wonderful memories which I had collected for this trip.I guess the pain is not so much the loss of the phone but the memories I had from the pictures.

I was sad to leave...But rest assured.... I'LL BE BACK FOR BIGGER MEMORIES.................  soonnnnnnnnnn!!!!!! I lost my phone, and above all I left my heart in UB :)

Thank You Kashi for making this trip meaningful and for the opportunity to meet up with your "uncle, brother and duckies" I wanna be back soon... Minii Huu.  :)

THE FIRST STEP... WALK WITH ME...

Having crossed almost 60 years of my journey on earth, at the encouragement of some friends, I am finally getting myself  to write the remaining journey of my life. I want the years ahead count and to be the best years of my life. Life begins at 60 :)

Sitting down to write is always tough, trying to pin down specific highlights of my current journey. But I still need to start somewhere. As an Ancient saying goes "the journey of a thousand miles begin with the first step." So please bear with me as I am taking this first step. Feel free to share, add, critique and walk with me through this remaining journey.