Indian birds we photographed during our trip

These are in no particular order, I just realised that we had quite a lot of photos of birds so I could make a post showing them ...  these are ones I don't think have appeared in previous blog posts

Peacocks/hens are so commonplace here its so easy to become blase about seeing them

These are very common throughout India ... red vented bulbuls (the red vent refers to their red bottoms)!

Also a common sight, but I love these colourful birds.   They are Indian Rollers

the India Robin (male) .. another bird with a red bottom

More bulbul pics

Bee-eaters - its amazing to watch these in action, they are such acrobatic fliers

Not sure what this is ... I need to refer to our bird book ... but I liked the colouring.

Indian Silver Beak finch ... there are lots of these around - bit like the British sparrow really

 another unidentified bird ... I'll update the post when I've I've worked out what it is

and the sun birds are amazing.   It took ages to get photos of them as they are very small, very fast, and tend to bury themselves in the dense shrubs.    When the sunlight catches their feathers the colours are just amazing

not quite as colourful but still an attractive small bird

This is the nest of the Weaver Bird (with a false entry passageway to confuse predators)

 Indian Nightjar .. we startled it one evening when returning from a late drive to spot leopards.

27TH Sat. Early start. 5am drop off at airport for 0730 flight to UK

Oops something went wrong here ... I seem to have cut a part of yesterday's post out ...  I think this is it recovered (plus a few photos)

I really wanted to visit Ranganathan Street in Chennai which is said to be the busiest lane in the World based on footfall.    Its a market area about 1/4 mile long and 40ft wide with around 500 shops and trade stands.   1.2 million people walk there every day and we read that basically once you enter the street you just get pushed along to the other end with the flow of the crowd.

David was reluctant to go as he hates crowds more than I do.   But, being in such close proximity to this famous area I felt we had to at least take a look at it so we compromised and went by Tuk Tuk on the basis if it looked too scary we'd come straight back to the hotel.

We'd read that the crowds swell on public holidays so feared the worst but in fact the roads are all relatively quiet (by Indian standards) and the market no busier than many we've visited before so we were able to walk up and down, make a couple of purchases and just generally get a feel for it all.   its a great atmosphere with some very cheap prices!  I reckon the locals must all have gone to beaches or family attractions today rather than the market which was good for us of course

Even the smallest of displays (on the pavements or on trailers) is beautifully presented ... I guess with so many 'small' businesses around its important to make your wares look as enticing as possible.   

These were jackfruits opened out like large flowers,  coconuts (and some I can't identify)

Although it was crowded, the main street wasn't as intimidating as we'd feared based on what we'd read online.    Many of the stalls and shops had 'fixed' prices shown although I'm sure we could have haggled.    David bought a belt and a credit card holder for 'next to nothing'.

There's a definite flow of pedestrian traffic - walking on the left side.   Apparently on 'normal' days once you step into the throng you just get carried along with the flow and so many children get separated from their mothers who are busy looking at all the goodies on display that there are extra policemen on duty for the sole purpose of reuniting them (after giving the Mums a suitable lecture about good parenting)!

Indians of all ages have this wonderful flexibility and ability to sit cross-legged for ages.   Even our Tuk Tuk driver was cross-legged on his seat - I tried to get a photo but it was an awkward angle ... however, I do seem to have captured David in the Tuk Tuk's mirror (not intentionally though)!

One other thing we noticed throughout our travels is that we rarely saw people smoking.   I spotted just 3 people (except for Pondicherry where lots of locals and tourists were smoking.  I guess that's because of the French/European influence - most visitors there were French).

Joshy told us that it is illegal to smoke in public places and police will fine anyone caught doing it.  Tobacco is relatively cheap but its not something that many Indians do.    So you don't see lots of cigarette butts on the streets - just plastic which is the scourge of the earth these days, and not just in India.


Well, we're back home in the UK now.     We had a brilliant flight with BA on one of their new Dreamliner 787s - very comfortable even though it was 11½ hours.   We didn't sleep (hadn't expected to as it was a 7.30am flight) so we were pretty drained by the time we got home.      Apart for doing a food/grocery shop today we're just chilling and recharging batteries.

I may add a post or two as David took a few short videos along the way which I couldn't add in India as we were a bit restricted with internet time - downloading/resizing photos and writing posts probably took up 2 hours per day on average.  There is never really enough time to think the posts out properly - just a case of  'knocking them out'  as quickly as possible.   But its worth doing as everything soon blurs in the memory and we can barely recall what we did in our first week in Rajasthan.  Handy to have these posts to refer back to and trigger memories.

26TH Thurs. Pondicherry to Chennai

After breakfast we left Pondicherry for the 4 hours drive to Chennai but with a couple of stops en route

We noticed that in many of the small villages we passed (and some were no more than 10 houses) there were elaborate archways leading towards small temples - some in poor condition but most very well looked after.   And near the temples were giant horse statues - David instantly thought 'Muffin the Mule' and I must admit most bore a strong resemblance to the string puppet so popular in 1950s children's TV (although I don't remember him of course)!

We weren't able to stop for the first part of the journey but when traffic permitted Joshy pulled over so we could photograph this one ... its a bit more ornate than many we saw, with more 'characters'. 

Apparently this is Ayyanur riding the horse.   He is a powerful deity who is the protector of rural villages in Tamil Nadu.

We then stopped at the historical town of Mahabalipuram so we could walk around what appeared to be a large hilly park with granite rocks and small temples scattered around.   Its obviously a popular tour-bus stop so that meant the inevitable hassle from hawkers milling around the entrance.     Today is a national holiday (Indian Republic Day) so lots of Indian families were visiting the area as well so we couldn't get close to the temples without hoardes of people in the way.      We made our way around the periphery of the park and found other things to amuse us .... monkeys, butterflies and some amazing dragonflies.

This is called Krishna's Butterball.   Its a huge granite rock resting on a short incline on one of the slopes.     Its about 6 metres high and 5 metres wide and weighs 250 tons.   Apparently its been on this spot for more than 1200 years despite attempts by various officials to shift it due to safety concerns.

This is the only picture I managed to get of any of the shrines, and this was taken by holding the camera above the heads of the tour-bus crowd.

We were so very hot and engrossed with trying to photograph elusive bugs that we totally missed a section of the park with some beautifully carved stones.    We went back a little later and David took these (whilst I got an extra 5 minutes in the cool of the air-conditioned car). 

This monkey didn't wan't to be photographed (but it didn't want to move away either) it just kept studiously looking away from the camera.

The monkey families seemed to be living in caves near the top of the granite slopes which were obviously pretty slippy.   There were several babies around and they were just slip-sliding all over the place - carefully watched by the adults who got a bit threatening if we ventured too close

Some butterflies

and these amazing dragonflies kept us amused for ages .... I tried so hard to photograph them 'on the wing' but they dart around constantly.    Eventually one settled and posed for the camera.

I've done a quick search online and think it might be a 'Common Picture Wing' dragonfly (also known as the 'variegated flutterer' which I think sounds nicer).    Anyway there were lots of them around as there was a huge lake nearby.

Finally ... on the wing!

Joshy then wanted us to visit two more historic sites, entrance is by ticket (one ticket covering both sites) but when we saw how small the first place was, and how many visitors were milling around, we decided not to pay the 500 rupee entrance fee (£5 each) and just photograph this site from outside the perimeter fence.   We cried off visiting the second temple ... just toooooo hot!

This is  Mahabalipuram Pancha Rathas temple.   Its about 60kms South of Chennai. The structures are called Rathas because of their peculiar architecture and shape. The word ‘Ratha’ means ‘chariot’ and these temples are named after the presiding gods and their images in the temples.

Mahabalipuram is a 7th century shrine and is regarded as one of the archaeological wonders of India with its ancient carvings and sculptures  (but it is quite small)


I've cheated here.    This is a 'stock photo' of the site devoid of bl**dy tourists!

These are my shots through the metal railings of the perimeter fence

then  I got bored and started talking to a piggy friend I found in a neighbouring field .. cute isn't he/she?

Away from the temple site we found a street selling stone statues/carvings which were quite lovely - but far too big to get in the suitcase of course.

The guy on the right told me he has a brother living in Plymouth and a friend in Liverpool, England.   Small world isn't it?

Hard at work - painstakingly hammering/chiselling away

I wouldn't mind this in my garden back home

We're staying overnight at the Annsun  Boutique hotel in Chennai which has the advantage of being only a 20 minute drive from the airport.    Just as well as we have to leave at 5am for our 7.30am flight to Heathrow (11.5 hours flight).



Downside of it being Republic Day is that all bars/restaurants are 'dry' ... no alcohol can be sold today.

We have to find somewhere to eat tonight then sort out our luggage in readiness for the early start and tomorrow we'll be back in Whitstable.!