One Island, Endless are the possibilities…..

Sri Lanka is a place that has been high on my list to travel to for sometime.  I have always said that any place that has oceans and mountains hours from each other is bound to have delicious food (Vietnam, Ecuador, Greece, etc).  This statement defiantly applies to Sri Lanka. 

Not only is the food spectacular, but the scenery on all parts of the island I traveled to was breathtaking.  From Oceans, to Mountains, to jungles to rice fields, you will see it all!!!!  A big reason of why I traveled here was for the wildlife.  Udawalawe and Yala National Parks are some of the best national parks on the island and definitely did not disappoint.  Whale watching on the coastal city of Mirissa was another activity that I wanted to do as well as staying a night up in the mountain country.  The over abundance of Toque Macaque Monkeys on the island was overwhelming, as I have always wanted to photograph them and observe their behavior which I did at different points on the island. 

I used a company to organize my accommodations and bookings, however my driver on this trip was absolutely amazing and he organizes stuff also.  His name is Dananjaya and his knowledge of the island and where to go is quite impressive.  He can book you in whatever class of hotel you want from 3 star all the way up to luxury and can help you get any safaris or tickets you need booked.  The best way to reach him is on whatsapp and his number is +94 77 440 49 97. 

Dananjaya- Quite possibly the best driver I have had!!!

Some of the activities and places I did are listed below:

Udawalawe National Park- Elephants, Elephants, and more Elephants

Mirissa- The Best Place for Whale Watching

Mulkirigala Temple aka Monkey Temple aka Kevin Roy’s Monkey Temple

Yala National Park- Highest Concentration of Leopards in the world

Nuwara Eliya- Mountain Tea Growing Region of Sri Lanka

Kandy- Temple of the Tooth and UNESCO City

Toque Macaque Road Monkeys aka Kevin Roy’s Monkeys

I believe that Toque Macaque monkeys are some of the best monkeys to photograph and observe.  That is why anytime I would see them on the side of the road or while hiking, I would stop for a while to sit and take photos of them as their features and mannerisms are very human like.  This page is dedicated to all them with their crazy hair and mannerisms…

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A UNESCO city that holds a very important Buddhist Temple

Kandy is one of Sri Lanka’s best known attractions for both foreigners and locals.  It is strategically set between three mountain ranges and is known as the gateway to the hill country.  It was not easy in previous times to attack it for invaders because of its location. 

I spent an afternoon walking around the endless mazes of alleys and streets in this beautiful little town.  A lake at the center of town is where you can find many people just relaxing and enjoying the day.  You may also get lucky and find some Toque Macaque monkeys in the alleys, up to their usual monkey business.

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The heart of Kandy is the “Temple of the Tooth Relic.”  As the story goes about 2500 years ago, one of Buddha’s teeth was brought here from India.  It was said that the possessor of the tooth had the right to rule the country.  It is kept in a gold casket and stored in the building around very tight security.  The temple has many paintings and statues of the Buddha and is one of the most colorful places I have seen.  There are many people that come here to worship daily and at the right time (morning and evening), you can see the drumming ceremony in which the window opens for the viewing of the gold casket which has the tooth inside. 

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The Mountains of Sri Lanka produce some of the best tea in the world

As I wanted to see as much of Sri Lanka as possible, I decided to go to the tea region up in the highlands of Sri Lanka.  Now I know why the British had an interest here as they have some of the best tea in the world!!!! 

Driving through the mountains and the idyllic countryside you run across waterfalls, monkeys and endless amounts of small villages.  The place i stayed for the night had some great food and great accommodations and I would happily spend a week in this place with the view of the town.  The Rock Hotel, is perched up on a hill overlooking the city with spectacular sunrises.  The hotel is about 30 minutes before the tea plantations and can be considered a gateway to the tea country. 

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Driving to the plantation and beyond is a relaxing experience with endless mountains of tea plants and tea ladies picking the leaves (although the fields were mostly empty that day as it was a Sunday).

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A national park boasting the highest leopard concentration in the world

Any photographer or safari goer loves a good chance to spot leopards out in the wild.  Unfortunately for us, these animals are very solitary and are seldom seen.  In all my safari’s in Africa, I have only seen two leopards that were up in trees resting which they usually do during the day. 

I thought my luck had again run out as I took a full day 14 hour safari here without a single leopard spotting.  The next day I took a half day safari and saw a leopard that quickly jumped into the bush and went inside the jungle.  An hour or so before my safari ended I struck a bit of luck as my Hilux jeep went over a small hill and sure enough a leopard was crossing the road.  I only saw him for 30 seconds or so but was able to snap a few pictures before he went into the bush.  I wish sometimes they would just stay still under a tree, but that is why spotting them in so challenging….

First Leopard on the ground I have seen:

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The animals of Yala of course do not stop with leopards as it is perched up against the ocean with jungles and watering holes.  The scenery is stunning at all hours of the day and again just like Udawalawe it reminds me of Africa.  Some of the other animals i spotted and/or photographed were:  Wild Hare, Peacock, Crocodile, Banded Stork, Spotted Deer, Mongoose, Grey Langur, Sri Lankan Jungle Bird, Buffalo (mating), Hornbill, Monitor, Scops Owl, Elephant, Wild Boar, and of course Toque Macaque.

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A Temple made famous by my friend Kevin Roy’s Monkey Photo

Ever since one of my best friends Kevin Roy took this picture some years back at the Mulkirigala Temple, I have always wanted to go….

Nicknamed “Spock” this monkey has had been an inside joke among some of my group of photography friends from Cairo for a long time.

The temple itself is an ancient Buddhist Temple.  It has been built on a 675 foot natural high rock, surrounded with another four rocks. It has numerous paintings inside on the walls and of course laying Buddha statues in the different parts.  On the top of the rock is a beautiful little Buddhist shrine with a Priest that blesses you and it has a great panorama view of the entire area with the endless jungles. 

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Of course the reason why I went here was not exactly for the temple, but was to see the monkeys!!!!  Only found in Sri Lanka, the Toque Macaque monkeys have an interesting face and different hairdos.  I had fun photographing them not just here, but all over the island.  I just wish they would get out in the sun more and stay a little still as they were mostly in the shade…

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Best Place for Whale Watching!!!

While Marissa is known as a backpacker destination as well as a nice beach, I went there for the whale watching and decided like I usually always do in going to the beach. 

We spent hours out at sea and while no whales breached the water, we did spot about ten of them in different parts of the ocean.  You always have to keep your eyes out as you need to see where the blowhole blows air and water up, followed by where you can see their backs out of the water.  I believe most of the whales we saw were Blue Whales and it was a sight that anyone should experience once in their life…

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A national park that boasts a high concentration of elephants

For a great and relaxing place to stay here is Nil Diya Mankada.  This Safari Resort may be one of the nicest places I have stayed while doing safaris.  I recommend this to anyone, even spending a few days there!!!!

First stop in Sri Lanka was Udawalawe NP which is famous for the Sri Lankan Elephants.  Taking a couple of safaris here, it was not easy at first to spot them, then you will see a mass amount of them.  I had my own safari jeep to make my photo taking easier instead of cramming six people with me.  I saw quite possibly a baby elephant that was no more than two weeks old that could barely walk and was still trying to learn his place among the other elephants….

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The natural scenery of this park reminded me of something in Africa with watering holes and birds just about everywhere.  It was hard to spot other animals, however some of the animals and birds I saw were:  Land Monitor Lizard, Elephants (of course), Buffalo, Peacocks, Changeable Hawk Eagle, Toque Macaque, Hornbill, Grey Langur, Crocodile, Jackal, Twin Bee eater, Butel Bee Eater, Painted Stork, Lapwing, and Queen Bee Eater.

Natural Scenery:

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Other Animals and Birds:

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An amazing country with everything you can imagine

India is an amazing country with just about every landscape imaginable and a rich and vibrant history.  I had the opportunity to explore different parts of this wonderful country to learn more about it.  My main focus besides seeing the major sites like the Taj Mahal and Delhi was to view and photograph the wildlife seen here in a few of the national parks.  People sometimes associate the tiger with India, but not a lot of people know that this is the last place in the world you can find the Asiatic Lion.  There are also tons of monkeys birds and other wildlife seen through the different national parks which did not disappoint.  The scenery and people are colorful and amazing and my time here was well spent and am happy to share these experiences….

Delhi- A big city with a lot of chaos and color

Monkey Park in Delhi

On the Road- Photos of people, places, and things

Katputli Colony in Delhi

Jaipur-Forts, Colorful People, and Monkeys!!

Ranthambore and Kaladeo National Parks- A trip to see the elusive Tiger and rare birds

Agra- Taj Mahal and Agra Red Fort- A wonder of the world

Gir National Park- LAST ASIATIC LIONS IN THE WORLD!!

Bandhavgarh National Park- Tigers, Tigers, and More Tigers

Kanha National Park

As I love to photograph everyday life of people in their natural surroundings, I put together a few shots of people I saw while either driving or walking around the villages/towns of India.  The color was amazing as were the people doing every day tasks such as working or relaxing……

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One of the Slums of Delhi, trying to survive in a changing world

The Ktputli Colony has been around for a very long time.  The people there came from different religions and backgrounds but were all able to survive in an ever changing world and city.  The government in order to make more room for newer buildings, demolished the site as people scattered to different parts of the city.  There was some people left behind that made it their living to collect the bricks from the demolished houses to use or sell for extra money.  Some of these people including children worked long hours of the day doing this as they seldom go to school because of high costs to them.  

I had a chance to walk around this slum and meet some of the people who were busy going about their daily lives, with children either playing or working, and people collecting water.  As they have no running water, the people would insert plastic hoses into the ground to find a clean water source in order to drink or do laundry. 

I also had a chance to go to the school set up by a company that gives back to the children of the slums and gives them simple classes in order to give them a fighting chance in this world. 

I also witnessed the area surrounding the slum with its endless maze of corridors and narrow streets which gave me a glimpse into the lives of the people that live in this area…..

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I am not sure the real name of this park (now closed off to the public) is in Delhi, but traveling down a road between the walls of the park, you will see monkeys just waiting to bed fed bananas.  A man sells bananas to people who pass by in cars or motorcycles as you can feed them as it is said to bring good luck to you.  Some of the monkeys were quite aggressive and others were obese, but that is the fun in photographing them….

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Kanha National Park

This is the largest national park in the state of Madhya Pradesh and one of the most popular in India.  It is widely believed that Rupyard Kipling’s story turned Disney movie The Jungle Book, took its inspiration from the jungle area of this national park.

A great place to stay here is Mahua Tiger Resort.  

A great guide who works at the resort will help you check in for safaris as well as take you on bird watching tours in the areas name is Ghanshyam Bhanware.  His knowledge of the area and the birds of this area is quite impressive and will help you with whatever you need.

Unfortunately for me, weather limited me to only two safaris one of which I was covered in the safari jeep most of the time because of the rain.  I guess you can control everything but the weather.  I still used my time to spot different animals including a leopard for about half a second which I did not get a picture of.

Some animals at this park which I saw were the following: Leopard, Langur, Deer, Wild Boar, Sambar Deer, King Vulture (eating the carcass of a deer), Longbill Vulture, Spotted Deer, and the very rare Barasingha Deer:

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As close to tigers as you will get!!!!!

Located in the Madhya Pradesh state of India, this national park did not disappoint one bit!  In three different safaris, I was able to spot the elusive tigers on all three.  Some came within meters of the safari gypsy (jeep), while others just layed out in the fields or in the forest areas not wanting to be photographed.

It is interesting to note how you track the tigers.  Most of them follow a certain path every day and you look for their prints on the dirt road as they prefer to walk on the road and then go up into the forest.  Using our guides and drivers we were able to track them and follow them over a great distance. 

These animals are extremely difficult to photograph as they are in plain site always on the move, while when they sit they are usually far off and under a shade tree to keep out of the sun.

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Bathing Indian Vulture

I have always been fascinated with vultures and I happened to get a great set of photos from an Indian Vulture that I followed from sitting on the ground to taking a bath and drinking water.  Its always helpful when the sun is out in a perfect direction!!!

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Other animals I had the opportunity to see in this lovely national park include:  Sambar Deer, Peacock, Spotted Deer, Collared Scops Owl, Lesser Adjutant Stork, Indian Blue Jay, Langur, Black Brongo, Parakeet, Kingfisher. Spoted Olet, Indian Vulture, Grey Hunting Vulture, Red Water Lapwing, Indian Gaur, Blue Bull, Indian Jungle Fowl, and Jungle Bush Coy.

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The only Asiatic Lions left in the world to roam free

The state of Gujarat is not one you typically hear about when people travel to India.  It is the western most state in the country and it is known for the birthplace of Mahatma Ghandi and various sites of early Indus Valley Civilization.

Here lies Gir National Park which is not typically a place that many tourists go to, but it has the last remaining free Asiatic Lions left in the world.  It is believed that these lions separated from the African Lion population around 100,000 years ago. 

The historical range of these animals is widely believed to be from eastern Turkey, Iran, Mesopotamia and from east of the Indus River to Bengal and Marmada River in Central India.  It is said to have disappeared in the first to fourth centuries CE from the Balkan Peninsula where it inhabited parts as far as Hungary

In many historical stories, such as the Bible(Book of Judges), Greek Myths(Hercules), Quran, Mesopotamian, Persian Stories you can find tales about these great lions which spread across this great land. In South and East Asia, many stories in Hindu and Tibetan Buddhism talks about the lions as well as roots in other cultures in the area.  Unfortunately, due to habitat loss and hunting over time, the only population that survives in the wild is in Gir National Park.

Taking four safaris here, I was amazed to see the population thriving with thee of the safaris, we were able to spot the lions either walking, sitting, or hunting. 

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Other species of wildlife in the park I saw were:  Spotted Deer, Blue Bull, Purple Heron, Turtle,Common Mongoose, Black Face Langur, Golden Jackal, Samburu Deer, Jungle Crow, Indian Scops Owl, Hawk Eagle, Crocodile, Rose Ring Parakeet, Green Bee Eater, and Spotted Owlet.  Of course there are many other species of birds reptiles and mammals here, that I did not mention, but photographing was my main priority.

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Agra

Probably somewhere near the top of a lot of peoples lists of sites they can see in the world, the Taj Mahal will be in the top ten. 

This grand palace built by Shah Jahan for his wife during the Mugal Empire rule is one of the modern day seven wonders of the world.  The whole structure is geometrically equal on all sides as everything from the smallest stone, to the biggest piece of marble is finely crafted as it took years to build. 

I was happy to finally get here and see it without much of a huge crowd as I was able to snap some pretty good pictures with hardly any people getting in the way.  Pictures are worth a thousand words…..

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Other sites of interest around Agra is the Red Fort which is magnificent in its own mind and should always be visited when traveling to Agra, along with the Baby Taj Mahal which is a small size copy of the Taj Mahal without all the people, and of course the tomb of Akbar the Great who was the most well known ruler of his time and brought prosperity into India…….

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Ranthambore

The trip to search for the elusive Tiger

Any person who loves viewing wildlife has probably heard of Ranthambore National Park which is located in Rajastan.

This park is known as being very close to the Golden Triangle and is a popular stop for people that do the Golden Triangle.   It sits about 5 hours from Jaipur in a very isolated part of the country that is surrounded by mountains. 

I as like everyone goes to this park in order to see the famed Bengal Tiger.  The Tigers are not as easy to see as one might expect, but that did not stop me from taking as many game drives as I can fit in during this short time.  Unfortunately the only viewing of a tiger I got was from about 200 meters away as like a leopard is very solitary and does not like noise or to be around people. 

Other animals and birds seen in this national park are:  Spotted Deer, Robin, Sambar Deer, Indian gazelle, Langur Monkey, Spotted Owl, Black tail mongoose, Color Scoped Owl, White Torch King Fisher, Crested Serpent Eagle, Crocodile, Wild Boar, Egret, Parakeet, Dusky Eagle Owl, BENGAL TIGER, Chinkara, and Rhesus Macaque Monkey.  Of course there were many other animals in the park, but with the vast size of the park, it is almost impossible to see everything….

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Keoladeo

As bird watching has become one of my favorite hobbies in recent years, I could not pass up a chance to go to Keoladeo National Park.

This park about an hour from Agra, served as the hunting grounds for different important people in India’s past.  It is a massive wetland that is located in the near the city of Bharatpur and boasts some of the best native and migratory birds anywhere in India.  I only had a chance to stay overnight here, but this did not stop me from seeing some very interesting and rare bird species….

Some of the species I saw and photographed were the following:  Spotted Owlet, Purple Sun Bird, Rose ring Parakeet, Laughing Dove, White Eared Bulbul, Oriental Magpie, King Fisher, Spot Billed Duck, Grey Horn bill, Black Headed Ibis, Purple Headed Heron, Indian Sarus Crane, Greater Spotted Eagle, and the rare Black Bittern.  Of course there were many other species that I saw but these were some of the most interesting and rare ones……

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A big noisy city with a lot of color and chaos

Delhi is usually the starting grounds for many people going into India.  The city is home to some say 20 million plus people.  It reminds me a lot of Cairo which somewhat felt like home.  The streets congested with people, cars honking incessantly all hours of the day and the endless stream of pollution is enough to deter a lot of people.  But it did not deter me….

I went to some of the normal tourist sites such as the India Gate, Jama Masjid, Red Fort, Laxmi Narayan Temple, and the Lotus Temple to the Ba’hai Religion, Gandhi Memorial, and the Parliament House during a normal sightseeing trip.  The red fort unfortunately was closes as it was a national holiday…

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These sites did not amaze me as much as walking through the endless mazes of streets and people around every corner of this city.  Going up on rooftops, you can see the amount of people and buildings that go further than the human eye can see.  You can spot monkeys jumping from building to building.  Lines of bikes, taxis, tuk tuks congested in and endless stream of traffic.  Alleys so small that people have problems fitting through them but the locals navigate them just fine…..This is the Delhi that everyone needs to see as this is what coming here is truly about….

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The Amber City

I did not have much expectations for Jaipur as I have heard about it from different friends in the past and decided to visit.  This city did not disappoint me at all……The sites were great, but also looking at people and the thousands of Langurs and Rhesus Macaques running around was a great way to spend my time:

The People around Jaipur

Jaipur has to be one of the most colorful cities I have ever been to with the people adorning all kinds of colors and types of clothing

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The sites including the Amer Fort with the palaces and fortifications are amazing. Most people take elephant rides up to the top but I decided that car and stopping along the way was the best route to take.  The Fort is adorned with so much artwork and extravagance it will amaze anyone.

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The City Palace was another amazing place which has been around since the British Colonization time. 

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The Water Palace is a palace that sits in the middle of a lake, while I did not travel to this palace the area on the mainland has perfect places for pictures and a nice area to people watch.

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A little known tourist attraction called Monkey Temple in English is a place where many Hindus go to bathe as a ritual.  The reason why it is called Monkey Temple is because of the hundreds of monkeys that inhabit the place.  See below for the Monkeys…

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