Captured by Manvir Randhawa

Captured by Manvir Randhawa

This Sunday was an exciting experience. I went for a walk in the Berwala Bird Safari near Panchkula. Starting of the walk I saw a few known birds like Drongos, Bushchats, Bulbuls and some really pretty unknown birds which I still trying to find out what they are…. But the best sight in the entire walk was the BIG Steppe Eagle. This was the biggest eagle that I saw in my entire life. These eagles are known to grow to about 81 Cms. That is close to 3 feet and have a wing span of about 180 cms.

Another bird of interest was the Egyptian Vulture. The Vultures have kind of vanished from the region of Punjab thanks to the antibiotic injection that the cattle gets. Anyway these birds were nesting in that region and it was a real pleasure to see them in that number.

Spring is in the air. My Favourite time of the year. Chandigarh – The City Beautiful is getting prettier with all the flowers blooming. Kachnar with its pink flowers, Simbal with its scarlet and various other colourful trees and flowers – Its a mesmerizing site. This weekend I walked through a few parks of Chandigarh photographing the birds, the bees, the flowers and the general Landscape. It made me realize how we are neglecting nature and all its beauty.

I was out on my shoot this Sunday morning to our beloved Sukhna Lake and this White Tern flew right across giving various poses. Well Actually it was looking for some fish. The following event (three shots below) happened within 3 seconds. I’m impressed with the AF of Canon 7D.

A 40 minute flight from Bangkok, Koh – Samui (Samui Island) is a beautiful island located in the Gulf of Thailand. Nice sandy beaches, coconut trees and very polite people make Samui a relaxing holiday destination. Not very densly populated, Samui is Thailand’s 3rd largest Island. Samui is sustained mainly by tourism, coconut and rubber exports. With its small population, Samui till the 1970′s was not very well connected with the mainland. Today, there is an hourly flight from Bangkok to Samui.

Our Trip to Samui started from Bangkok. An interesting chain of events occurred while reaching Koh Samui… But I guess we were just having a bad day. Anyways, the place is beautiful and peaceful and we were feeling relaxed right at the airport. For starters, I did not see much security on the airport. The airport itself is a pretty sight. A group of hut like structures open air… gives a very tropical look. Walking through the streets, I did not come across a single policeman for the 4 days that I stayed at Samui. I liked the locals of Samui. Very nice people I must say.

For places to eat…. The main town is at the Chaweng beach where one can find a number of eating joints and bars. Another good place to visit is the Fisherman’s village at Bophut Beach. A row of restaurants and bars right at the beach. A recommended one at Fisherman’s Village is Shades. They have some nice romantic seating right on the beach. A lot of people recommend “Happy Elephant” at the Fishermans Village but frankly I did not like it. The kitchens usually close by 11 pm but most places serve drinks till 1 am. A must place to visit for dinner is “The Cliff”. The view is just awesome and the food simply sumptuous. For The Cliff, make sure that you book a table in advance and insist on a sea view table.