Mosaic Monday.

Thank you Mary for hosting Mosaic Monday.
These pics were taken on our trip to Shillong.(North-East India).Do visit Mary at http://dearlittleredhouse.blogspot.com/for more mosaics.
Enjoy and have a great day!

The Indian Ringneck Parakeet (Psittacula krameri manillensis).

Indian Ringneck Parakeets have hooked beaks, long tails, and are moderately small. Both males and females look very similar however, the male has a black ring around his neck.

Indian Ringnecks are native to Asia and Africa and can be seen in the forests or arid environments.

We captured a few of them during our annual vacation to Ahmedabad,India. We were pleasantly surprised to see these avian variety in abundance in the army cantonment area.

It appeared they were happy to pose with their variant moods and postures.

Wow ! u look pretty.

Here is my Palace.

A dip check.

I beg to have a different view of the world!!!

Masirah Island

Masirah island is located just off the southeast coast of Oman in the Arabian Peninsula.There is so much to see in Oman and Masirah Island is one of its lesser known gems full of prestine beauty and wildlife.Masirah is truly a Desert Island with a rocky east coast facing the strong northwestern winds and a protected western coast with large bays and muddy sabkha's (salt-flats). The main income is from the fishery.

We drove down 500 km from Muscat to reach Shana.The crossing to the island is via a ferry connection from Shana on the mainland.We had a difficult time as we were not sure from which side the barge would leave as all this depends on high water to make the landing.We spent quite sometime waiting on the barge and the complex manoeuvring to get all cars in.

These are the barges that ferry us to the island.

A glimpse of Masirah Island from the sea.












We finally reached our destination after being
on the barge for almost two hours.









The next morning we decided to go fishing in
the misdst of the sea.However the fishes were
fishy and eluded us.

Fish-fast time(breakfast time).

Oops!! I'm too wet.

Flight of fancy.

I'm watching you.

Enough of you!Let's go...













Back to work on our fishing boat.












I'll be on your cruet set after they clean me
-Salt bag.












The journey ended with a promise for another
day!

SUNDERBANS

A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Sundarbans is located south of Kolkata (India) and spreads over 54 islands and stretches to Bangladesh. Sundarbans is the world's largest delta, which is formed by the merger of three rivers-the Ganga, Brahmaputra and Meghna. Popular for its tigers, Sundarbans is equally known for its large mangrove forests.Mangrove forest is a woody community that can be periodically submerged in seawater of the inter-tidal zone of tropical and subtropical regions.They act as nurseries and feeding grounds for many fish, shrimp and crustaceans and non-resident fish enter the mangroves to feed at high tide. Mangroves are also prime nesting and migratory sites for hundreds of bird species.Sundarban is of the last preserves of the Bengal tiger and the site of a tiger preservation project.

We were there only for a two day visit due to our hectic schedule.Every trip we have made so far we have always been blessed with rains.However, this time we did not get to see the sunshine at all so we only managed to get a few shots from the ferry we were travelling in.

Please don't miss the rain.

A football game in progess.

Inspite of the rains these kids were really

enjoying themselves.

Common Kingfisher

Black-capped Kingfisher

Egret

Luck is never on our side so we are just happy
with the tiger pug marks and still hoping that
one day we will see the tiger.

Mesmerizing Cape Town.

Cape Town, situated on the southwestern tip of Africa is recognised as one of the most beautiful places on earth. Warmed by the African sun, Cape Town is dominated by a towering, table-shaped mountain, set on a peninsula of soaring, rocky heights and lush valleys, where two oceans converge- Indian and Atlantic. Immense natural beauty and the fast pace and bright lights of a great urban centre meld effortlessly here.

I was lucky enough to be able to visit this mesmerizing place though the stay was very short and I felt guilty for not bringing my wife and daughter along(but next time surely it will be with my family and hopefully that will be for the African Safari). I was fortunate enough to have experienced both the African sun and rain.