My Visual Travel Experience: Sultanpur National Park, Haryana, India

I visited Sultanpur National Park with my wife, my son, my son's two close friends, and the boys' respective fathers, towards the end of the winter season in 2019. We went armed with SLR cameras and binoculars, and we saw many birds, we spotted several animals, we had a nice little picnic, the three little boys ran around and played, and overall it was a very enjoyable morning! Given its proximity to Delhi, and more so to Gurgaon, I am surprised I had not visited earlier.

Sultanpur National Park is situated in the northern Indian state of Haryana, barely 50 km from the national capital Delhi. The park is just 15 km from Gurgaon. It has an area of 1.4 sq km. In 1970, the noted British ornithologist, Peter Michael Jackson, wrote to the then Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi, with a request to convert Sultanpur Lake into a bird sanctuary. The area was declared a bird sanctuary in 1972. In 1989, it was upgraded and re-designated a national park. 

The Lake at Sultanpur National Park

There are over 10,000 species of birds in the world. About 370 migrate to India every year, due to seasonal changes and in search of food. About 250 species of birds have been found in Sultanpur National Park. Though some of them are resident birds, many of them are migratory birds that come from far off places.

Birds in the Lake

A Cormorant up on a Tree

Ducks in the Lake

Resident birds in Sultanpur National Park include cormorants, francolins, kingfishers, storks, ibises, egrets, larks, parakeets, doves, pigeons, and ducks. Migratory birds include Siberian cranes, flamingos, pelicans, herons, and cuckoos. In addition to birds, the park also has several species of animals, including blue bulls (also called nilgais), black bucks, and foxes. Cattle also roam around freely in the park.

A Nilgai inside the Lake

A Crane and Nilgai

A Bull at the side of the Lake

Sultanpur National Park is a popular picnic spot, especially during winter months which are pleasant and when thousands of migratory birds visit the park. The park has several watch towers, an education and interpretation centre, a library, a children’s park, and even a guest-house for those wanting to stay overnight. A walk around the park can take about 2 hours. Buggy rides are also available at reasonable prices for those who are not comfortable walking.

The Pathway running across the Park

A Watch Tower inside the Park

Buggies

For people living in Delhi and the National Capital Region looking for a quick get-away from the concrete jungle that the megapolis is, Sultanpur National Park is a serene place, and makes for a lovely half day outing. The best time to go is certainly in or around the winter months, because that's when you will get to see the thousands of migratory birds that come, and that's the only time of year when you'll be able to walk around the park comfortably because of the pleasant weather.

My Visual Travel Experience: The Algarve, Portugal

In 2012, during our two week long trip to Portugal, my wife and I spent three days in the Algarve, in the southern part of the country. The region is known for its sandy beaches, and its beautiful Mediterranean atmosphere, with its whitewashed buildings, its pretty churches, and its vibrant streets and markets. We rented a car and drove down from Lisbon to the town of Albufeira. Albufeira lies about 250 km south of Lisbon, and the journey took barely two and a half hours. My wife was very particular about my going within the speed limit, but the highway was so good that it was very tempting to go faster. I waited for her to doze off, and then I went at speeds well beyond the speed limit, though I was careful. Years later, I paid the price for it, when I got heavy fines for exceeding the speed limit in the Netherlands. Now I never exceed the speed limit, having learned the hard way!

We made Albufeira our base for three days and it was a wonderful, leisurely stay in this charming, vibrant Mediterranean town. We explored the town, walked along its pedestrian streets, checked out the markets, swam in the sea, lay by the beach, visited a few pretty churches, and ate delicios food at restaurants. My wife loves sea food, so that was a special treat for her. On one of the days, we also drove down to the town of Faro, 40 km to the east of Albufeira. Faro didn't have the same vibrant feel as Albufeira, but it had a magnificent cathedral, which made the trip well worth it.

The Algarve is a region in the south of Portugal, known for its sandy beaches. It has a population of about 450,000 and an area of almost 5,000 sq km. The town of Faro, having a population of about 65,000 (2011), is the region’s administrative centre. Albufeira, with a population of about 15,000, is perhaps the region’s favourite tourist destination. Tourism is a major source of revenue for the Algarve.  In the peak holiday season, a lot of seasonal residents come and the population increases significantly because many wealthy Portugese have their summer homes in the Algarve. The Algarve is also a favourite retirement place.

Southern Portugal was under Roman control in the 2nd century. Many Roman ruins can still be seen. Around the year 500, the Visigoths occupied the region. The Visigothic Kingdom was established in 542 with Toledo as its capital. In 552, the Algarve was occupied by the Byzantine Empire, but from 571 to 711, it was a part of the Visigothic Kingdom again. The Moors then occupied the region, with Silves as its capital. In the 13th century, the Kingdom of Portugal took control from the Moors. King Afonso III became known as the King of Portugal and the Algarve. Between 1595 and 1808, the Algarve was a semiautonomous region of Portugal. In 1910, the First Portugese Republic was established and that marked the end of the Kingdom of Portugal and the Algarve.

Albufeira was badly damaged in the 1755 Lisbon Earthquake. 10 meter high waves descended on the town and most of the town’s buildings were destroyed. The town was painstakingly restored after that.

Old Town Square is filled with restaurants and shops. The centre of the large, attractive square is lied with trees.

Old Town Square

Trees in the centre of Old Town Square

Albefeira’s sandy Beach is very popular with swimmers and sun bathers. The beach is lined with beach umbrellas for sun bathers.

Albufeira's Beach

Rua 5 da Outubro is one of the town’s main streets, full of shops and restaurants catering to the flock of tourists. At the end of the street, there is a tunnel that leads up to the beach.

Rua 5 da Outubro

The Clock Tower was built in the 19th century. At the top, it has an iron crown. The clock tower is illuminated during religious celebrations.

Clock Tower

Igreja Matriz was consecrated in 1800. It replaced another church destroyed in 1755. The old church was a converted former mosque.  The neo classical church has a single nave and four chapels.

Igreja Matriz

High Altar, Igreja Matriz

Sao Sebastiao is one of the town’s main churches. It has a whitewashed exterior and a dome. The church dates back to the early 18th century. The church also has a museum of religious art.

Sao Sebastiao

St Domingos, Sao Sebastiao

Medieval Virgin and Child, Sao Sebastiao

Faro is the administrative seat of the Algarve. Lagos was the administrative seat of the Algarve from 1577 to 1755, but in the 1755 Lisbon Earthquake, Lagos was badly damaged and hence the shift to Faro, which escaped the devastating earthquake.

Arco da Vila is the medieval City Gate, and has a bell tower with a clock. It dates back to 1812. It was a part of the old Moorish city walls.

Arco da Vila

Se de Faro is the Cathedral of Faro. The cathedral replaced an old cathedral, consecrated in the 13th century, and destroyed by the Earl of Essex in 1596. The cathedral is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Se de Faro

High Altar, Se de Faro

Crucifixion Altar, Se de Faro

Virgin and Child Altar, Se de Faro

Altar, Se de Faro

Bell Tower, Se de Faro

Largo da Faro is a large square outside Se de Faro. The square has several historical buildings, and statues.

Largo da Faro

Dom Francisco Gomes Statue, Largo da Se

Afonso III Statue, Largo da Se

The Algarve was a pleasant, relaxing break from an otherwise fairly hectic trip to Portugal, where we also covered Lisbon, Sintra, Fatima, Porto, Duoro Valley, Amarante and Bom Jesus Do Monte. The trip resulted in disaster on the last day of the Portugal leg of our trip, as we were robbed off our passports, money and other valuables by a gang of thieves on a train in Lisbon. However, we still look back with very pleasant memories from the rest of the trip.

My Visual Travel Experience: Da Nang, Vietnam

In 2007, I used to work in the India office of a large multi national company. There was a Product Management conference in the Vietnamese city of Da Nang, for which I went. It was a two day conference and was held at one of the country's most luxurious properties, Furama Resort. Product Managers from all over South East Asia attended the conference. The conference had been organised by a Singapore based colleague of ours. She had made meticulous arrangements for not just the conference, but also for the lovely evening outings and dinners post our meetings on both days, and we all thought she did a brilliant job.

After the conference got over, I stayed on in Da Nang for an extra day and saw the city's sites. A colleague of mine from the India office also stayed back to see the city. We didn't really know each other well then, but over the years, she and I went on to become good friends. The day was spent exploring the sites of Da Nang by cycle rickshaw! It is a small enough city to have allowed that. Da Nang was interesting and had several sites that were well worth seeing.

Da Nang is located in central Vietnam and with a population of close to 1.1 million (as of 2018), it is the country’s fifth largest city. It is one of the country’s five direct controlled municipalities, after the mega cities of Ho Chi Minh City (8.5 million population) and Hanoi (7.5 million population), and the cities of Hai Phong (2.0 million population) and Can Tho (1.5 million population).

Da Nang’s history goes back to the kingdom of Champa in the 2nd century AD. The capital of Champa was in Indrapur, about 50 km from Da Nang, from the 9th century to the beginning of the 11th century. The Cham left Indrapur around 1000 AD after losing to the Dai Viet in a violent conflict. By the 15th century, the Dai Viet had taken most of the Cham territories.

In 1535, the Portugese explorer Antonio de Faria visited Da Nang. Hoi An, just south of Da Nang, became an important port for the Portugese. Gradually, Da Nang’s port grew in importance. In 1858, French troops landed in Da Nang. The French troops were forced to retreat in 1860. In 1862, the French took over large parts of southern Vietnam, in and around Saigon. In 1887, French Indochina was established after the French took more and more control over the country. The French renamed Da Nang Tourane. Vietnam proclaimed independence from the French in 1945, under the leadership of Ho Chi Minh.

Vietnam was partitioned into North Vietnam and South Vietnam in 1954. In the Vietnam War that began in 1955, Da Nang’s airport was used as a base by South Vietnam and the Americans. In 1975, after the Americans withdrew, South Vietnam (backed by the Americans and anti communist forces) was taken over by North Vietnam (supported by the Soviets and the Chinese), and Da Nang came under the control of the communists. In 1976, North and South Vietnam were reunified as a communist state.

Marble Mountains are a set of five marble and limestone hills just outside Da Nang. They are named after the five elements – metal, water, wood, fire and earth. The mountains have cave entrances as well as Buddhist structures and sculptures. Marble Mountains are also well known for stone sculptures that are bought by visitors.

Buddhist Temple, Marble Mountains

Buddha Statue, Marble Mountains

Buddha Statue inside a Cave, Marble Mountains

Buddhist Pagoda, Marble Mountains

Overview, Marble Mountains

Marble Statues on Sale, Marble Mountains

Da Nang Cathedral was built in 1923 by the French priest Louis Vallet. The cathedral has a pink façade and a 70 meter high tower. At the top of the tower, there is a rooster weathercock. The grotto in the cathedral complex is a replica of the Lourdes Grotto in France.

Da Nang Cathedral

Facade, Da Nang Cathedral

Grotto, Da Nang Cathedral

Museum of Cham Sculpture opened in 1919. The museum has a large collection of Cham sculptures. There are stone sculptures dating back to well over a thousand years.

Museum of Cham Sculpture

Ganesha, Museum of Cham Sculpture

Idol, Museum of Cham Sculpture

Da Nang has a Replica of Ho Chi Minh’s House, which stands in Hanoi. The replica stands next to the Military Museum, which has US, Soviet and Chinese weaponry.

Replica of Ho Chi Minh's House

Furama Resort is a popular luxury resort overlooking the white sandy Da Nang Beach. The resort has around 200 rooms, and 70 villas, and its list of guests include royalty, heads of state and other celebrities. It acts as a gateway to several UNESCO World Heritage sites nearby – Ho An, My Son and Hue.

Furama Resort

Beach, Furama Resort

Da Nang may not have been the first place in Vietnam I would have ordinarily visited, because Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi would have been my obvious choices. I am, however, glad we had our conference there, because it gave me a chance to visit a city I may otherwise not have traveled to. Though outside Vietnam, it is a relatively lesser known city, I did find Da Nang interesting and I enjoyed my visit.

My Visual Travel Experience: Trivandrum

I visited Trivandrum in 2007 when my company had a marketing conference in a fancy resort in the backwaters of Poovar near the city. In 2012, my wife, my mother in law and I spent a week in Kerala, and we spent a few days in and around Trivandrum. I enjoyed visiting the city for its temples, its palaces, its colonial architecture and the vibrant beaches of Kovalam.

Trivandrum, the capital of the southern Indian state of Kerala, has a population of just over 750,000 (as per the 2011 census). In 1991, the city’s name was changed to Thiruvananthapuram, but it is still widely known by its former name. Trivandrum is located along the coast of the Arabian Sea, and is close to the southern-most tip of India.

The city was ruled by the Ays till the 10th century, when the Chera Dynasty took over. In the 12th century, the Kingdom of Venad took control. In the 1729, King Marthanda Varma founded the princely state of Travancore. In 1745, the state’s capital was shifted from Padmanabhapuram in Kanyakumari District to Trivandrum. After India’s independence from the British in 1947, Trivandrum became the capital of Travancore-Cochin state, and stayed the capital after the formation of Kerala in 1956.

Trivandrum is a big Information Technology hub. It is also a notable academic and research centre. It attracts a lot of tourists because of the presence of the Padmanabhaswamy Temple, the popular beaches at Kovalam close to the city, and the backwaters of Poovar not far off.

Padmanabhaswamy Temple is dedicated to Lord Anantha. The temple is built in the Chera style blended with  the Dravidian style. It has a 30 meter tall, 7 storeyed, yellow coloured, intricately carved gopura from the 16th century. In the sanctum sanctorum, Lord Padmanabham reclines on the five hooded serpent Anantha. Only Hindus are allowed inside the temple, and they must follow a dress code. It is the world’s richest temple.

Padmanabhaswamy Temple

Puthen Maliga Palace Museum lies right next to Padmanabhaswamy Temple. It is also known as Kuthiramalika (Mansion of Horses). It gets this name from the horse carvings along one of the roofs. The palace was built in the 1840s.  A part of the palace has been converted into a museum, with figures of kathakali dancers. European mirrors, chandeliers. Paintings, musical instruments, two royal thrones and other artifacts.

Puthen Maliga Palace Museum

Napier Museum is an art and natural history museum. It has archaeological artifacts, bronze statues, a temple chariot and ivory carvings. The complex also has the Sri Chitra Art Gallery, famous for its Raja Ravi Varma paintings. There is also a zoo. The museum was established in 1855. The old building was demolished and this new one was built in 1880. It was named after Lord Napier, the former Governor of Madras.

Napier Museum

Gardens, Napier Museum

Sri Chitra Art Gallery

St Joseph’s Cathedral was built in 1873, but the bell-tower was completed in 1927. The exterior was painted red from 1927 to 2010 but was then painted white. At the top of the bell-tower, there is a statue of Jesus with his arms raised.

St Joseph's Cathedral

Victoria Jubilee Town Hall was made as a town hall in 1896 for the golden jubilee of Empress Victoria’s coronation. Today it houses exhibitions and cultural events.

Victoria Jubilee Town Hall

The Kerala Government Secretariat Building was completed in 1869. It was originally build as the Durbar Hall of Travancore Kingdom, but now has the seat of administration of the state government, with many ministries and the bureaucracy.

Kerala Government Secretariat Building

Kovalam lies about 20 km south of the centre of Trivandrum. Kovalam is known for its beaches, which include Lighthouse Beach, (which is very popular with tourists, and is named after a lighthouse that stands on a hill),  Hawah Beach (which is also called Eve’s Beach, and stays busy with tourists and fishermen) and Samudra Beach (which doesn’t have tourists but has fishermen doing their trade).

Kovalam Beach

Kovalam Beach, View from Leela Kovalam

Lighthouse Beach

Taj Kovalam

Poovar is a tourist destination in Trivandrum District that lies about 30 km south of the city. It is known for its scenic backwaters, and has several popular resorts catering to tourists.

Boat in the Backwaters, Poovar

Coconut Trees in the Backwaters, Poovar

Pieta Statue, Poovar

Poovar Island Resort

Neyyar Wildlife Sanctuary lies about 30 km east of Trivandrum. It covers an area of 128 sq km. It was declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1958. The sanctuary has the drainage basin of the Neyyar River and its tributaries. There is a lot of wildlife around, including lions, tigers, leopards, elephants, deer, monkeys and crocodiles.

Boat, Neyyar Wildlife Sanctuary

Crocodile, Neyyar Wildlife Sanctuary

Water Reservoir, Neyyar Wildlife Sanctuary

Lions, Neyyar Wildlife Sanctuary

Padmanabhapuram Palace lies about 60 km south east of Trivandrum, in Tamil Nadu’s Kanyakumari district. Padmanabhapuram was the former capital of the Kingdom of Travancore. The palace dates back to 1750. King Marthanda Varma dedicated the kkingdom to his deity, Lord Padmanabha, a form of Vishnu. The palace is surrounded by Tamil Nadu but it continues to be a part of Kerala. The palace’s 18th century clock tower still tells the time. Visitors to the palace can see furniture, murals and household articles.

King's Palace, Padmanabhapuram Palace

Clock Tower, Padmanabhapuram Palace

Entrance, Padmanabhapuram Palace

Chinese Chair, Padmanabhapuram Palace

Horse Lamp, Padmanabhapuram Palace

In some ways, Trivandrum was unique. Padmanabhaswamy Temple was quite an experience - I had to wear a dhoti and enter the temple without wearing anything on top, as per the temple's rules. That was a first for me. I was reluctant at first, but then I went with the flow! The beaches in Kovalam are perhaps the most popular in India, along with the beaches of Goa; also, the luxurious properties in Kovalam rank among India's best, and my wife and I really enjoyed visiting them for their splendour and their lovely beach views. Overall, Trivandrum and its surroundings were very enjoyable.