Trident Gurgaon, water feature

Trident Gurgaon, water feature
Originally uploaded by Dopeyrizer

Sometimes a hotel can be too fancy for it's own good. Here we have an Olympic pool sized water feature from Trident Gurgaon. Looks and sounds nice when you're on your way from the car drop-off area to the reception, but is not visible from anywhere else in the hotel. I like architecture - a lot even - but here's it's just concrete sculpting on a massive scale (can you spot the lonely employee mowing the lawn?) without really any point.

India night

IMG_1700
Originally uploaded by Dopeyrizer

Was in Taj West End with a bunch of expats in India last night enjoying local culture, food and drinks. All the westerners were dressed in Indian formals for this OWG charity dinner, but the performers still managed to outcolor us.

Future Raikkonen?

IMG_1759
Originally uploaded by Dopeyrizer

Went to the local go-kart track to celebrate our son's birthday. He's not as timid as he used to be, but it's still his friend who managed a most monumental crash to the tyre barriers. No bodily harm done, confidence slightly bruised...

I like palm trees

I like palm trees
Originally uploaded by Dopeyrizer

I've always wanted to live in the shade of palm trees swaying in the wind. In that sense living in Palm Meadows is a winning proposition. Today was especially nice with a slow wind rustling the foliage in bright sunshine.

Creatures of light, creatures of night

... and the latter eating the former for dinner. Saw this in Sri Lanka: a skylight was drawing insect in large numbers and every night a swarm of bats would whoosh back and forth hunting the same. It's amazing and a little creepy too how close to people walking underneath the bats would fly and how silently they zoom past.

Shot with Nokia N8.

Mmmm, Marabou...

Yala - Mmmm, marabou
Originally uploaded by Dopeyrizer

Never so true this old advertizing slogan for Swedish chocolate from my youth. A crocodile patiently waits for the dinner to pass through it's mounth. This time the stork walked by a bit too far, though.

The Yala National Park, where this brief play took place, is an almost 1000 sq km home to hundreds of more species, many of which can be seen from Jeep safaris organized daily.

Back from Sri Lanka

Went on vacation last week, this time to Sri Lanka. The country has been through a lot as of late with the 2005 tsunami and the 25 year civil war that ended only last year. Even forgetting this context, Sri Lanka is a fantastic destination. Compared to India there's hardly any traffic, the roads are perfect, every place is clean and people are really friendly. One week of beachlife, some sighseeing and a wildlife safari just whizzed by.

We spent our time in the southwestern coast, which is the traditional tourist area in the country. I think we need to go back to see the mountain ranges mid-country before leaving India.