caravahan

The Eurasian Magpie, or as I like to call it, shalgam (turnip).

The Himalayan Ibex.

The gadariyas are back in our fields. Turning parali into goat poop. This time they're visiting from Karnataka.

Foggy morning at the campsite

भाई लोग

Everybody looks cool on an Enfield

I've often said that #travel doesn't have to be expensive. In Dandeli we stayed at a campsite called BeOnTheTrail that charged us ₹1000 per night for pitching three tents. This included the use of all facilities on their campsite including a bathroom with geyser, and a campfire each night. Boating was ₹100 per head, kayaking was perhaps ₹300. In Gokarna we are paying ₹500 for pitching a tent at a campsite by the beach. Food at both places was about ₹2000 per day for six people. Petrol has been expensive, costing us more per day than stay and food, but we could have used public buses instead of a car.

That said, I recognise that travel is a privilege. Not everyone has a job that they can work on remotely, or can get leaves from. Not everyone has a car to just up and go. We've paid dearly for the space to store all of our camping gear. I have Sharada to take care of my plants when I'm gone. The list goes on. Just because I'm not spending much on this trip doesn't mean that I don't have other hidden means that enable this trip.

So, umm, if my travel pics encourage you to take short breaks more often, that's very nice. If they make you feel that you don't have the means to enjoy life as much as others, then I'm truly sorry I've made you feel this way. I wish I could tag Instagram pics in a way that you could filter out the travel pics.

I went camping with some friends three years ago, to Kasauli. They reached out to say that that trip would always be a core memory for their kids. And that my kids would have so many more such memories. Which is very generous of them, but it is also true. If you do have the means, and you have kids, yet you just sit on your butt all weekend, or all you do is luxury travel that doesn't let your kids connect with nature and with rural India, then really, get off your butt and go somewhere.

#दोस्ती #Gokarna #sea #rocks #sand #sunrise

#Sunrise in #Gokarna

#Kayaking in the #Kali river. The high point of any #Dandeli trip.

Motivating a bunch of #teenagers to go for an early #morning #walk through the #forest is hard. Hard but rewarding.

Out for a #morning #walk. These are some #fields near our #campsite.

We are off #camping in #Dandeli. This is how the #campsite looked last night. We are out for a few days, so give us a holler if you'd like to join us.

Hurriedly taken pics of milky white water

The new framing the old. Where somehow the old is better maintained and more elegant than the new.

More magic from #Alvekodi

#Karnataka #incredibleindia #clouds #sea

I don't think we've ever experienced anything quite like the #Alvekodi #Sea Walk.

#Karnataka #incredibleindia #clouds

#Maravanthe is the opposite of #BabaBudanGiri. It looks better in pictures than when you're actually there.

#Karnataka #nature #indiaclicks

Being #blue at the #Alvekodi Sea Walk.

#sea #Karnataka #Ambedkar #clouds

#Maravanthe was a bit of a let down. I suppose it's the kind of place that only looks glorious in drone pics.

#Karnataka #India #indiaclicks #incredibleindia

So many big #fish in the #Tunga river.

#Karnataka #nature

Baba Budan Giri. Pictures cannot capture the beauty of this place.

#nature #Karnataka #naturephotography #india

The view from #Sravanabelagola.

You can almost see the curvature of the earth 😳

#clouds #Karnataka #panorama

The kids will #camp with friends in our #tent, while I occupy this cosy #farmhouse

I've been unwell for some time and unable to work. So we stepped out tonight for a change in scenery and some fresh(er) air. Spending the night #camping at an #arecanut #farm.

The Southern Plains Grey #Langurs also took full advantage of the foliage in the forests of #Dandeli to hide.

#nature #naturephotography #wildlifephotography #wildlife #indiaclicks

The other fascinating creature in the hills of #Dandeli is the #Malabar Giant #Squirrel or shekaru. This cute and majestic animal lives high up on tall trees. It's bushy tale is a sight to behold as it scurried from one place to another.

#nature #naturephotography #wildlife #wildlifephotography

This pair of Malabar Hornbills was way up in the trees, well hidden. And it was a cloudy morning. Hence I've had to do some post to bring out the details of the pics.

#birdsofindia #birds #Dandeli #Goa #nature #naturephotography

In January we went camping in Dandeli. There we met the Grey Malabar Hornbill, a.k.a. dhanesh, gobre vaayre or kaldal hakki.

#birds #goa #Dandeli #birdsofindia #nature #naturephotography

This tube was destroyed by the kids within minutes of this pic being taken. Fun times :-D

Throwback to when we went camping by the Terekhol river.

Throwback to our caravaning+camping trip to Himachal four years ago.

M2 slept in late. M1 sat in a boat and looked fashionable while studying. Sephi cooked. The kids played games. I chased birds.

Everyone did their thing on a beautiful Sunday morning.

@sephibergerson 's lovely family invited us over and fed us yummy fresh cooked #food.

I finally found people in India who have more camping gear than me. My tribe 😁

Over the weekend we went #camping in #Maharashtra, by the #Terekhol river.

I wish I'd taken a nicer picture of the beautiful river and the fresh, cool water.

We leave you tonight, with what seems like the depiction of a tourist photographing a Goenkar who has had too much to drink and is now have a siesta on their Balcao. There can be nothing more Goan than this.

The dragon fellow was there too

When at the carnival, do as the locals do.

It was at this point, that Nilay decided to leave us, and be one with the Talegaon Boys' Club and their float

There were entertainers of all hues

Groot was there, for some reason

Some scantily clad men were seen promoting the virtues of coconut oil. Women were having a field day photographing this guy's naked butt.

I really liked this float promoting vocational education at the school level

This Gomes is a goner. He had a Mardi Gra-esque party going on outside his bar, with drunk ladies attracting a lot of attention... till the cops got attracted too.

This lady was at it all day, grinding away on her float

Some intense octopus sea life murder thing guy

So was the fresh produce guy

The junk food guy was there.

The random things that make a parade fun

Popularity is guaranteed if you're gonna chuck free onions and dried fish at people.

The flower girls look happier in person

King Momo surrounded by beauties

And so begins the Goa Carnival 2023

The customs guys being the little shits that they are, they've put this board up at the entrance of Betul Fort, which is the only fort built by Shivaji in Goa. When the Portugese clawed this fort from the Marathas, they turned it into a customs office. When India clawed Goa from the 'gese, we merrily handed over the fort to our customs department instead of the ASI. Now this fantastic piece of heritage is literally crumbling, and has no functional office or any customs presence beyond this board. Why oh why do the military, customs and what not continue to squat over our cultural heritage instead of handing them to the public or the ASI. Infuriating.

The view from Betul Fort is hard to describe. Something else altogether. Must go back there soon.

M2 contemplates the lake one last time before we leave. Good times were had. Memories were made.