Mulshi Dam

One sunny saturday, we decided to go around some place near Pune. Jacob "googled" and Mulshi was top on the list for places to visit within 50kms in and around Pune :) We set drive aiming to see a dam.. we drove and drove, but there was no sight of any Dam.. Then we saw few cars halted and walked down to find this small waterfall and a little stream.. Better than nothing we thought and went into the water and took some Pics..

The weekend Escape- trip to Dandeli

On 5th March evening we decided to venture to Forest Reserve at Dandeli with group of people from work. Annabel was very excited about train journey. She kept saying " chook chook " for every train that passed by.. There were no other children on board our team, so she enjoyed every ones attention. It was an adventure trip with Water rafting, kayaking and Natural jacuzzi as items on the things to do there.. At the Stanley's Farm house resort , there was campfire arranged and tents for the night. The trip turned out much better than everyone expected and all had good things to say. Annabel too enjoyed and for the next 2 days after the return she kept saying she wanted to go back sitting on a train :)

At the Stanley Farmouse

The tents were cozzy
Kayaking on the still river

White water rafting for the adventerous

Natural Jacuzzi

On a mushroom boat

Tired and dozing off !

Splendour Country Club

On one fine Saturday morning, we drove to Khadakwasala to enjoy a day with friends and colleagues. First thing Annabel spotted there was the pool. She took out her toys, jumped into her swim suit and ran to play. She wanted to explore the new place.. She tried the Hammock, the swings and slides in the park. When it was almost time to return, she wanted to go back again in the pool. We all enjoyed and had a pleasant time at the Splendour Country Club.

Touching heavens!

Dusshera holidays, gave us some time to go around Pune. Our first destination was Sinhagarh. A fort built on hill top. After lots of turns and rounds we reached the hilltop. There were about a 100 steps which we had to climb and then there was this beautiful spot where you get to touch the clouds… We could feel the tiny droplets that made these fluffy white clouds. The view from top was just Awesome!

Daddy's Project event- Protaras

We started off early Saturday morning from Limassol. It was a long drive to Protaras. Annabel was too excited to sleep in the car and all the way, daddy and I had to keep singing her favorite song "lakadi ke kathi, kathi pe ghoda" . There was lots of things to see and do there.. At the "Ocean Aquarium" there were fishes of all sorts. They even had some Penguins and parakeets. Annabel loved the pool.. She could not have enough of it.. floating, playing with her toys, pouring water over herself and daddy over and over again! In the evening, enjoyed the musical light fountains.. More photos in WebAlbum

On our way back we drove to see the Agianappa Sea caves.. It was truely a sight! Carvings made by the waves.

NorthCyprus- A relaxing holiday

During Easter Holidays in 2008, we went to North Cyprus, which is under the Turkish rule. We needed a visa to go this part of the country, though it did not feel much different from the rest of Cyprus. We had a leisurely vacation with few site seeing and eating out at good restaurants.

The places we saw, were the ruins of Vouni palace. Situated on a mountain, it had a beautiful view. We also saw the Kyrenia fort. It was huge, a marvelous piece of architecture. The dungeons showcased some figures of how prisoners were tortured. The view of the Kyrenia Harbour was truly magnificent.

Among the Restaurants we visited, was a Fish meze restaurant on the way to Vouni Palace. We also went to a Chinese restaurant and an Indian restaurant there. They were good and comparatively cheaper than the restaurants out here. We spend most of our time in the River side Holiday village resort. There were flowers everywhere and also it had a nice pool.
It was a nice trip. A one time must go for all the Cyprus visitors!

Our Israel venture!

During the easter holidays, we flew to Israel to spend four days there.. Its amazing, that despite all the political problems in Israel, its very well developed and they have no inch of a land that has gone waste! Either its building, or vast agriculture lands or else its land with some forest vegetation! We stayed in Tel-Aviv, a city that never sleeps.. Even at odd hours in the night, u see people cycling and going around.

Day1- we went around Jerusalem, then crossed over to Palestine to see Bethlehem, then drove to Mount olives and to Dead Sea.


Day2- We visited Nazareth, where Jesus grew as a carpenter. Next stop was to Jordan River, where Jesus was Baptised by John the Baptist. We also had the St Peters Fish from a Fish Travern.
Day3- Our destination was Haifa- to the beautiful Bahai gardens, then the large sea caves. We also enjoyed a boat ride.. By then Annabel could not sit any longer in the car for long drives.. So we took her to a park near by where she played till she was tired!
Day4- Our trip was almost at the end. We went around Tel-Aviv, to the SaFari, Carmel Market and then off we drove to the Airport to catch the flight back to Cyprus .

More photos at:
Day1
Day2
Day3
Day4

Exploring Mathkaloni village

On one satruday afternoon, we went exploring an abandoned village.. We did not know the exact way and had to call up our friend every now and then for the directions.. The village itself didnot have anything exciting.. but the drive was good and we got to take some very good pictures..

A view of limassol City

In midst of flowers

A snowy experience

This year, it snowed much earlier in Troodos. The day after Christmas, we went to enjoy the snow. It was fun sliding down the slope on a sledge and to play in the snow covered park. On the way back, we enjoyed a hot corn and a rather sweet Cyprus delicacy.

Vacation... Part 2 -At Mahabalipuram

We visited 3 different states in our 4 week vacation! Maybe that’s why we felt vacation was too short! During the second week, we were at Mahabalipuram near Chennai. It is famous for carvings on rock. It is marvelous to see the elaborate cave carvings that date back to many centuries ago. An interesting aspect of these sculptures is that, most of the sculptures are Monolithic ( made from single rock) despite their huge sizes!!Each rock-cut caves has a story to tell about the God and Goddesses. Below are some pictures taken at Mahabalipuram

Carvings inside one of the caves.

This Elephant sculpture was the cover page of my 6th grade History Textbook!!The Five Rathas-five monolithic pyramidal structures named after the Pandavas (Arjuna, Bhima, Yudhistra, Nakula, Sahadeva).

There were lot of monkeys around to entertain Annabel. We also saw a monkey cleverly opening a pepsi bottle and sipping the remains!!

Vacation...Part I

I am back again after our short Home leave. We had a good time.. visited many places and saw our relatives and friends. Annabel enjoyed the trip.. she loved to stay outdoors, see all the animals ( cows, dogs, cats, birds) and most of all the attention and care she got from everyone around her.

We stayed in Indore, MP for a week in the start of our trip. Here are some pictures taken there.

Learning to Drive :)

At Sree Maya Restaurant

At MacDonald in Treasure Island, Indore

The White tiger at Indore zoo.

Home Vacation 2007

Home leave is a time that we look forward to every year. In 2007, we managed to schedule it during the Christmas eve.. We had a wonderful Christmas and a good start to the new Year.

We took some time to visit my Grandfather, back in my mothers town in Mailaduthurai, TamilNadu.

We also visited the beautiful church in Velankani. This Church has a history of many miracles. Miri had a good hair cut also done here.There is busy market street behind the church ( as u can see in the below photo) which leads to a beach.



The Tanjore Temple (Thanjavur Periya Kovil) with its marvelous architecture was another interesting stop in our TamilNadu trip. There is a large bull at the entrance of this temple. It is believed that this stone Bull is growing every year and when it touches the Roof , the world would end! Amazing fact about this temple is that, Gopuram does not have shadow at any time of the day!


Time has again come when we are counting down the days to the next home leave.. We are again looking forward to have some nice time with our family and friends back in India.