San Jacinto Battleground Monument

Here is an interesting sculpture I noticed installed at the San Jacinto Battleground Monument state park. I don't know what it is and there was no signage to educate visitors like me about it. Nevertheless I think it is an interesting piece of art sited strategically sited at the base of the battleground tower at the end of the long water body that seems to have been built just to reflect the battleground monument.

San Jacinto Battleship Monument

This is the memorial park for one of the historical wars that Texas fought with Mexico and won. The monument is set amidst 1200 acres of sprawling grassland and forests. There are nice walking trails which visitors can use for recreation and exercise. I will be posting pictures of the memorial in upcoming posts.

Close at hand is the Battleship Monument which houses an old warship. Marooned in the bay the warship "Texas" showcases how the navy fought in the earlier part of the 20th century. Then there are vast expanses of open areas for people to hangout and enjoy nature. Here are few pictures of the ship.

Ferry Ride in Galveston

Galveston is an island off the gulf coast of Texas connected to the mainland on one side by a bridge. The other side of the island is linked to other near by islands via ferry that are free. People drive their cars into the ferry on one side and drive off on the other getting on with their works. The unique feature is that this ferry is completely free of cost and one can take as many trips as one pleases. We took up the task, but we left the car on the Galveston side and just climbed into the ferry to enjoy the ride and watch the sights of the sea and the breeze.

The ferry ride is also a good opportunity to see Dolphins as they jump out of water and play in the surf created by the boats propellers. Here are some pictures of the ferry ride. There is no picture of the ferry itself but of what I saw around in the sea waters as I traveled in the ferry.

Downtown Galveston Views

I have still not completed writing about my visit to Galveston during spring break. I know it is over a month and a half and I am still writing and posting pictures. Galveston is a small tourist town with a quaint downtown where shopping means buying lots of "Made in China" stuff at the trinket stores. There is tons of eating out and one unique store which is the military surplus store. Apart from that it is like every other downtown in America cobble stone streets, sidewalks, restaurants, and shopping.

Here are some pictures of downtown Galveston:

The oldest military surplus store.... in the world they claim... :)

Road signs in downtown... Mechanic avenue where nothing but shopping and dining exists

Interesting store signs in downtown...

Galveston - Architecture and Heritage

Galveston is an old town and as such there are several buildings that date back a few hundred years. Of course these are vehemently protected and guarded against demolition by legislation and public initiatives. A good phenomenon of course preserving history is important. Then there are modern buildings sporting concrete and glitzy signs. Here are few pictures of buildings I felt were interesting...

Exploring Rural America: Bonham, TX - 1

When I was in India visiting America means going to the most popular sights i.e., the Statue of Liberty, Empire State Museum, the Niagara Falls, Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, etc. Reading about these globally renowned destinations I was under the impression that America doesn't have much to explore, it is just a commercial paradise. Now that I am living here I am slowly becoming aware of the vastness of the country and the richness in terms of natural heritage and also man-made creations of the land. Each state, and county has its own historical museums, nature parks, and recreation spaces for local citizens as well as travelers. Most visitors are locals but there are some people from far off/ different states and rarely from other countries.
Yesterday I visited one such place in North Texas area. It is a small city known as Bonham with a population of a little over 10,000. The city is very small and it is mostly a village, except for the fact that there are all the modern amenities such as super markets, ATM, a prison, large post office, court, etc. It is indeed amazing that for a population of 10,000 the government has invested in all these amenities. I wish other nations also followed suit so there would be no necessity for crowding the big cities.
Bonham's major attraction is the Bonham State Park and the Lake Bonham Recreation Area. Then there are couple of museums and that is pretty much it. Here are some pictures of Bonham City. I will be posting more information about the other attractions soon....

Sam Rayburn Library and Museum - I will write more about this shortly...

Mr. Bonham, the person after whom the city has been named. His statue occupies the main square of the city

The county Prison... of course the maintenance is pathetic with the economic down turn...

Road to California

I visited California in 2008 soon after coming to the US. At that time I didn't know much about this country, society, culture or politics. I fancied myself to be a tourist and tried to enjoy my visit. Roads in the US are great marvels by themselves. I enjoy taking pictures of the road, specially when it is a scenic route linking mountains or runs along the sea shore. As we drove through the mountains towards the Bay Area or Silicon Valley, I captured some of the road views from the moving car. '

Italy: An ideal train holiday destination

What is your idea of a great holiday? A super relaxing train ride across Europe's most scenic locales? Or is it a sojourn across the Swiss Alps and swim in Italy's lakes. Europe has always held a charm for every tourist/ traveler. Italy in particular offers several amazing holiday options. There is charming Venice, fashionable Milan or the artistic Tuscany, even the smallest town in Italy has something unique to offer to the discerning traveler. Now with the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, the world's most famous train available for your holiday, it will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. You can feel being a part of European history while riding this train even as you enjoy an unforgettable holiday with your loved ones. Personally speaking I have always enjoyed traveling by rail. Now this opportunity to enjoy rail journeys in Italy has me looking at my calendar to see when I have my next long break. It would be my dream vacation to travel across the Alps and enjoy the tranquility and soak in the ethereal beauty of Italian lakes. I would love to explore the lush islands and if time permits take the train into Switzerland. Maybe next summer will be the time when I go on a train ride through Italy, until then I will keep planning my holidays.

My Favorite Places around Bengaluru

I have been living in the US since the past nearly 4 years. Life has been pretty good, the roads are better, traffic jams are almost unheard of, I drive a pretty nice car, and enjoy lot more luxuries than back home in India. I have traveled the length and breadth of the country and have my favorite spots everywhere. Living in the US is like staying at a luxury hotel, how much ever comfortable and luxurious it maybe it can never be called home. When I was living in Bengaluru it was common for me to take off every weekend for a short or long trip. Here are pictures of some of my favorite spots around Bengaluru.

Devanahalli Fort

Gokak Falls in Karnataka is beautiful

Sunset at Gokarna

Sculpture of Serpant and Lord Shiva in Lepakshi

Intricately carved temple pillars at Lepakshi

Lovely Lepakshi - Splendor in Stone

Lepakshi about 100 km from Bengaluru city is home to one of the most spectacular Vijayanagara era temples. Located in the State of Andhra Pradesh Lepakshi is easily accessible from Karnataka, i.e. Bengaluru.

I paid a quick visit to this wonderfully sculpted temple back in 2005 and ever since I have been smitten by the memories of the place. Lepakshi in my opinion is a place for those willing to get away from the routine multiple-destination tourist circuits and want a quiet weekend amidst ancient monuments and rugged scenery.

With its fine temple architecture and historically interesting monuments, Lepakshi is an ideal getaway for history enthusiasts, heritage lovers and monument fanatics. Sited in Anantapur District of neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, Lepakshi is a small village about 100 km from Bangalore.

Lepakshi is perhaps one of the most important locations close to Bangalore from a historical perspective. A trip to Lepakshi will prove revitalising for those who love in heritage sites, who marvel at the art created by our ancestors. Lepakshi, renowned as the repository of the best mural paintings of the Vijayanagar empire, hosts three shrines dedicated to Shiva, Vishnu and Veerabhadra. On a hillock known as ‘Kurma Saila’ (tortoise shaped hill), is located the large temple complex dedicated to Veerabhadra which also houses sub-shrines of Papanatheswara, Raghunatha, Srirama and Durga.

According to Skandapurana – a holy book of Hindus -- Lepakshi is one of the 108 Shaiva Kshetras or important pilgrim centres for worshippers of Lord Shiva. An inscription (in HaleKannada or old Kannada) on the outer wall of the temple records that one Virupanna, the treasury officer of the Penukonda Fort of the Vijaynagar empire, constructed the temple during the 16th century.

As with most ancient Hindu temples, Lepakshi also has several legends associated with it. But the most accepted legend is that Virupanna discovered the idol of Veerabhadra and decided to build a temple in the lord’s honour. Since the king was absent, he used money from the royal treasury without the former’s knowledge and started constructing the temple. When the temple construction was nearing completion the king returned to find the treasury empty. Enraged at Virupanna’s act of spending all the money without his consent, the king ordered that Virupanna should be blinded. Being a loyal person Virupanna carried out the punishment on the spot with his own bands and dashed his eyes into the temple’s stone wall. To this day one can see two dark stains upon the wall near the Kalyana Mandapa, which are said to be the blood stains made by Virupanna’s bleeding eye balls when he dashed them against the wall. Thus blinded and ailing Virupanna did not survive for long, and soon the village came to be called ‘Lepa-akshi’ i.e. the village of the blinded eye.

The Veerabhadra temple divided into three parts -- the Mukha Mandapa, (also called Natya Mandapa), the Artha Mandapa and Garbha Griha. The Kalyana Mandapa, with its 38 attractively carved monolithic grey sandstone pillars is yet unfinished. These three form a triangle with a common Mandapam or roof. To the south of the main shrine is a magnificently carved larger-than-life monolithic statue of a Shiva Linga sheltered by a massive seven-headed cobra known as the Nagalingam.

The temple is surrounded on all sides by a spacious outer courtyard or prakara supported by large and attractively sculpted stone pillars replete with relief figures of dancers, musicians, animals and birds. The finest parts of the temple however are Natya (Dancing) and Ardha (worship) Mandapas which perhaps host the best specimens of Vijayanagar style of sculpture and mural paintings. The former is adorned with intricately sculptured pillars on which are carved life-size representations of musicians and dancers in various poses of performance. The unfinished Kalyana Mandapam is a standing proof of the detailing in sculptural art of that period. The sculptures adorning the pillars and walls of the temple depict puranic episodes like those of Ananthasayana, Dattatreya, Chaturmukha Bramha, Tumburu, Narada and Rambha.

The beautiful sculptures on the outer prakara (courtyard) are bound to awe the visitor. Notable among the sculptures are the 14 forms of Siva, such as Dakshinamurthi, Ardhanareeswara, Tripurantaka etc. The unfinished Kalyana Mantapa in which the pillars are decorated with attractive patterned sculptures has provided perennial inspiration to textile designers across the world.

Another must-see monument in the town is the massive monolithic Nandi statue located a mere 500 meters from the Veerabhadra temple. The idol measuring about 30 ft long and 16 ft high, located towards North-East of the Veerabhadra temple is perhaps the largest monolithic Nandi in India.

Getting there.
Road. If you are travelling on your own vehicle, start off on the Bellary road (NH 7) to reach Lepakshi via Hindupur. Both APSRTC and KSRTC Buses ply frequently from Bangalore.
Train. Nearest railway station is at Puttaparthi aka Sri Sathya Sai Prashanti Nilayam Railway Station. Ph: (08555) 287355
Air. Puttaparthi is the nearest airport. Flights connect Chennai, Mumbai and Bangalore. The Airport is closed during summer season (April to June). Ph: (0091) 08555-87346.

Travel Deals to make you hit the road!

I love to travel by any means of transport to any kind of location. From scorching deserts to freezing mountains, burning volcanoes to the cool beaches, dangerous war zones to comfortable resort style holidays, every kind of destination appeals to me. While travel is a great benefit for the soul, it can prove to be a big set back for your savings. Travel costs money and comfortable travel costs more.

One of the biggest costs during a holiday is the stay. Hotel accommodations are usually expensive, irrespective of whichever part of the world you are traveling. The hotel managements know that you are not from the area and try to make a fast buck out of you. They did get away with this kind of practice till about recently when internet opened up a new bargaining platform for travelers and hoteliers.

New age entrepreneurs passionate about travel have promoted websites that offer Cheap Hotel Rates to ardent travel enthusiasts. This kind of websites enable holiday makers and vacationers to visit places and still not burn a hole in their wallets and pockets.

The rationale of this website is simple, combine a large number of hotel offerings and provide discounted options to travelers. This site is one online place where one can find great travel deals, book low rate rooms in comfortable hotels. The best thing is that you can also combine room, airfare and car rental to get wonderful deals. The net result is savings of hundreds of dollars for you so you can extend your stay or say travel to another destination. If something comes up in the last moment and you can't go, don't worry there is no cancellation charge.

The deal can't get any better.

Welcoming Visitors to Texas

This is the first tourist information center one finds while entering Texas from Mexico through the Laredo border. The building is pretty attractive with nice water features and open spaces within its premises. Ample parking enables people to park and take a breather before entering the busy freeway.

Weekend Getaways are vital to well being!

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Hampton Hotels. All opinions are 100% mine.

One of the vital necessities for everyone in order to lead a good life is recreation and leisure. This can be achieved either through hobbies, travel, recreational sports and other activities. Personally speaking I feel recreational travel is the most important necessity. Though the economic downturn of the past two years has made it a little tougher to take as many breaks, I have still been able to manage few weekend getaways and one long holiday.

Talking about weekend getaways, I recently came across this huge promotion by Hampton Hotel, they are giving away a free weekend stay everyday. Yes, you have the opportunity to win a totally free weekend stay at any Hampton hotel. They are offering a fantastic offer titled: Hampton Chain of Friends Sweepstakes under which entrants have a unique chance to win a free weekend stay at any Hampton hotel in the country.

Enter the contest and get your own chance to win and take a break with your friends this fall and have a good time bonding and building your team of well wishers. Weekend getaways are short, intense and highly relaxing and this is a great time to bond with people who are going to be part of yoru life for a long long time. This king of opportunity doesn't last long go for it now.

Nanjangud Vistas

Continuing my post of visiting Nanjangud I couldn't upload all the pictures. So here are some more pictures of the location... both indoor and outdoor shots. Some of the pictures may be a little blurred.

The Visitor Center @ Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge

I had blogged earlier about the visitor center and nature museum at the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, India-homa, Oklahoma. Here are some pictures of the innovative, informative, and interesting exhibits in the center. The folks here have tried to recreate natural scenarios that represent the park areas and the flora and fauna present within. I must say that they have done a wonderful job at that, the exhibits and soft lighting together provide a fantastic birds eye view of the park environs. We spent a few hours in the park including taking in the visitor center, I would suggest visitors to spend half a day at the visitor center and then proceed to explore the park for the next two days. Otherwise a visit to this wonderful wilderness area would be in vain.

Hills, Rocks, and Boulders of India-Homa

The visitors Center

It has been several months... almost years since I touched a rock with an intention of climbing it. There are no rocks or hills in Dallas area, which is in the heart of the Panhandle Plains of Texas. Last Sunday I was lucky enough to visit a place known as Indiahoma in the neighboring state of Oklahoma. This small town is home to the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge.

The sprawl of Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, India-homa

As we drove on flat-as-a-Dosa landscape I was joking that Indiahoma and Oklahoma get their names because one of the ancient Hindu saints... Rishi Kapila traveled from Kapilaranya (California) with his cattle (Akalu in our language) and performed some sacred rituals to rid the land off its curses. Hence the state came to be known as Akalu-Homa and later became anglicized to Oklahoma. The place India-Home is the exact location of the sacred rituals and hence even today it is associated with India and Homa.

Anyway Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge is quite different from Texas and I simply loved the rolling rocky hills that mark the area. This is a 59,020 acre refuge and is protected habitat for several native species that have managed to survive the Whiteman's Greed. When the first Europeans landed in this country, their sole intention was to plunder and destroy whatever they found here so they can become rich. It was only after several decades that they started settling down and forming this United States of America. Some of the commonly found species in this wildlife refuge include the American bison, (We saw many of these gentle giants) Rocky Mountain elk, white-tailed deer, Texas longhorn cattle (what are they doing in Oklahoma??? Oh! these were the ones brought in by Rishi Kapila to perform the Yanga, and they are protected because, here they are sacred). Apart from these notable creatures there are over 50 mammal, 240 bird, 64 reptile and amphibian, 36 fish, and 806 plant species thrive here.

Rocky Terrain

I will talk about the short hike we took in the refuge in my next post. For now I have to get ready and get to work... enjoy the pictures.

Branson, Missouri: The best holiday destination for Spring Breakers!!!

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Hiltons of Branson. All opinions are 100% mine.

I moved to the United States in late 2007 and since then I have taken every opportunity to travel within the country. I have enjoyed touring cities, national parks, tourist destinations and watching shows. Places with an abundance of natural wealth, adventure activities, and recreational opportunities are among my favored destinations.

Branson, MO is one of my preferred holiday locations because the city offers unlimited opportunities for shopping, golf, and live shows. While in Branson, my preferred hotels are one of the Hiltons. Either the Hilton Promenade at Branson Landing or at the Hilton Branson Convention Center. Why do I prefer to stay here, it is simply because both the hotels are located within easy reach of shopping areas, boutiques, classy restaurants, river walk, and other attractions.

Right now the Hilton hotels have some great offers. The one I would opt for would be the Golf Package being offered in collaboration with Payne Stewart Golf Club by the Hilton Promenade. With rates starting from $209 this package is definitely a wonderful bargain in my opinion. The best thing about this package is that, it is on until Feb 2011. Another package I am highly attracted towards is the Romance Package, I would probably go there for our anniversary and enjoy the "do not disturb" getaway.

The save with Visa Package will get you a discount of 25% the Best Available Rate. Now that is what I call great savings. Look up the website of Hilton to know about the packages and I bet you will immediately end up booking your holiday.

Egypt Aggressively Repossessioning Stolen Art Works

All ancient civilizations across the world have been subject to ruthless plundering by unscrupulous elements in the world. The greatest plunderers have been Europeans and Arabs. As I write this post the largest trove of emeralds lies in the treasury of Turkey, property of India, plundered by Nadir Shah during the 18th century. A visit to any of the world famous museums in London, Paris, Berlin, or any other European nation would reveal hundreds of artworks plundered by these nations when they were busy colonizing the rest of the world.

Anyway today I was listening to National Public Radio while driving home from work and this news caught my attention. There was a report that a 3000-year old stolen Sarcophagus - highly decorated wooden coffin - was seized by the US customs in Miami and Egypt government staked a claim. Following some back and forth communications the US has agreed to return the Stolen Sarcophagus to Egypt.

During the program one Zahi Hawass, secretary-general of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities was interviewed. The Egyptian authorities don't know anything about the Sarcophagus except the name of the person buried in it. They feel that it was stolen from Egypt in 1970 but there are no facts known. But still they pursued and pressed for its return. That is the true spirit of patriotism and national pride. According to Hawass over 30,000 artworks have been repossessed during the past few years. The Egyptian government continues to press for return of many other major artworks including those housed in Louvre, and other globally renowned museums.

I am quite impressed by the way Egyptian government is pursuing its heritage and pressing for its return. Even though the present Egyptian population and its government are Islamic they are interested in their non-Islamic past and want to preserve it as part of their national heritage.

I wish Indian government would set up a similar council to chase after the plunderers and repossess all the art, and wealth that was plundered from our country during the 1200 years of Islamic and Christian colonization of our country. It is time that the westerners who plundered India said sorry and returned the things they stole from us. They can't return the people whom they killed but at least they can return our art works!!!

Pictures in this post was sourced from NPR who sourced it from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement