The Tuk Tuk Experience in Bangkok

Just like any other 'new arrival' in Bangkok I was eager to experience the rides in the famous Tuk Tuks of Bangkok. Tuk Tuks are similar to the autorikshaws of India, but are more spacious. The name originated from the sound of the motor of the vehicle and the sound really went tuk tuk tuk tuk... Two three rides in them and I decided I better take the taxi or the bus or the Sky Train there. The drivers are all great guys, but when they see tourists they can't resist taking them for a ride!


The first lesson learnt, was negotiating the prices before you get in. The guy did take us to our destination but charged an exorbitant rate and I unnecessarily had to go through the haggling process to bring down the rate to 60Baht from 200Baht. I am sure that short trip wouldn't have cost anything more than 20Bahts.


Next ride I took, the fare was fixed, the destination was fixed but I made the mistake of not deciding the route. Now this gentleman i.e. the Tuk Tuk driver wanted to take us to the Palace via a Chinese Gem factory, textile shops and finally a tailor shop who delivers stitched clothes within a day. On objecting to his grand plans, he tried hard to convince me what a great experience I would miss after coming to Bangkok all the way from India. After a lot of debate on where we the tourists should actually go, he told us the truth that he would get some coupons for fuel. I finally gave in to his pleading look and agreed on just one stop. That is it.


The fact is most tourists come with very short time in hand to the city. And if more than half a day is spent touring according to the driver’s requirements, it is sheer waste of time and money for the tourists. But I must add here that they are very friendly guys, always with a smile, one has to be just alert and aware.

Hosted by Cecily and Carissa

Trained White Vultures

In my previous posts I had mentioned about intelligence in birds and they were mostly about parrots, pigeons and crows. The birds of prey in the wild too have a high intelligence, the levels vary. In fact no living bird is truly stupid. As juvenile birds grow in to independent adults, their inborn genetic information and skills watched and picked up from the parent birds help them survive in the world.

It is in this juvenile state, the birds of prey are captured from the wild. They are then trained for various purposes. Training these birds is a lengthy and complicated process and a license to train such birds have to be obtained. Owners soon realize how smart the wild birds are and it is very different from owning and caring the pet birds.


At Jurong Bird Park, Singapore, we witnessed the trained White Vultures showing off their skills, and the trainers constantly rewarding them with bits of meat. It was interesting to note how the Vultures assessed the size of the eggs and accordingly devised strategies to break them. The smaller ones were raised and dropped on a hard surface and for bigger ones they used stones. They would pick a reasonably big sized stone and drop it on the egg.


Read another interesting story here: The intelligence of vultures

Invoking Godess Lakshmi

It is Diwali time and I want to share the picture of Goddess Lakshmi I took some time back. I was stunned to see it there and then.


Hindus invoke Goddess Lakshmi during this festival which goes on for five days in some parts of India, seeking wealth and prosperity. In every house, idol or picture of Goddess Lakshmi is seated centrally, decorated with jewels and flowers, lights are lit, prayers are chanted, and sweets exchanged. The festival falls on dark night of Amavsya (new moon night), as Sun enters the second course and passes Libra. As the holy Vedic hymns are chanted, simple hearts believe that Goddess Lakshmi alights on Earth. She walks through the green fields and through the bye-lanes, visits the cleanest homes and showers her blessings for prosperity.

Hindus depict Goddess Lakshmi as a very fair and beautiful lady. She is dressed in bright colored sari, has four arms, and is often shown as seated or standing on a lotus. There is a continuous stream of coins flowing from her hands. And to see all these details so finely depicted in a place where I least expected, surprised me.

Could you guess where this was painted? The picture of Goddess Lakshmi was painted on a bus carrying loads of tourists in Sukhothai, a World Heritage Site in Thailand. Great work done by the artist, who made a good study of the subject and presented it with so many details!

I wish all my readers A VERY HAPPY DIWALI!

Blue Crowned Pigeon

Anything that is not traditional is exciting, isn't it?

That is precisely what I felt when I saw the Blue Crowned Pigeon roaming around me freely without any fear in Jurong Bird Park, Singapore. These non-aggressive birds looked so attractive with their brightly colored crest feathers, I was on my knees. The Turkey sized birds moved around me so gracefully, it was hard to believe they belonged to the pigeon family.



The arrangement at this particular enclosure of the Blue Crowned Pigeons was good. A huge cage, visitors could enter and exit through two gates, and the birds seemed so used to the curious visitors. They seemed so tamed and trusting birds. I found so many of them close to my feet, I felt it should be easy to have them as pets like any other pigeon. Their diet usually consists of of grains that are usually fed to the domestic pigeons, small dog food bits, and chopped fruit so maintaining is not costly. Acquiring them will be a costly affair, as each bird sells at 2000 to 2500$.


There I witnessed the mating ritual of these birds, the male bird was making a boom-boom kind of sound, spreading its tail feathers and continuously bowing to the female one. I was so carried away by the beautiful sight, that I forgot to click. In one of the low branches, there was a mother pigeon hatching its eggs. Usually they lay only one egg at a time, 30 days for incubation, After hatching the chick is looked after in the nest by both parent birds for another 30 days and finally when it flies out it is still looked after for another 30 days by the parent birds.

A young one.

Wiki mentions: Hunted for food and its plumes, it remains common only in remote areas. Due to ongoing habitat loss, limited range and over hunting in some areas, the Western Crowned Pigeon is evaluated as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Other specs.
Also known as: Blue crowned-pigeon, common crowned pigeon, great goura and masked pigeon
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Class Aves
Order Columbiformes
Family Columbidae
Genus Goura (1)
Size Length: up to 70 cm (2)