Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary, Rajasthan
Conservation Tourism
Bird of the Day: Common Kestrel
Outskirts of Bangalore, Karnataka
Tea Plantations – Munnar
Photo credits: Ramesh Kidangoor
Munnar is a popular tourist destination in Kerala, attracting many people mesmerized by its manicured tea gardens and unique biodiversity. The region holds the largest tea plantations in India. In the nineteenth century, the British Resident of the Travancore Kingdom, John Daniel Munro, visited Munnar and had a great interest in the plantations. Continue reading
Bird of the Day: Royal Tern (El Cuyo, Mexico)
Bird of the Day: Large Cormorant (Bhadra Tiger Reserve, Karnataka)
Bird of the Day: Hudsonian Godwit (Churchill, Canada)
Bird of the Day: Siberian Stonechat
Outskirts of Bangalore, Karnataka
Kodai Lake – Tamil Nadu
Photo credits: Renuka Menon
Kodaikanal is the one of Tamil Nadu’s famous hill stations. With an altitude of about 2200 meters above sea level and coversing an area of 2150 sq km, it is the most popular tourist destination in South India due to it’s lush, green surroundings and beautiful lake with boating and angling facilities. Continue reading
Bird of the Day: Mourning Dove (Ithaca, NY)
Bird of the Day: House Sparrow (Tadoba National Park, Maharashtra)
Bird of the Day: Sapphire-vented Puffleg and Buff-winged Starfrontlet Hummingbirds
Yanacocha Reserve, Ecuador
Bird of the Day: White-browed Wagtail
Juvenile – Bhadra Tiger Reserve, Karnataka
Bird of the Day: Northern Pintails
Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary, Rajasthan
Bird of the Day: Long-billed Vulture
Bandipur National Park, Karnataka
Andhakaranazhi Beach – Alappuzha
Photo credits: Ranjith
Andhakaranazhi is a beautiful beach located 5km from Mararikulam beach (one of the most famous beaches in Kerala) in the Alappuzha district, approximately 30km from Kochi International Airport. There is a lighthouse near the beach, and the place is a confluence of the backwaters and the Arabian Sea. It is particularly beautiful at sunset and sunrise. Continue reading
Bird of the Day: Sanderlings (Westhampton, New York)
Fiji Shark Dive
Photo Credit: Martin Graf, Sharkdiver.com
In an earlier post I wrote about how more and more countries are waking up to the benefits of preserving natural capital, in recognition of the economic value that can be derived through ecotourism. I noted, in particular, the value that can be generated through ecotourism ventures focused on iconic species such as sharks, manta rays, and sea turtles. I cited a number of studies and calculations that demonstrate that the ecotourism value of these animals far outweighs their one-time economic value if harvested for food or body parts.
Earlier this week, I had an opportunity to experience one such venture first hand, via the famous Fiji Shark Dive. Over the course of two dives I was treated to the spectacle of 40+ Bull Sharks and dozens of Blacktip and White Tip Reef Sharks, up close and personal! What an amazing experience to see these magnificent animals – some upwards of 8 feet long –swimming only inches away. Click here for a video (check out the background music!) courtesy of Martin Graf, one of the pioneers of the Shark Diving industry, who just happened to be in Fiji this week and was along on my dives. Continue reading
Bird of the Day: Snowy Egret (UC Santa Barbara, California)
Bird of the Day: Spotted Owl
Bangalore, Karnataka
A Young Architect’s Process from Concept to Construction to Cigarette featured in Indian Architect & Builder
Preliminary model of the pavilion (Photo by Karen Chi-Chi Lin)
My very first internship was in Bangladesh with Panigram Resort, an eco-boutique resort in a rural farming town outside of Jessore, Bangladesh. I had no idea that it would ignite an insatiable curiosity about South Asia that would lead me back to the region several years later. I arrived in Kerala, India in 2012 not only with the amazing opportunity to return to a similar tropical biome and region, I had also returned to the same hospitality and resort family! Raxa Collective collaborates with Panigram Resort to help train Panigram Resort’s future leadership and staff.
When I was working at Panigram Resort, I was tasked with building a temporary pavilion for hosting potential investor meals and events. It seemed like an uphill battle for me at the time: I was young (19 years old); I was female; and I was a foreigner. Who would listen to me? I recently shared my story and was awarded the Young Designers 2014 Award by the Indian Architects & Builders (IA&B) magazine. I hope you, too, will enjoy my anecdote about the process from concept to construction … and finally, acceptance.
Panigram Resort banquet pavilion from start to finish (Photo by Karen Chi-Chi Lin)
I have never felt more accomplished than when I was handed a cigarette. Of course that requires an explanation. Continue reading
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