Blue lake amid sand dunes, Lake Zakher , Al Ain

It was two hour journey from Dubai to Al Ain.  Al Ain is famous oasis  and a greener place surrounded by desert .  Zakher lake is 30 km from Al Ain and Very few people are aware of its existence. Most  of our journey was though lush green area ,beautiful mountains and sand dunes.

It was not easy to find the lake, somehow we were able to reach there in evening with the help of Google map and few locals . It is very beautiful and unbelievable to see a blue lake amid sand dunes.

It was created from treated waste water that was released onto land, which pushed up groundwater levels and eventually resulted in the development of a lake. It is paradise for birdwatchers during winter. It is also known as Tilapia Lake because the lake is home to a large number of tilapia fish. How the tilapia got there is a mystery. 

Sunset at Zakhe Lake or tilapia lake , Al ain

Sunset at Zakhe Lake or tilapia lake , Al ain

Place where Stones speak ,KONARK ,ODISHA

Journey from puri and konark is very scenic. Ponds with lotus flower, cashew plant and other trees followed our entire journey.  Most of the area between puri and konark is animal sanctuary and during summer season it is common to see deer and other animals running across the road in search of food. Whole journey was comfortable and we enjoyed the natural beauty. In the last few minutes we could see the beautiful sea.

Our driver dropped us few hundreds meter before the Sun temple. We walked to the temple and bought entrance ticket at main gate. Near We hired a guide near the main entrance to understand the architecture and history in better way.

Sun temple at konark is one of the UNESCO heritage list and at present renovation of main temple is going in full swing. One of the temple much taller than the present one is already perished. Even the present temple is filled inside with stones by British to save it. The temple was built in the shape of a gigantic chariot with elaborately carved stone wheels, pillars and walls. There are 24 wheels surrounding the present temple.

There is no word to describe the beauty of SUN temple. It is the place where stones speak. Each and every corner of stone is filled with beautiful carving and sculptures. Every sculpture represents something including dancers, couple, family, disease, rituals, mythical figures, idols, eroticism, and many more. 

Our guide helped us  to understand the history and the sculptures.  Architecture of the temple is influenced by Buddhist, Chinese, Greece style.

There are few broken statue of sun god . Our guide told us that it has Greek influence as you can see the tall shoe , which is not present in Indian sculptures. 

I was surprise to see the eroticism ( Sorry not putting those picture here). It was just like kamasutra carved on the walls. I was just wondering how the  indian society was liberal and open in past. After spending almost 4 hour inside, we walked back to the our vehicle. On the way back we bought few souvenir after easy bargain.

Nandankanan zoological park

I do not prefer to visit Zoo due to bad condition of Indian zoo. When i came to know that Nandankanan zoological park is the First zoo in the country to become a member of World Association of Zoos & Aquariums and have famous white tiger safari then thought to give a try.

My wife and i started the journey in afternoon from Bhubaneswar. It was half an hour drive from the city. 

Adopt-an-Animal is also an interesting new initiative by Zoo to help involve the general public in animal conservation and raise money. People can adopt for as small as 500 rupees for a small birds to 100000 rupees for a tiger for a year.

Entrance of Nandankanan zoological park

We bought ticket at the entrance hall. After entering the main gate  there is beautiful fountain inside.  Zoo is covered with dense forest . There were many monkey roaming inside the Zoo.

Aviary section was our first stop. There is a big open aviary section covered with net. Infact there is a small pond and many large tree inside the net. The whole net is supported by long bamboos bundle.

Brahminy Kite at Nandankanan zoological park

Mandarin duck at nandankanan zoological park

Black swan at Nandankanan zoological park

There are many large mammal inside the park. All are provided with large enclosed area for comfortable imprisonment.

Rhinoceros at Nandankanan zoological park

Rhinoceros at Nandankanan zoological park

Hippopotamus at Nandankanan zoological park

Orangutan at Nandankanan zoological park

Deer  at Nandankanan zoological park

                      

There is a reptile section Displaying different type of snakes, tortoise and alligators.

We bought ticket for the safari. It included White tiger, lion, bear and deer safari. We waited for almost half an hour on our safari bus after tyre puncture. Luckily it was drizzling and we were enjoying the pleasant weather.We passed through the jungle in our safari bus. We could see many many peacocks displaying colorful feathers in the wild.

 We were lucky to see two white tiger with their kill.First tiger was having a deer cub in mouth and other was playing near by.

 White tiger at nandankanan zoological park

 Lions at nandankanan zoological park

Bear at nandankanan zoological park

Zoo was better than my expectation. There is also restaurant, toy train and many facilities  inside the zoo. I could not stayed longer due to time limit.