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Africa’s Serengeti Migration is known as the greatest animal show on earth. Wild animals on the move blanket the African landscape as far as the eye can see.

Over a million wildebeest and about 200,000 zebras flow south from the northern hills to the southern plains for the short rains every October and November, and then swirl west and north after the long rains in April, May and June. So strong is the ancient instinct to move that no drought, gorge or crocodile infested river can hold them back.

Continue reading The greatest animal show on earth – Africa’s Serengeti Migration

A real Tribute to Beauty and Human Love, The Taj Mahal monument is located in Agra, India and is constructed between 1631 and 1654 by a workforce of 22,000 humans. The Muslim Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan commissioned its construction as a mausoleum for his favourite wife, Arjumand Bano Begum, who is better known as Mumtaz.

The Taj Mahal (sometimes called “the Taj”) is generally considered the finest example of Mughal architecture, a style that combines elements of Indian, Islamic and Persian architectures. The Taj Mahal has achieved special note because of the romance of its inspiration. While the white domed marble mausoleum is the most familiar part of the monument, the Taj Mahal is actually an integrated complex of structures.

The Mausoleum of the Taj Mahal at Agra stands in a formally laid-out walled garden entered through a pavilion on the main axis. The tomb, raised on a terrace and first seen reflected in the central canal, is entirely sheathed in marble, but the mosque and counter-mosque on the transverse axis are built in red sandstone. The four minarets, set symmetrically about the tomb, are scaled down to heighten the effect of the dominant, slightly bulbous dome. The mosques, built only to balance the composition are set sufficiently far away to do no more than frame the mausoleum. In essence, the whole riverside platform is a mosque courtyard with a tomb at its centre. The great entrance gate with its domed central chamber, set at the end of the long watercourse, would in any other setting be monumental in its own right.

The postcard picture of Taj Mahal does not adequately convey the legend, the poetry and the romance that shroud what Rabindranath Tagore calls “a teardrop on the cheek of time”. Taj Mahal means “Crown Palace” and is in fact the most well preserved and architecturally beautiful tomb in the world. It is best described by the English poet, Sir Edwin Arnold, as “Not a piece of architecture, as other buildings are, but the proud passions of an emperor’s love wrought in living stones.” It is a celebration of woman built in marble and that’s the way to appreciate it.

What inspired the building of Taj Mahal?

Continue reading Tribute to Beauty at Taj Mahal travel wonder in India

Ha Long Bay is a body of water of approximately 1,500 square kilometres in north Vietnam with a 120 kilometre coastline, in the Gulf of Tonkin near the border with China, and 170 kilometres east of Hanoi. Ha Long Bay means Bay of the Descending Dragon in the Vietnamese language.

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One of the most famous mountains in the world, Eiger has a height of 3970 meters and it is situated at the Jungfrau Region in Berner Oberland, Switzerland. The popularity of Eiger can be credited to its north face which has captured the interest of many climbing enthusiasts. Eiger offers a significant challenge to those who wish to reach its summit.

Continue reading Climbing trip to Jungfrau and Eiger mountains in Switzerland

The Pont du Gard aqueduct is one really amazing masterpice of Roman Architecture and was built shortly before the Christian era to allow the aqueduct of Nimes (which is almost 50 km long) to cross the Gard river. The Roman architects and hydraulic engineers who designed this bridge, which stands almost 50 m high and is on three levels, the longest measuring 275 m, created a technical as well as an artistic masterpiece.

Pont du Gard means literally bridge of the Gard river. The Gard river, which has given its name to the Gard departement, does not actually exist under this name. The river, formed by many tributaries, several of which are called Gardon, is itself called Gardon until its end.

Its construction is attributed to Augustus, son-in-law and aide, Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa. Designed to carry the water across the small Gardon river valley, it was part of a nearly 50 km (31 mi) aqueduct that brought water from springs near Uzes to the Roman city of Nemausus (Nimes). The full aqueduct had a gradient of 34 cm/km (1/3000), descending only 17 m vertically in its entire length and delivering 20,000 cubic meters (44 million gallons) of water daily.

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Teahupoo (pronounced Cho-poo) is a world-renowned surfing location off the south-east of Tahiti, located in Papeete Island, French Polynesia, southern Pacific Ocean. It is known for its heavy, glassy waves, often reaching 2-3m (7-10ft) and higher. It is the site of the annual Billabong Pro Tahiti surf competition, part of the World Championship Tour (WCT) of the ASP World Tour professional surfing circuit and used to be one stop in the World Tour of the International Bodyboarding Association.

Tahiti’s Teahupoo is essentially a glorified closeout – a hideous, deadly barrel promising a heap of trouble for even the most capable of surfers. No other surf spot extracts a higher toll than Teahupoo, the heaviest wave in the world.

Continue reading Are you ready for some surfing at Teahupoo

One hundred six balloons in a mass ascension at the Reno Balloon Race. Can you see where the cow jumped over the moon? This was shot with a Canon S3 using GBTimelapse and a Canon Pro1 running in continuous mode. The master copy of this video is in 1920×1080 HD mode – if only there were a way for you to see it in hi-def…