Solo wildlife trip!

Hey everyone,

I'm back to share my second solo travel tale. The first had been Pondicherry, Tamilnadu and this is in my own State: Odisha.

I had been planning to go a new wildlife sanctuary since a long time but it never happened because of fear of remote places, no company and expenses. But finally I saved some money, got some guts, Google-d stuff online, made few calls and settled everything! The place to go was 'Kuldiha'.

I had heard good reviews of the place and seemed particular closer to Bhubaneswar i.e. my city. 

To read my more detailed trip report and pictures check the link --> Wildlife trip to Kuldiha

I have a passion for bird watching in their natural habitat and with this place I had great hopes! Two and a half days with Mr. Manaranjan Das, my tour guide (who is also a birder) went excellent! I explored a beautiful new place. A complete raw and pristine forest with a positive vibe that energizes you. Forgetting the clumsy busy world, I enjoyed this calm green! At the peak hours I enjoyed plenty of bird calls and had some amazing bird sightings like Malabar Trogan, Pale-capped Pigeon, Vernol’s hanging parrot and Heart-spotted woodpecker. One late evening I was lucky to see a cow Indian Elephant drinking water with its calf. What a peaceful sight and it fills you with a feeling of awe. How beautiful is nature and its ways!

One night we stayed in 'Kuldiha' rest house which is deep in the forests with no network and limited electricity. It rained heavily that night, and guess what! I had a tent for night stay. Exciting!! I enjoyed the gossips with the locals having black tea and snacks. The next day after rains was extremely fruitful in bird watching. I saw Indian Giant squirrels, Spotted deers and some fascinating butterflies, insects and lizards. With birding I also have an interaction with the habitat; the trees, leaves, soil; everything is a part of it. You learn nature's behavior although it's quite unpredictable and that's the fun part; it surprises you!!

I felt like I challenged myself to go solo again and accomplished it. I have more confidence in me and the ways to deal with people and places. My overall view with Kuldiha was very nice. It's safe and people are nice plus within one and half hour you're close to cities.  

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Selfie and the view from my vehicle

Me with Mr. Manaranjan Das and his wife who also had great interest in birds!

Doggy love and the nice guest house at Panchlingeswar, Balasore

Crested Serpent Eagle

Elephant and it's calf going for a drink

Shrike

Malabar trogan

Oriental turtle dove

Indian Giant Squirrel

Peninsular rock agama

Spotted deers

My tent! How adventurous :) 

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"I was little scared to do this solo trip in a wildlife sanctuary but with Manoj bhai's help and hospitality all my fear turned into joy. Bird watching went good and all other amenities were taken care off. You don't need to worry about food or stay. It's a good place and a lot of things like water-falls and hills are nearby to see. I'll come again for that and of course birding too. Hoping to see more Elephants and Bisons as well"


You can reach Mr. Manoranjan Das at: 9937332552
www.kuldihasafari.com  
 ***

Last day when I was dropped in the city I decided to check out a nearby beach which is quite famous. So I changed two auto-rickshaws and within one and half hour I was in Chandipur beach. It was hot but the place was nice! Beaches are always peaceful and serene. I had some fresh coconut water and came back to Balasore railway station. After 3 hours I took my train and was in home in next 3 and half more hours. :)

Chandipur beach and Great Egret birds

My solo time towards beach

Hoping for a comeback to explore more ~

Back with my 'Tote Bags' !

Hey friends,
Sorry for being absent from blog. I actually got involved in a small business of my own and was busy setting it up. Finally got time to share all my adventures here. :-)

Besides being a photographer, I started a proper business outta my interests of sewing and painting; when a city bookstore gave me a chance to exhibit my hand-painted bags! They are Walking BookFairs. They have a neat little space which is a book store plus an open hangout place. They travel across in a van full of books to spread the word of reading habit. Read more - here! 

So they had this 'Book Mandi' coming up i.e. a flea market kind of event for a week. I decided to make and put up my bags there for sale, which I already make since a long time for myself. It was time to make more and promote myself as an artist and entrepreneur. An experiment to see how things go and I wasn't expecting much. :)

Fortunately, luckily, and with the love of my family and friends It worked out. My friends loved it. They came, they bought my bags, ordered and were happy with my initiative :) Special thanks to the Walking BookFair guys, for without them it wouldn't have been possible. You see one needs a charger to get things done. That was this! I'm happy :)

I had another event after that, will share the experience in next post :)

Promotional poster

My setup at the event place!

The Book store and the people visiting.

Me there :P

A friend with my bought bag :) :)

More friends :)

And they took for their friends :)

Had to pose :D

The shack - books, tea and art works on sale.

From a news clipping :)

The Street Store: Shopping experience for the poor!

It all started with a Facebook invite to an event called 'The Street Store'. 

These are basically rent-free, free 'pop-up clothing store' on streets, where donations from various people are made available for the poor. A kind of shopping site is created where people can choose what they like, giving them a feeling of shopping.! Doesn't that sound cheerful! Who doesn't like shopping!! :-)

The 180th Street Store was happening in my city 'Bhubaneswar' and it was a great opportunity for me to get involved in. It was being hosted by Radio Choklate. Read about the event here: 180th Street Store.

Me and my sister donated some clothes for the event

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Asking the concerned person, I landed at the event for volunteering. I was in the kids section. I helped with sorting out clothes and hanging out for display. It was fun. There were many volunteers working around to make the event successful and it was really appreciable!

 A queue was made at one side for the people who'd be buying these. After all setup, they were allowed to walk in one group after other and choose what they wanted as per their need and sizes and liking :-) They were pleased and happy with the clothes they got. 

Isn't nice?

Volunteers just before the work starts!

Shopping!

They got some stuff!

:-)

All got something!

Overall a very good initiative and experience to meet people, and then and their share the belongings with the needy. 

A lesson for us to donate stuff that we no longer wear, need or consider out of fashion. This will mean a lot for someone who doesn't have something basic as clothes to wear.

If you are in India, you can always donate your clothes and other things at 'Goonj' or you can host your own Street Store, contacting those folks!!