Picturesque Paro airport in Bhutan

 Paro airport is Bhutan's only international airport in a valley on the banks of the river called Paro Chhu. It is a doorway into Bhutan for international travelers. It is known to be most difficult commercial airport in the whole world. There is only one runway, visible at the far end of the picture, in the background below the hills.

When planes approach they have to maneuver between very high Himalayan mountain peaks, as high as 18.000 ft. The runway itself is only 1,980m in length and thus makes it even more difficult for the pilots.

Very few pilots can make this difficult approach.

From the wiki: Flights to and from Paro are allowed under visual meteorological conditions only and are restricted to daylight hours from sunrise to sunset.

Related Pictures: Koh Samui Outdoor Airport  or Bangkok Airport - Pictures.
Or Airport Lounge with people waiting or Inside of an Aeroplane

Or check all photographs under the label Airports  which has images of different airports of the world.
You might also like to see Mumbai aerial view - pictures on the way out of Mumbai  

Elderly people of Bhutan

These are photographs of the simple folk of Bhutan. Old men and women on the street. They may be poor, but are not destitute. There are no beggars or destitute people in Bhutan.

Old woman with her son.

Old man in a park in Bhutan. 

Old man praying in Bhutan.

A man praying

An old man with a prayer wheel

Related Images: Old men in India or Old men reading newspapers in India or Old Rural Indian Men portraits and expressions or Elderly Indian men in ethnic clothes or Old and elderly women in India

Bullock Cart or Bailgadi yatra

Villagers on a pilgrimage. Their mode of travel is the bullock cart. They travel with all their belongings, spend their nights on the road. It's a long journey ahead  -to a temple. The men, women and children.

A very typical sight on Indian highways. They travel in the sweltering heat.

Badami town - a view from the caves

A view of Badami town from atop the Badami Caves. It is a historical town in the state of Karnataka. Badami is one of the heritage cities for HRIDAY - Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana scheme of Government of India.

The place itself is a very small town, dusty and not very developed. Not too many good hotels available here. However, it attracts tourists from all over the world because of the ancient caves, (photos of which will be published soon).

Portrait of a hippo

This is a close up of the face of a hippo in a zoo. He doesn't look too happy.

Related Images. Hippos in the wild look like rocks!
Or try this post: Eye of an elephant.
Or the label Animals.

Building Silhouettes with colour in New York

All these photographs were taken in the United States of America, in New York

Silhouette of a city skyline with a blue sky in the background.

A city silhouette of a waterfront, with the golden sun. The dark blue of the sky and water can be seen contrasting against the black silhouetted high rise buildings.

A color silhouette of the waterfront. Lighted buildings in the background.

A wine glass silhouetted in the foreground with the Empire State building in New York in the background.

Lighted city streets at night.

(Photos by Tara Kulkarni)

Related Images: Venice Skyline Silhouettes or Silhouettes of the London Skyline

More Sketches and Silhouettes of London Monuments and Landmarks: Westminster Silhouette and Sketch or Queen's Guard photo, sketch and silhouette or Tower of London Photograph, Sketch and Silhouette

Or try the label Skylines for more silhouettes, sketches, or photos of skylines of different cities of the world.

2000 rupee note genuine or fake

This image is taken from an Economic Times article. It is about how to recognize a genuine 2000 rupee note.

Chanachur from Bengal or Bombay mix or simply a mixture

Street food differs from region to region and country to country, but there is some similarity in the different snacky mixtures available on the streets of India. It is a various of puffed rice, chola (cooked beans of different types depending on the region), maybe boondi, finely chopped tomatoes, onion, coriander and most important - spices! Most of the snacks are sweet and sour and a bit hot to taste.

This vendor selling the mixture is from Bengal.

This street snack from Gujarat comprises of various spices and condiments and also a chivda or papdi mixture.

The tomato sauce, green chillies and onion can add a lot of taste to the chivda flakes which are probably made of gram flour or besan.

Here on a Puducherry beach there is some mixture which is mixed with grated raw mango and peanuts to make a tasty snack. And of course red chilly powder and other spices are used to make it tasty.

You might also like Road-side food stalls or street food or check out all the photos filed under Food or Snacks. 

Or Cambodian Sticky Rice street food 

Prime Minister Modi and Maharashtra ministers

This is the stage on which PM Modi is sitting with the Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Nitin Gadkari, the Minister of Road Transport and Highways of India, Prakash Javadekar. Minister of Human Resource Development, Sharad Pawar and other Indian politicians at the formal inaugaration of the Pune metro. This event took place in Pune on the 24th of December 2016.

A closer look at the politicians who mostly look bored.

High Street Phoenix Mall in Mumbai

The Phoenix mall is arguably the most popular and famous mall in Mumbai. One of the older ones too. It has maintained its charm.

The Palladium is a luxury market inside of the Phoenix mall. The inside area has much improved after the exit of Big Bazaar.

Related Images: Mumbai Mall Exteriors or Dubai Mall Photos or Pune Mall Photos or Interiors of Vashi Malls or Mumbai Malls in the Suburbs of Mulund and Malad or Inexpensive shopping in Bangkok

Selling vermilion in Badami

These are shops selling vermilion outside a temple in Badami, Karnataka. The red powder is used in pooja rituals in temples. The uniqueness of it is that the vermilion or kunku lies in large red heaps. Curious as to how it stays that way the whole day. Halad or haldi is also seen in the form of large yellow heaps.

A young boy looking after the shop selling vermilion, haldi, and other items.

A couple in their shop besides the heaps of red vermilion.

Ambabai Temple in Kolhapur

This is the Mahalakshmi temple at Kolhapur, popularly called as the Ambabai Temple. It was originally built in the 7th century, but unfortunately the original dark stone on the spire has been replaced by ugly white paint. 

The temple has also become very commercial where even elderly devotees are shouted at, pushed and bullied by the female security guards. It is impossible to pray here because of the nasty guards, shouting, and pushing even 88 year old people. This is a personal experience (we had taken my mother in law there), and on a Wednesday, when it was less crowded than usual. We had given a saree, and offerings, but no one seemed interested. The guards have just got used to the bullying and enjoy it. One cannot have even a few moments of peace, so how can God reside here? 

The believers will continue to throng this temple, but we will never go back.