More Pics of Munnar !!!!!!

More Pictures From Thekaddy!!!!!!

Periyar lake @ Thekaddy

Birds @ periyar.. Photo taken during the boating

Thekaddy – Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary

The pride of Kerela and a testimony to nature's splendour and human innovation, the Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary is situated on the banks of the Periyar lake - an artificial lake, at Thekkady. Thekkady is located about 117 km from Kottayam and 20 km from Kothamangalam. It is close to the Tamil Nadu border. The nearest airport is at Madurai 140 km away and 4 hours away. Cochin the next nearest airport is 208 km and six hours away.

Periyar Lake, Periyar Wild Life Sanctury and a Bird Sanctury are the major tourist attractions. Boating in the lake is a pleasureful experience. KTDC is providing lodging facilities here. The Periyar Wild Life Sanctuary was declared a Tiger Reserve in 1978. The splendid artificial lake formed by the Mullaperiyar Dam across the Periyar River adds to the charm of the park. The greatest attraction of Periyar are the herds of wild elephants that come down to play in the lake. Thekkady has immense possibilities for Adventure Tourism.

Outside the park private tour operators arrange Jeep safaris though the forest. Also there are Elephant rides offered. Kathakali and Kalari shows for the tourists are also arranged.

Location:

Part of the old Travancore State, the sanctuary and Periyar Lake are located close to the Tamil Nadu border. Kottayam is six hours away. However the nearest airport is at Madurai 140 km away and 4 hours away. Cochin the next nearest airport is 208 km and six hours away.

Climate:
Maximum temperature : 29 degrees Celsius.
Minimum temperature 18 degrees Celsius.
Annual rainfall 2,600 mm

Proper attire: Woolens in winter. Carry water with you for treks etc.

Saluting the Heroes !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SAMSUNG GT-18510/16 INNOV8

Samsung’s new multimedia handset samsung 18510/16 INNOV8 is one of the best in its Class. It comes with a 8 mega pixel camera (more than many of the normal digital cameras). Taking Mobile handset photography and multimedia experience to a new high level, this mobile offers various other features like Surround- sound cinematic video, Wonderful mobile internet browsing facility and good mobile gaming too.

This come with various photographic options like blink shot, smile shot and face recognition and allows you to store most memorable days of your life. It runs on Symbian OS V9.3, S60 3rd edition feature pack 2 and also has a GPS technology for navigation facility.

It supports DivX, WMV, Real player and MPEG 4. It also comes with famous games like FIFA 08.

This is a phone for tech-savvy users who wants to explore various technical features of the camera. A good competitor for iPhone.

For video tutorial click here

A Trip to Ooty

Ooty- ‘The Queen of Hill Stations’

To feel the touch of nature, Ooty is a right spot for the lover of nature. Its situated on the Nilgiris Mountain, More than 100 Kms away from Coimbatore ( Tamilnadu, South India). The height of the hills in the Nilgiri range varies between 2280 and 2290 meters. It attracts the tourist by its charming flowers, Lofty mountains, dense forest, acres and acres of tea estates are green feast for the eyes of the tourist.

Last summer I visited Ooty with my dad for a 3 day trip. The weather was awesome and the garden was getting ready for the flower show and the new Rose garden was ready with more than 2000 varieties of roses. My camera didn’t waste any time.

Ooty Botanical garden

This garden covers an area of 22 Ha and is located at a height of 2250 meters of MSL. There is a beautiful green lawn and there are trees collected from different parts of the world. There is a Italian garden and Lilly pond with color full flowers. Must see !!!!!!!!!

Ooty Rail

Ooty train is popularly known as 'toy train', moving across the beautiful hills, and plains, making the journey a memorable experience. It connects Ooty to Mettupalayam. Ooty's train runs at a maximum speed of 33 km. per hour, crossing 16 long and short tunnels and 250 bridges. During the journey you can enjoy the beauty of the hill.

Rose garden

Centenary Rose park is located at Vijayanagaram – Udhgamandalam ( Ooty ) and is maintained by department of Horticulture of Government of Tamil Nadu. This garden has largest collection of roses among any Indian garden. This garden have more than 2000 varieties of Roses. Its really beautiful!!!!!!!!

Climate - Udhagamandalam
Winter
Max 21ºC, Min 5ºC
Summer
Max 25ºC, Min 10ºC
Rainfall
121 cms.

General Information - Udhagamandalam

Location : Niligiri District, Tamil Nadu.
Founded By : British In 1800.
Area : 36-sq-kms.
Altitude : 2,623 metres.
Languages : Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and English.

Useful Information - Udhagamandalam

Tourist Information Centres : Tourist Office, Government of Tamil Nadu Supermarket Complex Charring Cross Udhagamandalam-1

Clothing - Udhagamandalam
Summer : Light Woollen.
Winter : Heavy Woollen

Canon PowerShot S3 IS
The Canon PowerShot S3 IS is the latest in an extremely popular line of long zoom cameras, following the 5.0-Mp S2 IS, the 3.2-Mp S1 IS, and the 2.6-Mp Pro90 IS. The basic spec (aside from the sensor) is pretty familiar; 12x optical zoom, flip 'n' twist LCD, tons of photographic control and advanced movie mode with stereo sound. The S2 IS was one of the best big zoom cameras, but this is a highly competitive sector of the market, and the new S3 IS still have what it takes to keep Canon the favorite of amateur photographers.

Headline features

• 12x optical zoom lens with USM and UD lens element
• Optical Image Stabilizer
• 6.0 Megapixel CCD
• 2.0” Vari-angle LCD
• 30fps VGA movies with stereo sound and Photo in Movie feature
• DIGIC II, iSAPS and Flexizone AF/AE for fast, precise results and 2.3 fps continuous shooting
• 20 shooting modes and My Colors photo effects
• High ISO Auto and ISO 800 for low light flexibility
• Widescreen (16:9) recording

• Price – Approx $400 ( 20000 INR)

The Canon S3 IS accommodates a wide range of users with its variable level of exposure control. Experienced shooters will appreciate the Manual, Aperture Priority, and Shutter Priority modes, while beginners will find the Auto, Program AE, and Scene modes useful. With a full range of creative effects, the added attraction of 12x zoom Canon optics, and optical image stabilization -- a feature found on only a handful of digital cameras, most of them more expensive, the Canon S3 IS should appear high up on the lists for photographers looking for a long-zoom camera.

The Canon S3 IS bumps resolution up to 6.0 megapixels (for 2,816 x 2,112 pixel images up from 2,592 x 1,944), increases the sensitivity range to ISO 800, features a slightly larger LCD (2.0 inches vs. 1.8), includes a Movie button available in any Record mode, and adds a 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio.

All in all, the Canon PowerShot S3 IS is quite a camera, with an amazing range of capabilities and good picture quality, all at an affordable price. I just loved it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Performance. The Canon S3 IS doesn't keep you waiting: Not when you start it up (even though the lens has to extend); not when you've taken a shot; not when you're shooting in Continuous mode; and not when you're shutting down. It’s a fast performer. It isn't instant, like a digital SLR, but I never felt like I had to wait for it. Otherwise I would have missed some of the best picks I’ve taken. And not having to wait meant I felt free to turn it on or off at will, saving the battery for long time.

‘It's a photographer's dream. And now I’ve it’