Maximum City @ 360 deg, The Aer lounge-Four Seasons Hotel, Worli, Mumbai

Was a Friday night, and its been long time, since i bid adieus to down town mumbai pubs and party life. Had one of my colleague, Melvin Oomes from Netherlands. .During his sojourn in mumbai, wanted to hit the Aer bar and lounge at the Four Seasons, Worli. Without any second thought, i decided, lets hit the floor this friday itself as we may not be able to visit in the coming weeks as the lounge is closed once the monsoon starts.

We got out of the lift at the 33rd floor. Further stairs up takes you to the 34th floor, the Aer lounge perimeter.
Aah the Aer, the view from the roof is surreal.It simply exhilarates on entering itself.
The entire floor gives you a panoramic view of the city and the Arabian sea.
The pub looked pretty contemporary  designed, with a spate of elite class hitting the lounge.
Another awesome part being the oval shaped open bar counter.
In the evening , the music starts with soothing lounge numbers, as the nocturnes scales up, the music slowly transforms to trans and groovy genre, which gives the real kick feeling of a real good pub ambience.The only thing which no one would like is, all menu(beer, mock tails, whiskeys, champagnes and food) are highly priced , even the happy hours offering 50% discount on selected drinks between 5:30 - 8:00 pm, itself burns your wallet.
Except for the highly priced menu's, the place is a good hang out haven.

Flamingos @ Sewri, Mumbai

10.05.2012
This year also planned to have a re look at the summer visitors to mumbai.., the flamingos.
News of encroachment in the sewri bay for the trans harbour sea link is daunting , so decided to pull my socks and have a glimpse of the beautiful crimson tinge migratory birds before the rains and before the perils of urbanization shows the dark side.
Keeping my fingers crossed.
Check out soon for the update...

15.05.2012
Atlast, without any bottlenecks, along with my pals, i was there at sewri mud flats. I went on keeping my fingers crossed, as i was worried whether i could spot at least some flocks. Normally the flamingos are found in the mudflats of Sewri, Airoli and Thane creek. Due to the encroachment spree, we dont get to see much flamingos in airoli and thane province, the last resort being Sewri.
According to my knowledge, these flamingos come to the Rann of Kutch post december and also migrate to Mumbai. They are mostly found between January and May, hence i was slightly on a pessimistic front, whether we could see any flamingos during this time of the year.
But to my luck, i could see hundreds of flamingos still feeding in the mud flats. It was an awestruck moment.
we tried to walk some distance on the mud flats to reduce the proximity with the flamingos, and see the beautiful living being at a close range, but the mud flats were so marshy, we had to give up our attempt.
But with the aid of DSLR and binocular, i could get a good close range.
Mud flats are basically alkaline, and i have heard mud flats contain  microscopic blue-green algae  which attracts these flyers to these mud flats from the Rann of Kutch every year from the on set of summer till the monsoons.
 Their migration is a much awaited event among birdwatchers and photographers. However, the loss of habitat remain urgent threats, thanks to water pollution and poaching.






    
   
 

Sanjay Gandhi National Park - Mumbai, India

Sanjay Gandhi National Park is the largest National Park in the world within city limits.
The natural jungle amidst the concrete jungle of Mumbai is highly recommended for nature lovers.
The park covers around 102 sq.km area and also encompasses the famous Kanheri Cave complex (between 1st century BC and 9th century AD), two lakes Tulsi and Vihar Lake that provide water to Mumbai city.

The park is rich in flora and fauna over 1000 species of plants, numerous kinds of migratory birds, mammals,reptiles, amphibians etc.
Spotted dear, Rhesus Macaque, Langur, Barking Deer, Flying Fox, Sambar deer and leopards rules the jungle in majority.
When you trek through the jungle, you are more likely to see all these animals except the leopard, for that you have to be really lucky.
The jungle  is also home to Hyenas, Civets, Crocodiles, Pythons,Vipers(crocodiles majorly in the tulsi lake) and fast variety of birds viz hornbills, kingfishers, gulls, flycatchers, bull bulls, peacocks, wood pecker etc. To see all these , you have to literaly trek through the core jungle, which is not every one's cup of tea.

The park also offers Tiger and Lion safari, which being the major tourist attraction which every one can access to.
The Park is said to have a total of about 25 lions and lionesses though, its very hard to see many of them up close. I could see only 1 lion during my visit.
The park offers caged bus trip to these safari on a ticket basis, rate being Rs. 30/-. Safari trip is only allowed for the park authority buses.
A couple of tigers and one white tiger are kept semi confined in a fenced area like a mini zoo, which can also be accessed via the  fenced tour bus.
This opportunity gives visitors to see the lions and tigers in their natural habitats.

Shilonda trail
The Shilonda trail entrance can be found from about 1 Km inside the park  It is a trail lined with bamboos, scrubs, small plants, creeper with the small forest river cutting across it, also leads you to the kanheri caves. Its the best trail for photography especially macro and to get close to the core of the jungle. You can often spot the pug marks of deers and foxes, if lucky of leopards as well on the wet muds, mostly near to the river.
The best time to do the trail is post monsoons, when the lush greenery steals the beauty, the forest rivers flowing wild giving us candid moments and memories to reminisce.

The park also offers boat riding facility for Rs.15.

Visitors also have the option of renting out the bicycle to promote eco-friendly measures, the bicycling is restricted to the tiger and lion safaris.
Bicycles in good condition can be rented out for Rs 20/ per hour + a refundable fixed deposit.
You can also take a tour of the park by vehicles also on a chargeable basis.

The threat of leopard attacks on the tribals and the neighbouring concrete jungle is also on a rising scale. As leopards can climb the trees, they easily enter the neighbouring urban provinces of the park.Instances of poaching are also being reported on an alarming scale giving the forest officials a huge onus on their shoulders to keep the biodiversity in tact.

Warli Painting

Warli Painting

Commercial side of the national park

Fennel plant aka Saunf (hindi), normally used as mouth freshener

Pug marks of a deer

Pug marks

The Langur - King of monkeys

Spot the spotted dear