Photoblog - Places, People, Life and Tourism

Qutub Minar in Delhi

2008-10-24T10:58:00.000-07:00

Destination Jersey City

2007-06-17T04:10:00.001-07:00

Jersey city, perhaps best known for the Statue of Liberty, has many attractions for tourists. There are galleries, museums, monuments, memorials, and many other destinations for tourists.

Destination Jersey City website provides a lot of useful information for any tourist. It contains sections on all the major attractions, transportation, accomodation, maps, districts, and things to do when in the city. A calender right on the homepage provides information on upcoming events. You can know the weather, information on traffic, and a lot more in the website.

Interesting information from the website include:

The Central Railroad of New Jersey (CRRNJ) Terminal, completed in 1864, is a historic terminal, through which thousands of immigrants entered dreaming their lives in America. Today it is one of the national treasures of America, along with Ellis island and the Statue of Liberty.

Ellis island was an immigration station. Millions of immigrants entered America by the way of the Registry Room of the island's main building. Ellis Island Immigration Museum has records of immigrant's arrival and other database treasures.

The Statue of Liberty, a symbol of political freedom and democracy, is one of the main attractions of America. It's located on the 12 acres Liberty island, and an icon of New York - New Jersey metropolitan area.

There is an Indian-American community vital to the New Jersey city. A place called India square in Newark avenue provides Indian food, groceries, clothing, movies, jewelry and other delights. It is also where Indian festivals such as Navratri, the Hindu festival of worship, dance and music, are celebrated with friends, family and neighbors.

A forum for interested people, and photos of different places around Jersey city would make Jersey City website a perfect online space for information on the city.

Bloggerwave - a new player in online review market

2007-06-11T10:53:00.000-07:00

There are a lot of online money making opportunities for bloggers these days. While earlier most bloggers would earn only from adsense or similar context based PPC programs, it was not lucrative for small time bloggers. Bloggers would wait for months to earn that elusive $10. Thanks to review sites, bloggers have a lot more opportunities to earn a decent sum and augment their income. These review websites act as a broker between the blogger and advertisers. The blogger would write something about the advertiser's product which is mostly a website or a product, and the advertiser would pay him in return. Since there is no way a blogger would find an advertiser all by himself, such broker sites have gained in popularity. Their main job is to bring the publishers and advertisers into a platform and match the bids. While most of the payment from the advertiser is given to the blogger, the broker website takes some commission.

A relatively new website that does such brokering is Bloggerwave. It is a blogger oriented site for bloggers to earn money. The payment can be anything from a few dollars to tens of dollars depending upon the recognition a blogger has in the community. Bloggerwave is very easy to register into and they accept blogs very easily, which is a big plus for smaller bloggers.

While I didn't see a lot of advertisers in the site, it can be safely assumed that with time more advertisers will register to the site and so there will be more opportunities for bloggers. Most of the opportunities are for reviewing a website in Bloggerwave but it says there can be opportunities as easy as putting a link and earning money for that in the future. I find only 3 opportunities for me at the moment and that has been the case for last one week since I registered. I feel they are publicizing their portal at the moment so that more bloggers and advertisers register for the service. It is one more money making opportunity for bloggers that a blogger should chose unless he already is earning a lot more from other sources or doesn't want that extra dollar.

Hawaii - Maui Condos

2007-06-08T19:08:00.000-07:00

Vacation in Hawaii is a dream for any traveler. With its long beaches, clean sea water, and lush green surroundings, Hawaii attracts a lot of tourists from world over every year.

While many of them prefer to live in big star hotels, many prefer to spend their vacation staying at an alternative place they feel at home. Maui Condos provide such visitors a chance to enjoy living in Hawaii while feeling at home, sans all the hassles of owning a home. Maui Condos are villas made for such tourists. Online web portals like Maui Condo rentals are available that provide a simple way to find and book a Maui condo of choice from hundreds available in Hawaii.

Maui Condos provide an eco-tourism experience that visitors enjoy and locals also benefit from due to its environmentally friendly nature. If one is going to Hawaii on vacation, living in Maui condo would provide a unique experience they can't get anywhere else. They are not just for the rich, or the aged. They are for everyone who can afford it.

Travelers to Hawaii can visit Maui condo rentals site which claims to be the largest rental site of its kind. It has a lot of interesting information on all kinds of Maui condos.

Air Deccan - Kingfisher deal

2007-06-01T13:42:00.000-07:00

Kingfisher has bought 26% shares of AirDeccan and is likely to get 20% via an open offer in the stock market.

This will make Kingfisher the main stakeholder in AirDeccan and is likely to increase the fares. The reason for price hike will be better connectivity. If you miss a flight of Air Deccan you can go by Kingfisher flight if one is available. But in price conscious Indian market and already facing competition from SpiceJet, Indigo, GoAir, that could hurt AirDeccan badly.

Kaziranga - Place of one-horned Rhino

2006-12-14T13:28:00.000-08:00

Kaziranga in Assam is one of the few places where you can see one-horned Rhino. The national park is spread over an area of several hundred kms with elephant- grass covering most of it. You can go on elephant back for a tour early morning or on jeep in the evening. Rhinos can be seen all over along with many other species like wild elephant, wild boar, deer, etc. I took this pic of a Rhino from an elephant's back one early morning.

Shivasamudram waterfall near Bangalore

2006-12-12T11:40:00.001-08:00

Shivasamudram waterfalls. About 2-3 hrs drive from Bangalore. The day we travelled was cloudy. Just before the rain started, we managed to take some pics of decorated vehicles. It was dussehra festival so all the people decorated their vehicles with flowers and banana trees. A Karnataka custom I suppose. Some of them even cover the drivers view completely. Wonder how they manage to drive! Here is one of the pics:

The waterfall is quite big and the place was full of people. Here are some pics:

Tawang - India NE

2006-12-12T04:47:00.000-08:00

Tawang is a beautiful place in the North Eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh in India. It has a scenic beauty and some Buddhist monastries. Can travel to Tawang by road from Guwahati.

No-frills airline?

2006-12-10T09:55:00.000-08:00

There are so many no-frills airliners to chose from now a days. Air Deccan started the trend in India and now there are dozens of them. Not sure which one gives the best service, but have not heard a lot of praise for Air Deccan. Last time I was at Delhi airport, passengers were haggling with the Air Deccan authorities as they were stranded at the airport due to flight cancellation at night. I've flown SpiceJet and the experience was OK. Also, last I checked, they offer the cheapest fare on the route I take. Anyone who have more experience with such flights, please leave a comment.

Wonderla - amusement park

2006-12-09T23:51:00.000-08:00

Wonderla is a modern amusement park about half an hr drive from Bangalore. It has many rides and shows for adults and children alike. This includes land rides, water rides, water waves, laser shows, and other entertainment. Visitors have to pay a one-time fee for entry to Wonderla and they are on their own for the whole day. They can enjoy as much as they want with no additional fee for individual rides or shows. A great place to spend a day. Some pics from Wonderla:

Wonderla - amusement park near Bangalore

2006-12-09T14:54:00.000-08:00

Some pics of Wonderla park:

Tiger in Bannerghatta national park

2006-12-09T14:12:00.000-08:00

Bannerghatta national park is an hr ride from Bangalore. Though there are many animals in the park like hippo, bear, zebra, snakes, leopards, and some exotic birds., the main attraction is the Tiger Safari. The park is crowded normally, so be prepared to stand in a long queue to get tickets. Then you get to board a bus which takes you to the tiger parks which is about 3 kms. There you can see tigers and leopards. The bus goes right into the large fenced area. A great place to see tigers from near.
Some of the cats look undernourished, though.