Valparai -the Tea Country

 Tea is called the cup that cheers. Valparai is a place in India synonimous with tea.

 Miles of precious rainforest have been felled to make place for the plantations of tea.

 Stunted alien looking trees dot the tea gardens.

 You can come across some wild flowers at the edge of the plantations.

 There are tiny pockets of the old rainforest in some places.

With thanks to the team of Our World Tuesday and Mrs.Nesbitt and the team of ABCWednesday, I am linking with them.

U for Unusual

 A girl about to jump from the 250 feet Macau Tower was an unusual sight for me.

 The beautiful blossoms of the Prairie Rose - Lisianthus  were never seen before by me. The blue variety looks like blue rose.

 Thanking the UK based Mrs.Nesbitt and the USA based Roger and his team for the undoubtedly interesting ABC Wednesday  , and the team of Our World Tuesday.

Our World- Coorg

Last week I had gone on a trip to Coorg, the coffee country. This being the mango season, villagers were selling their mangos on both sides of the highway. They were cheap and delicious!

 We visited the Monastery built by the Tibetans. They came away to India with the Dalai Lama in 1962, when China annexed Tibet. Here in Coorg, thousands of miles away from their homeland, they are followin their customs and traditions.

 The old lama who looks after the beautiful garden,,,,

 Inside the temple, there were many people of different faiths, silently praying.

My thanks to the team of Our World Tuesday who make us see different parts of the world.

Our World- A Temple with 108 Pillars

 Last weekend I had gone on a trip to Hassan with friends. We visited some amazing temples there. The most striking was the 900 year old temple at Belavadi, which has 108 pillars of soapstone. The idol of Krishna in the sanctum sanctorum is the most beautiful image I have seen.

 The gardens outside are well kept. The priest offered us rice with yogurt, which we thankfully accepted.

 Like all ancient Hoysala temples, this one had stone elephants guarding the main door.

This is my contribution to Our World Tuesday.

O for Opulence

 Macao, one of the two Special Administrative Regions of China, is the fourth richest region in the world. Whileits opulent malls offer onyx and diamonds, the casinos can take your bank balance from O to !,000 000!

 The orange tinge in the computer generated sky in the casino makes you feel o!so relaxed. The obdurate opine that they can obtain oodles of money by observing the game, but they know not that the odds are against their ocular prowess!

 My thanks to the team of Our World Tuesday for this wondrful meme.

Thanks to Mrs.Nesbitt and Roger, who organize ABCWednesday every week with aplomb.

Sankraman - Songkran

 Today, the 14th of April is a very special day to Hindus and Buddhists. Many Hindus celebrate it as the New Year's Day. It is special day in Thailand and Cambodia too, where they call it Songkran.

 This is the season for flowers. In Kerala, this day is celerated as Vishu , and in the state of Assam, it is the Bihu festival.

The Amaltas  Cassia is blooming profusely everywhere, adding to the air of festivities.

My thanks to the team of Our World Tuesday.

Flower Market, Hong Kong

 It was early in the morning when I visited the Flower Market, and the shop keepers were still arranging their flowers for sale. Therewere lovely flowers and foliage everywhere- they had all arrived that morning from Thailand, Australia, Netherlands and from all over the world. It was a beautiful sight.

 Lisianthus blooms from Mexico were new to me. They look like roses although they belong to the Gentian family. I was sure I could make them bloom in my garden, but could not find any shop selling Lisianthus seeds. They are also known as Eustoma.

 Proteas were another flower we never get to see in India. They are startling in their appearance.

My thanks to the team of Our World Tuesday, for giving us an opportunity to get a peep at what is happening in the other parts of our world.