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The Vaishnodevi Experience 2023

My first trip to Vaishnodevi was unimpressive. Climbing was hard, and it only served to highlight how badly out of shape I was, while my in-laws managed to cope so much better. Further, I hadn’t quite realized that the cave experience wouldn’t be the same as I had imagined, since the original cave was only opened at certain times a year, and that we only entered a newly created tunnel, one far easier to access, and hence more manageable with the crowds that thronged the mountain shrine. The resulting experience at the shrine, for barely a fraction of a second, hardly compared to what I had expected / imagined / heard about. So, for me, Vaishnodevi was like any other temple, nothing to write home about, something that was reflected (though not explicitly mentioned) in the blog post I wrote then.
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Skywatch Friday - Bird on a Beach

We saw plenty of Brahminy Kites over Om Beach, fighting over the fish brought in by the fishermen, early in the morning....




And we also saw this sight in the skies over the beach.... looks like a giant bird, doesn't it? 



For more beautiful skies from around the world, go to the Skywatch Page.



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Location: Om beach Road, Gokarna, Karnataka 581326, India

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