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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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Crocodile at Mysore Zoo

Remembering our trip to Mysore in May, and trying to catch up with writing about it, I came across this photo I had clicked of one of the crocodiles. Both, Samhith and I agreed that this shouldn't have to go with the many, many photos in the zoo post coming up, but deserves a post to itself. Do you agree?



The eye does look suitably intimidating, doesn't it? Especially with all those teeth!
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Location: Sri Chamarajendra Zoological Gardens, Indiranagar, Mysore, KA 570010, India

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