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Mithun Divakaran

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UAE 2010: From the desert sands of Abu Dhabi to the corniche

Date: 12th April 2010

After the madness of Dubai, it was back to calm ‘ol Abu Dhabi and more time with family. My mom wanted to show me the sands of Al Ain. So on a Sunday evening, we hired our usual taxi guy and headed outside Abu Dhabi.

Abu Dhabi to Al Ain highway distance sign — We were on the highway to Al Ain

Abu Dhabi desert towards Al Ain from car — To my right

Abu Dhabi desert towards Al Ain panorama — Stopped to take this panorama (comprised of 10 shots)

After driving for nearly 45 minutes, we got off the main highway and I got out of the car.

The sands, once I got into them, were extremely fine and smooth.

They were so smooth that you could slowly slip in to the ground by just standing still for a few seconds.

Abu Dhabi Al Ain desert lizard salamander — The only life out there besides us

Even though I’ve had enough sand in my face growing up in the Middle East, being here really was quite a splendid feeling. There were plans to go dune bashing in 4x4s but due to my friends being available only on Fridays made it a little tough to cram it in my already packed itinerary. I didn’t want to opt for a tourist package either ‘cos it was too corny for me.

Abu Dhabi Al Ain desert father collecting sand — My father in the back, collecting UAE sand. He's being doing that for every country he's been to.

After listening to hearsay tales from our taxi driver about desert snakes and other ‘dangerous’ reptiles, my father insisted that I don’t tread any further into the sand dune and asked me to get back in the car. Plus it was nearing sunset.

Abu Dhabi Al Ain desert roundabout — We weren't far from Al Ain

Al Ain to Abu Dhabi highway trees — All the trees you're going to see out here

Abu Dhabi desert electricity power line panorama — Panorama comprised of 8 shots

Al Ain to Abu Dhabi highway streetlight — Heading back to Abu Dhabi

The next day…

Since I wasn’t going to sit idle at home, after lunch I took a taxi and headed to Abu Dhabi corniche.

Abu Dhabi buildings near corniche — The skies were all grey that day

After taking two Nepalis-driven taxis back-to-back, I got down near Corniche Road.

Abu Dhabi office building construction near corniche — Abu Dhabi's construction scene is... still happening

Abu Dhabi corniche underpass — You'd take this underpass if you wanted to get to the corniche

But I decided to take a stroll through the park on the other side of Corniche Road.

Abu Dhabi buildings corniche park rules — This park is only meant for boring purposes

I crossed the road to get to the corniche.

Abu Dhabi corniche cycle rentals — Don't have a cycle? You can rent one at the corniche

Abu Dhabi corniche excercise fitness — Really appreciated the emphasis on fitness at this corniche

Abu Dhabi corniche board signs — Abu Dhabi corniche plays host to many cultural festivals

After a coffee break from Cinnabon, I decided to head to Marina Mall for some shopping.

Abu Dhabi Marina Mall tower restaurant — That's a restaurant on top

After seeing Dubai’s mall offerings, there nothing special to point out about Marina Mall. It has all the usual stores — that’s it. And a Carrefour.

Abu Dhabi Marina Mall Vertu store — First time I've seen a dedicated Vertu store

After spending an hour shopping at Centerpoint, I took a taxi back home.

Found this post boring?

Don’t worry, the next and final sightseeing post from UAE will make up for it, trust me!

Next post in this series:

UAE 2010: Yas Island, Abu Dhabi – Ferrari World and Yas Marina Circuit

Previous posts in this series:

UAE 2010: Heading back to the Gulf after 7 years

UAE 2010: Driving from Abu Dhabi to Dubai (& back)

UAE 2010: Sheikh Zayed Mosque, Abu Dhabi

UAE 2010: Heading to Dubai by bus; checking out Bur Dubai

UAE 2010: Dubai Mall (Aquarium, Underwater Zoo & Gold Souk) – Part 1

UAE 2010: Burj Khalifa, At the Top (and Wafi Mall) – Part 2

UAE 2010: Driving around Dubai (Souk Madinat Jumeirah, The Atlantis & The Palm Islands) – Part 1

UAE 2010: Dubai Marina, Jumeirah, The Walk and David Guetta concert – Part 2

UAE 2010: Showing my parents the sights of Dubai; inside Ibn Battuta Mall

Rainbow – ‘A’: Great K-pop song ruined by a terrible video

By Mithun Divakaran
/
Aug 17, 2010
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Korean Pop, Music/Videos

Last week, while reading allkpop.com, I was introduced to another K-pop girl group hitting the scene called Rainbow.

The girls were making their comeback with a single called ‘A’. Their first release was a track released in 2009 called “Gossip Girl“…. which was “meh”. But ‘A’…

… I LOVE IT!

Very Girls Aloud and Sugarbabes-like. And after hearing it like a hundred times in the past few days, I was waiting to see what the video was going to be like, the dance choreography, the visuals etc. I expected it to be retro, swank and mature, especially after the teaser images of the girls were published online.

But when the full video was eventually unveiled…

… I HATE IT!

The dance choreography is unnecessarily sexy, the outfits suck and the camera cuts are irritating. Funny how such a good song can be ruined by such a poor video. I’m sure the track will do well on it’s own, just that I was expecting a classier video from the group’s record company.

Korean pop or not, some people just need to learn, sex isn’t always necessary to sell something — especially when that something is good enough.

Photos from the 2010 Lal Bagh Botanical Garden Flower Show, Bangalore

By Mithun Divakaran
/
Aug 10, 2010
/
India, Travel

Date: August 08, 2010

In the 7 1/2 years I have been in Bangalore, I’ve never seen the annual flower show held at Lal Bagh Botanical Gardens leading up to August 15th (India’s Independence Day). So this time, I told myself I wasn’t going to miss it.

Also, I haven’t clicked in a while.

So on a bright Sunday morning, I actually forced myself to get up at 7:30am and made my way to Lal Bagh with my Canon 7D and Tamron 28-75 f2.8 lens in tow.

Lal Bagh had it’s usual early morning joggers but I wanted to make it here early before it got too crowded.

Lal Bagh Botanical gardens entrance — Lal Bagh on a rather calm Sunday morning

I paid the entrance fee of Rs. 40 (it’s Rs. 30 on weekdays and I didn’t qualify for the Rs. 10 ticket for children either). As I made my way in, first up was a vegetables.

Boring. Then I realized the main flower show was inside the glasshouse.

Lal Bagh glasshouse from steps — The Lal Bagh glasshouse

Every year, the organizers put up one big show piece all done up using flowers. Last year’s big attraction was a dinosaur but this year, the organizers paid tribute to our soldiers.

Lal Bagh flower show India Gate vertical — India Gate

And with that, I began clicking…

Bangalore Lal Bagh flower show HAL first prize — There were a lot of 1st prize signs, so I'm not sure who the clear winner was

Bangalore Lal Bagh flower show Petunias — From a distance, these looked like sushi rolls to me

Lal Bagh flower show India Gate water sprinkling — India Gate was sprinkled with water internally from time to time

Lal Bagh flower show India Gate panorama — This is a panorama comprised of 7 shots

Bangalore Lal Bagh flower show salvia — With the dripping paint, more like 'Saliva'

Bangalore Lal Bagh flower show plastic — I don't think this was real

Bangalore Lal Bagh flower china astor — If only sharpening pencils produced such beauty

Bangalore Lal Bagh flower show BDA linaria — Not to be confused with Bangalore Muncipality's 'malaria'

Bangalore Lal Bagh flower show cockscomb red — This was the most interesting looking flower they had at the show -- called the Cockscomb

Bangalore Lal Bagh flower show cockscomb pink — Everybody wanted to touch it

Bangalore Lal Bagh flower show cockscomb flower — From a distance, this looked like cauliflower flower(?)*

Bangalore Lal Bagh flower show pink rose dew — The good old fashioned rose

Bangalore Lal Bagh flower honeybee flying away — Spent a long time shooting this bee

Lal Bagh flower show India Gate side — There were a LOT of photographers...

Bangalore Lal Bagh flower show macro photographer — ... and I wasn't the only one enjoying macro photography 🙂

Lal Bagh glasshouse panorama — If I had my Canon 10-22, I could have got this photo in just one frame -- but this is comprised of 8 shots

All in all, I was very happy with the photos I took. I don’t usually shoot macro, simply because before I bought the Tamron 28-75mm, I couldn’t have been bothered. But now, I’m hooked!

Bangalore Lal Bagh flower show sleeping dog — Man's best friend couldn't be bothered. Sunday after all...

*if you are wondering whether I often have food on my mind, the answer is ‘yes’