My experience in Namdapha Tiger Reserve (Arunachal Pradesh, India).

This November when I was back home in Imphal (Manipur),my cousin invited me to a road trip he and his family were going.

I was really appreciative of the offer to go along and for the opportunity to explore a place which I have not traveled before.

It was 5 of us (my cousin, Uncle, Aunty, a family friend and me) in a Mahindra Scorpio embarking on a journey of nearly 1500 kms roundtrip, covering 4 states(Manipur, Nagaland, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh).

We had an amazing experience of the scenic route we took, saw quite a few unique locality which wouldn't have been possible without the GPS as we off-tracked en route to our destination.

   Reaching the gate of Namdapha Tiger Reserve, we checked-in and were introduced to our guide Mr. Tawang. The road from the gate till the rest house we were going to stay(about 20 km) was one of the most adventurous highlights of the trip.

We reached the forest dept. rest house around 6 in the evening and it was pitch-dark with only the moon and stars for light as winter season was already starting. Oh! one more thing, there was no electricity or phone network inside the national park which for some reason I found it AWESOME! The forest dept. authorities however were bringing in solar energy for the quarters and the rest houses. This was still a work in progress when we arrived. Good thing we had few solar lamps of our own for electricity.

  

We were staying in a shielded bungalow which was the centerpiece. It looked great with the well trimmed garden surrounding the place. There were other smaller units for accommodation just around 100 meters from the main rest house. These lodging option would be more suitable for group of friends. They also had option for camping in a tent near the river bank which sounded very appealing and exciting to both my cousin and me as it screamed "ADVENTURE!" but unfortunately that did not happen, maybe next time...

We finally settled our stuffs and rested for the day after evening tea.

Dinner was served hot and the food was amazing. I will not forget Mr. Gopal's cooking(he would be cooking food for us for the next 2 days) and the hospitality of the care takers of the place. They all really had sincere and prompt demeanor which we hardly get to see in someone nowadays. 

  

We started the next morning with an amazing hike into this majestic forest, we did encounter numerous wild animals(sorry there isn't much worthy photos that I can upload to support this).To name the ones that we could identify were Himalayan giant squirrel, Hoolock gibbon, Great Indian hornbill, Gaint flying squirrel apart from other smaller birds we saw like the Red headed trogon, White wagtail, Magpie and few others more commonly found. 

  

  

It definitely was one of a kind hike as we got to walk on bed of stones, cross a river by boat, walked on sand, climb up a ladder and climb up some more, trek around 3 km and then back. We could have hiked much further into the forest but we decided it was enough hiking for a day. 

The river had the clearest water possible. I even drank almost a liter of it and it tasted way better than any bottled water for sure.

Ofcourse by the end of hiking we realized it was "ATTACK OF THE LEECHES" all over our feet as warned earlier by Mr. Tawang, our guide.

Later that evening, we had a huge bonfire to ourselves. We all sat around the bonfire and for moments we would be silent just to listen to the calls of the nocturnal wild animals, insects and the sound of the wind blowing against those thick trees that was louder than the river flowing next to the rest house. It is quite hard to explain what it sounded or felt like but "Harmonic chaos" comes to mind if it makes any sense.

We spent the later hours of the evening chatting over a cup of tea whilst waiting for dinner.

It was the next day after breakfast that we bid adieu to everyone who served us and to this place which is so rich in its own way. It was an all-out "back to nature" experience for us all and I will always cherish the company and memories of this trip to Namdapha.

I've been wanting to blog about my experience of this trip and I'm so happy now that my anticipation is finally realized. Thank you so much for taking the time and reading my blog.

5 reasons to get the 50mm prime lens

This blog is for those who have been planing to upgrade from the kit lens or considering their first prime lens with limited budget. It really does not matter what brand camera you use(I use a canon) but you definitely require a 50mm prime lens if you are serious about taking quality picture in a budget.

Well, here are my top 5 reasons why you should get a 50mm f/1.8 prime lens.

1. Price - Seriously guys, this lens is one of the cheapest in the market considering camera gears being generally expensive. For the price you pay, this lens will change your game and believe me you are getting best value for your money.                             
2. Low Light Capability - At f/1.8 aperture, it makes a very versatile lens to be able to shoot at night or any low light conditions. If you haven't had any prior experience or hands on a professional lens, the capability of this lens will definitely amaze you.
3. Image Quality - I have been using the Canon 50mm f/1.8 ef mount lens for quite a while and boy! the quality of the images are just mind blowing. This lens is useful for portraits, especially when used in a cropped sensor DSLR which I believe most of you will be using like me:). It definitely produces very sharp images, sometimes really really sharp with the right settings. The isolation it gives to the subject you are shooting is just fantastic.
4. Bokeh - I know one of the reason why you will be looking for a new lens which is great instead of searching for better cameras. You bought the camera with the expectation of getting results like those beautiful images you see online with creamy bokeh and nice depth of field. And yes, 50mm is the gateway to "bokeh"land. This lens creates amazing bokeh and images are produced with good shallow depth of field.
   
5. Build - Although it is one of the cheapest lens, the build quality says otherwise. Unlike kit lenses, it has a metal ring on the base of the mount. The lens feels quite solid and the focus ring is smooth to handle. It is small in size which is also great for carrying around.
   
   

If you ever think about charging people for your images yet you feel the quality is not quite up to the mark, START WITH THIS LENS!.