One reason why I like spending time in nature is the wildlife. Where we were in India was pretty much rural India. It didn’t feel like there were a billion people in the country and in the 2 months I was there I was pretty much shielded from the horrors that plague most people when there are there for holidays. I was in a bubble where people were sweet and the environment was clean. Honestly, it just felt I stepped back in time. The slight disorder in the village I was in reminded me of Singapore in the 1970s … albeit, my own memories of those times are faint and most are from what my parents tell me. Children run freely along the streets, no one seems to lock their doors but at the same time electricity isn’t reliable :p Nothing in this world is perfect but I reckon nature is pretty close. That’s why flora and fauna of any place is what draws me to it.

So in Nawan Nagar, I was pretty surprise to find birds that laugh … seriously they reminded me of the kookaburra from Australia, they’re grey and really simple looking but they cackle like the witches from Macbeth. It was funny and infectious that my husband and I enjoyed just listening to them everyday.

My favourite though has to be the chipmunks 🙂 like little hamster they love dried chapattis. Indians do not eat overnight chapattis so we break them into little pieces and feed the birds and chipmunks. Here’s my buddy Clarence. I saw him everyday … actually I saw a few of them everyday but he’s the only one that didn’t dart away when I came close for a picture. Such a cutie, right?

Ok, I do not like birds. My husband reckons I was a worm in a past life that was gobbled up by a bird but whatever it is I’m not too found of them. In India though, they have wild parrots and peacocks and they are beautiful. Their vibrant colours among the simple surroundings just make them stand out and look quite regal. And the hawks, when spring came, they were out nearly everyday. I couldn’t take a picture that would remotely do them justice but there’s certainly something about hawks soaring through the sky, that’s rather captivating.

The funny thing about cats in India is that they get chased by the birds!! So maybe I was a cat in India in my past life 🙂 The cats are beautiful but I was warned not to touch them. While they look like pet cats, they are not. They are smart though, they know where to go to beg for milk and chapattis but they never come close enough so you can pat them.

What surprised me were camels!! I’ve never thought about camels and India in the same sentence. Most of them aren’t quite wild though, they was used as a form of transport. It was quite a sight to be this up close to one.

Of course, there were cows everywhere. The cows are like giant stray cats and dogs in other countries. They roam freely and everyone gives way to them 🙂  Also, when the weather started to warm up, the bugs started to appear and my husband actually saw a lizard eat a bug.  It was a Nat Geo moment, just that he didn’t have a camera :p