Out of Norm Travels

Let's put it out there.....I am TERRIFIED of Rats. The mere squeak can drive me far away in another direction. yet I put my fears aside when I was told that we will be visiting a rat temple in India. why? Well, simply for the sake of photography.  The temple is none other than the Hindu temple more commonly known as the Temple of the Rats (aka Karni Mata Hari Temple) in the region of Rajasthan, just outside Bikarner.  It is interesting to find out facts like some 20,000 rats live in this temple. The rats are believed to be holy and allowed to free roam. I was told that if you don't disturb them, they won't disturb you. So I went along with some other brave souls and bared our feet to walk the grounds. I was also trying my best to spot a white rat, believed to be the most holy out of all the thousands of black/ grey rats scurrying around. And I am glad to say that not only I survived the little walk around but also saw some 3 white rats (most auspicious indeed as guide to

After reading a recent article covering Hong Kong Heritage Buildings, I was gladdened to see that Tai O Heritage Hotel was mentioned as one of the Heritage successes of Hong Kong (info from hk-magazine.com ) and also reminded of my trip down this last remaining fishing village of Hong Kong called "Tai O". It was a nice contrast to the bustling metropolitan city of Hong Kong and on the way to the famous Lantau island (where the big Buddha is).  This lovely Heritage hotel was of course a beautiful respite from the extreme heat felt on that sunny July day back in 2012 (reputedly one of the hottest day of that year right before Hong Kong experienced its 1st Hurricane Signal no. 10 since 1999 (BTW it's the highest tropical cyclone warning signal in Hong Kong where an estimated maximum sustained winds of 155 km/hr was recorded near its centre).  For 100 years, the Tai O Police Station served the quiet West Lantau fishing community of Tai O, combating smuggling and piracy