“Mariam’s final thoughts were a few words from the Koran, which she muttered under her breath.
He has created the heavens and the earth with the truth; He makes the night cover the day and makes the day overtake the night, and He has made the sun and the moon subservient; each one runs on to an assigned term; now surely He is the Mighty, the Great Forgiver.”

By Khaled Hosseini, A Thousand Splendid Suns

  

Sunrise from flight
One of the most spectacular Sunrise I shot while traveling to Kolkata from Bangalore. These are monsoon clouds of July canopying over the land.

I had to start this travel wrap 2018 up photo blog with sunsets and sunrise pictures with this prolific quote from my favourite book, Thousand Splendid Sun. They say, reading a book is the best substitute for travelling, physically. I knew that when I was reading this one particular book, bought from the streetside vendors of New Market, Kolkata who would pirate the best sellers and sell them for one dollar. Thus, by spending just one dollar, I had flown down to the bleak landscapes of Afghanistan, the old bazaars of Kabul, the Bamian Buddha statues, the Kabul river banks, seen a few Bujkhashi games, watched Titanic with Laila’s children when the Taliban were done with mandatory strolling, starved during the Kabul draught, attempted a few fateful and failed escape routes and so much more. 

You see, travelling does not need a lot of money! 
But it does need world peace and a privileged visa.  

Which we are yet to attain. 

Sunrise on clouds

 

“At sunrise everything is luminous but not clear.”
― Norman Maclean, A River Runs Through It and Other Stories

 

West Bengal Paddy fields

Sunset in West Bengal. The natural iconic beauty of Bengal.

 

West Bengal Paddy fields electric poles

” বাংলার মুখ আমি দেখিয়াছি, তাই আমি পৃথিবীর রূপ খুঁজিতে যাই না আর” 

 

Sunset in Bombay

 A golden sunset by the Arabian Sea, Bombay

 

Sunset at Benaras

The Sun sets by the ancient ghats of Benaras, where Hindus commence on a hopeful afterlife.

“The first stab of love is like a sunset, a blaze of color — oranges, pearly pinks, vibrant purples…”
― Anna Godbersen, The Luxe

 

 

Ganges in Benaras

Ganges, sunset and Indian railways: so much love in this picture!

Also read, a photo blog on the rivers I met on the road in 2018!

 

Sunrise from Flight

Found gold, en-route Northeast India

Also read, why North east India should be on your bucket list in India?

 

Kaziranga Sunset

A perfect sunrise over Kaziranga Forest, Assam. 

Next time a sunrise steals your breath or a meadow of flowers leave you speechless, remain that way. Say nothing, and listen as Heaven whispers, do you like it? I did it just for you.
– Max Lucado

 

A sunset at Kaziranga
The day ends in Kaziranga national Park, Assam

Also read, the most delicious tribal food at Manas National Park: the authentic Bodo thali at Manas Spring Festival

 

Jungle safari at kaziranga during Sunrise
An one horned rhino stand by the banks of Dhiplu river, Kaziranga during sunrise

Also read, how the Manas National Park is coming back from the brink and saving its rhino population. 

“There’s always a story. It’s all stories, really. The sun coming up every day is a story. Everything’s got a story in it. Change the story, change the world.”
― Terry Pratchett, A Hat Full of Sky

 

A rather Rainy day at Kaziranga and morning sunrise
You think you are the only poet?
A one horned rhino stands witness to yet another spectacular sunrise at Kaziranga, Assam.

“I caught the sun today.”

  

Sunrise at Kohora Range Kaziranga
A couple of elephant babies play at Kaziranga during sunrise!

  

Life is a great sunrise. I do not see why death should not be an even greater one.
– Vladimir Nabokov

 

Sunset at Dhupli River kaziranga
The setting sun reflects on the water of Dhiplu river, Kaziranga

 

Sunset rays at Himalaya Arunachal Pradesh
My eyes.. my eyes… somewhere in Bomdila, Arunachal Pradesh

Also read about the one week travel guide from Guwahati to Tawang!

 

Arunachal Pradesh Tawang Sunset
A sunset over the Himalayan range as seen from Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh

 

Sunset at Manas river
Sun sets by the Manas river, Assam

 

Manas National Park Camp
Peek a boo with sun at Manas National Park

 

 

Bramhaputra River, Assam
The stunning Bramhaputra river and a grand sunset show!

 

 

Dandeli sunset on Kali river
Found an upside down volcano at Dandeli, Karnataka

 

Also read about my first experience of birding at Old Magazine House, Dandeli

 

Supa Dam Dandeli
The Supa Dam on Kali river at Dandeli, Karnataka

My sun sets to rise again.
– Robert Browning

 

Hornbill sanctuary in India Dandeli
A hornbill couple seats atop a tree at the dawn 

Every sunrise is a poem written on the earth with words of light, warmth, and love.
– Debasish Mridha

 

Bangkok Sunset
And Bangkok celebrates my coming? I love the capture since it was a setting sun and raining with lightening and my excitement know no bound!

 “It was sunsets that taught me that beauty sometimes only lasts for a couple of moments, and it was sunrises that showed me that all it takes is patience to experience it all over again.” — A.J. Lawless

 Read all about Thailand here

Sapa Vietnam
Sa Pa, Vietnam

 

Sa pa Vietnam
The sleepy towns of Sa pa, northern Vietnam

 Glimpses of old life captured in photo from Hanoi Old quarter, Vietnam’s capital.

  

Sunset at Nam Ou village
Nam Ou village at Laos and a sunset picture which needs absolutely no editing!

A photo blog on Kuang Si waterfall at Luang Prabang, Laos!

  

Sunset at Luang Prabang
A sunset at the temple town Luang Prabang, Laos

 

Bursts of gold on lavender melting into saffron. It’s the time of day when the sky looks like it has been spray painted by a graffiti artist.” — Mia Kirshner

 

 

Railay island near Krabi in thailand
Railay beach, Thailand

“Meet me where the sky touches the sea.” — Jennifer Donnelly

 

Sunset at Ao Nang Pier krabi
Ao Nang beach, Thailand

  

Railay Sunset
The sheer pleasure of Thai beaches

Not everyone was privileged to see another sunrise like you did, so before you start complaining; remember that the breath of life, is not for sale.”
― Gift Gugu Mona

 

Sunset at Basgo monastery, Ladakh
Basgo Fort, Ladakh and a setting sun at the background

 

“The sunrise, of course, doesn’t care if we watch it or not. It will keep on being beautiful, even if no one bothers to look at it.” — Gene Amole

 

Hampi Sunset
Hampi and a sunset over the ruins of Vijayanagara

Read about the lost kingdom of Hampi.

 

“There is, I have heard, a little thing called sunrise, in which the sun reverses the process we all viewed the night before. You might assume such a thing as mythical as those beasts that guard the corners of the earth, but I have it on the finest authority, and have, indeed, from time to time, regarded it with my own eyes.”
― Lauren Willig, The Garden Intrigue

 

Sunset on Indus river Ladakh
Sunset and the Nile river in Ladakh, India

 

Every day a million miracles begin at sunrise!
– Eric Jerome Dickey

  

African Sunset
Sunset at Amboseli, Kenya

  Also read, a guide to Amboseli reserve forest, Kenya!

  

Masaimara Sunset
A Masai man walking by the Masai Mara game reserve!

Also read: the grandest sunset show in the world at Africa!

  

Masaimara Sunset

   

“You fool, what better motivation are you looking for in the morning than the incredible motivation of the morning sunrise?”
― Mehmet Murat ildan

  

Microlight flying high at Livingstone Zambia
A microlight flight takes off in Zambia. 

  

Microlight flight in Zambia
The most memorable sunrise in my life! That is the Victoria falls beneath me!

 

 “Never did the world make a queen of a girl who hides in houses and dreams without traveling.”
― Roman Payne, The Wanderess

  

Sunrise over Kilimanjaro
Kilimanjaro as seen from the flight window. I clicked this in half sleep and very much adore it!

 

“Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky.”
― Rabindranath Tagore, Stray Birds

   

Sunset over nile river
Sunset behind Luxor temple in Egypt

 

“And though I came to forget or regret all I have ever done, yet I would remember that once I saw the dragons aloft on the wind at sunset above the western isles; and I would be content.”
― Ursula K. Le Guin, The Farthest Shore

 

Sunset over Nile river
The Nile river, Egypt

 

“A large drop of sun lingered on the horizon and then dripped over and was gone, and the sky was brilliant over the spot where it had gone, and a torn cloud, like a bloody rag, hung over the spot of its going. And dusk crept over the sky from the eastern horizon, and darkness crept over the land from the east.”
― John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath

  

Such bright colors of Gold sunset in egypt
Luxor, Egypt

   

Nile felucca ride
The iconic Felucca ride over Nile river

  

Sunset over Luxor temples
The Egyptian gods stood witness to many eventful sunsets

  

Sunset in Cairo
Sunset in Cairo

How safe it it to travel to Egypt? read here

“When sunset, like a crimson throat to hell, is cavernous…
(“A Wine of Wizardry”)”
― George Sterling, The Thirst of Satan: Poems of Fantasy and Terror

  

Sunset at Nuranang Falls Arunachal Pradesh
At the Nuranang river Valley, ARunachal Pradesh, india

“At sunrise, the blue sky paints herself with gold colors and joyfully dances to the music of a morning breeze.”
― Debasish Mridha MD

   

Kormundi River Purushwadi Village
At the Kormundi river, Purush wadi, Maharasthra
Don Bosco Museum Shillong Skywalk
Sunset at SHillong, the skywalk at the Don Bosco Museum

“When the sun has set, no candle can replace it.”
― George R.R. Martin

Cherrapunji Sunset
Cherrapunji sky

   

Cherrapunji Sunset

We need to be reminded sometimes that a sunrise last but a few minutes. But its beauty can burn in our hearts eternally.
– R. A. Salvatore

 

Cherrapunji Sunset
The chaotic Police Bazar at Shillong, Meghalaya

  

Sunset at Kochi Sea Beach and Chinese nets
Sunset at Kochi Sea Beach and the iconic Chinese fishing nets!

How I loved my trip to Kerala!

ANjuna Beach Sunset
Anjuna Beach, Goa

The blog post on Goa beaches you should read!

Golden Sunset at Goa
Baga beach, Goa

“For one minute, walk outside, stand there, in silence, look up at the sky, and contemplate how amazing life is.” — Rhonda Byrne

 

Baga beach Goa sunset
Goa can astound you for at every corner! Many thanks to the neighbouring Arabian Sea!

 

Baga beach Goa
The breathtaking Goa sky, during monsoon!

“Every street of Kabul is enthralling to the eye
Through the bazaars, caravans of Egypt pass
One could not count the moons that shimmer on her roofs
And the thousand splendid suns that hide behind her walls”


By the 17th-century Iranian poet Saib Tabrizi

 

 

 

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2 Responses

  1. This post didn’t just leave me speechless, but also gasping for breath! Yes, I have heard of people skipping a heartbeat when they are in absolute excitement, but I think I was just holding my breath while scrolling down while my eyes absorbed the scarlet beauty!

    Bow!

    You manage to win hearts over and over again with your posts… Keep them coming!

    1. Oh Ramyani, you are just too kind with your words for me! Thank you so much! I loved seeing and reliving these sunset moments and so glad that it made you feel good too!

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