Merry Christmas

Christmas is a time when we visit our family and friends, eat amazing food and party like crazy. It's the time when there are candles,cakes and sweets everywhere. It's the time to forget our diets and put on some calories. Merry Christmas everyone! May it bring joy, peace and happiness in your life.Wishing you much happiness today and throughout the New Year. Cheers!

How to record your screen using VLC Player?

Today I'm gonna share some easy steps on how you can record your screen with VLC Player. VLC media player is a free and open source cross-platform multimedia player and framework that plays most multimedia files as well as DVDs, Audio CDs, and VCDs. Apart from playing video and audio files it has many features as well. Not many people know that you can use this simple player to record your screen as well. No extra software is required.

                                                          Image Source: Google

Step 1: Open VLC player. 
            If you have not installed it on your PC, you can download it  from here.

Step 2: Click on Media
            From the drop down menu choose Open capture device. 

Step 3:  A new window will appear in that particular window in the  capture mode select desktop.

Step 4: Desired frame rate for the capture set it as 30.00 f/s

Step 5:  At the end you will see Play with a small downward arrow next to it click on that and select  Convert.

Step 6: A new window for Convert will appear. In the Destination file section click on browse and save it to wherever you want to (eg: D:)

Step 7 : In the profile section select Video H.264+MP3(MP4).

Step 8: Click Start. Minimize VLC media player.Your screen will start recording. After finishing recording click Stop in VLC player.

Enjoy! :)

Kashmir

Kashmir is the northernmost state of India. Here you will find breathtaking valleys, huge hills, snow-clad mountains and cool mountain air. Main cities we visited were the capital of the state- Srinagar, Gulmarg ,Sonmarg and Pahalgam. Most of my vacations are planned during May or December, because that's when we get holidays. This vacation too was planned in the month of May. During May you will find snow only on the mountains unlike winter when snow is almost everywhere in the state. Here you will find many army men at every 300 meters on the roads due to the constant tension between the two nations-India and Pakistan. Also unlike other cities when we landed in Srinagar there was strict checking 3 to 4 times. Although it was a bit irritating i was very happy about it. Kashmir is always in the limelight most of the times not for good reasons. But it's a beautiful place to visit!

Mahabaleshwar

Mahabaleshwar is a famous hill station in Maharashtra, India. Here you will find soaring peaks, breathtaking valleys, lush flora and cool crisp mountain air. Mahabaleshwar means 'God of Great Power'. We visited this place in December. The weather was cool and we booked a hotel which had a view of ranges of mountains facing us. Near our hotel there was a temple not a famous one, but a small one probably for the locals nearby. We went for a walk with our cameras to click a few snaps. There were many trees surrounding the temple. On one such tree i saw a monkey with a baby monkey. The monkey was black faced usually known as Gray langurs. I wanted to click their picture but a man who was living nearby told us that they are not one of the friendliest breed and they can snatch away your camera as well. SNATCH AWAY MY CAMERA??!!?? No way! My camera is way too precious to be taken away by a monkey, so i decided not to take a picture. After about 5 minutes the monkey came down from the tree with it's baby on his /her back and ran away jumping through the huge wall. Just when i turned around i saw many other monkeys running from the first wall behind which probably there was a forest and they jumped to the next wall. I was amazed to see so many black-faced monkeys all at time. It was quite an adventurous day!

Places to visit
1) Venna Lake
It is one of the major tourist attractions. The lake is surrounded by trees on all sides. Here you can see huge numbers of tourists going for a boat ride. Near the Venna lake you can even opt for a horse ride.

2) Mahabaleshwar market
Here vendors sell fresh carrots, corn and super fresh strawberries. There is a fair like atmosphere near the venna lake and you can play various games and kids can enjoy on rides like the giant wheel and dare to drop.
When you actually visit the main market, you'll come across various eateries and chaats that are available. 2 things that you must have is the strawberry milkshake with has fresh strawberries at the top and the strawberry ice-cream. Mahabaleshwar is famous for strawberries and here you get the best strawberries in the world.  

3)Arthur's seat
It is named after a British officer Sir Arthur Malet who used to sit here and gaze at the savitri river. He lost his wife and kids in a tragic ferry accident.

4) Kate's Point
Kate's point is located to the east of Mahabaleshwar and is famous for its view of two reservoirs, Balakwadi and Dhom.

5) Wilson Point
It is the highest point in Mahabaleshwar. It offers a spectacular glance of hills and valleys in all directions.

6) Monkey Point
It is a natural sculpture of stones which look like 3 monkeys.

7) Lodwick Point 
General Peter Lodwick was the first Englishmen to set foot on the glorious hills of Mahabaleshwar.

8) Pratapgad fort
This is a fort which is about 20 km from mahabaleshwar, a must visit for history enthusiasts. The fort was captured by the Maratha warrior Shivaji Maharaj.  

How to reach:

By Air: Nearest airport is at Pune 120 km away.
By Rail: Satara
By Road: Mumbai-Mahabaleshwar expressway approx 4 hrs drive.

Nainital

Nainital is a hill station in Uttarakhand,India. It is situated in a valley and the lake is pear-shaped. Naini lake is situated in the heart of the city and it is because of this lake the place got it's name-Nainital.
We visited this place in the month of May and even during summer it was very cold. It was around 10 degrees Celsius during our visit. I come from a place where the climate is hot and humid most of the time so anything below 15 or even let's say 20 degrees is quite cold for me.We booked a hotel room which had a lake facing view which was really amazing.

History  

Okay so this place also has some history associated with it. The Lake is called Tri-Rishi-Sarovar. It's a story of 3 sages Atri,Pulastya and Pulaha who couldn't find enough water so they decided to dig a large hole and filled it with water from the holy lake Manasarovar in Tibit. It is also believed that it is one of the many religious sites where Sati fell on the earth while being carried by Lord Shiva. The spot where Sati's eyes fell came to be known as Nainital or lake of the eye. And the whole lake actually is in the shape of a human eye.

Places to visit

1) Nainital Lake 
You have come to Nainital so of course you have to go for a boat ride here at least once.
The lake is huge and the water is crystal clear. You'll find many ducks in the lake. I saw some tourists feeding some ducks pieces of bread. 

2) Naina Peak  
It is also known as the China peak. This peak is the highest point at Nainital.
3) Snow view
It is at an altitude of approx 2,270m . To reach here you can take a cable car. Again the view is just amazing from it.

Some other  places are Naina Devi temple, Echo cave gardens and the mall road at Nainital which you can visit! :)

Kausani

Kausani is another hill station we visited during our visit to Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh states. Other places that we visited were Corbett, Agra, Nainital and Mussorie. Comming back to Kausani is a small hill station as I said earlier. It's not very well known because it does not have a lot of tourist attractions like other surrounding places. Kausani is an ideal place if you want to relax and want some peace of mind.

First place that we visited was Anashakti Ashram where Mahatma Gandhi spent some days during his lifetime. The Ashram was filled with Gandhiji's photos and various things were written about the work that he had done.Then we visited a temple and near the temple there was a pond filled with thousands of fishes. There were some locals selling fish food so that tourists could feed the fishes.

In this temple there was a stone that only nine people can shift it otherwise it won't even move, well that was the story don't know how true it is. The stone was pretty big and i personally went and tried to move it but it was very heavy. It didn't even move an inch.

If you are an adventurous person and like to visit many places then you would be a little disappointed. If you want to relax and enjoy the climate then this place is for you! 

Happy Sunday! :)

Mussoorie

Mussoorie is a hill station which is situated at Uttarakhand. It was a nice road trip from Corbett to Mussoorie with cool air blowing across your face. On our way we saw huge mountains,steep valleys and lush greenery.

It was a long journey of about 3 hours so by the time we reached our destination we were quite tired. So we checked in our hotel and relaxed for some time. There were lot of monkeys around this place. We had gone out for sometime and when we returned to our hotel room, to our surprise we found 3 monkeys in our balcony. We left some clothes over there and had totally forgotten about it and in one of the jeans there was a lot of cash. One of the monkeys picked up the jeans probably in search of some food. Luckily he didn't run away with the jeans he left it there and jumped off and we took a sigh of relief! I put up a photo of that guy for you :p

Places i would recommend are Kempty Falls and Jharipani Falls.

The water was amazing over there with an equally amazing view. There are many more places you can explore like Mussoorie Lake, Lake Mist and Jwalaji Temple.

The nearest railway station:  Dehradun Railway station at a distance of 36kms.
The nearest airport:  Jolly Grant Airport at a distance of 60kms.

Corbett

Jim Corbett National Park is located at Uttarakhand, India. It is named after Jim Corbett who played a major role in establishing this park. Here you will find picturesque surroundings of lush green forests and different species of birds. Best time to visit will be from November-June. You might not want to go here during the rainy season because it's a forest and forests receive very high rainfall.


The above picture was taken during jungle safari. We saw many deers,birds,peacocks,insects and reptiles. I wanted to spot a tiger with my binoculars but found deers instead and knew sure enough that we were not gonna find any tigers, because where deers are there you can't find tigers, for obvious reasons.



We visited this place in May but to our surprise it actually rained for about 1 hr during our visit. It's actually pretty hot in summer, the rain made the temperature dip a little bit.

This is a picture of one of the many birds that i spotted at this amazingly big national park.
If you are a wildlife lover you gotta visit this place at least once! :)

Alibaug

Alibaug is a coastal town situated in the konkan region of Maharashtra,India. It is a perfect weekend getaway for people living in Mumbai,Pune,Panvel and nearby cities. Many people visit this place to get refreshed by pure air,greenery and experience the beauty of nature! Alibaug is famous for it's beaches.
My favorite beach at Alibaug is the Nagaon beach and Kashid Beach, Nagaon beach for it's water sports and Kashid Beach for it's white sand.

How to get there:
By Road:  From Mumbai you can reach Alibaug by traveling on the Mumbai-Goa highway (NH-17) till Wadkhal and take a right turn from Wadkhal, the left turn will take you to Goa. It is approximately 108 km from Mumbai and takes about 2 hours to reach there.
By Rail : The nearest station is Pen.
By Ferry: The nearest jetty is Mandwa, from there bus service is available till alibaug with the same ticket.

Apart from the beaches you can also visit the Alibaug Fort. It is a sea fort which was constructed by the Maratha warrior, Shivaji Maharaj. Revdanda fort also attracts many tourists.
Murud-Janjira is a sea fort that is situated at a distance of 55.2 km from Alibaug. To reach this fort you have to take a boat ride of 15 mins. It is surrounded by water on all four sides.

Famous restaurants at Alibaug are Hotel Sanman and Patang.They have mouthwatering sea food.These 2 restaurants are often packed with people enjoying their favorite meals.

At Alibaug you can enjoy the chirping of birds and nature at it's best. Relax your nerves at this place from the daily hustle and bustle in your life!

Destination Delhi

The capital city of India has lots to offer be it history, culture, food, temples, and everything else you could possibly imagine.
The first place that we visited was India Gate.
1) India Gate

India Gate is located at New Delhi.
This place attracts many tourists as well as locals daily. We came here at around 5:30 in the evening and believe me it was very crowed, the picture above says it all.
2)Humayun’s Tomb

 It is the tomb of the Mughal Emperor Humayun.

There is a garden which leads you inside the main building where the tombs are located.

 

Along with Humayun, there are quite a few other Mughal rulers whose graves are also within the building.

   

This was the board that was put up there.

Out of all the places in delhi this was one place that fascinated me the most with it's rich history.

3) Laxmi Narayan Mandir – Hindu Temple

The temple is one of the major attractions of Delhi and attracts thousands of devotees on the Hindu festivals of Janmashtami and Diwali.
4) Qutub Minar

It is constructed from red sandstone, there are detailed carvings and inscriptions throughout the tower. Tried to capture the whole tower but it simply does not fit in a single frame it's that tall like 72.5 meter!
The guide over there told us that they used to allow people to go till the top floor, but they shut down that facility some years ago. 


There are many more amazing places that you can visit at this beautiful city but due to time restrictions we could not go everywhere. Sometimes you cannot visit many places, so it's better to enjoy at the place where you are to the fullest!! 

Top Android Apps

These are the top 5 android apps you must have in your device
- October 2014

1)  Clean Master Phone Boost

Developer  Cheetah Mobile

Requires Android 2.3.3 and up

Size: 16M

Downloads: 100 million

Google play link : https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.cleanmaster.mguard&hl=en

 

It has the following features:-
DEVICE COOLER
Cool off your device by finding and stopping the apps that are causing it to overheat.

JUNK FILE CLEANING
Delete cache and residual files to reclaim storage, boost speed and improve the performance of your device and SD card.

MEMORY BOOST
Boost your games and apps, free up memory (RAM) and speed up your device. Our 1 Tap Boost and Game Boost features make it easy to optimize directly from your home screen.

CPU BOOST
Calculate how much CPU is being used by apps on your device. Stop apps from wasting battery, slowing down your device and overheating.

ANTIVIRUS
Scan the system, pre-installed and user-installed apps to keep your device safe from viruses, trojans, vulnerabilities, adware and spyware. Keep your privacy safe by scrubbing personal info from your device. 

APP MANAGER
Uninstall unwanted apps or bloatware and back up important ones. Some rooted devices will be able to move apps to the SD card as well as uninstall pre-installed and system apps.

2) Battery Doctor

Developer :   Cheetah Mobile Inc. 

Requires Android 2.3.3 and up

Size : Varies with device (9.82 MB in my phone)

Downloads : 50 million

Google play link : https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ijinshan.kbatterydoctor_en&hl=en

 Find out what’s draining your power. Adjust your draining settings and disable unnecessary apps that drain your battery. It notifies you when your charging is complete.

Accurately Estimates Remaining Battery Time
Tells how long battery will last under a variety of situations like playing games, wifi on or off etc.

Professional Charging
Battery Doctor regulates the manner in which your device is charged with a Unique 3 Stage Charging system to ensure you get the most out of your battery and reminds you not to over charge. It also has features that can monitor and regulate power consumption.

Widget Included
 Task Killer widget will optimize your power consumption conveniently.

 3)  AirDroid - Android on Computer  

Developer :  SAND STUDIO

Requires Android 2.2 and up

Size : 11 MB

Downloads : 10 million

Google play link : https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sand.airdroid&hl=en

 

Transfer data to your computer without any usb cable. Just register with your existing email id, add a password and you can transfer images,music,videos,documents form phone to PC and vice versa.
You can also make calls, accept calls and send text messages from the computer and the message will be sent from your device directly. In short you can control your whole device using this app.


4) English Dictionary – Offline 

    

Developer : Livio

Requires Android 2.3.3 and up

Size: 16M

Downloads : 10million

Google play link : https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=livio.pack.lang.en_US&hl=en

 Excellent dictionary which includes lot of words. The best thing about this dictionary is that it works offline!

5) Docs To Go - Free Office Suite

Developer :  DataViz, Inc.

Requires Android 

Size: Varies with device (15.20 MB in my phone)

Downloads : 50 million

Google play link :  https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dataviz.docstogo&hl=en

  

View, edit, and create Microsoft Office files & view Adobe PDF files on your Android smartphone and/or tablet. This app is highly recommended if you want to edit documents on the go.