The 2009 monsoon season is underway in Kerala, with the arrival of the south-west monsoon a week earlier than it’s usual date. The southern part of state is currently receiving heavy rainfall.

The monsoon will now make its way across India. Mumbai and the rest of Maharastra isn’t likely to see it until early June though. This is because the presence of cyclone Aila on the east coast of India has weakened the pressure of the monsoon winds, thus slowing its progress.

The cyclone has been producing heavy rainfall, which is expected to continue in West Bengal, Sikkim, and India’s north-eastern states. Kolkata and Darjeeling have been very badly hit, requiring rescue operations to be carried out.

The monsoon is expected to reach Uttar Pradesh, in northern India, by the middle of June.

Last call for entry as the TravelIndia365.com competition approaches its deadline on 31st May 2009. Subscribe now to win a holiday for your family in SeaHawk Inn, Bhimtal. This is your last chance to save money and make your dream holiday true !!

“People are already signing up for the competition and started playing a series of riddle questions and referring friends and family to increase more chances to win fabulous getaways. You can still join them and earn your chance to win great holidays.”

To enter, all you have to do is subscribe to this blog using your email address. That’s it!

After the prize draw there will be many more goodies to come, so keep watching your inbox … Good luck!

If you’re traveling to India from the US, Canada or Mexico, it’s likely that you’ll be checked for symptoms of swine flu when you arrive at the airport in India. The virus, which is usually found in pigs, recently started spreading to humans in Mexico and other countries.

Special counters, staffed by doctors and nurses, have been set up at nine international airports in India — Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Goa and Cochin.

One person flying to Hyderabad from Texas in the US was quarantined after exhibiting flu like symptoms. However, it turned out that he fortunately only had a cold.

So far, India has remained free of swine flu but the country is on high alert and preventative measures are being undertaken.

Northern India is melting under a searing heatwave at the moment, In Delhi, the temperature has been consistently hovering around 43 degrees Celsius (109.4 degrees Fahrenheit), forcing schools to close early for the summer vacation.

In Uttar Pradesh, the maximum temperature has averaged 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit). Jhansi has been the hottest place in the state, with a recorded temperature of 45.4 degrees Celsius (114 degrees Fahrenheit). Uttarakhand isn’t much cooler. The temperature at Dehradun reached a 39 year high of nearly 41 degrees Celsius (105.8 degrees Fahrenheit).

Needless to say, the plains of Punjab and the Rajasthan desert are also sweltering under above normal temperatures.

So where can you go to escape the summer heat? The state of Himachal Pradesh is a good option. In Shimla, the temperature reached a 10 year high of only 28.4 degrees Celsius (83 degrees Fahrenheit). Manali also remains relatively cool and has some beautiful scenery.

You can also consider Nainital or Mussoorie as your summer destination this year.

The new domestic terminal 1D at Delhi Airport is all set to open tomorrow. Airlines will be shifting there in phases. Kingfisher Airlines, Kingfisher Red, and IndiGo Airlines are to be the first airlines to operate from the terminal.

The new terminal has been built as part of the upgrade of Delhi Airport. It sounds pretty impressive. The highlights are an in-line baggage screening system (so no need to get your bags x-rayed before check in anymore), 72 check in counters, and eight entry gates. Hopefully, these improvements will reduce a lot of the delays at the airport.

If you’ve flown out of the new terminal, I’d love to hear what you think of it.

Indian Railway has decreased its passenger fares by 2% on Mail Express Trains and Ordinary Trains, effective from April 1, 2009.

The reduction applies to all classes of travel from 1AC to second class unreserved. It doesn’t apply to travel on Shatabdi, Jan Shatabdi, Garib Rath and Rajdhani trains though.

Refunds are being offered to those who booked their tickets in advance of the fare revision. However, Indian Railways is yet to determine the procedure for refunds on e-tickets booked over the internet.

In contrast to India’s declining tiger and leopard population, the number of rhinoceroses is on the up and up. There’s been a 10% increase in the rhinoceros population at Kaziranga National Park over the last three years. The park now has over 2,000 of these endangered creatures.

Isolated and picturesque Kaziranga National Park in Assam is home to many threatened species, not just the rhinoceros. The park does however afford a special opportunity to see the prehistoric looking rhino because it’s only one of two parks in India that has them. Sightings are common, and you can explore the park on elephant back.

Chithirai Festival is actually a 10 day festival and this is one of the biggest celebrations in Madurai. It commemorates the wedding of Lord Sundareswarar and Goddess Meenakshi (Lord Vishnu’s sister).

Legend has it that Lord Vishnu came to Madurai, mounted on a golden horse, to witness the wedding. The festival recreates this event. This year it is being held from April 26 to May 7, at the Meenakshi Temple.

We were planning about something like this since long where a regular user of our website gets some additional benefit as compared to other travellers, this contest has something special for all the regular users of Travel India 365 – Just Subscribe to our email feed – and You can win 2 Nights and 3 Days Package for SeaHawk Inn, Bhimtal. (To know more about SeaHawk Inn visit: http://seahawkresorts.com)

You don’t need to be a top commentor, nor you have to post any kind of review or make any other things done. Just subscribe using a valid email address in the below box:

We will announce the winner on 31st Of May 2009, So stay connected with us !!

This is a 3 Star Hotel, Approx 1.5 Km’s away from Mussoorie Mall Road on Spring Road..

[Show as slideshow]

[View with PicLens]

About The Hotel: Positioned high up in the “Queen of Hills” i.e. Mussoorie, Hotel Crystal Palace, just 500 meters from Mall Road is awe-inspiring experience to dwell at. You can’t total your Mussoorie excursion in one day and hence you need to reside at home like consign and we will endow with you exactly the same. All necessary and luxurious services will be there to serve you round the clock.

Accommodation is well categorized into Deluxe and Valley Views (Luxury) Rooms which are minutely depicting the picturesque views of Mussoorie, be it verdant green trees, gentle valley views or exotic Sunset and Sunrise. You will be getting your parking Space in the hotel. Finger licking delicious and hygienic food is provided in the Hotel which is very good for your health.   

Facilities:

• Fully furnished Rooms with Double Bed, Sofa cum bed with attached Bathroom & Balcony.
• 24 hours Hot & Cold Water Supply.
• Intercom Facility.
• Fruit Basket.
• Restaurant on 24 hrs basis.
• Open Air Party Venues.
• Conference Facility.
• Television.
• Doctor on Call.
• Room Service.
• Laundry Facility.
• Local Transport.
• Bone Fire with Light Music.
• DJ on Demand.

Activities: Carom board, Chess, Board Games and Badminton. 

Adventure Activities: River Rafting, Burma Bridge, Commando Crawl, Tree Climbing, Double Rope Bridge, Mowgli Walk and Boating.  (Note: these activities are only arranged on demand outside hotel).

Key Distances: 
From Delhi: 278 Kms only.
From Nearest Railway Station: Dehradun is the nearest Railway station 34 kms from Mussoorie.
From Nearest Airport: Jolly Grant Airport, 24 kms from Dehradun.
From Nearest Bus Stand: Mussoorie is well connected to Delhi (278 Kms) and Dehradun (34 Kms).

My Review About This Place: This is like heaven on earth a recommended place to visit, here are my ratings for this place out of 10 !

• Food - 10/10.
• Value For Money – 9/10.
• Activities – 5/10.
• Co-Operative Staff Members - 9.5/10.
• Guest Satisfaction - 10/10.