Wildlife in America

America ranks among the world's largest polluters, no doubt. One would expect to see rampant deforestation and decimation of wildlife species, but that is not the case in the US. Here the authorities are highly protective of their wildlife species in most places apart from hunting areas, where people are allowed to kill wild animals. I have come across wild animals, mostly deer, on hiking trails, at parks and other open areas. It would be difficult to see so much wildlife in public areas at such easy access in other parts of the world.

A beautiful Spanish-style building

Enroute from Laredo-San Antonio I saw this interesting looking building, which also serves as the tourist information center of Texas state. Sited virtually in the middle of nowhere this building is very well maintained. This expansive and aesthetically Spanish-style building has neatly manicured lawns, gardens full of green shrubs, flowering plants etc. The only part of the building which seemed to lack maintenance were the three small fish ponds, the water inside appeared dirty green and full of algae with several dead leaves floating. That apart I was really impressed with the dust-free corridors, clean fresh-smelling public restrooms and the friendly nature of the staff employed there.

This part of Texas is not a particularly green area and can get quite dry and dusty during the sultry summer months and I would definitely give a 9/10 for the cleanliness of this tourist information office. No wonder the US attracts a large number of tourists every year. It is time that we learnt lessons from places like here and adapt them to the exotic monuments and tourist locations in India. This way we can boost our economy with tourism revenues.
Love and Pride for State
One thing I admire about the people here, their love for their state and country and the way they proudly display it for the world to see. Maps, flags and the Lone Star insignia of Texas occupies the pride of place in most offices, homes and public buildings. This kind of pride and love has to be instilled in people in India and respective states within.

Laredo, US-Mexico Border

I had been to Laredo and San Antonio over the weekend. The US-Mexico border is a very busy one, with hundreds of cars and people travelling across daily. Of course typical of US there is intensive security checks to ensure that only legitimate people enter the country. Here are some sights of the road leading out of US into Mexico and the scene at the border.

Road leading to Mexico

Like we have the Gateway of India, here is the Gateway of USA. Don't take me seriously, I don't know what this building is about, it located bang on the border.

Another scene on the border, flags of US, Canada and Mexico

People and vehicles in line to enter Mexico

A few miles away in the territory of US is the Texas A&M International University, sited amidst sprawling scrub jungles. One can easily see herds of deer in the grounds of the varsity and as we drove past I saw few and stopped to take pictures. And guess what these deer are not least bit bothered about human presence, they seem to be so used to people photographing them, that they posed for pictures as you can see.

Entrance to TAMIU, Laredo

Deer walking around freely, a treat to the eye

These creatures are not scared and stare directly into the camera