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Africa Destination Trip Reports

Trip Report – Mahe, Seychelles

Day 1:  We arrived at Mahe International Airport from Addis Ababa around 2 PM. After picking up our rental car, we drove 15km south along the coast to Doubletree by Hilton Seychelles – Allamanda Resort and Spa. We stayed here for 2 nights before visiting Praslin Island. After checking in at the hotel and freshening up, we hit the beach. It was early evening by now and we did not get in the water although it was quite warm!! The hotel is a beachfront property with private beach access. We walked along the beach to nearby rocks which had a …

Africa Destination Trip Reports

May’ 22: Seychelles Trip – Introduction

After about a year from our last international trip (2021 Greece Trip), we went on a quick 7 day vacation to Seychelles. I had been planning on visiting this beautiful island on the Indian Ocean for a while and finally was able to make it happen this year. Seychelles does not require any visas for US passport holders. All visitors however are required to obtain a Travel Authorization before departure. We applied for the travel authorization online about 5 days before the trip and were approved within 2 hours. They require to upload all flight tickets, hotel bookings, passport cover …

Destination Trip Reports Europe

Trip Report – Naxos, Greece

Day 1: We arrived at Santorini Athinios port (new port) for our SeaJets ferry to Naxos. The ferry ride takes about 3 hours from Santorini to Naxos (depending on which ferry boat you choose). We arrived at Naxos port early afternoon. We were staying at Fanis Hotel close to Agia Anna Beach. The hotel provided complimentary shuttle service to hotel. After freshening up we walked to Lefto’s Souvlaki Kebab House at Agios Prokopios Beach for lunch After lunch, we went to Agia Anna Beach right across from Fanis hotel. The water was still very cold so we shifted to the …

Destination Trip Reports Europe

Trip Report: Santorini, Greece

Day 1: We arrived at Santorini (Thira) International Airport early afternoon. After picking up our rental car we drove to our hotel (Avant Garde Suites) in Akrotiri. After freshening up we decided to have lunch near Kamari Beach. Greece had just reopened post-covid and many places in Santorini were still closed (or work being done for reopening). We were lucky to find Soul By Splash restaurant open, right on Kamari Beach. It was amazing having wonderful food while hearing waves a few feet away. After lunch, we walked along Kamari Beach but the very cold water along with rough pebbles …

Destination Trip Reports Europe

Trip Report: Athens, Greece

Day 1: We arrived at Athens International Airport (Eleftherios Venizelos) in the afternoon on our flight from London. After a rapid covid-19 swab test at the airport, we were on our way. Athens Metro Line 3 serves the airport and we took the metro  to Syntagma Square (9 Euro/person). Our hotel (New Hotel, Athens) was only 5 minutes walk from Syntagma metro stop. After freshening up, we decided to pick up our combo Acropolis tickets ($30 Euro for 8 sites over 5 days) from Gymnasium of Lykeion. We walked from our hotel to the National Garden. We walked through the …

Destination Trip Reports Europe

May’21: Greece Trip – Introduction

It had been a long time (since Jan 2020) I’ve been on a vacation. Ever since Covid crisis started, we were staying home hoping for it to all blow over. After we got vaccinated in Feb 2020, it gave us the chance to go on our already postponed Greece trip in May 2021. Greece finally opened up to international tourists at end of April and the requirements were fairly simple. For vaccinated tourists, a proof of vaccination was sufficient for entry along with a passenger locator form specifically for Greece that had to be filled out no later than day …

Asia Destination Trip Reports

Trip Report – Kandy and Colombo, Sri Lanka

Earlier part of the Sri Lanka Trip involves sightseeing in Bentota, Weligama, Ella and Nuwara Eliya. Day 5: We left Nuwara Eliya after having breakfast at our hotel. After 30 minutes of driving towards Kandy, we arrived at Damro Labookellie Tea Centre and Tea garden. The tea factory here is actually running and the management offers complimentary 15 minute guided tour around the factory. We learned about various stages of processing of tea as well as about different varieties of tea. Finally we were treated with a variety of fine Ceylon tea. We ended up buying a good amount of …

Asia Destination Trip Reports

Trip Report – Bentota, Weligama Bay and Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka

Day 1: We arrived at Bandaranaike International Airport late afternoon and after clearing immigration we met with our driver Nishanta from Ceylon Escapes in the arrival hall. Our first night stay was at Bentota, about 110 km from the airport. We reached Bentota in about 2 hours and checked into our homestay at Shangri-Lanka Villa. We were fairly tired after traveling since the morning that day and went to bed early Day 2: We left after having breakfast and made our way south. First up was Bentota Beach. The beach was very clean and the water quite warm for December. …

Asia Destination Trip Reports

Dec’19 – Jan’20: India and Sri Lanka Trip – Introduction

Time for my yearly trip to India again!! This time I will be going there myself (without my wife that is) and planning on visiting Sri Lanka with my parents for a week or less. We will be visiting Colombo, Bentota, Kandy and Nuwara Eliya. There will be a lot of trip reports, airline reviews and hotel reviews following this trip. Airline Review – Cathay Pacific Business Class from Los Angeles to Hong Kong Trip Report – Bentota, Weligama and Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka Hotel Review – Shangri-lanka Villa, Bentota Hotel Review – Weligama Bay Marriott Resort & Spa Hotel …

Destination Trip Reports North America US, Canada, Mexico

June 2019 – Chicago Trip Report

Day 1: We started the day by taking the Blue line from O’ Hare Airport to Clark/Lake station and then transferred to State/Lake station. We had purchased the $10 day pass for the CTA and it served us well throughout our trip. From the station its a close walk to the Riverwalk. There are a lot of picturesque spots along the Chicago Riverwalk. We saw quite a few interesting and notable buildings including the Trump Tower. A few minutes into the walk we came across the Vietnam Veternans Memorial. We walked the Riverwalk to Lower Michigan Avenue and then walked …

Destination Trip Reports Europe

June 2019 – Moscow Trip Report

Day 1: We started our sightseeing in Moscow with its most famous sight, the Red Square. Although there is a metro stop close by we took a cab from our hotel straight to the square. The square is surrounded by St. Basil’s Cathedral, Kremlin Walls, and Lenin Mausoleum on one end and the State Historical Museum and GUM Department store on the other. We did not go inside St. Basil’s cathedral as I read that the exterior architecture is more impressive anyways. Lenin Mausoleum was closed that day. After spending some time at the Red Square we walked behind St. …

Destination Trip Reports Europe

June 2019 – St. Petersburg (Russia) Trip Report

Day 1: We arrived at St. Petersburg around noon on our flight from Brussels. After an uneventful immigration check, we took airport taxi to our hotel (Staybridge Suites St. Petersburg). After freshening up, we took the metro from Moskovskie Vorota Metro stop (Line M2) near our hotel to Nevsky Prospekt (Line M2). Nevsky Prospekt is the main street of St. Petersburg. Its crowded and quite touristy. We passed by the Kazan Cathedral and then walked along the channel embankment to Church of the Savior on Blood. The Church of Savior on Blood is quintessential Russian architecture with onion domes. After …

Destination Trip Reports Europe

June 2019 – Brussels Trip Report

We spent 2 nights (1 full day) in Brussels while going from Barcelona to St. Petersburg, Russia. We arrived in Brussels late at night (around midnight), spent the full day exploring Brussels and then flew out to St. Petersburg early next morning. Although we missed some popular hot spots due to short schedule, it still was a lot of fun and we gained a lot of appreciation for this city. Karen had signed up for a Belgian Chocolate Workshop and I dropped her off in the morning for the 3 hour class. While Karen was in class, me and my …

Destination Trip Reports Europe

June 2019 – Barcelona Trip Report

Day 1: We arrived on AVE train from Madrid in the evening. Although there is a direct metro line from Barcelona Sants station to our hotel (Hilton Barcelona, Maria Christina metro stop) we opted for a cab to avoid lugging all our belongings in the metro. After checking in and freshening up me and Karen decided to walk to a highly reviewed restaurant on Tripadvisor (Cerveceria Catalana) about 2 km from the hotel. Day 2: The day started out really bad weather wise and I decided to make slight changes to the itinerary for the morning. We took the metro …

Destination Trip Reports Europe

June 2019 – Madrid Trip Report

Day 1: We arrived at Madrid Barajas International Airport in the morning. We were staying in Madrid Marriott Auditorium Hotel & Conference Center for the first night. After checking-in and freshening up we took the metro to the city (from the airport which was the closest Metro stop from the hotel). All metro trains outbound and inbound for the airport carry a 3 Euro surcharge. We did not buy any metro pass during our stay in Madrid and instead used the 10 journey ticket (that can be shared between travelers). It was close to lunch time and our first stop …

Destination Trip Reports Europe

June 2019: Europe Trip – Introduction

During June we visited Europe for 2 weeks at the end of my parents’ visit in US. This time we went over to Spain and Russian Federation with a short 1 day stay in Brussels. We stayed 2 nights each in Madrid, Barcelona, Brussels and St. Petersburg followed by 4 nights in Moscow. In the following months, I will be posting reviews on the following: Airline Review: Iberia Business Class – Chicago to Madrid Trip Report: Madrid Hotel Review: Madrid Marriott Auditorium Hotel & Conference Center Hotel Review: Artiem Madrid Trip Report: Barcelona Hotel Review: Hilton Barcelona Hotel Review: AC …

Asia Destination Trip Reports

January 2019 – Abu Dhabi Trip Report

We spent only about half a day in Abu Dhabi (compared to 3 days in Dubai). We took a cab to Dubai Ibn Batuta Mall Bus Station where we then took the E101 bus to Abu Dhabi. The trip takes 1.5 hours and costs 25 AED per person. This bus is the cheapest option to travel between Dubai & Abu Dhabi. After reaching Abu Dhabi bus station we took a cab to our hotel (Holiday Inn Abu Dhabi). After checking-in and freshening up we took a cab to #1 sightseeing spot in Abu Dhabi and that is the Sheikh Zayad …

Asia Destination Trip Reports

January 2019 – Dubai Trip Report

Day 1: We walked from our hotel (Doubletree Hilton Dubai Al Barsha) to Mall of Emirates and then took the Dubai Metro Red line to Al Ghubaiba station (with changing to Green line at Bur Juman station). The Dubai Ferry leaves just 2 minutes walk from Al Ghubaiba station.   After reaching Dubai Marina we took a cab back to Mall of Emirates. Cabs are plentiful in Dubai and have pretty reasonable fares. One of the popular attractions in Mall of Emirates is Ski Dubai (yes skiing in the desert!!). We had lunch at one of the food courts in the …

Asia Destination Trip Reports

January 2019 – Jordan Trip Report (Dead Sea & Petra)

Day 1:  We arrived in late afternoon at the Holiday Inn Resort Dead Sea after driving about 80 km from Jerash. It was pretty cold being January but I was not going to let that get in the way of my bucket list item – taking a dip in the dead sea. After checking-in in at the hotel and freshening up we made our way to the private hotel beach. The hotel kept 2 big tubs of Dead Sea mud by the beach. I had read about the beneficial qualities of Dead Sea mud and coming all this way I …

Asia Destination Trip Reports

January 2019 – Jordan Trip Report (Amman & Jerash)

We arrived on a late night flight to Amman via Muscat on Oman Air. Immigration was fairly easy as we had already purchased the Jordan pass. If you are going to be visiting Petra during your Jordan visit (and staying at least 3 nights in Jordan total), Jordan Pass is basically a no-brainer. Since we were staying more than 3 nights in Jordan and also visiting Petra, we had already purchased the Jordan Pass online (must be purchased online before arriving in the country). Jordan Pass waives the visa-on-arrival fees to Jordan ($40 JOD). After picking up our rental car from …