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 …
Asia Destination Trip ReportsJanuary 2019 – Jordan Trip Report (Amman & Jerash)
Asia Destination Trip ReportsDec’18 – Jan’19: India, Jordan and UAE Trip – Introduction
December is here and so is the time for my family trip again. I will be visiting India and my wife will be following me in a couple of weeks. After our trip in India, we along with my parents will go on a 10 day trip to Jordan and UAE. We will be visiting Amman, Petra and Dead Sea in Jordan and Dubai and Abu Dhabi in UAE. I have been wanting to check off Dead Sea, Petra, Burj Khalifa from my bucket list and covering the 2 countries will cross all these off 🙂 There will be a …
Africa Destination Trip ReportsSeptember 2018 – Cape Town and Hermanus Trip Report
We arrived in Cape Town from Johannesburg quite late at night and the difference in temperature was quite palpable. It was quite chilly and drizzling rain. We took our rental car and drove to our hotel in the V&A Waterfront neighborhood. By the time we reached our hotel it was about 1 AM. Day 1: We had planned to go to Table Mountain in the morning but it was rainy and overcast and we could see from our hotel that the visibility from Table Mountain was going to be very poor and so we altered our plans. After breakfast we …
Africa Destination Trip ReportsSeptember 2018 – 7 Day Safari Trip Report in Kruger National Park, South Africa
We have been wanting to visit South Africa for a while, especially after we got hooked on safari following our wonderful trip in Masai Mara Reserve in Kenya in 2016. After a year-long planning we were on our way to South Africa. This time instead of a guided private tour we were going to self-drive in Kruger National Park (mentioned as KNP from now on) as well as stay at much more modest park accommodations. The booking window for KNP opens about 11 months out and I was able to call in and secure 2 rooms at each of our rest …
Africa Destination Trip ReportsSeptember 2018: South Africa Trip Introduction
I have been wanting to visit South Africa (especially for safari at Kruger National Park) for a while after my first safari visit at Kenya Masai Mara National Park. I decided to combine my parents yearly USA visit with it so we fly out from US to South Africa and then do some safari and also visit Cape Town. After the trip, my parents flew back to India and we came back to USA. I will be posting the following trip reports and reviews in the coming days. Airline Review: Cathay Pacific Business Class – Los Angeles to Hong Kong …
Destination Trip Reports North America US, Canada, MexicoMay 2018: Oahu Trip Report
Day 1: We arrived at Honolulu International Airport around 10 AM on our flight from LAX. After collecting our rental car we drove to Nico’s Pier 38. My wife had watched a Guy Fieri’s DDD special (Diners, Drive-ins and Dives) featuring this restaurant so we wanted to give it a try. I ordered the Pier 38 fish burger while she ordered the fish with caper sauce. Both were just meh and bit of a letdown. After lunch we drove to the Hilton Waikiki Village where we were staying for the first 2 nights. After check-in and some freshening up we …
May 2018: Hawaii Trip – Introduction
For the Memorial Day 2018 long weekend we took some additional days off of work for a quick getaway to Hawaii (Oahu). We had originally booked 2 nights in Oahu and 2 nights on the Big Island. However, about 2 weeks before our trip the volcanic activity on Big Island was escalating and we were worried that we might not be able to go on our helicopter tour of the volcano (our primary reason to visit Big Island). Since Hawaiian Airlines was allowing fee-free changes to itineraries for the period, we changed our booking to stay in Oahu for the …
Asia Destination Trip ReportsJanuary 2017 – Singapore Trip Report
Day 1: We arrived at Changi International Airport around noon. After clearing Immigration and Customs we headed for the MRT station which is located at the lower level. I bought a Singapore 3-Day Tourist Pass which gave us unlimited rides at the MRT and Bus Transit system. After getting the pass we headed to Little India MRT station where our hotel (Hilton Garden Inn Singapore Serangoon) was located. After checking-in and freshening up, we headed out for lunch at the Mavalli Tiffin Room, Singapore located about 10 minutes away on Serangoon Road. After lunch, we headed back towards our hotel …
Asia Destination Trip ReportsJanuary 2017 – Hanoi Trip Report
Day 1: We took the complimentary hotel shuttle to Ho Chin Minh Complex where the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum, The Presidential Palace, The One pillar pagoda are all located. There were some shops by the One Pillar Pagoda and we did some souvenir shopping there. We walked along the Ho Chin Minh mausoleum along the length of the street. After reaching the President Palace we turned back. It was time for lunch and we hailed a cab back to the hotel. Cabs are very cheap in Hanoi and a very good means of transportation in the city. Late afternoon we took …
Asia Destination Trip ReportsJanuary 2017 – Siem Reap Trip Report
Day 1: We arrived at Siem Reap International Airport at around noon. We took an Airport taxi (although you can opt for a tuk-tuk but there were 3 of us with cabin baggage so we went with a taxi) to the hotel (Le Meridien Angkor). After freshening up, I got notified by the front desk that our tuk-tuk driver for the day was in the lobby. I had contacted Angkor Wat Driver Private Tours (after reading Tripadvisor Reviews) and had booked the following itinerary. Day 1: Tuk-Tuk transportation for the day (Lunch, Made in Cambodia Market and Night Market) – …
Asia Destination Trip ReportsDec’17 – Jan’18: India, Cambodia, Vietnam and Singapore Trip – Introduction
Its December and time for my yearly trip to visit family in India again. I always try to do some side trips during my vacation for this time of the year. In our last trip (2016-2017) we did Australia – New Zealand and the one before that (2015-2016) we did Egypt and Kenya Safari and previously in (2014-2015) we did South East Asia (Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia). Well this year we will do a short one week trip to Siem Reap, Hanoi and Singapore. This will check off at least two items on my bucket list – Angkor Wat in Siem Reap …
Destination Trip Reports North America US, Canada, MexicoSeptember 2017 – Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks Trip Report
Day 1: During the Labor day weekend we planned to do a quick weekend getaway to the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. Its only about a 5 hours drive from our home. We started the day fairly early and made our first stop for lunch at Three Rivers, California. There was about a 1 hour wait to enter the park and after paying the park fees we made our way through the Sequoia park. We had planned on covering the Sequoia Park on our first day so we drove towards the Giant Forest. It was fascinating to drive with …
Destination Trip Reports EuropeJune 2017: Berlin Trip Report
Day 1: There are many places in Berlin where you can still see the remnants of the Berlin Wall but the two most popular ones among them are the East Side Gallery and Berlin Wall Memorial Park. We wanted to start our Berlin trip with East Side Gallery and took S-Bahn to Ostbahnhof station. After coming outside the station, within about 5 minutes walk you get to the wall. After walking along the wall by the river Spree, we reached Oberbaum Bridge. After crossing the bridge we walked to Markthale Neun market. I had TripAdvisor reviews about the place and …
Destination Trip Reports EuropeJune 2017: Prague Trip Report
Day 1: We bought a day pass (110 CZK per person per day) from our hotel front desk for each of our days in Prague. The pass allowed all 4 of us to travel together on tram and metro for unlimited trips. We started the day by taking the tram to Charles Bridge. Standing on the Charles Bridge over Vltava river gives you a great view of the Prague Castle in the distance. After spending an hour on the bridge looking around at different statues, we walked back towards the Old Town Square. We walked on narrow cobblestone streets through …
Destination Trip Reports EuropeJune 2017: Budapest Trip Report
Day 1: We took the metro M1 line from Oktogon stop to Deak Ferenc Ter and switched to Bus 16. The bus crosses the river Danube and turns by the Funicular and goes uphill all the way to Buda Castle. After exploring Buda Castle for a couple of hours we walked towards Matthias Church. The exterior structure of this church is simply stunning and even though you can see it across the Danube from Pest side, nothing beats seeing it up close. From Matthias church we walked across the street to Fisherman’s Bastion. After spending some time taking pictures …
Destination Trip Reports EuropeJune 2017: Vienna Trip Report
Day 1: We took the hotel shuttle to the city center where it dropped us off in front of the Vienna State Opera. Right next to the opera is the busy shopping street of Kartner Strasse. We walked along the street and came across the beautiful Donner Brunnen Fountain. After taking some pictures we walked further along the Kartner Strasse to the very busy Stephansplatz square. The square sits right in front of the St. Stephen’s Cathedral. The exterior of St. Stephen’s Cathedral is very impressive. After spending about half an hour inside the church we proceeded on Graben street. …
Destination Trip Reports EuropeMay 2017: Munich Trip Report
Day 1: We arrived in Munich early morning on our flight from Houston. The S-Bahn station is right outside the airport served by both S1 and S8 lines. We were staying right next to the Munich Central Railway Station (Munich Hauptbahnhof) and so the S-Bahn was the best way to get to the city. A lot of European cities have group day tickets which is more economical than personal daily tickets. A ticket from Munich Airport (Flughafen Munchen) to city is under “Entire Network” option and so I bought a group day ticket (valid for up to 5 travelers) for …
Destination Trip Reports EuropeSummer 2017: Central Europe Trip Report – Introduction
My parents are visiting me in the US this summer and after their month long stay we are going to be visiting Europe for a 2 week trip. I was in Europe for the first time during the summer of 2014 when we visited Amsterdam, London, Lucerne, Milan, Venice, Rome and Paris. This time around we will start in Munich followed by Vienna, Budapest, Prague and finally Berlin. In the following weeks I will publish the following reviews and trip reports. Airline Review: United Airlines Business Class – Houston to Munich Trip Report: Munich, Germany Hotel Review: Aloft Munich Trip Report: …
Destination Trip Reports OceaniaJanuary 2017: Melbourne Trip Report
Day 1: After checking into our hotel (Radisson on Flagstaff Gardens, Melbourne), we walked to Queen Victoria Market which is located just 2 minutes away. Victoria Market is a fantastic place to do some souvenir shopping as well as trying out different ethnic cuisines. In addition to souvenirs, they had a variety of shops such as clothing, fruits and vegetables, artwork and handicrafts. After having some delicious Gozelme at a Turkish shop, we decided to do some late afternoon sightseeing. All the trams in the Melbourne CBD are free as designated by the free tram zone. Therefore it won’t cost anything …
Destination Trip Reports OceaniaJanuary 2017: Auckland Trip Report
Day 1: We arrived from Queenstown in the afternoon on our Jetstar flight. After collecting our checked-in luggage we found our way to the Skybus counter outside the terminal building. By purchasing Skybus tickets online, you save a little bit of money in comparison to showing up at the airport counter. We took the airport shuttle all the way to the terminus at Queen street and from there we transferred to another complimentary shuttle service to take us towards downtown. After checking in at the hotel (Crowne Plaza Auckland) we had an early dinner at Elliott Stables which was right …