International

Kenya 2014 – 7 days (Nairobi, Lake Nakuru, Lake Elementaita,Masai Mara)

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Lake Nakuru was our next spot and we got to have lunch at the Lake Nakuru lodge, again a beautiful property and we set off towards the lake, a beautiful sight to see the flamingoes, though they were very far we did to see them flock away…. what a beautiful sight, lake nakuru was truly a beautiful lake….again Rain was a spoilsport and all the animals went hiding and hence missed the change of seeing any wild cats….we settled down early evening at the Lake Elementita Serena Camp, a very exclusive camp and so glad that we stayed here, we had the view of the lake from the lobby…..couldn’t ask for more…..an absolute heaven. Each tent tastefully furnished with its own private veranda and NO we did not leave this opportunity to toast a glass of wine! Had the most yummilious food of all the lodges that we had stayed so far…. peaceful dinner with some live music…..back in our cozy lodge we slept off listening to hyenas….
We had to leave early morning, which was crispy and clear,and we left left sighing and wishing we could have spent more time in this beautiful lodge. Local people did say “If a visitor comes to Africa and it rains it means that you are blessed”….hmmmm…..I think were blessed enough and prayed it did not rain…lolz….we were off on road to the most awaited destination of our Trip….the Masai Mara….

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Around London – Weymouth, Durdle Door and Lulworth Cove

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It’s been few months in UK (London) and was not sure what all things I can cover nearby outside London and I was constantly thinking about it. Few weeks back one after noon I along with my colleague somehow zeroed in on Weymouth which have few other places called Durdle Door & Lulworth Cove around it… I started exploring what all things we can cover in our three days trip and my colleague started exploring the options how to reach there … till evening we were all set to go on the Friday evening…

We boarded the train on Friday evening and were supposed to reach our Holiday Park in Weymouth by midnight and which we did after few delays….

Saturday Morning 1 st Day – exploring Weymouth — The view was awesome as the beach and the grasslands were visible from our Caravan and we were aware that it would be a long day walk ahead.  We spend couple of hours in our resort and headed towards the beach for which we came to Weymouth.  The sun was bright and penetrating and it took around 20 minutes to reach the sea shore. The moment we put our toes in the cold water all of us got refreshed… As it was a pebble beach there was no sticky feeling of sand and it was convenient going to and fro into the water …if you know what I meanJ. We spend few hours over there and then decided to walk along the shore which looks to be 3-4 miles

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Montreal City tour

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On Saturday we had started our journey.Our train departure time was 0645 from Toronto (Union station ).Business class coaches were quite good , spacious and clean . We were given warm welcome and assistance by VIA Rail friendly staff.The difference in Business class and Economy class here is only food.In Business class food is included where as in Economy class we have to buy food.As a usual routine we got our tea , biscuits and later breakfast in train.In the end they had served complimentary wine.It was a 05 hour journey and we reached Montreal at 1200 noon.As we were entering in the Montreal City we can feel just by looking at the road , houses and other infrastructure  that it is a completely different city not similar to Toronto.
When we were booking our Hotel we thought of two factors; one is cost/location i.e. distance from railway station as our return train was also early morning train.Secondly as were not able to decide on Hotels as per reviews posted in Google we decided to go for a chain and brand Hotels which are tried and tested.Thus we finally booked our room in Sheraton Hotel Montreal.Our decision of choosing a Hotel Near Central station and close to city centre helped us a lot as we have not used any public transport / Cab service in Montreal.So we walked from station to Hotel.It was a 06 minutes walk.

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Niagara Falls

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Over all Canada is peaceful.. full of chinese, desis and almost all nationalities.. How is Canada better than USA? well the rules are strict,…

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Toronto & Niagara

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We really enjoyed the colorful aquarium with so many different species of fishes, specially the sharks and the divers feeding the sharks and playing with sting rays. We came out and saw a Railway museum just opposite CNT. I have strong fascination for trains and it was free (The only free thing in Canada)… we went inside the park where different locomotives, trains and old stations were on display.

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How I got the real flavour of Switzerland

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On top of all this it had started drizzling, I still remember the walk. With my phone serving as the music player and torch and the hood of my rucksack as a pseudo rain coat, I walked across the dark pathways hearing distant bell tinging which was coming from nearby farmland. I walked across “cows” and saw “PRIVAT” sign board, and heaved a sigh of relief after meeting the hosts.

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A Yatra to Takstang Monastery

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Here winds are blowing strongly, carrying everybody’s prayer with it and bringing blessing for all- truly a heavenly experience. We enter into the monastery. There are small temples inside, each of them with images of Buddhist deities. The smell of incense fills the air, a divine atmosphere altogether. We are now near the Tiger’s Nest, a small board indicating that, the cave where the Guru Padmasambhava meditated. We peep into the cave one by one and feel great to witness such a sacred monastery.

On our way back down we stop in the cafeteria for our meal. But they charge Rs.460/- per head for buffet lunch, of course a vegetarian meal, so we remain happy with a bottle of cold drink at Rs.60/-. It takes less than an hour to get down. We thank God for blessing us with the opportunity to witness such a sacred place, to view such an architectural wonder and to accomplish the YATRA once in this life.

We are driving to Chelela Pass, the highest motorable roads in Bhutan which locates between the Haa and Paro valley. We are passing continuously through oak trees, at times glimpsing wild fowls with long tail feathers and free roaming yaks, then through snow capped roads climb slowly to the Chelela pass. A milestone placed along the road indicates the highest point on Dantak Road at an altitude of 3988 meter above the sea level. We see a perfect white Himalayan Mountains view from here.

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In the Kingdom of Bhutan :: Journey to Dochula Pass and Paro Valley

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Reshmi, the hotel girl, knocks at my door and I turn towards her. She briefs me about the facilities in the hotel and I express to have understood the same. She returns back and I take a nice hot bath, change my dress and after a few minutes enter into the dining hall where Prakash is suggesting to visit Paro Dzong on this afternoon. Everyone is consenting to him and I raise my hand too.

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Entering into the kingdom of Bhutan :: The Land of Thunder Dragon

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It comes as an unpleasant surprise which is now doubled by a piece of information that from tomorrow there is a three days Public Holiday for the festival Losar. We all stand speechless as we are not feeling at our best. Our driver is promising to give a try tomorrow morning at RST office. But no words of him are taking away the pain we are now feeling because we understand the implications of not having permit for our vehicle.

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MALAYSIA TRULY ASIA (Kuala Lumpur & Genting Highland)

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We started our visit from Putrajaya. It is a planned Capital city located at 25 Km south of KL & 20 Km from KL International Airport .Most of the government offices are shifted here from KL , due to over crowding & congested place. Putrajaya is still nature. Lush greenery, botanical gardens are spread across the landscape enhanced by large bodies of water and wetlands. Five confluences meet at the north forming a main waterway which flows across the city area.

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Macau – Not just the Casino place

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So, back to Macau trip, we reached the Macau Ferry terminal around 7:30, it is Visa on arrival and good part is that no Visa fees, had immigration formalities, Amit had a little issue at the immigration counter due to some glitch done by immigration officer, but it got sorted out soon. We inquired about the taxi for Venetian hotel and found that Venetian and other major hotels provides free shuttle service from Ferry terminal to there hotel, we came out and waited few minutes for Venetian shuttle. Venetian hotel is on Cotai Strip which is on the other side of the main business centre of Macau, it took us about 45 minutes to reach Venetian. As it was night, all the casinos, down town, bridge all were glowing with beautiful lights, our face were also glowing with lots of excitement, I don’t know what excitement, whether it was reminding Vegas memories or Gambling or what?? We found MGM, Galaxy, Hard Rock and few more hotels on the way, Galaxy is huge and looks like a palace of some King. After reaching Venetian, it took us about 15 minutes to find the check-in counter as this is also a very huge hotel, check-in was quick and we were allocated adjacent rooms on 10th floor.

Next day we planned for Macau trip, we booked a guided bus tour “Macao Discovery Tour” from the hotel itself through “Cotai Travel”, tickets were like HKD 400 each person and it was a 4 hour tour. We had lunch in the Desi restaurant “Golden Peacock”, food was very good, I told restaurant manager that this food is even better then few North Indian restaurants in Bangalore, and he kind of a offended and said sarcastically that “Sir, even better then many restaurants in Delhi”, I was not convinced though. Well, after lunch, we headed towards the lobby to catch the tour guide. After few minutes of wait, our guide arrived, explained few things and took out a flag and asked us to follow her and watch out for the flag wherever we go, this will help all to stay together. Then I noticed several flags with different colours in the lobby itself and all the sights we visited as well.

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