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 EuropeJune 2017: Vienna Trip Report
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 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 …
Destination Trip Reports OceaniaJanuary 2017: Queenstown Trip Report
Day 1: We arrived at Queenstown International Airport around early afternoon on our flight from Sydney. In case you don’t already know, New Zealand exercises very strict bio-security at its airports (with huge fines for non-compliance) so we declared every single item that we were bringing in from Australia (packaged food, snacks etc). After clearing immigration and customs we took a cab to our hotel (Hilton Queenstown). We decided to walk along the trails leading from Hilton towards Kelvin Heights that ran beside Lake Wakatipu. We came across a mother teaching her daughter how to catch fish. After walking and …
Destination Trip Reports OceaniaJanuary 2017: Sydney Trip Report
Day 1: We arrived at Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport early in the morning. After immigration and customs we lined up for the taxi line for a cab to the hotel. We were staying at Sheraton on the Park which is located right opposite of St. James station by Hyde Park. I had researched that we could take the airport train straight to St. James station but it would be cheaper to take a cab for the 4 of us and also avoid having to carry around our luggage. In fact throughout our Sydney trip, for short distances it came out …
Destination Trip Reports North AmericaSeptember 2016: Maui Trip Report
Day 1: We arrived on our flight from Kauai early morning. After picking up rental car, we drove from Kahului airport to Hyatt Regency on Ka’anapali Beach. After checking in, we drove to the Fish Market in Lahaina. Karen ordered some Shrimp Burrito while I had Pork Tacos. Both were very delicious. After lunch, we drove back to the resort and decided to spend rest of the afternoon on Kaanapali Beach. We walked along Ka’anapali Beach all the way to the end where Sheraton Maui Resort & Spa is located. I had read on various forums that just off the beach …
Destination Trip Reports North AmericaSeptember 2016: Kauai Trip Report
Day 1: We arrived at Lihue International Airport, Kauai around just before noon on our morning flight from Los Angeles. We took the Hertz airport shuttle to the car rental lot and were soon on our way to our hotel. We were staying at the Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort & Spa for 2 nights. After checking into the hotel and freshening up, we decided to go have lunch first. I had read great Tripadvisor reviews of Da Crack in Poipu area in Kauai (very close to the Grand Hyatt). So we decided to go there to grab some lunch-to-go and …
Asia Destination Trip ReportsJune 2016: Hong Kong Trip Report
Day 1: We arrived at Hong Kong International Airport on our flight from Osaka around noon. After clearing immigration, we proceeded to the Airport Express counter and booked discount package of 4 tickets from airport to Kowloon. The train ride from airport to Kowloon took less than an hour. After reaching Kowloon we took the complimentary shuttle to our hotel (Hyatt Regency Hong Kong). In the evening we decided to walk from the hotel to Hong Kong Cultural Center along Nathan Road. We passed by the notorious Chung King Mansions and exchanged some US dollars for local Hong Kong dollars. …
Asia Destination Trip ReportsJune 2016: Osaka Trip Report
Day 1: We planned on taking a day trip to Nara on our first day in Osaka. Karen wanted to go see the deer park and me and my parents wanted to see the Todaiji temple so there was something for everyone. We took subway to Tennoji station and then took the JR line to Nara. After arriving in Nara we took the bus to Todaiji temple. There are plenty of buses that run on a loop in the town. The first thing you see while riding the bus are the deer all around the city – in the parks, gardens and …
Asia Destination Trip ReportsMay 2016: Kyoto Trip Report
Day 1: We stayed the previous night at Hotel Nikko Kansai Airport after arriving late night in Osaka. In the morning I went to the JR Train station outside the airport and grabbed the ICAOCA + Haruka combo ticket. One of the best deals in getting to Kyoto from Osaka/Kansai is the ICAOCA + Haruka combo ticket which costs 3600 JPY (approximately $36 USD) per person. This includes one-way trip from Kansai JR station to Kyoto JR station and a reloadable ICAOCA card with 2000 JPY (including a refundable deposit of 500 JPY). The Haruka Express train takes about 1 hour 20 minutes …
Asia Destination Trip ReportsMay 2016: Tokyo Trip Report
Day 1: We arrived at Haneda International Airport on our flight from Beijing around 9 PM. After clearing immigration, we purchased Limobus tickets to Shinjuku area (where we were staying in Hilton Tokyo). Since there was not much traffic, so we reached our hotel within an hour. Day 2: It was raining and foggy early in the morning and we scrapped our plans to visit the Tokyo Metropolitan Building because of poor visibility. Instead we took the subway to Asakusa. Arriving at Asakusa we walked towards Senso-ji Temple which is very close to the subway station. After leaving Exit 1 …
Asia Destination Trip ReportsMay 2016: Beijing Trip Report
Day 1: We arrived at Beijing Capital International Airport early evening. After a fairly quick immigration and customs check, we made our way to the airport taxi line. Our taxi driver did not speak any English at all but luckily I had requested our hotel concierge to email me a spelling of the hotel name and address in email which came very handy. After checking into the hotel, being very tired we went straight to bed. All the sightseeing was going to have to wait till next day !! Day 2: I had researched beforehand and found all the subway …
Africa Destination Trip ReportsJanuary 2016: Masai Mara Game Reserve – Safari Trip Report
For our 3 day – 2 night Masai Mara safari trip, we chose Natural World Kenya Safaris. There are a large number of safari operators in Masai Mara and we researched around for a while. We chose this operator based on outstanding reviews on Tripadvisor as well as fairly transparent pricing on their website. The safari representative we were corresponding with (Mr. Humphrey) was very responsive via email. Another option we liked about this operator was that you could make safari payments online with credit card. After arriving at the Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, we were met by Mr. …
Africa Destination Trip ReportsJanuary 2016: Luxor Trip Report – Karnak Temple, Luxor Temple, Valley of the Kings, Queen Hatshepsut Temple, Colossi of Memnon
Day 1: We took the Hilton courtesy shuttle from the hotel to the entrance of the Karnak Temple. It gets hot pretty early in the day and so the earlier you go, the more comfortable the visit will be. After paying 80 EGP entrance fee, we were inside the complex. At the front entrance of the actual Karnak Temple lies the Avenue of Sphinx’s. A row of sphinx’s with head of a ram and body of a lion line the walkway to the entrance of the temple. After crossing the first pylon (entrance door), you are greeted with a courtyard with rows …
Africa Destination Trip ReportsJanuary 2016: Cairo Trip Report – Cairo Museum, Memphis, Saqqara, Giza Pyramids, The Sphinx, Islamic Cairo and Coptic Cairo
We arrived at Cairo International Airport just past midnight. Immigration and customs was a breeze and pretty soon we were outside the terminal building. We were staying at the Ramses Hilton on the banks of Nile (close to Egyptian Antiquities Museum). I had researched various airport transfer options and based on Tripadvisor forum recommendations, I had opted for Cairo Airport Shuttle. The company operates 24/7 out of the airport and usually has the vehicles parked in the car lot outside the terminal. After confirming my prepaid booking, we were on our way to the hotel. Day 1: After waking up …
Destination Trip Reports North AmericaNovember 2015: Tampa Trip Report
Me and Karen just did a quick weekend getaway trip to Tampa. Earlier this year, Spirit Airlines ran a couple of “hating an airline” promotions such as “Hate Thousand Miles” promotions during which both of us netted over 16,000 miles each. Free Spirit miles expire relatively sooner than all other airlines, and so I used them up for a free one-way flight from Los Angeles to Tampa this November. Why Tampa? Well, its Florida (our favorite vacation destination state in the US) and we have never been here before. We have been to Miami in 2009 before a Caribbean Cruise as well …
Destination Trip Reports North AmericaSeptember 2015: Curacao Trip Report
After visiting Aruba during September 2014 (exactly a year ago), we finally made our way to one of the other islands of the Netherlands Antilles – Curacao. Curacao has the same dry, desert climate as Aruba but is a larger island. Similar to Aruba, it is outside the hurricane belt in the Caribbean and therefore a good place to visit throughout the year. Our Itinerary: Flight: Ontario – Phoenix – Miami – Curacao on US Airways/American Airlines 4 Nights at Hilton Curacao Flight: Curacao – Miami on American Airlines and then Fort Lauderdale – Los Angeles on Southwest Airlines Day 1: After a red-eye …
Destination Trip Reports North AmericaJuly 2015: Cancun Trip Report with Day Trip to Mayan Ruins in Tulum
Me and Karen have been wanting to go to Cancun for a long time. I had read about its white, sandy beaches for the longest time and finally decided to make it over there during the 2015 Independence day long weekend. Day 1: We flew the Delta red-eye flight from Los Angeles to Cancun and arrived at the Cancun International Airport early morning. I had booked a round-trip airport transfer through Canada Transfers (one of the highest rated airport transfer company in the Cancun Tripadvisor forum). A representative of Canada Transfers was waiting for us when we cleared immigration and …
Destination Trip Reports North AmericaMay 2015: Portland Trip Report
We spent the Memorial Day weekend over in Portland. We flew in early Saturday morning and were back home late Monday night. Me and Karen had been to Portland before in May 2013 and loved the natural surroundings as well as the large number of waterfalls in the area. This time we wanted to show my parents the area. Day 1: We arrived late afternoon at Portland airport and picked up our rental car and drove to our hotel in east Portland. After checking in and freshening up we decided to visit the Portland Saturday Market. We had some trouble finding …