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 ReportsJune 2016: Osaka Trip Report
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 …
Asia Destination Trip ReportsMay-June 2016: China, Japan, Hong Kong Trip – Introduction
After my parents short 2 week visit in the USA, we went on a 2 week trip to China, Japan and Hong Kong. Our itinerary included Beijing in China and Tokyo, Kyoto/Osaka in Japan and Hong Kong. Here are the trip reports I will be posting over the coming weeks. Airline Review: Delta Airlines Business Class – Seattle to Beijing Trip Report: Beijing, China Hotel Review: Park Plaza Beijing Wangfujing Hotel Review: Renaissance Beijing Wangfujing Hotel Trip Report: Tokyo, Japan Hotel Review: Hilton Tokyo (Shinjuku) Trip Report: Kyoto, Japan Trip Report: Osaka, Japan Hotel Review: Nikko Hotel Kansai Airport Hotel Review: ANA Crowne Plaza Kyoto …
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 …
Africa Asia Destination Trip ReportsDec’15 – Jan’16: India, Egypt and Kenya Trip – Introduction
Its that time of the year !! Time to go to India and see my family again. Last year, on our trip to India, me and my wife along with my parents did a short South-East Asia trip visiting Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Phuket and Bali. This time we wanted to check off two items from our bucket list – Pyramids and African Safari. Yes, we have plans to go to Egypt (Cairo and Luxor) as well as Masai Mara Reserve close to Nairobi. I know that some folks might think its too risky and maybe even reckless to be visiting Egypt (especially …
Destination Trip Reports North America US, Canada, MexicoNovember 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 …
Caribbean 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 America US, Canada, MexicoJuly 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 America US, Canada, MexicoMay 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 …
Cruises Restaurant ReviewsMay 2015 – Trip Report (in pictures) of dining on-board Carnival Liberty
During our 7 Night Caribbean cruise aboard Carnival Liberty, we got to sample different types and flavors of food that we don’t get to experience in our day-to-day lives. From exotic items like frog legs and ox tongue to regular fare such as grilled salmon and flat bread, it was a feast lasting a week. So before any delay, let’s start our food porn aboard Carnival Liberty. Night #1: Night #2: Night #3: Night #4: Night #5: Night #6: Night # 7:
Caribbean Destination Trip Reports North AmericaMay 2015: Port of Call – St. Maarten: Visiting Maho Beach and Mullet Bay
The last port of call for the Caribbean Cruise was the island of St. Maarten. The island holds the record of the smallest island governed by 2 countries (Netherlands and France). The cruise ship docks in the dutch side of the island, close to Philipsburg, St. Maarten. Karen and my parents decided to go shopping at this port so I went out on my own. After disembarking, I made my way to the ferry terminal by the cruise port and bought a day pass for $7 which allows unlimited trips by the ferry. The ferry trip from the cruise terminal to …
Caribbean Destination Trip Reports North AmericaMay 2015: Port of Call – St. Kitts: Visiting South Friars Beach
Before the cruise while researching about St. Kitts, I found out from Tripadvisor forums that most previous cruise goers were recommending either Cockleshell Beach or South Friars Beach. Since Cockleshell Beach is much further south compared to South Friars and there did not seem to be that much quality of beach difference based on reviews we chose the latter. After disembarking from the ship and walking through the duty free area of the terminal at Port Zante we started negotiating fares from the terminal to the South Friars Beach. Finally we found a cab driver who would drive us for …
Caribbean Destination Trip Reports North AmericaMay 2015: Port of Call – St. Lucia : Visiting Rodney Bay and Reduit Beach
St. Lucia is one of the two port of calls (the other being St. Kitts) in the 7-Day Caribbean Cruise itinary that does not have spectacular beaches compared to what people expect when they think of the Caribbean. After researching online at various websites, I had decided that we were going to go to Reduit Beach at Rodney Bay which is located in the northern part of the St. Lucia island. After disembarking from the ship, we walked through the duty free shopping area and outside the Cruise terminal. There were a lot of cabs outside the terminal but their …
Caribbean Destination Trip Reports North AmericaMay 2015: Port of Call – Barbados : Visiting Carlisle Bay
We disembarked from the ship around 9 AM and made our way through the duty-free shopping area in the cruise terminal. Outside the cruise terminal there were a large number of cabs and vans waiting on passengers. We decided on a beach day in Barbados and after researching online about various beaches in Barbados, I had settled on Carlisle Bay. This beach is very close to the Cruise terminal and there are two options to get there. * 5$/person one-way by cab * 2$/person one-way by bus/van to town and then walk to the beach (about 10 minutes walk) Since there were …
Caribbean Destination Trip Reports North AmericaMay 2015: Port of Call – St. Thomas : Visiting Trunk Bay, St. John
Our first port of call for the 7 day Southern Caribbean Cruise out of Puerto Rico was St. Thomas, USVI. There are a few very beautiful beaches in St. Thomas, namely Magens Bay and Coki Beach. However, I had read about the Trunk Bay (located in Virgin Islands National Park) in the neighboring island of St. John, USVI which has been listed among top 10 Caribbean beaches, and so I wanted to visit this one during our stop in St. Thomas. Even though Carnival Cruises offers shore excursions for trips to St. John, I did enough research to figure out that it was …
Caribbean Cruises Destination Trip Reports US, Canada, MexicoMay 2015: My Parents’ USA Trip – From Puerto Rico to Portland: Introduction
My parents are visiting us again in May and will be staying with us for just over a month. Since my parents really loved the 5 day Caribbean Cruise we took in 2012, I went ahead and booked a 7 day Southern Caribbean Cruise with Carnival. Also, for the Memorial Day long-weekend, I wanted to take them on a trip to Portland, which we loved during our long weekend trip in 2013. Here is a list of the upcoming Trip Reports and Hotel Reviews for the trips in May 2015: Hotel Review: Days Inn Jamaica – JFK Airport Puerto Rico Trip …