2010 - A Year of Travels

2010 was certainly my best year yet when it comes to international travels. Thanks to some great work opportunities and also some careful planning, I was able to visit 11 countries in 2010 (8 of them for the first time). And Ani traveled to 9 countries (8 for the first time). Not too shabby for either of us!


Here's a brief recap of our 2010 travels:

1. and 2. Singapore and Bali

We started the year in Singapore and Bali and absolutely loved both. We loved Singapore largely for the food and we often talk about going back for a long weekend. If all goes as planned, we will make a return in 2011 where most of our meals are already decided - chili crab at Jumbo Seafood, chicken rice at Tian Tian Hianese Chicken Rice and dim sum at Din Tai Fung. My mouth is water just typing this...

Enjoying a Singapore Sling at Raffles Hotel

(See previous posts on Eating Our Way through Singapore and Exploring the Streets of Singapore).

We also had a lovely week in Bali, where we celebrated both my birthday and New Year's. This vacation was a great combination of relaxation, adventure and culture. We enjoyed the beach and pool at our resort in Nusa Dua, cycled through rice fields in Ubud, and enjoyed kecak dance shows and Indonesian cooking classes where I learned some of my now-favorite dishes. We also had some amazing meals in Bali, with the most spectacular being at Mozaic on my birthday.

A kecak dance performance at Uluwatu Temple

(See previous post on Nusa Dua and Southern Bali and Ubud and Central Bali).

3. and 4. Hong Kong and Macau

We hit Hong Kong and Macau in February 2010. I made it into a stopover on my way back from Sydney (where I was fortunate to go for training and where I was even more fortunate to return to later in the year, so more on Australia later). Ani flew from Delhi and met me there for a long weekend. Thanks to my everlasting supply of Marriott points, we had a lovely weekend stay at the JW over the Chinese New Year. This proved to be both a blessing and a curse. It was great to see the city lit up with festive decorations, but it also meant that many shops and restaurants were closed for the holiday. On top of that, the weather was pretty yucky, so our views from the top of Victoria Peak were extremely limited due to the massive fog.

A lion dance performance for Chinese New Year

We also took a high-speed boat over to Macau for a night. Honestly, I found it to be a strange juxaposition of wealth and poverty - a lot like India, but in a more compact space. We did venture over to the Venetian Hotel, which was just like the one in Vegas, but bigger of full of Chinese gamblers there for the holiday. We also had a really nice Portugeuese-Macanese meal at La Lorcha that was the highlight of our 24 hours there.

(See previous post on Hong Kong and Macau).

5. Australia

I spent 6 weeks in Australia for work in May-June 2010 and Ani was able to travel there towards the end of my stay for a visit. I spent the majority of my time in Sydney, but also traveled to Melbourne on a few occasions and Ani was able to see both during his 10-day visit. In addition, we spent an incredible weekend in Queensland where we snorkeled the Great Barrier Reef and visited the wet tropics near Cairns and had a lovely day-trip to the Blue Mountains, which are just outside Sydney.

The Sydney Harbour Bridge and in the Blue Mountains

I also got to spend time with my friend Yomi from the US and her awesome Australian husband, Dave. For those of you who haven't heard their story, Yomi and I have followed similar paths over the past few years. We both traveled to faraway countries for work project, only to find and fall in love with our now-husbands. And today we now live in Delhi and Sydney, respectively.

(See previous posts on my first visit to Sydney, the Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, and The Blue Mountains).
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6. Switzerland
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Not wanting to travel all the way to Europe and not visit a *new* country, I added in a weekend in Switerland before our longer visit to Italy. We started in Zurich where we happened to arrive during Zuri Fascht, a street festival throughout the city. This was a great way to explore the streets, the food and the people all in one go. We spent the following day on an amazing day-trip that took us up Mt. Rigi by train, down to the village of Weggis (which we LOVED) by cable car, and then over to Lucerne by ferry. We rounded out the day with another train ride back to Zurich for our final night in Swizterland.

From the top of Mt. Rigi and Hanging out in Lucerne

(See previous post on Our Swiss Holiday).

7. Italy

We spent nearly two weeks in Italy, which was our longest vacation ever. We started with a few days in Lake Como, which is trily as beautiful and relaxing as everyone says, and where we discovered our favorite pizza. This was followed by a few days in Cinque Terre, where we hiked most of the paths connecting the villages. Next was the highlight of the trip, several days in Chianti for Drew and Simona's beautiful wedding. All of this was capped off with a few final days in Florence and a day trip to Pisa and Lucca.

Our favorite pizza and at Drew and Simona's wedding

(See previous posts on Lake Como, Cinque Terre and Drew and Simona's amazing wedding).

8. US

In September, Ani and I both headed back to the US for what has become our annual trip. I started about a week before him and arrived in time to participate in the HL Reunion and Baby Shower Palooza at Brooke's house on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. There, we celebrated the now recent arrivals of Baby Horak, Baby Oates and Baby Henneman Kastellec.

The following weekend was for the annual trek to Mike's house in Maine for relaxation, lobster and a little outlet shopping. And finally, we headed up to Saratoga Springs, NY for Joey and Jarret's weddingh. Somewhere between all of our weekend travels, we managed to squeeze in some quality time at home with the family.

The gang in Maine and Mike, Ani and I at Joey and Jarret's wedding

9. and 10. UK and Sweden

On my way back from the US, I met up with my bossess for a few days of meetings. I ended up being in London for barely 24 hours, but fortunately I had a bit longer in Stockholm. Our first day of meetings there was literally at the airport conference centert, so we stayed in a nearby hotel and didn't get to see much of the city aside from a brief trip in that night for dinner. The following day, we worked from the Stockholm office and after my bosses left for their flight back to Delhi (via London), I headed to the Old Town to explore for a few hours. I needed to fly back through Paris and could only take an early morning flight in order to connect to the once daily Paris-Delhi flight, which gave me a bit of time to see and enjoy Stockholm.

Old Town Stockholm

11. Sri Lanka

We spent the long Christmas weekend in Sri Lanka for our final trip of the year and our final international trip sans child. We figured that being only a 3 1/2 hour flight from Delhi, a holiday weekend in Sri Lanka was comparable to one in Goa, but probably a bit more peaceful. All in all, it was a nice, relaxing weekend, but we could have done with less road travel. We spent the middle two nights on the south of the island. While it was a mere 200 km (125 mi) from Colombo, travel time on the two-lane road takes about 6 hours.

View from the hotel lobby

So, that's a wrap of our 2010 travels. Again, 2011 will certainly be quieter, but hopefully we'll get in one or two international trips to satisfy our hunger!

The Blue Mountains

During Ani's second weekend in Sydney, we headed to the nearby Blue Mountains for a day trip. We started off with a visit to Featherdale Wildlife Center for the sole purpose of seeing kangaroos and koalas. All in all, it was touristy, but gave us a chance to see both animals during our short time in Australia.

The kangaroos we saw were small, but they were roaming free, so you could go right up to them and pet and feed them. This one below was more aggressive than Ani bargained for. He began to chew on Ani's jacket sleeve, which was cute at first, but then he wouldn't let go. Finally, Ani was able to get away from him and I quickly learned to stay away from these little guys.

The koalas were super cute and cuddly. Being protected animals, people are allowed to pet them, but it's illegal to hold them. And We learned that the eucalyptus leaves that they eat are a mild narcotic, causing them to sleep for 17-18 hours a day. What a life.



Next, we made our way to the Blue Mountains, where our first stop was at the Three Sisters rock formation. This sight provided amazing views across the valley, as well as a great photo op.

Finally, we headed to a park where we rode what is claimed to be the steepest railroad in the world down into the forest, and then a cable car back up. Finally, we enjoyed lunch (photo below) in a revolving restaurant. Yes, it was touristy, but it's really the only option and the view was amazing.

We then headed back to Sydney for a little rest, followed by dinner with friends.

The Wet Tropics of Queensland

On our second day in Cairns, we headed inland to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the wet tropics. Instead of opting for a touring through the rainforest, we took one OVER the rainforest on the Skyrail.

This 7.5 km stretch of cable cars takes you over the tree tops, passing Barron Falls, and stopping at two stations in the forest along the way. The final stop is the small village of Kuranda, where we wandered around and explored the sites (and shops) for a few hours. It had a great small town feel with lots of local artisans and small food shops (we enjoyed German sausages and French crepes). And we found a lovely hand-etched wood platter that will grace our future home one day.

Ani and I on the Skyrail

Barron Falls

Town of Kuranda

At about 4pm, the entire village became silent as all of the daytrippers (including us), may their way back down by cable car or by train. We opted for the latter on the Kuranda Scenic Railway, which was constructed to transport goods inland and provide passengers access to the North Queensland coast.

Ani at the train station in Kuranda

Views of the valley and the ocean from the train

And finally, a fabulous shot of the bay from our hotel room at the Shangri-La...makes you want to be on vacation every day, doesn't it?

Next Stop: Melbourne

Snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef

Ani arrived in Sydney on a Thursday night and the following day, we promptly headed off to explore another part of the country. We decided that even a brief trip to Australia would not be complete without a visit to the Great Barrier Reef, so we decided to fly into Cairns (which is really pronounced Cans and is incredibly hard for me to say). We stayed in the well-placed Shangri-La, right on the marina.

On the first night, we enjoyed a tasty dinner of mussels at a nearby hotel, but decided to retire early and rest up for our early morning snorkeling adventure.

Around 8am we headed off to the marina and joined our group with Silverswift. Everyone that we encountered talked about what a great day it was for the boat ride and snorkeling and I began to think that this was their canned speech for everyone. But on the boat, someone confirmed that it was in fact a great day. There were low winds and high visibility, which was certain to make for a smooth ride (about half of the people on the boat usually get seasick) and a wonderful snorkeling experience.

Silverswift allows you to either snorkel or dive, and they also offer an introductory dive option. We settled for a day of snorkeling and figured we would save the diving for a future trip when we have more time to get certified and enjoy our newfound skills.

We have some pretty amazing photos of our underwater adventures, thanks to the onboard underwater photographer who dives along with the group (and of course, sells her photso at the end). But since we opted not to rent an underwater camera, it proved a wise investment to help us remember the day.

We returned to the hotel and relaxed for a bit. In the evening, we decided to check out a small Greek restaurant, called Fetta's Greek Restaurant, that Ani had spotted when we were arriving the night before. It looked like small, cute place with 4 tables outside and about the same number inside. But upon venturing inside, we discovered that it was much larger than expected and it was packed with fellow tourists.

The food was wonderful. We had a king crab special and a lamb kebab, and the atmosphere was even better. Towards the end of our meal, we were entertained by a dancer accompanied by the sound of breaking dishes throughout the restaurant. The night proved to be an unexpected highlight of our trip.

There's more to come on our Australian adventure...including a visit to the nearby rainforests.

A brief visit Down Under

Let me start by saying that I flew Business Class to Sydney (thanks Accenture!) and the HKG - SYD leg was amazing. The seats had individual walls to give you a lot of privacy and they fully reclined to 180 degrees. Here's a photo to make you jealous.

I arrived in Sydney a day before my training class, so I was able to catch up on some sleep and catch up with Yomi, and old friend and colleague. Actually, Yomi was once my boss when I was still an Analyst many years ago. We've been on parallel paths for the past few years - we both went to foreign countries for a project and ended up falling in love, getting married and transferring offices. Only she's in Sydney and I'm in Delhi. Lucky her.

Sydney welcomed me with a lot of rain, which put a damper on my planned afternoon of sightseeing. But Yomi and her husband, Dave, were rock stars and drove me around past many of the major sites, with stops at the Botanic Gardens and the infamous Bondi Beach. In the evening, we watched a movie at the open air cinema in the gardens and fortunately for us, the rain held off for *most* of the show.

If you look through the clouds and rain, you will see the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge.

Me and Yomi at Bondi Beach. She swears that it is never this empty.

On my second night, I had the chance to taste an Australian favorite: kangaroo. In the interest of full disclosure, I did not order the kangaroo. Instead I went for mussels in a Thai curry sauce - something I love and cannot get in India. But I did have a couple of bites of Dave's kangaroo dish so I could say that I tried it. Verdict: It tasted a lot like beef, but more gamy.

On the last day of class, we finished early and I had the afternoon to myself. Well, sort of. I was free from lunchtime until 4:30pm when I had to facilitate a call with my team back in India. To make the most of my time, I hopped on the Sydney Hop-On Hop-Off bus, but never hopped off. I did the full two hour circuit around Sydney so I could take in the sights and figures out where I wanted to spend my limited time the following day. The only negative point was that I was watching the time for the last hour, crossing my fingers that I would make it make to the hotel in time to run to my room and start the calls. Here are a few photos from my tour, all taken from the inside of the bus!

On my last day in Sydney, I first headed to Paddy's Market to pick up lots of Sydney souvenirs. From there, I walked through Chinatown and over to the Chinese Gardens, which were lovely.

Eventually, I made my way around Darling Harbour and back to the hotel/Accenture office. After a quick fresh-up (it was 100 degrees that day!), I headed back out and to the Sydney Opera House. I decided to take the Essentials Tour, which lasted an hour and lets you view the main theaters, as well as several smaller theaters located below. It also offers amazing views of North Sydney across the harbour.

And what's the best way to relax after all of this sightseeing? Happy Hour at the Opera Bar with Yomi and Dave. Later on we headed over to Wolfie's in the Rocks with a few of their friends, so I could get in my last bite of beef for awhile. Dinner was absolutely wonderful and was capped off with a massive downpour that left us sitting under a harbour-side canopy getting wet.

And so, I leave you with this lovely (but slightly blurry) nighttime shot of the Opera House...until next time.