US Virgin Islands

We had initially decided that we would stay home for Thanksgiving to give ourselves and our budgets a break from all the travelling but we both knew that there was no way that we were going to waste a 4 day break "relaxing at home". We went for a walk one evening and by the time we came back, we were ready to book tickets and accommodation for our trip to the US Virgin Islands.

With an Indian passport, it is particularly important for us to find out where we can go without having to go through the hassles of a visa and the US Virgin Islands was an easy pick.

We decided we would do only St. John and just relax there rather than attempting to do both St. Thomas and St. John. The airport is only there at St. Thomas and you have to take a ferry from there to St. John. In the airport, there are taxis which technically you share with a lot of others. They are minivans which drop off all passengers where they need to go. We were headed to the Red Hook ferry point to take the boat to Cruz Bay and once we got there, we paid our share and waited for the boat. The weather was so glorious particularly because we had run away from such ghastly weather in New Jersey.

We had picked a car rental place which was walking distance from the ferry and there was only one option available- Jeeps! And once we started navigating the roads, we realized why we needed them. The driving in itself was confusing because the wheel was on the left just like the rest of the US but we drove on the left like in India so it was a bit disorienting each time we made a turn.

We had booked our accommodation at the Hillcrest guest house, deciding to deviate from our usual hotel routine to try a bed and breakfast. The room was very basic though the location was fabulous. The common balcony had a beautiful view but the room by itself was underwhelming. The amenities felt too basic and at the end of the day, we would have preferred a hotel where housekeeping would clean our rooms at the end of the day. The room did come with a fully equipped kitchen and a fairly well stocked fridge. We were swayed by the rave Tripadvisor reviews but realized it was not our cup of tea.

We had planned to take a drive on the first day and get the lay of the land but it was such beautiful weather that we relaxed with a bottle of wine in the balcony and just soaked in the beauty of the place rather than rushing out. The hotel was so well located that we could walk to all the restaurants in the tiny downtown.

Our next morning we headed straight to the Westin Resort there to try parasailing. I had tried it before but this was the first time for Saranath. I love parasailing because it is such a gentle way to enjoy both the height and all the water around you. We used Cruz Bay Watersports since we were also taking ½ day snorkel tour with them later the same afternoon. We went back to the resort, had lunch and then headed for our post lunch snorkeling tour. No matter how many times we snorkel and know that each time is different, we are never able to fully prepare ourselves for disappointment when we don’t see much in the water. The tour itself was nice but we barely saw anything. The captain of the ship was wonderful though and gave me a small lesson in Sailing as we went back to shore and we did get to enjoy a beautiful sunset from the deck so all in all not a waste of time!

The next day, we only had the Virgin Islands National Park on our list and knew that all we had on our agenda were a couple of beaches and snorkel by ourselves in every one of them. The road into the national park was gorgeous and the spots to the beach very well marked. Trunk Bay and Maho Bay were definitely our favourites since the snorkeling were fabulous! In Maho bay, the turtles swam right beneath us making it a pretty wonderful experience. If we had done this the previous day, I don’t think we would paid for the snorkel tour since we got such an amazing snorkeling experience even by ourselves.

On the very last day of our trip (it was too short as always!), we took a trip into the National Park once again and went to Maho bay to see the sunrise and also see if we could work in a small dip before we had to leave to St.Thomas again to ctch our flight but the water was too rough for us to get in and we had to be content with sitting by ourselves at the beach and watch the sunrise and head back.

St.John is a wonderfully convenient travel option for those in the United States with an Indian passport and is one of those rare places outside Mainland US where we can go without having to bother with a visa. If we had more time or go back another time, we might spend a little time in St.Thomas but from what we saw of it, St.John would continue to be our favorite of the two islands.

West coast jaunt

San Francisco, Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon, September 2013

Poor Appa and Amma had landed only a couple of days before our trip to the West Coast and they were gearing up for yet another time zone change. The plan to make them see as much of the west coast as possible around the labour day break. Amma had told me even when I was a child that she wanted to see three things in America- the Statue of Liberty, Niagra Falls and the Grand Canyon and I wanted to ensure that she saw all three on her first trip here.



We landed in San Francisco bright and early at 10:45 AM and headed straight to Hertz to pick up the car when we realized the line was a few miles. It took us an unusual two hours to ultimately get to our car and head out from the airport. Since it is quite a long flight from New Jersey to San Francisco, we wanted to go check in and freshen up before we headed out again. First on the agenda was a Golden Gate Bay cruise and we decided to take public transportation rather than wasting our time finding a parking spot! We had opted for this cruise company because they had great reviews on TripAdvisor. The cruise begins at Pier 43 ½ and takes you past most of the key sights such as the island of Alcatraz and the skyline. The highlight of the cruise is of course the Golden Gate Bridge itself which despite seeing so many photos of it still takes your breath away. Since we were on a power packed trip, we didn’t have much time to admire the bridge beyond this cruise but we have definitely earmarked a visit to the Golden Gate recreational area to enjoy the beautiful views the next time we are in San Francisco.



We then headed to Haight and Ashbury to see the famous crooked street. Walking to these places was literally an uphill task in SFO and I am still amazed by the parking skills of the residents here. After our typical photo ops, next on our list was a visit to the Palace of Fine Arts. I did not have a clue what to expect as we walked towards this but loved the whole place. It had a beautiful ancient feel to it. Amma and Appa took this time to relax on a bench and enjoy the sun shine while we walked around. The next time around, I would definitely spend more than a day in the city itself. We had to compress it all into one day only because there were so many other places on the west coast that we wanted to see on this trip. We reached the hotel after an exhausting Day One but very excited for Day Two since this was the trip I had been wanting to do for a long time.

Our Day 2 plan was largely to drive on the Pacific Coast Highway and enjoy the magnificent views. We decided to begin the trip with a stop at the Henry Cowell State Park to see the magnificent redwood trees. We were there so early in the morning that it was just the four of us and a couple of joggers in the whole place. We were minuscule compared to the trees and no matter what we tried, we couldn’t get a photo which captured their size in relation to how tiny we were next to it. There are a few other places to see the Redwoods around San Francisco, we picked the Henry Cowell State Park since it was relatively on our way to the Pacific Coast Highway. We then began our superb drive on the pacific coast highway- if you don’t have too much time, I would recommend at least doing the 17-mile drive. This two-way road hugs the coast with some amazing spots to pull over and soak in some brilliant views at points like Pebble Beach and the lone Cypress. Other beautiful spots to take pictures on the Pacific Coast Highway are the Big Sur and the Bixby Creek bridge. If you are going to the west coast, I would definitely recommend a whole day or more to just drive on this absolutely gorgeous road for the ride of a lifetime.

We could not come all the way to San Francisco and miss a visit to the famous Napa Valley. While shortlisting vineyards, we wanted to pick a vineyard where we wouldn't feel out of place and our sparse knowledge of wine wouldn't be an issue. After scouring TripAdvisor, we shortlisted the V.Sattui Winery and I would recommend this place over and over again! The staff were so friendly and the prices were ridiculously low for the experience. For 10$ we could taste upto 6 of their wines and the person helping us was wonderful in explaining each of the wines. Appa and I tasted all of them and completed our glasses each time while S took tiny sips here and there since he had to drive us back to the airport for our flight to Vegas. The whole experience was so positive that we actually picked 6 bottles across all the wines we enjoyed and had them shipped back home so we could continue to enjoy their wines. We headed straight from the vineyard to the airport to drop the car and then take our flight to Las Vegas for the next leg of the trip.




We landed in Vegas and checked in and rested for a bit before we headed out. It had been quite a long day and we wanted to stay out late so we rested a bit before we headed out again. We were planning to begin with some of the main casinos in the Las Vegas Strip before heading the famous Bellagio Fountains. I was itching to get to the Blackjack tables (that being the only casino card game I knew to play properly). We headed to the famous Venetian Palazzo first and began with a quick walk around the casino before I went to get some chips to begin. As was expected, I was getting too much into the game and pretty much spiraling out of control even though I had the worst luck. I decided to take a break while Appa and Amma tried the slot machines. Little did I know that my gambling issues were hereditary, Appa went all crazy with slot machines putting in coin after coin not caring if he was winning or losing. Amma and Saranath soon pried the two of us away from the casino and we headed to the Bellagio.



The fountains at Bellagio are truly a magical experience. They are right outside the Bellagio hotel and casino and depending on the day and time, they have shows every fifteen minutes or half an hour. The fountains dancing to the music is not an experience you should miss if you are in Vegas. Try to get there a little before the show begins so you can get a place to stand with a good view. We then headed to the Stratosphere Tower to enjoy some great 360 degree views of the strip and the lights of Vegas. They had quite a few rides for adrenaline rush seekers from atop the tower including the sky jump which looked absolutely terrifying! Post that we went back to our hotel all beat at 1 am. We were happy we covered so much in one evening even though it was a little tiring because we were headed to the Grand Canyon the next day.



Since we had a pretty exhausting day, the next day we decided to sleep in and drive to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon whenever we woke up so we would be well rested for the long drive ahead. The west rim of the Grand Canyon is close to Vegas and has attractions like the Skywalk but we were told that it was a tourist trap for those who had come to Vegas and the south rim was where we needed to if we truly wanted to experience the Grand Canyon. So we decided to drive even though it was a longish drive and that we would have to drive back all the way to fly out the Vegas Airport. On our drive to the South Rim, we took a detour to see the famous Hoover Dam on the way but the heat was sweltering and none of could last except for S. We ran back to the comfort of the air conditioned car while he went to see some better views. We reached the South Rim late evening and after checking in, we drove to the canyon because we really wanted to see the sun set over the canyon. We were told that it really brought out the beautiful colours in the canyon. And boy, was it worth it! There were so many people and it was so crowded but I think each person was lost in their own way looking at the canyon. It is moments like these which make you realise how easy it is for nature to stun you into silence. We went back to the hotel still talking about it and ended the day with a nice big Italian dinner at a local pizzeria.



Our plans for the next day was a hike into the canyon. We were following the South Kaibab trail. Since it was our first time, we thought it would be better and safer to go with a guide. After a lot of research, we shortlisted the Wildland Trekking Company. What I liked about it was that it could be customized to our needs. We didn’t want to do a full day hike, our guide PJ, helped us figure out what we could cover in the time we had. We left very early in the morning just before sun rise and just like the sun set the previous evening, it was an experience by itself to watch the sun come up over the canyon. We took a moment to sit on the very edge and just soak in the how huge the canyon really was. PJ was excellent in telling how our eyes were tricking us into not really experiencing the depth of the canyon. S was most worried about how I would cope during the hike because I was the least fit of all four of us but PJ managed to keep me distracted and I barely realised the journey back due to our intense discussion on the evolution of Walter White’s character in Breaking Bad. He had wanted to be a priest not so long ago and had read the Bhagavad Gita too much to Appa’s delight. Travel is largely about seeing new places and experiencing new things but it also gives you the opportunity to meet people with a variety of interest and life stories.

As we drove away from the Grand Canyon, I was certain this wouldn’t be the last time we would be seeing this beauty and the west coast and that we would be back soon.

Whale watching

Boston, August 2013

The surprising fact was that it took us a year and half to finally visit Boston despite it being so close! We were really keen to go a whale watching cruise to begin with. We had previously taken one in Cape May and though we saw a lot of dolphins, the whales remained elusive so were hoping that Boston would be where we got lucky. There are plenty of whale watching cruises available in Boston and we chose this company. Most companies guarantee a whale sighting or give you a free ticket to the next whale watching cruise, which makes you feel pretty confident that they are going to show you whales no matter what. The cruise was a wonderful experience with some very knowledgeable guides who spoke about Whale behaviour while we waited to spot the whales. I was fully prepared for another repetition of Cape May where we would see nothing but we realised that it is not for nothing that Massachusetts is one of the top ten whale spotting places in the world.



The whales stunned us with their grace and they almost seemed to be enjoying the ‘Oooh’s and ‘Aaah’s they got when they ever they came out of the water. I loved the portion where our guides told us about our potential behaviour on beaches which could harm wildlife and I felt it was wonderful moment for us to see the beauty that exists in nature and what we shouldn’t be doing to ruin it.

After the whale watching cruise, we headed to the famous Faneuil Hall Marketplace. I loved all the shops and the general cheerful atmosphere around the place. The main building of the Quincy Market had such a wonderful old time feel to it and had such a lot of eating options that our heads swam and settled with our lasagna in the seating area right under the dome. I could easily picture an entire evening spent walking around the place and eating at the nice restaurants there. We were exhausted after the long drive and the whale watching cruise so we wrapped up pretty early.

Since we only had a long drive back and were there only for the weekend, the next morning we headed to the two places we really wanted to see- The Harvard Business School and MIT. It was a brilliant experience to see the ivy league schools we had read so much about and S and I were fully occupied on our drive back wondering it would have been like to study in these hallowed institutions just for the experience.

Both of us loved the vibe in the city but we definitely enjoyed the whale watching cruise more than the city itself (or the little we saw of it)!