Mornington Peninsula, Australia

My parents came to Australia for a one month holidays. I thought Mornington peninsula is the best place to start with their holidays. I took them along the coast lines of southern Australia.

Our first destination was Frankston waterfront. On the frankston waterfront, we took coastal broadwalk leading to famous frankston sea bridge.

Gold Coast, Australia

If there is any city built only for tourism, it is Gold coast, south of Queensland. If you take 100 people, 99 would be tourists. Gold coast is famous for beautiful beaches, Skyline, Theme parks, casinos and night life. Gold coast was once a favorite meeting place for Local aborigines for it's endless supplies of timber and also a famous meeting
place for tribes for fishing and camping.

We stayed in a service apartment near by the famous Gold coast casino. Whoever visits gold coast cannot or should not miss the theme parks.

The next day, we visited Movieworld theme park. Batwing space shot, Scooby Doo spooky coaster, Wild west falls adventure ride, Superman Escapae, oh ! you cannot miss it. Another best thing about Movieworld is the procession of famous Hollywood movie characters.

After a wonderful day at Movieworld, we decided to go to Gold coast city and take a ride on the Giant roller-coaster.

The next day we went for Jet Ski. The still waters of gold coast provided the best opportunity to go for a safer Jet ski.

Jet ski was an unforgettable experience for us. After half an hour ride, I could control the ski much better. Then we went to the famous gold coast beach.

After a long day in the CBD and beach, we decided to go to Infinity (http://www.infinitygc.com.au/). It was a magical maze world beyond description. The expedition didn't stop there, we further went to the ghost town - a ghost mansion.

The final day of the trip, we decided to go to Sea world. Dolphin show, Seal show were really enjoyable along with the water rides.

With great memories, we said good bye to Gold coast. I cannot forget the Movie world experience.

Phuket, Thailand

We planned our next trip to Phuket, an island off the south-west coast of Thailand. If anyone while traveling to Phuket has a stop over at Bangkok, need to make sure that you have enough time for obtaining the Visa on arrival before the connecting flight to Phuket. I reached Phuket on 10th Dec early morning and Ashi, joined me on the same day afternoon.
We checked in to the Mercure Hotel, near to the Phuket town.








The next day, 11th Dec, we went for a speed boat tours to Phi-Phi islands. Our first stop was Maya Bay. Maya Bay is a stunningly beautiful bay that's sheltered by 100-metre high cliffs on three sides. It has become the main tourist attraction of Phi Phi since The Beach was filmed here in 1999.








The boat took us around the various cliffs in the phi-phi island. The color of Andaman sea nearby these cliffs is really magical.









We also saw the Monkey Bay, where several monkeys were waiting for the food which tourists bring for them.








The lunch for the day was organized at Laem Thong Beach on Phi Phi Don. Laem Tong Beach is a magical place in northern Phi Phi that is ideal for a relaxing and quiet holiday.








Snorkeling is not so easy as it looks like. I have never drunk this much salt water in near times. Though it was a big failure, i loved swimming in Koh Khai Nai beach.








The next day we opted big cruise for the tours. The view was magical and sitting in front of the cruise ship with my wife is simply awesome and relaxing.








Our first destination was James Bond Islands. James Bond Island, known originally and locally as Ko Tapu or Nail Island, found fame through the 1974 Bond film "The Man with the Golden Gun". The film starred Roger Moore and Christopher Lee (as the three nippled arch-villain Scaramanga) but it was the scenic topography that helped make the film into a firm Bond favourite. It also turned the previously unknown Phang Nga Bay into a major tourist attraction.
The Koh Ping Gun is the major attraction in James Bond Island, along with the walk around the small caves formed in the cliffs.








The small market in the James Bond island is a good place to do shopping for handicrafts. The view of Koh Ping Gun from the caves is really beautiful.








Another great adventure was canoeing in the lagoons through the small caves in those unknown unnamed islands.










I have to say again and again that Phuket is the best place I visited in the recent years. This trip has already become a mesmerizing trip for us.












We left Phuket on Dec 13th and told Phuket "See you again !!"

Poovar Trip [ Kerala, India]

We went to Poovar with two of our friends and their fiancees. It was a day trip, which we planned for a long long time.

Poovar is a small coastal fishing island at the southern tip of Thiruvananthapuram district in Kerala, India. The village is embraced by a beautiful beach on one side and the backwaters on the other. During high tides, an estuary links it to the sea, so we went to Estuary Islands Resort to spend the day :)

According to legends the port Ophir where King Solomon's trading ships landed is said to be Poovar. Another legend describes this as the place as where Maharaja Marthanda Varma was given protection from his enemies by the powerful merchant, Moosa Marikkar. It is said that the picturesque sight of red kovala flowers floating in the Neyyar River led the Maharaja to describe the river as pu (flower) ar (river) or the river of flowers.

The view of the so called "pozhi", is something I cannot forget. We all went to the beach in the evening and enjoyed a lot.

The end of all my trips gives me a heavy heart, as I am not sure when all go together for a similar trip.I loved taking pictures of ashima along the beachside playing with the waves. She loves beaches !!

Shimla Manali - A honeymoon trip

As our honeymoon trip, we decided to visit Shimla, kulu and Manali. We booked our trip through www.makemytrip.com to reach Shimla.A popular tourist destination, Shimla is often referred to as the "Queen of Hills". In 1864, Shimla was declared the summer capital of the British Raj in India. The city is famous for its buildings styled in tudorbethan and neo-gothic architecture dating from the colonial era.

After a day stay in the cold Shimla, we headed towards Kulu valley. Kullu Valley is the largest valley in the Kullu district, in Himachal Pradesh, India. The Beas River runs through the middle of the valley. It is also called the "Valley of the Gods".

After spending a beautiful evening in kulu, we went to Manali. At first sight itself, every one would fall in love with this place. Manali (alt. 1,950 m or 6,398 ft), in the Beas River valley, is an important hill station in the mountains of Himachal Pradesh, India, near the northern end of the Kullu Valley. The British introduced apple trees and trout, which were not native to Manali flora and fauna. The climate in Manali is predominantly cold dur

ing winters, and moderately cool during summers. It was too cold in Manali when we visited and having horse ride in those cold wind is simply astounding.

We also visited the famous shiva temple in Manali riding on horses. Another attraction is Rohtang pass, unfortunately due to heavy snow fall the road to Rohtang pass was closed.

After a stay of 3 days in Manali, enjoying our honeymoon, we left to Delhi. It was such a memorable trip. A trip worth cherishing forever !!

Kumarkom [Kerala, India] Trip

A family trip !..I wished, my brothers wished it, for a long long time. Now my family is full of married couples, we decided to go for a kumarakom trip.Kumarakom is a tourist village in Kottayam district, Kerala, India. It is a cluster of little islands on the Vembanad Lake in Kerala.The Vembanad Lake is the largest backwater in Kerala. Its view during sunset is magical.

We stayed in the hotel, Backwater Ripples. I would recommend this hotel for anybody is who is looking for a four star treatment. The second day, we booked a house boat and spent the entire day travelling watching the beautiful sights of kumarakom. Sorry mom, but I never had such a tasty food which I got from the houseboat.

Kumarakom trip is the best family trip I ever had !!...I came back with a heavy heart, as I am not sure when a similar trip turns up in my life.

United Kingdom Trip

I had a brief visit of 4 days to United Kingdom to meet my fiancée. It was a very tiring Journey from Melbourne to London, almost the opposite sides of the Earth. It took 24 hours from Melbourne to London and then 2 hours from London to Ipswich.Ipswich is a small town with all the facilities of a city, but it never got the status of City. On 13 March 2007 Ipswich was awarded the cleanest town award. Ipswich is home to many artists, with galleries at Christchurch Mansion, the Town Hall, a gallery in Ancient House and the Artists Gallery in Electric House being the more prominent.

Ipswich have a very beautiful garden near to the Town Center.

The next destination was London City. It was just a two days visit. I had to get the Sunday evening flight back to Melbourne. We reached London on Saturday morning.

London is beautiful in architect's eye and it may not be the same beautiful for a tourist's eye. London's buildings are too diverse to be characterised by any particular architectural style, being built over a long period of time.

We took a dinner cruise on Thames river from Westminster pie. The Thames is a major river flowing through southern England. While best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows through several other towns and cities, including Oxford, Reading and Windsor. Ashima was in one of her most beautiful dress and I was in blazer and jeans. Even she agree with me that even in our wildest dream, we never thought of having such a day, dressed in English style, having English style food and a good romantic time in one of the best dinner cruise and that too in LONDON.

After having experience of eating english food in melbourne, I didnt have much problems with the food served in the cruise.

There are some spectacular views from the cruise, especially the London Bridge and O2 Dome. The O2, visually typeset in branding as The O₂, is a large entertainment district on the Greenwich peninsula in South East London, UK, including an indoor arena, a music club, a cinema, an exhibition space, piazzas, bars and restaurants.

The most spectacular view is contemplation view of London.

The next day we went to the famous Hyde park and Buckingham palace. Hyde Park is one of several royal parks in London connected to each other, forming one large green lung in the centre of the city. At the north-east corner of Hyde Park is the Marble Arch. It was originally built in 1827 as a gateway to Buckingham Palace, but it was moved to its present location in 1851.

Another arch, the Wellington Arch, can be found on Hyde Park Corner, at the south-east corner of the park, connecting Hyde Park with Green Park. The arch was built in 1826 by Decimus Burton.

Buckingham Palace is the official London residence of the British monarch.

The Victoria Memorial is a sculpture in London, placed at the centre of Queen's Gardens in front of Buckingham Palace. It has a large statue of Queen Victoria facing north-eastwards towards The Mall.

The other sides of the monument feature dark patinated bronze statues of the Angel of Justice (facing north-westwards toward Green Park), the Angel of Truth (facing south-eastwards) and Charity facing Buckingham Palace. On the pinnacle, is Victory with two seated figures.

As the dawn approached, it was time to say the toughest goodbye of all time, yet consoling each other by asking to wait for some more months to rejoin again in India.

I reached Melbourne after another tiring journey of 24 hours. I travelled for an appaling 65 hours in the last 5 days.