Hawai’i!

Pristine beaches, warm white sands, crystal clear blue green waters, lush green tropical rainforests and temperatures not soaring above 80 degrees F… Sounds like the ideal holiday ain’t it?

Hawai’i is a transcending Polynesian beauty, a celestial piece of the earth in the middle of nowhere.

Surrounded by heavy volcanic activity, that was responsible to create this island in the first place, continual magmatic eruptions under the Pacific ocean are responsible to create and add more fresh land, to this ever expanding island.

We planned our trip with much vacillation between Cancun, Mexico and Hawai’i; with the former being more financially plausible, as we were getting all inclusive deals for Cancun, as opposed to barely making a round-trip airfare to Hawaii in that amount. We arrived at a decision, when with a bit more of research into our miles account, we were able to cover the airfare for Hawai’i; and decided to thus venture into a more unconventional jaunt. Being big fans of the series “Lost” too aided our decision, which was btw shot almost entirely in Oahu 🙂

We started our week long vacation, by boarding a direct flight from Phoenix to Maui, that took about 6 hours to get there. Hawai’i Standard time or HST lags by 3 hours from PST, which gave us an early headstart when we landed, at 1pm HST.

A key thing to note while vacationing here, is to get up by 4:30 am and enjoy the day till about 7pm. The city is not well lit after dark and there are no skyscrapers as well 🙂

Exploring the city of Kihei: Maui

Kihei is the southern part of the island of Maui. We booked a condo on the beach, which was fully equipped with a kitchenette, cooking condiments, vessels et all… We were in for a surprise when we saw beach chairs, umbrellas, floating noodles, tennis racquets and a beach volleyball.

We stayed at the Kihei Bay Surf, right opposite the beach and a high priced Indian restaurant called Monsoon India, which had a stunning view facing the ocean.

Renting a car is a must in Maui, especially if you are self exploring wanderlust and haven’t booked guided tours. Ofcourse, guided tours are good, however it costs anything between $30-$50 extra, for them to pick you up from your choice of place. We rented a car from the airport, and it took us 15 minutes to get to our abode.

Our twitchy feet got us exploring the parts of Wailea and the posh golf resorts around after we freshened up; we were originally booked for a Luau at Grand Wailea resort, but due to a sudden downpour, the event was cancelled and it was rescheduled for us the following day…. and we’ll get to that part soon 🙂

After a tiresome exploration (6 hour flight, followed by jetlag with the 3 hour time difference), we shopped for groceries, to inaugurate our cute kitchen.

Spectacular sunset by our beach awaited us, followed by which we decided to head to Monsoon India for a rather expensive meal. Although the view is definitely breathtaking from the restaurant , my recommendation is to get your own beach chairs and food, or barbecue some hot food and enjoy a sumptuous meal besides the beach.

Snorkeling & Snuba diving in Molokini crater & Turtle town

Our day kick started early in the morning at 6am, where we reported at the harbour to take off on a day long cruise exploring the ocean, snorkeling in 150 feet deep blue waters, with a 100% visibility down till the ocean bed thriving with rich marine life and corals at the cresent shaped, partially submerged Molokini crater. The crater is infact a seabird sanctuary. The interesting part about rich coral reef here, is that there is no barrier reef supporting it.

Luau at Lahaina

We witnessed some of the best performances by the Hawaiians through the luau, followed by roasting a big boar, which is served as the feast for later in the evening. Don’t worry, there is plenty of vegetarian options to choose from, but this is truly a meat lovers paradise!

Surviving the Road to Hana

What a trip! I recount my experiences to Hana every second day, through the winding roads that challenge your attention at every nook and corner. We were advised to buy the CD that talks about your journey while on this road, and makes recommendations for pit-stops. I must say – the waters are the same, but every pit stop was unique in its own way!

I will never forget the black sand beach with rich blue waters sweeping you off your feet or the beautiful waterfalls that were a treacherous trek alright! But what a beauty!!!

Nature has its ways of making you feel like a small fry, in this large world, by amazing you with beautiful wonders. Hawai’i is the place to see new land being born, and I must say- it is awe-inspiring to say the least!

The black sand beach is nothing but the lava that just cooled down to form new land! What an array of contrasting colors to start with!

I will let my pictures speak for themselves.

Black Sand Beaches

Haleakala Crater

We drove to this mindblowingly breathtaking crater early in the morning at 4am; only to catch the first rays of the sun peeping and bursting through the clouds and painting the skies with spectacular colors. Now yet again, Hawai’i manages to surprise one, as imagine an island, having snow and ice on top of a crater! Snow, Ice, Heat all in once place!

We spent a few hours here before driving back to our resort and were left in amazement.

Island Hop: Big Island – Hilo and Hana, Oahu – Honolulu

First of all, the flight from Maui to Hilo is the most scenic ride ever! We were cruising at a low altitude, that gave us the privilege of watching beautiful waters, mountain ranges and volcanic craters over an hour’s ride. Upon reaching Hilo, we were taken to Kona, and served pure Kona coffee. If you are a coffee connoisseur, this one is a must-buy!

Then we had lunch and drove to Hawaii Volcanic National Park, to experience live volcanoes, see lava flow, steam vents, mind boggling volcanic activity at every nook and corner and lava glow. This has to be my be my best trip ever!

Live Lava flow, Ash Plumes, Steam Vents ands more…

Sunbathing & Swimming in the divine Beaches of Hawai’i

Kabini 2014

Having lived in Bangalore, albeit for a short period,  I look for opportunities to drive not too long, yet as remote as possible into the wild. Kabini happens to be one of them. This beautiful forest is about a 4 hour drive from Bangalore.

Kabini is home to a plethora of wildlife such as Tigers, Elephants, Foxes, Leopards and deer to name a few. Kabini forest reserve is part of the Nagarhole National park, which also encompasses Bandipur and Masinagudi forest reserves, alongside the banks of the Kabini River.

We stay-put at the spectacular Red Earth resort, the rooms of which were breathtaking. Each cottage was a room by itself, with rustic feel on the inside, and each having its own private Jacuzzi. What better way to enjoy a silent night while immersing yourself to the pleasures of warm water and aromatic bath salts, while appreciating the star studded sky!

The hosts and owners at Kabini are also very hospitable and go out of your way to make sure that you have an enjoyable stay. There is a swimming pool, coracle rides, birding safari, a vintage looking bar and a classy lotus pond, all in one campus! A unique performance would be hosted every evening at Red Earth – mostly performed by the locals; but what you see is sure to take your breath away!

In the morning, we took the early morning canter ride for our safari. The first thing we spotted was a tigress, who was coming to the watering hole to quench her thirst. Apart from the regular sightings of the deer, mongoose, foxes and elephants, we were very lucky to spot the elusive leopard!

This sly cat, left his scent mark on a tree and then went on to climb it. Quite an awesome sight to see, just a few meters from ourselves.

If you want a more exclusive jeep ride, you would have to request for the same in advance. Somehow, we were going with a laid-back holiday mood. It is only later we realized that maybe the jeep safari would have been better.

On the flip-side, none of the jeeps spotted the tiger or the leopard 🙂

So overall, we had an amazing trip! If you are on to quench your wildlife thirst, the lush green Kabini is the place more than Bandipur which on the other hand is quite dry and deserted.

Singapore 2015

I visited Singapore in December 2007 for the first time, and oh boy it was definitely love at first sight! Coming back to this beauty in 2015, it felt like a fresh trip, with so many changes this city had undergone.

I had already covered: Sentosa, Singapore Zoo, Jurong Bird Park and a few other conventional sight seeing places in my previous trip.  These attractions are a must see; however I highly recommend visiting the zoo in the day time. The night safari was not very worth the time and money.

Also- Jurong has the birds of paradise from Tahiti; so if you are a bird lover, DO visit this place and you won’t be disappointed.

Singapore is a very charming place even now, with so much to see, experience, eat and shop!

We stayed stones throw away from Orchard road, which is Singapore’s shopping district. It is always abuzz with beautiful people at any given time! In this trip, we decided to explore the city at our own pace.

We started off with some dinner and drinks at Orchard road and strolled around the place till midnight. We took a bus to Clarke Quay, enjoyed a couple of drinks while watching the spectacular laser show at Marina Bay in front of us, the beautiful array of lights at Esplanade and the magnificent Merlion on all sides surrounding us.

The views, were indeed breathtaking, and we couldn’t have asked for a better evening.

We bought a 2 day city pass the next day, to explore the following:

1. Singapore Flyer
2. Clarke Quay
3. Boat Quay
4. Esplanade
5. Gardens by the Bay – Marina Bay
6. China Town
7. Little India

If you want to let your hair down and have a good time in the evening with some good music, fun activities and surrounded by people with high energies- explore Clarke Quay and Boat Quay. Some of the best bars and restaurants are situated here; and there is no dearth of talent when it comes to listening to bands performing live music.

Singapore Flyer is an engineering marvel. We got into a ‘capsule’ and were also lucky since there was no rush that day; and hence had the whole capsule to ourselves 🙂 . One can see Indonesian islands, Johor and Malaysia from here on a clear day. Apart from the iconic views of Singapore such as Marina Bay, Esplanade, the Singapore Night Race Track and Empress Palace to name a few. Do not miss this!

Right below the Singapore Flyer is the F1 race track. If you are an avid F1 follower, do take a stroll on this one to experience a small fraction of percentage of what it feels like to be cruising at 200mph!

Gardens by the bay – Such a spectacular attraction with beautiful colorful lighting all over – this place is like  a ‘rainforest’ ! The cloud forest is a must see!

Take some cash handy for shopping at Funan – for electronics and Chinatown. Most of the shops here accept cash only, and make sure you bargain well! The local Chinese food is also quite mind blowing- and I state this as a vegetarian. The food is yummy; and the best part is that the chefs will customize your needs to make it memorable for you!

Little India is pretty much like India, lots of gold souks and authentic Indian food served. You can avoid this if you are an Indian, unless you crave for a scrumptious meal 🙂

I have purposely not mentioned Universal Studios – as I have experienced this in LA, and it is absolutely splendid! If you haven’t been to it before, this one is a MUST-GO too. The rides, 4d, 7d experiences are amazing here.

Make sure that you are sufficiently hydrated and carry a bottle of water, as the weather is quite humid throughout the year. Most of the time sunny, with an exception of haze for a few months.

Singapore is my favourite city after Berlin, and it is one of the safest, cleanest and best cities to work in. As a tourist IMO, it is better to experience local attractions, food and sightseeing  rather than sticking to a conventional plan such as: Madame Tussaud’s museum or Mall shopping.