South East Asia Trip 2013

South East Asia Trip

This time around our summer vacation had a core focus: take the kids through the International Theme Parks coupled with the South East Asian countries experience.
I shall try and adopt a different summary point approach this time since there are so many tips to share from our experience.
My son aged 10.5 yrs and daughter nearing 7 was a very opportune time to have them get the maximum exposure in terms of the rides across the various Theme Parks we visited.
In most of the cases the core parameter is having 122 cm height to be eligible to ride most of the roller coaster rides.

As always planning began quite a few months back. The first thing to secure was air tickets. We got a good deal from Air Indigo for a return fare of 20K INR from Pune to Singapore (via Chennai).
We stayed at my COEP classmate's place in Singapore and planned our trip with her place as the base for the 12-day trip.

We then purchased return tickets from Singapore to Hong Kong for 11K INR on tigerairways.com (this is an upcoming low cost carrier service based out of Singapore).
One key thing to plan such a family trip to see various Theme Parks by timing the visit on Weekdays and avoid the Weekend crazy ride lines.
With both these bookings in place a solid 2 months in advance, the rest of the nitty gritty details emerged in the coming weeks.

- It is better to have e-Visa done through your friends for Singapore since it costs 30SGD per person whereas doing the same through agents in India would end up costing about 2K per person. Make sure to apply for Multi-entry visa since we visited 3 countries and had multiple entry-exits via Singapore. Confirmed return ticket is must for e-Visa application alongwith scanned copies of your passport and soft copy of the right sized photos. One can apply for the e-Visa only 1 month in advance of the trip.
- Once the Singapore e-Visa was received by us, we could apply for the Malaysian Visa from India (costed us 2K per person and we did it through Guardian Travels, the only official agent from Pune).
- In case of Hong Kong, one gets a free Visa on arrival for Indian citizens who are visiting HK for less than 14 days.
- We had planned to visit Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from Singapore via Overnight Express Train. Please ensure that this booking is done at least 3 weeks in advance since there are limited seats for 2nd class (ADNS) on the KTMB website. We faced issue on their site using our Indian Bank Credit Cards, so I had to request my Singapore friend to do it on our behalf. This is important to plan in advance especially when travelling with family.
- We had no hotel to book in S'Pore or Malaysia. We booked the hotel in HK at the centre of the tourist downtown place Tsim Sha Tsui (TST) called Maple Leaf Guest House located on the 12th floor of ChungKing Mansion right outside TST MTR Station. 3 nights/ 4 days costed us 1800 HKD with 10% service tax [in cash, credit card is charged 3% extra].
- Legoland is located in Johor Bahru, Malaysia just across the Singapore border. This is a new Theme Park that is just 6-7 month old and is closed every Wed. 7-day advance tickets are sold online for 10% discount.
- We also purchased tickets to Universal Studios, Songs of the Sea (Sentosa Island) Show and Jurong Bird Park/Night Safari Theme Park tickets in advance online from India (payment by MasterCard Credit Cards gives 15% discount)
- We had carried a whole lot of dry food stuff from Pune that helped us to have a quick bite at all sight seeing places whenever the kids felt hungry.
- At least 2-3 umbrellas are a must carry to Singapore/HK at any time of the year.

Day 1 (5-May Sunday):
- We had booked Wings Radio for both onward and return drop to Pune airport. The Cab arrived 30 min before our planned time. Our flight was at 1:45 PM and though it took off about 20 min late, the lady pilot manning the Air Indigo flight made up for the lost time in the air and a smooth landing took us to Chennai Domestic airport at 3:45 PM.
- Our flight from Chennai to Singapore was at 10PM. Now the domestic terminal at Chennai has been redeveloped into a large state-of-the-art airport and the Indigo staff advised us to take rest here as compared to the old International terminal. The decision to carry my tablet was a good one that kept the kids busy at all waiting zones.
- there is a courtesy shuttle bus from Domestic to International terminal but there are not adequate boards/directions to help u figure out where to stand outside the domestic terminal exit. Eventually we figured this out and went to the International terminal after about 2.5 hrs rest.
- We then opted to get inside the Visitor Area of the International Terminal and relaxed over there for the rest of the time before check-in time (about 7 PM IST)
- Our flight departed on-time from Chennai and we arrived at Changi International Airport, Singapore at 5 AM local time.

Day 2 (6-May Monday):
- The kids slept well on the plane and were anyways excited for this trip so they woke up and we all refreshed at the airport.
- From there we walked over to the CIA Airport MRT Station and purchased the Magnetic EZCards (they deduct 5SGD for each card but then give you discount on the base fare with each ride). We also picked up the latest Singapore Map freely available for all tourists, this was all we needed for our entire duration of stay in this clean and efficient city/country.
- We then spent the next 1.5 hours in transit admiring the Singapore Train System while travelling in clean AC trains with 3 changeovers (1 at Tanah Merah, 2nd at Paya Lebar and 3rd at Bishan). We reached the Admiralty MRT Station at around 7 AM and from there it was a short 5 min walk to my friend's place at Woodlands.
- After the first round of morning chitchat with the family over a sumptuos Kanda Poha breakfast, we understood the travel plan from my friend and left her home.
- All the MRT Stations in Singapore have a corresponding Bus Terminus called as InterChange. So once you know what Bus Route to take to reach your destination, it is very easy to locate the Interchange boarding point. The EZCards work across all modes of public transport so you dont have to buy tickets each and every time.
- We reached Jurong Bird Park at around noon time (Jurong East MRT Stn + Bus#194 at Boon Lay Interchange) and the entire Park was covered by around 6 PM. We then boarded the bus back to the Jurong East Station, took the NS Red Line to Choa Chu Kang station. We had our late lunch+early dinner at Subway and then boarded the Interchange bus#927  to Night Safari Park.
- Though there were mixed reviews of the Night Safari Park, we realized that doing both Jurong Bird Park and Night Safari on Day 1 after an overnight air journey was a little overwhelming for everyone, especially the kids. Atharva dozed off on the Night Safari Tram Ride and we had a hard time to keep him awake and watch the late evening Night Animals Show. I would say that one can skip this Theme Park and opt for the River Cruise or some other attraction unless you have never been to other zoos. Eventually we exited the Park at around 10PM and took a taxi directly to Woodlands. We all slept like a log as soon as we hit the bed.

Day 3 (7-May Tuesday):
- We had our breakfast, packed a fast lunch plus snacks and started at 8:30 AM from Admiralty Station, reached the HarbourFront Station after 2 train changes on time and took the Bus to Universal Studios @ Sentosa to reach the park bang on time at 10 AM.
- If possible carry plastic ponchos with you to Universal since you get drenched in the Jurassic Park ride. People spent many more dollars to get partially dry after the ride in the drying hot air stations if you dont wear a poncho in the first place.
- The wait times at most of the rides was not beyond 5-10 min. The Transformer Ride was the best experience of them all and the Water World Show is a true entertainer (ponchos come handy here too)
- It rained heavily towards 5PM and our umbrellas plus ponchos helped us a lot. By that time we had covered the entire park and most of the rides (the Red and Blue Roller Coaster were avoided due to the evening showers).
- After this we boarded the Sentosa Island monorail to reach the Beach Station. We had food at the McDonalds near the entrance and just when we about to enter the Show Gate, it started drizzling. However, it looks like this is normal in the tropical zone and the Show staff handed out ponchos to all that had tickets and the show started on time right there in the rains.
- The pyrotechnic laser show on a huge panoramic film  of water was a truly great musical experience for all of us.
- We then had dinner at a delicous 'Soups + Entrees' Joint at the mall on Harbour Front MRT Station. The Minestrone Soup here reminded us of Olive Garden Restaurants in the Bay Area, CA, USA.
- We retraced our Bus + Train journey back to base for a well deserved sleep.

Day 4 (8-May Wednesday):
- This was a planned go-easy day in the trip
- We woke up late, had a brunch and then started at noon.
- We reached the Bay Front MRT Station on the Circle line and crossed through the walkway tunnel to the Dragonfly bridge.
- Crossing this bridge opens up a huge Vista before your eyes. On the eastern side is the magnificient Gardens By the Bay, on the north is the Singapore Flyer at Promenade and on the west from where you came is the Marina Bay Sands Hotel and Convention Centre. We took the views in while sipping the fruit ice drinks we purchased right outside the MRT station.
- We then toured the many themed gardens in the Gardens By The Bay South Front area and got a lot of information of the Singapore trade history from the early British era.
- We skipped going inside the Flower Dome which was housing about 1200 varieties of tulips since there is simply so much to see in the Heritage Gardens itself.
- It started drizzling in the late afternoon and our ponchos from yesterday came handy over here as well.
- We then crossed over the Dragonfly bridge and right through the Marina Bay Sands Convention Centre admiring the fine dining lounge about 20 storeys below us and onwards the kilometer long escalator to come down to the deck level. This entire stretch is filled with luxury goods shops like Louis Vuittons and Ferraris of the world. At the end the way opens up onto the Marina Bay Sands water front area. We took in the Skyscraper views and munched on some snacks and played for some time. Across the water front is the iconic Merlion Park and to our North was the Esplanade floating deck. We skipped our plans to go to either of these 2 places since it started drizzling a bit again.
- We then took the MRT to the Clarke Quay Station and from there walked about a kilometer to spend some time near the Boat Quay Bridge. We then walked southwards to eventually have dinner at a mall - People's Park Centre near Chinatown MRT. The fruit ice desert after Noodles was really refreshing and we tried many flavors like Guava, Grapefruit, MuskMelon etc.
- After reaching back to base home, we packed our bags (1 big sack and the other regular one) for our next 2 days in Malaysia.

Day 5 (9-May Thursday):
- We took the Bus# 913 to reach the Woodlands Border Station and completed the Immigration formalities before getting over the side to Johor Bahru border checkpost.
- After completing entry checks and Immigration, we again boarded the Bus# 950 from Singapore to the JB Sentral Station. However, we had some trouble to figure out where to get down and 2 Indian ladies tried to help us. they were on their way to MY from Singapore for shopping and they probably misguided us in their excitement. Eventually we figured out that we had got down one stop before the JB Sentral Main Bus Terminus.
- There is a separate bus service run by Causeway Link from JB Sentral to Legoland Malaysia. Since we missed locating where this was, we eventually decided to hire a cab and he took us after some bargaining to Legoland in 30 MR.
- Legoland is located about 30 km to the west of Johor Bahru City.
- We reached Legoland just when the Park opened and took a day locker for 20 MR and kept our big bag there for entire day.
- Since it was a week day, there was average crowd size and that made our experience truly pleasant. It was a bright and hot sunny day.
- The Miniland at the centre of the park was the best attraction of all.
- The Taj Mahal, the Malaysian Parliamentary Buildings of Putraya, Petronas and Menara Tower, Angkor Vat of Vietnam, the temple of Thailand and other South East Asian attractions were done using Lego blocks to scale of 1:20 or 1:15 to perfection.
- Atharva was really happy with the Ninjago Lego Kit we purchased and drove the Kids Car for getting a Legoland Driving School License twice.
- The Parl closed at 6PM and we figured out our way to JB Sentral with the bus that we missed in the morning. We got an "Indian" experience while boarding the bus since all those who were waiting at the boarding point rushed towards the bus even before it stopped. We also had to earn our seats in this melee and eventually got them. It costed only 4 MR for this journey, but we could catch a quick powernap since it took us about 45 min to reach JB Sentral. We then figured out a open air restaurant right at doorstep of the JB Sentral Train Station Entrance. To our delight this joint had all Desi and Tamil/ Indian Muslims running the show and we had some tasty Biryani and Masala "Thosai" and Uttapam here. Once we were full from this early dinner, we decided to have a look around the Station which is located right in the heart of the city. We eventually found a South Indian Murugan Temple and had a quick darshan inside. After coming back to the Train Station , we relaxed in the waiting area before boarding the Overnight S24 Train from JB Sentral to KL Sentral. The 2nd Class Sleeper train was cozy and they provided comfy bedsheets and covers plus pillows. We slept comfortably and Atharva settled down to build his new Lego Kit the very same night with a wide smile on his face...

Day 6 (10-May Friday):
- The Overnight Express Train reached almost 1 hr late, which was good for us to get more sleep.
- The Kuala Lumpur Sentral Station is a grand state-of-the-art building with all types of infrastructural facilities for a global traveller. We had a quick refresh and stored the bigger travel bag at the Station Locker for 10 MR (charge is valid till midnight of each day).
- There is a 24 hrs McDonalds and the kids were happy to get a pancake + hash browns breakfast.
- Public Travel on the KL Sentral Train System is relatively cheaper and there are different counters for the different lines of travel within the city
- Our first destination was to see the magnificient Batu Caves on the KTM Komuter Line, it costed us just 3 MR for all four for a one-way ride.
- Beware of the notorious monkeys at Batu Caves and make sure to keep all the food items stashed away inside your sack and carry it close to you.
- One of the brave monkeys came back from behind and snatched the water bottle from my sack, however, I mustered the courage to snatch it back from the monkey and climbed the stairs faster.
- There are 272 steps to reach the mouth of the Limestone Caves and the roof of the Caves must be holding a huge number of cave bats. The standing statue of Lord Kartik is huge and one can see this from KL City through normal binoculars.
- After coming back to KL Sentral Station, we decided to head out to the next destination and figure out lunch options near the Petronas Towers. We boarded the Rapit LRT line and got down at KLCC Suria Mall Basement Station.
- From here we went to the 4th floor Food Mall Arena. It was packed due to the Office time lunch hour and we had a really hard time to get even a shared table to sit. The kids were very co-operative and we split up and sat eherever possible to gulp down the soupy noodles we got.
- After we took a stroll in the Public Gardens (KLCC Park) outside KLCC and admired the grand views of the Petronas Towers in the backdrop.
- We then inquired and took a 30-min walking trip from the Convention Centre to a place called Chulan Towers next to the Pavilion to meet my Customer teammates.
- After exchanging pleasantries and some team photos with the Towers in the backdrop, we came back to the Main Road and decided to find some place for a quick bite.
- However, we had to walk quite some distance to get to a convinience shop and we eventually ended up walking all the way to the KL Menara Tower.
- The ticket to the Menara Towers is cheaper than Petronas Ride and more importantly it gives you a better 360 deg view of entire city including the Petronas Towers.
- We had planned it that way so that we can see the city skyline both just before and after sunset.
- After spending a reasonable relaxing time on the Menara Towers, we took a taxi to China Town near Pasar Seni for 10 MR.
- Chinatown has a whole range of shops and we treated ourselves to some fresh cut fruit as well as Mango Ice Gola.
- This is the best place for shopping and we got some good bargains on Disney branded clothes and other small toys/earrings etc
- After shopping to our hearts content we reached the other end of Chinatown to board the LRT back to KL Sentral Station
- Once we got back to KL Sentral Station, we explored the big mall next to KL Sentral Station and treated ourselves to some delicious Chocolate Crepes and Fruit Ice drinks.
- Finally we collected our bag from the locker and had dinner at Subway at the Train Station and then boarded the midnight train from KL Sentral to Woodlands, Singapore.

Day 7 (11-May Saturday):
- After a sound sleep on the Overnight Express Train, we arrived at about 7:30 AM at the Singapore Woodlands Train Station. After doing the Immigration honors, we boarded the Public Bus #913 that took us directly to Woodlands Block#5.
- This was the relax day and we had a great morning breakfast with my friend's family at leisure to gossip over many things and the kids too enjoyed a lot of toy-sharing and play-time.
- We then took the train and went to see the Singapore Science Discovery Musuem.
- The highlight of the day was this IMAX Dome movie - "Flight of  the Butterflies", a must-see experience of the annual migration of these giant butterflies all the way from Canada to Mexico.
- The other highlight was The Water Works Play Area inside the Discovery Centre where all kids had a blast.
- Eventually we returned back to base station, packed up all our stuff and bid good bye post dinner to my friend and her family.
- We reached Changi Airport at almost midnight and i then dropped one of the big size luggage bags in the overnight baggage counter at Changi Airport. It stayed there for 3+ days and costed me only about 17 SGD in total. We then camped for a short nap near the Arrivals Section of Tiger Airways.

Day 8 (12-May Sunday):
- My alarm rang at around 4:30 AM, we woke up, had a quick refresh and checked in at the Tiger Airways Counter at Singapore Airport for our flight to Hong Kong.
- Our flight was at 6 AM and  we had a good sleep on the 4-hr flight to Hong Kong.
- The Visa-on-Arrival for Indian Citizens staying less than 14 days was a smooth process and we came out of the baggage claim area with our stuff in 30 min.
- The credit for our entire HK trip plannning goes to one really detailed blog site :
http://www.pinoyexchange.com/forums/showthread.php?t=532044 titled "THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO HONG KONG"
- You probably need NOTHING else for HK Trip planning in it's entirety.
- We purchased tickets for Disneyland as well as OceanPark at the Counter No. T4 at the HK Airport from China Travel Services Counter. The only mistake we made was to not purchase tickets to Ngong Ping where we were headed. We thought that since there was no discount we can buy it there directly but forgot that this was a Sunday.
- We then purchased the Octopus Cards for all 4 of us, which is the best and cheapest way to travel in HK.
- We took the S1 Bus from HK Airport S24 to go to the Tung-Chung MRT Station from where the Cable-Car ride to Ngong-Ping is booked.
- There were long lines here due to the Weekend and it took us almost an hour in the line before purchasing the tickets.
- The Cable Car ride to see the Giant Buddha was a picturesque journey across the HK Bay to the Lantau Islands and we could spot some nerdy tourists opting to climb their way across the green steep incline to reach the final summit.
- We relaxed outside the Po Lin Monastery and then saw the Giant Buddha - the tallest open air bronze statue in the world.
- We took the Bus#23 from the Public Bus Interchange back to Tung Chung MTR Station.
- At the mall near this station, we treated ourselves to some fresh bakery items and then took the MTR to reach TST Station.
- It took us some time to figure out the ChungKing Mansion Building which looks like a shady area. Do not get frustated since there are a lot more touts eyeing for grabbing tourists and taking them to one of the many hostels in this building. We had done our research in advance and had an advance booking to Maple Leaf Guest House which has decent rooms for family of 4. The owner's sister came downstairs and greeted us and took us upstairs.
- Most of these hostels charge extra for Credit Card payments and do not prefer them, she assisted me to a nearby ATM of Bank of China and I was able to withdraw from my ICICI Bank Account in HKD at a very competitive rate. I suggest that it is better to not exchange HKD or very little amount at HK Airport and do the rest drectly from ATMs.
- we had dinner at an Italian Restaurant  and were served by an Indian Hotel Management Student who came all the way from Konkan. He was delighted to talk to us in Marathi.

Day 9 (13-May Monday)
- There is a separate MTR line to go to Disneyland, HK and the interiors of this train increase the excitement of all kids to reach the Mecca of Theme Park Entertainment.
- The exteriors of Disneyland as well as the exhibits are all very much like the ones in California ( we had been to California Theme Parks in 2004 previously) and all of us had a grand time throughout the day.
- The kids had a memorable afternoon enjoying the Disney Parade as well as meeting Goofy, Pluto, Mickey as well as Minnie Mouse. Tanvi was full of glee on meeting Minnie and offering her a balloon flower that was made exclusively for her by a Disney soldier parading on Main Street.
- The highlight of this place for me was the "Its a Small World " ride in FantasyLand as well as the "Festival of the Lion King" pyrotechnic show.
- Towards the end of the afternoon, there came lashing downpours and a 20-min thunderstorm. Our umbrellas and ponchos were very useful as well as all the snacks we had carried with us.
- We reached back to the hotel tired, but we did stop by the Grocery Market in the Mall opposite the hotel to buy bread, milk and other stuff. The hostel has a common refridgerator and it was very useful.

Day 10 (14-May Tuesday)
- After the morning breakfast, we took the MTR Station to Admiralty on the Kowloon and from there the Bus 629 to Ocean Park.
- In most of the other Theme Parks, the security check used to allow some limited snacks for kids inside. However at Ocean Park they stopped us as well as many other such families.
- Rather than trashing the food, we had quite a bit outside the entrance and then eventually entered the Park.
- None of us had a clue that at the end of the day, we would have enjoyed at least 15+ rides as well as the many grand exhibits showing different forms of sea life, an amazing rainforest , a truly grand 3-storey aquarium and a water front laser show to top it all.
- Manisha was the only one to brave the ride called "The FLASH" which is an arm that turns you 360 deg in rotating churn.
- Atharva was happy to get a nickel souvenier of Ocean Park to add to his collection.
- After returning back to TST and dinner at McDonalds, we ventured to the Bay Front and spent time till midnight at the Avenue of Stars.

Day 11 (15-May Wednesday)
- The first half of the day was planned for shopping at the MongKong Markets. We all were in for a surprise. The tourists next door to our room were probably smoking inside the room and the smoke alarm went off and in about 30 sec the shrill of the alarm was unbearable. All of us left our rooms and came downstairs to the ground floor and called the owner.
- The owner's sister came in about 10 min and we all treaded our way back upstairs and eventually she found the main switch to turn it off. During this time, none of the other floor guests bothered to help us.
- We then got ready and checked out in the morning and kept all the luggage at the hostel front desk with the owner.
- After a lot of window shopping we realised that Malaysia is a best place for value for money deals and there was not much different to buy besides the magnets, dolls and other souveniers.
- We had lunch at a famous Italian Chain and returned back to  the hotel. we had already
- There is a direct double-decker bus from TST to the Airport and we had a good visual treat of the amazing port infrastructure and large trawlers/ container terminals enroute to the Airport.
- The took the Tiger Airways Flight from HK to Singapore Airport and reached at almost midnight.
- I then paid 16SGD to procure the big bag from the Changi Airport Left Luggage Counter for 4 days.

Day 12 (16-May Thursday)
- We then spent time at the Terminal 2 admiring the Orchid Garden and the Crayons/ Art Activity kept the kids engrossed for quite some time.
- Our Indigo Flight was at 5:50 AM in the morning and we eventually reached back to Pune via Chennai at around 1:30 PM.

All in all, a great South East Asia trip with tons of memories to last for a long time.

NorthEastTrip2011

This year's Diwali Vacation took us to explore the North East Region of our country. Our trip was focused on 3 destinations - Kolkata, Gangtok and Darjeeling. This time we took my in-laws with us. As always, we did our booking with Sterling Resorts that has timeshare resorts at Gangtok and Darjeeling, about 2 months in advance. There are limited options for Pune-Kolkata flights especially due to the Diwali rush, so we had to take a taxi to Mumbai Domestic Airport for a Mumbai-Kolkata flight on the last day of Diwali.

Day Zero (28-Oct): Our direct flight from Mumbai was in the evening and we left Pune at noon. We had done booking in advance to stay at Maharashtra Niwas in Kolkata. This is really good low cost option if you are looking at primarily camping for the night with a very good Maharashtrian breakfast served in the morning (About 700/ per night for a twin bed). At Kolkata Airport, we went by the pre-paid taxi taxi booking option where they charged us about 300 Rs. Interestingly we spent about 1+ hr waiting for the taxi to be allocated since there too many taxi drivers are very choosy and try to maximize their trip fare. Beggars are always around to shell out whatever possible from you even at the domestic airport. Anyways, our check-in was smooth when we arrived at Hajra Rd into the late night and went to bed right away.

Day One (29-Oct): When I am on a vacation, I tend to wake up even earlier, dont know why. I tasked my Android Google maps to help me plan for the day's itinerary.
After having hot and tasty Masala Puris for breakfast, we did a check-out and kept all our luggage in a store-room.

Travelling in Kolkata has been made really easy and convenient by the Kolkata Metro. This was one of the highlights of this trip. We took a 10 min walk from Hajra Road to the Jatin Das Park metro Station. Metro is really cheap and convenient means of transport and fun for the kids.

Tanvi and Atharva were delighted to draw water from one of the many old style hand pumps that you will find in old town areas of Kolkata. We got down at Park Street Station and right outside was Elliot Park which houses Victoria Memorial. This side of the gate was closed early morning and so we waded our way along the periphery to reach to the other main gate. Kolkata is a city greatly influenced by communists and we saw this statue of Ho Chi Minh, one of the great communist leaders of Vietnam. Rabindranath Tagore's writings can be seen at many places, we noticed one such important message at a bus stop besides a big canvas depicting Kolkata's monuments.

While crossing across a junction we encountered another important monument of Kolkata. St.Paul's Cathedral, is a symbol of Indo-Gothic architecture commissioned in 1847 by the Architect W.N. Forbes who also built the Calcutta Mint. The distinct white sandstone edifice was truly shining in the morning sun. After a quick tour of the church, we treaded along to reach the main gate of Elliot Park to see the Victoria Memorial. The garden is well landscaped with benches placed at many locations for visitors to relax and absorb the pleasant surroundings. Tanvi was very much interested in chasing the ducks roaming around the ponds. The path from this gate led us to the back side of Victoria Memorial and we had to again go round the building to reach the front door. There was an arts exhibition on display at this time of the year. Photography is strictly prohibited inside. We enjoyed all the art and other collections housed inside and gave us good glimpse of the British era associated with this place.

After coming out we spend some time in the Garden and then headed out to have lunch. Then Manisha took Atharva to see the Nehru Planetarium which offers knowledgeable insights into the astronomical world. We then boarded a private transport bus to reach Howrah Station. This area is very crowded and one can get lost in the area which is a major railway station as well as a market place. From here we boarded into another bus to get to the famous Ramkrishna Missions's Belur Math and Swami Vivekanand's Temple. Again here too photography is prohibited. The tranquility of this place can be felt once you enter inside the main dome. We had to cross over the Hooghly river by taking a water taxi to reach another religious attraction - Dakshineshwar, home to Goddess Kali.

After this we took a taxi from Dakshineshwar to the Metro Station at Dum Dum Airport and then took the train for only Rs.8/person to get back to Jatin Das Park Station. We had a simple meal at Maharashtra Niwas, picked up our luggage and hired a taxi for Rs.250/- to reach the Sealdah Railway Junction. On the way, we saw a characteristic procession taken out for Goddess Kali. This is the starting point for all the North East Train journeys and we boarded the Padatik Express at 11 PM.

Day Two (30-Oct): The train ride to New Jalpaiguri was peaceful and all had a sound sleep. One crosses into Bihar and then gets back into West Bengal with no major change in landscape - lot of fields of paddy and sugarcane. In the train we made friends with a localite from Darjeeling who gave us more information about the area.

As soon as we got down at NJP, we were surrounded by tourist agency dalals rather hyenas I must say. One guy approached us right inside the railway station and agreed to take us to Gangtok by shared taxi for Rs.300/person. We thought that this was a fair price for outside visitors as compared to the fare charged to locals. He also suggested us to look at travel package options with a travel agency right outside the NJP Rly Stn - Sen Travels. One of the frontdesk guys (Ashok) there had an hour long discussion with us and lot of sell talk forced us to sign up for their travel package of 15K for a 5 day package of Gangtok-Darjeeling and return to NJP on the last day. Eventually we found out that this was the worst experience one could get. They took 4k from us right at the outset as advance and after that they never ever bothered to make sure that we get the right service from the contracted persons. My sincere recommendation to all - NEVER ever sign up for any travel package from these guys and more importantly, one can get better rates and service from local - i mean from the destination place city/center, which you are visiting in this region. The shared taxi ride was not very comfortable and we found out from the other Bengali group in the Jeep we were travelling with that they were charged only Rs.100/person for the trip from NJP to Gangtok. The road to Gangtok was very scenic and along the Teesta river which also has a couple of hydroelectric projects being constructed. The greenish waters that come tumbling down at certain places have chiselled the rocky valley to lay a lot of rounded boulders and pebbles all along the edge of the river. Another interesting thing fo r the day was that the Taxi takes you to the Bus Stand ONLY and one has to again pay a hefty amount to take another local van to reach the final hotel destination. Ours was located near Burtuk helipad which is on the edge of the Gangtok city.

Day Three (31-Oct): We were awakened in the early morning by a rooster right below the Resort, I opened the window of the room to let the fresh cold air in and the view was very refreshing and energizing. We had signed up for the Sterling Food Masti package which is a great value for money option that includes a dinner and breakfast.

After a heavy breakfast, we had another conversation with the local contracted tour operator - a very friendly fellow - Tashi (+91-9434446827 / +91-9593976359) who then explained how these travel packages costed us more than what he could have offered us directly. Sen Travels had calculated this package with 2 vans citing that tourist rules in Gangtok would need us to take 2 cars for a group of 4 adults and 2 children. We actually took a single Maruti Van for the day long local sightseeing but unfortunately the advance part payment was all gone, anyways!!

En route to see the oldest Monastery- Rumtek, we stopped at a point for a hot cup of tea and a photo session adorning local wear. The recent quake in this area had done a lot of damage to the Buddha University building and repair works were underway. After we stopped at the Botanical Garden which has a vast range of mountain flowers and plants on display. Another interesting sight was a tinshed that had creepers on its roof with lot of pumpkins.

Our next stop was at Do Drul Chorten - a stupa built by the Tibetan Buddhism sect with a large golden top.

Next to it is the Namgyal Institute which houses a large collection of artifacts, masks, weapons and scriptures on Mahayan Buddhism and Tibetan culture. Next we stopped right opposite the Sikkim Legislative Assembly to see a point called Hurhuray Dara which shows the majestic valley and river below.
The Driver then took us to the Flower Museum which had a major variety of Orchids and then the tour operator dropped us near the Gangtok Ropeway.

The ropeway ride gives a clear picture of this unique city which is dispersed across the valley slopes and the peculiar architecture of old tibetan buildings interspersed with modern day commercial centers. We then made our way to the MG Road Mall Area. During the day we also discussed with Tashi and decided to extend our stay by one more day to see the Tsomgo Lake (which is a must see but was surprisingly not recommended by Sen Travels) the next day. Sterling Resorts Customer Care was reasonably efficient to take care of the changes to our resort bookings after a couple of calls to both the resorts and Chennai office. In order to see the Tsomgo Lake, one needs to get a tourist permit from the Sikkim Tourism Office located at the end of the MG Road - 2 passport photos and proof of identity are required for Indian citizens and additional copy of passport and Visa for foreign tourists. Tashi had organized for the pickup of these documents with a local boy and he took care of the procedure smoothly.

Day Four (1-Nov): The early morning was a bit colder than usual and we had heard that there was a lot of snowfall at Tsomgo Lake aka Changu Lake the day before. A sturdy and heavy car is preferred for this day long trip as it passes through rough and slippery roads, we went in a Tata Sumo. The road to Tsomgo Lake passes through rough patches and at one point there was a huge line up of all tourist vehicles where we had to wait for the security pass point to be cleared for about 30 min. We built a good rapport with the driver and came to know the reason. Every couple of days, there is a huge caravan of trucks that comes from China and stocks up pile of Parle G biscuits and snacks for their locals in exchange for winter jackets,hats and apparels. We also saw an Army post with soldiers dressed in White Jackets and eyeglasses in charge of manning Howitzer Guns. All the roads in this area are maintained by Border Roads Organization which works in harsh conditions to clear the roads of snow and watch out for sudden landslides.

It was a very refreshing site when we reached the destination. White capped mountains surrounded the serene Lake Tsomgo. Kids as well as Adults were having fun ride on the yak, an animal mostly seen only in Alphabet Learning Charts. We drove a little north to play in the snow and take in the beauty of this wonderful place from a vantage point.

We were lucky in terms of the timing since we encountered snowfall as soon as we started back and had to drive carefully in the reduced visibility. The Indo China border @ Nathula Pass is 5 km from this place, however, this is open to tourists only 3 days in a week (Mo/Th/Fr) so we did not have the option to visit this place.

Day Five (2-Nov): Even before the rooster, we were woken up early morning by the shrill voice of 2 new born sheep. Atharva and Tanvi has made good friendship with the staff who also took them for a quick visit to the new born lambs. We played a few games in the Clubhouse before our pickup van arrived. This was the day to leave this enchanting city which is also the home to Bhaichung Bhutia. The local government has built a state of the art football stadium here which we got a glimpse on the way out of the city.

We took the route from Gangtok to Darjeeling via Delo Hills, a scenic hilltop garden. This is a unique spot and must see on a trip to this area. There is a large variety of flowers in this garden and the fresh unpolluted air in this area leaves a refreshing memory of this place.

We stopped for a short bit in the village Kalimpong at the foothill. This place is known for the Lord Krishna Temple which has a vivid picture story of Lord Krishna's life. Another quick stop we had on the way to relish some chana dal was at a scenic point which is the confluence of Teesta river with one of it's tributaries- Rangeet River. We reached the Sterling Resort just outside the main city of Darjeeling late in the evening. It was cold and we were relieved to turn on the portable heaters placed in our rooms. As soon as we had checked in, there was a short bout of power failure and as luck would have it, the generators did not kick in. What came handy in this time was the small Swiss knife with a torch light that I carried throughout this trip.

The Sterling Food package in indeed good one with great value for money on a family trip of 6. I tried the fish fry and was impressed with the preparation.

Day Six (3-Nov): The morning breakfast too was very filling. We were greeted by this young driver (looked to be < 18 yrs of age) for our sightseeing trip in and around Darjeeling. He was the younger brother of the tour operator whom we had contracted with - Ashok. We first stopped at the Ghoom Monastery, a quaint place for worship. Manisha purchased a woollen stoll from the roadside vendor, looks like it was cheaper here than most of the other places. Our next stop was Batasia Loop, a garden memorial for the local Gorkha regiment troops who had a significant contribution for the Indian Army post Independence. The unique thing here is the 8-digit shaped narrow gauge track loop that rises about 1000 ft for the Darjeeling Toy Train. One has to book much earlier in advance for this picturesque train ride, else the touts mint lot of money selling these in black. The next stop was rock garden which has an array of cascading waterfalls flowing through a multi-level terrace garden. I and Atharva did a short rock climb at this place. The fresh water flowing from the valley rock edges into mini-waterfalls was very fresh and sweet here.



Next on our list was the Darjeeling Tea Garden. Based on our experience, I would suggest that you should buy only 1 or 2 small packets of tea as a souvenir here since the packed tea was not as tasty and aromatic as one would expect, alas, you realize this only after you come back home from such a trip.

The traditional dress photo parade was embraced with zeal by my family members and I took the honours of being the official photographer in this scenic tea garden estate. We then had a quick stop to look at the football stadium at the other end of the city where apparently Bhaichung Bhutia trained and got to the first level of stardom.

On our way back, myself and Atharva ventured into a rock rappelling session at the Tensing Norgay rock point, it was fun for Atharva and goosebumps for me !

Day Seven (4-Nov): The Tiger Hill which is nearby the Sterling Resort is a integral part of all tours to Darjeeling. One has to wake up at 3:30 AM in the morning and get ready for the 4AM pickup. The intent here is to get a glimpse of the Kanchenjunga Mountain Range from the top of this hill at sunrise. This day the target sunrise time was 5:20 AM and all the tourist cars hoard up to the parking spot to get as nearer to the top as possible. Tanvi was very excited but we had to cover her up with all possible gear since it was really cold and freezing in the morning.


As luck would have it, we did not get to see the mountain range due to the immense cloud cover and had to condole ourselves to a pack of 10 photos that show this mystic Himalayan range in its real grandeur and glory. We then returned back to the hotel and had a grand breakfast before checking out of the resort. We were happy with the hospitality at this location. We again had a hard time with this operator Ashok whose younger brother did not show up for the final pickup and we had to make many calls and negotiate again for the route and plan to reach back NJP via Nepal Border Pasupati Market and another stopover.

Eventually the person who took this last dropover to NJP - Gautam, turned out to be a good guy who made this last leg of the return to NJP a peaceful one. He voluntarily stopped at one particular point on the way which has a small pond at the top of the hill with lots of ducks. The kids took turns to chase and try feeding the ducks and enjoyed it a lot. Pasupati Market right across the border in Nepal is an absolute farce where people visit with the expectations of getting various things at much cheaper prices. However, 95% of the time, things sold here are either fake or duplicates (especially perfumes and other cosmetics). Given a choice, please avoid this place and save your time for other sojourns. The most common dish in this entire area is the Momos. My family relished the Veg Momos on the way at Lake Mirik. Eventually we reached New Jalpaiguri Station at around 6 PM. The kids and parent-in-laws stayed back at the Railway Station while myself and Manisha ventured out into the nearby Siliguri market. I could not resist buying an 8GB Transcend Flash Drive for Rs.150/-. As it turned out, the Flash Drive was a superb con job and though it fits well into the USB port, it simply does nothing else since there is nothing inside the body. As you may have guessed, I found this out only after returning back to Pune. So it was a good lesson learnt. However, this place is good for purchasing jackets and kids dresses. We boarded the Padatik Express late at night and had a good sleep in the overnight journey.

Day Eight (5-Nov): We arrived at the Sealdah Railway Station at around 7:30 AM and took a taxi to the Maharashtra Niwas where we had a quick refreshing bath and breakfast. We then took the Metro to Park Station and spend the next 4 hours at the historic Indian Museum which has a diverse collection of natural history courtesy of course the Britishers in the pre-Independence era. The Indian government too after inheriting this place have done a good job with maintaining it reasonably well. We then walked along the footpath upto the next Metro Station - Esplanade. This entire area is filled with merchandise vendors selling gift articles, clothes and toys. It is a good place to shop and all woman fraternity never miss such an opportunity to negotiate and strike deals and my wife is no exception. Finally we crossed over to the other side of this busy corner and entered K.C.Das - the famous sweetmeat pride of Kolkata for Rasagollas. We indulged in many varieties of this sweet cottage cheese delicacy. We had heard that there is a big flower market and so we traced our way using the private bus channel, crossed the Eden Garden stadium and reached Howrah. However, this place is very unhygienic and littered with the leftovers from the flower wholesale. I would recommend to avoid this bit and rather spend time around the Esplanade area. So we returned back to the main market place and spent more time shopping at a famous place for all kinds of footwear - Sree Leathers. Good quality shoes and footwear for all family folks, do plan time here.

Finally we traced our way back to Maharashtra Niwas for a good simple supper and relaxed for the night before boarding the early morning flight to Mumbai and then onwards to Pune to reach home sweet home after a very memorable vacation.

OrissaTrip2010

A rich heritage of medieval history, that takes us back across 3 dynasties from the eastern coast of the Indian Peninsula. Yes we are talking about the golden triangle in the state of Orissa comprising of Bhubaneswar, Puri and Konark. We planned this trip about 3 months back and we are extremely satisfied with our choice of the destination and the timing of the trip. Sterling Resorts has a made a came back in the level of service and resort upkeep in the last 2 years is what I realized from this experience. And we have been very glad of being able to utilize our timeshare from Sterling Resorts after a really long time.

So the principle is to first secure the timeshare resort booking and then plan everything else around it.

So here goes our story of this memorable trip –

Day 1 (11-Nov) – Pune to Bhubaneswar by train is a long drawn journey which takes 36 hrs and hence this option was ruled out at the outset. I must say that booking early helped get a really good deal with Indigo Airlines which had a return ticket for Rs.7K from Mumbai to Bhubaneswar via Hyderabad. So we took a Tavera from Pune to Mumbai domestic airport. The Mumbai domestic airport and its world class infrastructure makes one feel very proud as compared to its international counterpart. The free unlimited Wi-fi and complementary newspaper at the airport are valuable facilities at this place. We took the flight journey of only 3 hrs to cover about 1,364 km which includes a 45 min stop at HYD. On reaching the Bhubaneswar airport we took a Cool Cabs taxi to Hotel Venus Inn located in the heart of the city at Bapujinagar. We had made advance booking due to the holiday season. This hotel had a well known Veg restaurant and hence our evening dinner choice was easy. Do not expect much from his hotel but is sufficient for a short night stop over at a reasonable price.

Day2 (12-Nov) - We checked out of the hotel in the morning after a short South Indian breakfast termed as tiffin in most of South India. There are a lot of sweetmeat shops in this area known for a variety of sweets made with cottage cheese and jaggery.Channa Pol is a recommended sweet famous in this area. We had made an advance booking for a Tavera for our city sight seeing for the day followed by a drop in the evening to the Sterling Resort at Puri.

Our first stop was to see the Udaygiri Caves which date back to the 2^ndcentury BC made by King Kharavela of the Cheti Dynasty. There are about 36 caves and the caves give a nice view of the city from the top. Some shapes are very interesting and the various levels of these caves are well planned, some to house elephants as well and hence known as Hathigumpha. Bang opposite this is a temple of Lord Shiva atop the Khandagiri caves. Beware of guides who try to extract lot of moola which is not worth it. An elaborate story has been carved on a stone in English and Oriya (the local mother tongue) near the caves. After spending over an hour, we then headed out to reach 20 km north for our primary sightseeing destination of the day – The Nandan Kannan Zoological Park. I must say that this is probably the best comprehensive Zoo that houses a wide variety of wild life and fauna. Some of the highlights worth mentioning are White Tigers from North East India and Lions found in the Gir Forests of Gujarat. We were lucky to spot a tiger perched atop a tree and another one quenching his thirst in the water filled moat.

There is a section that houses various nocturnal animals like Barn Owls. as well as birds from different global geographies like colorful Macaws from South America and rarely seen Vultures from South East Asia. After completing a big walking loop of about 4 km, Tanvi and Aai were a bit tired. we decided to wait in queue for a Lion and White Tiger Safari. However this was disillusioning and there is only 1 tiger and pair of Lions that are far away that you get to see.

That too we could get a better sight due to the powerful binoculars that we carried and this is a must to carry on such trips. So I would not recommend this to others. Post that, we spent an elaborate hour in the Reptile Park which has vivid collection of pythons, cobras, vipers, other snakes, tortoises, crocodiles and other rare species of reptiles. There is a huge model of a dinosaur at the entrance as well. Further onwards, Atharva and Tanvi were treated to a small toy train ride which took us into the thick foliage where bright peacocks were perched. After a quick snack break, we all enjoyed time watching hordes of deer, sambar, rare “neel gai” (blue buffalo) and a colorful cassowary. The kids and even Aai-Baba were blessed by a small Baby Elephant about 4 months old and another little one was overjoyed to see so many visitors and started rolling over and nudging Atharva.

Beware of the groups of monkeys that roam freely all over the park’s walkways. They can snatch any type of food that is held in the hand and visible to them. There is a 3-D show just where you exit the park which is not worth recommending too. It was 5PM by the time we finished the zoo and after that we headed back south to Bhubaneswar and onwards 60 km south to reach the Sterling Resort at the southern tip of Puri. In fact the last path of 4-5 km leading upto this resort is a rough one and that is the only negative I see with this resort. However, this strategy seems to be adopted by many such timeshare resorts at tourist locations for various reasons. We stopped briefly in Bhubaneswar at the 1200 year old Lingaraj temple which has a big size “ling” stone carving that is bathed daily with huge quantities of milk and honey. It is worthwhile mentioning here that no cameras and footwear are allowed inside such and many other temples, hence as a rule of thumb we used to keep these in the car itself. We were greeted at the Sterling Resort with a warm smile, “teeka” on the forehead and a welcome drink. The rooms were spacious and each had an extra child bed and small kitchen set. We slept well after having a sumptuous candle light dinner on the resort lawns right off the Beach.

Day 3 (13-Nov) – We took it easy on this day and had a heavy and massive breakfast in the resort restaurant which had an array of continental, south and north Indian menus. Of course, we skipped lunch and headed out to see the famous Lord Jagannath (an avatar of Lord Krishna) Temple in downtown Puri. Though we had timed this holy site visit at an offpeak day and hour, we saw hordes of devotees squatting all over the place. There is a lot of security around as well as inside the temple. When it comes to such temples, there is one species of humans all tourists need to be aware of. These are the priests called as Pandas. They keep on pestering till you oblige to pay them some ransom with which they short circuit the crowded general entrance and take you near to the deity to get a better view for the “Darshan”. Many times these Pandas may not completely fulfill their promise and it feels a bit unethical to bribe such priests for a noble intention.

There is a Temple trust that also sells ticket for a better and closer view but that queue is also huge. Overall our experience was OK and I must say that the hygiene in the overall premises needs to be viewed with a pinch of salt. Also, it is advisable to leave the tiny tots in rotation with one of the elders. In our case, I stayed outside the temple with all the belongings and then Baba came out and I went inside till the rest waited at a designated place. Another thing is that mobile phones and cameras are strictly prohibited so you may keep them with you in case of emergency but do not venture taking them out unless you are lost and need help. One also finds groups of ISKCON devotees in and around the temple. Finally after we all regrouped outside the temple, we traced our steps back to the Sea Beach main road taking about 3 hrs along the way doing various kinds of shopping. In Puri, one has to hone his skills in bargaining since everything is priced at least twice, if not more, for tourists. Good bargaining however does pay off most of the times. Items like clothes, toys and collectible handicrafts are worth spending that time.

While my better half as well as my mother were engrossed in shopping till late evening, I and Baba opted to take the kids to the Beach front and I must say that I spent quality vacation time playing Frisbee with Atharva and Tanvi enjoyed running and in and out of the waves that caressed the shores while Baba was happy with his 3 or may be 5 cups of tea while watching over all of us. We concluded the day with a dinner parcel from one Hotel Suv Palace and took an Auto to the resort for Rs.120 for 4 kms ( and I must admit that this was cheap). We also booked a local cab for the next day to take us for a day long trip to the Chilka Lake which is about 60+ km to the SouthWest of Puri. This is cheaper than taking a cab + driver for the entire duration of your week long vacation trip.

Day 4 (14-Nov) – The kids were very happy with the indoor activities available in the resort. Atharva especially enjoyed playing Table Tennis with me and other guests while Tanvi was content with the roll of dice on a Horse Race table. The driver of the hired Cab (a brand new Indigo) – one Mr. Santosh was very kind and drove us safely through the rural hinterland to Lake Chilka.

Along the way we stopped at a point to admire the Red and White Lotus flowers in full bloom in a village marshy pond. The family boat ride for Lake Chilka costed Rs.1600 for a 3.5 hr trip. Atharva tried his hands at steering the speed motor boat and we enjoyed spotting the Dolphins in the vicinity as the boat made its way across the shallow lagoon waters.

After watching the dolphins, on the return path, we had a brief stop at the land mass where the lake meets the sea. Here we saw a fisherman taking out a fresh pearl from a sea shell. Our boatman showed us his skill in catching the red crabs that swarm this area and one of the shanties had live stock of a variety of crabs/prawns and fish that one can choose from to buy and cook fresh right over there. Finally we headed back and enjoyed a quick bite at the only decent restaurant near the Lake before heading back to our resort. We again picked up tasty Veg biryani and raita for dinner on the way. Since this was Children’s Day, the Resort Management had organized some party games in the Open Lawn Area where we got prize for the best dancers among the motley group that had formed. The resort manager – Mr. John and his team do a really good job in hospitality to all the guests.

Day 5 (15-Nov) – On this day, we had hired another cab through a local travels company to take us to the World Heritage site of the Sun Temple at Konark, which is about 35+ km to the North East of Puri. The drive itself is right along the coastline and is good clear road with cashew nut and date trees lining our path all the way upto Konark. All parking and entrance fees are topped up by these cab drivers so be a bit careful. The Konark temple is to be seen and admired only from the outside since the inside is all cemented and sealed out in the year 1903 by the British Governor of erstwhile Bengal.

This is a series of 5 temples built 800 yrs back in 12^th century by King Narasimha. Hence this and most of the temples in this entire area have giant statues of a Lion face on top of an elephant head called Gaja-simhas. The Konark temple history is very interesting and intriguing as well. The Sun temple (also called Ark over here) is probably the only such temple in India where the Sun deity was balanced in air using a strong magnet. However this strong magnet was destroyed and large precious diamonds from inside the temple were allegedly taken away by the Portuguese since the magnetic waves used to destroy the compasses of the passing ships and thereby damage and sink them in the shallow waters.

The temple edifice makes one think of the evolved culture as well as social life structure that prevailed in this time period. Various sculptures tell different things like the killing of Hiranyakashyapu by Narasimha (avatar of Vishnu), Chinese warriors, different dance postures, trade, marriages, court trials, battles and many sensuous and emotional figures. The main temple that is preserved is the chariot drawn by seven spirited horses on twelve beautifully carved wheels on each side of the chariot. The other beauty is that the line of temples all face exactly in a single line directed eastwards. So the wheels are also acting as a measure of the time based on the sundial principle. A Government appointed guide is a must for this place but be careful to not tip him more than what is recommended on their identification cards. While we were there, the president of Mauritius also visited the temple and the security guards immediately cordoned off small areas as he made his way through.

The sweet fresh water from a ground borewell in these premises was very refreshing and Atharva helped draw water for many tired visitors with glee. After spending about 4 hrs at this site, we did some shopping in the local market (cashew nuts are half the price as compared to Pune) after having a round of sweet coconut water.

After returning back to the resort we spent the evening at the Resort Beach front and then myself and Atharva took a dive in the swimming pool. After a sumptuous resort dinner on the garden lawns, we relaxed in the room watching cricket highlights of the ongoing 2^nd Test Match between India and New Zealand.

Day 6 (16-Nov) – Myself and Manisha treated ourselves to an Ayurvedic Spa massage at the resort. We had contracted an Auto rickshaw driver to take us to a nearby Golden Sand Beach which was inside a restricted Forest Area. We were expecting to see a Tortoise Farm here but some months back they had moved this Tortoise bredding ground to a far away area.

However we spent some time at the deserted beach and finally returned back to the Sea Beach front market area to do more shopping and then relaxed at the Beach front. Atharva made friends with a local seller who was off for the day and enjoyed playing Frisbee. Eventually he also displayed us his skills with the sand by making a face of a Orissa dancer which was very proportionate. Many beach visitors admired his creation. Atharva promised him to come back again some day to play more Frisbee since this was our last day at Puri.

Day 7 (17-Nov) – We had contracted Santosh, the same cab driver (Mobile No - 9937247364) to take us back to the Bhubaneswar airport and he arrived early morning at 6AM.

The Resort Staff bid us a warm farewell. The sun greeted us warmly from the beach as we left Puri. The Indigo flight back from Bhubaneswar was very comfortable and on time. Eventually we comcluded our trip by 5:30 PM when we reached back to Pune from the Mumbai domestic airport with an arranged Tavera Cab. Another well deserved vacation came to a happy and memorable end.