tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31924316064588671502024-03-28T16:54:20.403+05:30My "Earthly" Experiences“The core of man's spirit comes from new experiences.” - Christopher McCandlessNithinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14206006637861209373noreply@blogger.comBlogger174125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3192431606458867150.post-14766456008801012212018-09-30T18:28:00.000+05:302018-09-30T18:39:38.399+05:30Whitsunday Islands : The Great Barrier Reef<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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For so long I had studied about the Great Barrier reef in my school years, about it being the biggest natural wonder in the world. So that was my must-visit-place when in Australia. I actually had no idea about how big this was, until I did some internet research. This majestic nature wonder flanks majority of the Queensland coast starting from the Faser Island till the northern tip of Australia, beyond Cairns and Port Douglas. There are many convenient places to explore it such as Whitsunday Islands(Airlie Beach), Cairns, Port Douglas, Townsville, Mackay and we had shortlisted Whitsunday's just because of a great airline deal. Well there was one more reason, the Whitehaven beach, which is considered to be THE BEST Beach in Australia. How could one miss that.</div>
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Ours was a short 3 day trip. 1 day to explore the Great Barrier Reef and the other to explore the Whitehaven beach and the remainder to just relax. A short and simple trip :).<br />
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The trip to the Great Barrier is the most interesting part. Its a full day trip in a medium sized cruise ship leaving early in the morning and returning by nightfall. The Great Barrier reef is close to 3 hours of boat ride and we reach a temporary pontoon in the middle of nowhere. The Great Barrier Reef is something which can be appreciated by going under the water and not that much above it. But as soon as we reached, we could see the spectacular reefs with those crystal clear turquoise waters. There are many activities which are part of the package such as scuba diving, snorkeling, under water gallery, helicopter joy-ride etc which caters to various demographics and tastes. It is no wonder the reefs are famous world over for their marine life. But we can see the effects of global warming, more prominent here than anywhere else. The reefs have started to bleach and slowly the entire reef ecosystem might turn white and marine life would just die over the next few years. That's the sad part. But we still enjoyed a lot snorkeling and observing various marine life at close proximity. Food is also provided in the pontoon. Got a go pro camera just to capture underwater images, which was worth it :).</div>
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The next day we took a half day package of the Whithaven beach. This is on an island close to 1 hour from the mainland. We were dropped at the beach to enjoy the pristine beach to our hearts content.<br />
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Nithinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14206006637861209373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3192431606458867150.post-74547101939004231282018-09-06T09:28:00.004+05:302018-09-06T09:31:07.802+05:30Ski Trip To Snowy Mountains<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Snowy mountains is one of the nearest places to Sydney to experience snowfall. In fact snowy mountains and its surroundings are the only places in mainland Australia to experience consistent snowfall, consistent enough to engage in winter sports like Skiing, snowboarding etc. Snowy mountains covers the states of NSW and Victoria, and there are various Ski resorts to engage in such activities. On the NSW side there are 3 major Ski resorts. Perisher, Thredbo and Selwyn. The initial 2 cater to more professional demographic, whereas the later caters to a more family oriented , learner/amateur population.<br />
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We had been to Snowy mountains on 2 consecutive winters. The first one was to just experience snow, since my better half had never experienced it before. The second year we had timed it to experience snowfall and engage in some winter sports. As mentioned previously Perisher and Thredbo can get very crowded with people who are serious about skiing. So much that Perisher had run out of parking spots and the cops had setup a roadblock at the bottom of the mountain and asking people to take a U turn and go back and take the train. This was last year and we were not very specifically intending to visit Perisher, hence we went to the nearby Thredbo. This year based on that experience we decided to just visit Selwyn resort.<br />
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We had booked a cottage in the outskirts of Adaminaby. Though it rarely snows right up to this town, the night we stayed it snowed very heavily even in these regions. It was a scene straight out of a fairy tale, a wooden cottage in middle of nowhere and heavy snowfall outside. By morning everything was whitewashed, and we were still 35 kms away from the Selwyn Mountain Snow resort which is right up on a elevation. Hence we were expecting some good snow for skiing.<br />
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Reached the Snow resort driving through the snow filled roads and some scary 2 wheel drive moments. We had rented the ski equipment and also some lessons. The lessons were not at all helpful and the ski equipment weighed a ton, with very restricted movement possible. Not sure how people have them on and move for an entire day. And if you fall, its takes a great effort to get back to your feet, which believe me was more frequent than comfort for a newbie like me. At the end of the day, I didn't quite enjoy the concept of skiing, but I always wanted to try it atleast once. Will I ski again ??? Probably Not !!!!<br />
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Nithinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14206006637861209373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3192431606458867150.post-56966167384966063792018-06-04T17:42:00.003+05:302018-06-04T17:42:54.015+05:30Sydney : The Heart Of Australia<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Eventhough Sydney just a small drop in a big ocean named Australia, if just one city has to represent it, it would definitely be this city with its world famous tourist attractions and melting pot of cultures from around the world. Compared to the other Australian cities it might seem crowded, with its job opportunities and it being the financial capital of the ANZ region, but with so many things to visit and experience it is truly a world class city.<br />
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1. The Harbors<br />
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Touted as the best harbour in the entire world for its views, which includes the famous "hanger" bridge and the Opera house, which are the iconic symbols of Australia in their own right. A site to the spectacular vivid light festival during the long winter hours. Darling harbour is another harbour further inland. Not as dramatic as its cousin, the main harbour, but still spectacular.<br />
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2. The Beaches<br />
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There innumerable stunning beaches dotting this harbour city, which gives Sydney an upper hand when compared to the other Aussie cities. Sydney has Bondi, Manly and Coogee which are the famous ones, but there are innumerable small and secluded beaches one can find along the entire coastline. The coastal walk from Bondi to Coogee is not to be missed.<br />
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3. The National Parks<br />
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Sydney is literally surrounded by National parks in all directions. This is one of the main reason why the city is facing constraints in expanding and is doing so only towards west where there is some breathing space. There are infact close to 50 national parks and conservation areas inside the city and in its vicinity. Towards the north of the city there are likes of Kuringai and Lane Cove national parks. Towards the south one of the oldest, Royal National Park. On the east coast is the Sydney Harbour national park and towards the west the likes of Blue Mountain national park.<br />
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4. The Mountains<br />
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Just about 50 kms from the city central, acting like a huge boundary wall for this majestic city are the Blue Mountains. There is so much to do and see in the blue mountains. For the hardcore nature lovers there are innumerable walking tracks which range from anywhere from a couple of hours to a couple of days. The best walking track in my my experience is the National Pass trek which takes close to 2-3 hrs one and the double if returning on the same or other tracks. For the touristy kind there are places like the 3 sisters, Katoomba, Scenic world and so on.<br />
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5. The Buildings<br />
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The core part of any modern man made jungle are the concrete buildings, and Sydney has quite a few of very iconic buildings. The first obvious ones are the Harbor bridge and the Opera house. Other notable building include the very gothic and huge St Mary's cathedral and the iconic Sydney tower which gives 360 degrees brids eye view of the city.<br />
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6. The Museums<br />
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Some notable museums in Sydney include the Art Museum of NSW which has a free entry. This has an endless collections of art from the ages right from Indiginous art through to the Victorian era right upto the modern era. But frankly speaking museums in Sydney are a bit of a let down when compared to Melbourne, with the endless and colossal NGV museums. Probably Melbourne had to compensate in some way to their gloomy weather and keep their citizens happy :).<br />
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7. The Parks<br />
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With one of the most expensive real estate market in the world, it is no doubt that the green breathing areas within the city under tremendous pressure to hold their ground. Some of the famous green spaces within the city are the Hyde park, which includes the War memorial. Not as grand as its Melbourne counterpart though. The botanical gardens which is sandwiched between the Opera house and the sea. This area comes alive during the annual Vivid light festival conducted during the winter months.<br />
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Nithinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14206006637861209373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3192431606458867150.post-4570763897571116492018-05-15T09:04:00.000+05:302018-05-18T06:29:46.775+05:30Orange : In Search Of Fall Colours<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Australia is not really a land wherein one finds autumn colours in the wilderness. But thanks to the locals with majorly European heritage and fairly favourable climate, some of inner NSW towns have planted their own European gardens with a lot of trees which gets transformed into stunning colors of yellow, red and pink during the fall season. But even then these areas are limited. Some of the towns near to Sydney with some great autumn colors are Blackheath, Orange and so on.<br />
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Apart from the fall color, Orange is also famous for its vineyards and wine tasting. Nearby we have Abercrombie caves which was good. Also the Bathurst racing track, which is actually open to the public. Hence we had a go at this race track which snakes and climbs to Mount Panoroma and back to the base. It was pretty good experience driving a car on a race track for the first time in my life.<br />
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Nithinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14206006637861209373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3192431606458867150.post-68989484771277211342018-04-20T08:26:00.000+05:302018-04-20T17:31:45.008+05:30New Zealand : The Land of the Middle Earth<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Movies does inspire a lot of things we do aspire in our life. One such aspiration was to visit New Zealand, started on a small scale with the Bollywood movie Kaho Na Pyar Hai and went to giant proportions with the Lord of the Rings movie which showcased the land of the middle earth on a giant canvas. South island is the one which has all the spectacular lakes, mountains and nature's beauty. North island on the other hand has all the volcanic springs, glowworm caves and Maori culture. Hence making both the islands having their own distinct personality and not repetitive for a traveler. One piece of advice I would give to anyone visiting this nation would be to ditch the cities and head out to the wilderness.<br />
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We had a total of 11 days to explore this country. Close to 7 days on the South island and 3 on the North. We landed up in Christchurch, from where we headed south. There was nothing which caught our attention in Christchurch apart from the botanical gardens. We had expected some stunning fall colours, but we were early by atleast 2 weeks. The leaves had just started to change, but it was beautiful place to be. We stayed on the outskirts of the city, known literally as Lyttleton. This place is nearby to the Christchurch gondola, which is a good thing to do , to get stunning birds eye view of the entire city and surrounding bays. Infact it seemed like all the major cities of New Zealand had their own gondola. We rode the gondola in Christchurch and Queenstown.<br />
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Once we had finished the gondola and enjoyed the views it was time to head south towards the southern Alps. The first major stop was lake Tekapo. A stunning glacial lake with aqua-turquoise blue water. There is also a small church by the lake which provides a great backdrop for photography enthusiasts. After Lake Tekapo comes Lake Pukaki on our way to Mt Cook village. This lake is equally stunning as Tekapo if not better. It is very tempting to stop at each of the lookouts to enjoy and absorb the view. The route to Mt Cook village runs the entire length of Lake Pukaki, with the backdrop of snow-caped Mt Cook completing the picture perfection. Mt Cook is the tallest mountain in New Zealand, standing at 3724m. Spending the night at the foot hills of Mt Cook was just a page out of fairy tale book. This region is also one of the most remote areas in NZ, hence making it a perfect place to watch some star studded night sky. Infact the region around Lake Tekapo and Mt Cook village are part of the International Dark Sky reserve because of very little light pollution. Unfortunately the moon played spoilsport with it being an almost full moon.<br />
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We initially planned to go on a chopper ride, to take in birds eye view of the mountainous area, but unfortunately due to heavy winds all the rides for the day were cancelled. Hence we decided to go for very highly recommended Hooker Valley Hike, which starts around a km from the village and traverses much further into the wilderness providing some great vistas of the snowcapped mountains and glaciers. The final point of the trek is the Hooker lake and the glacier. The total distance walked was around 12km and took us close to 4.5 hrs at our pace. The next stop for the day was Lake Hawea nearby Wanaka. New Zealand can easily be called as the land of the lakes with numerous lakes dotting the landscape, but having their own distinct character making it not monotonous.<br />
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The next day it was raining very heavily. Hence in order to get out of the rain we ended up in a place known as Puzzle World, where we spent couple of hours. It was an average place, with nothing too spectacular. With the rain clearing, lake Wanaka was stunning to say the least. The next stop of the day was Te Anau, via Arrowtown and Lake Hayes. Arrowtown is famous for its fall colors, but we were early again by atleast 3 weeks. Te Anau is a very peaceful town and a good stopover for people visiting the stunning Milford Sounds. Since we were on a self driving trip, the fuel prices started to climb as a moved away from Christchurch. One of the cheapest places for fuel is NPD fuel stations in the South Island which are totally self serve and payment fuel stations. It is advertised everywhere, that Te Anau is the last fuel stop for anyone moving to Milford Sound, a good 120km single direction. But we found a couple of smaller fuel stations enroute , with one in Milford Sound itself.<br />
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From Te Anau we left early in the morning for the day trip to Milford Sound. The enroute was just spectacular. Stunning steep mountains in all the directions due to ancient glacial movement. It was scene straight out of Pandora from Avatar movie. It had rained the previous day, hence we were to witness a gazillion small and not so small water falls from the mountains. The Milford Sound was made accessable to the outside world with a road built in year 1952, with a single lane 1.3km tunnel bored into the mountain. This tunnel still retains its 1950s rustic look with its uneven walls from handcrafted tools of that era. A cruise in Milford sound is a must do activity. Our cruise took us on a 2.5hr ride across the area, giving some fantabulous views of region, taking us through waterfalls, under it, beside it and what not. Milford sound is without doubt one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to. Apart from the cruise we visited other places such as The Chasm, which has top view of a rapid falls falling from great heights, the mirror lake and Lake Gunn nature walking trail.<br />
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After Milford sound the only place in South Island remaining in our itinerary was the adventure capital of the world, "Queenstown". Queenstown is a very picturesome town on the banks of Lake Wakatipu and flanked by the mightly remarkables. We went for gondola ride which provides some great birds eye views of the town, lugging with a view, kayaking in the lake, jet boating, ice bar and so on. Also we went on a drive to Glenorchy, the landscape of which is used in a lot of scenes of the LOTR movies. Apart from adventure we also had some lip smacking food in Queenstown. The first in the list was the Fergburger place, which is famous as the best burger in all of NZ if not the world. We even had a vegetarian option in the form of "Bun Laden", which was just out of the world, after waiting for it in a queue for a while. Another mention would be the Taj Indian Kitchen, which dishes out boutique Indian cuisine.<br />
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With Queenstown we had come to an end of the South Island trip and we took a flight to Auckland. As soon as we landed in Auckland we moved towards Rotorua, which is famous for its thermal springs and Maori culture. We booked an afternoon session at Whakarewarawa Maori village. This is an actual maori village wherein they conduct cultural programs and take tourists on a guided tour across the village illustrating their lifestyle and how they have adapted living in an environment filled with hot thermal springs. The most interesting part would be how they cook their food in the thermal springs. It was a very different experience with steam emerging from land across the village like some alien land.<br />
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The next day we visited Wai O Tapu thermal land which is famous for its natural colour studded pools. In Rotorua it is very common to get a whiff of sulphur in the air, which smells like sewage water or rotten eggs. But this place was pretty interesting to explore. From here we visited lake Taopo and Huka falls which is a massive falls in terms of water flow. And one cannot visit Rotorua and not visit one of the thermal spas. We visited one of the most visited and highly rated, the Polynesian Spa on the banks of Lake Rotorua. But be prepared for the cultural shock of people moving around completely naked in the changing rooms, unlike in the subcontinent or even in Australia. We took the option of a private room and the thermal waters was very relaxing to say the least.<br />
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The next day on our way back to Auckland we visited the famous Waitamo Glowworm caves. It had a 45 mins guided tour into the caves and frankly even though the glow worms inside the cave were well preserved and stunning, the actual time viewing these glowworms was hardly 10 mins. But still it was worth it. After the caves we visited the Hamilton Gardens which is considered one of the best in the world and it lived to its expectations. This garden is divided into various themes such as Mughal Indian Garden, Japanese, Chinese, Tudor, Italian, Maori and list goes go on. Each of them were very good.<br />
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Having experienced all these places, Auckland seemed a tad bit dull. We visited the harbor, which was nothing compared to the Sydney Harbor and finally the One tree hill, which is a volcanic cone dotting around the city providing some great views of the city. One can either walk or drive right up to the top. This was the last place we visited before our trip back home. In total we spent close to 11 days exploring this country and we were so impressed with it , that we decided that we would be back to explore more. No wonder NZ is the favorite holiday destination for an Aussie traveler.<br />
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Nithinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14206006637861209373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3192431606458867150.post-42556270117363020432017-08-26T19:20:00.002+05:302017-08-26T19:20:17.430+05:30The Great Whale Migration<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Whale watching is one of the more popular attractions for tourists in Australia especially during the winter months. Unlike the likes of Sea World where one would see trained sea animals confined within a small pool, here you can watch completely wild whales on their great migration from freezing Antarctic waters to the warm cozy waters of the Great Barrier reef . These apparently they do every year and by the end of the winter head back to their rich feeding grounds in the Antarctic ocean. There are various species of the whales undertaking this journey, but the most easily spotted ones are the the humpback whales, which also travel closer to the coastline, making it easier to spot. Even though technically not as big as the blue whales (which are rarely spotted along the coast), the humpback whales are majestic in their own right.<br />
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From Sydney, there are various tours offering whale watching cruises which last from anywhere for a couple of hours to full day. The best season to encounter these beautiful creatures is in the end of June and beginning of July with maximum sightings during this period. Hence we planned our trip to coincide with this period and we were not disappointed.<br />
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We took the morning trip starting from Circular Quay and we entered the open water , which was the highway for these creatures. Within 10 minutes we started to get sightings. Whales breaching water and diving back into water is one of the most beautiful things to watch in the wild. They do this in order to get rid of the parasites in their skin which are removed due to the impact of water. The impact sound on the other hand is heard by other whales kilometers away and used also as a mating signal.<br />
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The first encounter was exciting , but with so many sightings with nearly 100+ breaches by the end of our 2 hr trip we were a bit saturated, but found ourselves lucky at the same time, since some cruises dont even encounter even a single whale , leave alone a breach. Overall a very satisfied customer !!! ;)<br />
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Nithinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14206006637861209373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3192431606458867150.post-14301200665437222372017-07-21T19:28:00.002+05:302017-07-21T19:28:52.812+05:30Fraser Island : Worlds Largest Sand Island<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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There are 3 biggest sand islands along the Queensland coast and all of them are at a drivable distance from the city of Brisbane. Frazer island is one of those remote islands and is preserved beautifully as a world heritage site. The access to these islands are via ferries from places like Harvey Bay and Rainbow beach. There are no proper roads within these islands and all the vehicles have to either use the inland bumpy roads or the wide sandy beaches for moving around the island based on the tidal activity of the ocean. Hence that means obviously only 4x4 vehicles are allowed into this island.<br />
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Since our car is a normal sedan, only option was to either hire a vehicle or go through a guided tour. We decided to do the later and our tour bus picked us early in the morning from a spot in Sunshine coast. There are various tour packages lasting for days together based on one's interest and we decided to go for a single day tour. Our means of transport was a refurbished 4x4 vehicle, used previously by Australian armed forces. Hence it was fairly comfortable journey in-spite of the road conditions. <br />
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We crossed the sea in a ferry and landed up in Frazer island. Initially our vehicle zoomed through the beaches crossing various fresh water rivulets draining to the ocean. These rivulets had crystal clear water and is prime source of drinking water in the island. First stop was the Central station, which used to be the heart of the island during the days when they were logging in the island for timber. That is something unique about Australian cities or town, where there would be a place known as central. Currently abandoned after this island has become a conservation zone to protect its unique flora and fauna. This is one of those unique islands wherein rain-forest has adapted itself to grow on sand. Interesting.<br />
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The seventy five mile beach is the artery of transport into the island. It forms one of the longest beaches in the world running close to 120 kms. It also acts as a runway for small planes flying into the island. So much so that they even have a speed limit boards running along the beach. One can cruise in their 4x4 vehicles, with shark infested ocean on one side, rainforest filled sand dunes on the other and endless beach track ahead. A perfect driving experience.<br />
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Frazer island is also known for wild dingo population. Dingo is nothing but wild dogs and it was a bit odd for us to seek the dingos when we had seen millions of Indian street dogs back home, which look exactly the same. The highlight of the trip was a visit to Lake Mckenzie. We visited this island in the middle of the day, when we had a clear sky. Since we had visited on a working weekday, it was practically empty. The lake is easily the most pristine water body I have ever seen, with it gleaming under the afternoon sun under various shades of soothing blue. The initial shallow part of the lake is completely transparent and as the depth increases so does the shade of blue. Apart from this lake there are countless other lakes in the island which are formed due of collection of water between the sand dunes over the period of time. The sand bed also acts as a natural filter and hence we have crystal clear waters. We played to our hearts content in the mineral rich water. <br />
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After lunch we went for a walk along the Eli Creek. This creek with again crystal clear water was used by aboriginal tribes as a meeting place strictly for the women folk. Since the aboriginals had already got enlightened with the mineral rich properties of the water of this creek, they used it as a spot for child births, which is similiar to the latest trend of water birth in the western world. The walk along the Eli Creek and the rainforest took us close to half an hour at a leisure pace and was very enjoyable.<br />
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Finally it was time to return back. We took the ferry back to Rainbow beach and enjoyed its namesake under the glow of the setting sun. It was also a pretty sight to watch. Hence one more world heritage site is struck off my list.<br />
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Nithinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14206006637861209373noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3192431606458867150.post-75367926997421043722017-07-07T10:26:00.000+05:302017-07-07T10:34:23.501+05:30Gold Coast : The Vacation Capital Of Oz<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Gold Coast is indeed the vacation capital of Australia. It has one of the highest number of theme parks and other tourism based attractions in Australia, which is unusual for a town which is just 1/10 the size of cities like Sydney and Melbourne. The best attraction of Gold Coast is definitely the endless golden beaches. Listed below are some of the attractions we had interest in and visited. Apart from these there countless number of other theme parks like Dreamworld, Seaworld, Wet N Wild, Whitewater world and so on. The best deals for these theme parks can be obtained from websites such as <a href="https://www.experienceoz.com.au/en/gold-coast/theme-parks" target="_blank">experienceoz</a>.<br />
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1. Q1 : Skywalk<br />
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Q1 building is the tallest building in Australia and also in the southern hemisphere. The design is inspired from the 2000 Sydney Olympics torch. Even though there is an observation deck from where one gets great views of the Gold Coast area, we decided to do something more adventurous, opting for the Skypoint climb , which involves climbing outside the building to the topmost point of the spire, getting an even better view and just a harness for safety. Skypoint ticket also includes a free ticket to the observation deck, hence this made more sense to us. After providing a brief with all the equipment such as harness, jumpsuits etc we entered the exterior of the building from where one has to climb close to 50 steps to reach the pinnacle. It was not as scary as I imagined it would be. But the views were great from here. We were provided with a complimentary cap and a group photo. Individual photos are extra.<br />
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2. Movie World<br />
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Supposed to be one of the best theme parks in Australia wherein we enjoyed a lot of rides related to the movies produced by the Warner Bros Studios like the Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Bugs Bunny, Road Runner etc. But to be frank this theme park was not as spectacular as the Universal Studios which we have been to. However having said that it is still a very enjoyable place. We went through some scary rides like Superman, Green Lantern and Arkham Asylum. There are a lot of road shows happening which involved a lot of comic and cartoon characters. There is also a kiddy zone especially targeted towards children. There is also an indoor Scooby Doo roller coaster which aims to be spooky. The best show however is the Hollywood Stunt Driver show which involves a lot of live car stunts performed by the stuntmen. Since we went on a normal weekday, there was minimal queues for all the rides.<br />
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3. Coolangatta Beach<br />
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Apart from the famous Surfer Paradise beach right in the heart of the Gold Coast, there is another beach around 20kms south of the town known as Coolangatta. This is an absolutely gorgeous beach and we enjoyed our time playing in the water and watching a glorious sunset. Not at all crowded and good place to relax and unwind. One can also see the Gold Coast CBD across the water rising like a distant fairyland.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzzeOUozDYAEFqLB2Bnro7ifSEN-h96wNr9e6Gg1wSwqwP8NhTgVcXDCuUkvtP6xoMXUccmgMgjszGquFGxhCxGMPjhc8TNAgvSxkjE2TT4kwIJ3j46cxRLZFRQtLbXKnFLt-Y0zanjZ8/s1600/20170521_164118.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCWmftcLPrfzIGYZZ33D4_fjDG_5J1KeDVg0pl2Twv6INAmf0djlSzgKIT9mfCnYCYebGw_S8BrSUb7w9znRJfK96nUGTcgvaG2qknCrIOUfFKisqE9-IqXARmpo98slBpYofhmvqYZS4/s1600/20170521_164350.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCWmftcLPrfzIGYZZ33D4_fjDG_5J1KeDVg0pl2Twv6INAmf0djlSzgKIT9mfCnYCYebGw_S8BrSUb7w9znRJfK96nUGTcgvaG2qknCrIOUfFKisqE9-IqXARmpo98slBpYofhmvqYZS4/s400/20170521_164350.jpg" width="400" /></a><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzzeOUozDYAEFqLB2Bnro7ifSEN-h96wNr9e6Gg1wSwqwP8NhTgVcXDCuUkvtP6xoMXUccmgMgjszGquFGxhCxGMPjhc8TNAgvSxkjE2TT4kwIJ3j46cxRLZFRQtLbXKnFLt-Y0zanjZ8/s400/20170521_164118.jpg" width="400" /><br />
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Nithinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14206006637861209373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3192431606458867150.post-38048334576049155052017-06-30T18:03:00.000+05:302017-06-30T18:03:23.797+05:30Noosa National Park<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Noosa is one of the more popular beach vacation towns in the south east region of Queensland, and we learned that the hard way during a visit on an extended weekend. We visited this place on the Good Friday weekend, and boy this place was crowded with no parking spots available anywhere. In the end after roaming for close to an hour trying to find a parking spot, we did park in a place but did end up with a fine :P.<br />
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The best spot in Noosa is definitely exploring the walking trails of the Noosa National Park, which runs along the coastline providing some awe inspiring views. There are multiple trails running through the national park (map <a href="https://www.npsr.qld.gov.au/parks/noosa/pdf/noosa-headland-map.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>). We decided to take the much popular coastal track upto Hells Gate and return back via some shortcut. The day was perfect with mild temperature and sunny day, making it an enjoyable day for walking. The water right from the Noosa Heads was glistening under the sunshine in turquoise blue colour. Our plan was to walk around 5 km return.<br />
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The initial park of the walk is close to sea level, but slowly the elevation increases with the highest point being near the Hells Gate. The views on the other hand are spectacular and the best views again at Hells Gate, which gives a birds eye view of the Alexandria Bay. Apart from the views it was quite windy. Probably this would be a great lookout point for whale watching during the migration period. We then returned back and it took us close to 2.5 hrs for the entire walk.<br />
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Once we returned back from the walk we went to Laguna Lookout point which gives a birds eye view of the entire Noosa Heads area and the river. Spent time relaxing here and had our lunch. This spot was sparsely frequented by tourists.<br />
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The finale for our trip was to enjoy the waters of the Noosa Main beach. Luck finally smiled on us and we got a parking spot easily when we were at the right place at the right time. Others waiting along with us where not so lucky :P. We enjoyed the waters of the main beach, eventhough the waves were quite rough.<br />
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Nithinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14206006637861209373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3192431606458867150.post-16434746833034518452017-06-27T10:10:00.000+05:302017-06-28T08:27:46.117+05:30Bushwalking in Mt Glorious<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Mt Glorious is one of the nearest rainforest bushwalking tracks from the city of Brisbane, with it just being 40 kms from the city centre and a perfect getaway on an unplanned weekend. We had visited this area just the week after the cyclone Debbie had hit the Queensland coast and we could see a lot of damage on the road upto the Maiala Picnic area from where the track starts and also on the bushwalking track itself with lots of tree debris strewn across it, making it a bit of an obstacle race :).<br />
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Maiala Picnic area has plenty of parking spots and the drive upto this place is quite picture-some. This spot is a perfect spot to spend an afternoon with family and friends even if one is not interested to go bushwalking. Also from this place the Greene falls circuit starts , which is a 4.3km easy grade walk with not so difficult gradients. We took an hour of walking at a leisure pace to reach the falls and enjoyed it. The Greene falls is a decent sized waterfalls, nothing spectacular , but still good in its own right.<br />
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Once back from the walk we had our lunch and relaxed by the grasslands of the picnic area. The next stop was the Wivenhoe Dam which is the source of drinking water for the city of Brisbane. Enroute to this place we also came across a lookout area up in the hills having a birds eye view of the entire Wivenhoe dam catchment area. We went upto the dam and to one of the visitor centers. From here one can get into water and enjoy the pristine water of the dam. Overall a great place to visit on an unplanned weekend.<br />
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Nithinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14206006637861209373noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3192431606458867150.post-5193973189329565772017-06-03T18:47:00.001+05:302017-06-27T10:11:29.868+05:30Springbrook National park<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Springbrook is the one of the most well known part of the ancient Gondavana rainforest and listed as a world heritage site. In this forest the route through the hinterland of the Gold Coast is the most enjoyable part of the journey.<br />
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Our first stop was the Purling Brook falls. The viewpoint for this falls is just a few 100 metres from the parking area. We parked our car and went to the viewing platform saw the falls dropping into a deep canyon. There is even a 4km walking circuit which goes all the way to the bottom of the falls and is considered a bit strenuous. Since the amount of water was less, it was not attractive enough for us to go all the way down to the base of the falls. This falls would definitely look majestic soon after heavy rains.<br />
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Near the falls are 2 lookout points. The first is the Canyon lookout which is just off the road and gives great views of the city of Gold Coast. The lookout is literally named as "The Best Of All Lookouts" and requires a 10 min walk from the parking area. This route takes one through some ancient forest and also one comes across ancient Antarctic Beech trees along the way. The best of all lookouts looks into the state of New South Wales and lives up to its namesake.<br />
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The next stop was the natural bridge, wherein the water falls through a natural hole having an awesome cavelike setting. This natural cave is also home to glowworms and certain guided tours are conducted after sunset. There is a walking track which took us first inside the cave , then above it from where one can see the water entering the hole and then back. It was a very good place to explore.<br />
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On our way back we stopped at Hinze Dam, which is the source of water for the city of Gold Coast and a pleasant place to visit. One can literally walk for miles on the embankment with water and greenery on one side. There are even some barbeque and play areas. After this it was time to return back home. </div>
Nithinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14206006637861209373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3192431606458867150.post-57332061014911985372017-04-14T19:10:00.001+05:302017-04-14T19:16:22.292+05:30Byron Bay : The Easternmost Point Of Australia<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Australia is the land where the sun rises much earlier than majority of the civilized world and that makes it distinctive. But alas that was not enough for us. We wanted to visit the place where the sun comes up first, than the rest of the Australian landmass. The beautiful Byron Bay is the answer to it, the easternmost point of Australia. Byron Bay is around 160km from Brisbane on the Pacific Highway and beyond Gold Coast and in the state of New South Wales.<br />
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Since we wanted to catch the sunrise, we decided to drive to this place the previous day itself and camp for the night. It is illegal for one to camp unless in designated camping parks, where one is provided with site for camping, toilets, garbage bins etc to make it more eco friendly. Since we were visiting on a long weekend we could get one in Byron Holiday Park, which was decent enough, but not the best. Once we had settled and pitched our tents, we decided to visit the Tallows beach in the backyard of this holiday park. It is a good 2km walk from the park, taking us through some picture-some backwaters and grasslands. The Tallows beach on the other hand was huge and simply beautiful, with the Byron Bay lighthouse in the left end of the long beach.<br />
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The next day we got up early before sunrise and drove all the way to the Cape Byron Lighthouse, which is the best place to catch the first rays of the sun. But unfortunately many other tourists too had the same idea and with very limited parking space near the top, it took us some time to find a spot, much further down the hill and walk all the way back. We were just in time to catch the views. The sky was not clear, but still we got some good views. Once the sun rose we explored the Lighthouse trail which starts from the Light house, hugging the coastline, giving some awesome views of the coast and the endless ocean.<br />
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After checking out from our camping site, we decided to visit the main beach of Byron Bay, which was buzzing with activity. We enjoyed in the crystal clear waters of this beach, along with a large number of others who were there to enjoyed the pristine water even though we found a large number of mildly lethal blue bottle jellyfish carcasses washing ashore. After spending close to 2 hours in the water, we decided to explore the hinterland. We had lunch in a local Indian restaurant (Bombay to Byron) which was average, even after having such a unique and interesting name.<br />
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The two places we had decided to visit in the hinterland were the Minyon falls and the Rocky creek dam. The Minyon falls is around 35kms from the town, but the last 3-4 kms of the road leading to the falls is bad, unpaved and bumpy. Eventhough our sedan could take this road, it was a surprise coming across such a thing leading to a popular tourist attraction. Despite the roads being disappointing, the water falls was not. The cliff through which the water takes a plunge is very steep and easily gives one an episode of vertigo. According to my estimate it was easily a 150m fall, with near vertical mountain walls flanking it. I presume it might be a mecca for rock climbers.<br />
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From the falls we moved towards the Rocky Creek Dam which is another 20kms. This dam supplies water to the town of Byron Bay. There are a lot of trails along backwaters of this dam. We spent some time exploring this area and then it was time to return back to our base. <br />
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Nithinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14206006637861209373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3192431606458867150.post-13772998900879734652017-04-09T18:49:00.004+05:302017-04-09T18:49:50.794+05:30Lamington National Park<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Lamington is one of the lesser known national parks in the Gold Coast hinterland, especially in comparison to its well known siblings such as Springbrook and Tamborine national parks. The infrastructure here are a tad lesser than the surrounding parks, which infact adds to the charm of the place, making it more in sync with the wilderness. This park has a narrow one lane road through the forest and very limited parking spots for those interested to explore this area. But that was exactly what made the drive through the rain-forest simply mind-blowing.<br />
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We had decided to explore 2 bushwalking trails. One which explores the Moran falls and the other which leads to the view from the Python rock. To reach the starting point of these trails one has to start towards O'Reilly's Rainforest Retreat, which is a resort in the middle of this rainforest. Just before one reaches this resort there is a small parking lot which signifies the start of both the trails. The left trail leads towards the falls and the one leading to the right leads towards the view point.<br />
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We decided to explore the falls trail first, which is 4.4km return and goes through some decent elevation. Initially one gets the frontal view point of the falls and trail further leads to the top of the falls and also giving some good views of the valley forged by its water. Moran falls was with decent amount of water, testament to the recent rains which had lashed these regions. But there is no opportunity to get into the water either on the top or at the foot of the falls.<br />
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We returned back after taking close to 2 hrs and then we moved on towards the Python Rock trail. The return distance of 3.1km to the Python Rock goes through fairly flat terrain and can be completed in an hour. The views we got from this point was simply mindblowing especially of the rain laden clouds condensing over the nearby mountain ranges. Overall the hinterland regions of Gold Coast are a good place to visit especially in the peak summer, when the temperatures here are atleast 5-6 degrees cooler than the plains.<br />
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Nithinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14206006637861209373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3192431606458867150.post-5397573902344198562017-03-31T19:57:00.002+05:302017-03-31T19:57:56.997+05:30Bribie Island and Glasshouse Mountains<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The best known thing about Australia are definitely its beautiful beaches, and each beach has its own unique characteristic. The beaches of Bribie island are the nearest to the Brisbane City apart from the ones in Gold Coast. Before visiting the Bribie Island we decided to take a detour to the Glasshouse mountains to do a bit of bush-walking before heading back to the beach.<br />
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A unique observation I found after visiting the Glasshouse mountains is that the bushwalking circuits to the North of Brisbane are semi-arid in nature in comparison to the rainforest areas south of it. Hence it was in complete contrast to the bush walking circuits we had explored in the scenic rim. The Glasshouse mountain circuit route is small and provides some great views of the surrounding volcanic plug mountains which had been active millions of years back.<br />
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After exploring the views around the Glasshouse mountains we moved towards Bribie island. Bribie island is the only island off Bribane coast to be connected to the mainland by a bridge. It is a very scenic and unique place. The part of the sea in between the island and the mainland is devoid of any waves and is a perfect spot for activities such as kayaking, seaboarding etc. We decided to kayak and it was a great experience to do so. Since the water is calmer, it is more prone to be infested by jelly fishes. And we found a lot of them washed to shore, ofcourse those washed were the least deadly of them, the blue blubber jelly fishes. Since we wanted to avoid that in the process of getting into water, we decided to go towards the main beach of the island, which is facing away from the main land and known as Woorim Beach.<br />
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In order to access this beach, one has to cross the entire island and reach the other part. The beach was really beautiful and we enjoyed a lot playing in it. However the facilities provided here left a bit to be desired, very unlike the facilities usually provided in other tourist frequented beaches.<br />
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Nithinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14206006637861209373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3192431606458867150.post-79202252271982522972017-03-28T19:56:00.000+05:302017-04-09T18:12:45.508+05:30Mt Tamborine National Park<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Gold Coast is considered to be the best beach vacation destination in Australia, with a abundance of theme parks, night life, beach culture and warm weather.But on this particular trip we concentrated on the rain-forest hinterland of the Gold Coast known as Mt Tamborine, which is part of scenic rim rainforests also comprising Lamington and Springbrook National park. The weather was great with an overcast sky and cool weather. Infact the weather in the hinterland regions would be atleast 3-4 degrees cooler than the coast, and would definitely would be good place to hang out especially on a hot summer day.<br />
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The first place of interest we visited in Mt Tamborine National park was the <a href="http://rainforestskywalk.com.au/" target="_blank">forest walk</a>. There is a certain elevated route bridge on suspension taking one along the canopy of the rainforest, giving a different perspective. Apart from the sheer height of the platform which is around 100ft from the forest floor, the novelty of this attraction soon wears off and you question whether it was worth $19.50 entry fee. And the entire thing is over within half an hour at max.<br />
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The next stop was the Glow worm caves. The Glow worm caves of New Zealand are known across the world , but before coming to this place never knew that Glow worm caves exist in Australia too. Well to be fair, the Glow Worm Caves of Mt Tamborine is man made and the conditions are controlled to make the environment favorable for these tiny creatures. The entry fee of $12 is quite reasonable and based on the availability one is assigned batches which depart at regular intervals. The entire park is in a picture-some setting. Once we reached our designated starting point , we were taken into a cave, wherein we were given an initial information session detailing the life of the glow worms. Once that is done, which also helps the eyes get used to the dark, since the video is shown in a near dark room , we are let into the man made cave teaming with glow worms. And it was just beautiful inside with thousands of glow worms , like millions of stars lighting the night sky. These glow worms require their atmosphere to be quite moist and humid.The reason these glow worms do what they are famous for is to quite simply attract their food, which is primarily flies and bugs which have a tendency to get attracted towards light. These worms have a single string with multiple saliva bubbles suspended which refracts light from their body to give that twinkling effect. Quite magical indeed. Would be really interesting to see them in their natural environment.<br />
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The final stop within this national forest was the Cover Creak falls. Unfortunately there was not much water flow in this falls, and it was more like a trickle. It is generally advised to visit the falls in the hinterland a day or two after heavy rains to see them in full flow. Having covered the major places of this national park we decided to end our trip by enjoying the beautiful Surfer Paradise beach, which is the commercial heart of Gold Coast.</div>
Nithinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14206006637861209373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3192431606458867150.post-36739760774653089172017-03-07T19:22:00.001+05:302017-07-10T06:15:54.390+05:30Brisbane : The heart of the Sunshine State<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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After our initial pitstop in Melbourne , it was time to move towards a more permanent home i.e. Brisbane. Australia as a whole is known all over as a laid back country and when we moved to a place which was even more laid back than Melbourne, it definitely took some time to get used to. In an Indian context, if Sydney is comparable to Mumbai, Melbourne to Bangalore , then Brisbane is often compared to Mysore, a city having its own charm and not exactly in a rat race , taking life as it comes. The tag of laid back doesn't infer in any negative sense. Brisbane has some of best infrastructure in the world, great outdoor places to visit in its surrounding including the Great Barrier reef and the UNESCO world heritage rain-forests and last but not the least the party capital of Australia , the Gold Coast just an hour drive from here. Even though there are very few tourist attractions within the city that would be considered great, I would still try to list a few worthy of mentioning in this blog.<br />
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The best way to enjoy the city would be to head towards South Bank and then take a free for tourists ferry known as Cityhopper (with bright red highlights unlike the blue ones for the CityCats) that snakes along the mighty Brisbane river giving some great views of the skyscrapers and the iconic Story bridge. South bank is another place to hang out on a weekend. It has got a pool and the a artificial beach accessible for free to the public !!! Why an artificial beach you ask, well it is because the nearest beach is a good 30 kms from the city, so they build a artificial one for those who cant go there regularly. Also a great place to catch some jaw-dropping pyrotechnics on new year's eve and Australia day.<br />
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The other interesting places to visit in the city centre include the heritage structures in the King George square and the shopping precincts in the surrounding areas. There is queen street which is the shoppers paradise. You can expect some sort of weekend markets in these areas wherein hundreds of people would be selling their used products at dirt cheap price. Kinda like a giant garage sale. <br />
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The nearest park or zoo within the city to experience local wildlife of Queensland is the Lone Pine Koala Santuary. Its not like extensive place, but has a pretty open concept for interaction with the local wildlife like koala bears, kangaroos and so on. They even have a barn where the sheep dogs have their own show, which was the best part. Overall an ok place especially for small kids who would have never have any interaction with any wildlife elsewhere.<br />
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And finally the best place to view the entire city from a completely different perspective would be from the lookout from Mount Cootha. Its best to visit this place just before sunset and enjoy both the day and night views. We went to this place on the occasion of Australia day and were to witness the wonderful fireworks show from a totally different perspective. Overall a good place to visit and chill.<br />
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Nithinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14206006637861209373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3192431606458867150.post-89135039541894984622017-01-15T18:39:00.001+05:302017-07-10T06:19:25.539+05:30Melbourne: The Most Liveable City in The World Part 2<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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1. Melbourne Cricket Ground<br />
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The MCG or simply known as THE G is sits exactly at the heart of a sport loving Australian. Simply the biggest and the one with great history , it is a place not to be missed. Home to Crickets matches in Summer and Australian rules football in the winter season, it has that wow factor associated with it. We went for a guided tour which charges 23 dollars per head and lasts upto 45 minutes. All the guides are generally well into their seventies , with our guide being eighty years of age and very knowledgeable about the grounds its history and so forth. The Ground doest meet the expectation and is a grandiose piece of art. There was a ongoing domestic match between Victoria state and Queensland, which the former won very easily during our guided tour itself. The guide took as to various viewing galleries, commentator stations, museums and so on. On days with some international matches scheduled the guided tour would be canceled.<br />
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2. Melbourne Museum + IMAX<br />
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One of the best museums that I have visited. Its quire vast and requires majority of the day to explore it at a leisure phase. There are various themes within this huge museum and ranges from rainforest, human body, arts, history, fossils and so on. The exhibits at many places are not just display pieces , but an experience wherein visitors are encouraged to immerse themselves to understand and get a feel of things. Separate entry fee is $14. Within the museum building is the huge IMAX theatre of Melbourne, which showcases documentary movies during normal works hours on weekdays and Hollywood blockbusters on the other time slots. When we were visiting we were shown the movie exploring space, stars and planets and it was very interesting to watch with the added effect of IMAX 3D. We bought combined entry fee to the museum and IMAX at $27.<br />
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3. Eureka Tower<br />
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To get the best birds eye view for general public would be to go to the viewing gallery 300 meters above the ground. This viewing gallery provides a 360 degree view of the entire city and it is recommended to go at the time of sunset to enjoy the daytime and night views along with the sunset. But rest assured many tourists also think on the same lines and it would be generally crowded during this time. We didnt get the perfect sunset thanks to the clouds, but got some great views of this sprawling city. Entry fee is $20, with the additional $12 for the glass box entry which in my opinion is only worthy for those having fear of heights. There is also a room, not having any windows and lets you feel like flying 300 m above the ground.<br />
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4. Phillip Island<br />
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Though not technically within Melbourne, this island is in the eastern side of the city and close to a couple of hours drive from the city. The best thing about Phillip Island is not to be missed "March Of the Penguins". It does definitely sound like a show wherein the little penguins and trained to give some sort of performance, but believe be it is nothing like that. The human contact is kept at the minimum possible level. Everyday at sundown thousands of little penguins make their way back into the island in big and small groups and it is just awe-inpiring to see all those tiny beautiful creatures. Photography is strictly banned including non flash photography in order not to stun them. So literally it is see with your own eyes to believe it, with hundreds of penguins you can watch up close and personal.<br />
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5. Victoria Market<br />
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One of the best markets in Melbourne to buy local souveniers, food, vegetables, cloths etc. This market is as good as it gets to a street market that everyone is so used in Asian countries. The prices are not dirt cheap and sometimes are more expensive than budget supermarkets like Kmart etc, but nevertheless a good place to visit.<br />
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6. Yarra River Walk in CBD<br />
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The best walk in Melbourne would be the walk along the Yarra river in the CBD area. This area is packed with eateries, people and with lots of street shows especially on weekends. The views are great with the beautiful Yarra river flanked on both sides by super tall buildings.<br />
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7. Yarra River Trail<br />
The more rugged version of the Yarra River walk mentioned above. If you think that the Yarra River walk is too "developed" for your liking , then this would the perfect answer for you. This trail takes you to more remote places upstream of the Yarra river and is perfect place to go for a run or mountain biking. There are lots of trails following the various rivulets of Yarra river mainly concentrated on the North Eastern side of Melbourne such as Ivanhoe, Viewbank, Hiedelberg etc. This was my favourite place to go for a long run with horse ranches , kangaroos, cookatoos for company.<br />
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8. Melbourne Central<br />
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The shopping hub of Melbourne especially for the shopaholics. Situated in the CBD area of the city. Can spend a lot of time exploring this mall. The place not to be missed is the central atrium with jawdropping views of the glass dome structure.<br />
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Nithinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14206006637861209373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3192431606458867150.post-3277480889230940202016-12-28T19:48:00.001+05:302016-12-28T19:48:27.402+05:30The Great Ocean Road<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The Great Ocean road is considered to be among the best natural attractions of Australia , along with the heavy weights such as the Great Barrier Reef and the Uluru. So we got an opportunity to visit this place on a day with pretty good weather. I have mentioned pretty good weather because even though it was summer with clear sky, it was still windy and cold. This is one of the road trips in Australia where the journey to the destination is much more interesting than the destination itself.<br />
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We started early in the day. The initial journey is quite monotonous till Geelong, the second largest city in the state of Victoria. After Geelong does the fun start with the great ocean road starting from Torquay and hugging along the coastline for the remainder of the distance to the Twelve apostles/Port Campbell. If one directly gives as the destination as Port Campbell/Twelve Apostles in navigation maps, then they would be directed to a route totally different and faster than the Great Ocean road. We infact returned on this route, which is majorly 4 lane, unlike the Great Ocean Road , which is primarily 2 lane. This route was built by the returning soldiers of Victoria after the First World War or the Great War as it was known back then.<br />
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The total distance between Geelong and Port Campbell is 213 kms, but one should also consider the innumerable stops along the route. The route is very picture-some and one cannot resist pulling over and enjoying the view every now and then.<br />
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The first stop was the "Twelve" Apostles. There are infact only 8 of these limestone rocks standing after relentless pounding by the sea. We had views of these beautiful nature's pieces of art from various different angles. It was just plain breathtaking setting with vertical steep coastline and these limestone pillars rising dramatically from the sea. This kinda reminded us of the similar limestone formations in Krabi, Thailand. There is also a main visitor centre and a walking circuit which takes the tourists right into the middle of the sea on top of a steep cliff to provide some great views of the rocks formation.<br />
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After twelve apostles we visited some more sites further down the road towards Port Campbell stopping at spots having views of equally innovative names like Razorback, Loch and Gorge, Island Arch, London Bridge etc. After spending considerable time at these spots it was time to return back to Melbourne. We took the shorter and faster route via Colac. We decided to take a long circuitous route back home with a ferry ride from Queenscliff to Sorrento giving some great views of the Port Phillip bay. Overall this circuit is without dispute the best place to visit in the state of Victoria.<br />
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Nithinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14206006637861209373noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3192431606458867150.post-22637752317268012382016-11-08T11:07:00.000+05:302017-07-10T06:19:44.617+05:30Mt Dandenong : Melbourne's Private Hiking Backyard<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Mt. Dandenong is definitely Melbourne's favourite hiking and picnic spot. We got to know about this during our trip on a weekend. There are close to 4 hiking trails in here and on a normal weekend you can expect them to be jampacked with couples, families with small kids, friends climbing up the mountain. This is quite in contrast to the hiking trails in India, which are generally deserted. Hence gives a idea of how much of importance a general Australian gives towards fitness.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd4xhCOVRnWAEW5Oy7-qQKqDeO9xt-Z0QlZGllHCl6To0KGF8e-_R-rZJNyIksKFDoUjrgu6cuNjIBDugdvlwGdaJ9m39JMv3y53w8IRlxo_kRLo8aapq1jKHrObuLxTaMDS6uzCZHFeE/s1600/IMG_6021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd4xhCOVRnWAEW5Oy7-qQKqDeO9xt-Z0QlZGllHCl6To0KGF8e-_R-rZJNyIksKFDoUjrgu6cuNjIBDugdvlwGdaJ9m39JMv3y53w8IRlxo_kRLo8aapq1jKHrObuLxTaMDS6uzCZHFeE/s400/IMG_6021.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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Mt Dandenong is around 50 Kms from the CBD and considering the never ending expansion of the city of Melbourne, this area has been gobbled up by the city and now forms a suburb of greater Melbourne. The ride to start of the hiking trails is great with winding roads and dense forest. We parked the vehicle at the visitor centre and started the climb. We decided to climb via the Lyrebird trail and return back via the 1000 steps trail, also known as Kakoda Memorial trail. The most famous of all the trails is the 1000 steps trail, which was developed in honour to the Australian soldiers who fought in the Pacific islands during the 2nd world war. </div>
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The climb up via the Lyrebird trail is steep. Even though one way distance is 1.5kms, it is mentioned that it takes close to 45 min to climb up the hill. The good thing about Lyrebird trail is that it is wide and hence can accomodate a lot of simultaneous hikers unlike the 1000 step trail which is narrow. The trail is through dense forest chirping with birds, a must visit for any nature lovers. Near the top the 1000 step trail joins the Lyrebird trail. Unfortunately there is no spectacular view from the top. We returned back via the 1000 step trail, which has a lot of spots dedicated to the fallen men. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trails In Mt Dandenong Range</td></tr>
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From there we went towards the Skyhigh, a spot from where one gets great views of the CBD. There is an entry fee of $5 and they are quite a few spots to visit apart from the viewing platform. There are parks, mazes, a restaurant and other attractions. One can spend close to 2 hrs in this place. After this we returned back to our home. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">View from the Skyhigh With Melbourne CBD looking like a distant fairyland !!!!!</td></tr>
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Nithinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14206006637861209373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3192431606458867150.post-41752125421798107762016-11-04T18:04:00.001+05:302017-07-10T06:20:02.046+05:30Melbourne : The Most Liveable City in the World<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Australia which literally means the southern land would be our home for some time. It was time to explore a new country and Australia was the choice based on a lot of personal parameters. It has the lowest population density among all nations , considering the massive and sparsely populated bushlands and is quite well known across the world for its natural beauty. This country is truly multicultural with a quarter of the population being foreign born and half of the population having atleast one parent born overseas. A good example of such a society would be the celebration of Deepavali and Oktober Fest being held side by side in the heart of Melbourne city. Most of the cities of Australia are the best to live in the world, with Melbourne taking the crown for 6 years in a row. So what makes Melbourne the undisputed winner comes down to just one parameter "Quality of Life", which I was truly impressed with. An average Australian's priority is to have a good life and not just to earn and make a living out of it, with the government and the infrastructure supporting it. Interests such as traveling, sports, food are a norm and not restricted as a hobby. Where else do you find public holidays for sporting events like finals of Australian football or for a horse racing cup !!!. When we landed in Melbourne from Hong Kong, the first thing we noticed were the endless green grasslands engulfing the city, with a lot of friendly people. The only factor which can be considered negative about the city is its weather. I have experienced instances wherein it would be blazing hot during the day and freezing cold during the night. "4 seasons in a day" is a terminology usually associated with Melbourne's weather. In this blog and the subsequent blogs I would be exploring the city of Melbourne which would be our temporary stopover for 2 months.</div>
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1. Shrine Of Remembrance</div>
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One of the best structures in Melbourne and also a place from where one gets an awesome view of the Melbourne skyline. This building is initially built to commemorate Australians who have laid down their life during the First World War, but subsequently it is used as a memorial to all the Australians who have served in a war. There are 3 different levels in this greco roman structure. The main sanctuary with impressively high ceilings is at the ground level. The centre of a shrine acts like one big pin hole camera allowing a ray of light to fall on a plaque to honor the servicemen and women. In the basement is a very expansive museum detailing the history of the wars fought by the Australians and finally the balcony above the sanctuary is a spot from where one gets really good views of the city. Entry is free.</div>
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2. Flinders Street Station</div>
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The gateway to the Melbourne CBD. With all the metro trains making a stop in here. The heritage train station is the one not to be missed. It was the first railway station in an Australian city, and was completed in the year 1909. The yellow colored building is a true symbol of Melbourne and it is quite heartening to see that the station has gone through various modernization process without affecting the heritage value of the structure.<br />
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3. NGV Australia and International</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcvKJhxqNo9judmvWRM9XxC3vy_Q8e-pIyLFgZP_Go0VLfpg8A1wsVxJ4hevwVY0ZefkEWvZE4PgZimpx5dRmeNKdZ-Skquv_q7T_HJLjZwUqd-YfTn___S5arKPynxQkGZzIyqc80f20/s1600/IMG_5981.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxSBSSASgncwui8biYCUcxr3K0J0L2hhh_bz0DYEJb7wLXcX80TxLC7KzcVmBaNnS5IkQRJ4e7VS2cKUwAs7K4tfqIuaik2WjJFpf5VE0W6QhTnXeKWapXO8brQCHwjH8etVeRfLKw7Rw/s1600/IMG_5983.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxSBSSASgncwui8biYCUcxr3K0J0L2hhh_bz0DYEJb7wLXcX80TxLC7KzcVmBaNnS5IkQRJ4e7VS2cKUwAs7K4tfqIuaik2WjJFpf5VE0W6QhTnXeKWapXO8brQCHwjH8etVeRfLKw7Rw/s400/IMG_5983.JPG" width="400" /></a><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcvKJhxqNo9judmvWRM9XxC3vy_Q8e-pIyLFgZP_Go0VLfpg8A1wsVxJ4hevwVY0ZefkEWvZE4PgZimpx5dRmeNKdZ-Skquv_q7T_HJLjZwUqd-YfTn___S5arKPynxQkGZzIyqc80f20/s400/IMG_5981.JPG" width="400" /></div>
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National Gallery of Victoria or NGV in short are present in 2 different locations. The first one is NGV Australia right opposite to the Federation square and concentrates on displays from Australian history and artists from this country. There are innumerable number of galleries and most of them are free to enter. The other building NGV International is huge and the biggest of its kind art gallery in Australia and situated in St Kilda road , opposite to the Shrine of Remembrance. It has exhibits from innumerable cultures and nationalities. It takes atleast 3-4 hours to cover this gem of a place. One would find European renaissance paintings, Japanese porcelain art, Indian bronze statutes, aboriginal arts and so many other collections. Is a must visit place in Melbourne. Further NGV international also doesn't have an entry fee.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1EZny3UhrXzODk8VKujgpQQpUooXlptSPc0N2rwg2xg3BfmvMxUyLynvoM2QWpwnjcaDhh8lrhU0SQD1mq_w0vEFiVLp7lEZ61Gp3Lmru2pYySLdQFt4leZJ97RFwX92wy6MkWRX0UUQ/s1600/IMG_6002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggYiny-OqBRYMl5wPqeui8fG5NdkvzQaVe3rNeAArfOnHZQrbo25b-pPLFO_Y7JlkSRRuJQlfc30354B8e9NAprLJ8PcW8piPPeIMZgnD70R2bo4xW-6FWqV__-QxeNJjhGtbeXOkEoOU/s1600/IMG_20160915_142906799.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggYiny-OqBRYMl5wPqeui8fG5NdkvzQaVe3rNeAArfOnHZQrbo25b-pPLFO_Y7JlkSRRuJQlfc30354B8e9NAprLJ8PcW8piPPeIMZgnD70R2bo4xW-6FWqV__-QxeNJjhGtbeXOkEoOU/s400/IMG_20160915_142906799.jpg" width="400" /></a><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1EZny3UhrXzODk8VKujgpQQpUooXlptSPc0N2rwg2xg3BfmvMxUyLynvoM2QWpwnjcaDhh8lrhU0SQD1mq_w0vEFiVLp7lEZ61Gp3Lmru2pYySLdQFt4leZJ97RFwX92wy6MkWRX0UUQ/s400/IMG_6002.JPG" width="400" /></div>
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4. Old Treasury Building</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Old Treasury to the Right and to the left is the newer one</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Tx2lJEw9ZKg-xlJxc5jGzbi13CNHyP_tW6iHwzYv_isfmgdvzNaJ5b5z5H4pibnr47CkUIyKtkXRFOLRh5RPEU1xjWqZ1ARoePG0FcLKvN9RPD0kFzKcWdnqlMWbGMR8MDvtybqKct4/s1600/IMG_5822.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Tx2lJEw9ZKg-xlJxc5jGzbi13CNHyP_tW6iHwzYv_isfmgdvzNaJ5b5z5H4pibnr47CkUIyKtkXRFOLRh5RPEU1xjWqZ1ARoePG0FcLKvN9RPD0kFzKcWdnqlMWbGMR8MDvtybqKct4/s400/IMG_5822.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Underground Cellars</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO8JYVRg49AVhPjADvc4p7bxpGg1XwxDq1uBcnUGN37fn8w3pLJ-zg0F84I8tWShKdltl0H63dOtmsdbtJPJapl7tIGgBvtAhV6Qsb6WxpLH2t3lJSjQqAh-qUsS6vK-IQ0puIBPnJFSU/s1600/IMG_5812.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"></a><br />
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This building is built right next to the parliament building and dates back to the same era of 1860's. Initially built as the treasury building, but now converted to a museum, surprisingly concentrated on the criminals of Australia and the gold rush era. This museum is mildly interesting and in my opinion not a must visit. There are cellars in the basement which used to store bullion and also there is a room which seems to hold a a lot of real gold , protected by a shatter proof glass. Not sure if it is real gold or not though. Entry is free. </div>
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5. Hosier Lane</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Even the garbage bins are not spared !!!!!</td></tr>
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Throughout Melbourne one would find captivating and colorful street art spread across the length and the breadth of the city , majority of them are illegal in nature. But right in the heart of the city , there is a lane wherein graffiti is legal and is a major attractions for visitors to this city. In Hosier Lane one would expect to find some new art every other day. <br />
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6. City Tram Circle</div>
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In Melbourne the CBD is a free tram zone and whenever you want to go anywhere within the CBD one has to just hop into a tram without any charge. Apart from the regular trams there is heritage tram specifically designated for tourist usage, known as the city tram circle, taking a complete loop around the CBD stopping at major tourist spots and also provides pre-recorded guidance about the various attractions. </div>
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7. Royal Botanical Gardens</div>
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The biggest lung space in the heart of Melbourne. One would find various types of trees and flowering plants within this space. Includes different ecosystem such as marsh, lakes, desert etc. Interesting place to explore. Entry is free.<br />
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8. Parliament House</div>
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This 150 year old building is currently used as the parliament for the state of Victoria. However in the past it was also used as The Parliament of Australia, before the one at Canberra was developed and built. Free guided tours are provided on weekdays, which last for around 45 mins and the guides are quire informative explaining the details of the upper, lower houses and the history of the parliament. The building is quite majestic reminiscent of the Victorian architecture.</div>
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Nithinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14206006637861209373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3192431606458867150.post-88559651116544847142016-10-29T19:21:00.001+05:302016-10-29T19:21:19.593+05:30Hong Kong : The Land Of Skyscrapers<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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On our flight to Melbourne we decided to take a long stopover at Hong-Kong, 14 hrs to be precise. Since Indian passport holders dont require any special visa to enter this city state. Therefore Hong Kong is among the handful of countries which truly welcome Indian passport holders without any fuss :). Getting entry to this city was a breeze. We went directly to the immigration area and upon producing our onward journey boarding pass, we were issued a 7 day visa to the city at no cost at all.<br />
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The first thing we decided was the store the extra hand luggage we had at the airport and then we took a one day Airport express pass between the airport and the city costing 100 HK dollars. After getting down at the station we caught a bus to the Victoria peak, from where one gets an awesome view of the city. As a matter of fact this city-state has the highest density of skyscrapers anywhere in the world. It seems to be a great achievement of building such a bustling city with very little land resource available. Therefore the only option available is to go up !!!!. But unfortunately the weather was playing hide and seek with bad weather and clouds constantly engulfing the views. We infact had a great view of the downtown area from our flight on its approach towards the city.<br />
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There are actually 2 viewing galleries on the Victoria peak. One is free and the other is charged. If you take a tram from the base of the peak then the tram stops inside the Peak Tower, the viewing gallery of which is charged. On the other hand there is another building right next to it, known as the Peak Galleria, wherein the terrace which is not charged. Spent some quite and relaxing time at the viewing gallery and took the tram on the return journey. The tram is a heritage ride dating back to the 19th century and the gradient of the track is also quite steep. The surprising fact is that we took close to an hour to reach the top using a bus and took just about 10 mins to come back to the base in the tram :D. <br />
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From the base we took a bus to the Victoria harbour. We roamed around this area admiring the neck craning super structures. We crossed the harbour via a ferry entered an area known as TST, which provides some great views of the harbour with steel and glass masterpieces in the background. Also the best spot to view the Symphony of Lights, a show which is free of cost and projected to be the biggest show of its kind in the world. But the light show left a lot to be desired. It starts at 8pm and lasts for around 15 mins, but we got bored with the scheme of repeated things that we decided to leave within 10 mins. In short it was a series of flashing lights on the buildings with no concept whatsoever. In my opinion its highly overrated. But anyway its free of cost, so you dont loose anything. After the show we took a train back to the airport and onwards to our journey to the Down Under :).</div>
Nithinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14206006637861209373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3192431606458867150.post-40893648572152197462016-09-29T19:57:00.000+05:302016-09-29T19:57:11.989+05:30The Great South Indian Roadtrip : Tanjavur<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The final stopover of our south India roadtrip was the ancient city of Tanjavur. And this city is predominantly famous for the temple which has entered into the UNESCO world heritage site. This temple along with 2 other temples in the vicinity are collectively known as Great Chola Living temples, "living" because these temple are still functioning unlike majority of other Indian temples which have the UNESCO tag. We decided to visit only the temple within the city, known as Brihadeshwara Temple or known simply as The Big temple. And yes, it does live up to its tag of the "Big Temple" , because this temple was HUGE !!!!!.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Outer Walls and Nandi </td></tr>
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We visited the temple in the evening. Hence we got the day and the night views which were both spectacular. There are many huge temple complexes in India, but I had never seen the main temple to be of such size and proportion. The main temple houses a huge Shiva Linga under the gigantic gopuram. Everything is of enormous size here, glorifying the legacy of the Chola empire. This 1000 year temple has 3 layers of outer walls, each having a spectacular gopuram to enter. There is also a huge Nandi statue right in front of the main temple. By nightfall the temple is lit by huge halogen lamps giving it a completely different feel. One of the must visit places in Tamil Nadu for sure.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Darbar Hall</td></tr>
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The following day our next stop was the Maratha Palace. Prior to visiting Tanjore I was unaware of the fact that the Maratha Kings had conquered so far south. There are a lot of places to visit around the palace, and it is worthwhile to visit these places only once. First we entered the Saraswathi Library which housed a lot of old manuscripts and had a pretty good collections of books, paintings, coins etc. Second was the Darbar hall, which was not maintained as it should have been. There is a museum. Some sections of the museum were pretty decent, but the other sections had completed gone to the dogs, especially the hall housing the huge skeleton of whale. There is a huge bell tower and unfortunately one is not allowed to go up. Sadly there was graffiti everywhere and it was heartening to see the off limit areas free from these pests.<br />
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We left Tanjavur and started our final leg towards Bangalore. But not before we made a detour to Srirangam near Trichy. Srirangam is one of the largest temple complexes in the world, second only to the Angkor Wat and that makes it the worlds largest functioning temple complex. Moving from one of the largest temple in the world to one of the largest temple complex in the world :). The temple has 7 concentric walls which needs to be crossed to enter the temple. But even though the sprawling Vishnu temple was huge , there was no wow factor like the Brihadeshwara temple in Tanjore. There are temple after temple inside this complex and the whole architecture seemed a bit haphazard and not grandiose. And having been already saturated with an overdose of temples during this trip, we didnt spend more than an hour at this place. And finally it was a long drive all the way back to Bangalore , with the some good roads enroute !!!!<br />
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Nithinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14206006637861209373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3192431606458867150.post-35499846829242845282016-09-14T14:23:00.000+05:302016-09-14T14:23:34.315+05:30The Great South Indian Roadtrip : Rameshwaram<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Rameshwaram was the showstopper of our South Indian road trip. If given an option to cover just one place during this trip, then it definitely would be this place and this did meet our expectations. The good thing about this place is that the journey to this destination and the destination itself are top notch. We took the Kashmir- Kanyakumari Highway till Tirunellveli and from there took a diversion towards Rameshwaram. The roads are totally deserted in terms of vehicular traffic, a complete contrast to the highways through Kerala. Yet it was quite scenic with endless salt fields on both sides of the highway. Eventhough from google maps it looks like the route goes along the sea, one hardly gets a chance of driving with a sea view. Unless , ofcourse you reach the great Pamban bridge !!!!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pamban Bridge</td></tr>
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Pamban bridge is one of the most circulated images within India for the purpose of tourism and it does have those elements which makes it picture perfect. Legally speaking no one is supposed to stop on top of this bridge, with multiple boards advising the same, but we saw a huge line of vehicles parked and this temped us to do the same. We stopped only for 5 mins before a police patrol car came in and ordered the vehicles to be cleared. Fortunately by this time we had already experienced the view from the bridge. Shouldnt the Govt make provision for the tourists to view one of the best scenes in Rameshwaram, I hope they do some arrangement in the future.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Offroading through the Marshlands</td></tr>
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The first thing we did was to go to the main Ramanathaswamy temple, which was huge, supposedly has the longest corridor in the world. It seemed like we walked atleast a km from the temple entrance to the main deity :P. The temple interiors were very good and interesting. There are a lot of holy theerthams in and around Rameshwaram wherein one is supposed to take a dip to get blessed. We saw a lot of pilgrims doing the same. After exploring the temple we proceeded to our hotel (Jiwan Residency), a recommended hotel to stay in Rameshwaram.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Church</td></tr>
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The following day it was time to explore Danushkodi. It is famous as the Rama Setu which according to mythology was build by Rama in order to reach Sri Lanka. The roads from Rameshwaram are very good till a check post wherein we had to abandon our private vehicles and had to get into rickety 4x4 vehicles. This vehicle takes a semi solid terrain route via marshlands which cannot be crossed by normal vehicles to reach the "Ghost" town of Dhanuskodi. But there were 2 surprises in store for us. First, was that there was a perfect all terrain road all the way to the town, but apart from the locals no one was allowed to use it. Looked like a collusion to force tourists to buy tickets to the 4x4 rides. And second being that Dhanuskodi is no longer a ghost town and is being inhabited. Dhanuskodi is infamous as the town which got washed away in the cyclone of 1964, which also included an entire train.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Danuskhodi Beach</td></tr>
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The beaches of Dhanuskodi are gorgeous and we had a great time exploring the ruins of the village, including church, post office, railway station and so on. It was a fun ride through the marshlands. This excursion to Dhanushkodi took close to 4 hours of our time, but it was totally worth it. From Dhanushkodi we started to search for the infamous floating rocks of Rameshwaram. First we went to the Gandamadana Parvatham in search of it. But alas we couldnt find it here, but we got some good views of the entire Rameshwaram island. Next stop was the 5 faced Hanuman temple. It was here we stuck gold, with the floating stones. But the fact is the floating stones are nothing but porous pumice stones covered with corals, which gives it the ability to float. But the touts at this temple were making a quick buck selling poojas to the gullible .<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijKBTYNDYDo_KqqUnTwBsxz-NPULQJBF743SLuX6g7Gic26SKwOeYedEpK7s-KRcJtBv3hhBiFa3ryX09ZaAKqunXoJ_bJzmxGLHnC9jleqsukATWGRZyEj9nVsVoSojKAlNlx4Bb1_1Y/s1600/IMG_5566.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><br /></a>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijKBTYNDYDo_KqqUnTwBsxz-NPULQJBF743SLuX6g7Gic26SKwOeYedEpK7s-KRcJtBv3hhBiFa3ryX09ZaAKqunXoJ_bJzmxGLHnC9jleqsukATWGRZyEj9nVsVoSojKAlNlx4Bb1_1Y/s1600/IMG_5566.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><br /></a>Overall Rameshwaram is certainly a must visit for not just the religious, but also to the wanderlust junta trying to discover interesting parts of India.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkXFFIwQ1SG0K1lwAr2MduY0EthndsZJXO9Iurd0AFTKakpoWc_f6_4-nr8TVd65y-NztQkW-ot6MEaqxpz9vbruh0qiqAEWMP_I5Isnqe_j7_MShVJChLkXhVaU7LVgBDOIjjyUQyiNk/s1600/IMG_5601-001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkXFFIwQ1SG0K1lwAr2MduY0EthndsZJXO9Iurd0AFTKakpoWc_f6_4-nr8TVd65y-NztQkW-ot6MEaqxpz9vbruh0qiqAEWMP_I5Isnqe_j7_MShVJChLkXhVaU7LVgBDOIjjyUQyiNk/s640/IMG_5601-001.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rameshwaram Temple Competing with the Rameshwaram Tower :)</td></tr>
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Nithinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14206006637861209373noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3192431606458867150.post-25190871784880542572016-08-07T22:15:00.002+05:302016-08-07T22:15:29.016+05:30The Great South Indian Roadtrip : Kanyakumari<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Kanyakumari is a bit of a letdown considering the aura it projects across the Indian subcontinent, such as the southernmost tip of mainland India, the place where all the 3 major water bodies meet (Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal). There are only a couple of places where one can visit. They are the Kumari Amman temple, the Vivekananda Rock memorial , the Thiruvalluvar rock statue and the sangam beach.<br />
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The first place we visited was the temple. Frankly speaking this was the least impressive of all the temples we had visited during our South India trip. It was small, hidden in some back alleyway, with no spectacular gopuras or intricate carving. But the best thing about this place is you get some good views of the Vivekananda memorial and Thiruvelluvar statue.<br />
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From the temple we went to the docks, from where ferries are run to and fro the rock memorial. The time taken is hardly 10 mins and after some recent tragic incidents, they have made it mandatory to put on life vests. The Vivekananda rock memorial is a pretty interesting place to visit . The place where Swami Vivekananda had come to meditate before making his way to Chicago. There are a lot of memorials of the saint and the best part is the meditation room. Visiting this place was quite soothing, with it being surrounded by sea in all direction. Entry to the Thriruvalluvar statue is banned due to choppy seas. Don't know whether this has been done recently with the onset of monsoons , or whether its a permanent affair. The last time I was here was close to 20 years back, and I clearly remember visiting the memorial like it was yesterday. How time flies :).<br />
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The best and the unknown part of Kanyakumari not to be missed is the huge farm of windmills along the Kanyakumari-Kashmir National Highway. It was a very pretty sight driving along this deserted highway. Next stop Rameshwaram :).<br />
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Nithinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14206006637861209373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3192431606458867150.post-13990344012239043832016-08-04T23:50:00.004+05:302016-08-07T22:12:06.453+05:30The Great South Indian Roadtrip : Kerala<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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A normal weekend getaway swelled in size with more and more places of interest being added, and in the end we had a full blown South India road trip, with the total distance of 1950 km to be covered in 5.5 days, making this my second longest road trip after my Ladakh bike trip. With Southern India dominated by many major temples, by the end of this trip we were saturated with temples. We took the Kerala route to reach Kanyakumari, passing through Thrissur, Kumarakom, Trivandrum and while on the return journey took the route via Rameshwaram, Tanjavur, Srirangam etc.<br />
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So left Bangalore on a friday evening and drove non-stop till Coimbatore with a dinner break at Salem. Covered the entire 370km distance in around 6.5 hrs and that demonstrates the condition of the tolled multi-lane highway all the way to Coimbatore. Covering maximum distance was the only criteria and we were able to achieve that with ease. The following day we got up early and headed towards Pallakad. Road between Pallakad and Coimbatore is good and we entered the state of Kerala. Visited the Pallakad fort , which was mildly interesting , but the greenery and the cool monsoon breeze made it a pleasant experience. The fort has a small temple in the centre and a functional sub-prison too. Other than that , there is nothing much to view at this place. Left this place soon enough. Thrissur was our next destination. However the route between Pallakad and Thrissur was in bad condition, with lot of ongoing road widening work.<br />
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Reached Thrissur and directly went to the Vadakunnathan Temple, which is famous for the line of elephants adorned in attractive attires during a specific festival. Unfortunately the gates to this temple closes at 11 am and we reached at 11.05 :P. Hence had to content ourselves from the outside. From here we started towards Athirepally falls and in my opinion its one of the best falls in India. This falls has been made famous by a lot of movies such as Bahubali (where they have added a lot of special effects on top of the original) , Raavan , Dil Se etc. The route was a pleasure to drive from Thrissur, including a drive through forest. Reached the forest entrance, paid the required fee and then walked towards the falls. The first view of the falls i.e. the upper side view takes around 15 min easy walk from the road. The falls drops from nearly 100 ft and is really breathtaking, kinda like a mini Niagra, with the width of the falls more dominating than the height. From this viewpoint one has to take a steep 15 min walk to reach the base of the waterfalls, from where one gets the lower front of the falls and without doubt the best place to experience the falls. Due to the onset of monsoons the falls was brimming with capacity and the entire base was shrodded with thousands of droplets drifting from the main falls. However no one was allowed to take bath directly under the falls.<br />
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From the falls our next destination was Kumarakom, where we had booked a houseboat for the night. In my previous visit to this area I had gone to Allephey and hence decided to explore the backwaters of Kumarakom. In comparison Kumarakom is a lot quieter, with fewer house boats running through the backwaters. It has a more village feel to it in comparison to the city feel offered by Allephey. However reaching Kumarakom might be a bit tricky, if not having a private vehicle at ones disposal. We enjoyed the view of the huge backwater lake and were accompanied by hundreds of ducks which were flying and feeding along with the houseboat. In short Kumarakom was much was soothing and relaxing than Allephey.<br />
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The following morning after the 2 hour boat ride in the morning , we left for Trivandrum. One unique thing about Kerala is that the entire state is highly urbanized and you dont get the feeling of riding on an isolated highway. At any section of the highway there would be houses flanking both sides of the highway, unfortunately leading in higher traffic density and narrow roads. We reached Trivandrum by noon. Only thing we wished to visit in this place was the famous Padmanabhaswamy temple, which has been in headlines for value of the treasure found in its underground vaults. Since we had still some time we decided to visit the famous Kovalam beach. This beach is unique for having black sand and was pretty neat and clean . Spent some time in here and had our lunch.<br />
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We were back to Trivandrum sharp at 4.30pm when the temple doors open. This temple has one of the most strict security measure I have seen anywhere, and even eclipses the airport security measures. You have to deposit pretty much everything. No phones, camera, remote car key, fitness band etc. And one is expected to strictly follow the dress code. For men its white dhoti and for women its either sari or a white dhoti wrapped around the waist and no salwar etc. We came across a temple representative and he acted as a guide detailing the history and mythology of the temple. The temple was huge and very beautiful from inside. The kings of Travancore believe that the main deity of this temple is the actual ruler, and they are just the caretakers on his behalf. Hence because of this reason all the taxes collected would be deposited in the temple and this has resulted in such a huge stockpile of gold and other precious stones.<br />
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From Trivandrum , it was again through the narrow highways of Kerala and by nightfall we reached Kanyakumari, the southern tip of mainland India.<br />
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Nithinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14206006637861209373noreply@blogger.com2