Travel away… My way…

Orlando holiday – keeping the cost down ;-)

We had planned to stay back in Orlando for a few days post our disembarkation from Carnival Liberty Bahamas cruise at Port Canaveral. Since we were a group of around 20+, booking a vacation home was the most budget friendly option for us. We also wanted to escape the more touristy areas and wanted this…

Carnival Liberty Bahamas Cruise

A few years ago we did our first cruise on Costa Serena around the Gulf waters “Jewel of the Emirates’ which was a lot of fun. While we are not big fans of cruising since we love the outdoors, this was our first cruise with Carnival who call their fleet “fun ships” and our first…

Spanning the width of United States – East coast to West coast – Part II

Click here for Part I Day 10 – Atlanta to Las Vegas We took the afternoon flight from Atlanta to Las Vegas on Southwest Airlines. I would highly recommend this airline for the great in-flight attendants along their witty boarding announcements which I will replicate for my Toastmasters roast :-), did not experience any delays…

Spanning the width of United States – East coast to West coast – Part I

My love for traveling, researching and writing fuels my desire to share my travel experiences and for the reader to feel like they were on the journey with me. Our dream holiday of a coast-to-coast trip finally turned into a reality. In this digital era, it’s easy to get overwhelmed with the huge stash…

“Bleisure” – combining business with leisure – in London

I’ve been to London a couple of times already, however I still see myself as the typical tourist; visiting the typical shopping streets, commuting in the tubes from one tourist spot to the other, using the buses, black cabs etc.. Post check-in at the Emirates counter in Dubai Airport T3, I made my way to the Emirates Business…

Travel: Trip Planning apps

Whether you’re hitting the road or taking to the skies this travel season, you could do with a digital companion to help you plan your itinerary, make sure your tickets and connections are all lined up, and that you have plenty of time to do everything you want (or need) to do while you’re traveling….

Passport Index Tells You Every Country You Can Visit Without a Visa

The world of visa regulations can be quite complex often leading to hours spent surfing the embassy websites. Passport Index is your one-stop shop for all things passport where you can input your passport and see the visa regulations for every country on the planet. If you are able to enter a country visa-free, buy one on arrival,…

My Adopted Home – Dubai

After growing up in Mumbai, I have spent the last 18 years living in Dubai and I now consider the City of Dubai to be my adopted home city. This post encompasses some of my favorite places in the city. I don’t pretend that this is a comprehensive list of anything and everything you can see…

Mumbai – City of Undaunted Spirits and exploring Colaba

MUMBAI ON THE GO…. “And at the moment of contact, they do not know if the hand that is reaching for theirs belongs to a Hindu or Muslim or Christian or Brahmin or an untouchable or whether you were born in this city or arrived only this morning or whether you live in Malabar Hill…

Bab Al Shams Desert Resort & Spa

We decided to book a weekday stay prior to the Eid hols at The Bab Al Shams Desert Resort & Spa. The name is derived from the Arabic term meaning ’gateway to the sun’. This property is perfect for people who don’t want a long drive, but at the same time it gives the impression that…

Daycation – Atlantis Dolphin Adventure

So this was our second time around visiting Dolphin Bay. My boys love the Dolphin Bay experience and also wanted to spend the day at the Atlantis hotel in Dubai. The trainers care so deeply for the welfare of the dolphins and take great pains to provide safety instructions that are understood by everyone, including the little ones. We had…

Cycling trip to Cilento & Amalfi Coast

Firstly, a big thank you to #iloveadventures for organizing this amazing trip and to my cycle buddy Nitesh from who I borrowed the contents since I could barely remember the places and the history behind it, with all that gruelling cycling 🙂 This cycling trip took us through the best routes and contrasts of the region, from the unknown and unspoilt nature of…

A lightning tour of Rajasthan!

Normally all my trips are planned in advance. I would have my booklet mapping all the places to cover, a rough idea of the time required at each place, weather condition so I pack accordingly, bookings in advance to avail the best deals etc… What made the Rajasthan trip incredible for me is : We…

Anantara The Palm Dubai Resort

Palm Jumeirah Island – a man-made island in the shape of a palm tree, comprises of a 2km long trunk and 17 fronds encircled by a crescent. An extraordinary feat and worth a visit simply to tick it off your bucket list. The image below depicts all the hotels located on The Palm (Anantara is…

Trekking in Ladakh

“Your heart is free, have the courage to follow it” We should often take time to disconnect from all that is part of our daily life — technology, social media — and reconnect with nature and our inner self. LADAKH – A stunning landscape, humble and good hearted people, trekkers and bikers paradise…. Ladakh is…

Sir Baniyas Island – Abu Dhabi

It’s summer, schools are shut down and kids are getting restless. No summer travel plans this year so thought, why not just do something locally within the UAE. After reviewing a couple of options we decided on a weekend stay in one of the country’s largest wildlife parks – Sir Baniyas Island. Among the 3…

Costa Serena – Jewels of the Emirates cruise

We pondered long and hard before booking a cruise since we had never really fancied cruising. We finally decided to do a short trip within the GCC and managed to get a good deal through the tour operator for “Jewels of the Emirates” on board Costa Serena. Costa Serena (the ship of the Gods): Owned…

Weekend escape to Banyan Tree Ras Al Khaimah Beach Resort

We drove from Dubai to neighbouring Ras Al Khaimah which took us around an hour or so followed by a 5 minute ferry ride to the hotel reception. Banyan Tree Ras Al Khaimah Beach resort rests amidst 100 hectares of private nature reserve, home to indigenous plant and wildlife, nestled along the tranquil blue of the Arabian Gulf. Each of the…

A taste of Singapore combined with the flavor of Sentosa – must visit!

Singapore is without a doubt the most developed, urbanized country in Asia often seen as just a place to stop on the way to somewhere else which is a shame.. oh! oh! however, that’s exactly what we did. Our original plan was to visit Thailand but since Singapore Airline had these amazing stopover packages we decided…

Thailand – it begins with the people… a land of Golden Buddhas, not-heavy-on-your-wallet shopping and it’s famed beaches!

School holidays are over… so it’s clearly time for us to think about booking another family holiday to escape the heat and humidity in Dubai. My husband and I enjoy a bit of luxury so we decided to splurge on our Thailand trip by booking one of the best properties in the Laguna in Phuket – Banyan…

Banyan Tree Al Wadi, Ras Al Khaimah – a good blend of Maldivian style luxury with Bedouin desert dwelling

Nestled in the sand dunes of Ras Al Khaimah desert amidst a nature reserve dotted with Arabian Gazelle and Oryxe, Banyan Tree Al Wadi creates a beautiful experience from the very beginning. Due to its geographical location at the northern tip of the United Arab Emirates, Ras Al Khaimah is literally translated to “top of the tent”…

Shimla Trek

“You can fall in love at first sight with a place as with a person” Time has not managed to contaminate the memories of my first trek! We decided to settle for an easy and interesting trek and thoroughly enjoyed the lush greenery, beautiful mountains, temples and remote villages of Himachal Pradesh. Shimla: One of…

Morocco: Getting lost in the medinas

This was my first international trip with my dear friend, Anju. I was invited by one of my colleague for his wedding in Rabat so we planned our trip to include other areas of interest in Morocco (Marrakech, Rabat, Casablanca). Morocco’s heartland is dominated as much by cities centered around medieval medinas as by modern highways, railroads and…