Tourist Places

A day in Philadelphia

2008-04-06T11:53:00.002-04:00

Philadelphia is an old city with a rich historical background and significance. I made a short half day trip to Phily from New York, it’s a two hour drive form NYC. Phily is the home city of Benjamin Franklin, one of the founding fathers of USA. The places that I visited were the Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, and the National Constitution Center. The Liberty Bell is a must-see tourist attraction at Phily. The Liberty Bell also called the Independence Bell is associated with the American Revolutionary War and is also a symbol used to signify the abolitionist movement by the American Anti-Slavery Society.
According to tradition, the bell’s famous ringing occurred to summon the citizens of Philadelphia for the reading of the Declaration of Independence and also was rung to announce the opening of the First Continental Congress in 1774.
The bell which weights about 2080 pounds has a big crack from the lip to a few inches below the crown. The answer to the question as to how the Liberty Bell cracked is much debated and there are several stories for the same. The following link lists the various renditions of when the Liberty Bell cracked: http://www.libertybellmuseum.com/faqs.htm
Souvenirs of the Liberty Bell can be purchased from the Independence Hall Visitor Center.

The Independence Hall is also a U.S national landmark and is the place where the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution were signed. The building is open throughout the year for visitors, though the tours are operated on a first come first serve basis. Tourists generally need to get a free timed ticket to visit the building from March through December. Tickets can be obtained at the Independence Visitor Center on the day of the visit. They can also be purchased online at http://www.recreation.gov/ or by phone using the toll free number: 1-877-444-6777.
For more information refer the link http://www.nps.gov/inde/independence-hall.htm

The National Constitution Center also is a good tourist spot and it basically tells the story of the US Constitution through multimedia exhibits, photographs and artifacts.

I would also highly recommend the duck tour of Philadelphia which is one of the best Phily sight-seeing tours. The vehicle (DUKW) used for sight-seeing is an amphibian truck which can go on land as well as water. The tour takes the tourists to important historical places in Phily(like Betsy Ross House, South Street and others).It’s a great experience when the truck plunges into the Delaware River at Penns Landing to show you a view of the city from the water. For information about purchase of tickets, timings and tour durations refer to http://www.phillyducks.com/

Las Vegas - Sin City!

2008-03-23T15:25:00.003-04:00

Gambling, alcohol, glamour girls, entertainment shows, shopping, indulgence, lavish casino resorts, some of the words that come to my mind when I think of Las Vegas.

While I was interning at San Jose last summer I made a stint to the entertainment capital of the world. It was truly one of my most unique experiences. My flight landed there at around nine in the night. Even from the miles above the ground I could see the brilliant luminescence of the Vegas strip. From the moment you step inside the Vegas airport you fell like you are in a casino due to the numerous slot machines and the décor of the airport.

During my trip to Vegas I stayed at the Super 8 motel. It is affordable and has a restaurant which is open 24x7. Let me now talk about the casinos I liked the most.
My personal favorite is the Caesars Palace. The Colosseum, the Garden of Gods, the swimming pools, everything about the casino is so luxurious and spectacular that it just doesn’t cease to amaze me. The other casinos that I visited were Venetian, New York New York, MGM Grand, Bellagio, Ballys, Flamingo, Paris, Luxor, Treasure Island, and maybe others whose names I don’t remember now. Every casino has a theme of its own and is unique in its own way. The Venetian has an artificial lake built inside the casino and it is a nice experience to go on the gondola ride with the gondolier singing romantic songs while he rows you around the antique setting of the casino. It gives you the feeling of being in Venice. The MGM Grand and Bellagio are also fabulous casinos. You can actually hear roaring lions inside cages when you enter the casino. Of course, one of the must-see things in Vegas is the Bellagio musical fountains. It is an amazing show of water, music and lights interwoven artistically to mesmerize the audience. For more details about hours of operations refer to the link http://www.vegas.com/attractions/on_the_strip/bellagiofountains.html
If you are looking out for some adventure then there are some spine chilling rides at Stratosphere and a roller-coaster ride at New York New York. A detailed list of rides at Stratosphere can be found at http://www.stratospherehotel.com/thrills/
I didn’t have the courage to go on these rides, but for the more adventure folks this will be the perfect thing to do. The stratosphere also has a revolving upscale restaurant called Roxy’s Diner on the top which I would highly recommend. It is a fabulous experience to dine at 800 feet above the ground with the view of the bright sparkling Las Vegas strip!
Watching shows in Las Vegas is also a must-do activity. I got an opportunity to watch a show in New York New York. You can keep a track of show timings at different casinos using the link http://www.vegas.com/shows/

That’s about it from me. Las Vegas definitely is once-in-a-lifetime must visit place. It is truly the entertainment capital of the world in the real sense of the word.

Check out the videos below, the first is of the Bellagio Fountain show and the second is a preview of the famous “Cirque du Soleil” show at Vegas. Enjoy!

Smoky Mountains - Tennessee

2008-03-18T19:08:00.004-04:00

I got the opportunity to visit Smoky Mountains in Tennessee during Thanksgiving last year. We were a bunch of 10 friends from UMCP who went on the road trip. We started post dinner around 9 PM and reached there at the crack of dawn, a long ten hour drive.

Smoky mountains is a good place to camp. The Smoky mountains national park offers different types of campgrounds, backcountry, frontcountry, and group campgrounds. More information about the campsites can be obtained at the following link
http://www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/carcamping.htm

If you are not too keen on camping in open grounds or if bad weather prevents you from camping, then several other options are also available. During my trip to Smoky mountains, I was put up at the Gatlinburg cabins. Different cabin sizes are available to accommodate different group sizes. These cabins are equipped with king size beds, TVs, Jacuzzis, hot tubs, rustic furniture, fully equipped kitchen, pool tables, washers and dryers and a balcony with a river side view to complete it all. It is the perfect place to stay for a romantic getaway, family vacation or a business retreat. The website is
http://www.pigeonforge.com/

Rafting in the Pigeon River of Smoky Mountains with breath-taking scenery is a must-do activity. It is one of the best experiences with thrill and excitement all the way to the end. An experienced guide accompanies a group of 6 on a rating boat and al the rafting equipment is provided. My personal favorites are the Class 3 and class 4 rapids which really provide heart-stopping thrills! Information about rafting can be found at
http://www.smokymountainrafting.com/

There are also several hiking trails to add to the adventure. A list of hiking trails can be found at http://www.mysmokymountainvacation.com/hiking.html
I had hiked up the Ramsay Cascades trail. It is an 8 mile round-trip strenuous hike leading to the park’s highest waterfall. The hike becomes difficult towards the end, but the waterfall at the top of the hike is worth all the hard work!

Apart from nature and adventure, the Gatlinburg downtown is also a good place to visit. The downtown is brightly lit up with restaurants, aquarium, museums and shops on either side of the road. The downtown also has a rope-way from where you can get a beautiful aerial view of the brilliantly lit downtown. You can explore more of the Gatlinburg downtown using this link as the guide
http://www.fabuloustravel.com/usa/gatlinburg/downtown.html

Check out the videos below of Smoky Mountains.

Virtual Tours - San Fran and NY

2008-03-04T08:13:00.003-05:00

Enjoy the virtual tours of the Alcatraz Island, Golden Gate Bridge, Angel Island and the Empire State Building in that order.

The Alcatraz Island

Aerial View of Golden Gate Bridge

360 degree view from top of Angel Island

View of Manhattan from top of Empire State Building

San Francisco

2008-02-25T10:24:00.004-05:00

My desire to visit San Francisco first developed while watching the Alfred Hitchcock movie Vertigo, I longed to see the Golden Gate Bridge stretching across the San Francisco bay. Fortunately I got to see a lot of the city while I was interning at Cisco in San Jose. San Francisco or “The City” is a good 40 minute drive from San Jose. You also have the option of using public transportation, namely, the Caltrain and BART. Caltrain is a convenient option and runs fast frequent commuter rail service, seven days a week. A list of Caltrain stations can be viewed at the link
http://www.caltrain.com/caltrain_station_list.html
From San Jose, the Caltrain can be taken from the Mountain View station. A link to the Caltrain schedules and fares is http://www.caltrain.org/schedule.html

San Fran easily makes it to my list of favorite cities. It is a beautiful city with a unique, antiquated look. It’s real fun to drive around the city on the steep, hilly roads. Talking about roads reminds me of Crooked Street (Lombard Street) which is the crookedest street in the word. The street has extreme sharp curves (in a zigzag fashion) bounded by colorful flowers and flanked by Victorian mansions. From the top of the street you can get a breathtaking view of the San Fran bay, the Alcatraz island, Coit tower and the Bay bridge. Never seen something as fabulous as the Crooked Street ever in my life!

Pier 39 (Fisherman’s Wharf) is another prime location where there are a lot of activities. There is something for everyone at Pier 39: a festival marketplace with more than 110 stores, 14 Bay view restaurants and a variety of fun-filled attractions for all ages, including the world-renowned sea lions, street performers and live daily entertainment.
The Aquarium of the bay at Pier 39 is a must see tourist attraction. The aquarium has a wide variety of marine life with the opportunity to touch certain marine species of the bay. It is indeed a unique experience. Check out www.pier39shows.com for information on shows and activities.

The cruise to Alcatraz island, the home to America’s most notorious criminals is very popular among tourists. Information regarding cruise timings, purchase of tickets can be found at http://www.alcatrazcruises.com/ Another cruise which I would recommend is the cruise to Angel Island. It is a great place for biking, trekking and getting picture-perfect views of the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco skyline, Marin and Mt. Tamalpais. Bikes can be rented on the island and tourists can enjoy miles of biking and hiking on trails with beautiful, scenic views on every bend of the trail. It’s a simply marvelous and rejuvenating experience.
Pier 39 is also a good place to watch the July 4 fireworks.

For chocoholics, the Ghirardelli Square, located at 900 North Point St is a must-see tourist attraction. You can indulge yourself in the sumptuous, sinful chocolates, shop and dine and just have a good evening.

Finally, I’ll write about the Golden Gate Bridge which is a tourist attraction throughout the world. It is beautiful beyond words; the golden red bridge just looks like a vision, a gateway to heaven! Also worth visiting is the Conservatory of Flowers, a spectacular museum of rare and beautiful flowers at the Golden Gate Park.

Check out the virtual Golden Gate Bridge walk which I found very cool.
http://goldengatebridge.org/photos/bridgewalk.php#

New York - City of Blinding Lights

2008-02-17T10:01:00.006-05:00

The city that immediately comes to my mind after Mumbai is New York. When I visited New York, it just felt like home and in many ways New York is just like an elder sister to Mumbai.

New York(NY) is around a 4 hour drive from Washington D.C and there are several bus services that make to and fro trips between NY and D.C. The Greyhound bus line is one such service which is very popular, prompt in time, offers flexibility in times of departure and arrival, allows online reservation and is highly recommended my me. This link can be used for making reservations and for other information http://www.greyhound.com/home/en/TicketsAndTravel/TicketsAndTravelInfo.aspx
A lot of information about which hotel to stay, the price per night and hotel reviews are available at www.yelp.com. I was put up at the Manhattan Broadway Budget motel when I visited NY.

NY has an excellent public transportation system, so site-seeing in NY is not a problem at all. However the NY subway system is very extensive and confusing(unlike the Washington D.C Metro) and hence difficult for any tourist to figure out which subway to take reach any destination. For this purpose I found this online scheduler extremely useful :
http://www.hopstop.com/?city=newyork
You just have to enter the starting and ending address and the site returns a list of subway trains and buses that you need to reach the destination.

The important places to see on visit to NYC are the Empire State Building, Central Park, Times Square (at night) and the Statue of Liberty (but of course!). The Empire State Building(named after the city's nickname) is a 102 story high rise. The observatory on the 86th floor offers a breathtaking view of Manhattan and beyond. In order to avoid waiting in a long line for buying tickets to the observatory, it is advisable to buy and print tickets online. With the online tickets you can directly join the line to the elevators that take you to the observatory. Online tickets can be purchased using the link https://www.esbnyc.com/tickets/index.cfm?CFID=26334885&CFTOKEN=92360456

The next destination is Central Park. It is a huge public, urban park(843 acres) located in the middle of a concrete jungle! You can either take a long peaceful stroll around the park or take the bike ride around (if you have a time crunch) for $55. The Central Park is a hot destination for movie and sitcom shootings, so you might be lucky to bump into a celebrity during your visit there. (Unfortunately for me, I didn't see anyone). The Metropolitan Museum of Art(METS) located inside the park is also a good place to see.

The trip to NYC will be futile if you don't go visit Lady Liberty! Several ferry rides are available to visit the Statue of Liberty from Bowling Green. You can also get to see the magnanimous New York skyline from the ferry, which for me was the best part of the visit.

Lastly, before leaving NY make it a point to go to Times Square to see the brilliantly lit up city at night and indulge yourself in shopping. The words that came to my mind while I was in Times Square were lyrics from the U2 song:

"I miss you when you are not around,
I'm getting ready to leave the ground

Oh you look so beautiful tonight
In the city of blinding lights"

So go visit this beautiful city, I'm positive you will fall in love with it.

Mumbai!

2008-02-13T23:01:00.005-05:00

How can I write a blog about tourist places and not write about Mumbai! Mumbai, the city of dreams, the city that never sleeps, is the city I grew up in and hence have a special bond with the city. As a tourist one may find the city very crowded with too much hustle-bustle, but its this rush and commotion that exudes the city's spirit and energy. Some of the tourist attractions of Mumbai can be found in the following links(I would rate them pretty useful)

http://www.indiatourism.com/mumbai-tourism/must-see-mumbai.html

http://www.mumbaihub.com/tourism-destinations-in-mumbai.html

Let me talk about my personal favorite places in the city. The top on my list is Marine Drive, a 3 km stretch of road, flanked by posh high rises on one side and the Arabian Sea on the other. It is also called the Queen's Necklace because with the street lights illuminated at night it looks like a stream of gleaming pearls from an elevation. The best way to de-stress yourself in the fast pace city is to sit by the rocks along the stretch, feel the cool breeze blowing through your hair and just gaze into the sun setting into the distant horizon. There are several good restaurants on Marine Drive. I would recommend "Not Just Jazz by the Bay". Its a really nice place with good ambiance(and karaoke). An ice-cream parlor called "Naturals" is also a must-visit place as it has the world's best ice-cream made with fresh, pure and natural ingredients.

My second favorite place is Bandra BandStand. It's a good tourist spot and also a hot location for Bollywood shooting. Bandra is also a good place to shop with both expensive and cheap options. You can have the option of going to malls and also have the option of picking up good stuff from road-side shops. The good places for low budget shopping are Linking Road(in Bandra) and Fashion Street (on MG Road). Linking Road and Fashion Street is the place where fashion conscious collegians and youngsters come to shop. An important aspect of shopping at these places in the art of haggling which adds to the fun! An important tip to keep in mind while shopping at these places is to reduce the price (that you are going to pay) to half the quoted price. Crawford Market is another very good place to shop and is especially good for home shopping items like crockery, table covers, glasses, bed spreads, etc.

Chaat food which is the Indian fast food is another thing to die for in the city. Preparations like Pav Bhaji, Vada Pav, Pani Puri, Sev Puri, Bhel Puri, Samosas, Kachoris can be relished in any hotel or also on beaches like Chowpatty and Juhu. The beaches in the city are very crowded and appears as thought the entire city has descended onto the sands just to get a breath of fresh air. If you want to go to a quieter and cleaner beach, I would recommend beaches like Madh Island and Marve Beach.

Another place that I love to visit frequently is the Siddhivinayak temple at Prabhadevi. It is the temple of Lord Ganesha, one of the most-worshiped Hindu deities in Mumbai and also in India. Information about the temple history can be found at its official website:

http://www.siddhivinayak.org/home.asp

Well, I can go on and on about Mumbai but I guess I'll stop now. It is indeed very difficult to capture the spirit and energy of the city using mere words. You have to visit the place to experience it (and I forgot to mention that one must travel in the local trains at least once to get a feel of "living life at the edge"). The novel "Maximum City" by Suketu Mehta is a wonderful novel that describes the city in its entirety.

Finally, all the Mumbai lovers, please do leave your comments about your favorite place in Mumbai and share your experience with the city in this blog.

Kerela - Wayanad

2008-02-11T11:15:00.001-05:00

I got the opportunity to visit Kerela for the first time when I went down to India this winter. The place I visited was the north of Kerela called Wayanad, a district. It is set inside the dense, majestic Western Ghats of India. The forests are also famous(or infamous) for being the home of the now slain forest brigand Veerappan.

Wayanad is around 7 hours drive from Bangalore. The drive is also beautiful as you pass through the lofty, green forest area. There are a lot of resorts where you can stay there, but I would personally recommend a resort called "Vythiri". It is definitely one of the finest resorts I've stayed in. The resort is inside the middle of a forest. It has several rustic looking cottages, hammocks tied outside each cottage for relaxing, coffee house, T.V room, club house (with pool tables, carrom boards, Table Tennis), swimming pool and a restaurant. The whole resort has a unique antique look with brick and wood cottages, a wooden swinging bridge, a naturally formed pool (from a waterfall) and even a waterfall that you can trek to! Now, this is definitely a lot of nature that the resort can boast about!! Apart from the location and the ambiance, the service was also splendid. Each meal(breakfast, lunch and dinner) was sumptuous and had the most exquisite cuisine. The resort also had a spa center where you could get herbal face and body messages done. The one thing that is a "must do" and that I strongly recommend on visiting Kerela is to pamper yourself by getting the message. It's the perfect way to relax yourself on a vacation! I guess I have done enough marketing for the resort! For more information related to booking and other questions, refer the link http://www.nivalink.com/vythiri/index.html

Another good place to visit in Wayanad is the Pookat lake. It is a good family place where one can rent a paddle boat and go around the lake surrounded by flora and fauna. It is also a very good place to shop for spices and other handicraft items as it is not overpriced. I would highly recommend buying spices like pepper, cinnamon, cloves, the herbal face scrub(made with natural ingredients). There are also a lot of handicraft items made of wood which would make very good gifts/souvenirs. A special item that has to be purchased is green pepper pickle(that is if and ONLY if you are a spice digger!). Another must buy is the vanilla tea or any other flavored tea.

So that's all I have to share about my experience with Kerela. I haven't had the opportunity to visit the south of Kerela (the backwaters) and other famous tourist spots like Munnar, kumarakom, kovalam, trivandrum, cochin,etc. But Kerela definitely is the one of the most perfect places to have a vacation home.(I wish I could have one there!). Useful links to plan your trip to Kerela are : http://www.kerelatourism.com/
http://www.keralagreenery.org/.

Hope my blog will entice everyone to visit "God's own country"! Feel free to share your experiences and recommendations if you have been to any place in Kerela.

Tourist Places - Intro

2008-02-10T16:14:00.000-05:00

I can’t believe I’m actually starting my own blog, considering how I cringe at the thought of writing! But this grand beginning is thanks to my professor Dr. Oliver Schlake who has left me with no option but to start a blog (since it constitutes 20% of the grades!). So I started researching on blogs and how they work. I always had the impression that blogs was just like an online version of a personal diary where people can record their memories, but I was so wrong! It’s so much more than that! When I googled for information I found thousands of articles on techniques to create blogs, how to increase traffic into your blog, what topic to choose to write blogs, how to link your blogs to other sites and vise versa, how to monetize blogs, and the list went on and on. In simple words, blogs are not merely a personal diary; you can earn a fortune by blogging! I got enlightened about terms like Google AdSense, affiliate advertising, sponsor ads, etc. So basically you can bid farewell to corporate America, sit at home, write blogs and earn money! Of course, your blog or web site has to be really good and it really helps if you have an expertise in a certain topic. I am not a “subject matter expert” in any particular area, and it took me a good deal of thinking to decide what my blog topic should be.

I am a person who is passionate about traveling to different places; yes I have the wanderlust bug. So I thought it would be a good idea to share my travel experiences with everyone. I come from India and I was fortunate to get the opportunity to visit several beautiful places in India. India has a lot of diversity even in terms of nature, the snow clad Himalayas in the north, the backwaters in the south, the Thar desert in the north-west, the tea plantations in the east, etc. Presently I am living in the U.S (pursuing Master’s) and have visited a lot of beautiful places here too. I will use my blog as a platform to talk about all the incredible places I’ve visited, give a few tips about what to eat, where to go and basically share my travel experiences. All the readers are welcome to add in their own experiences or suggestions if they have any. So welcome to my blog, Tourist Places in India and U.S. I know a more appropriate title to my blog would be “My travel experiences” or “Places I’ve Visited”, but the chosen title and URL is just to make my blog more popular with AdSense and AdWords. For the mere mortals who don’t understand what I’m talking about, it really dosen’t matter. Please stay glued to my blog for updates and please feel free to contribute.