Vibsville

We ended our trip to Finland with 3 nights in Berlin. As first timers there we wanted to do the main tourist spots, but wanted to avoid the large group tours. I suggest booking a free walking tour or a paid one. I booked a 4 hour paid walking tour with a local guide which was a wonderful experience. Without context of the sights, simply walking through them is meaningless. Also, a local guide can figure out a plan in terms of locations and also use the local transit such as bus, underground etc to ensure a complete experience. We were lucky to find Maria (found her online). Contact her on:  roessler-gastaldi@arcor.de She is Italian but has lived in Berlin for over 35 years and can really give an insider outsider view of the city. So many decades of information packed into one human being - remarkable!  Her toured covered the following: Old Berlin: We will start our sightseeing tour almost in front of your hotel with the beautiful square Gendarmenmarkt Within a short  walk we w

Much like all travel enthusiasts, we too, wanted to “see the light(s)”! First question is which country to see it from. Well, we tried Iceland already and were unsuccessful in our attempt, so this time the toss up was between Norway and Finland. The Norwegian fiords, train through Bergen and the cruises to see polar bears pulled us towards saving Norway for a summer holiday (the activities and place change completely with seasons here), pointing us towards Finland. Also, turns out Finland is more “affordable” compared to Norway. Destination being decided, we had to plot how long and which cities to visit. After much research and conversations with friends who had visited, we narrowed in on flying into Helsinki, which at least in the winter was bitterly cold, windy and hence really not much fun to walk around. It’s also relatively small, so a half day there gave us sufficient time to see the main sights which are: 1) market square 2) sebilious monument (Must visit the tiny but full of c

While most people will tell you Bali is small, which is indeed true remember that travel times from one part of the island to another is roughly 1.5 hours, the topography changes as you traverse the island and the offerings (hotels, adventure tours etc) change depending on the region. Hence, it’s important to know what you want out of your holiday. If you are looking for beach time, head South (closer to airport). If you are ok with skipping the beach, head to Ubud (centrally located) and make this your base for your excursions or split between the two. Beaches in Bali are infamous for tides that have caused many drownings so I’d suggest enjoying the hotel pool for swimming enjoying the view of the Ocean. Where to stay in Bali ? There are MANY MANY MANY hotels to choose from; it’s overwhelming. Obviously, start with your budget. At the extreme luxury end, are the four seasons, Ritz Carlton and Amandari. These are gorgeous resorts all along the river (all in a row interes

One can spend over a month discovering Vietnam. If you, like us, want to touch on the primary toursist sites, a week should suffice. You can cover the country from N-S or S-N and book flights either into Hanoi and out of HCMC or vice versa, saving both time and money. The currency is grossly depreciated to the dollar, so you will have to re-align yourself. We ate many a meal costing over 5 million Vietnamese dong for 3 people ;) Overall, tourism is very affordable, as are meals and getting around. If you choose to stay in luxury hotels, needless to say, you have to pay a price. Hanoi We stayed at intercontinental west lake - standard upscale business hotel. As the name suggest, it was, well, "located on the lake". We walked to the pagoda and the Ho Chin mausoleum- stopped at a temple long the way. Honestly, wasn’t over whelmed by any of the sights.. the vibe is relaxed since we didn’t encounter many tourists so there is no major hustle bustle at the spots. Lunch was th

The first decision to make when you plan a trip to the exotic islands of Seychelles is which island to stay on. Mahe is the most inhabited island and also your port of entry. A direct flight of about 4.5 hours from bombay gets you into Mahe. Post landing, in about 30 minutes to an hour you can be at your hotel. Mahe has the maximum number of hotel options to pick from and has restaurants and shops to explore unlike the other more remote islands. The Four Seasons is a top pick in the luxury segment.  If you want minimal travel, and enjoy some hustle and bustle on holidays this might be the right island for you. However, most people choose the Seychelles to “get away from it all.” Therefore, i suggest picking another island to base yourself on and enjoy the remoteness and serenity that will welcome you. The second most inhabited island is Praslin. A 15 minutes flight connects you from Mahe or you can take a 50 minute ferry ride. The ferry jetty is about 15 minutes drive from t

The most important thing to determine when planning a trip to Hawaii is which islands to visit and thereafter how many days to spend on them. My picks were Centered around meeting my college friend who lives in Oahu so that was definitely going to Be my base. She recommended adding on Maui to my trip so that was it - decision made. However, once there I was regaled with tales from other tourists on how amazing Kuai is and how doing a lava tour on the Big Island is the "best thing we've ever done!". So as you can tell, there is no easy answer to this.   From my experience, Oahu (home to the famous Waikiki beach) is great if you have friends there or if you want a fill blown tourist experience with shopping, best in class restaurants and a little bit of city/island. If you want to get away from the crowds, do NOT go to Oahu - it's tourist paradise and you will get crowds at every tourist spot you visit.   Another important thing to note is that you have to fly i