Aussie land

While our stay in Australia we visited 3 main cities Sydney, Cairns & Melbourne. Although Australia may seem small based on the maps we have seen growing up but in reality it is much bigger . Check out the below map to see how well a lot of Europe is fitted into this island.

Sydney & Melbourne are mainly big cities with a couple of the historic spots around the town. But thanx to our host, my cousin Guddi we had a great time around Sydney. Vinay took some surfing lessons at Bondi beach & we saw the Blue mountains here. They seemed a bit over rated national park or maybe, its just that we had seen much better scenic reserves in SA before. Also here's where we met the cute & cuddly koala & kangaroo !!!

Cairns is a completely different town, very laid back & sunny. We did our first scuba dive here & visited a couple of waterfalls & rain forest with really funny tour guide. He goes by Barefoot tours & is one of the best ones we had in our trip so far .

Melbourne, of the 3 cities we saw seemed more fun. It has various modern art structures randomly placed around the city. It made the walk around the city a little more interesting.

With Guddi & Hanish in Sydney

 

12 Apostles along the Great Ocean Road

Koala Klub !!

Roo Rules !!

Australia & Europe comparision chart

Spectacular & Spiritual !!! : Thailand

Our visit to Thailand was split in two parts. The first one, which was the most fun one too, was the one to the lovely islands of Phuket & Phi Phi. After almost two months of just the 2 of us travelling; here we were joined by my nephew Ridaan & his family ;) It was fantastic !!

The islands here were the first & the only place in our trip where we got warm ocean water. It was crystal clear blue water where we did snorkeling, kayaking & swimming. Lovely beaches & land forms comprise of the landscape. Random rock structures standing in the middle of the waters make the sight so scenic.While at Phuket we also got to participate in an annual local festival known as Loi Krathong. We also got to see the famous James Bond Island & took day trips to couple of nearby islands. Locals here are very friendly & helpful.

Our second part of the trip was around the city of Bangkok. The city has over 200 temples of which we visit the 3 popular ones. One has a 5 ton pure gold Buddha idol, other one had a 46 meter long reclining Budhha & another one had 108 Budhha lined around the main temple.Each idol was simply serene & the temple, lovely. We also got to see the Royal Palace, which comprise of vibrant colored roofs which I absolutely love, ancient guards, tall shrines & pagodas.

Last but not the least, one of the most fun aspect of Bangkok was shopping !!! I'm sure every gurl who has visited the city would agree with me ;)

Ariel view of the Islands

Famous James Bond Island

Loi Kratong Festival

Colorful layered roof of the temples

Some more Wilderness : Zimbabwe & SA

Our shortest stay in a country ever would have to be Zimbabwe - just 2 days. Only purpose was to see the gr8 Victoria Falls & those were lovely. It is said that falls are at its peak from May to September but you can't see much of the falls then due to the mist & spray created by the thunderous falls. October to February brings low water levels but one can actually see the falls. Am sure the falls would be a lovely sight to see any time of the year.

After Zimbabwe we headed back to South Africa to play with the cubs. Truly an amazing experience !! We got to play with 2 of the cubs & also feed some giraffes. They are so cute. Also got to see more lions & other wild animals. I would recommend the Lion Park as a must go!! place for anyone visiting Johannesburg or Zimbabwe. Its something you would not get to anywhere else ...!!

Land of Contrast : South Africa

South Africa is a gorgeous country....it has everything from mountains to beaches.... oceans to lagoons..... & penguins to lions. While our stay here we got to see a wide array of natural landscape. Till date I thought Switzerland was the most beautiful as it has a wide green landscape but now I can say SA is equally good.

Here we visited the sites of Table Mountain, which is located right in the middle of the city or may be the city of Cape Town was developed around it as it's said that the Table Mountain is 6 times older than the Himalayas. Took hikes up the Cape Point & Cape of Good Hope & got to see the merge of the Indian & Atlantic oceans. During our stay at Knysna, which is a lagoon town, Vinay did the bungee jumping while I stayed at bay ;) Here we also saw the mouth of Storm river meeting with the Atlantic . The most amazing thing for me was to see the oceans right next to the mountains. Simply laying by the shore & watch the waves splash against the rocks felt so blissful . Luckily we also got to see whales & dolphins right by the shore.

I would definitely like to come back to the country someday !!!



12 Apostles

 

The Famous Table Mountain

Atop Table Mountain & Lion's Head Mountain in the back



Flat Table top

 

Cape of Good Hope

5, 4, 3, 2,  Bungee !!!!

Dry grasslands

Empty roads of SA

Loved the colorful houses at the beach

Knysna, the lagoon town

Lighthouse at Cape Point