Travel

Miami is hot and humid. I would recommend visiting during winters (Nov-Feb). You can fly directly or use it as a stop over for visiting the Caribbean or doing a Carribbean cruise Unlike Chicago or Boston, Miami does not have good public transport, so, I would recommend renting a car. Day 1 Start the day with a visit to Seaquarium for a Dolphin show. Follow this with a visit to Everglades National Park, do watch the show here, and get a chance to hold an alligator or a snake in your hand. ...

While touring United States, I ended up in Kentucky. There isn’t a lot to do in Kentucky, especially, during the winters that I visited. So, here are a few small ideas for a day trip. I would recommend starting the day with Kentucky Derby Museum which is famous for its annual Kentucky Derby Horse race. Afterwards, check out the sit-in demonstration site of the 1961 civil rights movement at 501 S Fourth St. ...

After an amazing 5-day trip in Sri Lanka, we were to catch a late night Air India flight from Colombo to New Delhi. The flight was delayed to due an engine malfunction. First by an hour. Then another hour. And four-hours later, when the repair work finished, the flight pilot’s shift had already ended! An emergency flight was planned and it was supposed to arrive 20-hours later! Air India sent all the passengers to a complimentary all-inclusive stay in Taj Samundra. ...

While touring United States, I ended up in Tennessee. There isn’t a lot to do in Tennessee, especially, during the winters that I visited. So, here are a few small ideas for a day trip. I would recommend starting the day with Rednor Lake State Park Check out The Parthenon. It is a full-scale replica of The Parthenon in Athens, Greece. I would recommend combining your trip with a visit to the city of Birmingham in Alabama and the city of Louisville located in Kentucky. ...

Alabama is a flyover state with historic connections to the civil rights movement of the United States. I spent a day in Birmingham, Alabama and here’s what I would recommend visiting. Start your day with Birmingham Civil Right Institute which talks about the race relations and the civil rights movements for the Black citizens. I would recommend spending an hour or two here. From here, visit Sloss Furances, a historic landmark around industrialization of the United States. ...

Mt. Fuji is a tough but gorgeous hike. It is much shorter than Grand Canyon or Mt. Whitney and can be done on a day trip.

Unlike Tokyo, Kyoto is a nice and cozy city. We started the day with a walking tour that gave us an intense view of this city of shrines. There is a lot to do in this city. However, I would recommend focusing on a few of the best specific shrines. Inari Shrine - do the full mountain hike to the top and check the small waterfalls on the backside Kinkaku-ji Shrine Ninna-ji temple - a 1200-year-old temple with several statues of Hindu gods sculpted in 800 AD. ...

Tokyo isn’t a city per se but a prefecture. A prefecture is more akin to a county in the US. Japan has 47 prefectures. I would recommend two important cities in Tokyo to spend your time in - Akihabara Electronic District and Shinjuku (fancy) District.

Sri Lanka is a small island country near the southern coast of India. My trip was heavily focused on Ramayana and Hinduism. While I loved it, those who have little interest in Hinduism might find the trip. Like Kerala and Sikkim, I had a chauffered guide for the trip. I would highly recommend doing that, otherwise, a packed trip becomes harder to pull off. You can see a list of recommended guides here.

Granada Granada is one of the oldest European settlements in the Americas. While it has nice Spanish-era architecture, there isn’t a lot to do in Granada. I would recommend starting your day with a walking tour.