Travel

Budapest, pronounced Budapescht, consists of two cities, hilly Buda in the west, and flat Pest in the south. The city structure is similar to Prague. Day 1 Start your day with a walking tour. While there are many specific ones like focusing on Jewish quarters etc. I chose the generic one which covers the history and the culture of the city. After the tour, spend time checking out the castle before heading down to the Hospital in the rock. It was a hospital built during the cold war to survive a nuclear attack. The guided tour at this place is subpar though. ...

Vienna is a historic city. First, a pivotal battle between the Ottoman Empire and Western Europe was fought in 1683, and then, during the second world war, significant support to Hitler came from Vienna. Some tips for the first-timers The dominant spoken language is German, but it is not hard to find English speakers. Public transport is great and a 24-hour pass costs 8 Euros. Most of the good spots are near the city center, so don’t stay too far away. Toilets inside shopping malls, big grocery stores, and restaurants are usually free. Outside ones charge 0.5 Euro. Which museum to see Vienna is full of museums, and one can spend a week just checking out the museums. Entry cost varies from 4 Euros to 20 Euros. I would recommend deciding what you want to see and make a decision based on that. I was not interested in checking out natural history or art museums since they are similar to the museums I have seen before. Therefore, I picked “Museum of Art Fakes” and “Museum of Abortion and Contraception.” Both unusual and unique to Vienna. ...

Prague, or “Praha” in Chezch, is probably the most famous city in Eastern Europe. The city boasts medical castles, museums, and quite a few quirky attractions. Some tips for first timers The local currency is the Czech Crowns, and many shops are cash-only. Toilets are paid even at cafes like Starbucks. Free ones are usually available at the Restaurants. Do try Doughnut ice-cream cones. They are not native to Prague but a cliché food item to eat at this point. Day 1 Start your day with walking tours; I did Old Town & Jewish Quarter Tour at noon followed by Charles Bridge & Prague Castle Tour, two hours each. The two tours would cover a big chunk of the history and the culture of Prague. ...

Maui is a small but beautiful island of Hawai’i. Here is a recommended 4-day itinerary for Maui. This itinerary is a slightly modified version of what I was able to do. The public transport on the island is poor. For solo travel outside the rainy season, I would recommend renting a moped to go around. Otherwise, rent a car. The island has a much more developed western part consisting of Kaanapali and Lahaina, which have major resorts. ...

We sailed on the Windstar cruise in French Polynesia. On a 7-day cruise, we stopped on six different islands, including two days in Bora Bora. The cruise ship has a crew of 99 and 74 staterooms for~150 passengers. This ratio ensures exceptionally personalized service, and you get to know pretty much everyone else on the ship. The crew members learn everyone’s name pretty quickly, and, especially, in our case, we got custom orders for vegetarian food of our choice regularly. ...

Getting to French Polynesia Getting from the US to French Polynesia used to be hard and expensive, with Air Tahiti Nui being the only option from the Los Angeles airport (LAX). In 2018, French Bee and United Airlines started direct flights from San Francisco (SFO) to Papeete (PPT). Papeete, the main island, is relatively dull, and there is nothing much to do at it. The two best islands are Moorea and Bora Bora. Alternatively, one can take a 10+ day-long cruise from New Zealand or Australia. ...

Natural Bridges National Monument in Utah is a National Park consisting of three natural bridges. One can spend ~1-3 hours hiking nearby each of the bridges. The hikes are short and require ascent/descent. Even without the hike, one can drive around to see the views. While one can hike to the bottom of Sipapu Bridge, the Kachina bridge can only be seen from a distance. And that too after a hike. If you are short on time, skip this one. ...

Kauai is the nature island of Hawai’i. It is smaller than Big Island and way less developed than Oahu. Kauai is more about hikes and waterfalls than watersports. Day 1 We started our first day with Kauai’s Hindu Monastery It’s a beautiful temple with picturesque surroundings. I would recommend reserving a few hours to check out the whole area. The monastery is only accessible till noon, so, plan accordingly. Then we headed to Makauwahi cave, it’s a bit of drive, but the caves are accessible only for a few days every week from 10 AM -2 PM. Unfortunately, the caves were closed due to a medical emergency, but the short hike to the caves and the tortoise farm was excellent. ...

Antelope Canyon is probably the most photographed canyon in the world. Located in the Navajo Indian preservation, only guided tours are permitted. We took a trip to Antelope Canyon Tours. The tour lasts about an hour, and it takes ~20 mins one-way drive to reach the canyon. There aren’t any hikes, just simple walks in the canyon. Everyone is crazy running around and taking photos, so it does become a bit hard to enjoy in the mad rush. Even then, if you are in the area, I would recommend booking a tour in advance to visit the canyon. ...

For the uninitiated, French Laundry is one of the best restaurants in the world. I got a chance to try the tasting menu. I had a vegetarian, or to be precise, a lacto-vegetarian (milk and cheese but not eggs) meal here. The restaurant looks nondescript from the outside, and it is easy to miss it while driving. It was an 8-10 course meal, depending on how you count a course. Portion sizes were small but delicious. And there was a gap of about 15-20 mins before each serving. So, a commitment of 3-4 hours for the full course. ...