Indonesia (Bali, Yogyakarta, Gili Air)

While picking countries for our trip this time, weather was the deciding factor. It looked like Indonesia was one of the few countries that doesn't have much rains during this time(August) of the year. So, Bali it was. Here is our itinerary for Bali. 

Day 0: Fly in

Day 1: Pool dive in Seminyak -> Sunset at Tanah Lot

Day 2: Day trip to Yogyakarta

Day 3: USS Liberty shipwreck dive in Tulamben

Day 4: Ferry to Gili Air

Day 5: Free/dive day in Gili air 

Day 6: Ferry back to Bali -> Temple visits -> Ubud

Day 7: Sightseeing in Ubud

Day 8: Sightseeing in Ubud

Day 9: Fly out

Where to fly

We were flying in from China and most of the connections were via Kuala Lumpur. The Denpasar(DPS) airport in Bali is located south of the island. That's the only international airport catering to many international flight. Since the visa was on arrival, we hadn't applied for anything earlier. We had to stand in the queues, but they were very fast moving. It didn't take us long to clear immigration.

When to go

Our travel dates were fixed, so we searched for non-rainy places in August in south east Asia and it turned out that Bali has good weather conditions in August. But definitely check for weather conditions before you plan. If it rains, it will not be fun.

Where to stay in Bali

This was a big question. You got to choose from plenty of options like Seminyak (an upscale town with lots of traffic), Kuta (more posh than Seminyak), Ubud (a very touristy part of the island, with crazy traffic) and Nusa Dua (private beach resorts in south of the island). We decided to stay in Seminyak for a few days and then Ubud. We were also heading out to Yogyakarta and Gili islands in between. 

Day 0

Our incoming flight from Kuala Lumpur was delayed by 4 hours. So we reached around midnight. Luckily, the hotel we were staying at provided airport pickup, so it worked out pretty well. Else, we figured that the taxis from airport don't charge you a fair amount. They charge exorbitantly over the metered price and there is no other mode of transportation into the city. Once we reached our hotel (Ossotel Legian Bali), I was so happy to find out they had 24 hour room service and I ordered a bowl of soup as I was super hungry. The weather was just perfect and the rooms in the hotel were nice. There was door on the backside to lead you to the beach. But this day was over and we had something exciting to do the next day.

Day 1

We had to head out to the Scuba Diving office for a pool dive before our scuba dive session. Luckily breakfast was included and the hotel had a pretty decent restaurant where we had breakfast and then headed out to the office of Adventure Scuba Diving which wasn't very far away. The office and the pool are located in a very well built house/office building. Our instructor was very nice and very calm. He gave us all the instructions and we were ready for Scuba diving in the pool. Since the instructor was holding my hand all through the dives to the pool bottom, I felt very comfortable and felt that I will be ready for the real dive day after. Once we were done with the pool dives, Sumit and I started walking back to our hotel as there were no cabs nearby. Plus, walking was faster as the cabs were all stuck in a traffic jam. 

Butterfly tattoo

While walking back to the hotel, we stopped for lunch at a restaurant, Kopi-O. All through the island, cold coffee was just awesome. We also ordered some fried rice and some chips. Everything was good. Then we walked back to our hotel through the streets lined with shops  and did some shopping too. Bargain hard. Don't be shy to quote as low at 20-30% of the asking price. On our walk back, we realized that for our evening trip to Tanah Lot, cab will be a bad idea, we should just rent a scooter. Luckily we had a scooter rental right across our hotel, but it was  2 day rental, we somehow convinced him for 2 days and got the deal. Also, the laundry service was right across the hotel and they charged per kg. Very cheap to get laundry done in Bali.  

We snaked through the heavy traffic on our way to Tanah Lot. Directions on Google maps are very accurate. We made it just before sunset. But by the time we reached from the parking lot to the temple, we couldn't go in, as they close the entryway sharp at 5 or 6 pm I believe. So check before you go. But we got some beautiful shots. The weather was just too good. While walking back to our scooter, I decided to get a henna tattoo from one of the shops and then we headed straight to Seminyak Square.  

Plenty of options here to drink, dine and party. We ate vegetarian burger at Nirvana restaurant -burger bar. Then we headed to Gelato shack for some awesome gelato. One of the best gelatos I have had. After this we were headed to the scooter rental and our hotel as we had an early morning the next day.

Day 2

Borobudur

Parambanan

We had booked a 10 am flight to Yogyakarta. There is one hour time difference and its an hour long flight. So we reached around the same time. We had already booked a driver for our tour. We had booked him after looking at a lot of tripadvisor reviews. Here is the link to our Yogyakarta driver. We drove straight to Borobudur, where we got a guide with the ticket purchase. It lived up to its expectations. Then we headed straight to Parambanan. Here we didn't hire any guide, just the tickets. Spent an hour here and also took some clicks during sunset. I was thoroughly impressed by the scale of these temples. I have never been to Hindu temples outside India, so I found this quite fascinating. Both Borobudur and Parambanan are worth a visit I'd say. We grabbed our lunch and dinner at an Indian restaurant close to the airport, Taj Indian Kitchen. Traffic here wasn't as bad as Bali. Also, while driving and from the top level of Borobudur, you can see some of the active volcanoes. And of course, our return flight at 9 pm was delayed by an hour or so. So we reached around midnight again. This time since our hotel wasn't picking us up, we had to pay that extra surcharge to the taxi drivers.

Day 3

Today was our big scuba diving day. We were picked up bright and early in a mini van from our hotel and we were headed to the north of the island, for Tulamben shipwreck dive. Our hotel gave us packed breakfast since we were leaving before the regular breakfast time. It took us about 3 hours to reach there. 

Once we reached, our instructor gave us some more instructions and got our gear ready. We had 2 dives to go to. We  were located at a restaurant by the beach. While our instructor got our gear ready, we changed into our swim wear and diving suits. And headed out to the beach. Here we dived about 10 meters. The fish were exquisite. We had no trouble equalizing and it was a whole different world. Diving was so much more comfortable than the pool dive. We took a few pictures, a video and spent about 30 minutes under water. But I couldn't let go off my instructor's hand. I was nervous being all by myself. The best thing our instructor had said was, "There is nothing that can go wrong, which I can't fix". After we got done with our first dive, we came back to the restaurant and our lunch was ready. We took about an hour long break and then walked to the shipwreck dive site. It was a few meter away and was super crowded being a popular dive spot.  

Happy Divers

We dived in, but I had trouble equalizing, so we went only till about 7 meters instead of 12 meters we could ave. But looking at the ship wreck was a new experience. I wish we could have gone a bit deeper to experience it more up close. 

Once done, we headed back to the hotel and it was another 3 hour long drive and we slept through it mostly. Once back, we freshened up and headed straight o Queen's Tandoor in Seminyak, an India restaurant. There was wait, so we strolled the streets and went to the shops nearby to kill time. Didn't buy anything in particular. Food here was decent enough, but costlier than other places we had been to. Once done, we thought we'll Uber. But the Uber cancelled on us, since there was a lot of traffic. This we realized later, was a norm. We somehow managed a taxi and got back to our hotel.

Day 4

Manta Dive Gili Air resort

Today we were leaving for Gili Air island. We had picked Gili Air as the reviews said it was more of a laid back place and that's what we were looking for. Gili Trawangan is a party island and Gili Meno is very laid back as well, but has fewer resources than Gili Air. So Gili Air it was. The way to get to the islands is either via ferry or by air. Make sure you book your ferries timely, because only a few providers have good ferry boats with good reviews and the frequency isn't as much as you'd like. We had booked Gili getaway one way and Blue Water Express for our return. Both had good services.  Here is the link to book the ferries. Make sure to book a "fast boat". And don't hesitate to look at other ports in Bali if your best option isn't available, as the transportation from your hotel is included. 

So, we were picked up at the given time, bright and early from our Seminyak hotel and driven to the Serangan port. Everything was smooth, check-in, bag tags and then we had to wait. They were giving a sea-sickness tablet, which I took as I knew I get sea sick. I am glad I did as the waters were really choppy and I slept through most of my ride. Also, make sure to pick the side of the boat where you won't get any sun. It took us about 90 minutes to the get to the Gili Air port. Since there are no motorized vehicles on the island, you can hire a horse cart. But, remember, everyone is trying to rip you off for some money. We were asked for some horrendous amount for 0.5 mile distance. So, we decided to walk. Good call. There are no paved roads here, btw. 

All meals by the beach

Our resort, Manta Dive Gili Air was located by the beach, like all the resorts. There was check in cabin where we checked in and were walked to our cottage. There were a couple of pools and across the road was a restaurant by the beach and some hammocks. This was the perfect place for a vacation. Once we got a bit settled, we got some food from the restaurant by the beach. The weather was perfect. Not too hot, not too humid. Then we rented a couple of bikes to go around the island. It would take only an hour on the bike. But we were 20 minutes into the ride, and I tried to ride in sand and bang, I fell. I had a huge cut in my ankle and I wasn't a happy kid. So, we cut short and walked the bike back to our hotel. Rest of the evening was all about a grumpy kid who fell off the bike. But, I wish we had continued further. The bikes were rusty and old, so we didn't. So rent better bikes and complete the loop, at least view the sunset on the other side :)

Day 5

Right way to vacay

It was what I call, "free vacation day". Sumit had plans to go diving, his briefing was happening in the same restaurant where I was killing time. So, I just sat close by and observed what was going on. Once he left, I knew he would be back only late afternoon. So, I decided to go get a massage. I looked up online and decided to go to H2O Yoga and meditation centre and I didn't like it much. Now mind you, I get sports massage done mostly, so unless the masseuse is working on the knots, I am not too impressed. But after the massage, I walked back to hotel and on my way stopped for a Crepe. Again, everything here is by the beach. Nothing happens inland! Then stopped by a few shops, but they were so much more expensive than the Bali island.

We snorkeled here a bit

I spent rest of the day on the hammock, reading a travel guide, drinking cold coffees, eating and browsing facebook. Perfecto! 

Once Sumit got back, we went to Cabalito De Mar for dinner. Really good location. Beautiful beach views, lovely weather and good food. I could just eat and eat. Then we got back and it was movie night. It was our last day on the island and next time I am going to stay here for a few more days.

Btw, Sumit had a great dive and saw many fish. He dived independently and was super excited to have done it all by himself, of course under the supervision of his dive master.

Day 6

Ditched plans to go for a run and see the other side of the island. I was on a vacation! Packed up, had breakfast and checked out. Glad I had booked this resort, Manta Dive Gili Air. Everything was smooth. Even before we had arrived, we had made a few calls to ask which fast boats would work best and about booking dives, etc. and the lady on the phone was super polite and super helpful. Except for a patchy wifi connection in our cottage, everything was just great. 

Pura Besakih with Mount Agung in the background

Again, a horse cart was horrendously expensive, so we just walked. We had booked Blue Water Express and they were pretty good too. I took the sea sickness tablet and it got me through the choppy water ride for the next 90 minutes. We had booked our return to Padang Bai as we wanted to visit a couple of temples on this side of the island and it made sense to land here. We had booked our driver for the day and he was picking us up. 

We were headed straight to Tirta Ganga first. I am glad we came to this side of the island. Beautiful lush green scenery. The temple wasn't too big. It had stepping stones in the water ponds. Lot of fish in the ponds. Was fun hopping on those stones. After a few pictures we were headed to Pura Besakih. It is the biggest temple on the island, with Mount Agung in the background. The tickets include a guide. But you need to buy some flowers, incense, etc. to actually enter the temple, else you can roam around in the complex. It was a very different architecture for temples. But then if you have seen one temple on the island, I guess you have seen them all. It was nice to see separate temples for Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh. Once we got done, drive to Ubud was another two hours. So we drove back to Ubud and there was just crazy traffic. Ubud is so much more crowded than Seminyak. Anyhow, we reached Ubud and checked in to our hotel, Komaneka Rasa Sayang. Not the most high end hotel, but a luxury hotel as per my standards. Great location, great staff, a balcony and a spacious room with a cookie jar.

Once we settled in, we headed to Ganesha for dinner. It was walking distance from our hotel and excellent food. Crispy chili potatoes were too goo. Highly recommended. We landed here for dinner the next two days as well. A very popular street and had everything you'd want. Then we asked our hotel staff to arrange a scooter for next two days the next morning and called it a day. 

Tirta Ganga

Day 7

Goa Gajah

After a late morning, we picked our scooter from the hotel lobby and headed straight to a laundry shop across the hotel. Then we went to the monkey forest. Everything was neatly inside our bags. The monkeys were too aggressive and I felt scared. Plus, I have seen quite a few monkeys in India, so I was okay doing this quickly. There were a lot of tourists, but I possibly wouldn't have kept calm if a monkey would have tried to snatch something from me. So, we quickly went around and I just wanted to get out. We stepped out and I felt so relieved. Whew! 

Then we headed to Queens in Ubud for lunch. Not that great food. Then, we drove to Goa Gajah. Paid entry tickets for this small cave temple. The cave entrance is pretty, but that's about it. Inside is a small dingy cave set up a temple and that's about it. A bit underwhelming I felt. Next, we drove to Tenguengen falls. Hiked all the 150-200 steps to the falls and back up. Too crowded, but I love waterfalls. Weather was good and the coconut water at the end of our hikes was the best. It was fun driving around the city on our scooter. We then headed straight to the Ganesha for dinner. Ordered chowmien and hara bhara kabab today. All good. Once we got back to our hotel, we looked up online for massage parlours and booked an appointment for the following day.   

Too many monkeys for my comfort

Day 8

Today we were headed to the rice terrace fields. It was hot and humid, so we ditched the hike around the fields. Just took a couple of pictures and spent time souvenir shopping around the area. Then, we drove back and went to Buda bar for some snacks. Decent snacks. After this we spent some time at the pool hotel and  headed for our massage at Shambalaya. Great pick. Good experience. Then we headed for dinner, straight to Ganesha for a simple dinner of dal and rice. 

Rice fields

Day 9

Our flight was early morning so we had booked a taxi to the hotel and we were ready to go. But Bali is one of the best vacation places to go to as everything is made convenient for tourists.

Where else could you go?

• Komodo islands for Komodo dragons. But the reviews were so bad, that we dropped the idea
• Jakarta for urban Indonesia
• Lombok islands 

Other pointers

Renting a scooter is the best option

• Rent a scooter. Cab is a bad idea. Scooter will take half the time.
• If you are booking a cab for the day, make sure you do that before you land in Bali. Drivers here are very busy so you need an advance booking.
• Food is good here and options are plenty. 
• While shopping, bargain, bargain, bargain. Go down to 20-30% of the asking price.
• Uber also works here, but during rush hours, drivers cancel their rides. Its a norm. So they aren't reliable.
• In case you are planning to book fast boats to any of the nearby islands, book them in advance too. There is a very high demand and only a limited options. We had to book our hotel reservations according to availability of the fast boats.
• If you are planning to get massages in one of the better places, book them a couple of days in advance as these are mostly booked too. 

Malaysia ( Kuala Lumpur - A day tour)

Initially we had no plans of going to Malaysia, but we figured that since we were travelling with Air Asia, we got a free stop over in Kuala Lumpur. Having been to Malaysia about ten years ago, I knew we could tour Kuala Lumpur in a day and Sumit didn't want to miss a chance to visit KL. So, we booked our flights in such a manner that we arrive in the morning around 7 am and our return flight was around 6 pm.

Visa on arrival:

Sumit and I had applied for e-visa online. We had our printed copies of the visas and we just had to get the passport stamped. But the queues for immigration were so long and so slow that it really dampened our spirits. We were standing in those queues for a little over an hour to get our passports stamped, even after procuring the visa before arriving in the country. So be prepared for these slow moving long queues.

Getting around:

We used KLEkspress, which a fast train service from the airport to the city centre. It was quick, convenient and had a frequent service. It took about 45 minutes to get to the city centre from here.
Other option is to Uber. We didn't realize at first, but Uber is very cheap here and cars are usually, neat and clean. So, we mostly ubered for rest of our day.

Our day:

From the skydeck

We got out of the airplane with our day packs. Got our visas stamped and took the fast train to the city centre. Here there was a tourist office where we consulted on what to do and how far it was. We had two things as top priority, KL tower and Petronas Towers.

Petting Zoo

We first grabbed breakfast at Starbucks and then ubered to the KL Tower. The uber driver dropped us right in front of the entrance. Here we got our tickets, which gave us access to the observation deck plus one extra activity. There was a wide range of options to choose from and we chose the Mini Zoo. Since it was still early in the morning, around 10 am, we didn't run into any long queues to get into the elevator the observation deck. After getting some great 360 degree views of the city and taking some pictures on the glass floor (it took us about 20-30 minutes in all), we headed for lunch at the Indian restaurant located in the shopping complex at the base of the tower. Average food, but it was good to grab something as the next meal would be after a while. Now was the turn to visit the Mini Zoo which was a free add-on to our skydeck ticket.
Surprisingly this mini zoo was quite fun. Parrots, iguanas, rabbits, python, tortoise, monkey, birds, this place had every animal I could think of. The moment I thought we were done, they led to another part of the zoo. I really enjoyed this place. It was so much fun! And a learning experience ;)

At the mini zoo

From here we ubered again to the Petronas Towers. We took some pictures at the base of the tower. I clearly remember that I came with my parents to KL about 10 years ago, it was not possible to fit the Petronas Towers in one frame with my digital camera and there was no concept of panoramas then. So, our guide took us to some far away park from where we could get a picture of tall, but tiny Petronas towers in a single frame. Thanks to the new phone cameras, we got some good clicks here.
Next option was to either go to the botanical gardens, aquarium, etc within the city, or head out to see the Batu caves. I had been there earlier with my parents a decade ago and I clearly remember that it wasn't much impressive. So, I researched for reviews and figured it was a clear no-no. So, Sumit and I stepped into a nearby mall - KLCC Suria and spent our time at a coffee shop in this huge air conditioned mall.

Petrona towers - 2007

Petrona towers - 2017

Next up, we had to head back to the airport and we had bought our return ticket through KL Ekspress, so we ubered back to the city centre railway station and got on to the train to head back to the airport. Once we reached the airport, we realized, it was another long queue and long wait to get inside the airport. After about an hour, we got in and head to our gates. We still had about 2 hours before our flight, so we went to the airport lounge. Luckily, our credit cards give us free access to premier lounges, which came as a blessing in this trip where flights are regularly delayed. We relaxed in one of the lounges. Got some food, took a break and relaxed. Then, we headed to our gate through another set of checkins, which took longer than expected and made us anxious tat we will miss our flight, only to find out that the flight was delayed. And, of course the monitors were not updated. The flight was delayed by three hours, which was the same time as the flight duration itself!
We were super hungry it was hard to find vegetarian options at the airport, but we luckily found Maggi cup-o-noodles. It was a long long wait before we got to board our plane.
Once we boarded, there was more confusion. We were sitting on the last seat, row 31, and we figured, the boarding passes were issued up til row 32. So, the passengers with row 32, had to de-board and wait for the next flight to Bali. Whew! Thank God we were row 31!
Nevermind, the flight took off and we were on our way to Bali. It was a short day trip to Kuala Lumpur, but well worth the stop over I think.

What we skipped:

Batu Caves from our 2007 visit

• Batu Caves: Can be covered in a single day, but I didn't have that many fond memories and reviews changed our may-be to a no.
• There are a few temples, mosques , Chinatown and famous flea market that you could go to during a day trip. But given that we had no enthu and it was super hot, we skipped it. Here is the walking map I had created. 
• There is much more to do in Malaysia, for instance Langkawi, Genting Highlands. Having been to Genting Highlands in my last trip, I thought it was just a mini version of Las Vegas, so was not at all interested.

China (Beijing, Xian, Shanghai)

For about two years, China had been on my list, just because I wanted to go see The Great Wall, the only wonder of the world left on my bucket list! But for some reason or the other, it didn't happen. So when it was time to plan for our next vacation, the decision was simple. We gotta go to China, and any other place would be a bonus. Here is our brief itinerary:
Day 0: Arrive in Beijing
Day 1: Tour of Great Wall of China -> half a day in Beijing
Day 2: Forbidden City -> Train to Xian
Day 3: Xian tour -> Terracotta warriors -> Fly to Shanghai
Day 4: Suzhou day tour
Day 5: Hangzhou day tour
Day 6: Shanghai day tour -> Fly out around midnight
This is a part of a much longer three week itinerary where we traveled to Indonesia, Cambodia and Singapore with a one day stop over at Kuala Lumpur

What to expect:

Let us get the expectations right. There are plenty of similarities between India and China, both being overpopulated, modern developing countries. I felt in many ways, China was more developed than India. But here are some observations and pointers to keep in mind:

Comfortable high speed trains

• There is no concept of a queue. It is mostly a funnel. After a couple of days, I was in that mode as well, "hum jahan khare hote hain, line wahin se shuru hoti hai". And it took me a while to unwind from that mode after getting back. Glad I grew up in India and knew how to deal with it.
• Hailing a cab is an art. But it isn't important that the person who hailed the cab, would be the one to get in. Person closest to where the cab stops, usually gets in. And the cabs can outrightly refuse to take you.
• Traffic is crazy. But, no matter how crowded it is, honking was way less than what I hear in India, close to nil. I was super impressed.
• Delayed flights are a norm. Be surprised if your flight is on time. And this is in general for east and south east Asia. No one will update the monitors or make announcements about the delay.
• China is surprisingly clean, with no garbage on the roads.
• People do not speak English. Use google translate even for address translations. And carry taxi cards for your cab drivers. they are life savers.
• Always take cabs from taxi queues outside your train stations or airports. Some drivers might offer you out of line service and you may be enticed to skip the queue, but it is not legit and they will ask for twice or thrice the amount. And always go by meter.
• People won't keep their phone on silent. There is no concept of personal space (remember we are in an overpopulated area), so in trains, buses, queues, no one leaves a gap. Just like home, India.
• Carry cash. Credit cards are not widely accepted. People mostly use phones to pay using their Wechat app. And you cannot link your cards to this app, as you don't have Chinese bank accounts. So, this is really tedious for travelers. So always remember to carry cash.
• I was able to use my cell phone through VPN and we had cell reception in most of the places.
• China has their own version of an app for every app in the US. And mostly, its a better version. they have their own, Google (Baidu), Uber, Whatsapp, etc. 
• Most resourceful website was: Travel China Guide

When to go:

Super crowded Forbidden City entrance

We travelled in the hot and humid month of August. It was pretty much like Indian summers when we were feeling super hot and sweating the entire day. Good thing was we knew what to expect and planned our visit in such a way that we would be go out after breakfast and get back around noon and then step out in the evening again. Or we would travel in the air conditioned vehicles/public transportation.

One thing to remember is that all touristy places are super crowded during summer break (June-July-August) and during Chinese New Year. August is comparatively less crowded for summer vacation travels, but I thought it was still quite crowded. 

Where to fly:

Depend on what route you are planning. We intended to travel further to south east Asia and hence decided to fly into Beijing first. Luckily, the flight options were also plenty from this airport and hence we picked Beijing. Also, if you intend to visit only the great wall, their is a 72-hour visa on arrival for many countries. You could easily see a few landmarks in that time around Beijing.

Transportation between cities:

China is very well connected with high speed trains and flights. Of course both the options are pretty convenient. Pick the one that's available and suits your time and budget goals.

• Trains are on time, neat and clean. Getting to the station and designated waiting room is pretty straightforward and language isn't an issue. Only thing is that you have to book them in advance through a third party and they need to send you paper tickets. We booked all our tickets from the travel china website and we received them at our hotel. Simple and easy.
• Air tickets can be bought online, but we booked ours through an agent. The main difficulty with the air travel is that all the announcements are in Chinese at the airport. None of the staff speaks English and they do not update the screens with flight changes or gate changes. We were lucky enough to find someone who told us about the gate change and we ran to the right gate. And all the flights are mostly always delayed by an hour or two. Its the widely accepted norm.

Our detailed itinerary

Day 0

We landed at the Beijing airport around 2:30 pm. After we got off the plane, we went straight to the immigration counter and got in the queue. Then, another plane landed and a whole bunch of passengers came in and formed another parallel queue out of nowhere. New passengers were casually coming in and joining the queue anywhere. Well, welcome to China. It took us good 2-3 hours to get done with immigration and then we picked our bags and headed straight to the hotel via cab.  We were so tired, we didn't consider the public transportation option. We had booked Hilton Beijing Wangfujing and it was an excellent choice. Perfect location and very helpful staff.

For dinner, we looked for an Indian restaurant and chose to go to Ganges for dinner. It was located in a very upscale mall "The Place". Good Indian food and very posh mall to spend the evening at. We picked up the cab cards from our hotel and had earlier printed the cab card for our restaurant to help the cab drivers and they were life-savers. We used cabs for all our transport needs in Beijing.

Day 1

We had booked a day tour to the Great Wall of China for the day through Catherine Lu Tours. Usually we prefer DIY tours, but we booked a private tour after reading and hearing about group bus tours and how they stop are unreliable and take longer than expected and stop at fraudy chinese shops. So, we had a private car and a guide to take us to the great wall. Now the great wall has various sections to visit. primary choice is Badaling, but it is so damn crowded by the locals, that it is tough to find space on the wall. Foreigners usually pick Mutiyanu section or Jinshaling section. We figured that Jinshaling had better views, but was under renovation and was a little further away, so we visited Mutianyu section. This link will help you pick the section!

Hiking the steep section of Great Wall

The whole set up is pretty well done. And our guide, Robert Ren was super helpful and on top of things. You take a bus to the base of the wall and then you can take the cable car up. But for coming down you have an option to take the cable car or the toboggan slide. We picked the cable car both ways and we figured toboggan won't be scenic and the wall was more scenic near the cable car stop.

Once up on the wall, we hiked till the next open tower. I don't exactly remember the tower numbers, but the wall was well maintained and had really steep sections towards the end. The guide requested to stay back and we both climbed the steep section. What views!! Plus all the stories from our guide were a lot of fun and added to the experience. Once we got down, we walked through the street shops selling souvenirs. And as our guide said, "Everything in China is negotiable, except the authority", so please haggle. And he was right, haggle, haggle, haggle! I picked a nice model of the great wall to complete my collection of the seven wonders. Yayy!

Live scorpions ready to fry

From here we headed to a Chinese restaurant close by for lunch. Here, we ordered veg fried rice. Good food. Then we headed back to the hotel. After resting for a few hours, we decided to go to Wangfujing street, which is a posh walk-only area lined up on either side by malls and big brand showrooms. We walked through the souvenir street, where we saw live scorpions perched on the skewers ready to be fried and served fresh to the customers. If you don't eat stuff like that, the smell can make you sick. Once out of here, we strolled on the Wangfujing street for a bit and then headed for dinner in the apm mall next to our hotel. We picked Lime Thai restaurant. The vegetarian rice also smelled of fish oil and I had to leave the food and walk out. Wish we had picked an Indian restaurant nearby. But we went back to the hotel and gorged on theplas we had packed for such situations.

And this is a video of what we saw earlier at the great wall. A cart ride with some background Indian score for entertainment. Enjoy!

Day 2

Thanks to jet lag, we were up early. We grabbed croissants from our hotel cafeteria and took a cab to the Forbidden City. Our guide from the previous day had told us all about the emperor and his stories, so we understood the historical and cultural significance of this place and we were looking forward to it. The guide dropped us pretty far off as the area is cordoned off to regular traffic. We walked across the Tiannmen Square to the entrance of the Forbidden City. 

Inside the Forbidden City

We had bought our tickets online as the number of tickets sold daily are limited. But we had to collect them here. It took us a lot of effort and sign language to figure out where to collect them from. No one was able to help or guide us. After being throw around from one window to other, we finally figure what one of the guard was trying to say. Once we got our tickets we were in. It is for sure very huge and magnanimous. But, I was tired of all the ticket hunting and heat and humidity and wanted to just reach the exit located at the other end. It is a long walk, as it truly is a huge city built inside the wall. Long corridors, beautiful rooms, small gardens. Very charming and very crowded.

Once we exited, we went to a garden located right across the city. Another tip from our guide, Robert from previous day. Its called Jingshan Park. Its a short walk to the top of the hill and it offers a good view of the entire Forbidden City. It is much less crowded, had shade and is worth the effort. I enjoyed this short hike and got a 360 degree view of the entire city. 

Then we got down and started looking for a cab back to our hotel. Most of the cabs refused to take us as it was a very short ride and not worth their time. So we walked back, all tired and sweaty to our hotel. We freshened up, packed our bags and headed straight for lunch, to the Ganges restaurant again. We didn't know when would we get to Indian food next, so it was time to gobble up. Hailing cabs isn't easy here in China. Because, even if you hail and stop it, someone else might get it and second, they may refuse to take you. Nevertheless, we reached our hotel and hurried up to load our bags into the cab for a ride to the Beijing West railway station. Btw, cabs weren't available, so our hotel staff called for their local replacement of Uber. 

At the station, we couldn't figure out which gate to enter from, it was all in Chinese. But after a couple of tries, we were let in through one of the gates. Once inside, it was easy. Everything was in English too. Platforms or Waiting Room numbers. We went to our designated waiting room and got a couple of seats. 20 minutes before the departure, the gates opened and we walked to our assigned seats. Simple and easy. We were off to Xian now.

But but but, an hour away from the destination, our train was halted.  We wondered why, and looked around to see if someone may know English and luckily found someone. He explained there was an earthquake in Chengdu and they are checking the lines. All announcements are only in Chinese, btw. And we had no cell reception. Hence our need for a translator. We were halted for 4 hours. And people here watched videos on cell phones on full volume, didn't have their ringers on silent and I had a running fever. And giving dirts to the people doesn't help, they will still have their constantly pinging phones on full volume. Well, we finally reached at 2 am instead of scheduled 10 pm. Took another hour in the long taxi queue to get a taxi and we reached our hotel at around 3:30 am. We were staying at Hilton Xian. Again, a great choice. Good rooms and very courteous staff. 

Day 3

Since we were super tired and I had fever, we had texted our guide that we would start our tour at noon instead of 8 am. So, we decided to skip the pagoda temple visit and cycling on top of the city wall. They are highly rated activities in Xian, but, oh well, next time!

Each warrior looks different from the other

I felt better after having caught up on sleep and feeding on theplas to my heart's content. At noon, we were all packed and ready as the plan was to go directly to the airport from our Terracotta visit. A cab and our guide was ready and waiting for us. Again, we booked through Catherine Lu tours and it was great experience overall. Our guide, Sally was great and told us stories about the Terracotta Warriors and the city on our drive to the museum. After an hour, we were here and decided to go get lunch first. She had picked a great restaurant for lunch. Had excellent lychee tea here, was so refreshing as I was feeling under the weather and vegetarian chow mien were just like Indian street noodles. Do not know the name of the restaurant as they were all noodle restaurants in that area.

From here we went to the museum. We went from pit 3 to pit 2 to pit 1. Hence, it kept getting better. Pit 1 will simply take your breath away. It feels overwhelming to see these artifacts and think that someone built an entire city for their after life. It was great for sure, but didn't live upto the hype I felt, or may be, may be it was my fever and the heat. 

Kneeling warrior

Having checked this off my bucket list, we bought a souvenir warrior from the shop owned by one of the farmers who discovered these wile digging in his farm. How nice to see him right there. Then, we headed back to the airport and our guide informed us that the flight was late. Not surprising at all. She helped us through all the checking and everything and we were on our own. Our priority pass got us free access to the vip lounge and we spent our time on a couch eating free snacks. Well, we headed to the gate for our flight, but figured the monitors are never accurate. Our flight was further delayed and this wasn't the gate. With no one speaking English, we tried looking for other foreigners around us to help us out. Luckily found a family who guided us to the right gate. We got here and waited to board. As per the monitors, our flight had left 3 hours ago. I wonder why are they even wasting electricity on these. No one updates them or even looks at them for reference. Our flights were with China
Eastern airlines. Like any other regular airlines, they were comfortable and we didn't face any issues.

Well, once in Shanghai, we took a cab to our hotel, Radisson Blu. Time to rest up and recover now.

Day 4

We had initially planned and booked tickets for Suzhou today. But, we decided the previous night that I needed another day to recover. So, we cancelled our trip. And I had to deal with this whole laptop issue. 

Talking about the laptop issue, while checking in for our flight to Shanghai at the Xian airport, I realised I didn't have my laptop and then it struck, after full 24 hours, that I had left my laptop on the hotel in Beijing. #facepalm. When I called Hilton Beijing, they confirmed that they had found my laptop and were more than happy to ship it to my hotel in Shanghai. But later they called that they can't send it by air due to shipping restrictions, hence the laptop wont reach in time. Then after a lot of back and forth, their concierge chief offered to come to Shanghai himself and give the laptop to me in person, procided I pay for his ticket. Well, I felt quite guilty and even if it was my work laptop, I decided to pay for his trip and get my laptop. But shout out to Hilton Beijing folks for being so helpful and prompt in their communication.

Juan temple

And also, we were planning to visit Suzhou, the Venice of the East. We thought of taking a train to the city, a quick 30 minute ride on the fast trains. Also, we were considering booking a day tour with a private tour company, but it never materialized given I got sick and we cancelled our plan. You could consider them if you'd like to go to Suzhou.

So, we had a day in Shanghai. Metropoliton city to the core. We had planned on sticking to the public transportation here and hence gotten our hotel right outside a famous metro stop - People's Square. We started our day around noon and headed straight to an Indian restaurant, Masala Art. Good food. And after refueling ourselves, we decided to do some touristy stuff. Again, hailing a cab is some talent here in China. So, we preferred sticking to metros as much as possible. At a metro station we were looking to buy day passes, but the customer service attendant mis-directed us as she didn't know English. Sometimes, even using the google translate app wasn't helpful. Then while we were struggling with a ticket machine, a young guy in early twenties, offered to help and helped us communicate with the same customer attendant who had initially turned us away. 

We first went to the Jade Buddha Temple which was a-okay and under renovation. Next stop was Juan temple. This was nice and right in the middle of the city. Has a huge coutyard and a flight of stairs leading to the main worship area. This was worth the visit. Next to this was a mall, and we just went in to get away from the heat and luckily the metro station was also located inside this mall.

Shanghai - Across the river from The Bund

We took a break at our hotel and then in the evening, headed out to Hongyi Plaza, a pedestrian mall, very lively and full of hig end shops. From here we walked down to the Bund. We could see the Shanghai pearl distrcit across the Huangpu river. Beautiful skyline views of Shanghai and super duper crowded. After we took a few pictures, we walked around the area and then decided to head out to Kebabs on the grille for dinner and call it a day. 

Day 5

West lake

We had planned to visit Hangzhou today and I was feeling well enough to take the trip. We used public transport to get to the Hongqiao railway station. It was easy to navigate and get to the waiting room looking at the monitors. It was quiet 90 minute journey on the fast train.
After reaching Hangzhou, we took a cab from the station and headed out to the Lingyin temple. There is a walking path here that takes you around the carved caves. Really well done carvings and makes for some good pictures. From here, we headed out to the famous West Lake. This place is huge and it is unlikely that you will be able to walk around the entire lake in a day. So pick the spots you want to visit. For us, we were headed for lunch first, at Omar, Indian Kitchen. The food was below average. but we somehow ate and headed out to the lake. We took a short stroll and then, I came across this costume shop. Sumit didn't believe that I did want to take a picture in the empress costume. But hell yeah, I did. While clicking pictures, a couple of locals were amused enough to take my pictures and I graciously obliged ;)

So we weren't interested in a boat ride, or going to the lily pond or the pagoda. We just wanted a quite stroll. After a while, we figured we had sometime before our train back to Shanghai, so we looked for a mall and headed to a mall for some air conditioned time. Literally. Btw, Hangzhou also has metro, which is super convenient but the metro network isn't as widespread. So, we had to mix and match cabs and metros. After whiling away our time in a cafeteria in a mall, we headed to the station for our return to Shanghai. And we chose Tandoor for dinner. Excellent Indian restaurant. Very upscale and the best Indian food in China so far. More expensive than the ones we had been to, but the food was all worth it. It is located in the premises of a very upscale hotel and in a very posh area. After we had dinner, we headed back to our hotel.

Now at hotel, when I switched on the TV, I couldn't hear anything and the maximum volume was not enough. So I called the room service and they came over to check and said, we fix the maximum value to 20, so that negibours dont get bothered. I was so amused and I told them, if I can't hear, how can the neighbor hear? At least raise the volume enough for me to hear? It was fun to watch Chinese soap operas though. I didn't understand the language but I think I could figure out what was going on. And then I fell asleep.

Lingyin Temple

Day 6

Last day in Shanghai before we fly out to Malaysia and to Indonesia. So, for brunch, we headed up to the 45th floor revolving restaurant of our hotel. Such beautiful 360 degree views and they had some Indian items in the menu too! We had to wait until around noon so that I could collect my laptop from Dennis, who was a staff member at the Hilton Beijing hotel. Once I received my laptop, we headed to the East Nanjing road, to walk around the busy posh streets. After sometime, we decided to have lunch at Din Tai Fung close by, They did have some vegetarian options btw and Sumit was having dumplings for the first time and I am glad he liked them.

Yuyuan Gardens

Tanzifang

Then we headed straight to the Yuyan gardens. A maze of narrow streets outside the gardens, filled with souvenir shops. Was like walking around Chandni Chowk in Delhi, We bought some souvenirs and took some pictures in the garden and then headed to the Tanzifang area. This is an upscale neighborhood with some classy shops and restaurants. We got dinner here and then headed back to the hotel. We again went up to the 45th floor to get some night time views of the Beijing city before heading out.
We packed our bags and now were ready to head out. Best way to get to the airport, outside of metro hours would be a cab. And always always, go by the meter. So long China, until next time :)

Food

Food was not an issue in China at all. There are plenty of restaurants of various cuisines. We were able to communicate regarding our vegetarian needs in non-Indian restaurants using google translate and it worked out just fine. We did have theplas for backup and they were helpful in case of delayed flights or trains or late night hunger pangs.

Visa

Visa instructions on the website of Chinese consulate, San Francisco were pretty straightforward. There is no appointment system. You just show up as early as possible on a given day and wait after taking a token number. Think of this as your "welcome to china" orientation. Its crowded, there are random queues. And there is this person checking documentation, who will ask you to retake a picture, or make a photocopy of your passport using their photocopy machines and photo booths. And you have to pay for it. You have to make another trip to collect your passport as well. But, overall it was pretty seamless process.

What more to see/do

• Beijing: Temple of Heaven, Other sections of Great Wall
• Xian: Bike on top of the city wall, pagoda temple, Muslim quarters. Going to Terracotta warriors by yourself is totally do-able by bus too, if you have time.
• Shanghai: River cruise at night on the Hangpu river, French concession area and other day trips to canal cities. Zhujiajiao is pretty popular. Take the hop on hop off bus
• Chengdu for Pandas
• Guilian for countryside
• Other national parks

New Zealand (South Island)

We usually never travel during Thanksgiving, but this time it was different. I couldn't travel during Christmas and New year holidays due to work, so we had to pick someplace for Thanksgiving.
Now ever since we got back from Iceland, every one just compared Iceland to New Zealand and I had to see it with my own eyes to figure out how much similar or dissimilar it was. Plus, the tickets turned out to be surprisingly cheap and we didn't think twice before we booked them. So, we were off to New Zealand for Thanksgiving!

Our route in New Zealand South Island

Brief Itinerary

Day 1: Fly in to Queenstown. Drive to Fox Glacier
Day 2: Fox Glacier -> Franz Joseph Glacier -> Punakaiki -> Stay at Greymouth
Day 3: Greymouth -> Christchurch
Day 4: Christchurch -> Mount Cook -> Stay at Twizel
Day 5: Twizel -> Queenstown -> Te Anau
Day 6: Te Anau -> Milford Sound -> Queenstown
Day 7: Spend the day in Queenstown. Bungee Jump. Drive to Glenorchy.
Day 8: Fly out.
Maps link

Where to fly?

There are two major airports in South Island. Christchurch and Queenstown. Depending on what route you prefer to take, you can pick either of the two. For us, we flew Air New Zealand flying directly from San Francisco(SFO) to Auckland(AKL). We had a connecting flight to Queenstown(ZQN). The flight is short and pretty. Landing at Queenstown airport, which is a very small airport, is like landing in a small valley surrounded by beautiful mountains.

Some folks fly in to Christchurch and fly out of Queenstown or vice versa.

When to go?

Of course the seasons are reversed in southern hemisphere, so summer months are September- March. And since the tourist rush increases in December, we felt November would be ideal. A couple of days during our stay were very warm and pleasant, and other days were cool and breezy, but not unbearably cold. It was also a bit rainy, but very few quick showers.

Where to go?

South Island carries the reputation of being the prettier of the two islands, so I guess if you have less time on hand, you may want to first pick the south island. This island has the glaciers, the Mt. Cook and the famous Milford Sound. So, we decided to do a road trip around the South Island on this trip. North Island has the famous Tongariro National Park, Rotorua for the famous Hobbiton set and the Waitomo gloworm caves. But I guess we will see those the next time.

What we did?

Day 1

View of Queenstown from Crowne Range Pass

We landed at the Queenstown airport at around 10
am in the morning. We had been in a long long flight and definitely needed to freshen up before starting our long road trip. We were staying at Fox Glacier lodge for the night, so we inquired regarding some recreational/gym facilities around and just next to the airport was the Queenstown event center. So, we bought a day pass and were off to locker rooms for a refreshing hot shower. This was, well the first country we were travelling to, outside of India, where cricket has an ardent fan following. So, it was exciting to see the jerseys of various teams hanging around in the event center. After we were all fresh and ready to go, we saw a narrow passage with a sign "Cricket Ground"! It was a no brainer to check it out and we discovered this is the same Queenstown cricket ground that we have seen so many times on TV. A couple of pictures and poses later we headed out for lunch.

There are two very famous burger joints in Queenstown. First, Ferg burger and second, Devil's Burger. Ferg has long long queues, so we skipped this one and headed to Devil's burger. Awesome veggie burgers and fries. Must try! We then headed out to Fox Glacier and had many stop planned on our. First we drove through Arrowtown through Crown Range Pass. This a windy road which takes you a bit of uphill and is a perfect place for bird's eye view of Queenstown.

Emerald Pools

Further, we drove to Lake Wanaka and stopped by puzzles world. Trust me, I could spend an entire day here. I just love puzzles, but we only had a few hours :( So, after letting me fiddle around a bit with free puzzles lying on their tables, Sumit decided it was time to drive to Lake Wanaka. One of the many beautiful lakes in New Zealand. No pictures can do justice to this place. Perfect for an evening stroll, a jog, a swim or just sitting down and quietly taking in the sunset. After wandering about and a few pictures later, we stopped at a nearby coffee shop to grab some coffee and a grocery store for some munchy stuff.  

Driving further towards Haast Pass, we stopped at the Fantail falls, Thunderbird falls and the emerald blue pools. Blue pools were my favorite and involved a short hike. Weather was a bit cloudy and we did have a few quick showers, but the drive from Queenstown until Haast Pass was beautiful. We then drove from Haast Pass towards Fox Glacier. An average drive, I'd say, I find Pacific Coast highway, much prettier. Just Sayin! Anyhow, we reached Fox Glacier Lodge well in time to grab dinner at a nearby restaurant, Last Kitchen. Good food, big portions.

Our hotel manager recommended we go for the glow worm walk very close to the lodge. It was pitch dark and the walk was only about a quarter mile long, but it was scary as you had absolutely no clue what could be next to you. The glow worms were pretty, yes sure, but after seeing a few huge patches of glow worms, we figured it would be best to briskly walk out of there.

Day 2

Fox Glacier

Today we had to visit both the glaciers and then drive up to Greymouth which wasn't very far away. All the hotels and lodges have a printout of things to do/see with touristy map of both the Fox Glacier and Franz Joseph glacier townships. You can see them online here. These were super helpful. Today was the day of hikes. So we started off with a short drive to the Lake Matheson. There were a few glacier lookouts mentioned on the touristy map. We stopped there and took a few pictures. It was bright and sunny so we were lucky and got some good views. Then we drove up to Lake Matheson. There are various 2-4 mile hike options around the lake. At the other end of the lake, you get a full reflection of Mount Cook. It makes for a beautiful picture. Even though it was sunny, it was windy and the lake water had enough ripples to spoil the reflection.

Punakaiki rocks

From Lake Matheson, we headed straight to the base of Fox Glacier. It is a short mile long hike to the mouth of the glacier. Was rocky, so good sturdy shoes are a must. Lovely valley views up to the glacier and slight uphill closer to the glacier. Once we got back, we were super hungry and wanted to grab something to eat. We drove straight to the Franz Joseph Glacier township, which is much bigger and more populated than the Fox Glacier township. Here we ordered some spicy Thai food at SnakeBite cafe. Then we headed to the base of Franz Joseph glacier. This was comparatively a longer hike, about 3-4 miles. Since it was also quite an uneven surface, I opted to stay out and take care of my ankle and Sumit hikes all by himself up to the glacier. It is a much bigger glacier compared to Fox Glacier. Most of the touristy activities, like guided glacier hikes, glacier landings, happen here at the Franz Joseph, but we opted out of these as we had already done these in Alask and Iceland and were here mostly for the views. We also skipped the glacier water pools here.

Next up, was drive to Punakaiki. There are several smaller townships on your drive from Franz Joseph to Punakaiki, for instance, Shantytown has some activities for kinds and Hokataiki has a very famous glass factory. But, we skipped those and drove straight to Punakaiki. At Punakaiki, it is a short walk around the strange rock structure. But you see the force of water that has carved some blow holes in these rocks. Very pretty formations along the coast! Then we drove back to Greymouth. Views of this coastal drive were pretty and it was around sunset, so watching the sunset over Tasman sea was a surreal experience. I guess the coastal drive is pretty going North to South.

Once in Greymouth, the Indian tastebuds opted for dinner at Priya, an Indian cuisine restaurant. Then we were off for the night, staying at Gables.

Day 3

Arthur Pass National Park

Our goal today was to drive from Greymouth to Chrustchurch. It isn't a very long drive but is very very pretty. There is a famous Trans Alpine railroad that connects Christchurch and Greymouth. It takes about similar time as a car, but promises to offer better views and is decently expensive. Well, for the most part, the railway tracks were next to the highway, so I hope we got in most of the views on our drive.

Somewhere on our way to Christchurch

Starting from Greymouth, we walked around the market area, looking for breakfast and settled for tomato cheese sandwiches at Maggie's Kitchen,which, by the way are awesome everywhere in NZ. Next, we started our drive and it got a little foggy and misty. In the parts where it cleared up, we could see valleys and mountains, and imagine that had had it been clear, it would have been quite pretty. But, oh well, we kept going. Next, we stopped for a short hike at one of the places. Now I don't remember the name, but it was an impromptu decision and the trail heads were just by the roadside. It was about a 1 mile long walk in the woods, which took us to a bridge over the river and had clear views of the mountains around it.

Aftermath of 2010 earthquake - Christchurch

We drove further to Arthur Pass village and the weather started clearing up a bit. Here grabbed whatever veggie food options we could find the cafeteria and drove further to the Arthur pass. Now the views were exquisite with clear, sunny skies and mountains all around. This is why this drive is so famous! the views continued for about an hour before we entered some township close to Christchurch. Once we reached Christchurch, we head straight to King of Snakes Thai restaurant for some snacks and then to our AirBnB. 

After some rest, we headed back into the town. The famous church was in a real bad shape, after the 2010 Christchurch earthquake and was under repair. But you could clearly see the damage. Then we went to the famous cardboard church and couldn't figure out why it was famous. Then, after walking around a bit, we had dinner at MumbaiWala Cafe. Good Indian food, but little too much on the wallet. It was still day light and we realized that the NZ-Pakistan test had just ended the previous day in Christchurch. So, we decided to explore that option. It was interesting to see that the cricket ground was just next to a park, we no security and not gated entrance. We just walked around the ground and it was exciting to see the same ground you had seen on the TV so many times!

That was a day well spent.

Day 4

Drive to Mount Cook from lake Pukaki

We were up bright and early on Day 4 and were looking forward to our drive to Mount Cook. Our first stop was Lake Tekapo. I bright blue lake surrounded by mountains. The drive is exquisite with vast plains surrounded by snow capped mountains. The drive is beautiful and it only gets better as you get closer to Mt. Cook. At Lake Tekapo, we took our lunch break, found some cheese sandwiches as veggie options in the menu and a couple of pictures later, we headed out to Mount Cook.

The drive from Lake Tekapo to Mount Cook is about an hour or so long. As soon as the  Lake Pukaki becomes visible, the scenery just gets mind blowing. I have seen such turquoise blue lakes ever before. We actually went up and down the drive along Lake Pukaki a couple of times to take in the view. And to our benefit, it was bright and sunny and Mount Cook was so clearly visible, there was no chance you could miss it.

Hooker Valley Track

Our plan to reach the Mount Cook National Park and then hike the Hooker Valley track which takes you to a Hooker glacier lake just at the base of Mount Cook. It is a very popular track and provides great views at sunset. You can find more information on tracks in this park here. We started the hike and after about an hour, we could clearly see Mount Cook, but my ankle gave up and I decided to stop and take in the views till Sumit completed the rest of the hike and returned. There was a picnic bench right there, so was a good place for me to sit, relax and take pictures. Plus, I had full five bars on my phone, perfect time to take pictures and instantly share!
By the time we were done with the hike, it was getting dark, so we looked for some place to grab dinner, and settled for Poppies in Twizel. Good food. Then we headed straight ot our lodge for the night.

Day 5

Clay cliffs

Todays' goal was to drive to Te Anau via Lindis Valley. First we stopped for breakfast at a nearby restuarant and grabbed our daily meal of cheese sandwiches. Then we went to clay cliffs close by. Pretty, multi colored, multi layered cliffs just next to the main freeway. A few pictures later, we started driving towards Queenstown trhough Lindis Valley. This a beautiful vast valley, but to be able to appreciate the view, you must stop by at one of the view points and take in the view.

From here, we carried on to Queenstown for lunch. Today, we wanted to go to Ferg Burger, no matter how long the queues got. And so we did. And the burgers and big and delicious. After we stuffed ourselves, we wanted to pick up some fruits and yogurt and go meet our friend Balu, who incidentally was also in Queenstown and staying at a Youth Hostel. But he was sick and suffering from regular bouts of vomit and had fever. He later discovered her got dengue in Fiji. So, we met Balu, who looked weak and we were glad he was flying back to India the next day so as to recover well at home. Then, while crossing the road, I heard someone shout out, "Neha", and to my astonishment, it was school friend Mrinal. What are the odds! It was a quick meet up as she was on her way to the airport to get back to India. But it was so cool to run into someone in a foreign location.

Lindis Pass

Well now, we were headed straight to Te Anau. This was our stop over before heading to Milford Sound the next day. We reached our AirBnB well in time to rest, change and head out for dinner at Radcliffe before our gloworm cave tour. Well, in New Zealand, the Waitomo caves in the north island are much more popular, but if you are in south island and don't plan to go to the north, you make do with Te Anau. The tour was well planned and organized. We left on a boat to get to the mouth of caves. The guides were nice and sweet and the hike within the cave was well paved. It was cold and dark inside. The whole water system inside the cave was quite impressive. I had never imagined that water could flow within the caves like that.
Once we got back, we were tired enough to doze off almost immediately. South of Queenstown gets all cold and wet.

Day 6

We had our 12'o clock tour booked at Milford sound. So, we got pup and headed straight to Milford sound. It is a very pretty drive. You have tall snow capped and green hills along side the road. It was still drizzling so was wet and cold. The drive was however beautiful. It wasn't very foggy so even with the rains, the view was just worth the drive in the rains.

Milford Sound

Once we reached Milford sound, everything was very straightforward. Multiple tour operators run the cruise, but pretty much use the same route. It takes about a couple of hours on the boat. The boats get closer to the waterfalls, you spot seals and I have been told you see penguins too. But we didn't see any, and I think just for that, I might have to go back! We went with the Mitre Peak tours for our Milford sound cruise.

Te Anau to Milford Sound

Once the tour was over, we got something to eat at the cafeteria and headed back to Queenstown. As we got closer to Queenstown, the weather improved and it got sunny and bright. Once we reached Queenstown, we headed for a stroll in the main marketplace of Queenstown. Shopped for some souvenirs and decided to have Indian food for dinner at Tandoori Palace. At Tandoori Palace, the owner, looked very familiar and I kept thinking where have I met her, when it occurred to me, that she is the same lady I had seen in the Mumbaiwala restaurant in Christchurch. I happened to talk to her and she told me she often shuttles between the two cities to manage both the restaurants. What a coincidence.
Here is the video of hailstorm on our Milford sound cruise

Well, we were done for the day and it was time to doze off and prepare for our big bungee jump the next day.

Day 7

Bungy Jumping

The two of us almost couldn't sleep all night because we had looked atone the bungee jumping videos and were freaked out all night. We had booked Nevis bungee jump, which was the highest in New Zealand and if you look at one of the videos on YouTube, you will freak out too. So, the first thing I did was, call them in the morning and asked them to either cancel our booking, or to move it to Kawaru bridge jumping, which I thought being lesser height, would be less scary. Nevis is 234 ~ meters I guess and Kawaru bridge is 84~ meters. But no, they did not make any changes and spent 30 minutes conuselling me on how I would so proud once I was done. So, well, hesitatingly, we headed to their center in the downtown. From here we got on to the bus and went up to the canyon where Nevis jump happens. I was petrified, to say the least. And then, as it would happen, they announced that the winds are too strong today, so they advise to etiher wait for 4 hours or cancel the jump. My eyes lit up and I decided to downgrade to Kawaru bridge bungee jumping - where the first bungee jump happened in the world. It was as if God was listening to me. And then we were drive to the Kawaru bridge. Here even though I was freaking out again, it didn't look as scary as Nevis.

Sigh.

 I was on the platform before I could realise, with my feet tied, with the ropes in place and the guy said, jump before I count to three, or you go back and no jumping for you. I think I jumped on 2. I was flying, and my heart was thumping. I was just so relieved when I felt I was being pulled down to the boat. Whew. Done. Off the bucket list. Here, check out the video

Next up, grab a burger for lunch and then Sumit wanted to take a dip in the Lake Wakatipu. So, excited about our latest achievement, we headed to the lake, where Sumit took a short swim in the cold cold water and then after taking a shower we decided to drive up to Gelnorchy. A beautiful lake side drive all the way up to Gelnorchy took around an hour or so. Then, we headed back and hung out at a sports bar for a couple of hours before getting dinner at Bombay Palace. 

Our trip was over. It was time to head back to the hotel, pack up, watch some TV and then head out tomorrow. Queenstown is beeeutifullll! And so in south island. North Island, I will see you next time.

What more could we have done?

• Abel Tasman National Park in the north is a very popular national park. You can plan a multi-day or a single day hike here. The camping sites have to be booke din advance and get filled out pretty quickly. You can also hike one way and take a boat-shuttle the other way. Nelson is the closest airport.
• Instead of Milford Sound, you could visit Doubtful sound in the south, which is much less crowded, but takes more time to visit as it is further away from the land. People usually opt for an overnight cruise here.
• There is a TransAlpine railroad option between Greymouth and Christchurch which is quite popular and decetly $$$. 
• While in Christchurch, driving through Akaroa which is the coastal area, is also a popular day activity. People go for cruises and whale watching here
• Driving from Fox Glacier to Greymouth, you have options of stopping at Shantytown and Hokataiki which is famous for its glass factory
• Dunedin on the east dise is popular for penguins. But again this is seasonal, so  make sure you check before you go, especially if your only motivating factor to drive there is the penguins

Visa

We had to fill the visa forms online and submit our application. Then we mailed our passports to embassy in Washingtom DC. But, after we received our passports, we realised there were no stamps. So, we called the embassy and some helpline numbers only to figure out they don't put stamps on the passports anymore. They add your details to the database and all and you just have to carry a piece of paper they send over to you with all the details.