To the land of the geysers!!

About a 4 hour drive from Auckland is the lake city township of Rotorua known for its natural warm fountains. But, before get there let me take through the world of the Waitomo caves. Waitomo is a Maori word made up of two parts. 'Wai' which translates as water and 'tomo' which means entrance or hole. Waitomo can be translated as the 'stream which flows into the hole in the ground'. This meaning is reflected through its fantastic geological history and landscape. The Waitomo caves are formed due to the erosions caused by the flowing water of the Waitomo river. Once the caves were formed, stalactites, stalagmites and other cave decorations began to grow. Water dripping from the roof or flowing over walls leaves behind a deposit of limestone crystal which sets as hard as concrete.
Legend has it that if the water dripping through the ceiling falls on your head, its considered a sign of goodluck.
But the main magnet that attracts millions of visitors to these caves is the glow worm, Arachnocampa luminosa, which is unique to New Zealand.Thousands of these tiny creatures radiate their unmistakable luminescent light which gives the impression of a beautiful starry night to the eyes inside the cave.
A must see!!
After the amazing glow worm its time to move to our ultimate destination for today - Rotorua. The moment you enter this tiny village you are greeted by the vast and picturesque lake of Rotorua. The sight from the banks of this lake during sunset with the ducks and swans swimming is absolutely divine.
A geyser is hot shower which shoots up from the earth's surface. It has a lot of medicinal properties due to its high sulphur content. There are a number of such hot fountains to look out for in Rotorua.
A trip to the spa to take a bath in one of the natural sulphur pools is an absolutely relaxing experience; a little expensive but totally worth it as the sulphur water pools have a backdrop of the stunning views of the lake which is therapeutic in itself.
Rotorua has a lot of adventure sports to offer but the one which is unique to this place is zorbing. In simple terms, you are put into a huge rubber ball filled with water and just thrown off a mountain. And trust me the bouncy experience is totally worth the money. :).
The road which leads to Zorbing from Rotorua has a sheep farm called the Agrodome further down the same path where sheep rearing is exhibited. But it was so not worth the drive. Frankly, my parent thought that our Indian Circuses are better than the sheep rearing show that they put up!!! :D
But, all in all Rotorua is a super cute place to go to for a short romantic getaway. You could stir up romance with a nice hand in hand walk through its tiny lanes ravishing the rich creamy ice-creams from one its local dairies or spend an absolutely divine sunset by the lake.
I'm sure you'll love it....
So until the Maori destination, ta...

New Zealand it is!!

i now move on New Zealand my friends... there were many other places in Europe that i visited that i would love to write about including London, Venice, Rome and of course The Leaning tower of Pisa but frankly i don't remember much about these places and providing partial information would be an insult to the exotic aura that these places inherently possess. So rather than me painting an incomplete picture about them and completely marring your image about these places i suggest u visit them urself and create images of ur own.
So back to New Zealand... after a 20 hour long flight from Bombay to Auckland, i was completely jet lagged add to that the survival on just drinks for those 20 hours( he food on the flight sucked as usual, they had unlimited booze though... ;) and the good ones not the cheap ones...). but the moment the plane starts to descend, i was overwhelmed with the feasty sight for my eyes driving all the jet lag away - with snow capped mountains on one side, the harbour on the other and green plains for as far as my eyes could see. This was unlike any other airport i had seen before.
Auckland has a natural harbour and a port. Its totally a commercial city with not many tourist attractions to its credit.
New Zealand is a volcanic country with a very high level of seismic activity and Auckland has quite a few craters of its created some thousands of years ago.
You could visit one of these craters or even visit the Sky tower and even jump off of it.. but totally missable.. nothing great about Auckland as such...
So, what if the start of New Zealand's journey wasn't as great as expected, it has a lot of great things to watch out for... so wait for it guys in the upcoming posts...
totally not missable!!!

The land of the royalty...

Scotland is known for its humongous castles, everybody knows that. But how many of us know that each oh these castles has a very interesting story behind it. Now i'm not gonna tell u these stories and ruin the fun for you to know them yourself but what i can say is that they are definitely worth knowing. Staying in one the castle turned hotels is a must when u visit this windy province. Scotland can get very cold in the winter with temperatures going as low as -16'c. But trust me its a perfect honeymoon place. The serenity of the natural beauty that gets its fame from the pristine lakes is always spellbinding to welcome you warmly in spite of the cold.
You wont find many people in Scotland. So, if you are a people's person i.e. love the crowds of Bombay and New York, then this is not your place. Hell!! there must be more sheep than people in Scotland.
But if you visit one of the old Taverns for a sip of fresh you would surprised at the energy and vibe of the Scots.
So, am not going to say anything else, as it impossible to describe this place in words, everyone has to experience it in person and create a wonderful memory of their own.
P.S. visit to the oldest surviving brewery in Scotland!!!

lets move to Paris!!!

The French absolutely love their delicious baguettes and their intoxicating wines.. and why shouldn't they if you and i can almost immediately fall in love with them too. The French capital of Paris on the banks of the Siene is an eclectic mix of conventional and contemporary ideologies. And for the fashion lovers its paradise on earth with every possible fashion label in the world adorning its streets (both original and fake) :)... every possible street in Paris is worth exploring... just leave you hotel room in the morning and just start walking in any direction that your heart leads on to... it will never happen that u didn't enjoy the day or didn't create an unforgettable memory.
So here's a list of must try things to do in Paris...
- try the delicious crepes at one of the cute little open roadside cafes.
- getting a bird's eye view of Paris from from the third level of the Eiffel Tower.(a visit to the third level is must. )
- taking the night cruise on the Siene.
- attend at least one performance (either Moulin Rouge or the Lido)
- visit the Louvre for a date with Mona Lisa
- Getting a peak at the Eiffel Tower at midnight when a million tiny bulbs that adorn it glitter for 15 minutes like millions of diamonds.
- Stroll down the Champs Elysees (one of the most elite streets of Paris.)
- Visit the Arc De Triomphe to pay homage to the ones who died during World War I.
- Dine at one of the Michelin Star restaurants (that is if your pockets permit you to)
For all you romantics at heart visiting Paris with your lovers, do hell with the list... just enjoy and do what you feel like. Its one of the most romantic cities on earth. Who knows maybe you can give me a list things to do that you enjoyed doing the most with your lover that maybe I could try when i visit Paris again with my lover...

So till then au revoir...

switzerland is the heights of capitalism!!!!

Could you ever imagine a private person owning a mountain or further even a waterfall?
No right... but it's true!!! how many of us have heard of the famous Jungfraujoch(pronounced as yoong-frau-yok)- the third highest mountain in the Bernese Alps south of Interlaken. but does anyone know that the railway that takes you to the summit from the base and the peak itself is privately owned? amazing isn't it?
just imagine owning a mountain...
but it doesn't end here... the Trummelbach falls which also originate in the Bernese Alps is also privately owned by the Trummelbach family... the melting of the Jungrau flows through these falls...
even though the ticket to the summit is a bit expensive, it's definitely worth it... the transformation from the lush green landscapes to the start white snowy landscapes as you move towards the summit is breathtaking...
when i reached the top the temperature dropped to a numbing -33 degree celcius. a snow blizzard had hit the peak which is why we couldn't enjoy the various winter sports that the peak offers but still all was not lost...
the purpose of the ice palace as a legend goes is precisely this - for the tourists to have something to watch put for when the weather conditions turn bad...
and trust me its definitely worth it...
The palace's ice sculptures include vaulted rooms, birds, animals, penguins, people, automobiles, furniture, and even a bar. The palace is an amusing novelty and is worth visiting when you're on the Jungfraujoch--especially since it's free to Jungfraubahn passengers. :)
on the whole this entire experience definitely gets a must visit flag from me...
so until i take to anotther unforgettabel journey ciao!!!

a day in the snow capped alps - Mt. Titlis

Mt Titlis is the first peak in the world to have a cable car going all the way up to the peak from the base with one of them being a revolving one...so hop on the small cable car which sits only 5 to the first stopover post which you use the bigger car to take you to the next level. The lap of the journey is the most awe striking as the rotating cable car provides you with 360 degree phenomenal views of the snow-capped Alps. Once you land right on the peak, you will surrounded by nothing but soft cottony pearly white snow. The tempuratures can get quite low so warm clothing is definitely recommended... once on the top there are a variety of adventurous activities that you can do including skiing(you need to know skiing though), you could even try the snow bike. There's this amazing thing that you could try!!! they make you sit on a big tube and you are pushed from behind and down you go...woosh... down the slope... its an amazing experience... a must try... i would definitely never wanted to leave the peak to come back down through the three different kind of trolleys again... but unfortunately i had to...
so see you again for another chilly experience... till then Ciao!!!

the land of the yummy yummm.... black forest cake and the amazing cuckoo clocks!!!

The dark green coniferous trees that crown the German Alps are a sight to watch out for. The amazing Heidelberg Castle is a must visit. It has a thousand year old barrel which matures the most delicious wine. Try a free sample... ;)
The bakeries on the edge of the Black Forest make the most delicious Black Forest cake which look so tempting and mouth-watering glazed with snow-white cream and perfectly red cherries. A must try!!!
Its nothing like the extremely sweet,dry no cherry layer that we get here.The cake gets its name from the Black forest of Germany.
The cuckoo clocks that are made from the wood of the pine trees from the Forest are the cutest clocks in the world with the cuckoo peeping out of the small cute door every hour.
The Rhine Falls on the border of Switzerland and Germany are beautiful. I recommend for anyone who likes the sound of flow of water juxtaposed with the serene, pristine beauty of the Alps.

Thats it for today... so till the next time we visit another sight for the eyes in Europe...Wiedersehen!!!