Wandering and Wondering

Rinjani had been lingering in our minds since quite a while, ever since we came back from Merbabu in Java. We booked the trip three months in advance and we put honest effort in training for this trip. (Running 5 km, 3 times a week and 100 km cycling on Saturdays ).    Situated in the center of Lombok in Indonesia, Gunung Rinjani is an active volcano. It is considered as one of the challenging treks in South East Asia. A 3 day 2 night trek is quite popular and gives just enough time to explore the crater rim and summit. A relatively comfortable trek would be 4 day 3 night one.  For the ones interested in summit attempt, Sembalun route is the way to go. We found Sembalun route as more comfortable and scenic also. Sembalun itself is 2 and half hour from Lombok Airport.  The other route starts at Semaru (3.5 hrs from airport) but it ends at crater rim. One will have to do an additional day trek to reach Sembalu...

Vang Vieng to Luang Prabang to Vientiane. In a little more than 4 days, I managed to move around these three places! Many would say that I haven’t done justice to the beauties to these places and I’ll not disagree with them. But for a leave strived and an average traveller, my intent was to see as much as I can. Sleep was at least one thing that I could suppress. I was lucky to be in Vang Vieng in 3 hours from Vientiane (average travel time ~ 4 hours) and to be in Luang Prabang in 4 hours from Vang Vieng (average travel time ~ 6 hours). We were only 5 and 3 respectively in the Van and the driver was able to pull at high speed. Eventually the law of averages caught up and the journey from Luang Prabang to Vientiane was 12 hours. Vang Vieng

One of the calm, serene and beautiful place in Thailand, Krabi province has plenty of islands to amaze travellers. In fact, it is much better than the nearby and more popular Phuket. The islands of Phi Phi, Koh Lanta and Phang-nga bay are easily accessible. The beaches are much more beautiful than the ones in Phuket! For avid divers, Koh Ha, Koh Bida, Hin Daeng, Hin Muang, Similan islands are also easily accessible. And the limestone cliffs make it mecca of rock climbers in South East Asia. Here are the things travellers can expect in Krabi.  1. Ao Nang Beach: It is the most popular beach in Krabi and very beautiful place for sunset. The nearby streets have wonderful eating places and decent nightlife.

San Francisco and Monterey, a weekend trip! SFO, anyone's dream city! As an engineer and remotely connected to software industry, the charm of SFO is not unknown to me. This is where the biggest dreams come true! but, I did not end up here for career, it was for leisure after my conference in San Diego. It was intended to be a get together planned a bit in advance but as it turns out, friends were busy that weekend and in another city.  I stayed in the youth hostel, the best bunch of strangers I can find, it was HI youth hostel in fisherman's Wharf. I could see the golden gate from there. The golden gate is a good walk from there. Nice breeze, busy cyclists, Leisure walkers, Runners, all share the way. Golden Gate Bridge

After an exciting 5 days in water, it was time for something diverse. I googled and decided to spend the day visiting Wat Chalong, Big Buddha and Promthep Cape. A good time to start would be around noon at Wat Chalong and to end at Sunset at Promthep Cape. 1. Wat Chalong

My first Live-On-Board, spending 4 days and 4 night with complete strangers as if they were the best buddies. We were completely diverse but there was at least one thing common, our passion for diving. Each one, whether young or old, novice or experienced talked about the diving with same enthusiasm. Cheers to the team. Dived with : ScubaDivingPhuket, the pickup was arranged at the hotel in Patong, Phuket. We were transferred by road to Khao Lak. And the Live on Board begins there.  Dive Sites: Similan Islands (numerous dive sites) , Koh Bon, Koh Tachai, Richelieu Rock (Bad weather prohibited our dive there), Some wrecks near Khao Lak (Visibility not so great) Dive Experience: Currents are strong at few dive sites, so some experience and good buoyancy control will make dives enjoyable.  Budget: There are Live On Board starting from 3 Days (10 dives), price starting ~15000 THB (2013). I did 4 days one and paid 22900 THB (2013) for dual accommodation. Ther...

The photos in this blog is from two trips separated by six months (-: One in Jan 2013 and other in August 2013. As it is famously called, the cultural capital of Asia, it lives to its title. Constant eruptions of nearby Merapi volcano and earthquakes often threaten its existence but Yogyakarta has stood the test of time till now. But then, as much as Mount Merapi threatens its existence, as much it ha given to this place. The fertile land, the volcanic rocks of Borobudur and Prambanan and the volcanos themselves!  It is best to visit Borobudur in morning for sun rise and it is better to visit Prambanan for sun set. Ramayana ballet is also in evening at Prambanan, hence an evening visit saves an effort of coming twice. Please check the ballet calendar before planning a trip as it is not on everyday. Best months to visit would be from April to September, when it rains very little. Following goes the things one can do in Yogjakarta.  1. Borobudur A 9th ...