Last Day at Bangkok

11-Feb-2018: It was our last day at Bangkok and the hotel gave us late checkout till 5:00 pm. In the morning after breakfast, we headed out to Platinum Mall and shopped again. The staff at the hotel told us an amazing spa center behind the hotel.

For all the days at Pullman, the breakfast has a good spread, if you eat non-vegetarian. If you are a vegetarian, you have limited option but it would still fill your stomach.

After we checked out, we could still access the Club Lounge and the sweet staff provided us with snacks and drinks before we headed out. The service at this hotel was really good and am so glad we chose this hotel. The proximity to BTS & metro is another plus point. They booked a taxi for us and it costed around 350 bhat again.

After the security check, we again shopped at airport. The return flight air hostess were very kind. But the seat and entertainment system was again bad.The food was terrible. But we chatted till we landed and didn't mind a thing.

Overall we girls had loads of fun chatting and shopping. I can do this trip all over again:)

Bangkok - Day 2 & 3

9-Feb-2018: Just before leaving, we booked out vegetarian cooking class at May Kaidee's cooking school. It took  us about 30-40 mins by car. Since, we used to book taxi from hotel, they were all metered taxi. The cooking class was from 9 am - 1:00 pm and it was a lot of us. We learnt amazing dishes. After the class, we explored the region and went to Platinum Mall for shopping.

We all loved this mall. It was a big 5 floor mall with food court and we found few brilliant shops. After that we headed to room to enjoy our lounge access. We then headed to Asiatique night market. We thought the shops would be open till midnight but they started shutting by 11:00 pm. We had dinner at an Italian Restaurant by the river and it was amazing. Loved the music and the whole atmosphere.

We started using grab cab, so we got good discounts on our taxi.

10-Feb-2018:It was time to explore Chatuchak market. We took the metro from Sukhimvit to Chatuchak Park. After a short walk, we entered the market. It was a huge market and again it was not a place for us. We could spend the whole day but it was really big and we found it repetitive. We went back to the hotel and ate amazing dinner at MayVeggie Home.

Bangkok - Day 1

I did a Bangkok trip with 3 other girls and it was amazing.

I booked Thai Airways, which costed around Rs. 20,000 per person. We decided to do Visa on arrival and we booked Deluxe Club room at Pullman, Sukhimvit. We were quite particular about Sukhimvit region and we quite liked this property.

Feb 8, 2018: We had an early morning flight to Bangkok leaving from Chennai by 1:30 am and we reached Bangkok by 6:30 am (local time). I somehow felt the air hostess were not that warm. I didn't quite like the entertainment system and the seat. But the company was good and didn't feel a thing. Visa on arrival was quite easy and it roughly took 45 minutes for the whole procedure to finish

We took the taxi from airport and it costed roughly 350 bhat but the traffic was quite bad in spite of taking the flyover. We had requested the hotel for early check in and they gave us our room by 11:00 am. In the meanwhile, we went to terminal 21 mall to get a sim card. The hotel does have handy phone, but it was unlike the one I used at Singapore. Only local calling was allowed and somehow we could never call that phone. There was no internet pack in that phone.

We had breakfast at the hotel and went to Pratunam Market. We took the BTS from Sukhimvit to Chit Lom. From that station, it was a good 1 km walk. On the way, we stopped at multiple stalls and food stalls and did some shopping.

Pratunam market was not a place for us. We didn't probably know where exactly to shop. After going through the market for quite sometime, we had our lunch at a small restaurant. She made lovely vegetarian thai food.

The tuk-tuk costs you quite a bomb but you need to negotiate a lot. After that we went to Siam center and shopped a lot again. There was a setup like China town and I had my first coconut ice cream with coconut flesh and peanuts. It was yumm.

We then took taxi (it was working out cheaper since we were 4 of us), freshened up and went to Terminal 21 for shopping. At out hotel, the club lounge had unlimited drinks and snacks from 6-8 pm. We snacked a bit before heading out to Terminal 21. Terminal 21 setup is like different regions for each floor. You can easily spend sometime here. We went to the Pizza/ Italian place for dinner near the BTS station. It looked good from outside and the place was crowded but the food was quite average.

Bandipur

This was a last minute trip that was planned just 2 days before our birthday. I had heard good things about this place and wanted to try this destination for long. Also, I wanted to do a safari. I got to know about a direct flight to mysore and decided to make the plan.

There were no rooms available online, but my travel agent got one for me. We booked a Mountain log hut room with all meals included for Rs.45000. I booked a round trip to Mysore on trujet for about Rs. 4000 per person. Regarding transfer, I decided to take a taxi from the airport. So all booking books were done and I was quite excited to go.

The trujet flight, which was to leave chennai airport by 11:00 am left only by 2:15 pm. There was absolutely no message sent to us regarding the delay. I felt it was more of a bus service. The flight lands. By the time passengers get down from the flight, the next set of passengers are waiting on the ground to board. The flight is on the ground only for 10 minutes!!! You get on the flight and they immediately serve you tamarind rice and water. Once you are done, its time to get off. While I was getting off the plane, I saw the next set of passengers ready to board.

Anyways, the mysore airport is literally empty. This is the only flight that operates from that airport as of now. So you have a handful of ground staff. So there are few taxi drivers waiting outside. We booked one for Rs. 2000 one way to the property. It took about 2 hours to reach. The last stretch to reach the hotel was quite bumpy. We took down his number and called him for our return from property as well.

As soon as we entered the property, the manager briefed us. Our room was beautiful. The whole resort was lit up in light and looked splendid. The food at the resort is quite good. There are quite a few activities like table tennis, carrom,  foosball, snooker, etc. There is a playground and kids play area. The swimming pool was quite cold but we still enjoyed ourselves. You can pick up cycles near the reception and can use it till 6 pm.

The only thing I would definitely recommend is getting a better masseuse at the spa. They do organize safari and nature walk. We did do the jungle safari but no luck, we didn't spot any big cats.

The staff were sweet enough to pack lunch for my kid for my journey back. We had a wonderful 2 day break. Luckily, our return flight was delayed only by an hour. Loved our short and sweet vacation

Last Stop Melbourne

Feb  21st  - My flight was at 10:00 am and we dropped our car at Europcar well before time. Luckily we didn't bang, so the formalities were done quickly. Our first problem started at Virgin Airline check-in counter. We were 5 of us and we had five bags to check in. Each bag had to weigh less than 22 kg. My bag had my kids stuff as well and it was weighing 28 kg. But my husband was checking in a luggage of only 15 kg. They didn't agree to compensate with my husband's luggage. I had to repack my suitcase to reduce the weight. I found that quite absurd!! Anyways, it was just an hour flight to Melbourne and it was ok. The inflight entertainment didn't work for me and the air-hostess was quite clueless. 

Again, I had booked a car at Melbourne at Europcar. Here, they didn't have the car that I booked. Funnily, my husband and I were recollecting the Seinfeld episode where he is in a similar situation. They gave us a Volkswagen car and we had to wait for such a long time, for them to arrange for a car seat for my toddler. Only after we started travelling, we realised how horrible the car was. Anyways, I had made my reservation at Punthill South Yarra Grand. I had booked a 2 bedroom apartment for 3 nights, which costed me about Rs. 42,000. It took us a good 45 minute drive in the traffic and it felt like I was in a city.

Like in every other place, the apartment had air-conditioning only in the living room. It was quite hot and stuffy in the bedroom. But the location is fantastic. There is a tram station and railway station nearby. The eateries and shopping places nearby are fantastic as well. The people at the reception were very warm and helped us in planning our things to do. The day we landed, it was white night at Melbourne. We went around 5 to explore the place and the atmosphere was just mind-blowing. They were people performing dance, skits and various acts. The street food and shopping were brilliant. I'm so glad we went around 5 and explored the place. While we were leaving at around 9:30, the place was jam packed and there was no place to move.

Feb 22nd - We had tickets to watch India - South Africa Match. It was way too hot but a good match to enjoy

Feb 23rd - We did a bit of shopping. I had booked a table for hubby and I, at Vue De Monde. The experience was to die for. Oh boy, I forgot to mention that during the day I did eat at Adriano Zumbo. The desserts... I'm still drooling

Feb 24th - We checked out by around 10:30 to drive to Great Ocean Road. Here is the deal, you type Great Ocean Road on GPS, it takes you through the highway. While we were driving, we were wondering as to why we can't see the ocean. We then figured that the GPS always shows the shortest route. I then remembered the stops and we found our way to Torquay. From there on the drive was so inviting. We took pit stops at so many places to enjoy the view. It was almost 7:30 pm by the time we reached 12 apostles and it was the sun was just setting. You can just sit there for hours and enjoy the beauty. 

I had booked my stay at Best Western Great Ocean Inn, Port Campbell. This place is hardly 10 minutes drive from 12 apostles. I had paid Rs. 16350 for a single night for 2 rooms. The room was quite basic and nice. We had dinner at this place, which was right opposite the ocean. Good food and this was the only place which was open late. 

Feb 25th - You can order your breakfast at the hotel, provided to inform them by 8:00 pm previous day. Since we didn't, we checked out and headed for breakfast at a cafe. After that, we again stopped at 12 apostles to enjoy the beauty one last time. We then drove without any stop back to the city. We did a bit of shopping at the outlet mall. After all the shopping, we went to Queen Victoria Evening market. The place had brilliant food. We were all pretty tired just travelling so much. We headed back to the airport early. Guess what? I had bid for my return journey as well, and we had all been upgraded to Business Class.

Th travel back home was wonderful and we had such a good time at Australia.

Tasmania Part 2

Feb 19th - We were a bit tired from our previous night trex and checked out by 11:00 am from our apartment. I had read so much about "Jackmann & Mc. Ross Cafe" at Battery Point, that I had to try it. One word to sum up the place - BRILLIANT. There were too many items that we wanted to try and the food is fabulous. Wish we had our breakfast there every day. We then started driving toward Launceston, which was about 2 hours away. I had booked Quest Launceston. Finally we got a 2 bedroom 2 bathroom apartment. The apartment is huge. Obviously, they had air-conditioning only in the living room. Really? How are you expecting people to sleep in the bedroom? They did arrange for fans and air coolers. Anyways, I had paid $470 for 2 nights. The location of this place is good. Very close to the shopping district. 

After freshening, we went shopping at the nearby places and picked up lovely stuff. Right after that, we drove to Cataract Gorge. It's a beautiful place, with a kids play area, swimming pool, huge area to walk and run. Also there was this bridge, from where you could see waterfall. I got excited seeing peacocks roaming around the area. There is a chair car to have an aerial view of the place, but it wasn't working on the day we visited.  We just spent too much time here enjoying the place, that we forgot that all eateries shut by 8:30 pm. We just had dessert from this amazing place and that was our dinner.

Feb 20th - We got out by 6:00 am to explore Cradle Mountain. I had booked Cradle Mountain Canyoning for my husband, while we were to hike up the place. The drive to Cradle Mountain took about 2-2.5 hours. At one point, it was like we were driving through clouds, so misty and scary. After successfully reaching the place, my husband geared up for his canyoning, while I set out for my hike. The hike (6.5 km) was very nice and my husband loved his expedition. I was dead tired, carrying my son during the hike but I met such lovely people who chatted with me along the way. Luckily here, we do get things to eat at the cafe. We left cradle mountain by 2:30 pm and reached our apartment by 4:30 pm. We had dinner at a lovely mexican restaurant nearby and finished our packing to leave the next day.