Kauai is known as the Garden Island and encompasses roughly 550 miles of dramatic sea cliffs, waterfalls, canyons, plunging ravines, beaches and bays.

Really, how can one place have it all??

Kauai Tourism Website

My top 10 things to do in Kauai:

1. Stay in West Kauai or in the Northern Kauai to mingle more with the locals and experience the real slow pace life of Kauai’ans. We stayed in the Northeastern side, near Kilauea, in a beautiful beautiful Bed & Breakfast Inn called Palmwood Inn. The owner was a retired Investment Banker from L.A and her sense of style, the house and her hospitality was beyond our expectations. Reading some of her Japanese Architecture book collection, I started to admire the house even more and got to know that all her furniture was made using Palmwood - the most socially responsible decision - made by Pacific Green Furnitures

Eco-luxury at its best! The house was perched on a hill with 5 acres of lush garden setting with beautiful mountain views. Highlights of the house were the hot tub and the outdoor shower, tiki bar and the grill. And I wont forget the yummy breakfast Eddie made us in the morning. Palmwood was definitely the highlight of our trip.

2. Sail the NaPali Coast in a luxury catamaran!

Cannot tell you more about how much we loved the serene mountains and very blue waters, watch Dolphins swim by, snorkelling with the sea turtles and get drenched in the waterfalls. Our catamaran was so beautiful and we were sailing with young couples, all of them in their late 20s or early 30s, no kids or oldies!! FTW!

During the months of December through April, we could have enjoyed the sights of the Humpback whales but during this season they are off to Alaska. :(

The coast runs from North to West and the historians believe this rugged yet beautiful coastline was the first area of Kauai to be settled by the ancient Hawaiians. The Polihale beach is a must in this area. Access to this beach is through a dirt road and a 4 x 4 will get you there comfortably. Another beach thats literally the end of the road is the Ke’e beach. For more adventure, you can try camping in these beaches as they have restrooms and showers in the area.

3. Sea-Kayak under the caves of NaPali

Kayak the most beautiful coastline under the 80 foot waterfall and zip through the sea caves.

4. Visit the Grand Canyon of the Pacific - Waimea Canyons

Also the best spot for stargazing is known to be above the Waimea Canyon.

5. Live like a local

Go to the Kilauea Fish Market and to the Healthy Hut grocery store to bring some fresh island fish and veggies for your evening meal.

Our dinner menu: Seared fresh Ahi and a filet mignon with some grilled vegetables.

6. Try the fruit stands and/or farmers market for fresh tropical fruits

List of Farmers Markets

7. Nap on a beach

Taking an afternoon nap on a shaded beach on the soft sands of Kauai is just pure divine. We kayaked the Hanalei Valley that joined the Hanalei Bay, which was perfect for napping since the shore is tree lined with enough shade.

8. Spouting Horn

The spouting horn blowhole in the south Kauai blows 60 feet high of water making it an absolute pretty photog.

9. Dine at BarAcuda or The Eastside

We went to BarAcuda, recommended by Palmwood, it was absolutely delish!!! They serve spanish tapas with Hawaiian influence. Their NorthShore Honey comb with Feta is to die for…

10. Wailua Falls

You can hike or kayak the Wailua river to end at the Wailua Falls. Wailua, also means “Spirit” and is said to be largest freshwater river in the islands.

Tip: All the tours are closed on Sundays to let the locals enjoy their island, so plan accordingly.

Bonus Tip: Rent a convertible to be with nature and to stargaze without interruptions.

Mahalo for reading.

Have I mentioned I love eating, and taking pictures of food! Yes I do. Even though I get many looks when my take my D80 out in a restaurant.

I just like to say, I love to record what I enjoy.

New York City, its probably the biggest small city in the world that has endless options of different cuisines and for most part a real gem in each too. I can definitely attest that for Indian food. Sun and I wanted to go to NYC and check out few places that was either famous for something or got rave reviews. Also we had one night in the city so knowing us, ofcourse we partied out.

I read about this lounge Merkato55, an African restaurant/lounge in the Meatpacking District and the most interesting thing about it was the party atmosphere starting at noon. Are you hungover?, head over here and cure it with a mojito! They even had a velvet rope at the entrance! Music was great and the house made huge glass jars of mojitos get you going throughout the afternoon is Fab-U-Lous-OOH!

Our hotel was a great find in the Tribeca area. I was particular I am not anywhere close to Times Square. Duane Street Hotel was amidst all the boutiques, design stores in Soho/Tribeca area.

Evening Menu:

7:00PM - Tailor, was another place I was dying to try. It has fancy cocktails, innovative concoctions and quirky ambiance. Owned by the mad food scientist and pastry Chef Sam Mason, he also owns Wd-50.  Check out his interview with Food & Wine.

Image Copyright: Krieger

Check out the pictures, I assure you it was fabulous and brilliant. its a MUST GO!

Gummy Bear Absinthe

Beet Sangria

Tailor made shots: Biscotti Cognac, Garam Masala Rum, Pumpernickel Raisin Scotch

Solid Cocktails: Absinthe, White Russian Cereals, Bell Pepper Margarita

Seared Red Snapper, Watermelon, Olives and Ramps

9:00PM - Strolled to Little Italy, and Sun caved in for a roadside pizza from the stands, while I wanted to walk it off to be ready for our next place. Kush Lounge!

10:00PM - It was a Morrocan lounge and had a strong party environment. We were ready for some Bollywood cocktails. I wasnt too impressed since the bartender had shaked a martini with garam masala, its a no-no to mix dry spice, which by itself has a strong flavor. I had ordered another Plum Daiquiri which was just ok.

The place was very pretty and they had hookahs and yummy bites of masala crab cakes and beef sliders.

12:30AM - I think we have had enough food and drinx, very tired from all the walking. But then we had one more place in the agenda, to go to Wok to Walk, this was purely to relive our Amsterdam nights. Wok-to-Walk is a fast food chain from Holland, where we had wok all the time when we visited Ams, with the yummiest Indonesian hot sauce. What they have in University Place in Union Sq isnt quite like that but we had memories and didnt mind the taste so much.

ZZZ - Time to sleep!

Sunday -

Went for a birthday party for my adorable nephew Arya and spent the day with my cuz and had the whole spread of Indian food she cooked at home for lunch.

For sunday night dinner, we had plans to go to Anjappar, the most authentic South Indian restaurant in all of US. Atleast I love the place and its in New Brunswick, NJ. Mutton Briyani and King Fish fry is my favorite food of all and repeatedly they have proved they have the best fish.

Appetizer: Mutton Bone Soup

note: Stainless Steel is a typical serving dish in India and I think it adds to the taste!

Chicken Lollipop:

King Fish Fry

Mutton Briyani with Kushka and Yogurt Raita.

Heaven!

Well, we are not really backpackers, I like my clothes and shoes, so I could say we are large rolling dufflers. Our itinerary was set atleast 2 months before our trip even though there were some last minute additions, I would definitely say its good to book your hotels, visas (yes, the unfortunate few have to get them, even for Europe) well in advance as most hotels have a 7-day cancellation policy, you do have flexibility if you want to change hotels.

We did have an aggressive schedule: Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam had to be covered in a week and the next one week in Italy. Few of the good decisions we made, definitely not my heavy luggage, were deciding to stay in places that had some significance and activating our iphones so we can leave our laptops behind.

First off Paris, we stayed in a boutique hotel called Le Bellechasse, designed by the fashion designer Christian Lacroix. Our room was one of the original room with a tub in the room and design textures all around.

Sightseeing started off with the Louvre Museum, checking out some of my favorite Neo Classical art and Renaissance art. Spent atleast 2 hours there, being as a tour guide to Sun shedding some of my art history knowledge. I was amazed by all the sizes of the canvas, even though I learnt that in my school days, until you see it, you dont really realise it. And then we saw the most hyped up Mona Lisa, for some reason I am not a big fan of her.

We walked around the city, taking in the beauty, crossing the Seine (pronounced Sen) and going into the most cultural buzzling area called St.Michel. here you can find all kinds of food, roadside food stalls, cheap eats and line of bars.

That night being my birthday eve, I followed Sun’s plans of taking me to a fancy dinner. Yay, I am up for that. We went to Les Ombres, famous chef Arno Busquet delighted us with some of his best culinary treats while we saw the Eiffel tower glittering. It was magical!

Next day we took a day trip to Brussels and had all the Belgian favorites, Mussels, waffles, chocolates, beer and frittes. A day was more than enough to cover all this and tour around the town hall/market square.

Back in Paris, although we tried to take the metro, it was kinda ridiculous to spend 3e each, instead we could go anywhere in taxi for less than 10e. So our lazy asses went on taxi everywhere, but we had more day to tour around.

I am gonna skip writing about the usual touristy spots such as Champs, Notre Dame, Eiffel and rather just show you pics. Its wonderful and you must go there but try to do a quickie as there is lot more city you will need to explore.

Few things you shouldn’t miss while you are there: Macarons from Laduree, Crepes from any roadside stand, Baguette Sandwich and roaming around St.Michel, (window) shopping in Champ!

Paris is every woman’s dream, so is mine. I know I will be back very soon.

We leave to Amsterdam next, by Eurail (we got a 8-day pass for unlimited travel). There we stayed in a houseboat in the Rembrandsplien area. It was as central as it could get; all the night clubs, coffee shops are in this area along with the Dam Sq and Red light district within a 15 min walking radius.

Houseboats usually have a 3 nt minimum, but we managed to get one for 2 nts for 500e, although for this price you could have got a more fancier ours had the view, and the location was simply superb.

Amsterdam is definitely one place you should go when you are young.. Enjoy the heart thumping music, drink till 7am and then have the energy to do afterparties till 12pm.. Insane. We did our part by going to Bulldog, Escape, WoktoWalk till 5am.

Went to one of the coolest interactive museum, House of Bols, to discover the world behind genever and liqueurs. Unmask the truth behind taste, aroma and smell in their Hall of taste. We also had some bartending flair lessons and a open bar to taste their flavors. I totally recommend anyone to go here!

Right across from here is the Van Gogh Museum. Although he is a crazy man, absolutely anyone will love his work done while going through some of his tough times.

Here in Holland, you dont have any problems with speaking in English, and you will find that the place is really multi cultural. There are plenty of Indonesian restaurants, as Indonesia was one of the Dutch East Indies. Also mediterranean food aplenty. Funky design stores are all over the place, just step right in and you can buy a small kitchen tool that may or maynot be very useful but will look so cool. Bicycles are the biggest means of transport so if you dont look either side you will be kissing the curb.

Three things you dont miss in Ams: Wok wok and wok.. fast food wok with Indonesian Lombok sauces so yum, works best for hangovers.

With this I conclude three out of four countries here, with a single underlying tourist principle, walk around, eat local specials, talk to strangers and just live the life of locals for a single day and see the city through their eyes. Forget the agenda, skip the lines to these museums, you are here to experience new cultures and keep that as your priority.

I was talking to my friend Cara about my long weekend travel to Tennessee and she was telling me that I should start writing travel journals and it might help others to know the area better.

So here we go:

Its an 8 hour drive from Wash DC to the Smoky Mountains and we were staying in The Preserve, a resort cabin in Sevierville. We started early in the morning and reached Johnson City, TN by 1pm, and thus our lunch spot, quickly searched what’s best in there, and landed in Firehouse Restaurant, for 25 years it has been famous for serving the region’s best authentic hickory smoked bar-b-que specialties, homemade side items and desserts. I had the pulled pork sandwich which was recommended by the waiter, and Sundar has Baby Back ribs. Both of us were very satisfied.

We reached the cabin around 3pm, checked in, was happy to see the resort and our cabin was exactly like how it was in their site. We would have liked little more privacy, but the wonderful views all around made up for it.

Decided to go for a short drive to the mountains, on the way we saw Sevierville, Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, was very surprised to see how commercial the cities have become with all the Ripleys, speed tracks, mini golf, etc and the wedding chapels like 4 in one mile stretch. Lots and lots of pancake houses, made us figure it must be famous for it. But out of the three cities I think I was ok with Gatlinburg’s stretch of entertainment..

And once you enter the Mountains, you get what you came for. The peace and the quiet.

We stopped to hike the Laurel Falls, it was a 2.6 mile roundtrip hike. Falls was just ok, not too big. But the biggest highlight of this hike ? We saw a bear and a cub. Boy.. were we thrilled. Infact me and sundar were planning our wiidlife viewing hike early next day and I said “If we are determined to see one, we will” and right the next second, we spot one. HAHAHA. One sad thing was I couldn’t get a clear enough picture as it was little far from us and it was covered by so many small plants, made it tuff. Nevertheless our experience was just wonderful.

Next day, we went for an early morning drive to the Cades Cove Loop, spotted Elks, many many White Tailed Deer, Wild Turkey.

Had our lunch in Alamo Steakhouse, I had the Filet Mignon with side serving of their famous Alamo Potatoes. It was incredibly delicious. Sundar had the Filet Mignon sandwich and he didnt like it so much.

Drove to Cherokee, NC to visit the Oconaluftee Indian Village. Learnt a lot about the Cherokee Indians and how they lived in the 1700s, their customs, rituals and interestingly how the number 7 had a great meaning to them and their counsels were head by the women. Was also fun to see how the artisans perform their unique inherited talents such as, basket-weaving, bead-making, canoe making, blowgun, masks etc.

Day 3 of our trip, we decided to go Zorbing, its a sport of rolling down a hill inside a giant inflatable ball and it was invented in New Zealand. We did the Zydro - means they filled the ball with some water so its like you are getting a nice wash while you are rolling down the hill. My pants had zipper in them, so I was asked to buy the appropriate wear from their store. I looked like a Zorb product, and we were chatting with all the adrenaline fun seekers, I have to say TN is one of the most friendliest state I have ever been to.

Then we went to Knoxville to meet up with some of my friends. Chatted the night away in a place called SideStreet Tavern: outdoor benches, some Vodkas and Minty shots, railway track right beside the place, so occasional blow horning, it was just amazing.

Day 4, had our breakfast in LogCabin Pancake House, I had the butterscotch pancake and it was so delicious.

We left around 9am fanatically checking the Wimbledon Mens Final scores on our iphones, I was supporting Rafa and Sundar was my foe then. Finally Rafa won, we reached and I was happy! :)