Your best custom travel guide by Akilya - Kentucky

Places to visit - Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky Horse Park, Keeneland, Lost River Cave, Ohio River, Cumberland Falls State Park.

For Mammoth Cave you can read this : http://allegra2013.blogspot.com/2013/06/mammoth-caves-and-nashville-ganesh.html

Things to know -

• Kentucky has 2 time zones
• 2 major cities - Lexington and Louisville - Both have big Universities. 
• Remembered for KFC
• Famous for Derby/ horse races
• Also called Bluegrass state

Lexington, the University Town I studied at! Miss school days and my friends there.

Happy School Days!

Your best custom travel guide by Akilya - Illinois

Places to visit - Navy Pier, Willis Tower, Alder Planetarium, Chicago Lake Front Trail, Magnificent Mile, Cloud Gate, John Hancock Center

Other places we visit are Hindu Temples. They are really big. And have really yummy food.
One at Lemonte and other at Aurora.

There is a lot places for shopping. Devon Street being the famous one for Indians- Restaurants especially!

This is another place where I lived. It will remain close to me for the friends I miss spending my weekends and vacations.

Your best custom travel guide by Akilya - Utah

Places to Visit - Bryce Canyon National Park, Zion National Park, Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Park,  Capitol Reef National Park, Great Salt Lake, Grand Staircase - Escalante National Park, Big Cottonwood Canyon,Utah Olympic Park, Antelope Island State Park, Hill Aerospace Museum, Bonneville Salt Flats, Bear Lake, Mount Timpanogoes.

Things to do-

• Get a National Park Annual Pass and visit any number of National Parks. The Canyons are one of a kind. 
• Get your hiking shoes ready and lots of water and snacks. Start your day early, well before the sun hits right above you. 
• Winter? Interested in Skiing... Get ready for it. 
• Timpanogoes is a cave. And it's a steep hike. 
• Arches is the Utah symbol

Enjoy your trip! I have lived there for a while. So visited all of the places on many occasions.

Planning on a road trip… don’t forget these

Top 5 things to carry

1. Phones and chargers

2. Load up for phone or other devices with songs and other audios to listen to while you are tired/ out of topics to chit chat or just a background music

3. Snacks to munch on – bubble gums

4. Your backpack for clothes/ personals

5. List of places to visit/ stay – addresses, phone numbers and directions

Booking a cabin… Things you probably could do and pack up…

Cabins are beautiful furnished vacation homes! They accommodate 2 or more people! More the people more the fun! They are normally located in the midst of a forest/ national park. It’s a time to wind away from the busy technology world. Sit around with friends/ family – cook, eat, drink, chit chat, play games, dance, sing and enjoy the warmth before the fireplace!

Book a cabin at least 10 days earlier. Some places have a minimum days of stay, mostly 2-3 nights. And it’s always good to pack the minimum on any travel trip.

Planning to cook dinner at the cabin? Usually the cabin has the basic ingredients such as spices, salt and pepper. They have the pans and cookware. So extra things you may need could be your special spices (Indian- chilly powder). Also check for the nearest grocery stores and their hours of operation. 

Your best custom travel guide by Akilya- New York

I have been to New York, so this is gonna be easy… New York is a big state. But tourists are all in the New York City! Forget your car behind. You can book a hotel and stay in downtown. We had friends in New York suburbs, so we stayed with them. A long weekend! Actually a weekend would do for New York City! It’s the city that never sleeps. So just be ready with your high energy levels.

Places to visit- Empire state building (103^rd floor sky deck), Central park, Statue of Liberty, Times square, Grand central terminal, Ellis Island, National September 11 memorial, Brooklyn bridge, Battery park.

·         Always remember to book / find stay really early! They get pricy!

·         It’s always better to book your tickets for ferry rides, empire state building online, last minute booking is fine for this. But book them online, you are least likely to be cheated that way.

·         Times Square has lots of exciting things to experience- shopping, eateries, get yourself sketched by artists, and an all night crowd.

Places to eat- Indian food is my hubby’s favorite. My in-laws too were with us, on one trip so we ended with trying various Indian restaurants. Saravana Bhavan is my all-time favorite. The experience dining in there was no different from sitting in the same restaurant in my hometown (Chennai, India).

Also you should try the street food from the trucks in downtown, especially Times Square. It’s one of a kind experience. Not so likely to see them in other parts of the states. My personal favorites are Hot dogs, funnel cakes and crepes. I just wanted to hog on everything I saw! 

Just remembered I am yet to update my two trips to New York City! Will soon be blogged! :D What's your story? 

Your best custom travel guide by Akilya- Washington

Places to visit - Olympic national forest; San Juan island; Snoqualmie falls; Mount Rainer, Seattle attractions (Space needle, EMP museum, Glass Chilury Garden, Pike Market), Leavenworth (For the Christmas lights, it’s a little German town!)

Things to Do – Whale watching, bungee jumping, zip-lining, and all water/ beach activities

Your best custom travel guide by Akilya- Oregon

Places to visit- Crater Lake National Park (Lakes, scuba diving, volcanoes), Sea Lion Caves, Tom McCall Waterfront Park, Forest Park, Cape Perpetua (Lighthouse, hiking, camping, forest, backpacking), Lithia Park, Tumola Falls, Yaquina Head Light (Lighthouse, beach)

Your best custom travel guide by Akilya- California

Places to visit in San Francisco – Golden Gate Bridge, Twin Peaks hills, Ocean Beach, Transamerica Pyramid (skyscraper)

Things To Do – Water activities in Ocean Beach- Surfing, Kitesurfing

Places to visit in Los Angeles – Universal Hollywood Studios, Disneyland, Hollywood sign on Mount Lee, Santa Monica Pier

Things to do – Enjoy beaches and amusement parks

Other Places to visit in California – Yosemite National Park and Redwood National Forest. You can plan for a long road trip or visit the state multiple times. 

Your best custom travel guide by Akilya- Alaska

Alaska is known for its vast lands of glacier! There are so many harbors ports along the west coastline. 

Transport - You can plan to reach Alaska by any of the ferry lines or cruise lines. http://alaskaferryvacations.com/ http://www.cruisecritic.com/ports/area.cfm?area=1

Things to pack - It is said to have unpredictable weather. Things you don’t want to forget while packing-hiking boots, dress in layers, sunscreen, insect repellent, extra memory cards for photos, collapsible backpack, binoculars, motion sickness tablets and rain gear. http://www.cruisecritic.com/v-1/articles.cfm?ID=1255

Places to visit in Glacier Bay National Park is full of islands, lakes and glaciers- 

Icy Strait Point (Zip-lining, whale watching, salmon, glacier)

Mendenhall Lake (Lake, fishing, camping, glacier)

Douglas Island (Deer, grey wolf, hunting, hiking)

Chilkoot trail (Hiking, rafting, backpacking, history, running) http://www.visitglacierbay.com/

Your best custom travel guide by Akilya- Florida

This is the order from south most point to the north edge of Florida. Florida Keys (West Key), Miami, Everglades, Fort Lauderdale, Naples, Sanibel Island, Tampa Bay, Clearwater Beach, Orlando, Panama City Beach.

Would make an awesome road trip. Or you could just pick a portion of it at a time and make 2 or more visits to this state! There sure is a lot of explore here. There’s a long lists of places to visit and things to do! Believe me- making a plan is gonna be task in itself! I seriously didn’t know what I am getting myself into now! There’s a never-ending list of things / places here! Uffff :D

Okay! I am gonna concentrate on 4 cities for now- West Key, Miami, Tampa, Orlando. The most popular ones.

Florida Keys is a long chain of islands connected by bridges! West Key being the largest among all!

Miami is known for sizzling nightlife!

Tampa bay is a large natural harbor!

Orlando is a Theme-park city!

Well not really… Places you should definitely visit are beaches and amusement parks. I guess all of them are spectacular is their own way! So just pick one randomly of the numerous top best lists off the internet! And depending on your group! And depending on the numbers of days you are gonna be around! Also may be where ever you book your stay! My best way outta of this confusion would be to head to the visitors center! They know the best plan for you based on group size, interests, days you are gonna spend around and your energy levels!

I’d probably choose a beach that has all the adventure sports or a beach for each of these… that way covering plenty of  beaches! After all Florida is all about beaches- snorkeling, parasailing, scuba diving, fishing, boating, a cruise ride, dolphin tours, kayaking, sailing, etc.

Having kids? Are you a bunch of teenagers? Couples? Photographers? Excited about Amusement parks? Don’t miss out all of Orlando! You should make an exclusive trip to Orlando!

Share your experiences and thoughts! 

Your best custom travel guide by Akilya - Hawaii

Hawaii, an island is all about beaches. More known for couples and honeymoon trips. No harm if others join. It is also known for its volcanoes. As a research about travel around the various islands of Hawaii, surprised to know there’s not much easy access ferries running between! Flights are the only mode of transport. So guess you should schedule for a connecting flight a day or two later and for the return flight from another island a couple of days later.

Places to visit

- Must see – Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Big Island; Waimea Canyon, Kauai - "Grand Canyon of the Pacific"

- With kids- Panaewa Rainforest Zoo, Big Island, Waimea Arboretum and Botanical Garden, Oahu

- For photographers - Haleakala National Park, Maui**

- Historical locations – USS Arizona Memorial, Oahu; Diamond Head State Monument, Oahu; Puuhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park, Big Island; Kilauea National Wildlife Refuge, Kauai

Do – adventurous people check out these

Snorkeling and scuba diving at Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve, Oahu

Travel- A guide to flights and ferries http://www.govisithawaii.com/2009/03/24/a-guide-to-inter-island-travel-in-hawaii/

**More details: Haleakala National Park, Maui
The Haleakala National Park preserves the Haleakala volcanic area on the island of Maui. Explore the summit area and/or the Kipahulu area down on the coast, but be aware that these park areas are not connected by road and it will take two separate trips to visit both. Both Haleakala National Park areas are unique; the summit offers spectacular views and scenery, while the valley of Kipahulu is lush and lined with beautiful freshwater pools and waterfalls including the pools of Oheo. Must-do's are: hike the two-mile trail leading through the Oheo Gulch and swim in the lower pools, and visit the visitor center.
References: http://www.bestplaceshawaii.com/tips/10_best/attractions.html

Planning a trip is super exciting

And a friend calls it evolving... A continuous process... As we add in new ideas each minute... And are always looking forward to the holidays...

Yes, Christmas coming soon and so is New Year. 10 solid days.... What more can you ask for... excitement is up in the air... With less than 10 days to go... Here's 10 things we have been planning....

1. Places to visit

We are planning to visit states- California, Oregon and Washington.
Places so far on list are-- Redwood national park, CA; Portland, beaches and all other attractions there; Olympic national forest; San Juan island; Snoqualmie falls; Mount Rainer;Seattle attractions (space needle)

2. Places to stay

So far we have booked a cabin in CA. Yet to find one in Portland, OR. So there we are all set for the Christmas weekend. After that so far the plan is to have all other one day trips and get home before the sunrises the next day.

3. Things to do

We are a bunch of dare devils.... Ready with all our excitement... You need some guts to read this point... Bucket list follows below:
Bungee Jumping
Kayaking
Rafting
Jet Skiing
Fishing and frying the caught fish
Whale Watching
Trekking
And what ever we come across...

4. Photo ideas/ poses / Photography

What's a trip without photos.... And a trip with an exciting group... We are still pondering over poses... and surely will be clicking a hell lot of pictures- scenarios, landscapes, beaches, skyline, monuments, mountains, forest, and obviously us and almost everything we see.

My one idea for the Space Needle is Seattle Tee Shirts... Match up/ similar tee shirts!

5. Clothes to pack / wear

It's cold outside... It's winter here... Obviously nothing like Chicago... But still a bit chilly... So obviously gotta dress up in layers... Will try bright colors... and variety... time to do some shopping...

6. Cooking and Eating / tasting food at popular restaurants

Cooking isn't a regular thing to me. So far it's been experimenting and trying new dishes. We definitely love eating... so we can even plan what all to cook over the week... also plan a list of restaurants to try out... I will surely do some pre-cooking like making batters and marination's... so cooking would be simple when we meet up...

The whole trip includes a lot of bucket lists and plans... WOW... never planned so much... this is getting crazy!

7. Movies to watch together

I am yet to get a TV... Then we do have a movie in mind to watch together... hopefully no one's watched it yet.. catching up on our patience on not to break the suspense of the movie..
We call ourselves "Movie Nighters" so it's time to catch up movies we missed in the last couple of weeks...

8. New Year celebrations

This part too we still don't have a clear plan... Wish to spend in Seattle downtown... And also not get trapped driving in traffic. So gotta find out if there's public transport till late night... so we could join the countdown in downtown as we enter the new year 2016!

9. Road trips/ Long drives

Planning to drive to and fro to northern California. And at least one way along the west coast viewing the pacific coast... with the beaches... :D

10. Partying/ sleepless nights

All this together would obviously result in sleepless nights even if this isn't really planned to be so.. Ha ha...


Here's a tentative plan....
Dec 25/26- Redwood natl park http://www.nps.gov/redw/planyourvisit/things2do.htm
Dec 26/27 - Portland, beaches and west coast drive
Dec 28- Monday - Olympic natl forest http://www.sunset.com/m/travel/northwest/olympic-national-park-hikes-rainforest
Dec 29- Tuesday - San Juan island http://www.visitsanjuans.com/what-to-do
Dec 30 - Wednesday- Bungee jump http://bungee.com/bzapp/bungee_masters/index.html
Dec 31 - Thursday-Snoqualmie falls (only 30 mins away)
New year eve - Seattle
Jan 1st - Friday - mount Rainer
Jan 2nd - Saturday- Seattle attractions (space needle)
Jan 3rd - Seattle

Waiting for the real story of our awesome experiences? We too :D

All Time Passes meet here...

As I move in to the new apartment in Bellevue... Thing I have been doing apart from looking for a job and sleeping...

1. Making friends around

On one of my recent friends blog, I have how I met my first friend in a new city. So from there I went on to meet others in the community. I was added onto a Whats-app group by my first buddy and then I went on to introduce myself. It's winter here and so there aren't any roaming outside. Everyone are stuck inside their homes. And of course my hubby busy on his work trips travelling again. I sat their in my apartment- Bored! Trying to find new friends.

2. Decorating and furnishing my new home

Yes, we moved into a new empty apartment. Finally after a month emptied my car. Brought all our things in. Arranged them around the house. And then I had a couple of things added on to my Amazon shopping cart online. It was black Friday, right when we got in! So yes, I purchased all the things lying on the cart- Kitchen gadgets, Sofa, Bed (Mattress and frame). And then I had found a lot of cute things to buy on an app called "Home". Purchased them too. Then got a couple of organizers/ storage cabins from superstores close by.

In continuation of my photography blog, I printed out a bunch of pictures and hung them all around my home just over strings and clipped them on by clothes pins!

I still continue to shop. Looking for TV, Stand, Dining table.

3. Exploring the city

Things are interconnected. To furnish and decorate my home, I have been shopping around Bellevue malls- Factoria, Crossroads, so far.

My hubby and I found many Indian restaurants around. Then I was surprised to see many Indian grocery stores located all in the same area!

Speaking to many friends in my neighborhood, I am learning there's plenty of temples around and lots of delicious food too. My next stop will be there.

4. Cooking experiments

This would be more of a continuation of my hobbies blog. See I told you, they are all interconnecting now with this blog. Next I plan to continue to make my cooking experience exciting... Will let you know soon how it goes. Stay tuned for more.

Hashtags-#Chennai #Rain #Floods

Facebook was my only source of information. Every single minute updates about Chennai Rains and Floods were posted.

On the worst side…

1. No electricity
2. No mobile phones networks/ landlines not working
3. Water levels had reached ground floor and first floor apartments, people were moving to higher floors/ terrace (roof)
4. Drinking water was at shortage
5. All people stagnated, several feet of water outside their homes (from knee level to neck level and even more in some areas)
6. Tough access to food and basic necessities
7. Cars fully submerged, even worse... they were toppled and one over the other…
8. Chennai International airport shut down

On the bright side…

1. People living outside the city were posting queries about their family and friends, strangers volunteered to update the status of their families by going and visiting them
2. 1000s of people volunteering to help with basic necessities and medicine for the elderly and sick and arranging doctors for pregnancy and other needs
3. Doctors volunteering to help and conducting free medical check ups
4. NGOs conducting medical camps all over the city
5. Millions of people / businesses donating money, food, and all basic necessities
6. NRIs worked day and night to help connect the suppliers and the volunteers to supply the goods to the needy
7. All Chennaites and our neighbors pooled in all the help they could offer- Time, Energy and Money!
8. People were working together to bring back Chennai to Normal – Rescue, Relief and Rehabilitation!

Army, Rescue Teams, Doctors, Volunteers (in the city as well as outside the city/ state and even country) have been helping their maximum by

1. Distributing food and water to all the needy
2. Arranging and distributing basic necessities
3. Sending boats to rescue people stranded and stuck in various parts of the city
4. Conducting medical camps and supplying free medicine

The Politicians, Kollywood (Cinema World) and National Media Channels didn’t appear to bother at all. Especially the Government of India… Worst part was they were even creating more trouble to all the good human around.

The initial days of rain didn’t give anyone any clue about this disaster. It was raining ... Schools kids off at home ... Memes filled on social media ... Making fun of it ... Then came the real rains ... Poured continuously for couple of days ... Then times got serious .. Facebook flooded with Chennai floods updates, quires, worries, help needs for basic necessities, poor people homes all washed off…

This was the condition for 4 full days… Facebook and Twitter were updating with latest news ... News channels were a complete waste… Giving false news ... For the first time... Hashtags meant so much… ##########################

Don’t Dare to Under-Estimate the Power of Common-People! They proved to be the REAL HEROES! 

Chennai will rise stronger than before! I am sure this floods have taught all of us so many lessons in life! That it’s gonna change super drastically to an Awesome place to live in! I love my hometown and he people! I love my city- CHENNAI :)

How I met my first new Friend in a new City?

26th Day in State of Washington! And 4th Day in my new apartment! And I Know No One Here At All! Today I found a friend! The lucky news is she is a like-minded girl!

This reminds me of the days when I joined school in Kentucky! A similar story... I don't have the days count though... But in the same way, I found a friend there! Luck was my side even then! She is my best buddy!

Wanna know how this happened... So we were on an apartment search spree and every apartment I visited- as the receptionist / leasing officer showed me around their vacant apartments, I told them I was new to Seattle and knew absolutely no one around here. And finally, before I moved into this apartment I am currently residing, The lady at the reception told my about a girl, who left her number with them to pass on to anyone looking for friends around. I was excited. And remembered her name. Two days later, me and Balu decided to take up the same apartment and we moved in. Another 2 days in... A got a couple of packages shipped in and had to go to the leasing office to collect them, So when I met the receptionist, I recollected her telling me about that girl's info. I got her number and also left my number there, telling her to pass it on to anyone looking for company!

I got home. Called her. The best part was she too spoke my hometown's language! And the same evening, I stopped by her apartment. And guess what... we spoke all evening... We guess we ran outta stuff to talk within one day! LOL...

Not a really big story... But yes... this is how it goes.. its the second time you know.. The first time, I was in school, so I told my classmates. And there was this one guy, from my country but a different state... so he gave this number of his friend and to randomly call them. It felt weird and took me a lot of courage to do it. LOL... But the result was awesome! They were a couple from again my state! And we could speak in our hometown language! They introduced me to other friends around too. And in due time we all became hangout buddies! I miss them....

Everyone a Photographer! What are we doing with 1000s of Photographs??

I love clicking pictures! I have a hard drive full of photos! Most of you should have the same story! I want a professional camera! Or the latest iPhone! Most of us again own one of them or both!

Back in my school days, I owned a digital camera. And many of friends were as aspirant as I was in clicking memories! Today I have loads and loads of pictures. Each album has Gigabytes of images!

Of late, I have been wondering what to do with all these pictures!

Facebook (or any social media) - Yes we post it on social media… sit back and count our likes and comments! Then again out of 1000s of pictures clicked on an event or trip, just a couple of pictures are uploaded. Most of the times, it’s just a profile picture or a picture on the timeline! So have you ever wondered what to do with the remaining pictures?

Are we really showing it to our friends and family? Who has the patience to scroll through so much of random pictures?! And what happens to them after storing them in our PCs or drives or drop box?! Just accumulating space!


Things I have noticed on uploading pics / showing them to others

1. We are bored to see sceneries. Likes are only for people in the pictures.

2. Large amount of pictures, hardly we scroll through each of them, just like the entire album and move on.


I don’t really have a great solution as of now… But some things I am trying to do are…

1. Make them collages... that way fit in many pics into one box.

2. Make videos … that way fit in sceneries into them.

3. Blogging… Includes pictures.

4. Print them out and put them into physical albums… Remember them? Gifted my grandparents ;)


Share your thoughts!