Category: Blog

When were we there
6 days, February 9-14

Where did we go
✈️ Flight from Melbourne to Amman
🏨 Four Seasons Hotel Amman
🚗 Drove from Amman to Petra
🏨 Petra Marriott Hotel
🚗 Drove from Petra to Wadi Rum
🚗 Drove from Wadi Rum to Dead Sea
🏨 Dead Sea Marriott Hotel
🚗 Drove from Dead Sea to Amman

Highlights

• Citadel and theatre in Amman
• Petra guided tour
• Wadi Rum tour
• Cave paintings in Wadi Rum
• Floating in the Dead Sea
• Jarash tour

Jordan has been the highlight of our trip! It was a short stop but we were absolutely blown away every day, everywhere we went.

It’s like being in Athens, Rome, and Istanbul but the ruins are better preserved and there are no other tourists. And it’s perfectly safe. While it’s surrounded by some terrible areas (we saw freeway signs to go to Syria and Iraq), Jordan itself is a safe place to be.

And they have nailed tourism. We did a private tour. We were picked up at the airport, taken around in a private car, stayed at Marriott hotels, the tour company gave us a cell phone, there was wifi in the car, guides at each stop, all tickets were taken care of. Wow. So, so easy (and such a contrast to India).

We did a day exploring Amman, the capital, where there are a bunch of Roman ruins. Then we drove to Petra. The next morning we got up at 6am to get to Petra before the crowds. We were nearly the first people in, totally worth it!

We spent the entire day at the site, visiting the treasury, hiking to the monastery, and exploring a bunch of caves where people lived.

After Petra we headed south to Wadi Rum, a beautiful desert with huge sandstone mountains. Gorgeous! We saw inscriptions and petroglyphs from thousands of years ago!

We then then headed to the Dead Sea, the lowest point on earth. The water is 10 times saltier than the ocean so it’s super easy to float.

On our last day we went to Ajloun castle, built in the 12th century, and then Jerash.

Jerash: wow. It is the most preserved Roman city after Pompeii and Herculean because it was hit by an earthquake and buried for hundreds of years. Absolutely unbelievable to see.

If you love history like we do, you must go to Jordan!

When were we there
33 days, January 6-February 9

Where did we go
✈️ Flight from Wellington to Sydney
🏡 Airbnb in Sydney
✈️ Flight from Sydney to Melbourne
🏡 Airbnb in Melbourne
✈️ Flight from Melbourne to Hobart
🏨 Hotel Grand Chancellor
🚗 Drove from Hobart to Bicheno
🏡 Airbnb in Bicheno
🚗 Drove from Bicheno to Grindelwald
🏡 Airbnb in Grindelwald
✈️ Flight from Launceston to Brisbane
🏨 Brisbane Marriott Hotel
🚗 Drove from Brisbane to Hervey Bay
🏨 Akama Resort
🚗 Drove from Hervey Bay to Brisbane
✈️ Flight from Brisbane to Adelaide
🏨 The Playford Adelaide Mgallery
🚗 Drove from Adelaide to McLaren Vale
🏨 Wine and Roses Bed and Breakfast
🚗 Drove from McLaren Vale to Robe
🏡 Airbnb in Robe
🚗 Drove from Robe to Apollo Bay
🏨 Motel Marengo
🚗 Drove from Apollo Bay to Melbourne

Highlights
Sydney Zoo
Contemporary Art Museum in Sydney
Sydney Sixers cricket match
Hike from Coogie to Bondi Beach
Melbourne restaurants: Gazi, Babuji, Izakaya Den, Hutong dumplings
Penguin sighting at the beach in Melbourne
Hockney exhibit at National Gallery of Victoria
Hanging out with Kerry in Melbourne
Australian Open
MONA in Hobart
Honoring Nature reserve in Tassie
Hike in Freycinet Park
Wine and pizza at Devil’s Corner winery
Nature world to see Tasmania devils
Wine tasting in Grindelwald
Hanging out with Prasanna in Brisbane
Australia Zoo
Fraser Island day trip
Wine Tasting in McLaren Vale
Caves in Robe
12 Apostles rock formations

♥️ Sydney. The city has the same density and energy as New York, so it’s definitely our speed. What a difference vs New Zealand! We did a bunch of hiking, visited the zoo, went to a cricket match, and ate spectacularly well! Loved seeing many friends here! amanda-louise ehrlich, Adrian McLean, and Kate’s uncle Marty!

We didn’t know what to expect in Melbourne but we loved it. Great museums, penguins in the bay, great food and cocktails! Lots of cool alleys with hidden gems.

Our favorites: Gazi, Eau de Vie, Babu Ji, Hutong, Izakaya Den, San Telmo, Chin Chin, Fonda, Double Happiness. Wow, time to detox. WE ATE SO WELL. 😳🍸🍕

We were also lucky to catch the first day of the Australian Open! It’s amazing that the tennis grounds are just a 15 minute walk from the city center. We watched a local Australian guy win his first round match in 5 sets. The crowd was surprisingly rowdy!

When you talk to an Australian about Tassie, most have never been. When you tell them it produces the best wine in Australia, and is among the best wine in the world, they laugh. Tasmania wasn’t on our radar but we’re really glad we had some friends convince us to go. We LOVED it. What’s so special about Tasmania?

Incredible wildlife. We visited two nature reserves that take care of injured or orphaned animals. We saw a ton of wallabies, echidnas, wombats, and of course, tasmanian devils. So cute! We did have one bad animal encounter: we found a giant (5 inch) spider in our airbnb. We checked out of there a day early and went to a hotel. Too bad because otherwise the airbnb was amazing (right on a vineyard with crazy views).

Wine. Incredible wine. Some of the best we’ve had in the entire world. Sparkling whites made in the methode traditionelle, pinots, cabs, and really dry rieslings (something we don’t normally drink). Most of the wineries were super tiny, some with the owner pouring the wine! Sadly most Tassie wines aren’t exported, even to mainland Australia. One winery owner said there were probably 100 kangaroos on his property!

National parks. We visited Freycinet national park and hiked down to wineglass bay, checked out Port Arthur, an old penal colony, and drove to the Bay of Fires, some cool rocks with red lichen on them. Beautiful mountains and views in every direction.

MONA. The Museum of Old and New Art. Really great museum with some really unique pieces and an amazing juxtaposition of ancient and contemporary work. They have a museum festival called FOMO, MOFO, and are opening a hotel called HOMO. 😂

Our rental car in Tassie was a fully loaded BMW 320i M sport. WOW. Probably the best handling car I’ve ever driven, and perfect for the 1200 kms of Tassie roads we drove. Surprisingly fast 4 cylinder turbo. Lots of cool safety features like a heads up display, lane departure warnings, and more.

If you’re planning a trip down under, spend some time in Tassie!

For the third leg of our Australia trip we went to Brisbane and Adelaide. As cities, both were pretty underwhelming. But what made them worth visiting were the side trips:

• The Australia Zoo! Really great zoo owned by the Irwin family. Lots of crocs! We got to hold a Koala and pet a wombat!
• Snorkeling among sunken ships off Moreton Island.
• Hummer tour of Fraser Island, the largest sand island in the world. It’s a crazy place. We swam in some of the cleanest water in the world, hiked through a rainforest, drove on a beach that’s a national highway, and our Hummer got stuck on the sand and had to get pulled out.
• Wine country in Adelaide Hills and McLaren Vale. Really small producers, great wine. We skipped Barossa because we heard it’s big and touristy.
• Driving along the Great Ocean Road. Really spectacular rock formations and views.

Some general Australia observations:

• It’s *very* similar to the US. So much so that I really wouldn’t recommend it as a place to visit. There are many more interesting places to go in the world.
• People in Australia get seriously offended if you tell them the best wine is from Tasmania. Don’t even mention New Zealand, they’ll kill you.
• The sun is strong. It’s true, the ozone layer is gone :(.

When were we there
31 days, December 7-January 6

Where did we go
Flight from Delhi to Auckland
Grand Millennium Auckland
Drove from Auckland to Whitianga
Admiralty Lodge Motel
Drove from Whitianga to Rotorua
Quest Rotorua Central
Drove from Rotorua to Lake Taupo
Gables Lakefront Motel
Drove from Lake Taupo to Napier
Pebble Beach Motor Lodge
Drove from Napier to Martinborough
The Martinborough Hotel
Drove from Martinborough to Wellington
Flight from Wellington to Queenstown
Drove from Queenstown to Wanaka
West Meadows Motel
Drove from Wanaka to Mount Cook
The Hermitage
Drove from Mount Cook to Queenstown
Novotel Queenstown Lakeside
Flight from Queenstown to Wellington
InterContinental Wellington
Flight from Wellington to Nelson
Drove from Nelson to Blenheim
Chateau Marlborough
Drove from Blenheim to Nelson
Chelsea Park Motor Lodge

Highlights
Hot water beach, Whitianga
Cathedral Cove
Lion park in Rotorua
Geothermal parks in Rotorua
Sailing on Lake Taupo
Hiking in Te Mata Park
Wine tasting in Napier: Elephant Sky, Craggy Range
Micro bar in Martinborough – fun locals
Black sand beaches and fur seals along the coast
Rippon winery in Wanaka
Mount Iron hike in Wanaka
Hiking in Hooker valley
Queenstown restaurants and shopping
Milford Sound Cruise
David and Tash’s wedding!
Wellington Botanic Gardens
Tasman lake boat ride. Got up close to Tasman glacier and a bunch of icebergs.
Hiked to Hooker Lake. Awesome views of Mt Cook and more icebergs.
Wine tasting around Wanaka and Queenstown. We really love the pinots from this region! They are earthy and mushroomy, which we love.
Christmas in Queenstown. Hundreds of people were out on the lake beach wearing santa hats and partying.
Small plane ride from Milford to Queenstown. We took a small, 6 passenger plane from Milford Sound. You get super close to the mountains. The ride was super bumpy. Pretty terrifying actually. We probably won’t get on a plane that small ever again :).
Te Papa museum
Wine tasting in Blenheim: Cloudy Bay, Rock Ferry, Giesen, St Clair
Great restaurants in Nelson! Hopgoods, Cod & Lobster
Wine tasting in Nelson: Neudorf

By the end of our time in New Zealand, I had to google “why shouldn’t I move to New Zealand?” Because I had no idea. It’s paradise.

We’d been to New Zealand before, mostly on the South Island. Our goal for this trip was to see more of the North, revisit some favorites, and hit as many of the wine regions as possible!

On the North Island: we landed in Auckland, did a day trip to Waiheke Island, and then drove south through the Coromandel Peninsula (Cathedral Cove), Rotorua, Taupo, Napier, and Martinborough.

Then we flew to Queenstown. We immediately drove to Wanaka for a few days. Then Mt Cook, and then back to Queenstown for Christmas. This part of New Zealand has super crazy landscape and terrain similar to Iceland!

We then flew back to Wellington for some friends’ wedding reception and New Years Eve.

For our last few days, we flew to Nelson to explore the Marlborough wine region. Overall our trip had a few more flights/jumps then needed because some roads were closed because of a recent large earthquake.

In all we visited five different wine regions in the country (Waiheke, Martinborough, Hawkes Bay, Marlborough, Otago) and we were very impressed by everything we tasted! In particular, we were surprised to see many wine makers producing sparking wine in the traditional method (in bottle fermentation). You can get a great bottle of sparking for $15-20 that’s comparable to a champagne!

What we loved: Cab/merlot blends from Waiheke. syrahs from Hawke’s Bay, sparking and pinots from Marlborough, pinots from Central Otago. In all it makes Napa and Sonoma feel a bit overrated, and definitely overpriced. We’ll definitely be drinking more NZ wines when we’re back!

New Zealand has incredible scenery, food, wine, people and hospitality is top notch.

When were we there
19 days, November 19-December 7

Where did we go
✈️ Flight from Singapore to Delhi
🏨 Sheraton New Delhi Hotel
✈️ Flight from Delhi to Lucknow
🏨 Renaissance Lucknow Hotel
✈️ Flight from Lucknow to Kochi
🏨 Kochi Marriott Hotel
🚗 Drove from Kochi to Munnar
🏨 Parakkat Nature Resort
🚗 Drove from Munnar to Kodaikanal
🏨 The Carlton
🚗 Drove from Kodaikanal to Madurai
🏨 Heritage Madurai
✈️ Flight from Madurai to Delhi
🏨 Novotel New Delhi Aerocity

Highlights
Wedding in Delhi
Snacks at Shangri La hotel
Visiting family in Lucknow!
Thanksgiving dinner at my aunt’s house
Bara Imambara: Muslim shrine and complex with a maze inside
Views of tea plantations in Munnar
Crashing a kid’s birthday party in Kodaikanal
Meenakshi Amman Temple, Madurai
Thirumalai Nayak Palace, Madurai

Our India stop was a disappointment. We had a great trip to India a few years back, but it seems once you leave the heavily touristed Golden Triangle and Taj Hotels, hospitality quality drops off *fast*. It felt like India has actually gotten worse since our last trip!

• The traffic and pollution is really bad.
• Service quality sucks. We had to complain or argue constantly just to get basic service. Food orders were almost always wrong, we were overcharged many times. I spoke Hindi so I know it wasn’t a language barrier. People just don’t listen or don’t care.
• It’s impossible to pay for anything. No one takes credit cards. It’s hard to get cash from banks (we were there just as the prime minister cancelled two bank notes). It was infuriating.
• It’s tough being a woman in India. Bathrooms are dirty. People stare at you. It’s not safe to be out on your own. In most places, we saw tons of men and NO WOMEN out and about. Even women’s clothing stores are staffed entirely by men. It’s really weird.
• India is obsessed with bullshit security. Hotels and malls have metal detectors and pat downs. Airports are nuts. But the worst part is that they aren’t actually doing a good job, it’s all for show!
• India is the least connected place we’ve been. It’s hard to get a sim card. There’s no free wifi. Even Skype is blocked. Again all this is because of security and “terrorism”. It’s absolutely awful.

It wasn’t all bad. We had a great time in Lucknow! We saw a bunch of family and ate great home cooked food. We also visited Bara Imambara, a large Muslim shrine. The walls are hollow with stairways, creating a labyrinth that you have to solve to get out!

In South India we had a driver take us around for about a week. We visited many beautiful temples, lakes, and gardens.

On our last night in South India, the executive minister of the state we were in died of a heart attack. It was well known that operations in the state would shut down, people would strike and riot, and borders would be closed. Our driver asked if he could leave us a day early to get home to his family. Of course we let him. In the morning the hotel recommended we head to the airport at 4am, 8 hours before our flight, before rioters hit the streets. Luckily we got to the airport ok and our flight departed on time. But, ugh.

What all this boils down to is that india was exhausting. Nothing went as planned and it seemed like every day some new issue would come up. Now having been to other developing countries (Vietnam, Cambodia), and other THRIVING countries (China), we can really see how India isn’t moving forward with the rest of the world.

When were we there
30 days, October 19-November 19

Where did we go
✈️ Flight from Dubai to Bangkok
🏨 Dusit Thani Bangkok
✈️ Flight from Bangkok to Ho Chi Minh City
🏨 Norfolk Mansion
✈️ Flight from Ho Chi Minh City to Siem Reap
🏨 Privilege Floor at Borei
✈️ Flight from Siem Reap to Hanoi
🏨 Hanoi La Siesta Hotel & Spa
🚗 Drove from Hanoi to Halong Bay
⛴ Cruise in Halong Bay
🚗 Drove from Halong Bay to Hanoi
🏨 Hanoi La Siesta Hotel & Spa
✈️ Flight from Hanoi to Chiang Mai
🏨 Akyra Manor Chiang Mai
✈️ Flight from Chiang Mai to Phuket
🏨 JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa
✈️ Flight from Phuket to Singapore
🏨 Parkroyal on Pickering

Highlights
Small boat tour in Bangkok
Giant reclining Buddha in Bangkok
Meeting up with Margo and Bob in Ho Chi Minh City
Shopping in Ben Thanh market
Temples in Chiang Mai
Temples in Siem Reap – Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom and Ta Prohm
Banteay Srei in Siem Reap
Halong Bay Cruise
Street food tour in Hanoi
Elephant Sanctuary in Chiang Mai
Thai cooking class
Ladyboy cabaret
Meeting up with Adam and Michelle at food stalls in Singapore

Neither one of us had been to Southeast Asia before, so we spent about a month moving through various cities and countries. Of course, this part of the world has incredible food and beautiful temples.

Thailand: We started out in Bangkok just a few weeks after their beloved king had passed away. The entire country was in mourning. Everyone was wearing black, there were memorials on every single street corner, and the mood was somber. We immediately switched our wardrobes to all black, or wore a black ribbon everywhere we went.

We spent a few days in Bangkok, exploring temples and shopping, before moving on to Chiang Mai. Chiang Mai is a beautiful city in Northern Thailand, with an old town that’s still surrounded by a moat and remnants of an old wall. Chiang Mai was awesome. We went to an ethical elephant sanctuary, took a Thai cooking class, and saw a LadyBoy cabaret. There are lots of really amazing Buddhist temples here. I particularly love all the gold!!

We were at the elephant sanctuary the day of the US election. We voted by fax! This was literally one of only 2 or 3 days on the entire trip when we didn’t have internet access and we were totally disconnected from the world. Just as we were losing cell coverage we heard, “things aren’t looking good”. We were washing elephants, surrounded by other tourists hoping for a Hillary win (most tourists tend to be liberal). It was the only thing anyone could talk about. It was a tough day.

Vietnam: we loved Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. We ate a ton of pho and bahn mi sandwiches. But the highlight here was our cruise on Halong Bay, home to thousands of towering limestone islands. Unbelievable scenery. We also went kayaking, swimming, got a fishing lesson, and went through some caves. We were on the maiden voyage for a brand new boat and it was incredible! Our room on the boat was like a 5 star hotel: floor to ceiling glass with a private balcony. Wow.

Cambodia: We had a great time in Siem Reap. Tourism is fairly new in Cambodia, but they are nailing it. Everything is well organized, people speak english, and it’s cheap!

Siem Reap is home to a ton of temples built over 1000 years ago. Many were buried in the jungle until just this past century! We loved exploring Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom. Our favorite was Ta Prohm, where you can see how the jungle grew over, around, and through the temples. Bayon and Banteay Srei were also amazing. The temples were originally Hindu, so they tell the stories of Ramayana and Mahabharata.

Our hotel was ridiculous. Our room was huge (1000 sq feet), free laundry, free mini bar, free breakfast (until 3pm!), free cell phone, and more! All this for ~$100 per night. The staff was incredible. Everyone know us by name, and called us “Fabulous Kate” and “Fabulous Sachin”, or “my King” and “my Queen”. It made us laugh every time.

You don’t need to spend a ton of time in Siem Reap to see it all. If you are making a trip to Southeast Asia, do a quick stop here.

Singapore: We used Singapore as a buffer between the rest of Southeast Asia and India, a place where we could take a break, drink tap water, eat salads, and decompress a bit. We got a suite at the Park Royale on Pickering, one of the nicest hotels we’ve ever stayed at. We loved Singapore and I’d love to go back.

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When were we there
5 days, October 15-19

Where did we go
✈️ Flight from Cape Town to Dubai
🏨 Mövenpick Ibn Battuta Gate Hotel Dubai

We found ourselves constantly flying through Dubai on Emirates, so we thought we might as well stay a few days and see what this place it all about. It was pretty underwhelming. There isn’t really anything to do. Sure you can ski indoors, but *why*? So we just sat on the beach/by the pool for a few days and relaxed.

It’s also very expensive. $30 for a cocktail (you can only get alcohol at hotels). $5 to have room service bring a bucket of ice. It’s just not fun when things are that crazy.

When were we there
12 days, October 3-14

Where did we go

✈️ Flight from Nairobi to Cape Town
🏡 Airbnb in Cape Town
🚗 Drove from Cape Town to Stellenbosch
🏨 Coopmanhuijs Boutique Hotel
Beautiful hotel in the middle of town
🚗 Drove from Stellenbosch to Hermanus
🏨 Hermanus Boutique Guest House
🚗 Drove from Hermanus back to Cape Town

Highlights

• Table Mountain hike in Cape Town (we hiked all the way to the top!)
• Wine tasting in Stellenbosch
• Penguins in Boulder Beach
• Cape Point
• Cape of Good Hope
• Walking along coast in Hermanus and seeing dassies!
• Wine tasting near Hermanus at Creation Wines

We loved South Africa! We spent a few days in Cape Town, then rented a car and drove 500km down to Cape Point, around wine country, and then to Hermanus.

The landscape is unbelievable. Gorgeous coastlines and huge mountains everywhere. Incredible beaches, beautiful hikes, and wonderful wines!

We spent a few days in wine country around Stellenbosch and we were very impressed by the MCC (sparkling) and the Bordeaux style blends. Then in Hermanus we had a lot of Burgundian style Pinot Noir. South Africa is now one of our favorite wine regions (after France and New Zealand).

The best part is everything is super cheap! Great wines were only $10-15. I seriously don’t know if we can drink California wine again. It’s not just the cost: we find wines from these other regions to have more balance.

Unfortunately there’s a sad side to South Africa as well. With racial separation in the country only having ended about 20 years ago, there’s still a huge divide between people. We were sad to see so much poverty (slums, etc) throughout the country.

South Africa is probably the only place we’ve been to where we haven’t felt 100% safe. Nothing bad happened, but we got enough warnings from friends and locals that we were extra careful.

When were we there
10 days, September 25-October 3

Where did we go

✈️ Flight from Amsterdam to Nairobi
🏨 Tribe Hotel in Nairobi
🚗 Drove to Amboseli National Park
🏨 Oltukai Lodge in Amboseli National Park
Amazing hotel with tons of animals visible from our room!
🚗 Drove from Amboseli to Lake Naivasha
🏨 Lake Naivasha Simba Lodge
🚗 Drove from Lake Naivasha to Lake Nakuru
🏨 Lake Nakuru Sopa Lodge
Unbelievable lodge on the top of a hill with crazy views
🚗 Drove from Lake Nakuru to Masai Mara
🏨 Mara Serena Lodge
Another great lodge. Amazing.

Highlights

• Safari!
• Lion crossed right in front of our van!
• Lionesses eating at sunset
• Stalking leopards
• Tons of elephant families

We had an amazing safari in Kenya! The logistics of doing a safari are incredibly simple. We had a private tour. We were picked up in Nairobi, taken to various parks, ate all our meals in the hotels, and went out looking for animals each day. At the end we were dropped off at the airport. Simple!

The hotels were unbelievable. All 5 star resorts, designed for people like us. Surprisingly, the food was incredible everywhere. Lots of indian inspiration in the dishes.

Amboseli was a great park to see because they have an elephant reserve. But Masai Mara is definitely the highlight. We saw *everything* there is to see: lots of elephants, giraffe, zebra, buffalo, gazelle, wildebeest, warthogs, rhinos, baboons, hippos, crocodiles, prairie dogs, hyenas, and more. Lots of babies of all kinds! They were all cuddly and cute and we wanted to bring them home with us.

It’s hard to capture the overall scene of a park in Africa: driving through a vast savanna with thousands of animals all around living together. Incredible!

We were very lucky to see a lot of lions. We saw about 12 in all, and on two occasions they came right up to our jeep. It was amazing but also scary! We saw a male lion get chased away by a pack of buffalo!

Sadly, driving between the parks was a bit depressing because there’s a lot of poverty throughout the country. The roads are also really bad which made the journeys a bit uncomfortable. It’s too bad Kenya isn’t using the money coming in via tourism to fix this issues.

When were we there
6 days, September 19-24

Where did we go
🚄 Train from Brussels to Amsterdam
🏡 Airbnb. The only one we left because it sucked!
🏨 Okura Hotel
Cool Japanese style hotel

Highlights

• Heineken Experience
• Anne Frank House
• Walking tour
• Van Gogh Museum

Amsterdam is a beautiful city with a lot of culture and history. We loved being able to spend the day in museums and walking around the city, and then spend the evenings eating and drinking.

When were we there
5 days, September 15-19

Where did we go
🚄 Train from London to Brussels
🏨 The Dominican Hotel
Modern hotel in great location

Highlights

• Walking tour
• Beer tour
• Awesome dinner at Kokob (Ethiopian restaurant)

We loved Belgium. We had great food and lots of great beer. Very young and high energy city. Not much to see, but that’s ok :).

While we were there, the city had a “car free Sunday”: cars are banned in the city, so everyone was out walking and biking. It was awesome.