Caribbean Adventures

Puerto Rico (March 2007):

We had a weekend getaway to San Juan courtesy of one of my best friends who flew us over for the weekend. We stayed at her upscale apartment that had sea and river views on either side. On Friday night we explored Old San Juan, the oldest settlement in PR which still had the colonial aura. It is an island which is connected to the mainland through three bridges. We indulged in some local fare for dinner and had tamarind and coconut ice cream, typical island flavors, from a street vendor. Next morning we were up early to catch the boat shuttle to the beautiful island of Vieques for the day. Though Culebra would have been our first choice of island to visit, it was so popular that all the tickets were sold out early enough. These islands are part of a group of islands known as the Spanish Virgin Islands. Upon arrival we took a mini-van taxi to a well known beach area. The golden sandy beaches were pictureque and the ocean looked inviting. We spent the day hanging out at the beach, having pinacoladas at a beach side bar and then headed back to the mainland after sunset. Next day we headed for a different kind of activity by visiting a Rio Camuy, one of the most beautiful cave systems amidst a rain forest. It was a spectacular site as we had a guided tour through the maze of caves that also housed families of bats. Unfortunately the waiting time was nearly 3hrs and we had to miss driving up to the Observatory in Aricebo, something Nelson really wanted to do. I remember having a nice dinner at a restaurant downtown in the business district before heading out on an early morning flight.



Belize (September 2008):

We spent our 5-day honeymoon in the island of Ambergris Caye in Belize. We took a small plane from the Belize City and Nelson was treated to a spectacular view from the cockpit. We stayed at Victoria House Resort. We had a room in a private a unit of about 3-4 rooms that included its own pool. The hotel had a great bar and restaurant, but we also ventured in to town in a golf cart and explored other dining options.The service staff was competent and friendly. Each day was defined by the various activities we took part in. The sunset cruise, snorkeling (where I almost drowned as the water was much deeper and the waves much stronger than I expected) and a boat trip to the Mayan ruins were some the activities we enjoyed through the hotel services. In addition, Nelson has also booked a day trip to the mainland where we did tubing and ziplining with a personal tour guide. As it was our honeymoon, I made sure to indulge in a few spa treatments as well. It was a wonderful adventure and Belize offered a lot to fill our five days with unforgettable memories.



Bahamas (September 2009):
Ever since we heard about the Atlantis resort on the local radio show, we had to see what the hype was about. That's how Bahamas the first destination for our anniversary. We were thrilled to be upgraded to the Royal Towers from our original booking in the Beach Tower. The no expense spared, artistic decor and architecture of the resort was amazing. The high end restaurants and buffets offered great but expensive food. We had fancy dinners at Mesa Grill and Nobu. The highlight of the tip was my anniversary gift from Nelson, which was an interactive adventure with the Dolphins. I kissed a Dolphin and liked it! The beach accessible from the resort was beautiful but we spent more time in the numerous pools and the water park area. The lazy river was the longest I've ever been on. The marine habitat which we kept discovering until right before our departure was aesthetically pleasing. The vast complex also included entertainment of all types such as, shopping, a casino, comedy club and a night club. Luxury would be the one word to describe our experience at Atlantis. Three days was enough time to enjoy all this resort had to offer as well as take a short boat ride to Nassau and explore the mainland that included some government buildings and a large flea market.

Kykuit Tour

Every time we pass by the Philipsburg Manor visitor center on route 9, we are reminded to take a tour of the mansions. So this sunny Sunday afternoon, we took a tour of the Rockefeller Mansion at Kykuit. It was a 2 hr long tour that included the mansions and the surrounding gardens. The guide made it very interesting with a very detailed historic account of the lives of the Rockefeller family, who can be considered as American royalty. At $23 per person, the tour was an interesting experience that complimented what we had seen on the Newport Mansions tour.

The entire mansion was a museum that exhibited various pieces from around the world especially ceramic pieces from Chinese dynasties. The art gallery in the basement included an eclectic collection by Gov. Nelson Rockefeller. The tour ended at the coach barn which included a collection of carriages and antique cars of the family. The highlight of the tour for me were the splendid views of the Hudson Valley from the Pocantico Hills, the highest point of the surrounding area, where the mansion is situated.

In Line In Brooklyn

On Saturday, I met up with a friend from MHC after 7 years. We had brunch at Banc in Murray Hill. It was a nice brunch spot with a great brunch/lunch menu and outside seating. Afterwards, Nelson picked me up and we headed to Brooklyn Heights for evening. Luckily, we found street parking and walked along the Promenade to Brooklyn Bridge Park. The weather was wonderful and the skyline was spectacular. As we waited in line at Brooklyn Ice cream Factory at its Dumbo location, we saw six couples posing for their wedding pictures in the river front. Since I'm not a fan of ice cream, I didn't really appreciate the fresh, home made flavors. But Nelson found the 20min wait completely worth it for his cone of choclate choclate chunk.

Soon after we joined another line at Grimaldi's Pizza. Arguably known as best pizza in New York, Grimaldi's seem to attract tourists and locals alike. We waited for about 45mins before we were called ahead of a few people in line as we were a party of three. The seating in the restaurant was crammed and fully maximized. We ordered a two small pizzas, one with extra cheese for me, the other with sweet pepper and onion toppings. The pizza was completely worth it. The crust was so fresh and we even had leftovers to bring back.

Though we had earlier planned to go to Coney Island as well, we decided against it. We had been there with a couple of friends last summer and weren't too impressed by the surroundings. The beach was nice and the boardwalk was pretty typical. There were lots of carnival games and rides that attracted families with kids. The sit down eating options were limited and we ended up having some mediocre Mediterranean food. It would be a nice enough place for a more planned visit next time.

Ethiopian in Mount Kisco

We headed to Mount Kisco for dinner on Friday night. We were planning to try the Ethiopian restaurant Lalibela which opened in early summer. After trying Ethiopian food at Queen Of Sheeba on the West side, we have been fans of this cuisine. It is relatively similar to the Asian roti s& curries we are used to. The experience is enhanced by the cultural elements of communal eating with no cutlery, a concept foreign to many Westerners. We ordered a vegetarian platter and a sauteed chicken dish to share among the three of us. The injera (the type of bread) was very fresh and soft. But the curries lacked the spice and flavor that I was expecting. The variety of curries was good but the lack of flavor was obvious esp in the chicken. The portions were sufficient and the service was great but the meal (~$50 for three people) was not satisfactory. Having garnered good reviews from NYT, the place seemed packed with typical the Friday night dinner crowd.Next time I'm in the mood for Ethiopian, I'll certainly head to the city.

With Friends & Family

On Friday night we drove to Jersey City to visit one of my very good friends who also happens to be a great cook. It was a mini Mount Holyoke reunion as we were treated delicious Asian cuisine.


On Saturday we drove to Ludlow to spend the day with Nelson's family and celebrate my mother-in-law's birthday. She made a traditional Portuguese lunch for us at home.For dinner we went Michael's Pasta in the Pan, where the various pasta dishes are literally served in pans. After great weather at the start of the weekend, Sunday was all rainy and we spent the day at home catching up on our favorite tv shows.

Eat Pray Love

I loved the book while I was reading it. But just liked it enough in retrospect. Her journey was inspiring but seemed impractical for anyone but a writer. But yet I was there on Friday evening at the theater. The movie stayed true to the book. So there wasn't anything new that I learnt. I think I just liked the idea of characters from a the book coming alive. I didn't know how this could have been made any better. After all, they did cast Julia Roberts!

Philly for the day

On Saturday, we headed to spend the day in Philly. It was a smooth 2.5hr drive from home through our previous surroundings in New Jersey. We parked in a garage within walking distance from the historic district and headed to the visitor center. It was grand building which seemed new as most tourists that I chatted with couldn't recall its existence from previous visits a few years ago. Upon seeing the long line to get tickets for the Independence Hall tour, I was glad that I had reserved it online for $1.50 per person. Then we headed to Reading Terminal Market which was a few blocks away to grab lunch.

For a while we were engrossed in the petting zoo outside the market that featured adorable farm animals such as sheep, baby cows, goats etc. There were free horse rides being offered as well. One of historic farmers markets (now an indoor market), it featured a great selection of food and desserts. Nelson enjoyed a Philly steak and I was satisfied with just desserts. We were especially drawn to the Amish specialties. The freshly made doughnuts were simply amazing. We also purchased some fudge to go.

Our first stop on the sight seeing tour was at the Liberty bell. Though there was along line it moved pretty quickly. Then we did our own walking tour of various historic buildings such as the Carpenter Hall (where the first Congress met),the City Hall (where the first supreme court was held), a marine museum and finally did the official Independence Hall tour. Learning about the founding of this country was an interesting experience for as I'm not very familiar with American history.

We drove around the city by car admiring the architecture.The Philadelphia Museum of Art was a spectacular building. On our way back we stopped in New Jersey for dinner at one our favorite places. The Singapore food was as good as we remembered even though the ownership had changed. Exactly 12hrs later we were back home after a fun day trip.

On Sunday we had an easy day and had a great visit from a couple of our dear friends. Nelson did a great BBQ and we spent the evening away amidst fabulous company.

New York Rules!

On Saturday we headed to the city as I had a MHC reunion picnic planned in Central Park. It was a beautiful day to be outside and catch up with friends I hadn't seen for years. Ammi & Nelson kept themselves busy by visiting the MET. Afterwards we all met up for dinner on the west side at a place called the eatery. It was a contemporary restaurant with an Italian & American menu. The ravioli I had was really good. Nelson enjoyed his burgher as well. The evening was breezy and refreshing, a real delight to be walking through the city.

On Sunday afternoon we headed north on route 9 all the way to Rhinebeck. Along the way, we stipped at the Poughkeepsie Galleria, for a little retail therapy. I had been wanting to visit this town since the hype about Chelsea Clinton's wedding last week. It was a cute little town with lots of good restaurants with plenty of outdoor seating. We drove around the town first, stopping the by the river at the Rhinecliff train station to see the sunset. Then had dinner at Terrapin, a restaurant acclaimed for fresh high quality cuisine. We chose to eat at the bistro side and had to forgo outside seating which was reserved for restaurant diners. But The same menu was available at the bistro side for lesser price. We started the meal with a hot (seafood) and cold (cream corn) soups. Our pasta entrées of ravioli and gnocchi was really good. Nelson ordered a duck quesadilla that was served with a great mango salsa. With three entrées and two soups and desserts shared between three of us, our entire meal was less than $100. We even had leftovers of our pasta as we wanted to save room for dessert. The crème brulée and the molten chocolate cake was definitely worth every calorie intake. The ride back was easy and pleasant on this cool sunday night.

Family Visit

My uncle from Toronto visited with another family for a long weekend. Their main goal in terms of sight seeing was to visit NYC. On Friday they toured lower Manhattan including Wall Street, South Seaport & Battery Park. They also took the Staten Island ferry to get a closer look at the Statue of Liberty. The next day we joined them and acted as local guides through the city. Our first stop was at Central Park. The kids were immediately attracted to the rides at the summer carnival at the skating rink. It was pricey with $7.50 for admission and $2-3 per ride or game. But I had fun with the kids and indulged their carvings for snacks and drinks. The adults were too tired of walking to see any of the notable attrcations of the park. Afterwards, we walked down to Rockefeller Center and had dinner on the west side. At the request of my aunt, we had Mexican food at Ariba Ariba. The host was really nice and was quick to seat our party of twelve. We enjoyed the food and everyone got some much needed rest after walking. After dinner we strolled through Times Square and stopped at the M&M store along the way. Though we had plans to visit the Village & Chelsea area, the adults had had enough of sight seeing.

In addition to NYC we also took them to Palisades Mall, Woodbury Commons as my aunt is an ardent shopper. The most fun part for me was spending time with my eight year old cousin who is the most adorable kid in the world. How I miss him :((

Indian Adventure (Part 4)-Varanasi

We were on our way to Varanasi on a bumpy Spice Jet flight. We reached there late on Saturday evening due to flight delays and hence had to miss the arthi (a worship ritual)on the steps of the Ganges everyday at 6.30pm. But the wedding festivities kicked off with a welcome dinner at a South Indian restaurant. The whole next day consisted of bridal events including the sangeeth followed by a cocktail reception. The sangeeth was the most fun part of the ceremony as it included the dance that I was part of. The most surprising performance was a dance performed to a bollywood number by the bride & groom themselves. Next day, we headed to Mirzapur, the bride's hometown. which was about 2hrs away from Varanasi. On our way we toured a carpet factory, which supplies products to several well known American stores, as Mirzapur is well known for its carpet industry.

The wedding processional was led with the groom on a white horse surrounded by family and friends making his way to the bride's quarters. The entrance of the bride preceded by her beautiful niece is etched into my memory.
The wedding ceremony which included the walking around the fire four times lasted for less than an hour. This was my first experience of an Indian wedding and it was just like the movies. I was so happy for my friend. The weather corporated and everything went as planned. After eating lots of good food, we headed back to Varanasi late at night.

Next morning we did a brief tour of Varanasi. We rented a taxi and had a local guide take us to the ghats (large rows of steps) that lead to the river. Among the several ghats along the river, only a handful of them are considered sacred. We saw a dead body being cremated while another cremation was being set up. This was a common and routine occurrence on the banks of the Ganges as it is considered holy to be cremated here. Then the ashes are thrown in to the river. The pollution the area was unbelievable as we walked though the alleys ways of the heart of the town. It was surreal to see the convergence of the old traditions along with the modern way of life.

Then we were on our way to Saranath, the place where Lord Buddha made his first sermon, which one of the four holy sites visited by Buddhists. Due to the terrible traffic, we had no time to stop and make any offering at the temple. We just drove by the site as we didn't want to risk missing the bus back to the airport. Our flight back was thankfully uneventful and we returned with memories of a wonderful adventure.