After our extensive travels, the kids had urged us to stay local for spring break this year. However 2 days in Ayaan and Ariana were getting the travel urge, asking if we could go to LA or telling us how their friends were traveling. Luckily we had a major surprise up our sleeves!
We had planned a trip to Baja California, Mexico, but kept it a secret until the Lyft arrived (We packed their bags without them knowing). Ariana thought we were going to the mall; Ayaan with his good navigation and observation skills, figured we’re heading to the Oakland airport but didn’t know where we were going. Even after arriving at the gate, the kids thought we were for flying to San Jose. Only once the pilot started speaking in Spanish and said the flight was 2 hours 45 mins did Ayaan realize we’re actually headed to San Jose Del Cabo! It was such a fun surprise for the kids and us.
We arrived into warm Baja, rented a car and drove to Todos Santos where we stopped for a beachfront dinner at The Green Room. With its beachfront relaxed vibe, incredible tacos and ceviche, music, and fire pits, it was the perfect spot to start our trip watching the stunning sunset on the west side at the Pacific. Ayaan chased the huge waves in the water, while Ariana practiced new gymnastics moves on the beach. At dark, we continued to our first destination at La Paz.
We awoke to a beautiful marina and bay view from our room, and ate some local Mexican breakfast including freshly made chilaquiles and quesadillas (which became Ariana’s staple diet for the week). We made our way 20 mins north to one of the best beaches we’ve been to – the protected, calm Balandra beach on the Sea of Cortez with miles of shin height water, the famous mushroom rock, and surroundings of dessert, dunes and cacti. We sat and waded in the water, and played catch for a couple of hours before we all got hungry. Luckily, just 5 mins away is the more commercial Playa Tecolote with restaurants, bars and street vendors. This beach is beautiful as well, though much rougher and windier. We ate octopus, coconut water and mangoes, alongside some local beer, while admiring the view. After stopping at another calm beach for a short period, we headed to the warm hotel pool for some chill time. In the evening, we walked around the Malecon in main La Paz, ate ice cream, visited a playground, ate dinner, and grabbed a drink overlooking the sunset. La Paz itself is a bit sleepy compared to the other towns in Baja, PVR or Mazatlan.
Our second and final day in La Paz was a repeat of day 1 visiting the Balandra beach, another beach where we kayaked, a dip in the pool, before driving towards our next destination at the JW Marriott near San Jose del Cabo. On the way we stopped in the quaint town of Todos Santos walking around the church, square, park and the Hotel California. We ended the night eating tacos once again at the Luche Libre taqueria at the hotel and listening to live music.
Our 5 nights at the JW Marriott were mostly centered around relaxing, taking a few calls, and exploring the local area with our car. The kids enjoyed going to the kids club one of the days, while Anjali and I got some work done, visited the spa facilities, and got some adult time at the pool. Every morning started with a filling Mexican breakfast followed by a walk along the beautiful but rough beach. Each night ended with live music at the bar with fire fits. And most of the day was spent lazing at the pool and spending time as a family. The resort had some alcohol related programming where we enjoyed sipping local cocktails such as mezcal, jalapeños margaritas and old fashioned. Unfortunately not much programming for the kids, and in general fewer kids than we expected. They did have a ping pong table that Ayaan and I enjoyed a game at!
The highlight of our stay was a sunset sail cruise Anjali had reserved out of Cabo. It was a 12 person sail where we sipped cocktails, ate hor d’ourves, and got lucky to watch 2 whales for about 20 mins against the sunset setting. It was a magical family experience that we’ll remember forever. We topped it up by eating chocolate and caramel stuff churros, and walking along the waterfront. On a couple of other days, we drove to the main square in the town of San Jose del Cabo, which we found very charming. We ate more tacos and churros the first night, and on our final night ended with my 45th birthday celebration at the Don Sanchez restaurant, with an amazing singer who happened to sing all our favorite songs all night.
The trip was just what we needed – something that was simple, easy, kid-friendly, experiential., and with great food.
Chile had been on my bucket list since I came across pictures of Torres Del Paine National Park 15 years ago. We were excited to finally be going there and a bonus was a long layover in Houston that gave us a day with my sister and her family. We enjoyed a leisurely brunch followed by games of table tennis and long talks about life 😀.
After a fairly long journey, we reached Puerto Montt and made our way to Puerto Varas in our rental car. The hotel, Cabana del Lago and our suite were stunning, overlooking the sprawling lake and snow-capped volcanoes. At the hotels recommendation, we enjoyed a leisurely seafood lunch at a restaurant that reminded us of San Sebastián (one of my favorite food places in the world)! The Carmenere wine that our server recommended was fantastic. We were instantly drawn to the wonderful and friendly Chilean people that seem relaxed and content.
The rest of the day was fairly relaxing after our 3-flight journey, spent at the hotels beautiful pools and hot tub overlooking the volcanic mountains. The kids were thrilled with the water slide and took more than 20 trips on it – it really doesn’t get old! For dinner, we opted for casual food trucks near our hotel and were blown away by an Italian man’s hand-made pizza which was followed by our favorite – churros stuffed with condensed milk!
The next morning, we drove to Volcán Osorne and took the chairlift up to the first level. From there, the beauty of the mountains and the snow beckoned and we began a spontaneous climb towards the glaciers. After some time, Ariana and Gaurav retreated back down to view the crater while Ayaan and I continued the climb toward the peak. The incline was steep but we were rewarded with stunning views of the mountain up close and cheered on by the people on the chair lift. When we rested on the black volcanic rock, it actually felt warm, contrasted by the snow which we let melt in our mouth because we hadn’t carried any water. We ultimately retreated back down and Ayaan was very upset to have left his favorite warthog stuffie up on the mountain during one of our breaks.
We then proceeded to the Petrohue waterfalls which were a really stunning sight – the blue glacial water gushing down against the backdrop of the towering peaks. After another relaxing evening at the heated pool, we enjoyed dinner at a vinoteca. Warm bread, a ribeye steak and a bottle of Carmenera were a perfect way to be rewarded after the steep climb.
The next day, we embarked on a fairly long journey to view two species of penguins, the Humboldt and the Magellanic. Ayaan was stoked to see our car aboard the ferry to Chiloe Island. Although our guide only spoke Spanish, we appreciated his effort to help us understand the different wildlife we were viewing including birds such as the oyster catcher and turkey vulture. After our short tour, we enjoyed a lunch of fresh-caught ceviche, grilled chicken and a local white fish, washed down with a glass of vino. We stopped in the town of Ancud to enjoy the Christmas festivities at Plaza de Armas and proceeded to the fort.
Since it was Christmas Eve and most restaurants were closed, we enjoyed dinner at the hotel bar and spent our last evening viewing the volcanic mountain range from our balcony as the sun retreated over the coastline.
The next day, we boarded our flight to Puerto Natales to experience the much-awaited beauty of Patagonia. The views from the flight were jaw-dropping with one side overlooking several glaciers and bright blue lakes and the other side flying right over the Torres del Paine (Towers of Blue) as we approached. After renting a car, we drove straight to the caves of Milodón, a large cave where we saw bones and other fossil from several large extinct creatures such as mammoths and others from the sloth family. We then proceeded to hike on a trail to the top of the hill where we were rewarded by fantastic 360 views. Ariana has really started to love hiking. During this trip, she displayed the desire and ability to do some pretty steep and challenging hikes which left me proud and eager to do more together. That evening, we celebrated Christmas Day at a small local restaurant near the square.
We had an early start the next morning driving 2 hours into the Torres del Paine national park. The views as we approached were absolutely stunning particularly as the Cuernos (horns) and Torres (towers) came into view. Near the glacial blue waters of Pehoe Lake, we hiked a steep trail to the very top of a hill offering panoramic views of the lake and its surrounding vistas. Wildflowers greeted us on the trail and when Gaurav and Ayaan turned back because the trail narrowed and become too steep, Ariana and I continued on. After a brief stop at the Pehoe Lake Inn to pickup a picnic lunch, we proceeded to Salte Grande, an impressive gushing waterfall. Despite very strong winds, we picnicked here but decided to skip the next trail to Cuerno due to the extremely heavy winds that were getting hard to overcome for the kids. We then saw the beautiful waters of Laguna Amarga where we spotted several Guanacos, the first one solitary perched on a hill, and a large herd shortly after.
When we reached the base camp for the Torres del Paine hike (a fairly intense 8-hour hike), the guide there recommended a family friendly hike called intertievo. It was a fairly easy 1.5 hour hike following which we drove by Lake Sarmiento and made our way back to the town or Puerto Natales. We rewarded ourselves with dinner at the towns acclaimed restaurant where I enjoyed their wood-fired BBQ lamb and Gaurav devoured reportedly the best grilled salmon he’s ever eaten, both paired with a bottle of Carmenere.
The next morning, we had an early start for an 8-hour boat cruise that Gaurav had booked to the Balmaceda and Serrano glaciers. The journey was breathtaking dotted with waterfalls, glaciers, and seal and condor sightings as we glided through stunning glacial waters. Before lunch, we disembarked for a 40 minute hike to the Serrano glacier which was absolutely epic as we were able to get pretty close to it. Once back on the boat, we each wrote our goals for 2025. This time, each family member was allowed to add a goal they wanted the other family member to accomplish in the new year. We were pretty impressed with the thoughtful and aspirational goals the children took on. Lunch was a real treat at Estancia Perales where an abuela served us pisco sours, and a whole chicken on the grill, table side. After a two hour leisurely lunch, we napped on the boat ride back to the hotel.
The next day, we had a leisurely start as our primarily goal as to hike to the Lago Grey glacier. The hike included a walk through a black beach with water on both sides and then a somewhat steep incline to the viewpoint. We enjoyed lunch at the nearby Grey Glacier Hotel. After lunch we hiked up halfway to the ferrier view point to take in breathtaking views of the Rio Serrano river.
On our last day, we took a 3-hour horse riding trip atop the Cerro Dorotea mountain, where we came within striking distance of Argentina. At the very top of the mountain, the panaraomic views were a true jaw dropping sight. Ariana did particularly well on her horse and enjoyed the ride! After a quick pit stop to pickup crepes, we departed on a flight to Santiago. Torres del Paine lived up to my high expectations and more. It is truly the most picturesque and stunningly beautiful place that I have ever been to from my travels to 70+ countries!
The day in Santiago started with a ride up the Gondola to Cerro San Cristóbal. At the top, we were all amused watching a robot machine make cotton candy before it “discharged” it for consumption. We arrived down in a funicular and then explored the cool, Bellevista neighborhood. Next, we walked to the more sophisticated Lasterria neighborhood and ended up in Plaza des Armas.
The following day, we drove to Maipo Valley and enjoyed a wonderful tour and tasting experience at Vina Aquitania. At the recommendation of a couple we met at the tasting, we went to see the Bahia Lotus temple, a part of the same faith and design as the one in New Delhi.
To celebrate New Year’s Eve that evening, we decided to return to the bohemian Bellevista neighborhood. It was the first time we were bringing in the new year together as a family as the children were allowed to stay up late to watch the fireworks. We didn’t realize though that Santiago is fairly quiet during New Year’s Eve (unlike its sister cities in South America such as Buenoes Aires or Cartegena where we’d enjoyed boisterous street parties and celebrations). Nevertheless, we enjoyed bar hopping with the kids and recapped what we were grateful for in 2024 and what we were looking forward to in 2025. We brought in the New Year viewing the fireworks from the 23rd-floor lounge of our hotel.
On New Year’s Day, we set off to the artsy town of Valparaiso where we strolled around the neighborhoods appreciating the artwork and graffiti that adorned all of the buildings. We also took a boat ride from the pier in Valparaiso that gave us a great vantage point to the city on the hill. We then enjoyed the heated pool and spa at the hotel in Vina Del Mar which offered sweeping ocean views. Ayaan and Gaurav also spent time at the beach and we played ping pong in the kids club while Ariana jumped on the trampoline and tried to make friends despite her sparse Spanish vocabulary. We enjoyed an early dinner at the hotel’s terrace restaurant and Gaurav and I enjoyed a bottle of Cabarnet from our balcony overlooking the ocean once the kids went to bed.
The next morning, we took one of Valparaiso’s super steep funiculars that reminded us of the hillevator in our Sausalito home. After browsing the neighborhoods including a stop at a famous poets home (now museum) to take in sweeepint ocean views, we headed to the airport for our flight to San Pedro de Atacama.
When we landed in Atacama, we were greeted with a pretty strong earthquake at the airport. After about an hours drive from the city of Calama, we approached the town of San Pedro and I felt as if we were taken back in time about 100 years or so. The unpaved narrow streets were barely habited, the shops were tiny and had just the basic necessities, and the homes were extremely modest. Other than the sparse cars, there were no signs of modernization or technology. It was quite surreal. We arrived at our small B&B, La Casa de Jose and were greeted warmly by the hostess, Alicia. After a quick dinner, we retreated for the night.
We started the next day with the Valley of Mars. The kids were excited to climb the sand dunes and run down as we watched other “sand board” down. The sights, terrain and topography truly felt like another planet! Our next stop, and probably my favorite from our time in Atacama, was the Valley of the Moon. This place was truly incredible from the various hikes to the miradors or viewpoints – it all felt celestial! We ended our day perched on a rock as we watched the sun set over the expansive landscape below.
On our second fully day in Atacama, we first drove an hour to the salt flats at Laguna Chaxa within the Flamingo reserve national park. This was Gaurav’s favorite spot as we admired hundreds of flamingoes over the salt flats, and their reflections on the lake. During the trail, we learned about the 3 types of flamingoes and their diet, consisting primarily of brine shrimp that are the only other form of life that can survive in the saline waters predominant in this region. We then drove up to 14000 ft to see the blue Altiplanic lagoons, passing by several Vicunas (part of the Llama family) running around the unique landscape. Our last stop was Lake Tebenquiche where the water had almost completely evaporated leaving behind a snow-like salt deposits. We ended the night with a fantastic meal at restaurant Adobe in the charming downtown of San Pedro de Atacama.
We had an extremely early start the next day on a tour to see the hundreds of suphur springs and geysers of ElTatio at 13000 ft. While we’ve witnessed the eruption of Yellowstone’s Old Faithful on multiple occasions, this was different. There were geysers in every direction, with volcanoes and snow-capped mountains as their backdrop. It is necessary to arrive early to watch these geysers in full eruption, and while I typically dislike early mornings, this start was absolutely worth it. The tour included a breakfast overlooking this beautiful natural wonder followed by stops at another flamingo-dotted lake and a large gorge / canyon. That afternoon, we returned to the Valley of Mars to undertake the actual hike, which felt as if we were walking on the planet, surrounded by red rock and craters. Ariana and Gaurav enjoyed some pool time while I napped. After playing with Bella, the hotel’s pet dog, we headed to a restaurant with a live concert.
On our last day in Atacama, Gaurav and I hiked up the fort and were rewarded with panoramic views of everything we’d seen in the Atacama region over the past 4 days. We appreciated the grandeur of the volcanoes, snow-capped peaks, the town of San Pedro, sand dunes and a different vantage point of the valley of Mars. It was the perfect way to end our trip! We were blown away by the rich diversity of Chile, and all that this wonderful country has to offer while occupying just a slender strip of South America.
After an eventful fall with my visit to India including the stunning Kashmir, and our 3-day trip to Mexico City without the kids, we were ready for another family adventure including my parents. Anjali and I had been on a few sporadic vacations to the Caribbean before (Jamaica, Cancun, Antigua, Bahamas), but were really looking forward to exploring the many different islands and cultures on this 2 week trip.
Our first week was aboard the Rhapsody of the Seas cruise that we embarked on at San Juan, Puerto Rico. The kids loved their cruise to Alaska last year, and they were very excited for this one. we opted for this cruise because of its itinerary that spanned bucket-list islands of St Lucia, St. Maarten and Barbados. Although it was an older and smaller ship, there was more than enough entertainment, an engaging kids club, and great food to keep us busy. The weather was perfect in the 80s with mostly clear blue skies and no sign of hurricanes. One of the surprises for us was that almost 70% of the cruisers were Puerto Rican that made the entire cruise a cultural experience and an all day Spanish dance party! Some of the highlights were the Argentinian acrobatics show, silent disco parties and the Explosion show. Arianas highlight was the kids club, while Ayaan enjoyed ping pong, and Big Dada was obsessed with the casino.
Each port day was different and generally very relaxing. On the second day and first port day, we stopped at St. Croix, part of the USVI, where we spent a few hours at the beach and warm, wavy waters of Paradise beach, which was a convenient 5 min walk from the ship. The highlight was seeing a couple of swimming turtles right as we got off the ship! Our second port of St. Thomas provided another relaxing half day outing as we ventured in an open van to the stunning Magens Bay beach, while driving through the quaint town of Charlotte Amelie and stopping at the beautiful Drakes View point.
Our third port was the much awaited St. Maarten where we rented a car and spent the day driving around the Dutch and French side of the island. We first stopped at the cute boardwalk in the town of Philipsburg (Dutch) for a morning cocktail, before heading out to the world famous Maho beach with its white sand, huge waves and planes landing at runway right off the beach! Lunch was on the French side at the Anthony Bourdain recommended Rosemary’s serving delicious island food. We ended our tour of the island at the Orient beach on the east side where the kids spent an hour jumping over the waves.
St Lucia was the jewel of the ports and the one island we hope of come back to. Once we rented the car and drove out of the insane traffic in the town of Castries, we embarked on a 1.5 incredible drive towards the town of Soufriere surrounded by the two Peton towering mountainous spires and by the blue waters. It’s one of the most amazing sights we’ve seen in a long time and we were lucky to have lunch adoring the view. The main excursion in the area was visiting the drive-in volcano which was a great experience since none of us had ever been inside a volcano rim before! Ayaan was so proud that St Lucia was the 50th country he has visited!
Our final port of the cruise was Barbados where we rented a taxi for half a day. To our surprise, the first stop was Rihanna’s house (she’s a Barbadian) followed by the famous cricket ground Kensington Oval. We drank some local rum and visited the famous Harrison’s Cave in a tram and traveled 700ft underground to see unique stalagmites and stalactites. After a quick tour of Bridgetown, we had an amazing lunch at Lobster Alive and finished the day swimming at the Carlisle Bay beach, one of the best beaches we’ve ever been to with is soft white sand and crystal clear blue waters! Barbados was my 70th country.
After a wonderful week on the cruise, we were ready to explore San Juan and Puerto Rico. The old town is so cultural and historic with its forts, colorful buildings, cobblestone streets and live music everywhere. We spent all afternoon and next morning exploring the squares, streets, forts and bars across town with our best meal at the famous Raices serving traditional Puerto Rican food. We ventured out one evening to the Fajardo bioluminescence bay to kayak in the dark and although we didn’t catch the bright blue light, we did see sparkles in the water. On our last day in PR, we dropped my parents off to the airport and drove 45 mins to the El Yonque rainforest to see waterfalls and some fantastic views. For lunch we visited the St Regis Bahia beach for a relaxing beachside lunch, before heading to the airport to catch a flight to our final destination of this trip. We loved Puerto Rico and will definitely we back!
Our 30 mins flight to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic was 2 hours late and we arrived at the all-inclusive Royalton Splash just in time to grab dinner. The next day was Ariana’s highlight of the trip as we spent all day at the water park in the hotel with its 7 slides that the kids went on a dozen times each, while Anjali spent the latter part of the day at the pool enjoying cocktails and live music. For the last three days of our trip we relaxed at the pool and beach at the sleepy Westin Punta Cana with absolutely no agenda. A perfect way to end a two week trip to the Caribbean!
After a week in the bush in Kenya, we were ready for some relaxation on the beautiful white sand beaches of Seychelles. We arrived via Kenya Airways in the evening and rented a car to take us to the Laila Tribute hotel on the east coast of the main Mahe island, about 20 mins away. Seychelles is most similar to Mauritius with its French roots, though a bit smaller. We were greeted at the hotel with another cake for Ariana’s continued birthday celebration, and had some grilled octopus for dinner at the beach restaurant.
We set off in our manual car the next morning with a first stop at the botanical gardens. The kids had a blast feeding leaves to dozens of gigantic tortoises that were fairly aggressive. After a good hour spent, we drove to the trailhead of the Anse Major hike which takes you to an absolutely stunning, secluded beach. The kids did well in hike an hour to get to the beach, and we were all delighted to see a beach shack with food and drinks. After a quick dip in the Indian Ocean, we ate some grilled fish and chicken, accompanied by local Seybrew beer. While we waded in the waves for the next couple of hours, a wave swept away our belongings and unfortunately we lost Ariana’s glasses :(. Our hike back to the car was uneventful, and we spend the rest of the evening relaxing in the pool at the hotel and eating at the beach restaurant once again. We missed out on visiting the Takamaka rhumerie, an experience we had loved in Mauritius, though we did get to try some delicious mojitos at the pool!
Our next three days were perhaps the biggest splurge of our summer adventure (Seychelles isn’t cheap, especially after a month in Asia), as we took a 45 minute boat ride to the Hilton Labriz resort, located on the private Silhouette Island. Like a scene out of White Lotus, the staff at the jetty waved at us and gave us a tour of the property in a buggy. Our stay was exactly what we needed – relaxing in a beachfront villa spending most of our days moving between the white sandy beaches, warm pool, and the various activities and restaurants. Ariana was occupied by the kids club braiding her hair, painting her face, baking cookies and making friends. Ayaan enjoyed biking around the island, playing ping pong and mini golf, and pushing around the pool bean bags. The island had tortoises once again, as well as large hermit crabs, and baby sharks. The dinners were memorable and included grilled seafood on the beach, Asian fusion overlooking the ocean, a local dinner, and an incredible breakfast each morning.
With one more night on the main island before our 5 hour long flight to Johannesburg, we are refreshed and ready to visit our 9th country of this summer adventure and see more wildlife!
After a week in Bali with my parents, we were off to explore parts of Indonesia we hadn’t visited. We took a 1.5 hour Grab to Padang bai port to catch a fast boat to Gili Trawangan (Gili T), largest of 3 Gili islands just off the coast of Lombok. Our boat was late, so we grabbed some local lunch and got a foot massage while we waited. Ayaan has gotten so used to the SE asian culture of foot massages! The fast boat took a couple of hours and Ariana enjoyed dancing on the top floor of the fast boat with mommy.
Our two nights at Gili T were probably the most fun of our summer adventure so far. Gili T is a small island with only bikes and horse carts on a 7km road around the island. A 2km strip has everything you can imagine – cooking classes, mini golf, hotels, restaurants with live music, multiple Irish bars, wine stores and many beach bars. Between the three islands it’s a complete independent ecosystem that is so easy to navigate. We loved our stay at the Pearl of Trawangan, at the south side of the strip with a lovely pool, and highly recommend it for its great service, facilities and location. After a swim in the sea and a dip in the pool, we spent the evening exploring the night market where they grill everything under the sun – from crabs to octopus. We ate grilled fish at the beach at Scallywags and it was delicious and just what the doctor ordered after an overdose of traditional Indonesian food. After dinner, Anjali and I put the kids to sleep, and ended the night enjoying some of favorite rock songs played live a couple of blocks away at a beach bar. Ayaan woke me up at 3am to watch the Spain – France Euro Cup semi final at an Irish bar. We were lucky to watch the only three goals for the 30 mins we were there!
On our second day in Gili, we rented bikes for all four of us and rode all around the island which was incredibly fun for the kids. We navigated through streets filled with people and horse carts, and spent an hour swimming with a turtle off Turtle beach! (It literally took us 2 minutes to find a turtle). Our afternoon comprised of a cook class where we cooked Four of a Kind – peanut sauce with Pan fried tempeh, mie goreng, a curry, and a pandan dessert. Ariana and Ayaan not only cooked well, but ate even better. The rest of the day we biked around the island, and ate dinner at the Malibu sunset bar. The kids got a pony ride on the beach, while we sipped Prosecco. For our last night on Gili T, we took the kids for ice cream and to listen to some live music.
On our last morning on the island, we biked to our private snorkeling tour. The Gili islands are famous for diving and snorkeling, and our experience did not disappoint. Over two hours, we swam at eye level with turtles, saw blue coral and an underwater statue at Gili Meno, and floated among thousands of fish. We cannot wait to come back to Gili, and explore Meno and Air next time as well. Wish we had a few more days…
Our final destination in Indonesia was Lombok, a sleepy and green island that reminded us of Kauai. Unlike Bali, it’s much quieter with no traffic and majority of the population is Muslim instead of Hindu. We took a private 15 min boat to Bangsal pier and were picked up right at the beach outside our hotel in Gili T. We stayed at the Sheraton Senggigi on the west side of the island, with an incredible sandy beach, and the resort had a slide in the pool. Ariana’s favorite part was feeding and walking the cats on the beach every evening. Walking a few steps along Senggigi beach, there were a few beach shacks that reminded us of Goa, though much more sleepier.
We spent a day on a tour to the famous Tiu Kelep waterfall on the north side of the island, with views of Mount Rinjani. It was a long 2 hour drive from our hotel (the island is huge), and unfortunately both Ayaan and Ariana threw up multiple times as we arrived. We suspect it was the noodle soup at breakfast. Both of them were troopers though as we first visited a traditional mosque and a local Sasak village. That was followed by a moderate hike to the Tiu Kelep waterfall, including a few river crossings. The waterfall was stunning once we got there, and we were able to go right under it with its strong force and chilly water. Definitely worth the trip.
The rest of our time was fairly low key as we all needed a down day after four weeks of travel, and the kids needed a couple of days to get over the stomach bug. We hung out around the beach and pool, played tennis, got massages, and ordered in room service. Ayaan and Anjali went on a jet ski ride that they thoroughly enjoyed. With almost 2 weeks in Indonesia, we were all ready for Singapore and to meet friends and family.
After visiting Ayaan’s 40th country (Japan), we arrived in Bali via Kuala Lumpur. My parents arrived from Mumbai two hours after us, and we planned to spend a week together in Nusa Dua and Ubud. Ayaan and Ariana were very excited to get another week of family time, this one with dada and dadi.
Our first destination was to relax and get some pool and beach time at the Ritz Carlton Nusa Dua for four nights. The first couple of days were a bit overcast though the weather did get lovely after that, and we made the most of it by taking advantage of the resorts programming. Ariana enjoyed the kids club where she made cupcakes, made new friends, and went down the water slide. I enjoyed a massage at the spa and got some much needed gym-time. All of us engaged in making Dudur Gulung, a local dessert just like a pancake made with pandas leaves and filled with palm sugar and coconut, and in a cooking class making fish satay and sambal. Anjali and dadi took a Balinese dance lesson, while Ayaan took buggy rides around the resort.
Every evening we stepped out of the resort to explore different neighborhoods (Sanur and Nusa Dua), get foot massages, and eat some local food with live music. Ayaan got pampered with his first foot massages that he thoroughly enjoyed, and Ariana got braids and did her nails. On our last night in Nusa Dua, Anjali and I left the kids with the grandparents and ventured out for a fun night out at Rock bar and the After Rock nightclub (our first in a few years).
Our next and final destination in Bali was a stay at a private villa with a pool in Sayan, on the outskirts of Ubud. It was a very different experience than staying in a large resort, and we all enjoyed the serene view and peace at the villa, a few km away from the craziness of Ubud. We did have our first misadventure at the villa though, when some money was stolen from our bags in the room.
The drive to Ubud from Nusa Dua was two hours, and we stopped at the Monkey forest on the way to the villa. Ariana was fascinated watching the monkeys interact with each other and the visitors. After a delicious rijsttafel meal at Gedang Sisi Warung, we watched a traditional Legong dance show at the lit up Ubud Palace.
Anjali had planned a surprise ATV tour for Ayaan the next day, and the three of us set out early. Dada, dadi and Ariana had their own adventure visiting Tanah lot temple and eating some dosa. The ATV tour was definitely the highlight of our Bali adventure. We spent two hours driving our ATVs through rivers, caves, villages, hills and mud tracks. Ayaan had the time of his life driving the ATV with Anjali’s help. Our reward was lunch and drinks at a pool club overlooking the rice terraces, where we spent a few hours relaxing. After reuniting that evening, we all had an amazing dinner at a gazebo on the water watching the sunset at Bebek Tebasari. Anjali and I took another opportunity to get some cocktails at the Pinstripe bar at the Viceroy which was recommended and lived up to its reputation (they even had an amuse bouche and dessert drinks to supplement our cocktails).
On our last full day in Bali we rented a car to take us to the north side of Bali. Our first stop was breakfast at Sayan Point with a wonderful view of rice terraces, the river and forests. Next we stopped at the famous Tegalalang rice terraces where the kids enjoyed “hiking” up and down the fields. We briefly visited the holy springs temple before driving up to the peak of Mount Batur, with its cooler temperatures and sprawling views of Lake Batur and surrounding forests. At this point, we became accustomed to eating Nasi and Mie Goreng for most of our meals. Ayaan has been very amused that chicken is called Ayam in the local language. On our way back to the villa after a long day, we made a final stop at a coffee plantation where we learnt about how coffee is made, including Luak coffee, and got to taste 13 different teas and coffees.
For our last meal in Bali with the grandparents, we had planned to go to the popular Cafe Lotus. However, the infamous Bali traffic had us stuck for 45 minutes and we decided to eat at a random restaurant named Brie, which turned out to be our best meal in Bali! After a fun family week in Bali, we bid farewell to the grandparents and continued onwards on our adventure in Indonesia.
Fiji was the first country we visited as a family back in 2016 when Ariana was 4 months old and Ayaan was 22 months old. We had such fond memories from back then, that we decided to spend spring break in the super kid friendly country. We took Fiji Airways that conveniently is a 10 hour red eye and gets you to the hotel in time for breakfast! We all slept well and were ready to start our adventure.
For the first 4 nights, we stayed at the Marriott Momi Bay that is build on a lagoon with over water bungalow (no kids) on the west side of Nadi, about 50 mins from the airport. We got a beachfront room with a private beach mostly to ourselves, with plenty of fish in the water that you could see from the surface. We spent many hours sitting on the patio, beach and in the water in our room. A perfect way to decompress! Most of our days at this resort were spent eating a delicious buffet breakfast, swimming in the lagoon and pool, getting massages, listening to live music and playing games with the kids (coconut throwing, tennis, catch in the pool etc). Ariana loved the kids club where she spent a lot of time and also got her hair braided. Ayaan enjoyed learning how to sail a Hobbicat and riding in the golf carts. On the first night they had a Fijian night with a kawa tasting ceremony, local food, and a dance performance.
On the third day at the hotel, we took an all day tour with The Jewel of Fiji which was one of the highlights of the trip. We got picked up and after a long 2.5 hour drive reached the village of Navua, on the Navua river on the south side of the island near Suva. The tour started with a motor boat ride up the river surrounded by lush green hills. We transferred over to a traditional wooden raft where we learned about the Fijian culture. The third stop on the tour was an amazing waterfall with a natural pool that we could swim in. The guides were so nice to the kids and they even created a human tower in the pool with Ayaan at the top! Finally we ate traditional Fijian food cooked in the ground, watched a Kawa and dance ceremony, and learned how they lived. Ayaan had saved his money to buy toys and supplies for the kids in the village that we shared with them. Overall a wonderful day that we highly recommend.
For the second half of our trip, we transferred over to the Intercontinental hotel. We were originally scheduled to stay in an outer island hotel, but that had to close down for repairs due to the Cyclones in March. The Intercontinental is on Natadola beach, one of the best beaches in Fiji, with a Sandbar that appears in the afternoon for a couple of hours. We loved walking over every afternoon and spending some time of the fresh white sands of the Sandbar. Our room was beachfront and close to the main pool and the bar where they had live music every evening at sunset, and an amazing fire show on one night. The resort was very kid friendly with activities by the pool every day include hermit crab hunting, hermit crab racing and fish feeding.
We took another all day tour from the Intercontinental – this time on a large sail boat to the private island of Tivua. The 1.5 hour ride to the island was fun with live music and dancing, and Ayaan and Ariana got a chance be captain of the ship. The island was true paradise with only folks from the boat on the entire island. We snorkeled and saw over 50 varieties of fish and Ariana really got into it. Ayaan loved kayaking and the glass bottom boat ride. We relaxed on the island ate some yummy local food including fish. It was easily the best day ever.
We couldn’t recommend Fiji highly enough for families with kids. It’s so much affordable than Hawaii, a convenient flight, amazing beaches and welcoming people. We’ll definitely be back, Fiji!
This blog is a bit late, given we’re in the swing of 2024 already. Last year was another year full of adventure with several flights within the US and globally, and a myriad of family trips. Ayaan turned 8 and Ariana 7, both at great ages to travel as well as start experiencing local events such as Warriors and Earthquakes games, an Ed Sheeran concert, and the Mamma Mia broadway show.
Local adventures featured trips to our favorite destinations – Carmel Valley where we stayed at the Bernardus with Adi visiting; Tahoe where Ariana skied for the first time and Ayaan went on the slopes himself; camping at KOA Mendocino by Manchester Beach and Autocamp Yosemite; and a trip to Santa Barbara with Vidur and his family. We also had a couple of beach vacations: to Kauai where we stayed at the stunning 1 Hotel Hanalei Bay that Anjali is overseeing and met Bobby uncle and family, and to Punta Mita, Mexico at the fun W resort.
We had three big trips in 2023: a spring break adventure in France and Germany, a summer cruise and land adventure in epic Alaska, and finally a family trip over the winter break to India and Sri Lanka.
Spring break started with a flight to Munich and a short drive and stay at Abbotte Boutique hotel in the quaint town of Ulm, Germany. We spent the next couple of nights in the Baden-Baden staying at the grand Maison Messmer, strolling around, hitting the spa pools, and eating at places such as Rizzy. From there we drove to Burgundy, France stopping in the famous Alsace region and having an incredible meal at Le Petit Atelier. We love Burgundy and our stay was made special at Ermitage de Corton where had a very special meal and the kids got introduced to escargot (and loved them). We spent couple of days exploring the food and wine in the region from Cote de Beaune to Cote de Nuits. The most memorable wineries were Domaine d’Ardhuy with a private tour of the 400 year old winery, and Chateau de Pommard where the kids had their own tour and tasting including spending time with blind horses taking care of the vines. A surprise adventure for the kids in Burgundy was an afternoon at a tree top zip lining park in the hills. We ended the trip with three days in Paris where we drove in as protests disrupted the city. The kids enjoyed exploring the city with its bakeries, the Eiffel Tower, Sacre Coeur, the Sienne cruise and an outing to see the Lion King broadway in French. Anjali surprised me for my birthday with dinner at Le Clarence, ranked in the Worlds 50 Best Restaurants. Overall a fun road trip for spring break.
Summer was epic with a 7-day Royal Caribbean Alaska cruise starting from Vancouver. It was probably the highlight of the year for the kids as they loved the entertainment, karaoke, buffets, activities, live music and the kids club. Ayaan had his walkie talkie and was enjoying his independence exploring the ship, and making friends (Max in particular from LA who he spent a majority of his days with when not with us). In Juneau, we took a taxi to explore the Medenhall glacier. In Sitka, we strolled through the historic park with its totem poles, watched hundreds of salmon swim upstream, and visited the flight center to observe native birds. And in Skagway, we took the bus tour through the incredible landsacape entering Canada. The most amazing part of the trip awaited us as we disembark the cruise ship in Seward. We took the 7 hour Major Marine boat cruise where we saw incredible wildlife including dozens of orcas, a fin whale, puffer birds, seals and sea lions. The next day we drove along glaciers to the Alyeska resort stopping on the way at one which Ayaan did not want to leave. On our way to Denali National Park, we stopped at a reindeer farm. After seeing the reindeer in real life, Ayaan started questioning if they could fly and if Santa was real. Our couple of days in Denali were magical. On one of the days we went river rafting through the stunning landscape. And of course the Tundra tour that took us deep into the 42nd mile of the Denali park along which we saw bears and moose. Alaska isn’t cheap, but is as epic as any other international destination.
Over the winter break, we flew home to Mumbai, India. It was our first post-COVID trip to India as a family – the last time Ayaan was 4. It was great to spend time with the grandparents and Sid, meet friends, spend time at CCI, and eat at our favorite joints such as Trishna and Indian Accent. The highlight in Mumbai was a morning we spent with the kids of the Cuffe Parade slums. Ayaan had saved money all year to donate it to these kids and buy gifts for them, and Nani had arranged this special morning for us. From Mumbai, we took a 5-day family trip to Sri Lanka with dada, dadi, Sonil bua, Ravi uncle and Adi. We spent the first couple of nights relaxing at the Doubletree Weerawila located at the lake on the edge of the Yala national park. The food in Sri Lanka is incredible with egg hoppers, crab and giant prawns. We took a half day safari to the beautiful Yala national park where we saw some wildlife including elephants and crocodiles, but didn’t spot a leapord. We spent an afternoon exploring the Galle fort and town, before settling into the beachside Sheraton Kosgoda resort. Right outside the resort was a turtle sanctuary with one day old babies as well as mature turtles. We also took a river cruise as a family that took us through mangroves, Buddhist temples, wildlife and a cinnamon farm. Highly recommend Sri Lanka!
Looking forward to new travel adventures in 2024 as Ayaan and Ariana approach their 40th country!
After a wonderful few days in the Medellín area, we were ready for some beach time. We arrived in Santa Marta in the afternoon where it was 87 degrees humid and hot. We stayed in centro which gave us easy access to the malecon, the square, marina and to many restaurants. Our first afternoon was spent at an ocean front restaurant for lunch followed by a short drive to the nearby Rodadero beach with a beautiful sunset and the hundreds of hawkers. The kids played soccer and made a sand castle at the beach past sunset, before we headed to the square to get some local food in the square listening to live music. The next morning we took a tour on a sailboat to a secluded beach in Tayrona national park. We enjoyed the 1.5 hour ride to the beach that was choppy with beautiful views of Santa Marta, the coast and the park. Our afternoon was spent chilling on the beach, snorkeling and eating a grilled whole fish. We walked around Santa Marta that evening and ate dinner at a spot called Ouza which had delicious Mediterranean food. Colombia is an interesting mix of South American, Caribbean and Centra American culture and food.
We drove to Cartegena next morning for 4 hours to catch our boat for the next leg of our journey. Google Maps detoured us again which reminded me why it’s better to trust the locals than technology in countries such as Colombia. Nonetheless the drive was beautiful and we reached just in time to catch our boat to the amazing Isla del Encanto hotel in Isla Baru. We’ve been dreaming of our hotel stay in Belize from our sabbatical, and Encanto was that and much more. The entire experience was a little like the show White Lotus with no twists. A small 34 room property that can only be accessed by boat with 2 salt water pools (one with a pool bar), all inclusive local meals and a really calm beach. We spent our time here kayaking, lounging and eating some great food. They had pony rides on the beach at the hotel too! Ariana, Ayaan and I also learned how to stand-up paddle board (Anjali being the pro). For Christmas Eve, they had a celebratory dinner with live music and an elaborate buffet, which made the night memorable. We really loved our stay at Encanto which felt really intimate, and ended with a private boat transfer directly to our next hotel at Playa Blanca also on Isla Baru.
Playa Surf Baru is a tiny beach shack hotel with 6 rooms above a famous restaurant right on the beach. Our room and balcony was literally above the water with the smooth sounds of waves crashing. We witnessed a beautiful sunset as we walked along the narrow white sand beach spotted with beachside shacks. Playa Blanca is the beach you’d expect when you come to the Caribbean with brilliant blue warm water and white sand beaches. The stretch of beach gets crowded in the day with day tourists from Cartegena and tons of boats and vendors. We enjoyed our day having all meals on the beach, swimming and hopping between different snacks for meals and drinks. My favorite foods were the huevo arepas and the garlic grilled octopus devoured while staring into the sea. Ayaan had a pina colada in a real pineapple, while Ariana got her hair braided.
Our last stop for the last 4 nights was the international city of Cartegena. Founded in the early 1500s, Cartegena is a walled city with a ton of history, culture, live music, lights, nightlife, dining and stunning sunsets. We stayed at the Hilton located at the tip of Bocagrande with a beach and four pools. It was perfect with the kids as it had a kids club and served as a nice break from the afternoon heat. We started the first evening with a drink watching the sunset at Cafe Del Mar sitting atop the wall and ended it at The Arsenal: Rum Box, a wine and chocolate tasting restaurant where the kids got to make their own mocktail at the bar! The next morning we joined a free walking tour of the old town that walked us through the charming streets and squares over two hours. Ayaan and Ariana did really well even in the heat and we were all rewarded with a delicious local lunch at San Valentin along with live music. After some pool time, we went on a sunset catamaran cruise overlooking Cartegena that ended with Ariana and Anjali dancing to Colombian music with the locals.
On our third morning in Cartegena, we left the kids in the kids club and visited the San Felipe fort overlooking Cartegena and the bohemian Getsemani neighborhood. We loved Getsemani with murals everywhere, colorful houses and tiny bars and restaurants on the street. We liked it so much that we took the kids and went back on another free walking tour of the neighborhood that evening! On our last day we relaxed at the beach and the pool, and Ayaan loved playing soccer with the locals. It was New Year’s Eve, so we started the evening with the kids at the Wala beach club near our hotel overlooking a final stunning sunset while listening to house music. To bring in the new year, we left the kids at the kids club that had celebrations planned, and went bar hopping. From a street side bar in Getsemani with $2 mojitos to the swankier El Mirador with specialty cocktails and house music, we wandered in the crowded party streets. Our final hour of the year was spent at Cafe Del Mar as 2023 arrived with a stunning display of fireworks across the city.
Colombia, the land of Pablo Escobar, Shakira, Sophia Vergara, Encanto and arepas, made a memorable two week vacation with amazing hospitality where we not only felt safe but also welcome and well treated. The people are kind and make an extra effort to compensate for the reputation that country unfairly has. We definitely recommend it for families! Such a great way to end 2022 that was filled with travel and to kickoff off 2023. Happy new year to all!!!
After a wonderful week in Costa Brava, we drove back to Barcelona to take a seamless Vueling flight to Mallorca (all bags intact this time!). We were excited to visit our 2nd Balaeric island after Ibiza ten years ago. From the airport we drove to Valldemossa on the west of the island where we visited the monastery, palace and the gardens after a quick lunch. The kids were fascinated by the gigantic statues of the king and queen, similar to what they had seen in Barcelona. From there we drove to the little town of Cala pi where the kids found a playground and we ate some amazing Paella at Restaurant Sa Teressa. The highlight of the day was meeting Nani, Dhara masi, Kunal uncle and his family at a beautiful beachfront house in Colonia sant Jordi, on the south side of the island. The kids were delighted to meet family and to get to stay up way past their bed time!
The next day we joined the rest of the crew on a trip to the port and town of Soller, at the northwest of the island, about an hour away from us. 13 of us ranging from 5 to 75 took a San Francisco like tram from the port to the main town of Soller. As always, we visited the cathedral and hung out at a tapas restaurant in the square sipping Sangrias. The siesta after the tram ride back to the port was in the stunning beach and calm waters in the U-shaped cove. We played ball and the kids made a sand castle. It reminded me of the city beach at San Sebastián. The day ended once again at the beachfront home with the family.
On our third day in Mallorca we drove 1.5 hours to the northernmost tip of Formenter. We walked up the steps at Mirador es Colomer to a majestic landscape of cliffs and crystal blue water. 15 mins further north we parked our car and took a beautiful 30 min bus ride to the lighthouse Cap de Formentor. The viewpoint was underwhelming compared to the drive and Mirador, but luckily they had converted the lighthouse to a restaurant where we grabbed some pizza. We spent the rest of the afternoon hanging at the Caribbean like beach at Formentor where we rented a paddle boat with a slide! We capped off the day with an amazing meal with grilled octopus and artichoke with truffle and Parmesan.
For the last couple of days, Nani joined us as we bid farewell to the rest of the family. We started the day with a delicious egg bocadillo made to perfection. We then drove to Cal d’Or or Gold Coast on the south eastern side of the island. We found a prestine little beach called Cala Petita where we spent most of the day swimming, relaxing and jumping off cliffs. Living the Spanish lifestyle! For dinner, Anjali and I sneaked out for an amazing Michelin starred meal at DINS Sant Tauri in Palma that took us through a journey of 11 steps of the traditional foods of the Balaeric islands.
On our fifth and final day on the island, we ventured into the old town of Palma. Strolling through the streets the kids enjoyed walking in and out of churches and squares, and seeing street vendors. The highlight was the Cathedral of Santa Maria with its massive structure and ornate design. We had one of our best casual meals at a small restaurant called Sa Bodegueta with a refreshing gazpacho, fish and steak. To celebrate our final night in Spain and nana’s birthday, we drove to a place nana would have loved called Puerto Portals. Similar to Puerto Banos in Marbella, it was lined with open air restaurants overlooking the harbor filled with luxury yachts. Our meal at Suzy Wang culminated an amazing Spanish vacation! Anjali, the kids and Nani continue their adventure in Italy, while I return home to the Bay Area.
Two Little Wanderers 