Posted on by adusija

Monsoon summer in India

As the school year ended (Ayaan is going to 5th grade and Ariana to 4th), the kids were super excited to spending part of their summer in India visiting family. Unlike our usual travels, we didn’t book our flight until about ten days before the trip. We also had no plan except to get on a one-way flight to New Delhi to visit Sonil bua, Ravi uncle and Sid, and at some point catch a flight to Mumbai.

Our journey to Delhi turned out to be a mini-trip on its own. Thanks to a missed Delta connection in Atlanta, it took us 4 days including 3 nights in Atlanta and Denver (yes they made us fly back west), and a bag that arrived 11 days later. None of us are keen on flying Delta anytime in the future, but we most of our time including a visit to the World of Coca-Cola. Ariana is particular loved trying sodas from all around the world including Thumbs Up from India.

We spent a relaxing 5 days in Delhi at Sonil buas amazing farm where the kids were deeply engaged in driving the golf cart, playing with the dogs (Sushi being their favorite), cooling off in the pool, and enjoying Indian food. Highlights included an escape room that we solved, bowling and arcade games, and clay pot making. The weather surprisingly turned out to be great with overcast skies and cool mornings and evenings. Sid and Sonil were amazing hosts, thank you!

After a wonderful stay, we made our way to Mumbai to see the grandparents who happen to live in the same neighborhood! The kids were so happy to be pampered with love, attention and great food. It was also their first experience of the gorgeous Mumbai weather in the monsoons. Ariana joined a gymnastics class, and Ayaan basketball, ping pong and tennis classes at our country club CCI. They also enjoyed connecting and playing with our friends’ children, while we enjoyed some adult dinners and night outs with their parents.

Anjali and I took advantage of having the grandparents, and did an overnight trip to Lonavala in the rains, staying at the Fazlani Natures Nest wellness resort. It’s a beautiful property overlooking a lake with a wellness center, farm, birds, flora, and lots of nature. We had a fantastic retreat focused on yoga, meditation and relaxation. From Lonavala we reconnected with Nani and Ayaan in Pune where we stayed at the Sheraton Grand. The goal in Pune was to attend an event with children from three slums to whom Ayaan was donating his savings. We enjoyed answering questions from the kids, Ayaan played soccer with them, and the kids engaged in painting. It was Ayaan’s highlight of the India trip. We also visited Nani’s place of worship, and spent time at the hotel pool and playing ping pong and squash.

After a few days in Mumbai, we took a 5 day trip to Kerala with my parents. Anjali and I have spoken about going to Kerala ever since we got married so we were thrilled to finally make it there. We rented an SUV with a driver Abhilash, who was fantastic, and it made a difference when we’re driving 15 hours over 5 days. We spent our first night in Kochi and spent the following morning visiting the area Fort Kochi with its Dutch, Portuguese and British history. The highlights were the Chinese fishing nets, the St Francis church where Vasco de Gama was initially buried, the Dutch museum, and the Jew town. In the late morning we set off on a long 4 hour drive to the mountain town of Munnar. We stopped for lunch for some traditional thali on a leaf at Rasa restaurant, visited a spice and Ayurvedic garden, and a couple of beautiful waterfalls on the way.

We stayed at the new Taj’s Scenic IHCL hotel in Munnar with beautiful views and an amazing pool. Kerala had a strike the next day, but luckily it didn’t interrupt our plans of visiting the Tea Museum, seeing some Tea estates, and visiting the stunning Eravikulam national park. We hired a golf cart / buggy which was a great way to see the park and me stops along the way to see mountain goats, bison, waterfalls and the scenery. This park is a must visit for anyone planning a trip to Kerala! We ended our day with a relaxing traditional Abhyanga massage, including for Ayaan and Ariana!

Our final adventure of the Kerala trip was perhaps our highlight of the month long stay – an overnight private luxury 3 bedroom houseboat from Xandari riverscapes cruising through the backwaters near Allepey with an onboard chef. As soon as we got on the boat, we were so relaxed appreciating Kerala’s beauty navigating through narrow rivers, canals and lakes dotted with coconut tree coastlines. We took a canoe ride through the very narrow canals through a small town only accessible by boats where many of the houses were partially submerged due to the recent floods. We stopped to buy some crabs, prawns and lobster that the chef prepared along with some delicious food. Kerala has some of the best food I’ve eaten including appams, puttu and Malabar parothas. We wish we stayed another night on the houseboat, but it was time to head back to Mumbai. We stopped at one of the beautiful beaches before heading to the airport. Kerala is truly God’s Own Country!

Back in Mumbai, we continued to enjoy family time, CCI time, and friends time. Ariana became very close to Anjali’s friend’s daughter Rhea and they had a couple of sleepovers and all day play dates. Nani celebrated Ariana’s upcoming 9th birthday with a really fun birthday party at her home with 5 other children participating in games and dance. We celebrated Big Dada’s upcoming 80th birthday with Sonil visiting Mumbai. Anjali left a few days early, and when it was our time to leave the kids really didn’t want to and were already planning a trip back soon. A great summer month in India!

Posted on by adusija

Caribbean Island hopping

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!

Posted on by adusija

Singapore

While we’d been to Singapore multiple times when my sister and her family lived there, it was great to return to reunite with old friends and family. We were impressed with the efficient automated immigration experience which had us from touch down to Dhiren’s house in just over an hour! The kids were excited to play with Stuvan and Maeve who they remembered from their trips to the Bay Area over the years including just the summer before. They instantly connected and built forts, played music and other games. We relaxed over beers, soju and multiple bottles of wine and interesting discussions with Dhiren, Bhamini and Adi while simultaneously watching the Wimbledon final. Not surprisingly, it was soon midnight and an evening well spent with friends and family! Dhiren’s, Gaurav and Ayaan woke up at 3am to watch the Euro final between Spain and England which Spain won, breaking Dhiren’s heart.

The next day, we enjoyed a lazy late start to the Gardens by the Bay where we marveled at the 7 levels of the Cloud forest. Stuvan and Ari enjoyed in many deep discussions, with Stuvan sharing his scientific knowledge and insights well absorbed by Ariana’s intense listening interspersed by some challenging questions. It was intriguing to watch them interact, so different but yet so deep into conversation. We enjoyed chatting with Adi and viewing the exhibits, particularly the interactive ones.

We then proceeded to see Adi’s well appointed post-college apartment where the 3 kids enjoyed playing video games. That evening, the kids enjoyed a slumber party while the 4 is us devoured an 8-course Sichuan meal at Birds of a Feather. Following dinner, we made our way atop the Marina Bay Sands to the Sky Bar for cocktails. We then transitioned over to C’est La Vie where I created a game asking everyone to embody the accent of the country from which their cocktail originated. This resulted in an entertaining mishmash of Colombian (Anjali) British (Bhamini, switching between proper and cockney on demand) and midwest American (Dhiren) while Gaurav didnt participate, much to my disappointment. Several rounds of shots later, we hit the dance floor and the night ended with us jamming to and singing Above and Beyond in the taxi ride home. Overall, such a fun time! Thank you to the Sarin family for hosting us so warmly in your home.

Posted on by adusija

Indonesia part 1 – Bali

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.

Posted on by adusija · 1 Comment

2023 travels

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!

Posted on by adusija · 2 Comments

Mallorca

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.

Posted on by adusija · 1 Comment

Survived 2020!

Phew what a year! It started off as a normal year with new year celebrations in Mumbai with the family, before we took a flight back on January 4th through Beijing – not knowing that we were spending 6 hours close to the origins of the pandemic! We spent the first couple of months of the year house hunting while we stayed in Sausalito. Ayaan and I celebrated a special day on his 5th Birthday as we took the ferry to the city and rented a Go car – Ayaan loved it and was my navigator. That same day we found the house of our dreams and put an offer. Things got a bit crazy and wild starting early March as the Coronavirus epidemic became a pandemic, my work trip to Spain got cancelled, we were suddenly working from home and preschool closed down. None of us knew what was happening until everyone was placed under shelter in place on March 16th when we realized the gravity of the situation. Amid this chaos and with the markets swinging wildly we closed on our new home in Tiburon on March 24th!

The 2.5 months we were locked in until June 1st felt a little bit like our sabbatical – we spent a lot of quality time with the kids and once again they adapted seamlessly to the new situation. We made the most of simple pleasures like going on a walk, watching pictures from our sabbatical, Zoom calls with the family, playing games and doing activity books. The major difference was we were stuck at home instead of traveling the world. Anjali was figuring out how to re-open AutoCamp properties with a new operating model while I was trying to scale up our video business at Twilio with major tailwinds. We moved into our new place amid the lockdown and instantly fell in love with the home with Blackies pasture and Ring Mountain steps away.

June 1st brought a new phase with outdoor dining and hotels reopening. The next 6 months were a mix of road trips, trying to balance hectic work with balancing kids schedules that changed every single day, and trying to make the most of living close to wine country. Ayaan started Kindergarten at Reed in August and we are so proud of him adapting to a mix of Zoom and in person classes. Ariana loved Ross Academy preschool singing songs all the time. This time was stressful and full of anxiety with cancelled trips, wildfires, orange skies, elections, virus scares and COVID tests. Our travel highlights during this time included a week long trip to Santa Barbara, Monterey and Tahoe: another drive up the coast to Oregon and the beautiful town of Bend with its amazing parks; and a trip to Yosemite and Tahoe where the kids enjoyed in the snow and Ayaan took his first ski lessons! We also sprinkled in weekend trips to Carmel Valley Ranch, Autocamp and Napa. Without these we might not have gotten through the year.

As we end the year we are locked down again forcing us to have our first ever staycation over the holidays. The kids loved it decorating the house with lights and truly enjoying the holiday season. Ariana and Ayaan have become best friends with playtime ending with the occasional fight. We are grateful that through this difficult year our family has remained healthy and safe and we’ve been able to create memories and find a home we love. We’re lucky to have work that is relevant and growing in these times and that the kids have been getting a good education, albeit partially remote. We look forward to getting on a plane again in 2021 and seeing our extended family in India and abroad. 2020 will go down in memory forever and we’re glad we survived!

Posted on by adusija

Transitioning back to normalcy

We’ve now been back to the Bay Area for a month and everyone asks us how it feels to be back to the real world. It’s honestly been wonderful to be back in the Bay Area – we’ve traveled all over the world to 20 countries during our journey, but the Bay Area holds its own in terms of beauty, weather (even though it’s been cold and rainy), food and drive. If anything, we appreciate it even more than we did before. It’s been nice to not have to rush back to work that was waiting for us, and slowly transition back to normalcy. Anjali did a fantastic job in taking the lead to make sure our transition was smooth by getting us a very nice, home-like serviced condo in Corte Madera on a creek overlooking Mt. Tamalpais. It feels like so much space even though it’s small, since we’ve either been in hotel rooms or at our parents’ place. We put the kids back in the same school as earlier in Sausalito, and they were excited to be reunited (Ariana never did go to school before our sabbatical but she went to drop off and pick up Ayaan that made her very familiar). We drove Ayaan through our old home and he burst out laughing as memories rushed to him. With the kids in school, Anjali and I got some “us time” to have a romantic lunch, hike the headlands or do an adult-trip to wine country. It’s been fantastic to reconnect with good friends who’ve helped us out by keeping our car or storing our stuff. For the kids, reconnecting with memories at the BADM museum and local parks has been amazing to watch.

Most importantly, Anjali was able to secure a job she feels extremely passionate about in SF at a company called Autocamp that focuses on outdoor luxury camping. With that we are super excited that we’ll be staying in the bay area and in fact ironically will land back in Sausalito at a similar home to the one he had earlier. I love Sausalito and couldn’t be happier than to spend another year in this amazing quaint town. Things are coming together well and I can now focus my search on finding something I feel passionate about.

Even though our international travels came to an end when we arrived in the bay, we’ve continued to sneak in short getaways to enjoy what Northern California has to offer. We spent MLK at the Westin in Napa on a rainy day as we visited our favorite Duckhorn and Paraduxx wineries with good friends and ate at my beloved Bottega. Honig was new for us but the kid friendliness made the experience fantastic. Since our travels were optimized so it was summer the entire time, we drove up to Tahoe for a night and stayed at the amazing Ritz Carlton to have the kids experience snow for the first time. They absolutely loved it making snowmen, snow angels, throwing snow balls, ice skating and taking the gondola (another unusual word added to Ariana’s vocabulary). The heated pool was very relaxing and even though we forgot their floats, the kids really enjoyed it and even made a new friend called Tessa. For Presidents’ Day, we drove up to Anderson Valley to our all-time favorite Goldeneye and enjoyed some indoor pool and hot tub time with the kids. California is just so fantastic!

Posted on by adusija · 1 Comment

Central America – part 2, Guatemala and Belize

I forgot to mention in part 1, Belize is Anjali’s 50th country and Ariana’s 25th!!! The drive to the Camino Real hotel in Guatemala was just 1.5 hours and the immigration out of Belize and into Guatemala was annoying (since you had to do paperwork twice 100m from each other) but generally seamless. We had gotten papers for the car at the time of rental which made things easy. We arrived at our resort just in time for lunch, and were delighted to see the beautiful green-blue lake adjoining the resort. After some local Guatemalan shrimp and rice, we all jumped into the pool and hot tub. We also took a stroll to the Peten lake waterfront where the water was crystal clear and warm. The sunset was absolutely stunning over the lake. The kids were tired and had a late nap, and we had an overall relaxing evening ending with some time for me to read a book and drink some wine on the balcony.

Next morning we headed out to Tikal, the world famous 2000 year old Mayan ruins and the primary purpose of our trip to Guatemala. A quick 45 mins drive north from the resort, we arrived at the entrance of Tikal. It’s a massive area in the middle of the rainforest scattered with Mayan temples, and it reminded us a lot of our recent experience at the magnificent Angkor Wat. We walked what felt like a really long time through the forest to the first pyramid and ruins. A few 100m later, we reached the Gran Plaza – a breathtaking site with the most famous ruins and temples on each side. On one side stood the super famous Temple I or the Jaguar temple. Opposite stood Temple II that Ayaan and I climbed to get an amazing view of the on plaza. And the north and central Acropolis on the other sides, that all of us enjoyed climbing and exploring. Tikal is not super kid friendly with its climbs and long walks, but it worked out well for us since we didn’t have FOMO to see every single temple. Also luckily we got a ride back to the entrance. Tikal was a great experience, much like visiting Angkor Wat or Petra, though not as magical.

That evening we went down to the lake to feed the fish and turtles. Kids loved it as the fish jumped to get the food and a turtle came by to fill his tummy. We ventured to the island town of Flores, 45 mins away for dinner. Flores is a quaint, colorful, tiny island town in the middle of the lake. We really enjoyed our dinner overlooking the decorated boats on the lake and capped it off with ice cream for the kids.

Next morning was a travel day as we drove across the border back to Belize (crossing was just 15 mins), returned the car at Belize City, took the Belize express ferry to San Pedro (made famous by Madonna’s La Isla Bonita) and finally a smaller boat to our hotel called Portofino. We learned that Belize had just 340,000 people, a former British Colony 37 years old and is facing a referendum to remain independent or join Guatemala. What is super unique about Belize is that it’s a mix between being in Central America and the Caribbean. Portofino at Ambergris Caye is a boutique hotel with just 17 rooms and a private beach. It was a very different experience than our other beach stays, very relaxing with the pool, bar and beach right outside our room. On a different note, I find it amazing how the kids adapt to not having toys. For example Ayaan is obsessed with how they clean and fill the pool with a pipe at this resort.

We spent our last 3 days of our travels in our sabbatical relaxing at the beach (slightly disappointing with weeds although water is warm and a lovely color), the pool and spending our time with the kids. Ayaan and Ariana were fascinated that they cut the coconut from the tree, cut them and served them absolutely fresh. The food and cocktails were fantastic with freshly caught seafood and local rum. We ventured out to the town of San Pedro one of the evenings, walked around the tiny town and had some ceviche with local rum. We we’re so lucky to catch a double rainbow with Ariana wearing her “Chasing Rainbows” tee. The weather got really nice (“only perfect” as Ariana says), sunny and warm with a slight breeze. On our last day we went out to snorkel at Mexico Rock, a part of the Holchan preserve. Belize has the 2nd biggest barrier reef in the world after Australia. The snorkeling was one of the best we’ve done anywhere comparable to the Red Sea and Zanzibar. Our guide was fantastic and we saw eagle rays, barracudas, lobsters, sting rays, pink conch, rainbow fish, puffer fish etc. The kids were well behaved and enjoyed seeing the fish come up to the boat as we fed them. Overall an amazing way to end our travels in our sabbatical as we head back to SF via Houston tomorrow! Again super thankful for Ayaan and Ariana and grateful that we got to spend all this time with them.

Posted on by adusija

Adios India

After a wonderful time in SE Asia, we spent our final 3 weeks in India before we head back to America. As we expected the final few weeks in India were quite hectic – from friends and family visiting, a couple of short trips (including Goa), trying new restaurants, spending time with family and trying to figure out next steps (which also meant we were on quite a few calls at night). The weather got much nicer and cooler, although a bit smokier. Traffic got much worse as the holidays approached and NRIs poured in. And the holiday mood set in with Christmas lights and festivities everywhere. Ayaan and Ariana wrapped up school with a Christmas party and boat trip, and as we’ve become accustomed to they learnt the festive songs of “we wish you a merry Christmas”, “jingle bells” and “rudolf”. Their best moments were the CCI Christmas party with cotton candy and rides, and Kidzania where Ayaan loved being a delivery boy and pilot, and Ariana a policewoman and firewoman. Ayaan’s became a fast rider of his bike, albeit still with training wheels. And Ariana is the cutest monster who is still having potty training accidents. We gave up on any effort of getting a nanny and that made our life much happier and easier. I’ve spent a lot of time reading (more than a dozen books) with highlights including Elon Musk’s biography and The Art of Thinking Clearly. Anjali and I once again barely got any time together, all of it mostly sitting in traffic.

My sister Sonil and nephew Siddharth visited us in Mumbai for a few days and it was great so spend time together as a family. We even went on a one night getaway to nearby Lonavala. We stayed at a nice Airbnb called Raheja Cascades, and spent a lot of time hanging out, playing Monopoly cards, chilling in the pool, eating local Maharastrian home cooked food and sitting by the bonfire. Anjali and Ariana decided to stay back in Mumbai and spend time with her family. Our friend Vaishnavi from SF also visited us and we had a fantastic meal at Masque, a unique 10 course experience from the chef trained at Noma and French Laundry. Thank you to friends and family for visiting. Lastly we celebrated an early Birthday for my mom, since we are leaving a few days before, at Bombay Canteen, now rated the #1 restaurant in India run by Cornell MMH alum, that made Anjali smile. Being with family on special occasions is such a joy.

Our highlight of our almost 2.5 month India stay has been seeing the kids and especially Ayaan completely transform into an Indian little boy, including the Indian head nod, doing puja, picking up the phone and opening the door, enjoying the local food and speaking many Hindi word, phrases and singing songs. Having them experience the Indian culture through all the festivals over the 4 months has been magical. The other highlight is how close the kids and once again especially Ayaan have gotten to their grandparents. He is going to miss them incredibly and is already looking forward to them visiting. Big thanks to our parents for hosting us, bearing with us and taking care of the kids. We’ll definitely miss India, and feel so fortunate and thankful to have been able to do this. Memories for life!