Snowdonia National Park in Wales

This summer, we spent a long leisurely weekend in Snowdonia National Park in a cottage in the town of Dolgellau. Getting to Dolgellau wasn't as easy though, as there are no car rentals available at night at any of the train stations nearby. So we took a train to Birmingham and then drove about 2.5 hours to reach Dolgellau.

Park landscape

Snowdonia National Park is huge, covering half the length of Wales. The highlight of the Park is the Snowdon Mountain, apparently the highest mountain in Wales and England. Other than that, there are green hills, beaches and quaint villages dotting the Park. There are many activities to do in the Park: trekking, water-sports, castles, relaxing on the beach or just enjoying a nice meal in any of the little road-side inns.

We did a little bit of trekking near Dolgellau, half the trek up Snowdon Mountain and some timepass at one of the beaches near Dolgellau, so all in all a relaxed weekend with some activity here and there (and a lot of driving!).

Park landscape

The weather for 2 of the 3 days we were there was not sunny but the area looked just beautiful when the sun came out! Pristine green hills all around dotted with white sheep and rivers and lakes. But the sun was so rare, we saw very few of those Kodak moments!

The first day, we spent half the day in Dolgellau looking for something to eat!! It would be wrong to call it a town, its actually just a small village with very limited eating options. Finally, a breakfast place offering burgers and pizzas saved us! Thankfully they had a Spar superstore in the village too which saved us from hunger for the rest of the trip!!

Precipice trail

Near Dolgellau, we did a short 2 hour trek on the Precipice trail. Its a beautiful trail taking you through fields filled with sheep, next to a small lake and finally finishing around a hill with views till afar. You can see the shore and the sea coming inland too, from the top of the trail.

View from Precipice trail

View of Llanberis

The next day, we did half of the trek up Snowdon Mountain. The trek starts from the town of Llanberis and it takes about 4-5 hours to go up and come down. Due to a time limitation, we did only part of the trek. Be aware though, the first part of the trek is very steep but it gets a lot better as you move on. The mountain was bare with limited vegetation, so nothing much to see while trekking up. The views of Llanberis and the lake were pretty though!

Train up Snowdon

There is also an option to take the train up the mountain (for the lazy ones!). I would suggest that its better to walk up as its not too tough, though the train ride does look cute and romantic! Also, the train has very limited runs during non-peak times, so its always a good idea to check the schedule and book in advance if you still want to use it. Also point to note is its generally much colder at the peak than the bottom, so would suggest all to go up fully prepared.

While we were going up, we ran into multiple people coming down dressed as superheroes. Don't know if there was a superhero convention happening at the peak or not, nonetheless it was an interesting sight. While coming down, we also stopped at the Snowdon inn on the way which offers some tasty Welsh scones for tired souls.

Barmouth

The last day we did some sightseeing, visited the beach at Barmouth, a beautiful little (but crowded) town and then drove upto the Harlech castle which was just ok-ish. We did eat at the best ice-cream shop in town though (in a town of 500 people!) and bought tasty freshly made fudge, the benefits of life in the slow lane.

Harlech Castle

View from Harlech

We drove around a lot in the Park too, taking in the sights of green fields filled with sheep (yet again!) all around, running into lakes every few miles. We drove through the Hay (?) valley which looked very beautiful and worth visiting and staying in sometime in the future.

Park landscape

We landed up in the town of Betws-y-Coed while trying to catch a train to London and it seemed very romantic and lovely. I guess its a good place to stay if you visit Snowdonia, was so lively and well decorated! We also landed in the town of Shrewsbury just outside the park, and ate at Saffron, a "renowned" Bangladeshi restaurant. Even that tasted good when you haven't had Indian food for a couple of days. (Also, would definitely advice anyone going to Wales to check the train schedule carefully as they have very limited services on Sundays. We ended up having to drive around a lot to catch a train!)

Other than the places we visited, there are many other treks to explore, cycling tracks to cycle on, coasteering to do across the cliffs and beautiful castles to visit. There is a Go-Ape site also located near Dolgellau which was closed when we visited it but might be an interesting activity.

Park landscape

The rest of the time, we just spent in our cottage which was a beautiful two-storeyed house overlooking the town with a glassed skylight room to sit and enjoy the view. This was my second time staying in a cottage and I loved it. Feels so homely and cosy, definite way to go vacationing in UK.  After the relaxed three days, we drove back to Birmingham and then to London, leaving all the green fields behind. Even a weekend in the countryside relaxes you so much, should do it more often!

Waffles, fries and chocolates.. Belgium (Brussels & Ghent)

This summer we spent a sunny weekend in Belgium in the towns of Brussels and Ghent. Frankly, Belgium is not really a preferred destination for tourists and I would agree with that. But it's not a bad place to spend a nice relaxing weekend away from London and gathering some unwanted calories:).

Paintings of Grand Place

I stayed in Brussels for an evening, and spent some time in and around the central area. There is much to see around here, just the Grand Place, Manneken Pis and the view of the city from the Courts of Justice.

Grand Place

The Grand Place is a huge town square surrounded by huge lighted buildings all around, including the City Hall and the various guild buildings. The square is full of the usual touristic activities: street performers, caricature artists and paintings of the square.






The all around panorama of the square is pretty, especially at night when all the buildings light up in different colours.

Grand Place (day)

Grand Place (night)

Chocolate jewellery!

I spent some time walking around this area, in the bye lanes most of which were either selling chocolates, Belgian laces and other such famous Belgian wares or had restaurants with sea food displayed outside. To be honest, there was nothing special about the city except the elaborately displayed chocolate shops everywhere:).

Manneken Pis

Located near the Grand Place is the 'Manneken Pis', a small fountain emanating from the statue of a little boy. Apparently it is one of the symbols of Brussels and highly popular among tourists. I found it very unimpressive though and didn't understand what the whole hoopla was about. Moreover, the statue is so small, you can very easily miss it!

Seafood restaurants

We also walked around to the Courts of Justice, which gives a top view of the city around. It wasn't impressive again. And then we spent some time in a local street which had shops serving seafood, with the live seafood displayed outside. So, on the whole a very average place to spend even an evening.

One thing which I loved though about the evening spent in Brussels was the awesome icecreams and desserts I had. Even the Haagen Daz in Brussels had such an awesome spread of desserts; it was much better than any other Haagen Daz I have visited across the world.

Ghent town center

After the evening in Brussels, we spent the next two days in the city of Ghent. We took a train from Brussels which gets you to Ghent in an hour. The train system between cities appeared convenient and inexpensive. Trains run from Brussels train station every 15-20 minutes to Ghent. They do get crowded sometimes, so might just be a better idea to get a first class ticket.

In Ghent, we stayed at the Sandton Grand Hotel Seylof a luxury hotel right next to the city center. Would recommend that to anyone visiting the city. Its got good dining options, live music in the evening, nice garden outside to sit while soaking the sun and a great location to explore the town.

Ghent town center

We were in Ghent for two days and spent most of the time just walking around the city center. There is not much to do there, just a river which runs through the city and beautiful Flemish buildings on both sides of the river. In the summer, it gets filled with crowds and restaurants and cafes spring all along the river.

Ghent town center

The two days were completely idyllic, with bright sunshine and nothing much to do. We spent most of our time walking along the river, sitting and eating waffles and fries and chocolates at the local places next to the river. It felt nice to be out in the open (after the terrible long winter this year in London), soaking in the sun, next to a small river with crowds all around you, all trying to catch a bit of the sun!

Ghent town center

Ghent town center

One of the days we took a boat ride through the river with the boat guide telling us all about the history of the town. Apparently Ghent at one point of time was the most important city in Europe!! How times change:).

Church

We also went inside the church and the cathedral near the town square. The Cathedral had one of the best statues I have seen in Europe, they were all beautiful and exquisite.  I am posting pictures of some of them.

Mary and Jesus

Jesus

Angels with Mary

Angel

Angels with God?

Angels with cross

There is also a painting in the cathedral, supposedly as famous as Mona Lisa - Adoration of the Lamb. They charge a ticket to see the painting, so I gave it a miss but in case you land up in the town, be sure to take a look.

Ghent town center (night)

And at night, the area next to the river looked sparkling with all the lights on and the reflections on the river. Quite a romantic place it is:). We had dinner at the Allegro Moderato, a nice cosy place next to the river. The menu was mostly non-vegetarian, but within that, the sole (fish) was amazing. (Also, if you visit Ghent in the summer, its advisable to book early as restaurants get very busy during that time of the year).

The hotel we were staying in was celebrating its one year anniversary and so had a grand live music event in the evening. It was fun listening to French live music with all oldies around dancing:).

The next day, we bought chocolates from Neuhaus for our trip back to London and would recommend them to anyone visiting Belgium. They are freshly made, yummy and melt like butter in your mouth!! yummmm.. One of the best chocolates have ever had. Anyways after this idyllic weekend, we took the train to Brussels, and then off to London.

Singapore times

I have been to Singapore a couple of times, and everytime have found it to be one of the most boring cities I have ever been to. It feels too modern, too glass and steel, too perfect for my liking. Hence, I never wrote about any of my trips there. However, recently when I got a chance to stay there for a couple of months, I explored the city beyond what it has to offer to tourists; checked out some of the places which may or may not be on the tourist map and found them to be decent fun. So here is a list of some places to hangout in Singapore if you ever end up in the city.

View from Marina Bay Sands

Marina Bay Sands: If you are in Singapore, especially around the business district, you cannot miss this hotel (or Resort as it supposedly is). It stands by itself in the middle of the sea, with a huge boat-like-structure as the icing on the top. Sands is a huge touristy hotel, located just next to the Gardens by the Bay. It has shopping malls, casinos and restaurants; all within the hotel building itself and definitely a sight to behold.

Singapore lights

The best part of Sands though is the 'infinity pool' on its top floor which is 150m long and goes from one end to the other of the boat-top. I can just imagine how much fun it would be to swim there, and how scary too, with glass all around overlooking the whole of Singapore just below you. The Sky on 57 restaurant and Sky Bar on the top floor is good too. I don't remember much about the food we had there, but it was memorable just because of the panoramic view of the city and its lights at night.

Tanglin Village/Dempsey: This was my favorite eating place in Singapore. This part of the city felt from a different world altogether; taking you away from the maddening crowd of Singapore to another age. It was built in an old British cantonment, where the buildings had been renovated but still had the old world charm about them. Open green spaces, narrow winding roads, big wooden buildings, high ceilings.. Sigh! I think it was the most romantic place in Singapore and I just loved the ambience of Dempsey. I ate at Dome (a nice cafe), Jim Thompson (yum Thai food), Jones the Grocer (snacks and cafe) and Margaritas (Mexican), all of which offered great food and an even greater ambience. 

Clarke Quay, Boat Quay, Robertson Quay: All the three Quays seem very similar and are popular hangout places. They are just queues and queues of restaurants, cafes and pubs all next to the river. They are full of people and very lively all through the day and night. My favourite of the three though was Boat Quay, it seemed a bit more quaint than the others. 

East Coast Park: For people fond of the open air experience, the East Coast Park is the perfect place to spend a nice cool evening. It is a long stretch of green area located just next to the ocean. You can run, cycle or bike along this green route if you are looking for some fresh air next to the sound of the waves. They even have those rickshaw kind of cycles to rent there which are fun.

Little India before Diwali

Little India: Its a place which is popular among Indians in Singapore. All of us have gone there at some point when we long to get a feel of India in a foreign land. Little India refers to an area comprising of a couple of streets which look right out of the backyards of India. Busy crowded streets, litter thrown on the roads, awesome food options and Indian wares being sold in every shop.There are a couple of temples here too which makes it a popular spot to visit during festivals. And of course there is the famous Mustafa shop also located in Little India; the supermarket where anything you want, you will get and that too at the cheapest possible rates.

Shopping: I don't know what I can add to the shopping options in the city. Everywhere you go, there are malls. And then some more. Orchard Street is the perfect place to shop, you will never be out of options. I did not find shopping in Singapore cheap though or better either, especially when compared to US. Its just that there are lots of shops to buy from.

Eating out: I tried a lot of restaurants while in the city and would like to list down a couple of notable ones. Food on the whole was good, with a wide variety available including a lot of Indian eating options which is always welcome:). Of the restaurants I tried, Epircurean in Robertson Quay was good, offering fusion food while sitting outside next to the river. Cafe Iguana in Clarke Quay offers tasty Mexican in a lively and loud atmosphere around. Osteria at Boat Quay has a great view and a lively ambience.

Along the Tanglin road, La Brezza (Italian) at St. Regis was terrible, the chef really needs to improve his cooking skills. Basilico, again Italian in Regent Hotel offers a great buffet spread as well as tasty a la carte options and a definite recommend. Yantra (Indian) was up-market but only average in terms of the food.

We went to this one pub/bar called Hong Kong 28 in the CBD district and I just absolutely loved it. Its a small cosy place, changes its drinks menu regularly and has a very different feel compared to the rest of the Singaporean places. It has a very unassuming location and I am guessing is one of those jewels hidden away and known only to a few. Would definitely recommend a visit here if you are looking for a relaxing evening doing something different.

About the rest, Kailash Parbat in Little Indian has the best chats in Singapore. Sky bar on top of Marina Bay Sands offers the best views of Singapore. And of course, Dome (a nice cafe), Jim Thompson (yum Thai food), Jones the Grocer (snacks and cafe) and Margaritas (Mexican) in Dempsey village were great.

Other than the places listed here, there are a couple of more spots to visit. Sentosa Island offers a lot of activities: dolphin shows, Universal studios etc which are great for a day out of town. And another must-do which we missed was the night safari, which is apparently a different experience. One place which I did not go to, but heard was good was Mt. Faber. Apparently you get a great view of the city from the top of the mountain. And then there is the Arab street which provides a nice Arabic experience right in the middle of Asia, again supposedly very different. Anyways, all these sights and many more go in the to-do list for some other time.

On the whole living in Singapore is like living in the future. Tall glass buildings everywhere you go, half of them being malls. People are disciplined and don't show any tendency to do anything out of the ordinary. Everyone speaks English and is helpful. Its easy to get cabs or take the metro (MRT) to travel around. Point A to Point B never takes more than 30 minutes anywhere in Singapore. In an hour from when you land, you can be back at home watching TV. Weather is hot and sweaty throughout the year. Its always between 20-30 degrees. As I said, its convenient to live there, but I miss the human touch, the chaos that is so much a part of where I come from. 

California: San Francisco and sky diving

Last summer, I spent almost a month in San Francisco and the bay area nearby. I had a nice time there, though it was quite a revelation and nothing like what I had expected it to be. San Francisco is at one tip of the bay towards the sea while the bay area refers to the little technological and entrepreneurial towns all around the bay (Palo Alto is Facebook, Cupertino is Apple, Mountainview is Google and so on). The towns are all in a continuous line all along the bay. The whole bay area is very open and green; with wide open roads and spacious houses; with a relaxed atmosphere all around; and weather wise warm throughout the year. And surprisingly it gets cooler during the evening, even in the summers which I hadn't expected at all.

Clouds in SF

SF bay

San Francisco is just the opposite, its a crowded city and remains cool or cold throughout the year. It is always covered with fog with similar temperatures all throughout the year. It becomes cloudy everyday with the clouds coming in during the day from the bay and keeping temperatures around 10 degrees even during summers. San Francisco is also a hilly town, with the whole city built in an up and down fashion making the roads very tough to drive on. Most of the roads have a huge incline and its give SF a different feel.

Pier 39

Pier 39

Within SF, there are a couple of places to see and spend time in. A great place to walk is along the road next to the sea passing through all the piers. It has a couple of parks there plus bikes available to rent and cycle in the parks. Along this road itself is Pier 39, a collection of shops next to the sea to spend time in. The shops are an eclectic mix, quite different than the usual ones; like one selling only chocolates and another specialising in 100s of types of socks.

Seals at Pier 39

Also, just next to Pier 39, you can see hundreds of seals basking in the sun and making sounds while they play. These seals live in the middle of the city, along with humans! Apparently, they had come here many years ago when there was a natural disaster in their homeland and then stayed back here anyways.

Golden Gate

Golden Gate

The Golden Gate bridge across the bay is impressive to look at with the clouds passing under it while coming towards SF. It is a daily occurrence and makes a clear view of the bridge almost a rare occurrence. We drove across the bridge towards the park on the other side of the bridge and drove up the hill to get a better view of the bridge. It was so cold and windy there even in summer! That was not the view of California which I had earlier, I thought it was always hot and sunny there. But apparently its always cold in SF:). The views of the bridge, the bay around and the lights of the cars at night, all make for fascinating sights.

Alcatraz

The Alcatraz is the quaint jail right in the middle of the sea, an old stone building which as would be expected, is difficult to escape. There are multiple boat tours which take tourists around the Alcatraz and within, to tell them about its history. I did not go there, but have heard its interesting.

SF hills

The Union Square is located right in the center of the city, a lively place with events happening at the square during summer. This area is also the shopping center of SF and a good place for timepass. Just near Union Square is Tenderloin, the home of the homeless of SF. Apparently, due to some scheme started by the SF government years ago, all the homeless people from around had descended in SF, which created problems for the city. So as a compromise, they were allowed to stay in the city as long as they stayed within the limits of Tenderloin. I don't know how true this story is, but I heard it and it seemed true. Its quite a different sight to see, how located just next to very posh residential areas is this completely run-down and shady part of town which creates fear in you if you land up here by mistake!

Lombard Street

Trams of SF

Honestly there are not that many touristy or historical things to do in SF. There is the Coit Tower located on a high point in the city which gives a panoramic view of the city. The Lombard Street (or crooked street) is a winding street with sharp turns located on one of the hills in the city, which you can drive though but its a tough test of driving skills and car brakes. There are lots of parks everywhere in the city, some of the famous ones being near the area called the Ghiraldi, Presidio and the Golden Gate park. Would be lovely to cycle here, but maybe some other time. The SF trams are very cute, the little coaches running all around town up and down the very sloping roads. They are quite scary to travel in though, especially for people standing on them. 

Green SF

The areas along the bay are just awesome to walk around, with the shimmering water in between; mountains on the other side, clouds just above and the green parks on the other side. The roads of SF going up and down make for such a picturesque sight. To top it all, there is always a cool fresh breeze blowing everywhere which adds to the pleasant feeling in the city.

SF roads

SF has a lot of places to go nearby on weekends; the national park of Yosemite offering numerous trekking and camping options; Napa valley for the wine lovers; Lake Tahoe for skiing/gambling/water sports enthusiasts; LA for the glam lovers; Monterey Bay for sea and beaches and Muir Woods for trekking among the old trees.

Also there are a couple of sky diving options in the Monterey Bay area of which I tried one: Monterey diving. They are located in an airfield next to the sea and offer a sky jump from the maximum height of 18,000 feet. Skydiving has been one of my all-time to-do and so I decided to go for it.

Skydive at Monterey bay

And what an experience it was! There was about 1.5 mins of free fall where all you see and feel is the expanse of the land below, the sea on one side and the mountains surrounding the land. The sea and the water both were sparkling blue. Such a mesmerising sight it was and funnily enough, you get so engrossed in it, you don't even feel that you are falling; its all so smooth and comfortable.I did realise though that the many turns I made did not help, I felt nauseated by the end of it. Might have been a good idea to tell the instructor before the dive not to do fast turns in air. Other than that, it was an exciting experience for me and the views were so awesome, I will remember them throughout life!

Bridge over the bay

On the whole, I loved the little bit of time I spent in SF, a quaint city with pretty sights greeting you everywhere you go, cool always and a freshness about it which have not felt at any other place. A fun city to stay in definitely!

California: At Lake Tahoe and Napa Valley

In the course of writing this blog, I have realised how important it is to put down your thoughts on paper when they are fresh. The articles which I have written soon after my trips are a lot more alive and full of interesting insights and observations than articles written after a considerable length of time by when the memories become a bit blurred and non-detailed.

This article falls into the second category; I had spent a weeked at Lake Tahoe almost 8 months back and a lot of the images and emotions I had felt on the trip have become subdued now. Still I will try to remember as much as I can.

Beach at Lake Tahoe

We went to Lake Tahoe from San Francisco in the summer of 2012. We did a short weekend trip to Lake Tahoe, and it was one of the most fun places have been to. The drive from San Francisco took us around 4.5 hours to reach there. We reached Lake Tahoe on a Friday and stayed at one of the houses in the South Tahoe area; a B&B property which was booked from the arirbnb site. The house was very well furnished and located just a walk from the lake which was an excellent and comfortable location for us. We spent one day just exploring the lake and the nearby area and found it a great place to spend an active or relaxing time.

Emerald Point

First we just drove for a couple of miles along the lake and found it to be totally mesmerising. The huge blue sapphire-like lake, extending till where the eyes can see. We went upto the Emerald point and the view of the lake from there was breathtaking. The blue sky, the green in between and then the blue of the lake again. Its vastness makes you feel just like a part of nature; you can spend hours just sitting there and staring at space.

Lake Tahoe

We drove a bit farther up the lake and just walked to the edge of the cliffs to yet another natural viewpoint; spending time in the sun feeling a part of everything around. On the way we also stopped at a small waterfall. Basically, you can stop anywhere along the lake and relax, chill and enjoy the view all around.

After the drive and multiple stops around the lake, we next hired a boat to boat into the lake. And honestly, it was one of the best experiences I've had. Its just a very different feeling to drive a boat yourself, and a speedboat at that. The last two times I had tried to rent one, I was denied because I did not have a driving license, and this time I did. Its an easy enough drive, 2 buttons to use. And when it speeds ahead, jumping on top of waves with the cool winds blowing against your face, its a wonderful feeling. We did not speed much though, but am sure that's even a more exhilarating experience:).

Zephyr Cove

Our next stop were the beaches in Reno, which falls on the right side of the state line in Sierre Nevada and therefore even though they are miles away from Lahoe town, they have casinos allowed on their area. And the last place we visited was the beach known as Zephyr Cove which even though was on the lake had yellow sand and felt almost like a beach.

Zephyr Cove

The water was clear and shallow here and the sun was shining. It was very relaxing, with the mesmerising sunset on one side and the sparkling water of the lake. And so even though we had just one day on the lake, we ended up doing a lot more activities than you would think would be possible in a day.

Napa Valley

The next day we drove back to San Francisco after a brief halt at Napa valley. We stopped at a couple of wineries at Napa, but to be frank I was not impressed at all.

Napa Valley

Maybe because it was too too hot or maybe just because I wasn't going to taste the wines or just because the area isn't as picturesque as most wine countries are. Anyways it was a short stop and then we were back in SF.

On the whole I would say, I loved Lake Tahoe because of the activities it offers but would give Napa a miss unless you are fond of wines.