Sub Header – Tips to apply for a Schengen Visa
It's been a long break from my blog writing days the previous year, and I really want to keep up with this habit. It gets tough sometimes as you are having so much fun at a certain place and becomes harder and harder to catch up with everything as the months go by.
I was contemplating writing about my last few trips – Brazil (half of it), Puerto Rico, San Fransisco and New Orleans, but I will do so only if I get the time, which pretty much means – forget it.
Next up for me is Europe with a short trip to Columbus in between. This will be my first trip with someone else – and I am pretty excited – it will be my brother, and I know it will be a fun fun trip.
I have my visa ready, and also most of my trip is planned, along with the tickets for the airline.
Let me get started with a few tips for the Schengen visa application especially if you are planning your trip yourself. This is one of the toughest part of the Euro Trip. The documentation needed is quite extensive.
Here they are:
Airline Round Trip ticket – American Airlines is one of the few airlines which has an option to hold tickets. This comes in handy when you need to have a reservation in your name, but not actually pay for it. Try this feature out if you need to hold a reservation or booking. On the AA site after you have selected your trip, along with a purchase option there is also an Hold option which will keep your ticket on hold for a day which is cool for visa purposes.
Also, the french consulate (which I went to) and also all european consulates need hotel bookings. My suggestion would be to book on sites like Marriott.com, which will allow you to cancel a day or two before your actual stay for no fee. This will guarantee you reservations when you go for the visa interview.
Health insurance is also something which is needed at the consulate for the Schengen visa. Search around for a few providers. Atlas has an insurance for approximately 30 days in europe for around 25USD which is pretty cheap. The steps are easy to follow, and once done log into your account and print out the 'Visa Letter' format which will be avaliable under your account.
Print out a itinerary, and for me it was a simple word document stating where I would be on all days of my trip. This again can be tentative and no one asks for train or air reservations so far as you have hotel reservations. My trip involved more train travel than hotel reservations so that I reduce the bookings which I need to show.
Finally the consulate where you have to apply to is either the country you will be spending the most time in, or if not sure, the country where you will land. I was landing in Barcelona, Spain and the most part of my trip would be spent in France, so I went to the French consulate.
The only document which you need to show is the train or air or bus ticket of you crossing the border. For example my itinerary said that I would be going from barcelona to Toulouse which would be my first city in France, and the lady at the consulate asked me if I had any ticket for it.
This is quite easy. France has their train site: www.voyages-sncf.com on which you can also hold tickets. I booked a ticket from Barcelona to Toulouse without actually paying for it and viola – I had a booking for that too.
I will try to give info on booking train tickets in Europe as I post my later blogs, but there is a site called seat61 which is an awesome resource for help on booking European trains.
If you are a planner and you need to know exact schedules – bahn.de, the german site is the best resource. Me personally loved this, and I saved shit loads of money on my train tickets, and did not feel the need to either buy a RailPass, or buy my tickets at the highly expensive RailEurope.
Finally the visa application which can be downloaded from individaul consulate sites asks for the validity of visa. My trip was for 29 days, so I said 90 days and checked the multiple entry option. It is highly likely that you will be asked to change this to 29 days single entry (at least the first time you apply), but if you are thorough with your documentatyion you could end up with a 90 day multiple entry visa, like I did, or even a 180 day multi entry visa like my brother (Damn him...I provided him all the documentation and he got a longer duration).
Hope this helps for planning your Europe Trip visa, and as always I encourage comments or questions.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Salvador Airport (Oct 16, 2009)
Day 2 saw me get up pretty late, and after having a breakfast of bread and cheese I headed off with my English friends and two girls from the Czech Republic to see the Christ.
From Copacabana, the bus numbered 583 takes you to the Christ, and 584 gets you back. It is not the last stop, but basically you just get off when half of the bus gets off as that is usually the main attraction on the route. The weather was amazing with only a few clouds in the sky, and this had happened after a week or so, the line to get on the train to the top was backed quite long.
One of the ladies, Suzanna knew Spanish and she somehow managed to get one of the mini buses for 40 Real’s, The train ride is supposed to be better, at 45 Real’s and it also takes you directly to the top.
The bus takes you to a certain point after which you have to get off and stand in line to get into another bus. As we were not aware of this we thought that it would be smooth sailing to the top. Once we realized we decided to hike the supposedly 2 kilometers to the top. The 2 kilometers must have been as the crow flies, because it was more like 3 or 4. Somehow we got to the top, and I have never been more disappointed.
The few clouds were right on the Christ and I could not even see his head. Fog was everywhere, and let alone Christ we could not even see Rio. After waiting there for at least half an hour we decided to leave. One of the modern wonders could not be fully appreciated by me, which was sort of a bitter sweet moment. Here I was – almost touching one of the greatest marvels in the modern world, and ah…well!
I returned back to the hostel, determined to see Rio from Sugarloaf, but it was getting later in the evening, and so I decided to take a short walk on the beach and see Sugarloaf on Tuesday.
Copacabana was pretty crowded, and I walked amidst the crowd enjoying the view of Sugarloaf and the amazingly beautiful Brazilian women. The crowd on Copacabana is a bit older in age, while Ipanema is more younger. I would definitely prefer Ipanema to Copacabana!
Dinner was a huge problem as I had no idea what I was ordering. I only knew the key words – Camaro for Shrimp and so on.
Also, Brazil has eat by kilo restaurants where you just add anything you want on a plate, weigh it and eat it. This is pretty cool, and at 19 Real’s per plate – I would say not so expensive and at least you have some idea what you are eating.
That night I wanted to go to Lapa, but there was no company. Luckily the hostel came to my rescue again. They were having a Favela party in one of the Favelas (slums) controlled by the police. I paid the 65 Real’s for the transportation and entry to this party. Also, quite a few people from the hostel were going and I also came to know a Englishman named Garry on the ride.
Garry had been doing a round the world ticket trip, and after doing Asia, central and south America was on the last day of his year trip. His recommendation – Bolivia. It’s so cool to hear such stories on the road. Even the Czech girls were doing a sort of South American trip, and it’s an experience just listening to them.
Coming back to the party – Brazilian hip hop and funk, with about 2000 people on the dance floor, while we were in the VIP section. Me, Garry and Dave (another Englishman) decided to ditch the VIPs and mix with the locals. It was a wild wild night, and the music was out of the world.
The crowd was young though, I would say around 17ish, but wow…was it something! And a party which plays – C’mon let’s twist again by Elvis, is surely worth it. And then there is the all time favorite – YMCA. Some of the Brazilian girls were impressed, and came up to us too. I talked with a girl for 15 minutes, and the only thing we exchanged was names and that I am Indian and she from Rio. Damn…I need to learn Portuguese!
From Copacabana, the bus numbered 583 takes you to the Christ, and 584 gets you back. It is not the last stop, but basically you just get off when half of the bus gets off as that is usually the main attraction on the route. The weather was amazing with only a few clouds in the sky, and this had happened after a week or so, the line to get on the train to the top was backed quite long.
One of the ladies, Suzanna knew Spanish and she somehow managed to get one of the mini buses for 40 Real’s, The train ride is supposed to be better, at 45 Real’s and it also takes you directly to the top.
The bus takes you to a certain point after which you have to get off and stand in line to get into another bus. As we were not aware of this we thought that it would be smooth sailing to the top. Once we realized we decided to hike the supposedly 2 kilometers to the top. The 2 kilometers must have been as the crow flies, because it was more like 3 or 4. Somehow we got to the top, and I have never been more disappointed.
The few clouds were right on the Christ and I could not even see his head. Fog was everywhere, and let alone Christ we could not even see Rio. After waiting there for at least half an hour we decided to leave. One of the modern wonders could not be fully appreciated by me, which was sort of a bitter sweet moment. Here I was – almost touching one of the greatest marvels in the modern world, and ah…well!
I returned back to the hostel, determined to see Rio from Sugarloaf, but it was getting later in the evening, and so I decided to take a short walk on the beach and see Sugarloaf on Tuesday.
Copacabana was pretty crowded, and I walked amidst the crowd enjoying the view of Sugarloaf and the amazingly beautiful Brazilian women. The crowd on Copacabana is a bit older in age, while Ipanema is more younger. I would definitely prefer Ipanema to Copacabana!
Dinner was a huge problem as I had no idea what I was ordering. I only knew the key words – Camaro for Shrimp and so on.
Also, Brazil has eat by kilo restaurants where you just add anything you want on a plate, weigh it and eat it. This is pretty cool, and at 19 Real’s per plate – I would say not so expensive and at least you have some idea what you are eating.
That night I wanted to go to Lapa, but there was no company. Luckily the hostel came to my rescue again. They were having a Favela party in one of the Favelas (slums) controlled by the police. I paid the 65 Real’s for the transportation and entry to this party. Also, quite a few people from the hostel were going and I also came to know a Englishman named Garry on the ride.
Garry had been doing a round the world ticket trip, and after doing Asia, central and south America was on the last day of his year trip. His recommendation – Bolivia. It’s so cool to hear such stories on the road. Even the Czech girls were doing a sort of South American trip, and it’s an experience just listening to them.
Coming back to the party – Brazilian hip hop and funk, with about 2000 people on the dance floor, while we were in the VIP section. Me, Garry and Dave (another Englishman) decided to ditch the VIPs and mix with the locals. It was a wild wild night, and the music was out of the world.
The crowd was young though, I would say around 17ish, but wow…was it something! And a party which plays – C’mon let’s twist again by Elvis, is surely worth it. And then there is the all time favorite – YMCA. Some of the Brazilian girls were impressed, and came up to us too. I talked with a girl for 15 minutes, and the only thing we exchanged was names and that I am Indian and she from Rio. Damn…I need to learn Portuguese!
Rio de Janeiro Airport (Oct 14, 2009)
5 days have passed by since I landed in Rio and it has been a really good experience so far.
Let me start from the beginning. I landed on the 10th, at around 9.30 am delayed by a half hour. This was largely because of American Airlines having a flight all set to leave in Miami, but no captain for the flight. A reserve captain arrived half hour after the flight was scheduled to depart. I was hoping that he was not out drinking somewhere which would have been scary!
Anyway, immigration and customs was pretty smooth. It is the same procedure; they check your passport and visa and stamp it. Also there is an entry/exit paper which is stamped too, and this will have to be in your possession till you depart Brazil. The stamp has a 1 on it, which means you entered Brazil.
Once out the airport I had trouble finding the ATM. It is situated in a place with not much signs. Once you exit catch the escalator to the second floor (for Indians) or 3rd floor (for Americans). There are ATMs of pretty many banks there and one should work.
Once done, there is a bus called Real Autobus at the exit outside. For 7Reals it takes you to the Rodoviaria (Bus station), Domestic Airport (SDU) and Copacabana and Ipanema along with the other main centers too. It will drop you pretty much wherever you want, so it is convenient and a cheaper option than the taxi, which may cost around 50 to get to Copacabana.
A short walk got me to my hostel – Walk on The Beach, a small but safe and easily accessible hostel from Copacabana. The breakfast is free from 9 to 11, and they do provide towels and locks for a minimal cost. The best part was the excursions which they organize. One such helped me a lot on the Saturday I landed, as it was raining and I was kind of disappointed that I would not get to do too much. I saw that there was a soccer game at the Maracana stadium which was being organized. So I joined in for 55 Real’s, and this was an amazing sporting experience.
The game was between one of the local teams – Flamingo and Sao Paulo. As we did not want to be killed, we were supporting Flamingo, and you should have seen it to believe it. This is one of the largest soccer stadiums in the world, and it was pretty packed. The noise was deafening, and emotions were running wild. An experience which I do not think I would have got if it was not raining, and I am so glad that it was.
Also, made a couple of friends – Paul and Simon from England who I hung out with the same night drinking Caipirinha’s which is the Brazilian national cocktail, and believe me extremely potent. Three for the night and I was on my bed –dead asleep. A mixture of the journey, the screaming at the stadium and the drink finally got to me and I slept like a log till 9.30 the next morning.
My first day was not exactly what I wanted – no glimpse of either Pao da Acucar (Sugarloaf) or Cristo Redentor (Christ the Redeemer), a very brief glimpse of Copacabana when I got down from the bus and rain all around. But all of this was made up by the pone game I saw at the Maracana, along with the fact that I met a few people who I could talk to and generally hang out with.
The weather reminded me so much of Mangalore, and I was for a moment lost in it. I had begun to love Rio and I will tell you how much as I write my next post on the days after that.
Let me start from the beginning. I landed on the 10th, at around 9.30 am delayed by a half hour. This was largely because of American Airlines having a flight all set to leave in Miami, but no captain for the flight. A reserve captain arrived half hour after the flight was scheduled to depart. I was hoping that he was not out drinking somewhere which would have been scary!
Anyway, immigration and customs was pretty smooth. It is the same procedure; they check your passport and visa and stamp it. Also there is an entry/exit paper which is stamped too, and this will have to be in your possession till you depart Brazil. The stamp has a 1 on it, which means you entered Brazil.
Once out the airport I had trouble finding the ATM. It is situated in a place with not much signs. Once you exit catch the escalator to the second floor (for Indians) or 3rd floor (for Americans). There are ATMs of pretty many banks there and one should work.
Once done, there is a bus called Real Autobus at the exit outside. For 7Reals it takes you to the Rodoviaria (Bus station), Domestic Airport (SDU) and Copacabana and Ipanema along with the other main centers too. It will drop you pretty much wherever you want, so it is convenient and a cheaper option than the taxi, which may cost around 50 to get to Copacabana.
A short walk got me to my hostel – Walk on The Beach, a small but safe and easily accessible hostel from Copacabana. The breakfast is free from 9 to 11, and they do provide towels and locks for a minimal cost. The best part was the excursions which they organize. One such helped me a lot on the Saturday I landed, as it was raining and I was kind of disappointed that I would not get to do too much. I saw that there was a soccer game at the Maracana stadium which was being organized. So I joined in for 55 Real’s, and this was an amazing sporting experience.
The game was between one of the local teams – Flamingo and Sao Paulo. As we did not want to be killed, we were supporting Flamingo, and you should have seen it to believe it. This is one of the largest soccer stadiums in the world, and it was pretty packed. The noise was deafening, and emotions were running wild. An experience which I do not think I would have got if it was not raining, and I am so glad that it was.
Also, made a couple of friends – Paul and Simon from England who I hung out with the same night drinking Caipirinha’s which is the Brazilian national cocktail, and believe me extremely potent. Three for the night and I was on my bed –dead asleep. A mixture of the journey, the screaming at the stadium and the drink finally got to me and I slept like a log till 9.30 the next morning.
My first day was not exactly what I wanted – no glimpse of either Pao da Acucar (Sugarloaf) or Cristo Redentor (Christ the Redeemer), a very brief glimpse of Copacabana when I got down from the bus and rain all around. But all of this was made up by the pone game I saw at the Maracana, along with the fact that I met a few people who I could talk to and generally hang out with.
The weather reminded me so much of Mangalore, and I was for a moment lost in it. I had begun to love Rio and I will tell you how much as I write my next post on the days after that.
LaGuardia Airport (Oct 9, 2009)
The adventure has begun – for the first time in my life I will be going to a country where I have no clue about the language, about how stuff works there…pretty clueless except for 3 guide books. I guess I finally put my wits to the test.
I am going to Brazil, will be landing in Rio and staying there for the first 4 days. After that I fly Gol to Salvador for 3 days before flying in to Sao Paulo on Gol again. This is the main part of my trip – the Formula 1 race with Jenson Button leading the championship from Reubens Barrichello. Go Rubinho…
Whenever I think of Rio the first picture which comes to mind is the statue of Christ on top of the mountain looking down at this beautiful city. This is the picture I take with me as I head on my best adventure yet.
Follow me as I explore this beautiful country…I know you guys are :)
Boa Noite…Tchau!
I am going to Brazil, will be landing in Rio and staying there for the first 4 days. After that I fly Gol to Salvador for 3 days before flying in to Sao Paulo on Gol again. This is the main part of my trip – the Formula 1 race with Jenson Button leading the championship from Reubens Barrichello. Go Rubinho…
Whenever I think of Rio the first picture which comes to mind is the statue of Christ on top of the mountain looking down at this beautiful city. This is the picture I take with me as I head on my best adventure yet.
Follow me as I explore this beautiful country…I know you guys are :)
Boa Noite…Tchau!
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Greyhound to Charlottesville (Sep 19, 2009)
I tweeted a lot today, and it is for the inefficiency that plagues the Greyhound system, especially at the DC center. In NYC you have the usual issue where the bus is always overbooked and if you are lucky you may get into the first two buses. Else you will be the few people left out who has to catch the next bus. This has happened to me once – I was supposed to catch the 12.15 am bus to Boston which was 3 times overbooked and this led to me catching the 3 am bus, and reaching Boston all screwed up.
In DC too, when I was with my folks, we had to wait an entire 1 hour to get the bus to NYC. But today was the absolute worst – I reached DC at 6.30 in the morning, and my bus to Charlottesville was at 10 am from the DC greyhound station. After having a Starbucks breakfast at Union Station (which is a pretty cool station – the next best after Grand Central according to me of the stations I have visited in the US), I headed to the bus station at 8.30 am. We waited in line till10.20 when someone finally comes in and tells us that there are buses, but no drivers. C’mon greyhound…is there any better way to look foolish?
The wait went on till 11.25 when we finally boarded the bus, with the driver in it! The customer service was absolutely terrible; no information about when the driver was coming, and also no advance information that there would be a delay. Info was gleaned only through one of the mechanics who was hanging around. Also, the lady (I am guessing – the manager) did not even have a name tag on her!
I have remained pretty loyal to Greyhound for a while now, even though they have many faults – but this could just tip me over. Megabus is improving their service, I could sense it noticeably today – they are on time, their rates are less, buses are better and so is the crowd.
Greyhound – if you are on the verge of losing one of your loyal customers, who has even got a free round trip ticket from you, you really must be doing something very wrong indeed!
In DC too, when I was with my folks, we had to wait an entire 1 hour to get the bus to NYC. But today was the absolute worst – I reached DC at 6.30 in the morning, and my bus to Charlottesville was at 10 am from the DC greyhound station. After having a Starbucks breakfast at Union Station (which is a pretty cool station – the next best after Grand Central according to me of the stations I have visited in the US), I headed to the bus station at 8.30 am. We waited in line till10.20 when someone finally comes in and tells us that there are buses, but no drivers. C’mon greyhound…is there any better way to look foolish?
The wait went on till 11.25 when we finally boarded the bus, with the driver in it! The customer service was absolutely terrible; no information about when the driver was coming, and also no advance information that there would be a delay. Info was gleaned only through one of the mechanics who was hanging around. Also, the lady (I am guessing – the manager) did not even have a name tag on her!
I have remained pretty loyal to Greyhound for a while now, even though they have many faults – but this could just tip me over. Megabus is improving their service, I could sense it noticeably today – they are on time, their rates are less, buses are better and so is the crowd.
Greyhound – if you are on the verge of losing one of your loyal customers, who has even got a free round trip ticket from you, you really must be doing something very wrong indeed!
Friday, September 18, 2009
MegaBus to New York Part Deux (Sep 18, 2009)
I got tickets for 1USD from Boston to New York and another 1 USD from New York to DC which led me to this trip to one more of the 501 cities. The city is Charlottesville VA, and is considered to be the best city in US to live in. Also, Thomas Jefferson has had a huge influence here.
The bus journey involves a very tiring schedule – I will be in 3 buses from Friday evening (today) to Saturday Morning, followed by walking in the city, 2 return buses to NYC which will land Sunday morning, and then a day at Stamford, and finally my return journey which gets me to Boston Monday early morning. Try to beat that people!
Again I have to say - Megabus except for its lateness is a pretty nice bus. I am using their power outlets, their Wi-Fi and at 1 USD you can’t beat it. They have shifted their start point from South Station to the Back Bay in Boston, and I think this is because they have started these new double Decker buses. I am on the top deck right now, and it is nice to be here looking down at the traffic.
Tonight will involve a short stay at Times Square looking at the people and that is something which I really enjoy.
I will keep you updated as this trip progresses. Also, I have to still pen a post about getting a Canadian Visa and a Brazilian Visa in the US. Stay tuned for that!
The bus journey involves a very tiring schedule – I will be in 3 buses from Friday evening (today) to Saturday Morning, followed by walking in the city, 2 return buses to NYC which will land Sunday morning, and then a day at Stamford, and finally my return journey which gets me to Boston Monday early morning. Try to beat that people!
Again I have to say - Megabus except for its lateness is a pretty nice bus. I am using their power outlets, their Wi-Fi and at 1 USD you can’t beat it. They have shifted their start point from South Station to the Back Bay in Boston, and I think this is because they have started these new double Decker buses. I am on the top deck right now, and it is nice to be here looking down at the traffic.
Tonight will involve a short stay at Times Square looking at the people and that is something which I really enjoy.
I will keep you updated as this trip progresses. Also, I have to still pen a post about getting a Canadian Visa and a Brazilian Visa in the US. Stay tuned for that!
MegaBus to New York (Sep 18, 2009)
The irregularity in my postings continues. I promise I will try to be a bit more regular with them from now on.
Getting back to the Grand Canyon - which was ages ago, and I pretty much have forgotten most of it. As I was saying I parked my car and caught the shuttle buses which run in loops at the Village to get to the various points on the Grand Canyon. This is the suggested approach, as you don’t have to drive around. I caught the sunset at Mohave Point which was not so exciting just because of the awesomeness of the Canyon. Once this was done I decided to head back to my car in the night. The shuttles (first the Red, then the blue) took me through the GC Village where looking at all the lodges, I thought that it may be really cool to spend a couple of nights here (maybe with the wife!!!). I reached Mather point and I had to wait for the bus running the Kaibab Route (Green) to take me back to my car, but looking at the maps I saw that there was no bus along this route after nightfall. This was the worst part – I had to walk the remaining 2 miles to my car on the Rim Walk, with just my iPhone lending me the light, and one wrong step would have pretty much pushed me over the rim of the canyon. Not at all suggested to anyone, especially when it is 40F out (damn you Rachel…wrong info!!!). I did reach my car finally, but I don’t think I would be doing that again.
Also, most of the GC in the night is unlighted, so I would suggest getting a flashlight especially for situations like this. Even the parking at Mather Point is dark!
The ride to Flagstaff was quite uneventful, except for my car not handling properly at all, which scared me no end. I ended up at the Dubeau Hostel at around 10pm. My stay here was quite short, but the hostel was pretty neat. The charge was very reasonable at 20 USD, and it has quite a few restaurants and bars around. I slept like a log that night after a quick bite.
The next day morning was a quick grab at breakfast before heading to Sedona. It is a brilliant drive with twisting highways on hills along the around 1 hour drive to Sedona. This is a sleepy little town, but has a beautiful view of the Red Rocks around. I would suggest at least 2 days here on a relaxing vacation just to get a feel of the vibrancy of Sedona. The only suggestion which I did and you have to is the ‘Pink Jeep Tour’. They are a bit expensive – around 80USD, but it is absolutely worth it. I did the Broken Arrow tour and it took us over the rocks on an off road trail. This was my first experience at sitting in one of these vehicles, and I was astounded (Thank you Ben and Rachel). I had looked at most of these rocks from Sedona and driving up to them was something else. Our guide was very informative and she clicked a couple of photos for all of us which were some of the best I have ever been in.
Also, we saw the Snoopy formation, and it was something else. Having my fill of Sedona I decided to head off back to Chandler, with a short stop at one of the Vortexes which is also something you need to see when in Sedona. I was not able to hike to them, but it seems they are like these oval formations in the rock, which are supposed to be spiritual.
I reached Chandler in the evening, and hung out with Rachel for a while. Dinner was at a Mexican restaurant which was the best Mexican I have eaten, and frankly I am not a big fan of this cuisine. Arizona being close to the Mexican border has a pretty authentic Mexican taste. I had to return my rental car at the Phoenix airport, and this took a pretty long time. The rental offices are not in the Phoenix airport, but quite a distance away. My advice to you, if you are returning the car here - map it to the exact office address and not the airport as this is a distance away.
Rachel was initially planning of taking me and two of her friends to Scottsdale, but we ended up at Mill Avenue in Tempe, which was pretty cool. It has the baseball stadium built in sort of a rock and the nightlife is nice. I enjoyed my night and pretty much drank a lot. I don’t think I have gulped down so many rum and cokes in such a short time.
We returned back and I was off to sleep in my bed. The next day was one of the best I have had in my life. It started off by going with Rachel and her parents to the movie - ‘The Perfect Getaway’, which surprisingly turned out to be a good movie. After this me and Rachel headed out to Old Town Scottsdale, where I had a look around, bought a dream catcher (a Mexican thing – look it up, it is sort of an handicraft with a meaning behind it), learnt about Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) from Rachel and it inspired me enough to get a small skull (who has been christened as Tequila and hangs on my desk at office!).
The only item which I wanted to buy was the poncho, but I thought against it as I had Mexico to visit in the near future anyway.
We headed back home where Rachel’s Dad had a Steak Barbeque going on.This was the best steak I have ever tasted, followed by bananas with chocolate filled in them also grilled on the same grill. This is an unbeatable dessert, and my mouth still waters thinking about it.
After this Rachel, her dad, me and Bean (her dog – a cute bugger) went off to feed ducks and grab a cup of coffee. Finally it was time to pack and head off to the airport. I bid my sad goodbyes to Rachel before making my way to the airport to scan my boarding pass on my mobile (I will keep repeating this, as this is one of the coolest technologies ever – mobile boarding passes!!!)
As my flight took off I contemplated on what has been an amazing amazing journey. More than that it was more about bonding with Rachel, who I never had spent a lot of time with although we did get along famously well. Also, the trouble she took to show me around, guide me was so awesome that whenever I think back to it – it will bring a smile to my face, and a tear to my eye that this trip did not last for ever.
Anyway I should be seeing her next year in Europe and I am looking forward to that. It’s a small world baby, and for me it’s getting even smaller!
Arizona – if you have a friend or not should be visited by everyone. The Grand Canyon without saying is a place you have to see before you die, but even Sedona, The Painted Desert (which I missed), or even the drive is what memories are made of.
Remember, don’t speed a lot on the interstates – the speed limits are high, but rather than cops there are a lot more cameras, so the speeding ticket comes directly home :)
I still have more to write, but I will break this post into another. Chao!!!
Getting back to the Grand Canyon - which was ages ago, and I pretty much have forgotten most of it. As I was saying I parked my car and caught the shuttle buses which run in loops at the Village to get to the various points on the Grand Canyon. This is the suggested approach, as you don’t have to drive around. I caught the sunset at Mohave Point which was not so exciting just because of the awesomeness of the Canyon. Once this was done I decided to head back to my car in the night. The shuttles (first the Red, then the blue) took me through the GC Village where looking at all the lodges, I thought that it may be really cool to spend a couple of nights here (maybe with the wife!!!). I reached Mather point and I had to wait for the bus running the Kaibab Route (Green) to take me back to my car, but looking at the maps I saw that there was no bus along this route after nightfall. This was the worst part – I had to walk the remaining 2 miles to my car on the Rim Walk, with just my iPhone lending me the light, and one wrong step would have pretty much pushed me over the rim of the canyon. Not at all suggested to anyone, especially when it is 40F out (damn you Rachel…wrong info!!!). I did reach my car finally, but I don’t think I would be doing that again.
Also, most of the GC in the night is unlighted, so I would suggest getting a flashlight especially for situations like this. Even the parking at Mather Point is dark!
The ride to Flagstaff was quite uneventful, except for my car not handling properly at all, which scared me no end. I ended up at the Dubeau Hostel at around 10pm. My stay here was quite short, but the hostel was pretty neat. The charge was very reasonable at 20 USD, and it has quite a few restaurants and bars around. I slept like a log that night after a quick bite.
The next day morning was a quick grab at breakfast before heading to Sedona. It is a brilliant drive with twisting highways on hills along the around 1 hour drive to Sedona. This is a sleepy little town, but has a beautiful view of the Red Rocks around. I would suggest at least 2 days here on a relaxing vacation just to get a feel of the vibrancy of Sedona. The only suggestion which I did and you have to is the ‘Pink Jeep Tour’. They are a bit expensive – around 80USD, but it is absolutely worth it. I did the Broken Arrow tour and it took us over the rocks on an off road trail. This was my first experience at sitting in one of these vehicles, and I was astounded (Thank you Ben and Rachel). I had looked at most of these rocks from Sedona and driving up to them was something else. Our guide was very informative and she clicked a couple of photos for all of us which were some of the best I have ever been in.
Also, we saw the Snoopy formation, and it was something else. Having my fill of Sedona I decided to head off back to Chandler, with a short stop at one of the Vortexes which is also something you need to see when in Sedona. I was not able to hike to them, but it seems they are like these oval formations in the rock, which are supposed to be spiritual.
I reached Chandler in the evening, and hung out with Rachel for a while. Dinner was at a Mexican restaurant which was the best Mexican I have eaten, and frankly I am not a big fan of this cuisine. Arizona being close to the Mexican border has a pretty authentic Mexican taste. I had to return my rental car at the Phoenix airport, and this took a pretty long time. The rental offices are not in the Phoenix airport, but quite a distance away. My advice to you, if you are returning the car here - map it to the exact office address and not the airport as this is a distance away.
Rachel was initially planning of taking me and two of her friends to Scottsdale, but we ended up at Mill Avenue in Tempe, which was pretty cool. It has the baseball stadium built in sort of a rock and the nightlife is nice. I enjoyed my night and pretty much drank a lot. I don’t think I have gulped down so many rum and cokes in such a short time.
We returned back and I was off to sleep in my bed. The next day was one of the best I have had in my life. It started off by going with Rachel and her parents to the movie - ‘The Perfect Getaway’, which surprisingly turned out to be a good movie. After this me and Rachel headed out to Old Town Scottsdale, where I had a look around, bought a dream catcher (a Mexican thing – look it up, it is sort of an handicraft with a meaning behind it), learnt about Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) from Rachel and it inspired me enough to get a small skull (who has been christened as Tequila and hangs on my desk at office!).
The only item which I wanted to buy was the poncho, but I thought against it as I had Mexico to visit in the near future anyway.
We headed back home where Rachel’s Dad had a Steak Barbeque going on.This was the best steak I have ever tasted, followed by bananas with chocolate filled in them also grilled on the same grill. This is an unbeatable dessert, and my mouth still waters thinking about it.
After this Rachel, her dad, me and Bean (her dog – a cute bugger) went off to feed ducks and grab a cup of coffee. Finally it was time to pack and head off to the airport. I bid my sad goodbyes to Rachel before making my way to the airport to scan my boarding pass on my mobile (I will keep repeating this, as this is one of the coolest technologies ever – mobile boarding passes!!!)
As my flight took off I contemplated on what has been an amazing amazing journey. More than that it was more about bonding with Rachel, who I never had spent a lot of time with although we did get along famously well. Also, the trouble she took to show me around, guide me was so awesome that whenever I think back to it – it will bring a smile to my face, and a tear to my eye that this trip did not last for ever.
Anyway I should be seeing her next year in Europe and I am looking forward to that. It’s a small world baby, and for me it’s getting even smaller!
Arizona – if you have a friend or not should be visited by everyone. The Grand Canyon without saying is a place you have to see before you die, but even Sedona, The Painted Desert (which I missed), or even the drive is what memories are made of.
Remember, don’t speed a lot on the interstates – the speed limits are high, but rather than cops there are a lot more cameras, so the speeding ticket comes directly home :)
I still have more to write, but I will break this post into another. Chao!!!
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