Voyages de Gaya
"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." - Mark Twain Gaya Rajesh
Travel Blog Posts
March 30th 2010
Our ship docked in Piraeus harbor (Athens) at 7 am. Panos bid us goodbye and we bid Adios to our group whom we had gotten real fond of. I told Panos that he reminded me of the movie “My Life in Ruins”; whose chief character was also a tour guide with a group of loony tourists in Greece. At that, he showed his pearly teeth and laughed like a jingle. We decided to experience a bus ride from Piraeus into Athens to the Acropolis. We bought ticket for 1 euro each which gave us the cheapest and the best tour of Athens for nearly an hour, passing through neighborhoods and landmarks, as well as shopping and commercial districts. The friendly Greek lady next to me gave me a running commentary and guided me where to get ... read more
March 29th 2010
As our ship approached Santorini, an announcement went out that the cable cars were not working and we had to take either the donkeys or walk up the donkey path. I was thrilled, as I wanted to ride the donkey, but Rajesh wasn’t so enthusiastic. The mallu group sat in the Aquamarine lounge and when they heard this announcement, several high pitched voices went ‘bling ding kading’.. and they decided not to go. Nuts! Their tour operator kept insisting they must go as it’s a spectacular island, but Anna said they had to consult Dr. Raju, their leader who was “dringing chaya” at the moment in the ship’s restaurant. Santorini is one of the most magical islands of Greece and has a dramatic beauty to it. It is a barren, rocky island just opposite a volcano, ... read more
March 28th 2010
Next morning at breakfast, the old mallu lady from Canada told me in Malayalam that her room-mate was sick after eating the previous night’s biryani. I had watched her gobbling the entire plate with much gusto, when I could barely finish half of it! Our ship anchored in the port of Heraklion, which is the capital of the island and has a proximity to the Palace of the Knossos. We walked out pondering what to do and if we should take the bus to the Palace. Met some South Americans by the taxi stand who asked if we wanted to share a taxi with them…why not? The way they bargained with the Cretan taxi wallas was enough to put the desis to shame…ha! Finally the taxi drivers agreed for half the price - 30 euros per ... read more
March 27th 2010
We arrived in Patmos and tender boats brought us to the island's pretty harbor Skala. Known as the Jerusalem of the Aegean, Patmos is a holy island of Christians, where the Apocalypse of St. John was written. There are 2 main attractions - The Grotto and The monastery. Many people from the ship boarded Mercedes tour buses for the shore excursions that cost a small fortune in euros. But we decided to take a cab. The chinki couple asked if they could share a cab with us and we agreed. The chinkis lived in SFO, she was from Taiwan and a pharmacist and he was from Hong Kong and a software engineer. A good blend of science & technology! I could imagine their kid becoming a doctor. After a winding, uphill ride in the Mercedes cab, ... read more
March 26th 2010
This morning we woke up in a different continent - Asia Minor. The ship was approaching Kusadasi, an ancient port in Turkey. After a hearty breakfast, we disembarked and a sign at the port “Welcome to Turkey” greeted us. We followed Panos and our group for a tour of the ancient Ephesus. Our local tour guide, John, spelled ‘Can’ awaited our arrival with a Mercedes bus that took us on a winding drive up the mountains, treating us to breathtaking sea views from the cliff. John was from Ankara, his father was a famous soccer player and he had just gotten married to a Spanish tour guide; his wedding was in Athens. It was a half hour bus ride, Ephesus was situated near Selçuk and the bus dropped us at the top of the ancient site ... read more
March 25th 2010
Mykonos is supposed to be a very exciting place and one of the top Greek islands to visit. Its known to be a gay island and no wonder Panos used to live there! Panos had bought all of us shuttle bus tickets to get into the capital of the island - Chora, because the ship docks far away. Chora was beautiful with its colorful harbor in which fishing boats nestled happily side by side with luxury yachts. We followed Panos for the free walking tour that he promised, along the waterfront into the cycladic village with maze like narrow paths framed by dazzlingly white washed buildings, all looking ancient. Rajesh kept taking lots of pictures, while I paid attention to the stories that Panos told us. He said that Mykonos was one of the most expensive ... read more
March 24th 2010
A hearty Mediterranean breakfast buffet in our hotel was the start of a beautiful Greek day : )) Soon after, the shuttle bus to the port picked us up along with few other American tourists from different hotels. A chinki couple; a pair of honeymooners who were all over each other hugging, fondling, kissing….eeek!; a 70 year old lady from NJ, an elderly expensive looking couple, the man had an attitude about him and the women wore expensive jewelry; 6 African American girl friends in their 20s; a mid aged couple from Oregon and best of all Krazy Ken with his wife and special needs son, Clarence consisted of our group. Dimos, who welcomed us aboard the shuttle bus gave an amusing commentary that entertained us during the half hour ride. At the port, he handed ... read more
March 23rd 2010
Delta flew us directly from JFK to Athens. We landed in Athens at 7:30 am, this is our first trip with US passports, no visa required for travel to Europe - hooray!! We took the metro from airport to Syntagma station, which is the city centre and from there the red line to Acropolis stop (10 euros for 2 people vs. 60 euros for cab). Our Hotel, The Royal Olympic was easy to find - a short walk and it was right across from the Acropolis. Found out that it was Independence Day in Greece and so the Acropolis was closed. What a bummer!! But our hotel had a great view of Acropolis from the roof garden and we decided to check it out after a shower. When we came down to the lobby, the staff ... read more
May 30th 2009
Every time I travel to a new place, the spirit of adventure and discovery heightens my energy level. I was awake by 6:30 am and shoved everyone in the car by 7 am. Montreal is so close to Albany; take less than 3 hours to get there, yet we never took the initiative to visit. But this year, I was determined to go there as I was craving for Europe and this was the next best thing. We reached Montreal at 10 am and the GPS directed us straight to the Biodome, where we parked in the assigned parking lot and proceeded to check out the much talked about site by Montreal visitors. The facility allowed us to walk through replicas of four ecosystems found in the Americas: The Tropical Forest is a replica of the ... read more
February 20th 2009
Toronto has always been a favorite city of mine. I was visiting the city for the 3rd time. The modern downtown with the high rise condos never failed to amaze me and this time there were few more added to the pile. We left Thursday evening at 5 pm and by 11 pm, we were driving past the familiar university dr, Gerrard st and Yonge st towards Bay st. where Lavanya (Rajesh’s sister) stayed in another high rise apartment with a gorgeous view of downtown Toronto. On Friday we went to Scarborough which is primarily a Srilankan neighborhood to eat lunch at Anjappar, the famous chettinad restaurant in Tamil Nadu. We indulged in the best south Indian buffet we had ever eaten in ages. The fish curry was utterly delicious and the kids indulged in crispy ... read more
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