The final leg of my first Switzerland trip was going to last less than a couple of days, a chunk of which was taken by this train ride I did from Interlaken to the Lake Geneva town of Montreux. I took the Golden Pass train from Interlaken to Zweisimmen. I had already traveled on this train from Lucerne to Interlaken. These scenic train rides do give you a passing glimpse of the majestic Swiss country side. From Zweisimmen I had the VIP seat reservation to Montreux. That meant one of the 4 front seats in the first car in the train. [View Full Entry]

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Switzerland is a small country in terms of size but it packs in a lot of natural beauty in that small size. Go anywhere in Switzerland and you will find picturesque landscape. As a tourist, you cannot go wrong in Switzerland irrespective of where you decide to go. This is what I had read in travel forums and one or two guide books that I could lay my hands on. Lake Lucerne area, Bernese Oberland region and the Swiss Riviera towns of Lake Geneva sounded like good bets for a first trip to Switzerland. I stayed for 3 nights in Lucerne, [View Full Entry]

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Ah Switzerland in summer! A land of lush green hills, beautiful turquoise lakes, snow covered Alps, umpteen waterfalls, melting glaciers, cute looking villages, cows with bells, chocolates, mountain trains, cable cars, gondolas and picture-perfect postcard scenery all around. And of course clouds and some rain too! After spending a little over 5 days in Paris, I took the TGV to Bern. It was about 4 hrs journey. TGV holds the world record for the fastest train. But the TGV I took did not run with any record breaking speed. It was a smooth ride though. My passport got checked a couple [View Full Entry]

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It was time for my maiden trip to Europe. It was time to wear my tourist cap and head to Europe. The city of lights beckoned me and so did the swiss alps. After doing a bit of research as to where to go, I zeroed in on Paris and Switzerland. Paris, as I wanted to know what the hype was all about! Switzerland, as it has this 'paradise' image in the minds of many! Switzerland's landscape has been shown in many Bollywood movies and it has this image of a honeymoon destination! Anyway, I was traveling alone. I got a [View Full Entry]

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Nov 1, 2008 Utah's byway 12 is a stretch of scenic road between Bryce Canyon and Capital Reef national park. It is considered one of the most scenic byways in USA. After leaving Bryce, I continued the drive on byway 12. The rock landscape around me continued to change. The weather was nice and there was very little traffic on the road. There must have been a stretch of about 15 minutes or so during which I did not encounter a single vehicle on that road! I saw a turn for Kodachrome state park but did not take the turn. Not [View Full Entry]

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Oct 31, Nov 1, 2008 Millions of years of erosive forces of nature have sculpted some of the best rock art that nature could sculpt in the form of hoodoos of Bryce Canyon. There are hundreds of them in the Bryce amphitheater. They vary in height from a few feet to the height of a few story tall building. A shade of red and white are the main colors that these hoodoos wear. Some are completely red, a few are completely white and some have their top sedimentary layers white while the bottom is all red. Looking at these hoodoos close [View Full Entry]

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Nature's rock art takes another unique form in Zion national park. Zion seems to have an aura that is ethereal. If this park were in India, I bet it would have become a place of worship with the devout seeing God in every towering monolith in the park! It is the most visited park in Utah. High colorful towers of rock with vegetation on the floor. Fall was nearly at its peak during the time I visited the park. Yellow is the most visible fall color with some spots of red. The park has a shuttle system which ferries tourists from [View Full Entry]

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Oct 28, 2008 After a cursory look at Monument Valley, I was headed down to the city of Page in Arizona. I gained one hour as Arizona does not observe day light savings. It was about 3 hrs of drive between MV and Page. At Page, I saw Upper and Lower Antelope Canyons. Cool places. For Upper Antelope, you are put on a pick up truck and it makes a bumpy ride on sand. The 4WD handles the sand well but that does not mean that the ride is smooth. Far from it. But it is fun. The two little girls [View Full Entry]

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Oct 26, 2008 Arches National Park The beautiful landscape of Southern Utah has been sculpted by forces of nature that have been working on it for millions of years. The result is quiet a beauty to behold. American Southwest which includes the states of Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, California, Nevada has a desert landscape which is unique. It has inspired Hollywood film makers over the years who have used this landscape for many a Western. Photographs of John Wayne and others were adorning the walls of some of the hotels I had stayed in during my 1 week trip of [View Full Entry]

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I stayed in Valdez the night of July 9. Next day, I had a flight seeing tour scheduled with Wrangell Mountain Air from a remote town McCarthy in Wrangell-St Elias park. Wrangell-St Elias park is the largest national park in US and is totally wilderness. I had to take a flight from a small town Chitina to McCarthy. At Valdez, I stayed in Lou and Laura's Bed & Breakfast. Nice place for a cheap price. It was the only night I did not stay in a hostel. Next morning, I drove from Valdez to Chitina on the scenic Richardson highway. The [View Full Entry]

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