Attraction Review: Kruger National Park

Let me state right at the outset, than planning a trip to Kruger National park is rather expensive (comes to approx INR 9000 per day per person) and you should do it only if you are a genuine wildlife enthusiast. If you do not care too much for wildlife, then you are better off skipping a visit to Kruger National Park as you will not get your money’s worth and may even find it a bit boring driving around the park for a full day. However if you are a Nature and Wildlife Lover and you have an hi-tech SLR camera and binoculars at hand, then you will have a gala time.

To experience Kruger National Park, it is better to fly down to Nelspruit Airport in Mpumalanga province and drive down to the Paul Kruger Gate of the Kruger National Park. As soon as you enter the Paul Kruger Gate you have the Skukuza Base camp at about 6 miles distance and it is best you make a booking here for your stay at Kruger National Park. I stayed at the Protea Hotel Kruger Gate which would be a more expensive option, but very convenient as the Protea Hotel Kruger Gate is located barely 100 metres from the Paul Kruger Gate of Kruger National Park. I also did not want to let go of the luxuries of a regular hotel.

As we had a car with us we had an option of driving into Kruger National Park or being a part of the Hotel organized Tour (organized via Echo Safaris). I would recommend an organized Open jeep tour with a driver guide due to the following reasons.

(1) The driver guides know which are the specific spots to find the animals in Kruger National Park. Our driver knew exactly in which part of the park we would see elephants and this is something I would not know if I was driving down
(2) The drivers are connected to other drivers via the car intercom / walkie talkie system, hence if one of the drivers spots a rare animal such as a lion or a leopard, he announces the same on the Intercom and other drivers immediately drive to that area. This is another useful feature of the organized safaris which the individual drivers will miss out on
(3) If you need to use the loo at short notice then the drivers know where the tourist stand alone loos are located – you may face a problem with this when you are on your own

However do note that the organized packaged tours are expensive and cost ZAR 750 per person, so you will end up shelling out quite a bit if you are in a big group – but do take it, as it is an experience in itself. You are taken in an open air jeep which is usually a 6 seater and it is very comfortable.

You must always start your drive / tour of the Kruger National Park as early as possible preferably before 6:00 AM so that you can see the sunrise which is magnificent and also it is easier to spot the rare animals such as the Lion and the leopards earlier in the morning when it is very cool. The chances of spotting a lion / leopard reduces drastically after 10:00 AM when it starts becoming very hot. Elephants, Giraffes, imphalas, kudu, deer and hippos are all easy to find while lion, leopards and rhinos are difficult to spot.

The gates of Kruger park close at 6:00 PM so please make sure you come out before that. There are several stops and restaurants at Skukuza Base Camp and you can make that your stop for lunch and tea.

Do have a nice trip.

Attraction Review: Jaipur City Palace, Jaipur

I would not call this much of a Palace. I think it was less of a palace and more of a museum. I would recommend you take a guide to help you navigate this city palace. There are 7 or 8 sections of the city palace which the guide will take you through. The Chandra Mahal where the current king lives, is not open to tourists. There is a proposal to open up two stories of the same with an entry ticket of the Rs.2000 or so which is expensive by any means.

The artillery section can be avoided as there are too may weapons and I got bored watching them while my wife went through the details reading every plaque. The central exhibits with the Clothes work by the various kings and queens are very boring again unless you are interested in textile history. I am more of the stories guy and what fascinated me was the story of the 2 huge urns kept in the courtyard which the king took to England full of Gangajal. Since the Jaipur City Palace is much more recent as compared to Udaipur City Palace and Amer Fort there are very few ancient stories associated with it which makes it boring. However I did manage to spend two and a half hours walking around out here.

There is a restaurant in the city palace which is very shady and the quality is also very poor. Jantar Mantar is very closeby and you can cover both Jantar Mantar and the Hawa Mahal on the same day as the Jaipur City Palace. Your guides are most likely to recommend some Rajai shopping places after the tour, on the outskirts of the City Palace. Please do not go to these places, you will get better deals in the Government approved shops in Jaipur City. Some of these shops also demonstrate the Vegetable Block Prining Technique which is interesting, so do go for the same and politely excuse yourself when they try to sell you stuff.

Hawa Mahal has nothing much to offer other than lots of air and walls where every inch is defaced by young Indian Tourists. I felt more embarrassed than happy at visiting the Hawa Mahal. Jantar Mantar is good fun if you are mathematically and astronomically inclined. Spend maximum of 1 hour at Jantar Mantar and Hawa Mahal, however a guide is a must at Jantar Mantar.

The Jaipur city palace is not as beautiful as the Udaipur City palace, which has much more to offer in terms of history. It is more a collection of photographs, clothes and weaponry of the Jaipur Royal family. However it just may be because we did not pick the right guide.

Attraction Review: Jaigarh & Nahargarh Forts

The Jaigarh and Nahargarh Forts are about 7 kilometers away from the Amer Fort and are about 5 kilometers away from each other. If you have time for only one of the two forts then it is recommended that you go to the Jaigarh Fort.

The Jaigarh fort houses the world’s largest cannon. You can take your car / taxi within the fort and navigate the fort in your car as distances are significant. Taking the guide is advisable and you can get a common guide for the Jaigarh and Nahargarh forts and the fee charged is Rs.100. In Jaigarh fort you will see the cannon and hear the stories associated with it. Apparently the last time it was fired, people within a 500 m radius turned deaf … or so the story goes.

I was also intrigued by the water storage & drainage system in Jaigarh Fort and going by the story told by the guide the kings who built the fort were very scientifically aware. The story goes that below one of the tanks the entire wealth of the Rajput Kings was stored which was emptied later in the 70’s and the Jaipur Delhi Highway was chock a block with trucks ferrying this wealth to Delhi.

There is also an exhibition of the Jaipur Rajput Royals in Jaigarh fort with a lot of focus given to Sawai Mansigh II (the father of the current King). There are a lot of photos and medals and you may find it worthwhile going through this if you have the time. There is also a shopping place for jewellery and silverware but again very very expensive as compared to the Government outlets in Jaipur city. You can spend a maximum of an hour and a half in Jaigarh Fort.

Nahargarh has much less to offer as compared to Jaigarh. This fort gives a good view of Jaipur City and is a good place for panoramic photography. There is a two storied palace with many rooms and passages similar to Amer Fort. The architecture is beautiful, but this fort is definitely not as well maintained as the other two. Thirty minutes in this fort would be sufficient.

Attraction Review: Chowkidhani Theme Village, Jaipur

This is a Rajasthani Theme Village on the outskirts of Jaipur. I would rate the Chowkidhani Theme Village and the Amer Fort as the two must visit attractions on your trip to Jaipur. It is situated near Sanganer Airport and the entry ticket is Rs.700 odd which covers the food and performances only. Experiences such as Fortune telling and Massages need to be paid for separately. You need to pay for the other attractions within the village.

Firstly you can start with the camel or elephant ride which is quite an experience. This is just about a 5 minute ride just to get the experience of it, especially as most of us will not have the time or inclination to go get an actual one. After the rides you can go to the various stalls. The recommended ones are the head massage one, which costs Rs.20 for 5 minutes but the massage quality was very good, my wife got Mehendi put on which was very intricately done as well. There were also 3 fortune tellers, one a PhD who charged Rs.100 (while the others Rs.20) however they all spoke non sense and you could guide him to say whatever you wanted by asking smart questions. This fortune telling stall is avoidable.

There are several places to shop for footwear, Jewellery , Rajais etc. however they are a bit more overpriced from what you will get in the regular Government stores. There are also puppet shows and performances by tribal Rajasthani dance folk who invite you to dance with them and it was heartening to see many Indian tourists actually take up the offer and Dance. Do remember to leave them a small tip after the dance is complete, more as a sign of encouraging the art and prevent it from dying. There would be about 50 stalls in total which can keep you busy for about 3 hours. You must try to cover as many of them as possible as each stall is very different and has a different experience to offer.

Food is included in the price of the ticket. When I visited Chowkidhani, the buffet option was not there, you have to sit on the floor in the dining area and the staff serves you in traditional Rajasthani style (Ghevar, Bajra roti with Ghee etc.). They welcome you with the traditional Ram Ram Sa …… fit your head with a turban and then stuff you with food until you puke. They keep insisting you eat more and more and do not let you get up (there were times when I found it annoying as well). The food is authentic Rajasthani food and I did not like it much, but that does not mean it was bad. My wife who is more adventurous with food, loved the experience.

All in all it was 3 hours well spent. This theme village is a Must visit, it will give you a good idea of Rajasthani culture & village life which you will otherwise not get to see in Jaipur / Udiapur and other major cities. I think the Govt. of Rajasthan has done a good job of promoting this site.

Attraction Review: Amer Fort, Jaipur

This is the top attraction in Jaipur and your trip to Jaipur will not be considered complete unless you visit the Amer Fort which is located on the outskirts of Jaipur.

At the outset, let me inform you that the best part of the fort is the Sound and Light Show which happens every evening at 5:30pm (Hindi) and 6:30pm (English). Please enquire about the timings as they may change from time to time. If I remember correctly the ticket cost is Rs.250 per person. This beautiful sound and light show gives you the history of the Amer Fort right from the time it was built to the time the last of the Rajput Kings lived in the fort. The show is very informative from the historical perspective, is well scripted and the sound and light is co-ordinated very well. Full marks to the government of Rajasthan (tourism department) for putting up a world class show which we can be really proud of, I could hear the firangi foreigners cooing in delight at the end of the show.

To visit the fort you need to take the car up the hill (there is parking on top) and enter from the back gate or you can go up the main entrance of the fort on Elephant Back. This fort was depicted in Jodha Akbar as well as Hum Saath Saath Hain and both the movies show entry through the main entrance either on Horseback of elephant back. If you take the car route, when you get off make sure you are not eating anything as there are monkeys all around who will come and snatch anything edible from your hand.

It is advisable to hire a guide as you will get to know the detailed history for the place. The guides tend to give you detailed stories which are very interesting and are good pieces of dinner conversation to narrate when you get back home. You get a Government approved guide for Rs.150 who will give you a detailed tour for 1.5 hours.
There are different parts of the Amer fort such as Sheesh Mahal, the ministerial Court, the Bedroom area, the cooking area etc. I found the bedroom area most interesting which had 13 bedrooms for each of the princesses and secret tunnels from the Kings room to all the 13 bedrooms so that no other princess knew which room the king was in. I found that very innovative for that time.

A lot of the fort is defaced badly with “I Love you” messages from Indian tourists – so please do not add to the filth, we will lose whatever little we have left of our heritage monuments. What I was impressed with a lot is that there were toilets for public use and separate private toilets as well which you could use by paying Rs.5. These toilets were almost 5 star equipped with baby changers and the works, and I am sure that the foreign tourists will find these very useful.

After touring the Amer Fort and if you still have some time left before the Sound and Light show you may want to visit a Hanuman Mandir which is in the by lanes near by. Nothing much to see here unless you are an architecture student – but definitely a good place to go and kill time. The local guides will show you the place.

Enjoy your tour of Amer Fort!

Attraction Review: Ladies Market, Mong Kok, Hong Kong

This market reminded me of Fashion Street in Mumbai where you can get good stuff for amazing discounts. You can reach the Ladies Market by MTR. This is at the Mong Kok station on the Tsuen Wan line. When you get off at the Mong Kok station then the Ladies Market is 2 blocks away. This market is also a stop on the Hop-On Hop-Off Big Bus Tour of Hong Kong.

Things you can get at good bargains in the market are souvenir T-Shirts and other cheap apparel, necklaces, bracelets, trinkets, purses and bags. All the items in the shops have a price tag on them however you can negotiate to 50% of that price and to even lower if you are buying in bulk. However, I would sincerely advise that you just take a look at every shop and start talking to the shopkeeper only if you have a genuine interest to buy, else things can get very ugly.

My wife decided to get friendly and started bargaining for purchasing 6 necklaces and then the shop keeper would not let us leave the shop as we had wasted a lot of her time haggling. She actually physically prevented us from leaving the shop and we had to shout for help. So please do not try the Indian Style bargaining in Mong Kok.
It takes about 2 hours to navigate the entire market and 3 hours if you are a woman, so you can plan accordingly. I found the shopkeepers in this market extremely aggressive and unfriendly and I did not enjoy the shopping experience much, so unless you want to buy any cheap stuff in bulk – you can skip a visit to this market as well. You will not miss anything much.

There are no good places to eat around this market and you will need to take the metro to Tsim Sha Tsui if you want to get something non Chinese to eat. You have a solitary KFC in Mong Kok, but that too is very crowded and I found the staff there very unfriendly as well.

This market – counted as a must do by most travel websites, turned out to be pretty disappointing for me.

Attraction Review: Stanley Market, Hong Kong

Stanley market on Hong Kong Island is a cluster of about 150 shops which sell a variety of items (mainly clothes and accessories) at discounted prices. You will not fund branched labels here but will get unbranded stuff at good bargains. It is somewhat like Fashion Street in Mumbai but a few notches above.

How To Get There: You need to get to Central Station and walk a few blocks to the Harbor Exchange Square Bus Terminus and take any bus to Stanley Market. The Bus ride is beautiful and takes you through different parts of Hong Kong. You will see Repulse Bay and you may want to get off and take a stroll on the Repulse Bay Beach. Immediately after Repulse bay is Stanley Market.

Do note that you cannot bargain in Stanley Market. The prices are pretty reasonable however do check the quality of the item you are buying. I would recommend you stick to Clothes especially smart winter wear which I saw in several shops, linen jackets, accessories such as bags and purses. I picked out 10 neck ties for HKD 100 and the quality was good as well.

You can also buy some of the Chinese slippers and pouches if you are interested as you get these as throwaway prices. There are some shops selling electronics however I recommend you steer clear of them. Though I did not enter them but I know others who have and have had issues.
After shopping to your hearts content if you walk a few blocks you will come to a waterfront where they have 5 to 6 joints overlooking the bay where you can have a beer / coffee with some snacks. You should try one of these joins before heading back to Central station.

I would recommend that you complete Stanley Harbour and jumbo Restaurant in one day as they are very close to each other. You can start off at 2:00 PM in the morning from Central and spend about 4 hours in Stanley and then 2 hours at Jumbo before heading back to the hotel.

Happy Shopping!

If you have any queries you can write to Ask.Pranav@Gmail.Com and I will try to revert to you as soon as possible.

Attraction Review: Jumbo Restaurant, Hong Kong

Before leaving for Hong Kong almost everyone we spoke to had insisted that we need to go to Jumbo Restaurant for dinner. Now you need to know if you are a foodie or not, and by foodie I mean if you like to go and try out new cuisines and also scary looking stuff. If Yes, then Jumbo Restaurant is recommended, if not then please avoid. As I (nor my wife) are very adventurous with regards to food, we could have well avoided the Jumbo Restaurant, but given the recommendations we received we decided to give it a shot.

How to Get there: Jumbo Restaurant is in the Aberdeen Area and you can get there from central by cab or by Bus. You can take any bus which goes to Aberdeen (I think the number was 571 and you need to get off at the last stop). However I recommend you take a cab, as the Bus Drivers usually do not understand English and you will be clueless as to where to get off.

When you get off you will need to walk along the waterfront and take the complimentary ferry to the restaurant which is offered by the Restaurant. It will have a big and well lit signage clearly stating Jumbo Restaurant. There are some chargeable ferries which will also take you there and the owners will try to get you into one – but please avoid. Just walk along the waterfront (depending where your bus drops you off) until you get to the Jumbo Signage.

The ferry ride is about 7 minutes and is nothing much of a novelty – there is nothing to see. However the Restaurant is very richly done up and has 3 levels. The lower 2 levels are authentic Chinese cuisine and I cannot comment on the food as I did not try it, but if you are the stereotypical Indian obsessed with India Food or what we call Chinese Food in India then please avoid these 2 levels. The menu looked very scary and is very pricy as well – so you will not only not enjoy the food, but it will burn a hole in your pocket as well. However, if you are the adventurous sort then I guess this would be the place for you.

We went to the third level (which was International Cuisine) and as we were dying to have some Indian Food we ordered some Chicken Tikka and Naan and some Noodles and Rice. Both were pretty bad or much worse than what we get at Average restaurants in India. However sitting on the Upper Deck overlooking the River / Sea and sipping wine and the quiet surrounding made for a romantic dinner. The food was definitely below average. The restaurant was about 5% occupied that evening and a below average dinner for 2 including wine came to HKD 600.

If you are not adventurous with food, please avoid, if you are then please look up other reviews before going there.

For any further queries you can write to Ask.Pranav@Gmail.Com

Attraction Review: Big Bus Tour, Hong Kong

The Big Bus Company operates the Big Bus Tour in Hong Kong. There are 2 tour routes, the first on the Hong Kong Island and the second on the Kowloon Side. It is a great way to get started in Hong Kong by taking this tour.

The cost of this tour is approx HKD 350 per head which includes a Start Ferry return ticket as well as a Peak Tram Ticket. I would suggest you take this tour on the first 2 days of the trip to get a good feel of Hong Kong. You have a running commentary of all the key destinations and you get all the relevant information with regards to the history of the city and the destinations.

Hong Kong Island Tour: The tour starts from the Staff Ferry Terminal so you need to walk the over bridge from Hong Kong or Central Stations. The bus leaves from here every half hour and you can be rest assured they leave on time – I was very impressed by the punctuality. This tour will take you through the Business District to the Peak Tram, to the jail, the Police Head Quarters, the Sohond street escalator etc. It is recommended that you get off at the Peak Tran and spend about 5 hours here shopping and eating and enjoying the view from the Peak. The end to end tour takes about 1.5 hours and I recommend you get off at the Peak and if necessary at the Street escalator. The commentary is pretty informative and if you like to get the history of the place listen carefully especially the details of the Japanese take Over and HK now becoming a part of China and the reactions of the people. That is explained pretty well.

Kowloon Island Tour: This tour starts from the Avenues of Stars promenade in Tsim Sha Tsui. You can board the bus right in front of the promenade (you may have some problem finding the stop (follow the map provided at the time of buying the ticket). This part of the tour covers the avenues of Stars, the Jordan Night Market, Mongkok Ladies market, takes you through the by lanes which have a very Chinese feel to them and is more of a residential area of the middle and lower middle class and you can get an idea of the lifestyle of the residents of Hong Kong. The Ladies market in Mongkok and Jordan Night Market for electronic gadgetry is highly recommended. Also catch the Sound and Light Show at the Avenue of Stars.

Star Ferry: The Star Ferry ticket comes free with the Big Bus Tour. Sit on the upper deck and enjoy the view. It is a 10 minute ferry ride which crosses the bay between Kowloon and Hong Kong. Keep your cameras handy as you will get great shots especially if you going in the evenings.

For any further queries you can write to Ask.Pranav@Gmail.Com and I will try to revert to you as soon as possible

Attraction Review: Ocean Park, Hong Kong

I visited the Ocean Worlds in Hong Kong on 10th, 2010. The tickets to ocean World are HKD 250 per adult which translates to approximately INR 1500 (which is very cheap in my view compared to the rides of offer and the activities you can do there – as compared to Essel World and Water Kingdom which I have been to in Mumbai).

You can get to Ocean Park, Hong Kong from the Admiralty Station. Bus No.629 takes you straight to the Ocean Park at the Peak Entrance. It is important to note that there are 2 parts to Ocean Park. The first one is on the Peak and the second part is the Waterfront. These 2 parts are connected in 3 ways. You can choose any of the following 3 ways to travel between the Peak and the Waterfront.

(1) Ocean Park Express (Train Ride)
(2) Cable Car (Very Scenic and highly recommended, however scary for people who are afraid of heights)
(3) Shuttle Bus

The map of Ocean Park is also split into 2 which is the Peak and the Waterfront and you will need to plan the 2 parts separately as you would want to move from one to the other only once in a day, else you will end up wasting time and miss out on all
the fun things to do in Ocean Park.

Rides: Majority of the Rides are there on the peak. You have the mine train and another roller coaster both of which are very scary and very awesome. I would recommend all these rides and they do end up pumping your adrenaline quite a bit. While taking these rides you get an awesome view of the Aberdeen Bay and Repulse Bay in Hong Kong – so take your camera with you when you are going on the ride

Stalls: The stalls are there in the peak as well as in the waterfront. These are mainly game stalls, the same variety which you see across the world and you can win tokens which can be accumulated and later exchanged for cheap gift

Shows: Please make a note of the show timings as soon as you enter. There was this spell bound show on the peak side which runs every hour which I found really good and another one performed by gymnasts near the balloons and giant trampoline. The other shows are OK; however do not miss these 2 shows

Wildlife: At Ocean Park you can see wildlife from close quarters. There are seals, different types of pandas and many varieties of fish on display. If you are interested do visit. I was pretty much irritated at the amount of time my wife spent taking photographs with these animals (the point I am trying to stress is that unless you are a diehard animal lover – do not waste your time on the wildlife have a re-run on the rides)

Places To Eat: There are several places and stalls to eat within Ocean park including KFC, McDonalds and other stalls. Please note that with the entry tickets of HKD 250 you get coupons of HKD 50 for food and gifts which can be redeemed at the food outlets. I loved the candy floss available for HKD 20 at the Waterfront entrance.

I enjoyed the scenic Cable Car Ride most of all. So please do not miss that and do carry a camera. An Ocean Park visit is a must do on your visit to Hong Kong and there are several things to do – so make it a point to go early by 10:00 AM and stay till the park closes.

If you have any queries do write into Ask.Pranav@Gmail.Com and I will try to respond to you as soon as possible.