Category Archives: Travel
7 Awesome iPhone Apps for Hawaii
Chefs Eat
Big Island
Hawaii Magazine
Mauii Driving
Kilauea Plants
Your Guide to Volcano
Hawaii Aloha
PDF 
16 iPhone Apps for Travelers
Tripit (free)
Eat Street
Free Wifi
Wikipedia
I am Here
Flight Track Pro
Gate Guru
My TSA
Room
Weather Channel
Packing
Flashlight
Maps
Star Walk
Trip Advisor
Yelp
Tip Calculator
Musings: When In Hawai’i, Why Not Jump Out of A Plane?
A very long time ago — nearly a decade, I’d reckon — Meena and I were really bored in Switzerland, so we decided to jump out of a plane, much to our parents’ intercontinental horror. (We made the mistake of telling them before we actually took the plunge, and had them stressing via phone for hours.)
I’d like to say that this was a youthful indiscretion, a move made by an earlier, younger and perhaps stupider incarnation of myself. But I can’t. Because a few days ago, I took a similar leap of faith — and this is despite the fact that I have a toddler and no life insurance.
I’d like to blame it all on my brother. See, during our two-week Hawai’i adventure, he was celebrating his 28th birthday. And to take stock, he decided to put his life on the line and jump out of a plane at 12,000 feet. After all, what better place is there to do that than Hawai’i? Veteran skydiver Navdeep, who’d jumped twenty-plus times during his days in the Army, said he’d join him. So how could I resist reviving the latent dare devil in me. It’s been a while since she was roused, but I couldn’t help it. I just couldn’t let them go without me.
This time, though, we played it smarter. Knowing the flack and outright resistance we’d get from our parents, who were on the trip with us, we decided to leave them out of the loop until after the fact. So we told them we were off to Chinatown for a morning food tour, knowing full well no one else on the trip would be interested in such an outing.
I have to confess, I’d given a sleeping Kavi about a zillion kisses before I left.
At 7 a.m. on the morning of the 26th, the day after Christmas, we jumped on a shuttle which took us to Skydive Hawaii, some forty minutes away in the North Shore area of Oahu. As we signed our lives away on Skydive Hawai’i's incredibly thorough waiver form — the footer on each page boldly reminding us that skydiving could lead to injury or death — oddly, none of us were nervous. Just excited. That waned a little bit as we waited more than four hours to jump, but in the end, as we donned our gear and our small but sturdy Cessna aircraft climbed to 12,000-plus feet above the Pacific ocean, it was so worth it.
We flew for a good 15 minutes, the fresh Pacific breeze washing over us through the open door of the air craft. I didn’t know it before I climbed in, but I’d be the first to jump. And I wasn’t even anxious. My tandem diver Lyle and my photographer Rod and their pals were cracking jokes and rough-housing, and when I wasn’t busy gaping at the incredible view, I would turn back to look at Navdeep and Tarun, who were not far behind me.
Then it was time to make the leap. I had done this once before — in the Alps, no less — but if you’re gonna jump out of a plane at 12,000 feet and 120 miles per hour, Hawai’i is the way to go. You can’t beat this view — the ocean roaring before you, Diamond Head and the other Oahu mountains in the backdrop, the outline of the Earth clearly visible. It’s moving. It’s amazing. It’s literally breathtaking.
Checkout the video!
Travel Tip: In Hawai’i, Save Big by Renting a House Instead of a Hotel Room
Most folks traveling to Hawai’i plan on staying at one of those posh beach-front resorts. But not us. For one thing: snorathon! For another, with eight adults and a toddler traveling, our hotel costs would add up super-fast.
That’s why I decided to research renting houses instead of multiple squishy hotel rooms. I’d first looked into this when trying to find a place on the beach for us this summer in San Diego, checking out sites like TripAdvisor.com and VRBO.com. Alas, everything was booked up then because we ended up traveling during Comic Con (but not actually going to the crazy event). But with a good six months lead time on our Hawai’i adventure, I figured it might just work out for us there. And it did.
The rationale was simple.
-First, this is supposed to be a family trip. If everyone traipses off to his or her respective hotel room after our daily outings, it really takes the family time out of the whole experience. Renting a house offers you that shared common space, a living room or maybe a lanai (that’s Hawaiian for deck or terrace), a place that everyone can chill out together.
-Secondly, a house or multiple rooms in a home rental mean a cheaper deal over all, especially when you divide it eight ways! Plus, people owning these homes are frequently paying a mortgage, so they need the rental income — and will make it worth your while.
-Thirdly, renting a house or apartment means you get access to a kitchen. With a big, fussy bunch like ours, that will no doubt be a life saver. We can cut costs by making some meals at home — breakfast at the least, but likely some lunches and dinners here and there, too — and everyone can eat what they like when they like. It just makes mealtimes easier all around.
So keeping these things in mind, I set about house-hunting in Hawai’i. (And anyone who knows me knows just how much I LOVE house-hunting.) While we’re staying in a two-bedroom suite at the Wyndham resort in Waikiki (which comes complete with a kitchen), I found a fabulous house with a huge terrace (with peekaboo ocean views!) in a little town called Pai’a, off the beaten path in Maui. And I found an equally fabulous house with fireplace and back-deck jacuzzi in Volcano on the Big Island.
It remains to be seen how the Charaipotra-Dhillon clan reacts to my master plan, but for now, I’m really excited to hit the hay in our second home(s) in Hawai’i.
Photo Courtesy Ohia Plantation House
Travelogue Hawaii: Deciding to Go (Navdeep)
When Sona’s mother asked me if I had ever been to Hawaii, my instinctive reaction was to scoff, then launch into an involuntary grimace, and finally to speak. A definitive “No.” The incredulity and disdain in my response either needed more work, or it was promptly ignored. “Navdeep said he has never been to Hawaii either,” was what my mother-in-law took from that exchange, and before I knew it, me and Sona were in charge of organizing a big ole family winter trip to Hawaii.
I don’t have anything against pretty places, or even of lounging about and having a relaxing holiday with no exploring involved. But I did that once in the Dominican Republic for our “BabyMoon” because our other option was to sit at home. So, my quota for that is sorted. Hawaii just is not a place I would go on my own volition. To put this in perspective: tickets to Hawaii cost about the same as a ticket to any country in Asia or Africa (right now prices are in the $1,000 range), prices for pretty much anything in Hawaii are going to be expensive, and you need a car to get around. So, yes, I would much rather be going to China or Japan or Zimbabwe for Christmas.
Perhaps my impression of Hawaii is skewed: it’s almost all based on cheesy commercials for romantic holidays, and middle-age American tourists wearing loud Hawaiian shirts, with garlands around their necks, and flowers in their hair.
But, at the same time, this is the perfect opportunity to go to Hawaii. Kavya will be in good hands with both sets of grandparents, her massi (Sona’s sister) and possibly mamu (Sona’s brother). While we’ve traveled with Kavya since she was under 3 months old, most of the longer trips have usually been in familliar settings, such as with my parents in California. Last year, we took her to San Diego for about four days – just the three of us,– which was lots of bus travel and a nominal amount of roughing it. Our Hawaii trip will be a couple of weeks long and Kavya is much more mobile now.
It’s also going to be interesting traveling with so many people because our traveling styles are completely different, and there are a whole range of personalities that drama is probably going to be inevitable. Unfortunately, beach camping will probably not be an option because nobody in Sona’s family, from what I’ve seen, is exactly a beach person. Or a camping person. Or the sort to rough it on purpose. This is also the first trip where me and Sona don’t have the option to wing it. We actually have to read our Lonely Planet before we get there, pre-book places, and most importantly, make sure nobody is going to be a grumpy pants because they don’t like the activities in a particular place. Alright, that last bit is probably going to be inevitable, but hey, that’s what a family holiday is all about: Being grumpy. Getting drunk. And bonding!
Enough faffing about, I have a Lonely Planet to read.
Travelogue Hawaii: Deciding to Go (Sona)
Hawaii was never at the top of travel list. In fact, I don’t think it even made the top ten. Or the top twenty. I think the same holds true for Navdeep. So why are we headed there for two weeks of our hard-earned winter break?
Here’s the thing: every break, we pretty much plan to go to California. Since Kavya was born, and even before then, really, we wanted to make sure we got to spend some quality time with Navdeep’s parents and sister in California — especially as the family expanded to include little Seerit and Joshvir. But this curtails our ability to travel elsewhere. So we had the brilliant idea that we should go somewhere else — and that Navdeep’s parents should simply meet us there.
At first we thought Alaska. But given the Winter scheduling of the trip, it didn’t seem like it would be all that fun to go there right now. So then we said, let’s pick somewhere warm and exotic and closer to California, somewhere that would allow us to explore and enjoy each other’s company without over-stressing or renewing our (missing or expired) passports even. Somewhere where Kavya could have quality time with her grandparents in a leisurely fashion. Somewhere, after all of those requirements, that wouldn’t be boring.
And none of us had ever been to Hawaii, so that became an option. It was big, it was warm, it was technically American soil, it had beaches and culture and even active volcanos. Initially, we booked just four days in Waikiki Beach via a time share. THen my mom decided she’d join us. And paying $1100 a ticket for four days on the beach didn’t make sense, so we decided to add an island or two. This is a BIG family trip. Over the course of six months of planning, we added ten days, two more islands, four additional family members and a whole lot of adventure. In the end, it was 14 days on three islands with eight adults and one toddler.
Essentially, it’s a big bonding experience for us all. Not a single one of us have ever been to Hawaii. None of us have ever seen an active volcano, either, so that should be a big highlight of the trip, too. There’s plenty of adventure on the agenda: the windy and beautiful Road to Hana, underwater helmet-diving in Waikiki, a five a.m. lava boat tour. But another big highlight should be just chilling on the beach and enjoying each other’s company. Because we need that family time. My family of five — my parents, my brother, my sister and I — haven’t been on a trip all together since we went to Mexico a decade ago when I was in college. Navdeep’s parents and mine have never traveled together — Kavya’s going to be overwhelmed with grandparental love and hugs, not to mention kisses and cuddles from Tarun Mamu and Meena Masi.
All in all, Hawaii is a family adventure I’m really looking forward to — as much as it surprises me to say it. This time around, though, it’s not so much the place as it is the people I’ll be traveling with that make the trip worthwhile.
Travelogue: Lucky Cheng’s Drag Queen Karaoke in New York City
Okay, so these Groupon and Living Social deals can really get addictive. We all know that. But because of them, Navdeep and I have definitely had some experiences we wouldn’t have otherwise indulged in — ice climbing, anyone?
Another case in point: Lucky Cheng’s Drag Queen karaoke on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, largely the bastion of alcohol-fueled, giggle-heavy bachelorette parties and birthdays. A straight guy’s no man’s land. Still, when they offered up a two-for-one deal on Living Social, I convinced Navdeep we should give it a go. And just for amusement, he said okay. At the very least, it would be a nice Chinese dinner, right?
Travel Tips: Five Travel Tips To Get The Best Prices on Airline Tickets
One of the most annoying things about travel is exactly that: traveling. I’ll admit that taking rickshaws in India, or riding on sleeper buses in China is bloody good fun. Flying, however, is the most boring form of transportation, but in most cases it has to be done before the fun travel begins. Even more boring than flying is looking up plane tickets to so you can fly to your destination. Flying is an efficient form of travel, but it’s also the most boring, and the most expensive part of the trip. And waiting at the airport is just plane boring. No, that wasn’t a typo. It was a deliberate attempt at being clever.
Before we had Kavya, the initial flights were the only things we would book. Everything else, we winged. We didn’t pre-book hotel rooms, or train tickets. We just showed up and hoped for the best. In most cases everything worked out. The one place we had a spot of trouble was in the city of Bhubaneshwar, where every room had been booked because of some conference. So, we picked up our Lonely Planet and headed off to the coastal town of Puri, a few miles down the road, and got a lovely room right on the beach.
Flights really are the one thing we labor over though because the money we save simply by booking a day or two ahead or behind is pretty significant, particularly when you go to a country where street food costs under $1.
Our upcoming trip to Hawaii this winter is going to be an interesting one because we’re in charge of planning a family trip involving my parents, Sona’s parents and sister, and of course our 1 year old, Kavya. Winter in Hawaii is the high season, a period we usually go out of our way to avoid because it involves much more planning. And in a place like Hawaii, not only do hotels get booked up, so do rental cars. Even inter-island flights. And unfortunately, while me and Sona are down with vagabonding in Hawaii, everyone else has responsibilities, so a lot of it has to be pre-booked.
Anyway, here some travel tips we’ve learned over the years for getting good deals on air fare. Some of it is common sense, while some of it is just knowing how to play the game!
Tip #1:
Musings: Osama Bin Laden is Dead. Now What?
Celebrating the Death of Osama Bin Laden in Time Square.
Over the weekend, Sona had a journalism conference near Grand Central, so I met her afterwards for dinner. And it was a lovely day, so we decided to go for a long walk, randomly ending up in Chinatown. And equally as random, we decided to walk to the World Trade Center PATH station, something we never do. And the only reason we did was because we didn’t want to stop in Hoboken (the other PATH line to Jersey City stops there for a good ten minutes).
Ever since I’ve been in New York, the area immediately surrounding the World Trade Center PATH stop has been fenced up with massive billboards and images of a projected futuristic Jetsons-like renovation planned. We were in a typical New York mood as we made our way to the PATH: happy it had been such a great day, chatty, but tired from all the walking. That changed pretty quickly. Behind us we heard a father attempting to explain to his two young children what the explosion had done, not just to the twin towers, but to many of the surrounding buildings, and what the renovations were going to look like. But the kids just weren’t getting it. We crossed the street just as one of the kids asked why the explosion had taken place in the first place. And it’s a question that we will inevitably have to talk to Kavya about in a few years, and something we don’t fully understand ourselves.
Neither of us are strangers to travel, but we are very different travelers. Navdeep can brush aside a cockroach from his food and continue eating. Sona flies into hysterics at any creepy-crawlies (real or imagined) within a ten mile radius. 
Facebook
Twitter
Youtube