International travel plan started with my decision of taking US Citizenship in the month of February. US passport is strong and will take you to 166 countries without Visa. Isn't that great!
As a family we have a plan of traveling to 50 countries at least but covering the whole world is the limit.
As soon as kids got out of school, my husband wanted us to take a break and travel around the world. There was a debate in the house on whether to go Europe or Australia. Australia won, and in no time, we boarded a plane on June 11th and flew to Sydney.
What a wonderful harbor with the World famous architecture of Opera house and harbor bridge with sky scrappers.
If you are in Sydney or Melbourne take the the walking tour 'I am free'(https://www.imfree.com.au). Do this on the first day. It can be your key to hidden treasures.
As with our final release office was slowing down we thought this is the best time to take a break and rejuvenate our selves by traveling across the world
15 days, 2 countries, and 3 major cities on our feet, which meant 295430 steps, 118.74 miles, and 191.09 kilometers in Australia and New Zealand. We flew, we taxied, we went on ferry, we rode a bus and train, but still, we were mostly on our feet. The soles of our shoes were practically worn away, but the excitement of traveling overseas was so great that we went beyond our own limits.
Our first stop was Sydney.
The second the sun went down in Sydney, everyone started partying.
We arrived just in time for an event called Vivid, which includes a lot of activities and events, the biggest of which being a light show on some of Sydney's biggest building/structures, such as the Opera House and the harbor bridge. It generally runs in the month of May & June each year, and included free shows, art installations, light projections, and music. Even though we didn't know about it beforehand, we arrived at the closing day and had our breath taken away. Here are the few shots of Vivid show.
The Darling Harbor had foods from cultures around the world, some that you wouldn't expect. It felt like I saw more Indian food restaurants than I saw Indian people.
The Taronga Zoo in Sydney had over 4,000 animals, most of them being native to Australia, including crocodiles, kangaroos, koalas, and giant spiders.
We went from the Sydney CBD to a more natural side of Australia. We spent two hours on a train to go to a place called the Blue Mountains. Even though it was beautiful, I can't deny that Utah's mountains could beat it any day. I really enjoyed it, regardless, because of all the natural beauty I was surrounded by. The train ride showed us a more rural side of Australia, with farmland and villages.
Our next stop was Auckland. While there, we visited the small islands surrounding it. While waiting for the ferry that would take us to the island of Waiheke, I started talking to a lady who was sitting next to me about the plants she was holding. We became friends, and she offered to give all of us a ride around the island and show us some of the best places. We rode in her van around the island, and we became good friends along the way. A chance encounter led to a road trip around a beautiful island.
We planned Rotorua Island to go and experience Maori culture. Being a 4 hours drive we dropped the idea of going to Rotorua island instead we went to Auckland Museum and saw Maori culture dance and lot more.
We had family friends and we went to their home and cooked and ate dinner together. Learn little more about New Zealand, their culture, their wages,their Prime Minister their sports and the spirit s of Maoris.
Our next stop was Melbourne, which has a very deep history, mainly sprouting from the gold rush. We visited Philips Island, where we encountered kangaroos and wallabies jumping around in the wild. We also visited a koala encounter, where we saw a koala only a few feet from our face.
I always try local food. being a vegetarian, I had one option and that was vegemite, I loved it when my family hated it. Kumara(Sweet potato) is another favorite of Aussies.
First time in the life I ate veg burger which did not have onion or tomatoes in it. It was pumpkin, sweet potato and halloumi cheese, oh boy didn't I like that after walking on the Bondi beach for
2 hours.
Things to know about Australia and New Zealand.
A short tour of Salesforce Sydney office was a show stopper, brought back the excitement of office away from office.
As a family we have a plan of traveling to 50 countries at least but covering the whole world is the limit.
As soon as kids got out of school, my husband wanted us to take a break and travel around the world. There was a debate in the house on whether to go Europe or Australia. Australia won, and in no time, we boarded a plane on June 11th and flew to Sydney.
What a wonderful harbor with the World famous architecture of Opera house and harbor bridge with sky scrappers.
If you are in Sydney or Melbourne take the the walking tour 'I am free'(https://www.imfree.com.au). Do this on the first day. It can be your key to hidden treasures.
As with our final release office was slowing down we thought this is the best time to take a break and rejuvenate our selves by traveling across the world
15 days, 2 countries, and 3 major cities on our feet, which meant 295430 steps, 118.74 miles, and 191.09 kilometers in Australia and New Zealand. We flew, we taxied, we went on ferry, we rode a bus and train, but still, we were mostly on our feet. The soles of our shoes were practically worn away, but the excitement of traveling overseas was so great that we went beyond our own limits.
Our first stop was Sydney.
The second the sun went down in Sydney, everyone started partying.
We arrived just in time for an event called Vivid, which includes a lot of activities and events, the biggest of which being a light show on some of Sydney's biggest building/structures, such as the Opera House and the harbor bridge. It generally runs in the month of May & June each year, and included free shows, art installations, light projections, and music. Even though we didn't know about it beforehand, we arrived at the closing day and had our breath taken away. Here are the few shots of Vivid show.
The Taronga Zoo in Sydney had over 4,000 animals, most of them being native to Australia, including crocodiles, kangaroos, koalas, and giant spiders.
We went from the Sydney CBD to a more natural side of Australia. We spent two hours on a train to go to a place called the Blue Mountains. Even though it was beautiful, I can't deny that Utah's mountains could beat it any day. I really enjoyed it, regardless, because of all the natural beauty I was surrounded by. The train ride showed us a more rural side of Australia, with farmland and villages.
Our next stop was Auckland. While there, we visited the small islands surrounding it. While waiting for the ferry that would take us to the island of Waiheke, I started talking to a lady who was sitting next to me about the plants she was holding. We became friends, and she offered to give all of us a ride around the island and show us some of the best places. We rode in her van around the island, and we became good friends along the way. A chance encounter led to a road trip around a beautiful island.
We planned Rotorua Island to go and experience Maori culture. Being a 4 hours drive we dropped the idea of going to Rotorua island instead we went to Auckland Museum and saw Maori culture dance and lot more.
We had family friends and we went to their home and cooked and ate dinner together. Learn little more about New Zealand, their culture, their wages,their Prime Minister their sports and the spirit s of Maoris.
Our next stop was Melbourne, which has a very deep history, mainly sprouting from the gold rush. We visited Philips Island, where we encountered kangaroos and wallabies jumping around in the wild. We also visited a koala encounter, where we saw a koala only a few feet from our face.
I always try local food. being a vegetarian, I had one option and that was vegemite, I loved it when my family hated it. Kumara(Sweet potato) is another favorite of Aussies.
First time in the life I ate veg burger which did not have onion or tomatoes in it. It was pumpkin, sweet potato and halloumi cheese, oh boy didn't I like that after walking on the Bondi beach for
2 hours.
Things to know about Australia and New Zealand.
- American passport can take you to 160 countries without applying for Visa. Online E-visa is needed though.
- June July is Winter in Australia. Australian Winters are very mild from 45F-68f is A sweatshirt or a light jacket will do.
- Tipping is not expected.
- You walk on left side.
- Driver's seat is on right side of the car and they drive on the left hand side of the road.
- Indigenous people (Aboriginals) has a past history of 64000 years in Australia.
- All the shops and malls open at 9am and closes at 5pm.
- 120000 people get killed by dangerous animals in Australia. So if you are on wild adventure be careful. (This info was in museum but looks
- They say no worries or you are alright in response to Thank you.
- Pubs and clubs are busy on weekends the last entry is at 1:00am.
- Melbourne harbor is boring but Yarra river side is full of life.
A short tour of Salesforce Sydney office was a show stopper, brought back the excitement of office away from office.
