Victoria - Capital of British Columbia

Have been to Victoria twice; the quickest visit covering most of the places in Victoria was with my parents. You will see the list of places covered in one day shortly...

We booked the first ferry to Victoria island; by air & water are the only means to reach there. It was a one & half hour cruise from Tsawwassen port to Victoria. We had packed our breakfast; after we parked our car in the ferry's basement (it's a 5 decks ferry, with facility to park around 150+ vehicles including trucks & personal boats), had breakfast in the ferry lounge & were set to enjoy the morning sunshine in the cruise.

1. Butchart Gardens: The first time we went there was with sis & family in April. Then we made it just in time before the last entry allowed. We had to run through the gardens in an hour's time. Still, we didn't miss a part of it, enjoyed every theme. So, this time we wanted to ensure we spent some good time in the garden, main reasons being its mom's grand interest.
The garden is maintained by 40+ gardeners & has lot more than our eyes, minds & cameras can capture. They change the flora every season & we witnessed 2 different sets in 2 seasons (April & September 2009). The gardens are in themes of Roses, Italian, Hanging, Japanese & Sunken Garden.


2. Butterfly Garden: I wondered if it were just collection of butterflies on display boards & was skeptical to go. Its a home for 3000+ butterflies. I was more than glad to have not chickened-out on the place; you feel as if you are in one of those fairy tale stories, with colorful butterflies flying all around you! We were awed looking at the varieties, colors and how undisturbed'ly they flew around us.


3. Undersea garden: A ship sunk & made into aquarium! The place isn't as exciting as it sounds; has only very few varieties of species, like a lengthy, huge aquarium in a big hall. Vancouver Aquarium is more scintillating than this one.


4. Royal London Wax Museum: Collection of most of the wax idols (not all) from that of Madam Tussauds museum, its a nice visit. The idols of prison captures & their tortures was much horrifying & disturbing. We forgot to collect one of the rare pics that could have been in the collection; that of our heads cut & placed in a plate! May be we should be glad we didn't get one :)


5. Parliament house: On occasions visitors are allowed inside the parliament, which that day was not. So, we spent ample amount of time in the open grounds of the parliament house. Could see horse carriages taking tourists around the place; and the horses' tail plaits were worth pictured.


6. Craigdarroch Castle: The Castle of the Dunsmuir's from the 1800s, a wealthiest man of a time. The Castle has all the arrangements as left by the Dunsmuirs, their family history, the rooms & dressing rooms arranged as per their times with beautiful furnishings & glass works.


7. A Street show: After all the roaming around we still had some time to watch the street show that happens around the harbor area. After all, the true way of visiting a place is to know & familiarize such displays on streets and watch all the hustle-bustle that happens down town. The showman entertained his audience very well, the knives act, uni-cycle tricks & the engagements with the audience. "This is my only profession & this is what pays for all my bills. I request you all to donate not less than $5, but anything more is always welcome & I would be grateful for". That surely fetches his more than $250 a show!
Victoria is a beautiful city, with the English touch & heritage still around. The miss in the September trip was the Royal BC Museum & Miniature World. To compensate that, we did visit

8. Elk & Beaver Lake: on our way back to the Victoria port to take our ferry back home. We stopped by to enjoy the sunset at this beach-like lake. A walk in the water, with the view of sun setting for the day & watching a few kayaking and photographing birds.
Our cruise back home was a quiet one; all of us not so much interested in getting out of the car in the ferry parking, reclined back through the cruise after an eventful & lengthier than expected day.

Banff National Park in Summer

First time we visited Banff was with my sister & family during their trip to Canada. It was April & that's when the place opens for tourists. April is considered the ending of winter in Banff, with snow falls still happening here & then. Many here usually visit Banff in summer, so our summer trip was due, only until our parents' visit. Timing was perfect & no better trip could have given them the beautiful impression of this beautiful country. So, we set on to Banff in August.The entire drive of 900kms is beautiful. Can't take our eyes off those rocky mountains & wide spread greenery. All those rocks are fully filled with snow & even the trees; so in winter we really couldn't make out why its called Canadian Rockies. The tip of the mountains are completely rocks while trees cover them all over for the rest 3/4th of their heights. All the time we were comparing the contrasting sights of winter & summer. Both are entirely different & yet as breathtaking.We were amazed with the greenish blue waters in the all lakes that we crossed. It's said that the sulphur content of the rocks mix with the melting snow & hence that color.

Like last time, Lake Louise was our first stop. We were just in time to not miss canoeing. Steering the canoe to right direction was a big challenge. With 3 people in a canoe we did want to go 3 different directions & sync up! When we stopped rowing the canoe, the waves would hit the canoe & turn it to its course of direction; it was a lot of fun!


Next day morning our first visit was to Sulphur Mountain. The sight from the Gondola ride & mountain, was again, so different from how it looked in winter. We could hike up to the tower on the next mountain & enjoy the view.

We then headed to Icefield Parkway in Jasper National Park. There are 12 viewpoints between Lake Louise & Icefield centre, but only a couple of hours in hand! We took stops at Bow Lake & Crowfoot glacier points, rest we just drove by.

From Icefield centre, they take us in an Ice Explorer bus on to the Athabasca Glacier. The bus stops on the glacier & tourist are given 30 minutes to walk around . In winter, the entire area - the surrounding mountains & boundaries were all filled with snow & the site was very cool. Now, the glacier was the only ice & the surrounding mountains were all black. It's said they are the rocks & minerals the Glacier pushes in its 20m move forward in its lower part every year. The upper part moves much faster, 127m per year. This is the only Glacier in World which has the bus accessibility on it. The rest of the glaciers are to be reached by helicopter or hiking.

Before heading back home, we decided to visit Johnston canyon the next morning. The Canyon gets completely filled with snow & the waterfall freezes during the winter. Tourist hike the waterfall in winter. When it all melts, the water flow erodes the rocks & that's how the canyon is formed. They have constructed a walking rail for the entire stretch of few kms in the canyon. The walk in the canyon was very pleasurable & the force of the waterfall very awing.We visited Banff twice in the year & have wonderful, lifetime experience & memories of its two different facets.

The grand Grand Canyon

Sree had driven to the Canyon thrice already, once everytime in his US trip. He always said to me that he would like to take me there atleast once; but the chances of our trip coinciding was rare. Thanks to the circumstances and our decision of taking a break, we are doing some great trips together.

After spending a day (more of night) at Vegas, we headed to Grand Canyon. The first sight of the Canyon gives goosebumps. An amazing natural wonder of deep ravine carved by the Colorado river; the views are breathtaking. The river has cut through the channels layer by layer on the rocks, leaving patterns so overwhelming. A trek on the rim gives wonderful vistas.



We took the famous hike trail, Bright Angel trail in the South rim for around 2-3 miles one way.
Even though we spent only a day at the Canyon, it was awesome to sit and watch it; specially during the evening watching the sunlight shift from layer to layer before it set.

They say the great experience would be to hike down, camp in the canyon at the river level and then hike back up. Visiting the Canyon from all the directions would be another awesome experience. After this short visit to the Canyon and the short trek, we now await for an opportunity to experience the camping.

Las Vegas - The Sin City, The Entertainment Capital of World

Sree has been here twice; wanted us to be there again, this time experiencing it together, both to Las Vegas and Grand Canyon. The idea was to reach Vegas in the late evening, to enjoy and get struck of all the welcoming glitters, glams and scintillations. Of course everyone has heard of this. The experience...it leaves you gaping.

It was an 8+ hours of driving from SFO to Vegas, but the sight of the gleams made all our tiredness vanish. We just wanted to freshen up and hit the road. And that's what we did. Dropped our luggages in the hotel room, a quick shower and off to begone in the shines of the Las Vegas Strip. Strip is the 4 mile stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard, where all the attractions, Hotels, Casinos and the entire glam is visible & accessible. When you start to walk up the Strip, one wouldn't realize it's a 6.5 km hike. And here begins your experience of less is more and more is less.

You will realize why it's called 'The Entertainment Capital of the World'. It's unbelievable that such structures and water bodies are built on a desert! The only place where you can walk around enjoying any of your drinks. Casinos that drag your souls, street shows captivating you and the beauty of architectural themes of the hotels engulfing.



Many of the hotel ceilings have the sky look & feel - Caesar's Palace, The Venetian, The Paris - it's a strangely pleasant feeling. The Venetian has a river body inside the hotel. We can take a Gondola ride and the sailor sings a song, makes it very romantic. The Paris has a 55 storeys high Eiffel Tower, on which we can go up and watch the entire city from that height. The famous, Bellagio offers the spectacular dancing water fountain show in their lake. You can witness water dance to some popular tunes. Luxor has a pyramid that throws a beam of light into the sky. This light is visible from all corners of the city. In fact, they say that this light is visible from the Moon! Stratosphere is the tallest tower, 1149 feet high. You get to go on some thrill rides at the top of the tower. Insanity, the ride @ Stratosphere tower, throws you out away from the tower edge and gives a good spin, for the people who need more adrenaline rush. Phew!


While night is the life at Vegas, there are a bunch of things to do during the day too. Most of the shows happen at nights, so during the day you could visit the hotels and casinos. Each Hotel has its theme and offers a lot of variety to enjoy. Siegfried and Roy's Secret Garden at The Mirage hosts a pack of wildlife. They have Dolphin habitat, Alpacas, White Lions and White Tigers. It's amazing to see how they created a habitat, truly a mirage in the desert. The Mirage also has some exquisite water bodies - falls, fountains, gardens, etc. Circus Circus is good for family with kids. They have circus shows and many thrill rides inside the hotel.


These have been only a few of the amazing attractions mentioned in here. If you are on a short trip, do not miss these. There is sinfully a lot more Vegas offers. There is no limit to the number of days you could be spending in this Sin City, the number of hours spent in Casinos gambling. It's a once in a lifetime experience in Las Vegas, leaves you enthralled and wanting more.

Lake Louise - The frozen lake

First destination we hit as we reached Banff was Lake Louise. April, and the lake is still completely frozen. We did sight a few frozen lakes enroute to Banff, however Lake Louise is the renowned one. Least had we known that we could walk on the frozen lake. The sight of the lake being fully frozen was itself mesmeric.

Eventhough we could see so many people moving on the lake, to take the first few steps on it was edgy. At most places the ice was thick and in some it looked like fresh snow settled down.

It's an astounding experience to have been there. When we checked the website for Lake Louise, apparently, there is a totally different facet of it in Summer.