Indian Visa approved!

My visa for India was approved by the Consulate General of India yesterday.  It's official, I'm headed to India.
Tourist Visa on Arrival in India is now available for US Citizens traveling on Holiday, but I applied for a business visa since I'm going for work.

My next International trip

I'm making preparations for my next international trip to Mysore, India in late January.  This will be my 1st trip to India, and I expect it to be quite an adventure.  This trip is for my job at Software Paradigms International (SPI) for 2 weeks.  My husband, Paul, will travel with me.  I'm looking forward to posting pictures and thoughts from my trip.

Pre-trip Tasks

1. Buy plane tickets.
2. Ground transportation & hotel - working on.
3. Visa for India - $175 for a tourist visa for my husband, business visa for me paid for by my company.  7 - 15 days processing time at the consulate.
4. Purchasing small gifts for the people I will be meeting with in India.
5. Packing list for India.
6. Buying audiobooks, movies, music - Entertainment options for the plane ride.
7. Research India - Reading India Unveiled by Robert Arnett.

My Personal Amazing Race - Boboil Gardens, Florence, Italy

In Season 12, Leg 7 (original airdate: 12/23/2007) of the Amazing Race on CBS, teams end the leg at the Pit Stop in Boboli Gardens in Florence, Italy.  Boboli Gardens, a popular tourist attraction, was also a scene in Dan Brown's novel, Inferno, where Robert Langdon and Sienna Brooks attempt to escape their pursuers.
We visited Boboli Gardens during a week long trip to Italy in March 2004.

My Personal Amazing Race - Batu Caves, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Batu Caves

In Season 11, Leg 9 (original airdate: 4/8/2007) of the Amazing Race on CBS, teams travel by train or bus to Batu Caves, 8 miles (13 Km) outside Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
In this episode, teams travel to Batu Cave, ascend a portion of the steps, and obtain a clue from a clue box.
Amazing Race returns to Batu Caves in Season 24, Leg 4 (original airdate: 3/16/2014) for another Pit Stop.


In my previous post regarding Season 3, Leg 10, I discussed my visit to Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur.  During this same visit in November 2005, I took a cab from the heart of Kuala Lumpur to Batu Caves (public transportation via train was not completed at this time).


Batu Caves is a religious Hindu site with the main attraction climbing 272 steps to the top.  I'll admit I was a bit out of shape during my visit in 2005 and climbing the 272 steps was challenging for me.  I stopped several times during my climb to catch my breath, and I'm sure I was completely out of breath when I finally reached the top.  Batu Caves is one of the most popular and iconic tourist attractions of Malaysia and not to be missed during any visit to KL.  Since my visit in 2005, public transportation by train has been extended to take visitors to Batu Caves, making this Hindu religious site even more accessible.

Monkeys at Batu Caves

My Personal Amazing Race - Barcelona, Spain & Paris

Las Ramblas

In Season 10, Leg 11 & 12 (original airdate: 12/3 & 12/10/2006) of the Amazing Race on CBS, teams travel by plane to Barcelona, Spain.  In Leg 11's Detour, teams have a choice between Lug It or Lob It.  In the "Lug It" side of the Detour, teams carry large heavy characters along Las Ramblas.  Last Ramblas is the most popular pedestrian street in in Barcelona.

The first task in Leg 12 is to find a clue box outside of La Sagrada Familia, the most popular tourist attraction in Barcelona.

I visited Barcelona in December 2009 with my husband, Paul Dunn.  On day 1 of our trip, we visited La Sagrada Familia which is truly an amazing structure from the exterior.  We visited on a clear, bright day and enjoyed gorgeous views of the church.  I found it baffling that this church has been under construction since 1882 and has a completion date of 2026.  The designs are extremely intricate.

La Sagrada Familia

At the end of Leg 12, teams travel to Paris, France and ascend to level 3 of the Eiffel Tower.  I've visited Paris 3 times (1997, 2006, and 2007), and the Eiffel Tower twice (1997 and 2007).

Eiffel Tower 1997

La Sagrada Familia

Las Ramblas

My Personal Amazing Race - Rome, Italy

Trevi Fountain

In Season 9, Leg 6 (original airdate: 4/12/2006) of the Amazing Race on CBS, teams travel by train to Rome, Italy and visit Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps. Later in the same episode, teams travel to Athens and visit the Agora.

Amazing Race returns to the Spanish Steps in Rome in Season 24, Leg 7 where the teams must count the number of steps and solve an equation to get their next clue.  In the same episode, one team (Caroline & Jennifer) completes a Speed Bump in which they pick up a typewriter outside the Pantheon.

Spanish Steps

We visited Rome in March 2004 on a one week trip to Italy.  These photos and video were taken with a 1.3 Megapixel camera (HA!) which was the latest technology at the time.
If you haven't visited Rome, it is truly an amazing city and definitely worth the trip.  Rome has everything...art, culture, history, food, wine, and coffee.  I especially loved the cappuccinos in Italy.

My Personal Amazing Race - Costa Rica

In Season 8 (Family Edition), Leg 6 of the Amazing Race on CBS, teams travel from Panama to Costa Rica by bus and then drive themselves to Poas Volcanoes National Park.
In 2007, my husband, Paul took a two week work trip to Costa Rica.  I joined him for a short portion of the trip. Paul's Costa Rican co-workers took us for a day trip to Poas Volcanes National Park.  We had a blast!
Costa Rica is well known for their coffee.  Coffee plants are grown near the Poas volcano area, and harvested into Cafe Brit Poas Volcanic Earth Coffee.  I have had this coffee in this past, and it is one of my favorites.

My Personal Amazing Race - London

Paul @ Abbey Road

London Eye

In Season 7, Leg 10 of the Amazing Race on CBS, teams travel from Istanbul, Turkey to London, England, U.K.  Once in London, teams search for Abbey Road, the crosswalk made famous by the Beatles album cover photo of the same name.  From there, the teams race to the London Eye and look for the marked building from the London Eye, from there they follow a series of clues riding the Underground.

The Abbey Road photo (top right) is from Paul's college days when he and 2 friends backpacked through Europe one summer.

In 2007, we spent 3 days in London  as part of a week long trip riding the Eurail in Europe.
We didn't get to complete any challenges, but we did see the London Eye, ride the Undergound and covertly followed a group on a "DaVinci code" tour to a church with Knights Templar.

Underground

Stop on the DaVinci Code Tour

I have visited London multiple times in my life from when I was a small child, to Study Abroad, to post-college.  I was staying with friends in London, the night Princess Diana was killed in Paris in her car accident. My friends were so upset about Princess Diana's untimely death, they didn't even want to tell me, they just told me to watch their TV.

My Personal Amazing Race - Egypt

Tower of Cairo

On Season 5, Leg 5 (original air date: 8/2/2004) of the Amazing Race on CBS, teams travel to to Cairo, Egypt.  Their first stop is the top of the Tower of Cairo.  Next, the teams travel by taxi to the Pyramids of Giza and complete a detour near the base of the pyramids.  The pit stop is in front of the Sphinx.

We visited Egypt in December 2009 while on a 12-day Mediterranean cruise.  Our cruise boat docked in Alexandria, Egypt.  From Alexandria, we took a 3 hour train ride into Cairo.  From Cairo, we took a local Metro train to Giza.  From the train station in Giza, we took a collective taxi (about 5 miles) to the pyramids. (A collective taxi is a van that stops frequently to let customers on and off.) After touring the pyramids, we went back to Cairo and stayed at the Ramses Hilton overnight.  Our 2nd day in Cairo, we visited the Egyptian Museum which houses the King Tut mask.

My Egypt experience was one of the most amazing travel adventures for multiple reasons.  First and foremost, Egyptians are extremely friendly and helpful. On the train ride to Cairo, we met a 1st grade teacher and she told us all about life, love, and marriage in Egypt.  She was engaged to be married herself.  On the train ride back to Alexandria, we met a businessman who taught us how to negotiate for a taxi.  Everywhere we went, normal Egyptians would greet us with, "Welcome to Egypt!"  These people did not work in the tourism industry, nor were they attempting to sell us anything/ask for money.  They genuinely wanted us to feel welcome in Egypt.

Secondly, the pyramids are truly amazing.  They are much larger than I could have ever imagined.

Lastly, I was surprised that we were the only people on our cruise that did not book a guided tour.


Sadly, due to the civil unrest in Egypt, I believe Norwegian Cruise Line has discontinued the Egypt stop on their cruises.  My thoughts and prayers go out to the people of Egypt.

My Personal Amazing Race - Venice, Italy

Rialto Bridge

On Season 4, Leg 2 (original air date: 6/4/2003) of the Amazing Race on CBS, teams travel to Venice, Italy and find their next clue on the Rialto Bridge.

The Detour on this leg was a choice between walking/running to Campo Querini Stampalia or taking a gondola to the same location.

Gondola selfie

In March 2004, we toured Italy and spent one day in Venice.  We rented a car in Florence, drove around Tuscany area and then turned in our rental car just outside Venice.  We enjoyed one night and one day in Venice and then took an overnight train to Naples.

My Personal Amazing Race - Malaysia to Singapore

On Season 3, Leg 10 (original air date: 12/4/2002) of the Amazing Race on CBS, teams travel to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and take a picture of themselves in front of Petronas Towers.  These towers were the tallest buildings in the world until the completion of the Taipei 101 in 2004.

Amazing Race returns to Petronas Towers on Season 24, Leg 4 (original air date: 3/16/2004).

Skybridge

The bridge stretching between the twin towers is known as the Skybridge and it connects the towers on floors 41 and 42.  We visited Petronas Towers in November 2005 when tickets to ascend the tower to the 41st floor and cross the Skybridge were free.

Paul with Margaret Thatcher Orchid

Later during Leg 10, Season 3, the teams travel by train from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to Singapore to find Margaret Thatcher Orchid in the Singapore National Orchid Garden.

We elected to take a bus between KL and Singapore as the bus was a first class bus with TVs in every seat.

Later, during our own trip in Singapore, we visited the Singapore Botanical Gardens and the famous Margaret Thatcher Orchid (right).

Singapore Zoo

After the Amazing Race teams find the Margaret Thatcher Orchid, their Detour is a choice between finding an actor in a confusing housing complex, or going to the Singapore Zoo and swimming across the manatee exhibit to receive their next clue.

Fountain of Wealth

The high rise housing complex shown on the Amazing Race is typical housing for about 85% of Singapore's population.  Elevators stop every 5 floors and residents take the elevator to the closest floor and then walk up or down in order to get to their unit.

The Singapore Zoo is open during the day from 8:30 AM to 6:00 PM, then reopens 7:30 PM to Midnight for Night Safari.  Since Singapore is so hot, it was recommended that we visit for Night Safari instead of during the day.

After the Amazing Race teams completed the detour, they were to obtain their next clue in the middle of the Fountain of Wealth. The Pit Stop was at the top of Mt. Faber.

Mt. Faber

We visited Mt. Faber in 2002, Night Safari, Singapore Botanical Gardens, Petronis Towers in 2005, and the Fountain of Wealth in 2011.

My Personal Amazing Race - Munich to Innsbruck

On Season 3, Leg 7 (original air date: 11/20/2002) of the Amazing Race on CBS, teams travel to Munich, Germany; take a train from Munich to Innsbruck, Austria, and find the Pit Stop located in a meadow with a view Neuschwanstein Castle.
The train station in Munich is known as the München Hauptbahnhof.  I don't believe I have ever taken a train into or out of Munich, but here I am at the München Hauptbahnhof.




While in Innsbruck, Austria, teams search for the Pillar of St. Anna.  Although you can barely see me, I am on the left in the photo on the right.


At the end of the Leg 7, teams find Phil Keoghan in a meadow near  Neuschwanstein Castle.  This castle is known as the inspiration for Disney's Sleeping Beauty castle.

Amazing Race returns to the Neuschwanstein Castle in Season 20, Leg 5 (original air date 3/18/2012), and teams search the castle for their next clue.  In comparison to my own visit to Neuschwanstein Castle in 1997, there were long lines and tourists everywhere.  I could only enter the castle as part of a guided tour.  In the episode, teams are shown wandering about (not a guided tour) in the castle. My conclusion is that this episode was shot on a day when the castle was closed to the public.

In the photo below, I am enjoying lunch just outside Neuschwanstein Castle with friends from Study Abroad 1997.

My Personal Amazing Race - Mexico

On CBS's Amazing Race, Season 3, Leg 2 (original air date: 10/9/2002), teams travel by bus from Mexico City to Cancun where they complete a detour.  Teams have a choice of riding a Waverunner or Kayak to find their next clue.
While I don't believe I went to the exact same location as the Amazing Race teams, here's a photo of Paul (my husband) and me riding a wave runner in Cancun in July 2005.

Next, the Amazing Race Season 3 teams drive from Cancun to Playa del Carmen and take the ferry boat to Cozumel.
In the photo (right), we are standing in front of the ferry boat to take us from Playa del Carmen to Cozumel.  On this trip, we flew into Cancun, took a shuttle van (approx 1.5 hours driving time) from the Cancun airport to Playa del Carmen.  From Playa, this is the ferry boat to Cozumel.

On this trip (Sept 2011), we spent 3 days in Mexico getting our PADI Open Water Diver Certification.  Here's our "graduation" photo with our instructor (right).  Our instructor "Anna" is from France and speaks English, French, and Spanish fluently.

I have visited Mexico 3-times, and every time I have flown in and out of the Cancun airport.  From Atlanta, the flight to Cancun is 2 hours, which makes Cancun an easily accessible vacation spot for a quick weekend getaway.  Additionally, everyone we have met working in the tourism industry in Cancun / Playa del Carmen / Cozumel speaks fluent English.

My Personal Amazing Race - Auckland to Maui

Sr. Logan Campbell Monument

On the CBS TV show, Amazing Race, Season 2, Leg 12, teams start in Auckland, New Zealand and drive to the Sir Logan Campbell Monument at the top of One Tree Hill.  Teams are shown taking a taxi up to the monument and pulling their next clue in the dark.  This episode originally aired on May 15, 2002, we visited April 2002.  We were also able to drive ourselves up to the base of the monument.

One Tree Hill

Caroline Diving Molokini Crater

Later during the same leg, teams travel to the island of Maui, Hawaii and travel by boat to Molokini  Crater / Island.  Paul (my husband) and I are both PADI Open Water Diver Certified and we dove Molokini Crater in March 2012.

Sharks found during our Molokini dive

Molokini Crater is one of the most popular dive (and snorkel) sights in the world known for sharks and other exotic marine life.  We personally found the sharks to be quite shy.  Here are a few photos from our dive.  In the episode, Phil Keoghan (host) refers to Molokini as an "island"; today it is more common to refer to Molokini as a crater, as it is really a partially submerged volcanic crater (according to Wikipedia).

My Personal Amazing Race - New Zealand

In today's blog post, I will highlight my travels in New Zealand parallel to Amazing Race Season 2, Leg 11. We visited New Zealand in April 2002, prior to the original air date (May 8, 2002).  I believe the Amazing Race crew filmed the leg prior my visit to New Zealand.

In this episode, teams start the leg on the South Island, drive to ferry boat to the North Island and then drive 6 hours to Rotorua.  In Rotorua, they visit the Maori Arts & Crafts Institute and watch a Maori dance.

My Experience

In April 2002, we flew into Auckland, New Zealand and rented a car and enjoyed a 7 day driving tour of the North Island of New Zealand.  First thing to note is that driving in New Zealand is on the opposite side of the road from the USA.  The employees of the car rental agency didn't seem too concerned when we admitted we had no experience driving on the left side of the road.  For the most part, we stayed on the left side of the road.  The hardest part was actually finding the turn signal indicator.  99% of the time, we would turn on the windshield wiper when we actually intended to illuminate our turn signal.

Rotorua is known for hot spring geysers and Maori Center.  While in Rotorua we visited the Maori Village and participated in a Maori Hangi feast.  The Maori Hangi is similar to a Hawaiian Luau, there is traditional dancing and dinner.  In the first picture above, my husband, Paul was selected volunteered to lead the tourists into the Maori Center.  After dinner, the host asked all of the guests to sing their national anthem one country at a time.  For example, the host would ask everyone from the UK to stand up, gather in the middle of the room and sing their national anthem.  When the host called up USA, we were worried we would be the only ones, but one other couple joined us.  Most of the other guests were from Commonwealth countries.

Side Note:

In Amazing Race Season 2 Leg 8, the teams complete a Roadblock at the Sydney Opera House.  When I was about 4 years old, I visited Sydney, and my parents took a photo of my 4-year-old self in front of the Sydney Opera House.  Unfortunately, I could not locate that photo for the purposes of posting it on this blog.

My Personal Amazing Race - Brazil Part 2

Continuing my personal journey of visiting Amazing Race locations, today I'll spotlight my travels in Rio de Janeiro & Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil from Season 2, Leg 2.  In this episode, the Fast Forward was a Futevôlei challenge on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro. Futevôlei is a beach volleyball game where the players don't use their hands to move the ball.  The Futevôlei players use their feet, legs, feet, and head to move the ball.  For this Fast Forward challenge, teams were permitted to use their hands.  Here is my Futevôlei YouTube video.

While I did not personally participate in a Futevôlei game, I did enjoy watching the Brazilians in their Futevôlei games while I sat on the beach enjoying local Brazilian snacks.

The Detour was a choice between hand-gliding or using a metal detector to find the next clue.  I would have definitely chosen hand-gliding since hand-gliding is a one of the activities Rio is well known for.  I did not have a chance to hand-glide while I was in Rio as the "jump-off" location was far from my hotel, and hand-gliding trips are often cancelled due to weather.  Due to my limited time in Brazil, I did not want to spend precious time traveling to the hand-gliding location and have the activity cancelled due to weather.

All teams then traveled to Foz do Iguaçu (one of the Seven Wonders of Nature) on a bus.  This bus ride was 900 miles and took 22-hours! 
We took a flight from Rio de Janeiro to Foz do Iguaçu which was around 2 hours.  The straight line distance from Rio to Foz is about 740 miles or 1190 Km according to this calculator.

When we visited Foz do Iguaçu in March 2013, we took public bus #120 from our hotel to Iguaçu National Park.

The bus dropped us off at the Iguaçu National Park Welcome Center.  From there we boarded a bus into the park.  In the episode which originally aired on March 13, 2002, teams are shown driving directly into Iguaçu National Park which is not allowed for tourists when we visited (over a decade later).
The first 2-3 stops were for excursions (hiking, rafting, etc..), we stayed on the bus until it let us off at the first lookout point for the falls.  The 1.2 meter walking path provides incredible views of the falls.  We visited Iguaçu Falls on a perfectly clear day.
After our 1.2 meter walk, we boarded the bus to take us to the excursion area of the park.  For our "adventure," we rappelled down into the canyon.


Here is my YouTube video from Iguaçu Falls.

My Personal Amazing Race Experience - Brazil Part 1

Continuing my personal journey of visiting Amazing Race locations, today I'll spotlight Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from Season 2, Leg 1.  In this episode, teams traveled from the US to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.  They visited Christ the Redeemer Statue, rappelled down Sugarloaf Mountain, or found the "Girl from Ipanema" on Ipanema Beach (Detour), and then ended the leg at the Pit Stop near Urca.  This episode originally aired on March 11, 2002.

Our Visit
I visited Brazil (with my husband Paul) in March of 2013.  We spent 7 days in Brazil total.  5 days in Rio de Janeiro and 2 days in Foz do Iguaçu. I wrote an entire blog about my 7 days in Brazil here.

We joined a small group tour (3 tourists including ourselves), led by tour guide Alex to take us to Christ the Redeemer statue and then hike Tijuca National Forest.  Our tour guide Alex was only able to drive us part of the way up, and we took a small train to the top.

As seen on the Amazing Race, we took the same gondola / cable car up (and down) Sugarloaf Mountain, but we did not see an option to rappel down Sugarloaf Mountain (much has changed in 11 years).  I would have loved to rappel down the side of Sugarloaf Mountain.  We spent the better part of one afternoon enjoying the views from Sugarloaf Mountain (Pao de Acucar).

After our visit to Sugarloaf Mountain, we took a short walk to the quiet fishing village of Urca (Amazing Race Pit Stop #1, Season 2).
If we had been contestants on Amazing Race, we would have selected the rappel challenge as it was closer to the Pit stop in Urca.

Colorful boats surround the harbor in Urca.

It took us about 3 days to visit the same sights as during this first leg of the Amazing Race.  We visited Sugarloaf & Urca on Day 1, Ipanema Beach on Day 4, and Christ Redeemer on Day 5.