Beginning of the trip! I was looking forward to the ride, but wasn’t sure if San Jose or Palo
Alto had the Waymo service or not.
Within seconds, I checked and we could ride in the Waymo!
Once the car arrived! The questions were how do I signal the driver, it’s me, Akhil! This is me! Who has requested the ride?
After a few seconds, the car parked itself!
How do I open the door?
The message popped up! Unlock the vehicle.
The doors opened and we approached to be seated.
We did not close our doors, until we were seated, what if the car leaves one of us behind? Once seated, another message popped up! Unlock to Start your Ride.
And then the car sped through the lanes, slowing down when vehicles crossed the other lanes, and turns came by.
Once we arrived at our destination, the car stopped, Another message popped up unlock
To open the doors. And this was our Waymo experience.
The driverless experience was a thrill.
Is this the future we are looking at around the world ( US, UK, EU, Australia)
Could it work in countries like Africa, India and other asian countries like Thailand and Hong Kong?
What happens to drivers who ride on the other apps? Should they be worried about losing their jobs with this one Skill that has AI taken over?
The visit to Egypt this year has an interesting story. Initially, I was supposed to have worked on the wedding taking place in January this year! But, a few weeks later after I blocked the dates on the project, I received a saved date along with my sister to attend the wedding.
And so, we would rather attend the wedding.
A couple of weeks ago, before we could travel to Egypt. We received another invite for a family wedding in Africa, Kenya.
Both of these countries were new to us and both of the weddings we wanted to experience.
So, we travelled to Kenya first and then just before the reception function, flew to Egypt for the English wedding.
Egypt as a country needs you to be attentive and wary of scams! The history of the country is too much to absorb right from the numerous pyramids and temples around the country to learning about The Mummy and the process of mummification.
The detailing and sculpting in the temples were worth travelling to Egypt for.
The weather was beautiful and pleasant.
The cruise Amwaj from Luxor to Aswan was another cruise experience with meals and views from the cabins making our 2nd cruise experience another beautiful one.
The 4-night 5 Day cruise was travelling across cities and temples, and staying overnight in cities to enjoy coffee and local experiences.
Egypt was affordable too, being a hub and manufacturer for Giza and Egyptian cotton. The Coats and Clothes were well priced.
The Egypt trip was smooth and well planned with inputs from a local travel agent Egypt Pro, recommended by a friend who has already been to Egypt a couple of times.
Egypt should be visited at least once.
The only ancient wonder still standing strong and still the highlight for an Egyptian visit to the Pyramids.
The Grand Egyptian Museum( GEM) was so well-made and executed with all
Miniatures and actual replicas of ornaments& Statues.
The technology too was utilised well
With the projection of the complete history of the different periods of Egyptian rule & development.
Stay:
Steignberger Tahir
Le Meridien Airport
Cafes: Cairo
Brown Nose*
Groppi Garden- Chocolate*
Eish & Malh**
Walum *
Granita*
Almeria cafe*
Cafe Riche*- oldest Cafe
Naguib Mahfouz cafe*
30 North:*
Zooba: recently made its debut on the Middle East and North Africa’s 50 Best Restaurants list.
Social Speciality Cafe:( Zamalek)
Vasko:
Sufi Cafe & Bookstore *
Lokali
Koffee Culture :
Mandarine koueider sweets
Sightseeing in Cairo:
Islamic Cairo Museum
Gayer-Anderson Museum
Pyramid of Giza
The sphinx
Cairo Tower
Manial Palace Museum
Abdeen Palace
The Coptic/ Mogamaa Al-Adyan Museum
The Egyptian Museum of Antiquities
Luxor:
Stay: Steinberger Nile
Eat: Luxor
El Tarboush – Steinberger Nile Palace hotel
Sofra Restaurant & Cafe
Coffee: Luxor
911 Cafe
Rmallah Cafe
Sightseeing in Luxor:
Hatsenshut temple
Valley of the Kings
Karnak Temple
Luxor Temple
Sightseeing in Edfu:
The Temple of Horus in Edfu
Komombo Temple
Sightseeing in Aswan:
Abu Simbel Temple
Phele Temple
Cafe: Aswan
Rustika
Makhani
Travel: Egyptair direct flights from BOM-Cairo and return.
Japan once again! The first time it was through the books Murakami, Kiga Higashino, Ryu Murakami to name a few… These books showcased the simplicity of the locals and the dark side of the city and that’s one of the reasons Japan fascinated me as a place to travel and explore so in June 2018 was the first time, A time where everyone questioned us Why Japan? To answer it’s a place so little we know about.. The first time was a touristy visit going to the temples, streets and viewing the towers of each city we visited. Japan was coming alive through the pages I had read, the streets sounded familiar and some streets I specifically visited since they were mentioned and described in the books. The recent Trip to Japan was being an exploration of what all does the city has to offer besides the tourist sights and the humanity the people showcase in the country. The food was and still is the best in Osaka. The city was buzzing and full of tourists even closer to midnight, unlike Tokyo which seemed busy with people chasing their dreams.. Kyoto is still a small town where you can walk around and still discover the city. The vintage shops and the second-hand Market seem to be thriving in the country with more than 80% population that has aged over the age of 70 and living a minimalistic life. Retail was thriving with American, British and Asian tourists shopping at malls and brands that are relatively cheaper in Japan from countries like the US & India. The Osaka Expo was an experience like no other, an endless Snake line on a hot afternoon, which tested not just ours but quite a few people’s patience too. Since we had to register and get specific slots for pavilions we managed to only get one the Blue Dome, the others were long queues to enter and waitlists, The magnitude of the whole expo was huge 130+ countries participated and the tourism it brought to the city and country has been huge. The designs and the sustainable options used to create them were interesting. This was the first time we visited an expo abroad that had so many cultural influences on just design but food too the expo offered.
France is sometimes lost in Translation. Sometimes lost with the network.
France – Cannes, The Big question was also.
Canne We Do It? That became Cannes We Do It.
The week, that had all the moments of drama and the beginning of the French Summer.
Went off in a slow Flow. With many “Visa rejections” and new challenges unfolding.
France was an experience again. After 7 Yrs not much had changed, Yet only it was Cannes instead of Monaco this time.
This was the Grand Prix, Lion and the film fest all rolling into the Carpet of Cannes.
Nice – If you have read that has Nice it was indeed nice to meet the city. That connects so many other cities within less than an hour.
A city with a beach, a view and a drone show with 2000 thousand drones too was witnessed here, thanks to a local Indian who we met that day.
The Indian food by Noori’s Anaz was the highlight of our Nice trip!
Meeting our group every day for Dinner at Noori for the 4 days we were there felt like a home away from home, With so many more connections we came across.
Monte Carlo after 7 years – The memories of the streets, where we walked around and bought magnets, the venues ( Le Meridien and Monte Carlo Square)
Oh! Not to forget the Hermitage tour-Bought back memories of all the wedding functions we did there for the first time, I had visited the South of France.
The Baraat holding area, The Welcome lunch and the Rituals.
The only thing the hotel has added is a Japanese Restaurant recently and renovated the Pavilion restaurant.
Menton! 7 Yrs later we do it… and No! We still haven’t done the lemon fest this time too!
The city is citrusy in colour Orange & Yellow.
You will come across a lot of Orange trees and Lemon Stores, where you can taste lemon in sauces, Dip, Jams, Syrups and Paste.
Eze! The Medieval city and the walk to the top.
Felt like a Harry Potter city with stores, and cafes built in the medieval city. It wasn’t Eze-eee!
The city had buses that would hourly travel to the main village and Bolt/Uber that would take about 15 minutes minimum before it gave in their verdict of approving or denying us a ride.
Provence- The lavender region! Had a lot of violet and lavender fragrance around.
The two cities: Aix En Provence, Avignon and Arles each were different. Avignon & Arles felt more like Italy, Rome-like architecture the city was built with.
Arles also had a mini Colosseum, that overlooked from a cafe.
Aix en Provence was beautiful with small boutique stores and weekend flea markets.
Marseille: One of the most underrated cities in France. And we were told to be watchful in the city.
The city felt like Brazil, the Le Panier district felt like São Paulo Penirinos district and Narrow lanes were built on a hill with cafés and boutique stores.
The city had all the Rio De Jinero feels.
The Pardo District and Beach. Felt like the Copacabana beach, A long stretch with a view and shades of blue with mountains as the backdrop.
The cathedral of Notre De Dame here in Marseille was a beautiful ride to the top and worth viewing the cathedral.
The Longchamp Palais in the city was another beautiful park that felt inspired by Italy.
Marseille was too big a city, we hadn’t expected the city to have so many sides to it.
Paris! A long wait! A decade later…
The city was now going through the restoration of the Notre Dame that was affected by the fire, the dazzling lights of Effile Tower were the highlight of the trip! And we sat through a long time just viewing the Structure, that has made the city a popular dream destination for many.
The Walk on the Champs Elyse’s and ride across the Arc De Triumph still felt this is Paris!
We did travel to a few more neighbourhoods around Paris, but the trees, and the energy at the champ Elyse’s was very different from the other parts.
Oh! This time too we did a few touristy things.
The new addition is Bacha cafe now in Paris, the experience was good. But nothing like the Marrakech one!
The Angelina Hot Chocolate: The 45-minute Queue for the experience had to be done once.
I felt I had better hot chocolate at Pierre Herme and Valrhona cafe.
We did visit Lenotre too, the team that we worked with on a recent project in Cannes.
This was a very sudden trip! Wasn’t even sure, if my passport would come in time, and the next thing I knew, I was to fly to Phuket in 2 Days.
Thailand is like the Goa of India. Warm, Humid and sticky weather with a very good taste for the foodies and Views of the Beaches and the sea that you can’t get enough of!
Thailand has come back in the Radar of Americans, With White lotus making it A travel destination you can’t miss in 2025. The moment, we arrived at the Laem Sai Pier This part of Thailand was very different, it had the feels of Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore and Brazil, well! Had never seen Thailand like a luxury destination until this trip, it was always like a tourist destination.
The next week, travelling around Phuket City including Phi Phi Island, was just the beginning of the Peak tourism in the city, with Queues everywhere, and a short distance by the Car would be similar to a walk to the same place. Phuket is a big city, Every neighbourhood we travelled to would not take less than 20-25 minutes. Batong Beach, was the quietest part of the city, only the beach clubs were buzzing. Kata Beach, seemed like a new space that was coming up with hotel property and stores. Patong Beach, Had all the Bangkok vibes. Music, Clubs, Karaoke and A lot of massage centres.
Patong made you feel that you are in Thailand. In terms of food, Thai food did standout in most of the places we ate, the Italian food it wasn’t that good. The Japanese & Asian foods had good quality of meat and freshness of the vegetables. Which I wasn’t sure about Phuket City, since Phuket isn’t considered a travel destination or Foodie Destination. The old Phuket town, Seemed like Singapore Koon Seng Road with Colourful Shophouses where boutique stores, Cafes and tourist souvenir shops. The Old Phuket town had an interesting Ice Cream Shop” Torry” that offered unique ice cream combinations. One of them we tried was Caramel Ice Cream with Fish Sauce.
The short trip to Phuket, Thailand felt we needed more time in the city, with 4 days too, weren’t enough.
With Bangkok, Phuket too should be on your travel list.
A K H I L N A N D A 