Book 'Nehru'

I just finished reading the book 'Nehru' by Shashi Tharoor. He is one of my favourite authors (sometimes I wish he authored my history text books back in school!).It is probably the most comprehensive book on how 'socialism', and in turn Nehru, shaped the fate of India after he took over as the first Prime Minister of free India.

At a time, after WWII, when there were two currents dividing the world, Nehru chose the Russian(then USSR) way! Much of India's history has turned the way one person wanted it to, and that was Nehru. His countless number of days in prison, his fight against secularism and casteism( probably the only one of his kind in that age) and his charisma of a well groomed politician, a face of India which grew fans from all over the world(J.F. Kennedy was one of them!), only makes me look up to him. Yet, his policies have been the most detrimental to India's growth in the country's first 15 years.

During his lifetime, Nehru was surrounded by people who were against many of his ideas. India probably had to the slowest development rate among the Asian countries after WWII, and even then, there weren't politicians who rose up to the occasion. They were blinded by idol worship and, only another Nehru offspring could satisfy the Indian people. They believed Indira Gandhi would fill the void created by her father. There were many instances, quoted in the book, when Nehru came very close to resigning. At once the Congress members would convene and appease with him! May be people should have realized that it was OK to respect one person and at the same time be unsupportive of the person's ideas and stand against him!

We believe in the theory of ONE great leader, ONE great actor, ONE great musician etc. I wonder if it all starts right from when you are a kid at school looking up to ONE topper in school! May be that's where we should start to look for a change!

It's the Tropics!

The town of Airlie Beach was our first introduction to the state of Queensland territory. The Proserpine airport functions primarily for tourists visiting the southern part of the GBR. Shute Harbor is one of the major launch harbors for the reef cruises and Airlie beach is only 20mts away from there. We bought tickets on the Whitsunday coach transit that picks people from the airport and drops them at their hotels. It was a comfortable ride all the way. It was green everywhere, and it was hot - ofcourse we were in the Tropics!

I have to mention about the town of Airlie beach. It seemed to us that it was built around tourists and functioned like a well-oiled machine. There are buses that take you to and from the town to the airport, and there is a bus that waits to pick people and drop them off at their hotels after the cruise, cruises operate on a tight schedule and are very punctual, and not to mention the ever cheerful bus drivers!

We took an apartment close to the city of Airlie beach. The apartment was basic, comfortable and had a great view of the Airlie beach harbor. It felt like home. I remember the first thing M and I decided as soon as we landed - to spend a day doing nothing! And that's what we did the first day at Airlie beach.

Out of the innumerable options cruise companies were offering to see the GBR, we chose to go on a full day cruise operated by Fantasea Cruises. We left at 7:15 took the shuttle bus to Shute Harbor, to catch the ferry that leaves at 8:00. It was a great day to be out, bright, sunny and calm water conditions. Fantasea had a very friendly crew onboard. It took us an hour and 45mts to reach the Reef. It was one of the best days to be on a cruise, if I can quote the captain, and that's how it seemed for the first hour of the ride. After a smooth ride the first hour, we were rudely struck by surprise when we got to the open seas with no land on sight! It was hard not to notice all the ship shaking! The waters were extremely choppy, and the crew was doing everything they could to keep us distract us. I remember looking one time to the sides of the ship and I remember the ship literally rocking in the swells of the water! We were told that conditions would get a lot better when we get near the shallow waters of the reef and we were thankful it did!




Fantasea had a pontoon docked permanently on the reef which had facilities for a lot of water activities. While M decided to snorkel, I went on the semi-submersible boat to watch the corals up close. The corals were of so many colors, shapes and sizes. . Its hard to imagine the corals as any one shape or color, and that's probably what makes it special. The corals which are actually living polyps have been forming under water for so many thousands of years, and the reason why it is only found here is because of two elements - sunlight and shallow waters. This part of the Pacific is the most expansive area of the ocean waters which are shallow (about 25-30ft) and have abundant sunlight. This is a true natural wonder and the only one of its kind visible from space!

The next day we went on another full day cruise with a half day stopover at Hamilton Island and the second half of the day in Whiteaven beach. Hamilton Island is the only resort island among the 74 Whitsunday Islands. A perfect destination for resort lovers. It had facilities for squash, bowling, pool tables, golf, tennis and even a secluded beach with beach chairs all available for use for all visitors. It is exactly the kind of place you want to stay if you want to pamper yourself and relax! After a half a day stop at the Island we boarded our cruise, treated ourselves to a hearty lunch served on board, and we were on our way to Whitehaven beach.

Going from Hamilton, Whitehaven beach is on the Whitsunday Island,the biggest island in the archipelago. To get to the beach, the ship has to go through a narrow passage between two small islands, and to get through this, wind conditions would have to be just right. Luckily the wind direction turned out in our favour, and soon after the ship crossed the passage we could se the beautiful blue waters of Whitehaven right in front of us. The captain docked about 25ft from the beach and we were transported to the beach on a small pontoon. Other than the beach, the rest of the Whitsunday Island is a tropical rainforest. There is no human activity on the island. There are only day visitors to the beach and these are people visiting, like we did, on cruises from the mainland, and on private boats. We were among a few dozen people on this 8-mile strectch of sand, and I must say we are some lucky beings to experience this unspoilt beauty!

We were leaving Airlie Beach to Brisbane the next day, and to Sydney the following. The trip had worked out better than we had imagined. If it was one thing that we were certain about in our minds, it is that we had to come back to this beautiful country yet another time! When we do, we hope to do the rail trip on the Indian Pacific, aptly so because it connects from Perth, city on the Indian Ocean, to Sydney, the city on the Pacific. That, I imagine would be one of the nicest ways to see the 'nothingness' of the West!

Small town Tasmania!

There was still 2 more hrs. of sunlight when we landed in Hobart. We knew Hobart is a much smaller city and public transport is not as well connected as Sydney. So we had booked for a rental car prior to our arrival. It was a smooth drive to our hotel, inspite of having to get used to driving on the left.

For folks familiar with cricket, David Boon is the first person that comes to mind when you say Tasmania. I used to think he looks a little different from the rest of the Australians and now I know why. Tasmanian's are a little different in the way they look. They look more rugged, yet friendly and believe in big moustaches. A perfect Texan would feel right at home if you leave him there. Get the picture?

It was a Saturday and the Salamanca market is the most happening event in Hobart on a Saturday morning. The market sold dresses, hats, local food, candies, fruits and many more. It was scorching hot that day(~36C) and I remember the first thing we bought ourselves while at the market - a cap, and a big scoop of icecream.

Mt. Wellington was the next on our itinerary. The mountain is at a height of 3000ft. and on a clear day you can watch the whole city of Hobart and the Derwent river running in the middle of the city. We drove all the way up. It had some good views of the city and a lot of trail heads all along the drive. We didn't particularly go on a hike but stopped at various places to catch some good sights. We drove back late evening and headed straight to the harbor area also called the Salamanca square. The harbor area is the place to be on a Saturday night and it has a big array of bars and restaurants minutes walk from the water.

After a day in Hobart we planned to drive out the next day to a small town by the sea called Bicheno. It is a 2 hr. drive NE from Hobart. Before we drove upto Bicheno we wanted to go on a scenic drive south of Hobart and then make the trip all the way north. The drive had access to trails along the route. One such was the Snug Falls trailhead. The hike ends at the Falls, and at this time of the year, the falls was merely a small stream of water flowing from above. It was still worth all the fresh air and the feeling of being amidst trees in a forest!

Going further south from here we stopped at a small town called Hounville, well known locally for its apple orchards, before proceeding to Bicheno out final destination for the day. We roughly spotted about 10 cars on the entire road trip from Hobart to Bicheno and that's when you know you are in countryside! Towns were few and far between, and every now and we would see signs for a beach, a ranch or a berry farm. The beaches here are untouched and beautiful! We stopped at one called the....beach and I can't forget the sight of the straight lines of waves coming at you for miles and miles ! It was exactly how you would picture a beach and not to mention we were the only ones on the beach!

We had booked a cabin at Bicheno and the cabin and the one we stayed in had the 'sea-view'. It was perfect! There were trails which would lead to the waters of the bay that we had views of. Here we learnt about the 'blow-hole'. This is created when the waters hit the rocks and the gap between the rocks creates a base sound similar to that of a base drum. It was mind blowing the first time we heard it and we would wait for a big one to crash on the rocks and there goes again...! It was also spectacular to see the water splash all over the rocks with such force.

The next morning we left to a town called Coles Bay, which is the entry town to the Freycinet National Park. One of Freycinet's popular hike is the 'Wine Glass Bay Lookout' hike. This hike had about 600 steps all the way up and we could see the Bay shaped like a wine glass and the spectacular blue waters of the bay. We heard later that the beach itself is voted one of the Top 10 beaches in the world by Condenast!

Tasmania is known for its harsh weather, severe weather conditions and gusty winds blowing from the Antartic. The Tasman sea is also one of the roughest here. What else could you expect in a city that's the closest to Antartica in the Australian continent? It was particularly windy on the day we went on the hike. The waters were so rough, the trees were literally shaking, and we couldn't miss the hissing sound of the wind around us. By the time we got back in the evening we heard reports of gale wind advisory for our area and the surround and we could feel the mighty winds from inside the cabin. The other danger in Australia with heavy winds and dry summers were the bush fires! We were about 90 kms away from the closest bushfire. I remember sleeping with the radio on to get frequent updates on the weather! That's how unpredicatable weather can be in Tasmania. It was quite an experience!

Tasmania is a nature lover's paradise. It has endless hikes and untouched beaches all along its eastern coast. There is nothing urban about this state, and that's the reason it is so popular among local tourists. There is one major two lane highway connecting the big towns of Hobart, Davenport and Launceston. While on the road, you can see cattle, sheeps, goats grazing on the vast empty lands on the sides of the highway. I was particularly excited when I spotted a wallabie cross the road. I wished we could have stopped, but at 70km/hr, it was long gone before we could stop and catch a picture of it.

We had quite a bit of a travel to do before we would settle in Airlie Beach and get started on the third leg of our vacation - the Great Barrier Reef! We flew from Tasmania to Brisbane, and the following day we had a flight from Brisbane to Proserpine. The town of Airlie Beach is a 40mts bus trip from the airport and is the gateway town to the Whitsunday Islands.

Contd..in my next post.

Sights of Sydney....

It was bright and sunny the next day we landed. Circular Quay, the main ferry, train and bus terminus would be our starting destination to anywhere in Sydney for the next 7 days. One can imagine how busy this place would be on anyday!

Watson's bay was our first stop. It takes about 20mts by ferry. Around the bay is the beach, the famous "Doyle's" restaurant and some trail walks along the bay. We went on the trail walk that led us to a lighthouse known as the 'Hornsby Lighthouse'. It was a good walk all the way up and had good views of the southern suburbs of Sydney. After a good afternoon at Watson's bay, we decided to go to Manly in the evening.

Manly is a popular suburb of Sydney and is well known for its surf-able beaches and its eclectic shops. The beach is clean and has a paved path running along the beach -perfect for an evening jog. Opera house would be our final destination for the day. It is an excellent idea to sit around the Opera Bar and people watch. I would recommend it to anyone!

Sydney is well connected by public transport. Buses are the best within the city and the suburbs are well connected by ferries and trains. Just walking the streets of Sydney is a good way to spend time in the city. George street is the favorite among tourists and locals alike. The city ceases to sleep around this area.

Unlike New York, Sydney is not popular for its museums. Nevethless we visited the 'Australian Museum' in our eagerness to learn more about this continent so far away from anywhere in the world and yet ranks among the top 10 economies of the world. Much to our surprise there was no material on how Australia's histroy but most of it was devoted to exhibits of dinosaurs and animals found in Australia. It felt like they could've done better on that front!

We also visited the Royal Botanical Garden. Australians are very true about their allegiance to the Queen, and the word 'Royal' is a common prefix to their universities, and public buildings. The garden was not 'royal' in anyway but was a good one for an evening stroll.

The harbor city is all about its water. Its wharfs are plenty and they are flooded with businesses hoping to make most use of views. One of them is the Cockle Bay Wharf. It hosts some of the cities elite seafood restaurants, steakhouses and bars. It is beautiful around here and perfect for an special evening on town!

Taronga Zoo is the perfect place to be on a perfectly sunny day. It is a 10 mt ferry ride from downtown. The zoo is located on a hill opposite the Sydney skyline only separated by water. A cable car takes you from one side of the zoo to the other and is a fun way to watch the animals. The zoo's attractions are the marsupials ONLY found in Australia. We spotted koala's hugging trees, kangaroos holding its joey in its pouch, wombats that looks like a big sized mongoose and sleeps in a hole that it digs 2/3rds of its life, echidnas, platypus and the Tasmanian devil, known for its devlish red ears! The bird show was one of the highlights of the zoo trip. I never thought you could train a bird to fly the way you want it to and get back when you wanted to and make noises when you asked them to. Australia is home to so many unique birds that can only be found "down under". You can also find baby penguins in Australia. That's when you know you're in a place that's closer to Antartica than any other continent!

We were visiting in the middle of the 'Ashes' series and Australians take cricket seriously. You especially know it when there every test match is screened in front of a lawn on a big screen in the middle of the city! Being cricket deprived here in the US, we took to the lawn many afternoons for a break from our touristy explorations.

There are so many walks in Sydney, and one of them that tops the list is the walk along the Sydney harbor with the botanical gardens to one side and water on the other. This park is huge and is a great place for an evening run. A great spot to watch the setting sun and wind down for the day.

Think beach in Sydney and the first thing that comes to mind is Bondi beach! It appeals to most tourists because of it 'family friendly' feel. The walk from here to Bronte beach is exceptional. It is a paved foreshore walk for about 3 miles. Bronte is the less crowded and smaller of the two. Bondi is about 15 mts from the city centre. Wouldn't it be fun to go to the beach for a lunch or an evening on a weekday?

A day out of Syndey would take you to the Blue Mountains! It is a comfortable 2 hr train ride from the Sydney Central. The blue color of the mountains is from the oil from the eucalyptus trees suspended in the air which gives it a blue hue! It is an incredibe sight catching the first glance of the mountains from the train. We got down at 'Katoomba' the closest city that aso offers day tours to and from the mountains. We hiked a good part to see the 3 peaks called 'three sisters' named after an aboriginal story. The trip to the moutains is a one day activity and is well worth it.

The entire week in Sydney has been a city vacation except for the trip to the moutains and we knew it was all going to be different from now on. Hobart was our next destination. The flight reached Hobart at 7:00 in the evening......................contd. in my next post.