Trip to Malaysia (2024)

 Flight

- Booked direct flight from AirAsia that costed about Rs. 85k (including seat selection)

- Note: Try NOT to book MID-NIGHT flights (to/fro). Very inconvenient and sleep gets disturbed badly.

- Note: Don't forget to check for LOCAL HOLIDAYS before booking the attractions.

Forex

- Bought Forex card from BookMyForex

- Used USD currency from previous trip as well

- Changed some USD at airport and then remaining inside the city

Stay

- 3 nights / 4 days at Aloft KL Sentral that costed about 27k

- The room accommodated 4 of us with 2 queen size beds. 

- Ideal location for going around.

Food

- Breakfast: Complimentary at the Hotel

- Lunch: Mostly at Subway (Veggie Delite)

- Dinner: Saravana Bhavan (Brickfields) walkable from the Hotel. Good Food.

Conveyance

- Used Aerobus to commute between airport and Kuala Lumpur city

- Used Grab taxi rental App for the whole trip, cheap and best

Places Covered

- Zoo Negara

- Aquaria KLCC

- Skyline Luge

- Batu Caves

- Sunway Lagoon Theme Park

- Suria KLCC Mall at Petronas Towers

- Low Yat Plaza

Total Cost of the Trip: 1.55L

Quick Maldives Getaway - Aug 2023

Travel:

- Direct flight to Maldives

- Costed about 44K for 2 ppl return trip

- Indigo Airlines- Took about 2 hrs one way

Stay:

- Stayed in Acacia Beach Hotel in Hulhumale for 2-Nights

- Sea view room; Costed $222.00 for 2 nights

- Taxi from Airport costed MVR 85.00

Excursion:

- Took Day-trip package to Adaaran Hudhuran Fushi Private Island

- Included morning & afternoon snacks

- Buffet lunch and Swimming pool access

- Costed $125.00 per person

Currency Exchange:

- Got USD in Bangalore through BookMyForex

* Costed a bit more, but hassle-free delivery

- Exchanges at Airport gives lower rate

- You need to save the receipt if you want to convert back at the airport when coming back

- Forex shops inside the city offer better rates

Misc:

- Took Bread and MTR Upma readymix (Good) for breakfast

- Bought Steam rice for MVR 30.00 from Bombay Darbar for Lunch

- Bought Curd for MVR 14.00 from a nearby supermarket

 Guruvayur Trip - Feb 2023

Reached Thrissur at 5am by an overnight sleeper bus. Took an auto (200RS for 6kms) to the city centre as veg restaurants were available only there. The place we got dropped was called Mannathy bypass and its on a highway. There are a few hotels but no veg restaurants nearby. Stayed in Emerald Residency. Paid Rs2600 for a 4bed AC room. Average rooms! Not a value for money. There are no Uber/Ola services in the city!

Thrissur to Guruvayur is about 30Kms. Took a roundtrip taxi from the stand. He charged Rs.1500 for roundtrip with 2hrs of waiting. The travel time is about 30 to 45 minutes. The temple is very crowded. Average waiting time for darshan would be 2-3hrs on a weekday. The temple is very strict about what we carry inside the temple! No smart watches, no mobiles!!! Had to wait in queue to deposit all the belongings. Also, better to wear VEshti and Saree! VEry strict about attire as well. Even for kids! Food is average in normal hotels. Better to stay near some standard hotel.

Thulabaram has a seperate queue inside the temple and starts at 5:30am in the morning. Waiting time for thulabaram was about 30 minutes. No need to carry anything. They perform the ritual and then we need to pay according to the weight. 

Cordelia Cruise (Mumbai to Kochi) - May 2022

Cruise Booking

* Booked for the Cruise directly through their website

* The cost came to ~65k for 4 pax, all sharing a Ocean view - Premier room

Getting to Mumbai

* Went to Mumbai by flight

* Booked through Goibibo for ~25k (one way - 4 pax)

* Flight time was 2 hrs

* Took pre-paid taxi from Airport to Cruise terminal. It was called 'cool cabs' and the condition of the car was pathetic!

Inside the Cruise

* The check-in takes a real long time, due to long queues before entering the Gate itself

* The room was decent with bunk beds for kids and view of the ocean through a glass window

* Lot of bottled water provided in the room

* Food: Unlimited Buffet for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. Pretty tasty and sumptuous.

* Entertainment: Lot of programmes, suitable for both Adults and Kids

** TV has very limited channels. So, may try copying some Movies on USB

* The only drawback is the lack of FREE WIFI. It costs about $6 for 2 hrs of WIFI, which is ridiculous! Also, there won't be any Phone signal and Data for most of the trip. So, its a complete Detox of sorts!

Getting back to Bangalore

* Took OLA cab from Cruise terminal in Kochi to LULU Mall

* Stayed in Hotel INON International till evening. 3Bed A/C room costed 1500/-

* Took the night bus from Kochi to Bangalore

** Sona Travels - Non A/C Sleeper costed ~5K for 4 pax

Day Outing @ Park Hotels & Resorts

Mar 2022

Package:

* Booked Day outing package through Thrillophilia

* Costed 3000/- for 4 Adults [8 coupons per person]

Food:

* Breakfast was NOT a buffet and the options were very limited, not worth it

* Lunch was buffet and had good veg options too. It was not bad.

* High tea was waste, not worth

Experience:

* Kids enjoyed the pool, including the wave pool at specific time

* Lots of activities, including ATV rides

* Overall, the experience was good!

Quick Trip to Chennai

Duration

• From Bangalore: Started at 6AM on Sunday; Reached Adyar at 12:30 PM (including breakfast stop for 45 mins)
• From Chennai: Started at 12 noon on Monday; Reached Home at 7:30 PM (including 2 stops totaling to 1hr)
• Note: Used NICE Road between B.G.Road & Hosur Road
• Note: Sat Straight throughout the trip and avoided Back Pain

Commute

• Booked Innova through Savaari.com
• Costed Rs.10800/-
• Extras:- RTO: 1000/- + Toll: 800/-

Stay

• Stayed at Comfort Corporate Stay @ Adyar (behind Sangeeta Restaurant)
• Room rent was Rs.2250/- (including extra bed & taxes + Complimentary breakfast)
• Room was not great, though the reviews were good

Wonderla Bangalore

 General:    

• The Park entrance was about Rs.1200/- during weekday (School Vacation)
• Booked through website and was able to entry directly to the park by showing the booking ID.
• South Meal at "Greens" Restaurant costed Rs.160/- per person
• Food is average, nothing great
• Canned drinks are all sold @MRP, which is good
• There are also snacks like Popcorn, Veg wraps, Sweet corn etc., available at nominal rates
• The LOCKER costed Rs.180/- (may not be needed as things can be carried along -- no valuable though)
• EZPASS is used for locker as well as payments inside the park. You load it at entrance and remaining amount is refunded during exit.
• The vendors also take cash, card, PhonePe etc.

Points to Remember:

• Don't go to 'VATTIKA' restaurant for food. It is not good at all and is a detour from Wonderla entrance road.
  
• You could try 'Parkview' veg restaurant that is just outside the main park entrance, but, we haven't tried it though.
• There are small shops selling synthetic Tshirts and Trousers when entering Wonderla road 
• The dry rides become free after the water rides open up at 12:30PM
• The water rides are free if you go sharply @ 12:30PM, when they open
• Start from the furthest rides, as usually people rush to closer ones
• If you don't want your head to get wet, go for rides that use TUBES, rather than the ones that use Foam PADS.