How to spent an evening without doing anything?

Hah, that's simple. Grab a coffee and just lie down on one of the pool side lounge chairs and count the flights on the DFW Air traffic route (I counted 58 flights in half an hour) :) 

This is what I did. Pretty cool way to spent an evening. 

How passionate are you?

We will be passionate about the things which we like the most. Others might bully you for that reason. But doesn't matter, as long as it is ethical.

I am not a great fan of sports. Never ever tried to watch any kind of sports (never seen a cricket match). However, today I spent 15 minutes of my time, watching a basket ball game. Only to see the passionate and happy faces around.

They are passionate. Really YES!

Laguardia to Dallas Fort Worth

My Uncle gave a drop to the hotel. Thanks a ton for him for picking me up from the airport. Otherwise I would have stood there for some time thinking about the taxi rental.

Flight was at 6 in the morning and I was out from the hotel by 3:30. Came out to click some pics and instantly I got frozen. Rushed to the hotel again and waited for the shuttle to pick me up.

Got a Delta Airline pilot as a company. For a formality I asked about the flight control and for the next 10 minutes I had a wonderful seminar from him. Good!

New York was sooo beautiful at night. The view from the flight was just amazing. 

By the time the flight approached DFW airport, the sun started rising at the horizon.

Got out from the airport in 30 minutes and headed towards the hotel. And a new phase started in United States.

London > NY

After a waiting time of 4 hours, started off from London to New York. A wonderful journey towards the destination.

Sumptuous... 

What was that? A cloud field? Awesome view...

At the end of the 16th hour, all I wanted was a bed. Before the next flight, time to take a break.

Can I get a taxi.

The Voyage from Bangalore to United States

That was a very long journey. Bangalore > London > JFK > LaGuardia > DFW > Arlington...28 hours of journey got culminated with a 6 hours straight nap. 

But never got bored. Enjoyed each and every bit of travel, especially the outstanding view from the flight. Capturing every moment on board, I just killed the time with excitement.

Comparing the landscape with the flight map, it was a bit of geography class happening for me. But enjoyed it like I never done it at the school :)

Always wired (even with the in-flight WiFi), it was fun to be at the places where I have never been before and connected to my dears at home.

Started off with a nice breakfast.

Came across this while browsing through the movie library. 

Fabulous view of the Caspian sea

Exiting the sea

Never heard about the majority of the places on the map. The world is sooo huge.

Exiting the Black Sea

Never got a chance to travel during the day time. Several times, Ani reminded me about the astonishing view of the clouds below. Enjoyed it to the core. So beautiful the creation of my God is!

The next ride. The hulk is getting ready

An exchange. Dollar for Pounds. The result - Chocolate FlapJack. Yummy it was!

Assembly going on?

See the white dots. They are all giant wind mills, harnessing the power of the nature. A view while nearing London.

The arial view of London city. Did God just took a break from the puzzle game? What a view!

Circling over the Thames River to get the landing clearance. Nothing can beat that view. Just Wow!

Ooty: Pine Forest

A walk in the woods in a chilly windy climate, how wonderful that will be. We enjoyed it and there wasn't very much people around. So the nature was very visible. With the voice of the joyful birds around - that walk was like in heaven.

Ani was excited to walk around the place.

Ooty: The Willow Hill Stay

Couple of my friends went to Yercaud a month back on almost adjacent dates and to my surprise they had very contrasting comment about their vacation. When one loved the place, the other did not enjoy the travel. The very same place, but very different opinions. When drilled into detail about various attributes of their travel, the differentiator came out to be the place where they stayed. 

I am not recommending a luxury hotel/resort/villa for the stay. But the place should make you feel comfortable. You should feel that, yes this is the place I wanted to stay. Among the various factors which affect the vacation, this is a primary one for sure.

Ani couldn't take the eyes from the beauty of the nature. Wonderful view from the room.

We had mixed feelings when we were about to near Willow Hill Hotel. We traced this one through Trip Advisor (as usual) and had a very good rating from 95% of the travelers. But there wasn't much pictures of this place and we were confused at first. But based on the rating we booked the place and at the end of the travel, the stay and the food at Willow Hill - We just loved it...

Willow Hill is very near to the Ooty town. Got this information from their website, but I never liked the hotels with its gate directly opening main road. I was expressing this wish to Ani and I realized that my wish is coming true when the approach road became narrow and lush greenery started appearing. And at the top of the hill, far away from the restlessness of the city, there emerges the beauty which we were hoping to spend our vacation in.

Loved the place in first sight. Checked in less than 5 minutes and took rest for some time, before starting the Ooty exploration.

Ooty: Udagamandalam Heritage Railway

The final click before we start and the continuation of a wonderful journey...

The next plan was to enjoy the journey on the World Heritage Niligiri Mountain Railway from Ooty to Coonoor. 19 kilometer stretch railway line covering 4 stations in between with a couple of tunnels and a looong bridge was a real stunning experience.

We reached an hour before the train arrival and though of exploring the station premises. The one thing which I noticed at first was that the railway station wasn't scary like the normal stations. It looked like a toy train railway and there was no fear of big trains that comes through.

Ooty: A day at Bethlehem

If Fern Hills Palace reminded me about the gone away royal glory, Glyngarth villa took me to the mountain of serenity. Who doesn't love the peace and silence? I love it and I enjoyed it at this place - that too on a Christmas Day. That's an awesome blend, correct?

People from Kerala might trace this place back to the movie - Summer in Bethlehem. I really wanted to visit this place, when I watched that movie years back. And it happened.

A very different and mixed feeling to stand in front of this place and by the by - I was tweeting the experience live :)

The lunch time was over when we reached the villa. Then decided for a tiny snack time.

Organized, clean and royal dining room

Relax to the core...

Fire place...

Keralites will remember this stair case forever :)

So silent and serene....

To chill

Ani examining each and every items in the room

Adding some sweetness to the evening..

Miles to go before I sleep :)

Always welcoming and wonderful hospitality...

Ready for a small ride...

Time to hit the road again

The cottages....

Ooty: Fern Hills Palace

"Deep within the blue forested hills of Nilgiris in Ooty, sits an english country manor, bought in 1873 by the young prince..."

And you will really feel that richness of the old dynasty, once you enter the place. Everything has a royal touch. Even the chairs in the garden, they look so royal :)

We decided to go for this destination because, we knew this place through some movies and really got fascinated by its beauty and architecture. The place came up in the research while we planned for the trip to Ooty and we really wanted to visit this place. 

To the garden for a walk, after finishing up with the lunch. Must say that the Biriyani was ROYAL.

I was disappointed when the management blocked us from clicking the pics around. Fortunately, as I explained them about my intention for the pics, they finally allowed to click the photos. Now I feel proud being a blogger...

A very special thanks to the property manager for the understanding and approval.

Each and every moment we spent there, we were in an entirely different world...

The backside garden view of the palace

An old building spotted in the palace premises, when we went for a walk.

A broader view of the palace from the garden.

Felt like in an another world.

Luxury at its best...

The front view of the palace resort

Extension of the palace resort restaurant where we decided to have the lunch. Why we chose? - The ambiance and privacy along with the stunning view to the garden.

Looked like the palace was opened for us alone. 

The wall of richness. And a pub which serves the royal drinks.

I couldn't find a piece of space without a royal touch. Completely covered and maintained.

Attached pub room for private discussions.

The walk way with the history depicted all over the place. Walking through the ways which the royals walked once :)

This will be a familiar location for the Keralites for sure

Naalukeetu type construction with a small garden in the midst.

Tiny cute garden

Tweeting the travel dots from the palace

Another view of the palace restaurant extension room.