Thanksgiving in Hurricane, Utah

We spent Thanksgiving with friends in Utah in Hurricane, around an hour from Zion National Park. We rented a big 4000 sq ft penthouse with 6 bedrooms for the six families. We flew to Las Vegas and drove from there.

We explored the beautiful area in a nearby lake and hung out at home with friends, playing games and eating great food. We also spent a day in Zion National Park. It was really beautiful to see Zion in the snow. We went to the narrows and a bunch of other vista points.

Business trip to Tokyo

This was my first trip to Japan. Very productive work wise, but also some great food. Its tough as a vegetarian but we had one meal with my colleagues where they made tofu in front of our eyes. They also served avocado tofu, which I am surprised has not caught up in the Bay Area yet!

Apart from work, I spent one day in Hakone and a half day in Kamakura. I was both floored by all the temples, but also by how helpful and respectful the people were. The small bamboo forest in one of the small Kamakura temples with tea ceremony was awesome. Hakone needs a special mention on its own. We did the famous boat ride and went over Owakudani which is surreal with the volcanic ashes coming out of it. But the best part was Yunessun park where there there are natural and artificial onsens. There is a wine, coffee, sake and green tea onsen which were all pretty unique!

In the evenings, I walked all across town - Shibuya, Akihabara and Shinjuku and also saw saw some of the local sights in Tokyo.

Offsite to Tahoe

The yearly work trip to Tahoe was great fun! Unlike last time where everything was smoky thanks to the fires, the air was crisp - which Tahoe is known for. This time, I rafted on the Truckee river. The water was cold, but refreshing. The rapids were beginning/intermediate but just being on the river for half a day was a treat!

India Trip

This time we mixed work with leisure and did a whirwind trip of 5 cities and one hill station.We were in Mumbai, Surat, Delhi, Bengaluru, Kolkata and Saputara.

I attended my cousin's marriage in Kolkata and experienced the city after a couple of decades. It brought back a lot of old memories, like going in the metro and tram and eating Jhaal Muri! We tried the street food including Jhaal Muri and Toast Muri as well as all the Bengali sweets in the marriage.

Then we went to Bengaluru, where we had a great time staying with another cousin. We ate the best south indian food at small restaurants and of course MTR! Surat and Mumbai are the usual suspects where family lives and Delhi was work related.

The highlight was a trip to Saputara which is a hill station on the Maharashtra-Gujarat border and it was a blast with 15+ cousins! We were awake almost all night and had lots of chatting/singing/dancing! We also went to some beautiful spots in Saputara at a Sunset point overlooking the valley where everyone was eating Maggi. We also ziplined in the hills near Saputara.

Ski week in Hawaii

To round out seeing almost everything in Hawaii, we went to Oahu for a third time. There were a few key things on the list which we hadn't done.

1. Pearl Harbor - Kids are old enough to understand its significance now
2. Snorkeling in Hanauma Bay - Somehow conditions were not right in the last couple of trips 
3. Disney Aulani which we felt the kids would love.

At Pearl Harbor, there was a light drizzle. There is so much history there, and we decided to take a submarine tour of the USS Bowfin.

Hanauma Bay was as beautiful as we expected. It was a perfect day and we saw so many fishes. It was the first time Surabhi snorkeled, with my help of course.

I also did a bunch of snorkeling at the Disney Aulani where the water was chilly but we could see the fish in all their glory. Kids absolutely loved the place with its private beach, slides, pool and activities.

Food wise, Govinda's at the ISKCON temple was a highlight. Getting Satvik food in Hawaii was a treat!

Cancun for new years

Last New Year, we were sleeping in Hilo when the clock struck midnight, only to have an epic new year's day. This year, we went to Cancun with 4 families. 8 adults and 8 kids so it was a blast.

We were supposed to stay at the Moon Palace in Cancun for 6 days, but we upgraded to the Grand for last 2 of those days, which was totally worth it. Both places were beautifully kept and the hospitality was perfect.

The highlights of the trip were:

• A boat ride to a reef where I saw an eagle ray, totally unexpected given the reef was not great. The eagle ray was digging into the sandy bottom for something. I thought it was a sting ray but only after some research, I found that it was way bigger than sting rays with a long straight tail. Also, I realized I was too close to it after reading stories about ray stings. Seeing a majestic animal like this was out of this world. Surabhi's first snorkeling day was great, she was tentative but also very happy when she saw a fish.
• The boat ride was on a speed boat which 2 people drove. I was with Surabhi and Anu was with Adi. We were pretty tentative about riding the boats but it turned out to be awesome
• Ziplining with kids. Adi still can't get over his fear of heights while Surabhi totally loves it!
• A day at the Beach Palace where the beach waters were turquoise and warm. It was not great for boogie boarding but the waves and water were amazing
• Trying the flowrider at Moon Palace which is an artificial boogie boarding machine
• A magic show on Saturday night by David Magee the magician and mentalist in the Grand's theater
• Couples massage at the grand. Both the massage and the swimming pool inside the massage place were out of this world
• The water park in the Grand where the kids had a lot of fun

This time, we were wide awake at midnight on new years, with food, DJ and friends, which was great. But I would rather sleep if the next day would be the one like in Big Island a year ago!