Author: Prabhith Prabhakaran

Dunluce Castle is a medieval Irish Castle located on a clifftop along the Causeway Coast in County Antrim and is quite near to the Giant’s Causeway UNESCO site. It is about 1 hour drive from Belfast.

Address: 87 Dunluce Road, Bushmills, Co. Antrim, BT57 8UY, Ireland

The scenery in this part of County Antrim is simply spectacular, and Dunluce may be ONE of the most photographed castles on the island of Ireland.

We happened to visit Dunluce castle as a part of the day drip from Dublin to Northern Ireland. The Tour was organised by Wild Rover Tours, which is a Dublin-based family business who arrange tours throughout Ireland.
The normal itinerary for this tour includes Giants causeway, Belfast City and Carrick A Rede Rope Bridge. Carrick A Rede Rope Bridge was closed for maintenance and wildrover group arranged Dunluce castle as an alternative. Entry tickets to Dunluce castle was also included in the package.
We highly recommend this day trip with Wild Rover Tours. They tried everything possible to make this trip a memorable one. The guide and the pilot were very friendly and supportive.

Details : https://wildrovertours.com/activity/giants-causeway-belfast-city-carrick-a-rede-rope-bridge/

Ideally, there are multiple ways to reach this place:

• Train:

You can get trains (Derry Direction) from Belfast Lanyon or Great Victoria Street Train station. You will reach a station (around 1.45 hours) named Coleraine. From there you can hire a taxi (around 15 min)

• Bus:

You can get bus 218a from Great Victoria Bus station to Coleraine Bus Stand. From there you can hire a taxi (around 15 min)

• Car:

This might be the most preferred means of travel as the route is very scenic. (around 1.25 Hours)

Take the M2 motorway / A26 Combination from Belfast.

The route towards Dunluce Castle from Belfast city is quite scenic.

Please note that there are very less parking (means really less 😊) options available near Dunluce castle.

The castle stands mostly in ruins today, but the walls and remains of some of the buildings can still be seen. This castle was mainly built out of local basalt stone, known for its strength and durability.

There is a path beside the castle which takes you down towards the sea. As the title says there are 109 steps which was fine going down a little challenging on the way back.

Dunluce Castle has been a location for many movies like Game of Thrones.

Its also said that the castle was once owned by Winston Churchill.

This castle is a great place to enjoy the history of Ireland and to take in the beautiful scenery of the land.

There is a huge history behind this place. So its worth spending some time in google (Key word 😊 : MacQuillan family ) , if you are really interested to know that.

Points worth to note:

• Opening hours:
  • February to November : Daily 9.30am to 5pm.
  • December/January : Daily 9.30am to 4pm.
  • Last admission 30 minutes before closing.
  • Adult 18+ Years – £6 per ticket
  • Child 5-17 Years – £4 per ticket
  • Child Under 5 – Free

• It is excellent for visitors of all ages.
• Restrooms are available.
• There is a little gift shop available.

The closest town is Bushmills, home to the world-famous Old Bushmills Distillery.

The tour company had guided us for lunch to a restaurant named ‘The Giants Barn’, which was just 8 minutes drive from the Dunluce Castle.  

This restaurant is also located in a very scenic location.

Some places nearby:

• Bushmills Distillery (around 10 minutes’ drive)

This is the oldest whiskey distillery in the world.

• Few of the Antrim coast attractions like Giants Causeway, Carrick-a-rede, Ballintoy Harbour and so on

• Portrush Beach

SUMMARY : Dunluce castle is a great tourist destination and you should never miss this place if you are preparing a Northern Ireland or County Antrim itinerary.

The Burj Al Arab is a luxury hotel located in the city of Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Managed by Jumeirah hotel group, it is one of the tallest hotels in the world, eventhough 39% of its total height is made up of non-occupiable space.
This is one of the famous and luxurious hotels in the world, which was opened to public in 1999. This is considered as the only 7 start hotel in the world (probably a debatable topic)

Burj Al Arab stands on an artificial island that is 280m from Jumeirah Beach and is connected to the mainland by a private curving bridge. The shape of the structure is designed to resemble the sail of a ship. It took 2 years to build the island and another 3 years to build the hotel.

For the first time in history of 20+years, Dubai’s iconic Burj Al Arab welcomes guests to an exclusive tour, to discover the untold stories of a true UAE landmark.
The ‘Inside Burg Al Arab’ tour started on 15th October 2021. It means you don’t have to book a room here to get an access inside the hotel.

If you have been always curious (like me) to know what is inside the most expensive hotel in Dubai, then book this tour and give a pause to your quest.

There are various ways in which you could reach this place. Few of them are captured in the below image (taken from their official website).

There are a few tour options available, but the General Admission Guided Tour for 90 minutes (accompanied with a dedicated butler) is the most popular one out of all tours. The charge is around 249 AED. Kids of age 12 or under have a charge of around 99 AED. Children up to the age of 4 years are free of charge when accompanied by a full paying adult.

NOTE: Its good to note that the ticket price for this tour is still on a higher side, when you compare the ticket price with other tourist destinations in Dubai. But this would be a completely different experience.

There are around 20 different time slots (per day) available starting from 9:30 AM till 8:30 PM with a interval of 15 minutes, so that you could book the one which is most convenient for you. This is a group tour and the group size is restricted to around 12 people (in respect of social distancing). This tour starts from the Ticketing lounge. You would be asked to reach this lounge atleast 15 minutes before your designated tour time.

As soon as you enter the lounge, you would be received by the staff at the reception who would cross check and confirm your tickets.
They would also serve you with a special drink.
The tour starts in a buggy from the entrance of the lounge.
There is a special pathway for the buggy, to reach near the iconic Burj Al Arab.

The first stop of the buggy will be at a short distance from the iconic hotel where you can get some beautiful snaps of the hotel and its surrounding beach.

After that you would be taken to the ground floor of the hotel, where you would be received by few other staff’s who would take you inside the hotel through a separate entry gate exclusively for the non-guests who come as a part of this guided tour. You will also be given a specific Burj Al Arab hand towel.

From there you would be taken through the colourful lobby of the hotel (includes a visit to the famous hotel atrium/fountains) to the panoramic elevator that will take you to the 25^th Floor. You would also find some luxury brands showroom, enroute elevator.

You will then be taken to the royal suite, wheer you will be greeted by the private butler, the suite sits over two floors, the second of which is reached by an ostentatious gold and marble staircase, lined with leopard print carpet..

Now this royal suite is not given for hotel guests and its exclusively for the viewing purpose of the non guests who book this tour. Earlier this suite was given for guests for a rate of 25000 USD/Night. You will be guided to different places like the reception room, his/her bedrooms, living rooms, TV room and so on.

‘Her’s’ features a luxurious pink-hued lounge and a huge round bed with a mirror on the ceiling, marble bath tub and Hermes products. ‘His’ has a dramatic round bed that actually rotates a pillared marble bath tub and a walk-in shower fitted with 24-carat gold tiles.

Throughout the tour, you will get countless opportunities to capture some very iconic moments.

There is a royal touch (like a palace) in each and every part of this suite (including the bathrooms) and you would never feel that you are inside a hotel room or suite.

After the suite, you will be taken to the experience centre, where you can see the history of Burj-ul arab,  guests who stayed , why and how it was build and so on.

In the Architects studio, you could get to see the very first sketch of this hotel.

You would also be served with Arabian Coffee and dates.

This would be the last part of the tour, after which you would proceed back to the exit door. If you are interested in doing some shopping, dont worry; You would find a gift shop (INSIDE BURJ AL ARAB BOUTIQUE) near to the exit.

The tour ends back at the ground floor where you can experience the beautiful views of the Arabian gulf. A buggy would be already waiting for you at that place which will take you back to the Lounge.

You can find more details about this tour in the official website : https://insideburjalarab.com/

Summary / Important information to Note (courtesy: https://insideburjalarab.com/)

• The tour takes 1.5 hours on average.
• Visitors are not allowed to bring food and beverages with them.
• Tour ticket enables access to the 25th floor and inside Burj Arab only.
• Be advised to arrive 15 minutes earlier to take your ticket and have a valid photo ID with you.
• Please mind that the tickets are non-refundable or transferable and valid only for the time slot and date marked on your confirmation.
• In case of late arrival, guests may join the next tour when it is available and may be asked to pay an additional charge.
• Please respect other guests’ privacy and comfort when visiting the place.
• It is not permitted to take flash photos and use professional cameras.
• Burj Al Arab is a place of luxury. Please don`t put on beachwear. Smart casual clothes are appropriate.
• Tickets cannot be cancelled.
• As a part of tour, they will take your photograph at 2 different occasions (with some extremely great background). You could buy these photographs, offcourse with an additional payment.
• It is possible to extend your tour with drinks, high tea, lunch or dinner after the tour (includes additional payment).
• If you are planning to include this tour in your itinerary, its better to book a slot well in advance.
• Suitable for all physical fitness levels.

We stayed (2 nights) at Au Revoir resort during our Malampuzha trip in December 2021.

This resort is located near to the Malampzuha dam reservoir and its around 15-16 kms from Palakkad KSRTC Bus Stand and 57 kms from Coimbatore.

The landscape in and around this resort is nice and peaceful and its spread across 4.4 acres of land.

Few Facilities within the resort includes:

Belvoir:

They have a Multi cuisine restaurant named Belvoir (next to Lobby), which serves traditional and many other varieties of food.

The food was tasty and was slightly overpriced.

The Restaurant is open for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner.

LeSpring:

There is a Banquet hall/Convention center with a seating capacity for 300 people.

Rimini:

There is also a outdoor Amphi theatre with 50+ seats.

It is strategically positioned in the center of the property.

La Brasserie:

Near to the reception area (left side), there is a Coffee Shop. I believe its open 24/7

Brillante Business Center:

There is a small business centre near to the coffee shop which includes internet, hi speed Wi-Fi  and so on.

There are also other facilities like Tea shop and so on.

Apart from that, they also have :

Swimming Pool

Travel Guide

Wifi

Ample Parking

Health Club

Taxi service

Indoor Games

Sight seeing arrangements

Campfire

Travel desk

Cycles

Buggy service to rooms: The guests and their luggage are moved to the respective rooms using the buggy service as the resort is in an hilly landscape.

There is huge list of amenities available in this resort. The below list is picked from Au revoir website.

Different types of rooms are available like:

Row House

Honeymoon Villa

Deluxe room

Eventhough the Resort is newly build (I believe it was opened in 2021) with latest facilities, we felt that the facilities/fittings in the room were slightly outdated. They could have taken a little more care while deciding on the room design/fittings. But this is just a remark. But overall the ambiance in and around this resort is very good. We believe this is one of the best property, if you are looking for a stay option near Malampuzha dam. The staff was very helpful and supportive.

Please note that this property is around 6Kms from Malampuzha dam.

The road towards the resort from the dam is a bit tricky especially around the night time.

Its quite narrow and is just beside the reservoir without walls/fence. So pay good attention while driving.

Its not a road with lot of traffic. At times, you will find lot of  gravel and mud on the road.

Incase if you are driving to this place for the first time, we would strongly suggest to reach there before it gets too dark. Once you are more familiar with the road, then its should be ok and you would be comfortable driving even at night time.

During day time, you can really enjoy the scenic route to the resort which is adjacent to the dam reservoir.

They also have an Ayurvedic treatment centre offering different packages (around 10 different options to choose from)

More details can be found at : https://aurevoir.co.in/ayurvedic-treatment-package

Note: We have not tried any ayurvedic package and hence cannot comment much on that part.

Seems like they also have a fully-qualified yoga expert available within the resort.

Seems like this is also a common stay option for Film stars while they have shooting in and Malampuzha area. During our stay, we saw Tamil stars like Arya, Simran and others. There was also a small cake cutting function in connection with Arya’s birthday.

More details can be found @ https://aurevoir.co.in/

Address:

AuRevoir Resort Palakkad

Malampuzha Dam Ring Road,

South Malampuzha, Palakkad, Kerala, India

+91 97784 12247

+91 97784 12236

reservations@aurevoir.co.in

 As far as I remember, there is no direct Booking option available in their website, instead you should provide your details around the travel plan in the form of a message.

Overall Summary:

We would certainly recommend including AuRevoir (as a option to stay), in case if you are planning for a Malampuzha trip.

Thera are lot of tourist attarctions in Malampuzha.

Malampuzha Dam & Ropeway:

Malampuzha Dam is the second largest dam and reservoir in Kerala.

Malampuzha Ropeway was South India’s First Rope way project and it was commissioned in 1991.

Flying over the garden at a height of 60 ft., providing the best panoramic view of the beautiful landscapes, the twenty minutes sky-ride on Malampuzha Ropeway provides an unforgettable experience.

Malampuzha Snakepark:

Snake Park, is a reptile rehabilitation centre,  situated close to Malampuzha Dam and Malampuzha Garden.

It is maintained by the Kerala Forest Department, Palakkad.

Various poisonous and non-poisonous reptiles are exhibited in the Snake Park.

Malampuzha Garden:

Malampuzha Garden is a beautifully landscaped garden on the front side of the Malampuzha Dam. It is full of lush green lawns with well laid-out flower beds. There are pathways to watch and enjoy variety of fountains and marvelous sculptures.

Malampuzha Rock Garden:

Malampuzha Rock Garden, maintained by the District Tourism Promotion Council, Palakkad, was the first-of-its-kind in South India.

The Garden is filled with architectures made of waste stones and plastic.

I am a Platinum holder of IHG Rewards Club. I stayed with my Family for one night at ‘Holiday Inn Pattaya’ in March 2015 and its indeed one of the best Holiday Inn Hotels that I have stayed in.

The kids pool and the bigger pool near the Restaurant area is really awesome.

The hotel also had a kids play room with different activities.

Its in the other end of the walking street and hence its in a less noisy area compared to other hotels.

The staff’s were very helpful.

Tiffany show theatre is just 10 minute’s walk from the hotel.

We got a Beach facing room and the view from the balcony was excellent.

There are a couple of Indian Restaurants nearby but we didn’t try food from there since we had a feeling like Indian Restaurants are costly in Thailand.

They will help you to get some good deals for Pattaya city tours.

More details in https://www.ihg.com/holidayinn/hotels/us/en/pattaya/pyxpa/hoteldetail

Novotel Phuket Resort is nestled on a hillside overlooking Patong Bay on eight acres of tropical landscaped gardens, near to Patong Beach. The hotel features 217 contemporary rooms plus three-tiered pool facing to the Sea. We stayed in this hotel in March 2015.

Pros:
This is a beautiful resort near to the Patong Beach.
The staff is excellent, always willing to take care of every need with a smile.
On request, they had provided an excellent Beach/Sea facing room. The room was very large with multiple beds.
There are 3 pools with comfortable water temperature. Pools here are really nice and well maintained.
Walking around the hotel is interesting and curious. Lots of great photo spots.

Cons:
This is little far from the main city center. However, resort provides back And forth shuttle service. Do check with the resort for the timings.
Note : The last shuttle is at 7pm and the return is at 7.15pm, so if you are planning to go for dinner to the centre of Patong, you must come back using some other transportation options (Ex: Taxi, Bike Taxi)

The resort is on a hillside. Normally they arrange an electric vehicle for the travel from the main road to the reception area; else, you will have to climb slope/staircases.

Stayed with my family at ‘iCheck inn, Sukhumvit, Soi 2’ during March 2015.

I booked this hotel through my Country Club India membership.

Country Club has mixed type of properties, some are really good and some very bad. But this hotel at Bangkok was really a nice one.

(Special Note to country club, India members: I am quite sure that you might think twice before booking a country club property, may be due to some personal experience or due to some bad reviews read on Internet. But I can guarantee you that this is one of the good hotels, that you can book through country club. I have stayed here with my wife and kid for around 3 days)

Highlights:

– Situated near the Busy Sukhumvit street.
– Not a very big property but its clean and neat.
– Staff is friendly.
– They don’t have a full course of breakfast and have a limited menu. Food rates are on the higher side.
– They arrange Tuk-Tuk (regular) service from and to the main street.
– There is a metro station near by (you can take the Tuk-Tuk from the hotel).
– They have a good locker facility.
– Rate is very much affordable.
– Car parking seems to be limited, but not sure.
– Staff @ front office spoke English very well, which was very helpful.
– They arranged a private taxi for us to have a one day tour, It was quite safe and reasonable.
– There is a 7/11 shop , and a supermarket available at a walkable distance.

More details in : https://icheck-inn-sukhumvit-soi-2-bangkok.booked.net/

One Line Summary: Basic , Neat and affordable hotel in Sukhumvit street, Bangkok

I had stayed in ‘TM Land Hotel’ in March 2015.

There are 2 categories in the same campus : TM Land Hotel and TM Land Apartment.

TM Land Hotel has around 158 guest rooms.

TM Land Apartment offers service appartments on a monthly basis.

PROS:

• For one night stay, this would be a good option as rate is affordable.
• Breakfast was decent.
• Budget Stay; Value for money.
• The staff were extremely nice and friendly.
• Bathrooms are very clean.

CONS:

• I couldn’t find a single person in the Front office who understands English. We will find it very difficult to interact with them.
• Don’t have the basic gadgets like Pin connectors/adapters to charge the laptop and phone (for International tourists, it might be challenging).

More details in http://TM Land Serviced Hotel, Ayutthaya, Thailand

I stayed here at ‘Villa Cassandra’ with my family for a day in December 2016.

Pros:

• This Villa is a large house with 3 rooms located in a very quiet part of town.
• Very modern interior with top class fittings and much more comfortable than a traditional bungalow.
• The rooms were huge and neat and well maintained, we couldn’t think of any suggestions for improvement.
• Budget Stay; Value for money.
• The staff were extremely nice and friendly.
• Bathrooms were very clean.

Cons:

• The Location might initially confuse you a little, with lot of lefts and rights.
• Very limited menu for breakfast (western style).. Lunch and Dinner is not available.. but lot of dining options available nearby.

One Line Summary: Excellent and Calm place to stay within Nuwara Eliya and all the rooms are well maintained.

I have stayed here in Earl’s Regent hotel, with my family in December 2016.

Cons:

Little far from City Center

WiFi was slow

Our room was in the building which is on left side of the main reception.

That building didn’t have an escalator. During checkout, we had to use the steps to bring down the heavy luggage. So if you have any old people in the group, please request for a room in the new building.

More details on : https://www.aitkenspencehotels.com/regentkandy/

One Line Summary: Good and decent hotel within the outskirts of Kandy City Center.

“The journey not the arrival matters.”

T.S. Eliot

I stayed in Flora Parc Barcelona along with my Family in March 2019.

Key Points to Note:

This hotel is around 10-11 Kms from Airport.

You can take Bus L99 from Terminal 1. The bus journey will take around 30+ Minutes. Bus stop is opposite to this hotel.

Please note that there is an Airport Free Shuttle bus service between Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 at the El Prat Airport. So, you can use this service to travel between the terminals (as they are far from each other)

The First bus from this hotel side to Airport is only at 5 AM. So, if you have an early flight, you might have to spend around 30-35 Euros for a cab.

Positives:

We had an early morning flight and the person in the front office arranged a taxi, on request.

The bus stop is near to the hotel. So, you can easily use the public transportation.

Have not tried the restaurant food, but you have lot of street food options in a walk-able distance.

Decent price for a Barcelona hotel.

Wifi connectivity was available in the room.

Negatives:

Very basic hotel with small rooms.

Seems it is a little old hotel.

Basic stuff like Dental kit was not available in the room. When checked with the reception, even they didn’t have one.

We cannot consider this as a typical ‘transit/layover’ type of hotel, as it is little far from the El Prat airport.

Basic stuff like drinking water bottles was not available (not sure if it’s common in Barcelona hotels)

More details can be found at https://floraparc.com/en/