Kodaikanal:
A famous south Indian hill station also some times refered to as the 'The Switzerland of India' was a place where English took a break from the gruelling weather of Tamil Nadu.
The place has many attractions and Scenic views to enjoy, some of the prominent ones being - Coakers Walk, Kodai lake, Pine forest, Suicide point, Pillar rock, Green Valley, various water falls, Golf course etc.
I met up a group of pharmacy students from Madurai on my trip and had an opportunity to click some splendid landscapes and scenery.
Suicide Point - A valley full of Clouds
Forest view
Pillar rock
Hills of Kodai
Coaker's Walk views:
Dum Dum falls:
Enough of do's and don't now let me tell you about my Dubai trip.
My Itinerary: Chennai - Dubai - Chennai on Emirates
(MAA - DBX: Morning 3'o clock flight reaches DBX around 6am local time)
(DBX - MAA: Evening flight reaches MAA around 11pm IST)
Had booked my hotel from India itself - Shangri La. The staff there directed me to the Jacuzzi and sauna area to take a shower and get ready for office, while they arranged for my early check-in. They also took care of my local currency requirements charging my card directly. Had a continental breakfast (exorbitant 85 AED!!) and left quickly for the office. Dozed off the whole day.
Morale: Don't take the late night flight from India!
Back to Shangri la!
I was on the 34 floor not realizing that the thin structure diagonally opposite the building was the Burj tower (under construction). The hotel Jacuzzi helped me take off a little bit of travel pain and so I decided to go out for dinner.
It is located on the busiest road in Dubai - Sheik Zayed Road, which also also had numerous other hotels and small restaurants. Nice place to take an evening stroll and pass by everything from the French Connection to Pizza Hut. Good to see such soothing hangouts just beside high speed maddening traffic rush. The shops on the other side of Sheik Zayed seemed even brighter (grass is always ...) The only thing that kept me wondering was how can a pedestrian get to the other side of road!
The television and cable network is pathetic, so you need to go out and see places. Shopping is one of the biggest attraction of Dubai. I am not a shopping freak (at least I don't claim so) but one of the hotel girls told me in detail about where to shop for what. Typical places to Shop and attractions includes:
City Centre Mall: Suggested for budget shopping. Items generally cheaper than other Malls
Wafi Mall : Has everything from electronics to hi fashion to jewelry to food. Has this nice food joint called Waffi Gourmet in case you want to try something special. And you can also try some Shisha (Hukka), very famous in all restaurants, with food.
Mall of Emirates: Supposedly Expensive. A big mall with an attraction of Skiing round the year. Skiing in hot Dubai weather, must be kidding. Not really, they have the biggest artificial ice skiing ground there. A typical example of power of oil!
Kya kare kahan jaye? (Where to go what to do?):
Concrete Jungle: They say a third of the world's cranes are working in Middle East. You could just look around to validate the statistic. Every where you see there would be new construction coming up.
The celebrated D shaped hotel (supposedly the only 7-star) in the world!
Almost all skyscrapers have a pub / nightclub on the top most floor, some people love to get high at night!
Palm Jumeria
Nearby Places: Abu Dhabi