Top 18 Travel Memories

My next post might also be in a list format, can't tell.

1. The Maid of the Mist ride into the Niagra falls. The falls are horseshoe shaped and the boat takes you into the middle of the horseshoe. For about 10 minutes, you are surrounded by roaring water, a fine mist hitting your face. Quite an overwhelming moment in some ways.
2. The Kraken ride at Sea World, Orlando. The roller coaster last for about 2 minutes and has 7 loops! I went twice. An incredible adrenaline rush.
3. Watching Chicago in New York. Broadway has been one of my various showbiz obsessions for a while and watching Chicago on Broadway was almost spiritual.
4. My first first sight of Times Square. This was when I had gone with my family. We took a cab from Upper Manhattan and got off just before the actual junction of Broadway and 7th Avenue. A few paces took us in the midst of a whirlwind of noise, colour and people. The sheer exhilaration of being there made me want to jump around.
5. The Wayanad trek. It is definitely one of the most unique experiences I have had. The long trek upwards, subsequent qualms about going further and the final trudge to the heart-shaped lake and our photo taking session on top. One of the cooler things I have done (I hope to do more of them!).
6. Paris. I can't really pin-point anything specific moment here - everything was so awesome! But highlights definitely include the view from the top of the Eiffel Tower and Roland Garros.
7. Wimbledon and Strawberries and Cream. Our old time British guide took us on a good one hour tour of the entire Wimbledon grounds. We then had baked jacket potatoes and strawberries and cream for lunch. I could literally picture text from Enid Blighton books before my eyes.
8. Hong Kong Disneyland. Though it is called a poor man's Disneyland, we visited it over two days and met almost all Disney 'characters' including Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, Snow White and of course Mickey and Minnie themselves. It was quite satisfying in that sense :).
9. Our private beach experience in Thalaserry. Yes, it was incredibly hot and yes, we got terribly tanned but the feeling of having the entire beach to one's self was empowering. And of course all the games of hand-sand.
10. Lying on Om Beach at night and looking at the stars. No explanations needed, it was simply beautiful.
11. A mad canal ride through Bangakok. This ride was made more exciting by the fact that it had rained very heavily that afternoon and the canal was swollen and the water quite turgid. Our boatman, without a care in the world, made the both go so fast that its prow was rising out of the water and it seemed about to take off. The rather exciting but slightly scary trip was completed when we later found out that due to the swollen river, a couple of tourists had been drowned while exploring some caves. Psycho shit!
12. Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. I can't really describe how I felt looking at those frescoes except for the fact that I was incredibly awestruck. Each figure seemed to come to life in the flickering candle-light and each panel had a story to tell.
13. The entire Dresden trip. Being the first phoren locale I had visited with friends and my first hop-on/ hop-off tour (which went on to have a profound influence on Anwesha and my lives), it was a fun and interesting trip helped by the fact that Dresden is an incredibly beautiful city.
14. The dash through Charles de Gaulle airport to catch the Frankfurt flight. Man I hate that airport! It was fun though :)
15. The tequila experiments in Pondicherry. Our extreme belief in the power of tequila and subsequent disappointment is something I will never forget!
16. Driving to Mysore. Mainly because of my driving powers and all those photo moments.
17. Breaking into random song on the slopes of Munnar. This is something I have been wanting to do for a while and I was lucky had two worthy individuals to accomplish this feat with :D
18. The thrill of travelling to Disneyland Paris without a ticket and actually fooling the ticketing machines. I still marvel at it sometimes!

The list ends at the somewhat random number 18 because these experiences undoubtedly stand out from the entire bunch of adventures one has on any holiday. I am honestly hoping one comes my way soon - something longer than 4 days. Major break required!