Trip report – Mykonos, Greece

It has been six months since we visited Greece. The details are now blurry, but the stories from the vacation need to be here. And so it goes.

The symbolic windmills in the beautiful town of Mykonos. 

Lovely views

We had to take a ferry from Santorini to Mykonos. It was the first week of October and I had read stories of ferries being cancelled at the last minute. Thankfully, the weather was fine and we set sail to what was a an extremely beautiful beach destination.

Now Mykonos is the party capital of Greece. Unfortunately for us, the party ended in August. The most famous beach there – Paradise beach – has thousands of visitors shedding inhibitions and dancing all day in the summer months. We went to Paradise beach twice, only to enjoy the tranquillity and the beautiful sand.

Our hotel was in the centre of the town. But the GPS fooled us and our first outing was a disaster. We were going to the centre and it took us from ‘the shortest route possible’.  It was dark, the road was narrow, cars were coming from all directions, and we were walking to find restaurants!

When we did reach the area, it was absolutely beautiful with lots of narrow walkways, shops and restaurants all around. Our friends wanted Indian food, so went to this desi joint and encountered a horrible waitress. She kept glasses on our table with a loud bang. When we asked for chapatis, she came and said with a disturbing attitude,“We don’t have them. What will you do?”. When we look back, it was absolutely hilarious. That ‘what will you do’ has become a famous quote in our house!

The next day was another adventure on its own. Again, I must say, the GPS was at fault. We hired a car and went beach hunting. Our first stop was the pretty and simple to reach – Paradise beach. The ocean was cold and so we just lazed around on sun loungers with beer and good food. The waitress was the cutest! Close to the beach there was a cliff where they had an Indian restaurant. We called the owner to ask about it before driving there. He asked us to come after a couple of hours!

The sandy beach of Paradise!

The Boy - exposed!!! :p

Yes, October was not a peak season and people were relaxing. Now these Indian restaurants in European cities usually have two people managing a small restaurant. One serves, the other cooks. This guy was no exception. Only thing is he was having a conversation with someone back home and expelling BC/MC with ease!

We had a laugh with that too. And then we thought of going to Super Paradise beach. If we would have taken a U-Turn and gone to the highway, the road to the beach would have been easier. We didn’t know. So we asked our GPS for help. She took us from mountains and pebbly roads which were extremely dangerous. It was the most adventurous ride we’ve had in our life. It was steep, it was uneven, it was long, it had blind turns, it was a SINGLE road on a mountain…hmm!

But we managed to laugh that off as well and went to two more beaches after that. They were mostly empty because the water was cold. Even then, there lay a couple of topless women and the boys were happy!

We imagined how those beaches would be in summer. They were absolutely gorgeous. The clubs were amazing. The bars were superb. We thought we’ll go there again sometime..

In the evening we went for dinner at an Italian place in an area called Little Venice. The water from the sea splashed on the banks and the place was a beauty. Nobody asked us ‘What will we do’ and they even gave us blankets because it was a tad cold. We felt welcomed.

Little Venice in Mykonos

The next day we thought of not taking our chances and visiting Paradise beach again. We have lots of fun with the couple we went with, so it didn’t matter. The vacation was chilled out and we had nothing to tick mark. The people at the beach were humble and it was another feel-good outing. In the evening we went to eat Doner kebabs at a smallish restaurant. The owner was clearly stoned! Our friend couldn’t find him and so, he started tapping the counter mildly. The guy appeared from nowhere and started saying ‘What are you doing? Have some respect. You have to respect me.” Man, what was up with these people in Mykonos? Summer had been long it seemed!

We walked around the beautiful market area again in the evening and discovered little corners. Our hotel room was perfect, their breakfast was huge, and the beaches were blissful. Even with some rude encounters, our trip was perfect. We thought we’d go again.

Loved these lanes in Mykonos

Our plane out was a very small one, with sort of a ladder to the door! We went to Athens for a flight back to Bahrain. The next day was Karwachauth, the friends were going to stay over-night before going to their home in Dubai, there was supposed to be a party at my place that night… I loved every bit of it!

Sunset from our Hotel

Read about Athens and Santorini in previous posts.

Trip Report - Santorini, Greece

We went to Greece last year because there was a direct flight from our city and we had little to do during Eid holidays. A friend asked us, and we didn’t have a reason to say no. And well, who doesn't have Greece on their bucket list?

Deciding on Athens, Santorini and Mykonos was easy. All three are extremely diverse towns with a good mix of beauty, culture and entertainment. We saw varied landscapes of Greece all through our vacation and that is what made it so interesting.

Now we’ve all seen Santorini in movies. We all want to go there. The blue and white is alluring and every picture that you have seen of the place is so romantic. Well, it is all true. The place is picture perfect – nothing more, nothing less.

Freshly painted structures of Santorini

I love yellow!

The city is divided in two parts – Fira and Oia. The hotels are all on a cliff with a lot of steps to reach them. We decided to stay in Fira because it had more places to eat! And we chose a hotel that had no steps (which was hard to find because there are only 2-3).

Our hotel was at the beginning of a long pedestrian-only stretch that had shops and restaurants on each side. The grey and white floor, freshly painted structures, light music coming out from each place, tourists mingling and laughing – it was all wonderful.

Fira and its hotels. 

Unfortunately, that was it. You walk around that street, walk up and down the steps, look at the sea, do some window shopping and hog on. It was a perfect holiday for people who are stressed out and need nothing more to do. But for people who look for entertainment for three nights, there was little choice.

In no way I am saying that the beauty of Santorini has any parallel. It is absolutely gorgeous. At the same time, it is extremely touristy. It is so picture perfect that people just want to click all the time. Sometimes it got really annoying seeing everyone with a selfie stick trying to capture the blue and white. Whatever happened to living in the moment?

Souvenirs

Along the street in Fira

Fake pose! Someone hates the camera
and this someone did not like tourists in Santorini one bit!

Not to forget, the sunset is the selling point of Santorini. It goes down completely into the blue ocean and looks beautiful. The best views are from Oia. So we went there to check it out. Trust me, we couldn’t stay till the actual sunset happened. There were thousands of people gathered to watch in a very small place and it got claustrophobic. Frankly, I think we never watch the sun set at home. It is equally beautiful in any country facing the sea!

Will do anything for a picture with the sunset

Beauty and drinks in the less hyped Fira!

When it got claustrophobic in Oia

It was cute to watch new brides walking around in there gowns. Apparently, it is a perfect place to get clicked after the wedding. We had lots of fun in our hotel’s balcony watching, guess what, the sun go down! We sat there for hours playing hindi music, drinking, eating and dancing with friends. I just have to mention the doner kebabs we had there - they were to die for! We love our Turkish street food and this did not disappoint us.

Devouring the Doner Kebab!

My advice to people on Santorini will be that you must go for a couple of days at max. I also think it’s a good trip to make when you are, maybe, 50 so that you can completely enjoy the beauty and not be bogged down by the lack of entertainment. It is a pretty place (as you can make out from the pictures) and you will love it. Also, you will click the best pictures of your life here - like we got this one!

Oh yes, why should we be left behind!

Read about Athens here.

Trip Report - Athens, Greece

In 2005, I went to South East Asia with my extended family. We were at Changi airport in Singapore when I saw this tall, gorgeous couple using the free Internet kiosk. When they left, I took their screen only to find the girl's mail-box open in front of me. It said that she was eloping with this boy. For me, this was like a fairytale with the most beautiful prince and princess starring in it. They were from Greece.

That was only a year after I had finished graduation in English Literature. Our course was full of stories from the Greek islands. Poseidon, Zeus, Athina... I knew them all. This land fascinated me a whole lot. Although that was also a time when I never wished for anything because of the fear of losing it all, I subconsciously dreamt of Greece being one of the places I could see.

Fast forward 9 years, we planned a trip to the islands only because we had a direct flight from our country of residence! Frankly, these trips were never a part of my agenda till we actually started doing them. And now, we've become greedy. So much so, that we even forsake fine-dining on weekends so that we can save for a good trip! Are we addicted or what?

Anyway, this was another unique trip because we had another couple with us along-with their 1-year old baby in tow. We had no clue what lay ahead of us, but because they asked us to accompany them, we just decided to go. The Boy told me that they will take care of their baby, and he will take care of his!

Athens was our first city. This city is the birthplace of western civilization surviving since more than 3000 years. The most fascinating thing is that they have managed to retain the homes of people who existed even then. The Acropolis stands tall in the middle of the city reminding everyone of the past. The likes of Zara, Mango, Chopard, Burberry co-exist in the by-lanes depicting the present times. But with all this, every day, there are protests in the centre of the city reminding us that the country has little future. The policemen, however, are the sexiest I have seen anywhere in the world!

Preserved beautifully.

A lot of the Acropolis was under reconstruction, so this is all we could see.

View of Athens from the top

Only if I knew all the history behind it!

The real beauty of Athens lie in it's ruins. If you're not a fan of history, the city will not do anything for you. It has a gorgeous port area where hundreds of ships park for visitors to take a glimpse of this historical delight. We went to lively squares, ate in bustling restaurants, avoided huge shopping areas and drank at the port. I had to push the Boy to see the Acropolis who didn't feel anything even at the top. I, on the other hand, felt like I was in one of my Literature books, living in those times. The climb wasn't easy since I had to convince the guard that I was indeed unable to climb and wanted to use the elevator which was only for people on a wheelchair. Thankfully, he obliged otherwise I would have been deprived of seeing one of the most awe-inspiring things in the world. That would also have been one of my first defeats which would hurt a lot...

The most lively place in all of Athens - Monastaraki square.
The Acropolis is in the background.

Athens port area

Another thing that stuck was a gang of 6 elderly ladies on a very slow Happy Train that took us inside the lanes. These women were in their 70's and seemed like very good friends. For more than an hour they did nothing but laugh. They were not interested in the sights but just living their life. I wish I could understand their language because I was extremely inspired by them. Their group is that one thing that will stay with me and motivate me for the rest of my life.

to be continued.

P.S. Like every trip, we didn't click many pictures because of the Boy's allergy to the camera. So, well, let me show you one of my favorite from Athens. Also, let me clear it before you say anything, I AM SHOWING OFF!!!

Bollywood go take a hike!!!!!

P.P.S As soon I landed back in my country, I saw these results. I think this year is special in many ways :)