Author: Surina Shankar

How We Scored 5 Free Nights in Singapore’s Little India

How We Scored 5 Free Nights in Singapore’s Little India

Posted by | Jun 13, 2018 | |

How we scored 5 free nights in singapore What’s better than spending five nights in Singapore?  Spending five nights in Singapore for FREE. We were able to get the 80,000 points that we needed through the sign-up bonus that we received from signing up for the Hilton Honors Credit Card.  One of the cool perks about being a Hilton Honors member is that when you pay with points you get the fifth night for free.  The cost of our hotel per night was 20,000 points, and with the fifth night free we only had to use 80,000 points instead...

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Singapore Botanic Gardens

Singapore Botanic Gardens

Posted by | Jun 12, 2018 | |

If time permits or if you are nature lovers like us, check out the Singapore Botanic Gardens (awesome because it is free) and the National Orchid Garden (still great because it is cheap at just $5sd per adult). We took a wonderful morning walk through both. The gardens are really large. There is so much to see and there are so many cool spots to relax. Ryan a.k.a. Silly Monkey really enjoyed the walk of giants. It’s an elevated walk amongst the trees, and includes a rope hammock to jump, tumble, and play in. I was impressed with the...

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Warm Waiotapu

Warm Waiotapu

Posted by | May 28, 2018 | |

After spending time in Rotorua (for more on that click here), we visited Wai-o-tapu Thermal Wonderland to see the Champagne Pool and all of the other creatively named thermal sights. The grounds are extensive and we enjoyed the walk to discover the many caves, lookout points, and pools. We even took a picnic in with us. If you have time, I recommend checking out this sight and touring the entire sight. But, if you are short on time it is easy to do the first loop or just part of it to see the Champagne Pool and some of...

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Radiant Rotorua

Radiant Rotorua

Posted by | May 25, 2018 | |

Rotorua is a land of geysers, mud pools, and sulfur smells. It is also a land rich in Māori culture. We arrived in Rotorua and had our fingers crossed that we would be able to find a spot to freedom camp near the lake. Unfortunately, the designated spot only had a few stalls and they were taken. We drove to another area and met a Māori man who not only told us to park next to him by the lake, but also shared stories at sunset about his time in Antarctica. Waking up on the lake was great because...

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Tongariro Crossing: How We Survived Mount Doom

Tongariro Crossing: How We Survived Mount Doom

Posted by | May 19, 2018 | |

We arrived to Auckland around midday. It took a lot longer to pick up our Britz rental van than we expected and a lot longer than it took in Queenstown (for more on our experience in Queenstown click here). We headed straight out of Auckland to Tongariro National Park to freedom camp for the night. I had already coordinated with my cousin, who is Samoan and was born and raised in New Zealand, to meet up and hike the Tongariro Alpine Crossing the next morning. I hadn’t seen my cousin in several years and Ryan had only met him...

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