The Grossglockner Road

Austrian countryside, near Grosskirchheim (it’s actually spelt Großkirchheim in German), on the approach to the Grossglockner Road from Lienz, Austria

Continuing from where I left off in the last post, here’s our final road trip of our 2015 2-Weeks Summer Vacation in Europe. From Vintgar Gorge in Slovenia, we made our way northwards again, because we had to catch our flight back to Dubai in two days’ time from the other side of the Alps, i.e. from Munich, Germany. We also had plans to meet up with sister Kim’s family (for the first time ever) in Munich, and were looking forward to it. The only problem, is that in between Slovenia and Germany, is the Alps, and Austria! And the most interesting route between where we were, and Munich, is the Grossglockner Road! Or more accurately, the Grossglockner High Alpine Road, the highest road in Austria, named after the highest mountain in Austria!

D’ya think we’d give a place like that a miss, since we were already so close??? Even if it costs a bomb? (Yup, you have to pay a separate toll, and it ain’t cheap… I remember it cost more than 100 bucks! For toll alone! And that’s on top of the blanket toll that all cars already have to pay in Austria).

And that’s how we ended up in the town of Lienz, East Tyrol, Austria, to spend a night before our journey across the Alps on the Grossglockner Road. Here’re the pictures!


Gasthof Gribelehof, Lienz, East Tyrol, Austria – This was where we booked our one night stay in, but not where we eventually stayed. The hotel friggin botched up our booking! …We initially booked for the night before, but then changed our booking when finalizing our plans before flying off to Europe, so they had ample time to do the change, but failed to realize that we had changed the dates. Bummer! They arranged a room for us at another nearby hotel (Bierkeller), which was cheaper, but didn’t have as nice a view as this one! What a waste. We could see the whole of Lienz from here!






What the heck, might as well hang around and take some photos of the Gasthof Gribelehof compound


The road to Gasthof Gribelehof goes underneath an Alpine Roller Coaster! (The guesthouse lies on top of a hillock). There, below is the town of Lienz


Alpine Coaster, Lienz - Gasthof Gribelehof can be seen on top of the hill, on the centre left of the photo


Alpine Coaster, Lienz, East Tyrol, Austria


Bye-bye, leaving Lienz for the Grossglockner Road – outskirt of Lienz with a view of the Gailtal Alps (Lienz Dolomites) towering above behind / beside Lienz




At the village of Winklern, right after crossing the state border from East Tyrol to Carinthia


Großkirchheim, Carinthia, Austria


The countryside just before the start of the Grossglockner Road (It’s spelt Großglockner in German. Yup, they have a special symbol for ‘SS’. I guess German snakes would go hißßß…)


Finally, the Großglockner High Alpine Road…


The last photo we took of the Grossglockner Road before it was completely shrouded in fog… What a bummer, all that toll we paid, and we didn’t even see half of it! The southern part was fine. North of the range, and everything was foggy, gloomy and cloudy like most of the days on the second week of our Europe trip

From the Grossglockner Road, we would end up stopping at Walchsee for a quick lunch, before entering Germany, and getting lost in the city of Munich (bloody GPS led us to the wrong street, how would I bloody know that Munich Airport isn’t in Munich City?!?), resulting in us being very late in meeting Kim, Daniel and little Jared… And that is a story I’ve written a long time ago.

Alright, this is the last post from our 2015 Europe trip, Auf Wiedersehen. We’ll be back. Just wait!

(How do I remember all these place names? I don't, but I have Google Maps! Don’t underestimate Google Maps mate. I love Google Maps, if only Google Maps was around when I was younger, …sigh!)

A Walk in the Forest

Whatddya say? Summer is in full blast, roasting everything in sight outside… Where can we escape to??? No, we have no grand summer holiday plans this year. Just a trip home later this month, to see the family and take care of some stuff!

Meanwhile, I guess I’ll finish my long overdue posts on our summer Europe trip of 2015! (Umm, it’s only 4 years late, not yet the record, hehe).

Going back to where I left off last year, Lake Bled, Slovenia, as I was saying, our one day in Slovenia, and it had to be a gloomily cloudy day. So, we decided to take it easy and skip the grand vista views of the mountains (Triglav National Park) and the lakes (Lake Bohinj), and decided to just hang out and chill in the little town of Bled. We also visited a nearby river gorge. (It’s a gorge, you don’t need blue skies and dazzling sunshine to friggin see a gorge!) Here’s our trip to the Vintgar Gorge.


Vintgar Gorge, Slovenia


Tiny 10-month-old Jayden, with Papa, at Vintgar Gorge. I bet you, Jayden doesn’t remember a thing about this…


I bet 6-year-old Justin doesn’t remember either…




Honey, wait up…






Into the gorge…


What are these stacks of stones for??? Borrowing from Tibetan culture?? (I saw lots of these in Ladakh, India and Nepal. Have never been to Tibet. Just wait, hehehe)


Rock a bye baby, on papa’s chest, Jayden’s fallen asleep


The end of the road


A view from the top

Going back to the car, see ya Slovenia! We’re off to Austria, for the last leg of our 2015 trip!

The Friendliest Guest House Ever

When talking about friends, how could I miss out the swell time we had in a faraway place called Telavi, Georgia.

Telavi was a place we hadn’t planned on visiting in the first place. My plan was to visit the Tusheti National Park of Georgia, but we weren’t allowed to drive our hired car up the Tusheti Road. (So sez the car-hire company. Insurance doesn’t cover it apparently). The Tusheti Road is nicknamed by some as the most treacherous road in the world! – Don’t believe me? Google it. Because of this, we had to hire a local car with an experienced driver, and find a place to park our hired car for two days, at the base, and Telavi happens to be just the place, as it is the main city of the area and had a sizeable number of guesthouses to choose from.

And Hotel Green House was the place we chose to put up a night. We did the booking just a day, or two before we were to arrive, and boy, were we surprised.


Anu and the guesthouse manager (owner maybe), downing a shot of chacha, a Georgian liquor made from grape seeds. I tried some, just for the taste coz, bloody hell, I had to drive right after this… What a waste, hehe – Hotel Green House, Telavi, Georgia

On the day that we were supposed to arrive at Telavi from Kazbegi (aka Stepantsminda), I Googled and saw two routes, one a long route going back to almost the capital Tbilisi, which was where we originally started, or a shorter route going thru Tianeti and Akhmeta, but strangely, the shorter route took a longer time. Being the adventurous family that we are, we decided to take the shorter route, since we’ve driven on the longer route before. And what a helluva adventure that was!

The route started fine, with a nice road branching off from the main road, going up the mountains from Ananuri, with very few cars…


A church on the road between Ananuri and Tianeti. Google Maps sez it’s the Mother of God Church

And then starts the adventure…


The road to Akhmeta, right after leaving Tianeti. And it gets scarier after this. We only saw construction trucks and two bikers for almost the entire journey. From the dusty crusher run road in the picture above, it turned into a dirt road going thru a thick forest with no one in sight. The road was darting in between trees, and it was late in the evening, getting dark, with a slight drizzle. The actual dirt road didn’t exactly match the Google Maps route. Hell, it was like getting lost in the Beast’s forest, from the Beauty and the Beast story! (Anu refused to snap any photos of the scary road…)

Luckily, we emerged intact onto Akhmeta. We called in advance to the guesthouse to inform them that we’d be late, and asked for directions and they just asked us not to worry a thing about it, coz there was a family party going on and there’d be people around, and we were welcomed to join in.

Sure, why not? Hehe


Party to celebrate the 30th (if I remember correctly) wedding anniversary of one of the family members… There was food in abundance and free flowing wine… (Telavi, is after all, the wine capital of Georgia, where many households make their own wine!) From right: yours truly and Anu; a couple from Belarus who were repeat guests in the guesthouse; the hotel manager’s son (middle); the manager’s son-in-law David; the manager himself; and David’s dad and mom who were the ones having the anniversary. Mari (the manager’s daughter and David’s wife) was the one taking the photo


Happy Anniversary Tariel and Silva! (I hope I got the names correct)

Mari and her family were the nicest host we’ve ever come across in our holidays. We felt right at home, although there was a slight language gap. (Mari and husband could only speak some English, and they, and the Belarussian lady were the only grown-ups who knew English). We stayed only one night, but they let us park our car inside their house compound for 2 days, without charge, refused even when we wanted to pay (actually looked offended). They gave us breakfast free, they gave the kids food and fruits, again free. Our kids, Mari’s children and the Belarussian girls hung out like they’ve known one another for a long time. (This was where Justin learnt about adjara.net which is what he now uses to watch free movies!) On the day after we came down from Tusheti, and were about to leave for Tbilisi, Jayden fell down and cut his forehead. Mari and David brought us to the local hospital to have it stitched up, and didn’t ask for anything in exchange. Mari and family, if you do read this, I just wanna say, it was a privilege to have known you guys, and I hope you continue to sow happiness and joy to the people you meet, and that you get the same happiness and kindness in return. God bless you!


From left: Mari; Mari’s mom; and the mother and daughter from Belarus (the mother is Facebook friends with Anu… I think her name is Alesya…)


The bigger picture. From left – Mari’s mama (mama means father in Georgian); Anu; Mari’s deda (deda means mother …it’s easy, it’s just the opposite of English!); the daughter and mother from Belarus; yours truly; and the other half of the Belarussian family. This was actually the second time the Belarussian family visited the guesthouse. The loved Georgia and Telavi so much, that they decided to solemnize their wedding (or was it to renew their wedding vows?) in Telavi. They did it in a little church in Akhmeta


Jayden on a swing, with the auntie of the house, Hotel Green House, Telavi


To me, Green House is aptly named, there’re so many fruits in the compound! Here, Anu with some kiwi fruits


Plucking apples in Hotel Green House, Telavi


Some sort of nut… I think they’re hazelnuts (they sure taste like ‘em)

And here're some photos of the city...


The Giant Plane Tree, Telavi, Georgia


Mari and Jayden, at the Giant Plane Tree, Telavi – Notice that bandage on Jayden’s forehead? This was after Mari and David brought us to a local hospital to have it stitched up after Jayden fell while running on the road outside the guesthouse


Batonis Tsikhe fortress, at the centre of Telavi city. Telavi is the capital of the Kakheti Region of Georgia


Alaverdi Monastery, near Akhmeta, Kakheti Region, Georgia – It’s on the road between Telavi and Kvemo Alvani, where our Tusheti driver stopped en route to Tusheti

Alright, gotta go, got lots of work to catch up on. Green House invited us to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary with them. Hmmmm… maybe a good idea, but it’s still many years to go, let’s see ummm… 2036, …I’d be 66 years old!

Our Friends 2018

Enough of my self-glorifying mails, here’s my annual tribute to the people in our lives. Of 2018. …Half a year late as usual, sigh.


Gathering with Justin’s classmate Aria’s family (or is it Arya?) at Cedre Shopping Centre, Silicon Oasis, Dubai – Among all of our kids’ classmates, Aria’s family are the ones we’ve kept in touch the most, although Aria and Justin are actually in separate classes for the last few years now

Friends and family are a gift and a blessing, and are always welcome. Unfortunately, being in a faraway land, and with our hands full (with dealing with the two little monsters we call our sons…) (no, don’t get me wrong, we absolutely love them to bits), we’re a little short on social activities, and hence friends, ahem. Here’s what little we had in 2018. Thank you guys, for being in our lives, and for giving us a little of your time.


Niece Karishma, with her work colleague from Nepal, mmm… izit Reshma? (left), Reshma’s husband (middle) and a friend of Karishma’s from back home, Gairai (right). Gairai is ethnic Naga and used to teach in the same school as Karishma back home in Assam, India. He visited Dubai to look for a job


Gairai (right) and Reshma? (left) in our house, for a gathering of no particular reason …Anu sometimes does things like that, just for the heck of it, she’s quite good at creating the festive mood. This time, I think it’s to get Gairai to feel more at home in a foreign place… The kid beside Reshma is her son


Farewell for Dong Weihong (left) and Li Lei (right), our Chinese colleague and friend… They’re going back to China for good, after umm… 9, or is it 10 years? Their daughter, Amy, used to go to the same school as Justin, but has started school in China some years back. We knew Dong Weihong since our first stint in Dubai, from 2008 – 2010. 再见


Another playdate with Aria and Vivah, at Bay Square, Business Bay, Dubai – Wassup Jayden? Jayden at his usual dramatic self. Aria’s parents are UAE-born Indians


Jayden with his closest friend among the neighbours, Romaisa – She too has moved back to Pakistan with her parents


And the little ones finally meet again, Jayden and Mikaela, after umm a year and a half I think, at church (…we’re not very good church-goers). Mikaela and family are from the Philippines


Finally, after a long absence, a birthday party! At Justin’s best friend Rayaan’s house in Mirdif. Rayaan is Pakistani


Happy Birthday Rayaan!!! Birthday party in full swing – Rayaan’s parents are behind him. On the far right is Antranik, another of Justin’s classmate and friend. He’s Armenian. The boy in dark blue, right in front is Jiexi, also one of Justin’s close friend. He’s from China

And these are Justin’s teachers: -


Mr Dempster, his class teacher


Mr Michael Morgan, his music teacher, …Justin’s part of the school orchestra and ukulele group! Just when Justin’s starting to thrive in his current school, he’ll be leaving for another school (coz we’re shifting houses)… Feel a li’l bad, but what to do??

And Jayden’s teacher… Hmmm… it’ll have to wait till next year, we don’t have any pictures from 2018.

Some colleagues of yours truly: -


The ADAC gang (ADAC means Abu Dhabi Airport Company) – Looking back, the ADAC Project gang is pretty good with organizing gatherings and such – a gathering at a farm in Al Rahba, Abu Dhabi – From right, Lokesh (Safety Manager), Shaji (Contracts Manager), and Anver (Senior QS) on the right table. On the left table, starting from the far end is Rahul (Assistant QS), Jithin (Document Controller), Mohammed Nahas (Planning Engineer), Rajesh (Machinery Coordinator), Srinadh (standing, Planning Engineer), …mmm Man in Blue (sorry, I have absolutely no recollection of who this is, my memory is THAT BAD?!?), and Rajesh (bespectacled man in blue, Planning Manager, arch-rival of Contracts Manager Shaji). Behind, at the back table is Ahmed Elkadi (in pink, Site Engineer). He's sitting with Tang Zhao who is not seen in the photo


Here’s my good ol’ RE (Resident Engineer, meaning the head of the Consultant’s team supervising our works) of the ITS2020 Project where I was Acting Project Manager for a good 10 months – Eng Ghazi Al Sheikh of Parsons, in the site office at Al Quoz, Dubai – He’s a good man and a friend. He’s from Syria, Idlib to be precise, where bombs were dropping like leaves in autumn…

And finally here’s our one and only family member in Dubai, heck, in the entire friggin Middle East, Karishma, our niece, on our visit to the Miracle Garden, Dubai


That’s all folks! Till we meet again…