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Yas Marina Circuit Express 3000 Driving Experience
So this is a once in a life time experience. Aditya thought it would be fun to drive in a Formula 3000 car. Sure, why not?! I have never been one to shy away from a challenge…. till you see or rather hear the challenge!
So off we were to the Yas Marina Circuit.
To try , you must have a valid driver’s licence. Well that was fine- Check!
Then you get to the circuit. The car racing and skidding noise as the cars turn is shattering. How was I ever going to do this?Add to that we had a briefing which scares the living daylights out of you.
- You may not drive.
- You may not learn to even start this car
- If you do the above- you may still skid / slide if you drive badly.
- That will cause a crash
- If you crash, that could cause major damage including the car on fire.
Ok. Now I was quite petrified.
We dressed in the jumpsuits and then were led to the car. The car is almost at ground level and the pedals are all the way in front. You must know how to operate a clutch for this, as the car initially starts with the clutch.
Maybe I wasn’t going to be able to do this.
Aditya sensed my fear and told me, if I wasn’t sure ; I could do the trial round and then just quit.
The instructor because I was scared gave me my very own driving instructor to guide me who’d drive in front of me and show me the route.
Helmet on. I started.
What a rush. The instructor drove the first round carefully for me to follow and then left me to my own devices post round 1. Though the main instructor came to check on me there was no way I was stopping now!
Best experience ever. Must Do.
Cost per head-: $ 600 but you must add a video capturing your experience at another $60.
Adventuring under the Santorinian sun!
So the Gemini part of my Gemini-Taurus cusp personality (yes that’s a scary combination) decided one fine Sunday that we should up and go to Greece!
Now the husband is the more sane among us but has a terrible weakness for traveling and when this was suggested on a particularly lazy Sunday, he thought it was a fabulous idea! I did not expect him to agree but nonetheless YAY!
So off we were to Santorini ! Katakies was our hotel of choice in Santorini In the beautiful village of Oia pronounced as “Ia,” this is in the northern part of Santorini and is known to have the most beautiful sunsets and we were looking forward to the romance the evening would bring! This is part of the Small Luxury Hotels and I was really looking forward to a quick, yet very much needed break!
Santorini is a short beautiful flight from Athens! With azure waters interspersed with lush green isles , it is a truly a vision to behold! Our hotel was the other side of the island and a good 30 minutes by car. The car ride was phenomenal with stunning views and picture-postcard scenes! And almost before we could take a breath we were at the hotel. the hotel like the majority of structures in Santorini was a fabulous cave like whitewashed structure reminiscent of hotels in Cappadocia!
On the side of a cliff , the hotel overlooked the Caldera, the cauldron like volcanic structure surrounded by the ocean!The rooms were tasteful, large and ours had the stunning view of the bluest, blue sea! It was perfect!-a quiet , serene getaway to nothingness!
The hotel had just a few rooms and fabulously personal service. Breakfast was in the room every day and with the cheeses and local fruits and produce, the food was light, delicious and supremely healthy! We could eat outside overlooking the glorious ocean and remain undisturbed in the privacy of our own space!
The hotel had 3 pools, each more glorious than the other but my personal favourite was the Cave Pool….something I had never seen before! But where swimming was concerned- when in Santorini head to the beaches! And that’s what we did! I’m a free spirit but I have never been the kind of girl who drives around a foreign location with absolutely no idea what she’s doing… but that’s EXACTLY what we did here! We rented an ATV with an International Drivers Licence that i had brought and we were off! They do take any license in Roman English though so I could have got by with my Indian driver’s license as well! And off we went….to well….EVERYWHERE! It was a day time of adventure. We stopped. We shopped. We got lost.And then we got found!
We found black sand beaches, white sand beaches, azure waters and great cafes! We stopped and swam everywhere! We took our postcard photographs and really explored the island. We visited the beautiful villages 
of Fira and Firostefani, walked on the black pebble (huge pebbles) beach of Kamari and I felt rejuvenated and alive! Sometimes you can find purpose in life by just losing your way and that’s what we did…we got lost all day- but found our sanity, our happiness and our peace!
The sunsets at Oia are fabulous and walking on the cobbled paths , avoiding donkeys and stopping to see the fabulous Greek wares peddled on the sides of the paths- you rediscover happiness! Staring at the sun and sets in Santorini, there is a sense of inner peace that I have never felt before.
I was lost and found my way here …all the way in Santorini!
Travel with Divya 