Saturday, December 22, 2007

Gondola Ride at Heavenly, Tahoe

We were advised by those who have visited Lake Tahoe before, to take the ride up Heavenly Mountains on the Gondola or Cable Car ( like the ones in Pulau Langkawi ) to get the whole view of Lake Tahoe from above or else we'ld be truly missing out on our trip. The Heavenly Gondola provides visitors the opportunity to ski or view Lake Tahoe in all its glory. I can say that I have gone up many Cable Cars before this: to Telekom's satelite station in Gunung Kinabalu (pregnant pulak tu, a long2 time ago..), the ones in Cameron Highlands, the ones in New Zealand, the ones in Perth Australia.. but the cable car going up Gunung Mat Cinchang in Langkawi was by far the "scary-iest", to my own standards of course! However, my children enjoyed the ride and thought nothing of them when I recalled our trip to Langkawi a few years back. After browsing through Langkawi's websites, now only I know that the cable car goes over 2.2km up at a 42 degree angle. Nevertheless, the breathtaking view up Gunung Mat Cinchang beats anywhere else! Another info that's news to me is that the Langkawi's cable car was built without constructing any roads through the jungle and all the materials used were lifted into place using helicopters. I don't know how they did that but to me, that sounds impressive! Like the cable car ride in Langkawi, the Heavenly Gondola ride also has 2 stops; The Deck and The Top Station. The eight-passenger cabins take guests 2.4 miles (about 4.8km) up the mountain in 12 minutes arriving at The Deck - a 360° viewing platform located at 9,123 feet. The 2nd stop at the Top Station is for the skiers and for those who wants to see the view at a higher elevation. The 1st stop at The Deck was enough for us. Anyway, my camera was running out of batteries by then. Similar to the Oriental Village where the Langkawi Cable Car starts, the Heavenly Village -starting point of the Gondola Ride, is a "must-see" on the list of things to do in Tahoe. Architectured with a European flair, the "Village" located along Tahoe Boulevard in South Lake Tahoe has many unique shops, eateries, and entertainment venues. There were also many other tourists there too this time of year, mainly those who originate from Asia. I can't help noticing many distant relatives of Shah Rukh Khan, Hrithik Roshan, Amitabh Barchan, Kamalahassan (hero Tamil), Rani Mukherjee ..just to name a few ...:-) I am also not surprised if this place is in their list of sites for film scenes yang ada nyanyi2, keliling2 pokok Pine & terguling2 dalam snow. There are many kedai India, Pakistan & Afghan in San Jose that sells/ rents DVD filem Hindi because they have a big market for them here...but sorry, I am no longer one of their regular customer, I am now into blogging and browsing..... NOT shops..., the Net of course! However, I really wish I can make something more (like $$$ ) out of it, instead of just more 'bumper' in my seat! he..he.. Anis & Atiqah geram jer tengok skating rink - picture on the left - and wanted to have a go at it...but mahal sangat! Even the Gondola ride was already a leak in their father's wallet - although he paid under 18 years old tickets for both of them. Anyway, I think they can always skate somewhere else.. And the Gondola Ride will be a one time experience for them as well, since we are definitely not going up there again... I think once is enough to see views from above.


A few pictures of the hotels and the areas in South Lake Tahoe.......


















Maybe I should have a facebook account....























... or something of its kind!..





















for all my pictures....










2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey Auntie! Try using Photobucket. Don't know if you have heard of it over even tired it. But thats where i upload my photos without having to actually sign up for an account at facebook or sites of that sort.

zidnee 'ilmaa said...

Thanx Nana! I've registered and already started to upload a few pictures. Now trying to find a way of sharing them. I'll get there!:)

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