Been some time since i updated this blog. Anyways its time to update and complete it as this journey is at its last phase :)
Had been to New York to fulfill a dream. The NY skyline is a must see in ones lifetime. I can strike it off from my Places-To-See-before-You-Die list. I stayed at my cousins home in New Jersey which is around 75 km from NYs- John F Kennady Airport.It was cold in NY around 2 to
3 C. The NY trip was a short one... Just roamed around in a day. Visited the Statue of Liberty. This is situated in Liberty island which is accessible from a Ferry trip from NY's battery park. Theres an outstanding view of NY skyline from the Liberty pedestal. One cannot but just
imagine how the WTC towers were decorating NY before 2001. Now there is a Freedom tower being constructed which is slated to be done by 2011. The WTC pathway has a small memorial. You can still feel the reverbarations of how the WTC towers were burning from the terrorist attack and how they collapsed when you are standing at Ground Zero. Then there is Times Square. One of the most costliest junctions and most photographed too. It colorful lighted and always 'on'... Tick that one too.After seeing the Empire state building and back to Madison Square Garden, had to rush back to NJ in the Vestibule as it gets colder in the evening.
After enjoying 3 days in NY the next stop was Detroit. This is the home of 'Henry Ford', the legend who revolutionized the world by starting the Ford Motor Company and has a huge presence in Detroit. Coincidentally my client is also Ford and thats the reason i am here. Detroit is more colder than my earlier 2 places. You cannot stand outside for more than a couple of minutes before freezing. Stayed in 'The Extended Stay America" hotel, but its not that great. But very near to office and right opposite to the Fairlane Shopping center which houses more than 122 stores and a 22 screen theatre. It has a big food mall where I had to scramble for veggie food :) Meanwhile it snowed heavily and boy, was it cold. We had a gala time and pounded each other with snow balls.
The last weekend i had been to The Henry Ford Museum and the Ford Rogue Factory Trip. This is the factory where they assemble the Ford F-150 truck. It was amazing to see how more than 2000 people assemble the Ford Truck part by part. A great learning experience. Each day around 550 F-150s roll and rumbles out of the factory ready to be owned. The Ford museum is the more typical museum where you find historical items. Couple of very interesting stuff was the Car in which John F Kennedy, the President of USA got assacinated.
Of course i did do a lot of work at office in between all these and made sure it was a very successful official trip ;)
Its been around 50 days in the US now and I am missing India very much.
I missed the hustle-bustle, the traffic, the people, the pani puris, the potholes, the autorickshaws, the masala dosas, the cows on the road, the Times of India, the 'Swalpa adjust maadi saar' and I missed everybody at home. .
Tomorrow I start back to home and I sign off this blog with thanks to you all - 'Theres no place like home'.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Monday, February 25, 2008
Monday, February 11, 2008
San Antonio - Texas sized fun
An ex collegue and friend of mine had promised to take me around in Austin and gave me some
choices of places to visit in and around the city. I went through this list and a name suddenly
caught my attention -'San Antonio'... It sounded like one of those quaint little towns right out
of a Shakespearean novel. I gleefully asked her to take me to San Antonio as i really didnt want
to do any museums or parks ... yuck.
So out we set on the cheerful saturday morning with the Sun shining in its glory and the weather as good as it can be.
The distance was 79 miles (around 125 km) and the time required to cover it was around 1 to 1.5 hours. (Hey, btw... Isnt that the time we take to cover the 15 km stretch from Electronic city
to Dairy circle. Well that is Namma Bengalooru for you, my dear...:)Ok,Out we set at 8 AM and hardly reached 15 miles when there was this huge line of cars and trucks on the Freeway like Lord Hanumans tail. Seemed like a bad accident further ahead caused this. Well at least i could say that i feel at home now :). We were stuck for around 30 mins and traffic was not moving at all. But the thing to appreciate was, everybody are following a strict lane and the entire lane on the left side which is meant for emergency purpose was left untouched by anybody. Cut to Bengaluru again where a 2-3 feet free space on the road and there will be the acrobatic autowallahs driving their autos as if they are on 2 wheelers.And they own the road, dont they :))
Well nothing of that sort here... But lot of cars were trying to take a U turn in a service road
(as big as our main roads) and going back so they can drive from a different route. We too felt
thats the best bet and turned back. On the way we stopped in this huge sporting mall named
Cabelas. It was a mammoth store where u get any items from a travel bag to a boat. Guns to
fishing rods. Caps to hunting dresses. Also there is a huge aquarium housed which has many huge fish swimming around. The store also has a zoo type environment where almost all animals you can think of are stuffed and kept. They looked so real. We spent around a hour in this store and after a bit of shopping continued our drive .
We reached San Antonio and it was a very beautiful city. Its actually the 8th largest city in US. The streets looked inviting and people warm. This has a lot of Mexico in it.And also Mexicans. We went to the Alamos first.The Alamo is a kind of a Military Fort post which has a lot of history and role in the Texas Revolution.There was a Alamo enactment since it was a first saturday of the month which was a pleasant surprise for us. It was lunch time. Had a Panini (kind of sandwich) and Goat cheese... and drowned it with Pepsi and choclate chip cookie... Hmm tasted good.
Then we went ahead to one of the other most famous must-do here. The Paseo del Rio. Better known as the 'River Walk'. Around 20 feet below the street level flows this river inside the city for 2.5 miles that has cafes, restaurants, botiques, nightclubs and hotels on the either side. The width is just that of a road. And not much deep too. It was a great experience going around the city walking on the River side. They also have boat service going around if u want to enjoy a boat ride instead of walk. And then suddenly out of the blue all these colorful boats with lot of music, festives and fancy dresses pass through. And to my delight i realised that the Mardi Gras festival is happenning in New Orleans and it is celebrated in many places around US. They throw beads and people catch and collect them. (There is a different way of getting more beads which i wont tell here, go find it
yourself;) .... )
Lucky day to be here.I caught some beads myself and have kept them as souviners.
After having a great walk and some delicious icecream we went to the shopping malls around the river walk. After spending some time and getting some stuff it was time for us to leave.
My friend offered me to drive the car. The car was a beauty. I was driving for probably the
first time in my life and was nervous. 'Dont worry or panic' was her advice. I hit the gas and
sped on the Freeway. Here u have to maintain a min speed or u will get fined. I travelled in an
average speed of 70 miles (around 110-120) km...wowee and it was a great drive of around 100
kms. All that practise in Bangalore didnt go waste. Reached Austin by around 530-6 PM and was left asking for more.
Heres a link to some more pictures of this trip.
Shall update more later.So far has been a great time in Austin mixing work and fun.
Next Stop - New York - Coming weekend.
So i shall be back soon with the experience of the Big Apple (NY).
Meanwhile watch this space for more updates... So long amigos.
choices of places to visit in and around the city. I went through this list and a name suddenly
caught my attention -'San Antonio'... It sounded like one of those quaint little towns right out
of a Shakespearean novel. I gleefully asked her to take me to San Antonio as i really didnt want
to do any museums or parks ... yuck.
So out we set on the cheerful saturday morning with the Sun shining in its glory and the weather as good as it can be.
The distance was 79 miles (around 125 km) and the time required to cover it was around 1 to 1.5 hours. (Hey, btw... Isnt that the time we take to cover the 15 km stretch from Electronic city
to Dairy circle. Well that is Namma Bengalooru for you, my dear...:)Ok,Out we set at 8 AM and hardly reached 15 miles when there was this huge line of cars and trucks on the Freeway like Lord Hanumans tail. Seemed like a bad accident further ahead caused this. Well at least i could say that i feel at home now :). We were stuck for around 30 mins and traffic was not moving at all. But the thing to appreciate was, everybody are following a strict lane and the entire lane on the left side which is meant for emergency purpose was left untouched by anybody. Cut to Bengaluru again where a 2-3 feet free space on the road and there will be the acrobatic autowallahs driving their autos as if they are on 2 wheelers.And they own the road, dont they :))
Well nothing of that sort here... But lot of cars were trying to take a U turn in a service road
(as big as our main roads) and going back so they can drive from a different route. We too felt
thats the best bet and turned back. On the way we stopped in this huge sporting mall named
Cabelas. It was a mammoth store where u get any items from a travel bag to a boat. Guns to
fishing rods. Caps to hunting dresses. Also there is a huge aquarium housed which has many huge fish swimming around. The store also has a zoo type environment where almost all animals you can think of are stuffed and kept. They looked so real. We spent around a hour in this store and after a bit of shopping continued our drive .
We reached San Antonio and it was a very beautiful city. Its actually the 8th largest city in US. The streets looked inviting and people warm. This has a lot of Mexico in it.And also Mexicans. We went to the Alamos first.The Alamo is a kind of a Military Fort post which has a lot of history and role in the Texas Revolution.There was a Alamo enactment since it was a first saturday of the month which was a pleasant surprise for us. It was lunch time. Had a Panini (kind of sandwich) and Goat cheese... and drowned it with Pepsi and choclate chip cookie... Hmm tasted good.
Then we went ahead to one of the other most famous must-do here. The Paseo del Rio. Better known as the 'River Walk'. Around 20 feet below the street level flows this river inside the city for 2.5 miles that has cafes, restaurants, botiques, nightclubs and hotels on the either side. The width is just that of a road. And not much deep too. It was a great experience going around the city walking on the River side. They also have boat service going around if u want to enjoy a boat ride instead of walk. And then suddenly out of the blue all these colorful boats with lot of music, festives and fancy dresses pass through. And to my delight i realised that the Mardi Gras festival is happenning in New Orleans and it is celebrated in many places around US. They throw beads and people catch and collect them. (There is a different way of getting more beads which i wont tell here, go find it
yourself;) .... )
Lucky day to be here.I caught some beads myself and have kept them as souviners.
After having a great walk and some delicious icecream we went to the shopping malls around the river walk. After spending some time and getting some stuff it was time for us to leave.
My friend offered me to drive the car. The car was a beauty. I was driving for probably the
first time in my life and was nervous. 'Dont worry or panic' was her advice. I hit the gas and
sped on the Freeway. Here u have to maintain a min speed or u will get fined. I travelled in an
average speed of 70 miles (around 110-120) km...wowee and it was a great drive of around 100
kms. All that practise in Bangalore didnt go waste. Reached Austin by around 530-6 PM and was left asking for more.
Heres a link to some more pictures of this trip.
Shall update more later.So far has been a great time in Austin mixing work and fun.
Next Stop - New York - Coming weekend.
So i shall be back soon with the experience of the Big Apple (NY).
Meanwhile watch this space for more updates... So long amigos.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Busy week at Office and at Theatres
Sorry to keep you waiting so long from the last post. A very busy couple of weeks at the office.
Have been working lots to finish this project.
Anyways I had some interesting time in between the busy schedule.Had been to 3 movies, some
restaurants and to San Antonio a beautiful city 80 Miles from Austin.
First the movies. All 3 are very different from each other. The first one was 'National
Treasure- Book of Secrets'- a good movie to watch during a boring or tired evening. This is being screened in Regal Gateway theatre in the Gateway shopping center which is 5 mins
from my hotel. After working for some long hours i went for a walk and ended watching the movie.
A good adventure movie with Nicholas Cage as the hero trying to find a treasure and clear his
grandfathers from murdering Abraham Lincoln. Lots of twists, actions and after solving puzzles
(including kidnapping the President of USA, hahaha!) he manages to find the treasure. The
Gateway theatre is like our PVR. They charge $8.75 (around Rs.350) a ticket during evening.
There are other 6-8 cinema halls inside. Had a good time.
The second movie was "Cloverfield" in the Alamo Draft theatre. It has a wooden bench in front of
the seats so u can order and eat food while watching the movie. Not as classy and comfortable as
our PVR Gold Class, its more of a simple theatre which serves food. The name 'Cloverfield'
sounded like a cartoon chracter (like Garfield) and i thought its a comedy or a light movie when
an office collegue invited me to watch this movie in the Alamo Village Draft theatre. After
watching the movie I came out shaking after being bombed and attacked by 'something' alien
creatures. This is a very unique movie. What makes it different is that the movie is about some
alien creatures attacking Manhattan(NY) and shown from the point of view of some 3-4 people. So
basically its a amateur video shot in a handycam by couple of friends during the course of a
day. They are shooting (or rather documenting :)) a video of a party of their friend who is
leaving America to go for a job abroad and at that time aliens attack the city... and they get
into the city and try to escape and come back to save a friend in vain. A very intense movie and as the theatres warn "You may suffer Motion sickness" by watching this
movie. A very realistic and well done movie. Watch it and in a theatre and u will feel as though
u are part of the group of the people.
Saw the third movie was in the Austin IMAX theatre which is housed in the History of Texas
museum. The movie was 'Sea Monsters' in 3D and it was a breathtaking 45 minutes of 3D monsters
almost biting ur nose off. This movie produced by the National Geographic Channel is a visual
extravanza about the prehistoric animals in the Sea and oceans during the Dinosaurs age. Great
3D quality and amazing graphics made it an experience to remember.
Meanwhile had been to couple of restaurants too. One was in a place called Triumph Cafe where u
order food, pay up and go sit in any seat and the waiters will locate u with the "Country-flag"
tag which they associate with ur order which they give u when u order. Here it is salad means a
plate full of vegetable and with no masala. Great difficulty to get it down the tummy for us
Indians :)Another meal was with a collegue who is a 'vegan' and with 'vegan' friends in a 'vegan'
restaurant. Now dont get confused with 'vegan' and 'vegetarian'. I thought both were same and
was of the impression that i am a strict veggie. Well, 'Vegans' are people who are strict
veggies and also dont eat any diary products like Milk, butter, cheese etc. Basically they dont
eat/use any animal products as they are against animal cruelty. Surprising, but there are vegan
restaurants and bakeries here in the US. Alas, again no masala but interesting to talk to this
group of people who met over the internet and have monthly meetings.
I definitely have to write about San Antonio in a seperate blog entry as there is much to be
told. Getting late tonight. Hang on there till we meet again.
Have been working lots to finish this project.
Anyways I had some interesting time in between the busy schedule.Had been to 3 movies, some
restaurants and to San Antonio a beautiful city 80 Miles from Austin.
First the movies. All 3 are very different from each other. The first one was 'National
Treasure- Book of Secrets'- a good movie to watch during a boring or tired evening. This is being screened in Regal Gateway theatre in the Gateway shopping center which is 5 mins
from my hotel. After working for some long hours i went for a walk and ended watching the movie.
A good adventure movie with Nicholas Cage as the hero trying to find a treasure and clear his
grandfathers from murdering Abraham Lincoln. Lots of twists, actions and after solving puzzles
(including kidnapping the President of USA, hahaha!) he manages to find the treasure. The
Gateway theatre is like our PVR. They charge $8.75 (around Rs.350) a ticket during evening.
There are other 6-8 cinema halls inside. Had a good time.
The second movie was "Cloverfield" in the Alamo Draft theatre. It has a wooden bench in front of
the seats so u can order and eat food while watching the movie. Not as classy and comfortable as
our PVR Gold Class, its more of a simple theatre which serves food. The name 'Cloverfield'
sounded like a cartoon chracter (like Garfield) and i thought its a comedy or a light movie when
an office collegue invited me to watch this movie in the Alamo Village Draft theatre. After
watching the movie I came out shaking after being bombed and attacked by 'something' alien
creatures. This is a very unique movie. What makes it different is that the movie is about some
alien creatures attacking Manhattan(NY) and shown from the point of view of some 3-4 people. So
basically its a amateur video shot in a handycam by couple of friends during the course of a
day. They are shooting (or rather documenting :)) a video of a party of their friend who is
leaving America to go for a job abroad and at that time aliens attack the city... and they get
into the city and try to escape and come back to save a friend in vain. A very intense movie and as the theatres warn "You may suffer Motion sickness" by watching this
movie. A very realistic and well done movie. Watch it and in a theatre and u will feel as though
u are part of the group of the people.
Saw the third movie was in the Austin IMAX theatre which is housed in the History of Texas
museum. The movie was 'Sea Monsters' in 3D and it was a breathtaking 45 minutes of 3D monsters
almost biting ur nose off. This movie produced by the National Geographic Channel is a visual
extravanza about the prehistoric animals in the Sea and oceans during the Dinosaurs age. Great
3D quality and amazing graphics made it an experience to remember.
Meanwhile had been to couple of restaurants too. One was in a place called Triumph Cafe where u
order food, pay up and go sit in any seat and the waiters will locate u with the "Country-flag"
tag which they associate with ur order which they give u when u order. Here it is salad means a
plate full of vegetable and with no masala. Great difficulty to get it down the tummy for us
Indians :)Another meal was with a collegue who is a 'vegan' and with 'vegan' friends in a 'vegan'
restaurant. Now dont get confused with 'vegan' and 'vegetarian'. I thought both were same and
was of the impression that i am a strict veggie. Well, 'Vegans' are people who are strict
veggies and also dont eat any diary products like Milk, butter, cheese etc. Basically they dont
eat/use any animal products as they are against animal cruelty. Surprising, but there are vegan
restaurants and bakeries here in the US. Alas, again no masala but interesting to talk to this
group of people who met over the internet and have monthly meetings.
I definitely have to write about San Antonio in a seperate blog entry as there is much to be
told. Getting late tonight. Hang on there till we meet again.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Photos
I have uploaded more photos here.
http://picasaweb.google.com/shivaramr/Austin1/
Keep your comments coming
http://picasaweb.google.com/shivaramr/Austin1/
Keep your comments coming
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Weekend at the University of Texas
Ok..., Overcame my jetlag within couple of days (thats a feat).
Went to office on Friday. Did some work but not a very productive day. Too excited. I laid my hands on my brand new Kodak Easyshare Z812 IS camera that i had ordered from India. Trying to figure out all the controls. Idea was from DAY1 start shooting.
The Bradford Suites which is the hotel that i stay is a pretty good place to live. Its more like
a studio apartment with a kitchen, living room, bedroom and a changing room. Has a 50" LCD tv
there which is rotatable 180 degrees so i get to see the tv frm living room and in the bedroom
when i go to sleep.
Got up late on Saturday and then decided to have a stroll and find out about the neighbourhood. What do i find...
"Car Car Car yel nodi Car --- Car-ae ni thande Car-ae ni thayi Car-ae foreign daivya kani ro."Sounds like Greek? No its actually couple of lines in a song from Sandalwood (ahem ... the
Kannada movie industry)It means "Wherever thy sees, thy shall see only Cars. Ye Car You are the family and ye are the God here in 'foreign'.
This is no exaggeration. Welcome to the land of Cars. Now i understand why Cars sell more on
internet in US than books do in India. Not a soul to be found on the road. People literally live
in Cars. I ask them in the hotel "Where do i get bread" they say its a 2 mins drive from here :)Kind of scary. Haunted roads where only the mechanical monsters prowl.
Theres a Gateway shopping center mall nearby. Went to the BestBuy and CompUSA... both electroics. But u get them cheaper on the internet. 'Thank you sir' i said 'just window shopping'.
Much better here, some homo sapiens walking around at last. Then theres something on the sky....some long white smoky trial... Is it a UFO? Is it Superman?...
No, its a plane.It was amazing, u look up and see many such long trials on the sky criss crossing each other... every plane leaves its trial...like a rocket. Seems common here. Got some pics of that.
The temperature is extreme in Austin. One day its warm at around 22 C and the next day its less than 10 C... Unpredictable, So good to be prepared.
Sunday, the plan was to visit my wifes cousin Vivek. He studies in the University of Texas (UT) in Austin. UT is one among top 5 in the US. Decided going in a bus will be a good experience
here. Hit the Capital Metro site and got the data. Bus leaves sharp at 10.18. Caught the bus.almost missed it. A lady driver inside, but she is very sweet. Allows me to travel free since i dont have change... Its 50 cents for a one way drive till the last stop and i had only a $5 note.
Its a unique experience. At every stop the bus deflates and goes down around a feet below. Allows passengers to get in. Then it rises again and bus is ready to go. There is option to keep bicycles in front of the bus.Timings is maintained perfectly.
Reached the university. Met Vivek and he takes me around. We visit Capitol building first. Its
like the Vidhana Soudha in Bangalore. But its beautiful. Hosts the house of representatives.
Governor holds sessins only once every alternate year here. Surprisingly no security. Its more
like a museum.The University of Texas, is just a street ahead of this. Huge place... lot of students around from all part of the world. Around 40,000 students studying and about 60-70% stay in the campus... Super Kewl. They have a diagonal zebra crossing in the street within to allow students rush to classes. Vivek explained how they teach here and the way of life here. Students everywhere. Most of them studing.From internet kiosks, lot of hang outs, CO-OPs(shops where u get memorabilia of the UT), dormitries , a huge canteen its got all. A place which makes u feel u want return. I envy the students here.
The university tower is a landmark and has a bell that rings every 15 minutes.'Dont waste time'
i think it keeps reminding everybody. After taking lots of snaps here... its time to go back to the hotel... Caught the same bus back. One weekend done, 7 more to go.
As i sit back and ponder, one thing keeps coming back to my mind. The words on the University tower.... "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free"
How true...
Went to office on Friday. Did some work but not a very productive day. Too excited. I laid my hands on my brand new Kodak Easyshare Z812 IS camera that i had ordered from India. Trying to figure out all the controls. Idea was from DAY1 start shooting.
The Bradford Suites which is the hotel that i stay is a pretty good place to live. Its more like
a studio apartment with a kitchen, living room, bedroom and a changing room. Has a 50" LCD tv
there which is rotatable 180 degrees so i get to see the tv frm living room and in the bedroom
when i go to sleep.
Got up late on Saturday and then decided to have a stroll and find out about the neighbourhood. What do i find...
"Car Car Car yel nodi Car --- Car-ae ni thande Car-ae ni thayi Car-ae foreign daivya kani ro."Sounds like Greek? No its actually couple of lines in a song from Sandalwood (ahem ... the
Kannada movie industry)It means "Wherever thy sees, thy shall see only Cars. Ye Car You are the family and ye are the God here in 'foreign'.
This is no exaggeration. Welcome to the land of Cars. Now i understand why Cars sell more on
internet in US than books do in India. Not a soul to be found on the road. People literally live
in Cars. I ask them in the hotel "Where do i get bread" they say its a 2 mins drive from here :)Kind of scary. Haunted roads where only the mechanical monsters prowl.
Theres a Gateway shopping center mall nearby. Went to the BestBuy and CompUSA... both electroics. But u get them cheaper on the internet. 'Thank you sir' i said 'just window shopping'.
Much better here, some homo sapiens walking around at last. Then theres something on the sky....some long white smoky trial... Is it a UFO? Is it Superman?...
No, its a plane.It was amazing, u look up and see many such long trials on the sky criss crossing each other... every plane leaves its trial...like a rocket. Seems common here. Got some pics of that.
The temperature is extreme in Austin. One day its warm at around 22 C and the next day its less than 10 C... Unpredictable, So good to be prepared.
Sunday, the plan was to visit my wifes cousin Vivek. He studies in the University of Texas (UT) in Austin. UT is one among top 5 in the US. Decided going in a bus will be a good experience
here. Hit the Capital Metro site and got the data. Bus leaves sharp at 10.18. Caught the bus.almost missed it. A lady driver inside, but she is very sweet. Allows me to travel free since i dont have change... Its 50 cents for a one way drive till the last stop and i had only a $5 note.
Its a unique experience. At every stop the bus deflates and goes down around a feet below. Allows passengers to get in. Then it rises again and bus is ready to go. There is option to keep bicycles in front of the bus.Timings is maintained perfectly.
Reached the university. Met Vivek and he takes me around. We visit Capitol building first. Its
like the Vidhana Soudha in Bangalore. But its beautiful. Hosts the house of representatives.
Governor holds sessins only once every alternate year here. Surprisingly no security. Its more
like a museum.The University of Texas, is just a street ahead of this. Huge place... lot of students around from all part of the world. Around 40,000 students studying and about 60-70% stay in the campus... Super Kewl. They have a diagonal zebra crossing in the street within to allow students rush to classes. Vivek explained how they teach here and the way of life here. Students everywhere. Most of them studing.From internet kiosks, lot of hang outs, CO-OPs(shops where u get memorabilia of the UT), dormitries , a huge canteen its got all. A place which makes u feel u want return. I envy the students here.
The university tower is a landmark and has a bell that rings every 15 minutes.'Dont waste time'
i think it keeps reminding everybody. After taking lots of snaps here... its time to go back to the hotel... Caught the same bus back. One weekend done, 7 more to go.
As i sit back and ponder, one thing keeps coming back to my mind. The words on the University tower.... "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free"
How true...
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