Travel

Trip to Michigan

Over the memorial day weekend, I and some of my friends from IIT along with their better half’s and parents, went on a trip to Lake Charlevoix in Michigan. The weather and company was great and it turned into a perfect weekend. Here are some pictures..

Place we stayed at. Frost Castle. Would highly recommend staying at this place if you travel to this region. The owner, Al Frost, is friendly and has done a great job with building the whole log cabin by himself. BTW, I don’t know if I would call this monster a log cabin :). It has 7 bedrooms and 4 baths.

How many engineers does it take to put up a volleyball net?

Winners of the Volleyball match..

Clear skies and water during a hiking trip

Getting ready for BBQ

Some Rafting..

Hare Krishna.. Hare Ram.. In front of the campfire..

Jet Skiing..

If you really have a lot of time on hand..here’s the link to all the pictures..

June 1, 2008 by Fun Travel Uncategorized 0

Europe : First trip : Thoughts

I recently got the chance to visit Barcelona, Spain for a business trip. Being my first real trip (I have had a lot transit layovers), I was really excited about the trip. Did it live up to my expectations? Yes and No.

  • Architecture : One word.. beautiful!!!
  • Food : Two words.. healthy and small portions.
  • People : Friendly
  • Public Transportation : Clean, Efficient, Affordable
  • Technology : I personally thought that the technology in US was more advanced.

And yes, Europeans wear suites to a football game :). But then, I guess, I shouldn’t be generalizing after just visiting one city in Europe.

If you get a chance to visit, Barcelona, I would highly recommend visiting the Barri Gotic (old part of the city with Gothic architecture) and Sagrada Familia  (unfinished cathedral by Guadi). And don’t get intimidated about taking the public transportation. It is easy to figure out and the people are very friendly.

And do ensure that you have a ton of money :). With the exchange rate at today’s rate, it is not cheap to visit Europe :)..

Here are some pictures from the trip. For a complete list, click here.

The Hotel, I stayed at

Hotel Hesperia Presidente

Subway station in Barcelona

Door knob on an old building

Graffiti (it seemed to be everywhere and apparently is considered art here)

Column (with Christopher Columbus at the top)

Street Musician

Ecofriendly taxis 🙂

The Cathedral

Paella (the real deal)

April 24, 2008 by Food Fun Travel Uncategorized 0

Restrooms and subliminal messaging..

On my recent trip to India, I had a layover at the Schipol airport in Amsterdam. We had a long layover and while we were whiling away the hours, my friend Hareesh asked me, if I noticed anything about the restrooms in the airport. I told him that I thought they were unusually neat for a public restroom. He went on to explain that this “neatness” was the result of a fake “fly” in the Urinals.

Here’s a long shot and a close up of the fly.

Apparently, the Airport administration got a lot of complaints in late 90s about the state of the restrooms and did a study on how to improve the cleanliness. And lo and behold, they came up with this idea of a “fake” fly. Apparently, when people see (on purpose or subliminally)  the fly, they try to “clean” it up :).. I think the real reason is a that men just need a target to piss on :). So there are less spills and the restrooms end up being cleaner.

I noticed the same thing at the MindTree offices in Bangalore. But here the message was a bit more direct and blunt :). But it got the job done. The restrooms in that office were also spotless.

On a larger scale, subliminal messaging can be used to bring around huge changes. There is a whole wing of the US military (and am sure in  governments around the world) dedicated to Psychological Operations. Check out the WikiPedia link for some interesting projects this unit worked on.

March 8, 2008 by Fun Rantings Travel Uncategorized 0

Simple pleasures in life : Getting a shave in India

If you have ever traveled to India, you would have noticed the omni present “Hair Styling” saloons. They vary from a guy sitting under the shade of a tree to pretty expensive “A/C” saloons. Most people in India (esp. the older generation) get their facial hair groomed at these saloons. I took the opportunity of my visit to India, to go to a saloon.. Here is how a shave goes 🙂

  • Rough massage on the  face with hot water mixed with some lime.
  • Slap on some shaving cream (you don’t want to know which brand) and whip up an awesome forth..
  • Open an old fashion shaving blade. In the old days, one blade was used for multiple people. Thankfully, they switch the razors for each person now :)..
  • Shave twice for an ultrasmooth finish. I don’t care what razor you use (tri blad, quad blade or the new 5 blade razors), you cannot get the same finish as an old fashioned shaving blade.
  • Slap on tons of facial cream all over your face.. I managed to glimpse at the cream and it looked like Nivea, but was spelled Nyvea.. Again, don’t pay attention to the brands 🙂
  • Nice massage of the face with the above mentioned facial cream.
  • Spray of cold water on the face.
  • Rub all the nicks (and there will be plenty 🙂 ) with some old fashioned aftershave cake.
  • Another dash of cold water on the face.
  • Wipe face with a warm towel..

The charge ranges anywhere from Rs. 20 – Rs 100 (~$2) and you come out of the saloon feeling like a million dollars :).. I will try to get some pictures next time..

February 10, 2008 by Fun Travel Uncategorized 1

Jaimaica…

My friend, Rich, went on a trip to Jaimaica recently and took a ton of pictures. Looking at the number of pictures, he took, I am wondering what he did during the vacation, other than take pictures :).. Here’s a link to the pictures.

Rich : Jamaica

January 31, 2008 by Fun Travel Uncategorized 0

Internet in the air..

I wrote ~2 years ago, about accessing the Internet, while I was flying at 35,000 feet in the air. Since then, the company that provided this service, Connexion, has declared bankruptcy and everyone pretty much wrote off the market for in-air Internet access. Looks like enough people want it 🙂 and several companies are reentering this market. This article at news.com claims that most of the US air-carriers will have some kind of broadband service available in the next 2 years. Say goodbye to the last “Internet free” place on earth 🙂

January 28, 2008 by Networking Technology Travel Uncategorized 1

Weekend of bumming around in Napa Valley

On a whim, I decided to bum around in the Napa Valley for the weekend. And it was a pretty bad time to have such a whim :), with California experiencing some of the worst weather in recent history. I persisted, and luckily I had a great time. As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words.. Here’s a picture trail of my weekend

My adda was the RedWodd Inn in Napa Valley. Not the most romantic place to stay, but good bang for buck. It only cost me $49 a day.

Red Wood Inn Napa Valley

Since, I didn’t have a lot of time, I was only able to visit one winery (Castello Di Amorosa) . Don’t ask my why, but this entrepreneur decides to build a winery in the form of a medieval castle for $37MM. But boy, did he build it with style. Apparently, he spent 13 years building the winery and went through the pain of building it with 100 year old brick to make it as authentic as possible. Here’s a snapshot of the Winery from outside

Castello Di Amorosa

Here are some pictures with the wine barrels and some cool interiors

And for what ever reason, there is a torture room in the Castle. Guess, how this was used!! 🙂

After the tour, being the sucker that I am, I spent ~$200 on buying wine and moved on to hike at the Bathe-Napa valley state park. One word!!, alright six words :), Best value in the Napa Valley!!. If you are into outdoors, this is the place to visit in Napa. Forget the snobby wineries :).

So I came

I conquered

And ran into this surprise at the peak

I never ran into a GeoCache before. And being the outgoing person I am (that is a joke BTW 🙂 ), I took the opportunity to put my signature on the GeoCache.


(only problem was that I messed up on the date!! 🙂 )

If you have all the time in the world, you can browse the complete list of pictures here.

January 9, 2008 by Fun Travel Uncategorized 0

An evening at the airport..

6:00 PM – Arrive at O’Hare. Flight was scheduled to depart at 9:20 PM.. As I check in, I realize that the flight is delayed by 30 min.. No big deal right.. Check in my luggage.

6:30 PM – Get past security in a record breaking 2 minutes. That was my best record :).. Check the monitors and realize that the 6:30 PM flight is delayed by 30 minutes too.. Run 0.25 miles to the gate and stand in line..

7:00 PM – The agent keeps yelling in them mike that they are not taking any more passengers on the standby list. I persist and don’t give up..

7:15 PM – There is 1 remaining seat in the flight and I am the only one remaining standing.. (reminds me of a cowboy shootout for some reason!!). I hand over my ticket in hope to the agent and she gives me my ticket.. I am so happy that I am actually getting to my destination earlier!!.. Alas, I had to ask the stupid question “What is going to happen to my luggage”.. The agent gasps and pulls the ticket away from my hands “Young man!! How naughty of you. You thought you could fly without your luggage!! You have to take your original flight.. which by the way is delayed by 1 hour now.”

7:30 PM – I sigh in despair and headed over to the food court… Glance through all the stalls and settle on the “Billy Goats” tavern. Get a hotdog, fries and a cold bud light.. As I eat and glance around me, I realize how many cultures, one can see at the airport. There are some women, in head scarfs and skirts (Sudanese??) munching on some McDonalds grub.. Right next to them is a South Asian dude, trying to look hip in his Gap attire. And by him is a gum chewing teenager with a slogan “I am blogging this” on her chest..And she seems to be taking incospicous pictures with her mobile phone..

8:30 PM – Complete “Mr.Sampath” by R.K.Narayan.. The beer had gotten warm by now and I had to discard it. BTW, R.K.Narayan is one of the most gifted authors, I have read so far.. He is a natural storyteller. You do have to have an understanding of Indian culture and history to turely enjoy his stories though..

9:00 PM – I pick up my gear and get to the new gate, just to realize that the gate has been changeg again.. Lug my bags to the new gate.. Wait in line for the agent to give me a seat no. Just as it is my chance to speak with the agent, she decides that she has to go and serve another gate!!!

10:00 PM – More wandering in the hallways of O’hare in search of a power strip, so that I can at least watch a movie on my laptop.. They should really provide more power outlets in the airport for the passengers. And free wi-fi, while they are at it. I think, it would be a nice idea to create a website and/or page with listings of the freely available power outlets in the airport… Another business idea, that will never get realized!! :)..

10:15 PM – The flight is delayeg agian.. It is going to leave at 11:00 PM now.

10:30 PM – Finally find, a seat in the “Sprint sponsored laptop center” next to an old couple.. Think they have been married for ever and am impressed by their dedication to each other.. The old man struggles to get up as they leave and I offer to help…”No sir, I don’t need any help. But thank you though!!”.

10:40 PM – The gate is still not open.. I start to think if I am ever going to fly today. Scroll over to the gate and see the dreaded message “Flight Delayed.. Departure time 11:22 PM”!!. Just for the record, I was originally planning on driving. The drive would have taken ~10 hours and flight is supposed to last 1.5 hours. At this rate, it might have been better to drive. At least, I am in control of my own destiny..

10:45 PM – Complete first episode of Cowboy Bebop. If you are into Anime, you will know that this is a classic. This series was my introduction into the Anime world and I still cherish it..The blond girl and the hispanic guy in the “Big Shot – Bouty Hunters” TV show crack me up. BTW, that is a TV show in the series.. Here’s a screen shot from the series..

Cowboy Bebop - BigShot

11:00 PM – Looks like the flight timing hasn’t changed.. Decide to use the restroom, before I board the flight and note this new gadgetry in the restroom..

O'Hare Airport : Restroom Device

How cool is that?

11:20 PM – Finally board the flight and on route to my destination!!! Happy Holidays  :)..

December 23, 2007 by Fun Rantings Travel Uncategorized 0

Chicago's best Korean Restaurant

If you are in Chitown and want to taste authentic Korean food, I highly recommend San Soo Gap San located at 5247 North Western Ave. Lakshmi and I had dinner at San Soo Gap San for our anniversary :). It is not the most romantic place, but you will really get a kick out of preparing your own BBQ. In addition to falling in love with Korean BBQ, I also discovered a new beer. OB (Oriental Brewery) Lager Beer is a light lager made from Rice. It has a mild taste with a light crisp hop character. Beer lovers should try this :).

P.S: Make sure you don’t wear any expensive clothes to this restaurant. You will end up smelling like smoked BBQ, by the time you are done with your meal :).

February 15, 2007 by Food Travel Uncategorized 0