New York City

I was in New York City on New Year's eve. Yes, I went to Times Square. Yes, I was there when they dropped the ball.

I had known about the greatness of this city, through movies (remember Gotham city from Batman?), news, elsewhere but I had to see it to really believe it. Called the city that never sleeps, New York, aka the big apple, truly is a magnificent place. The mix of people, culture, business, infrastructure I saw there is like nothing I had seen before.

After ~2 months, one thing I can foremost recall is the metro system. It's spellbinding. Not just about the punctuality and infrastructure but the planning, the day to day operations, the details, the ticket booth, everything.

I even went to Wall Street, the financial capital of US, and by extension also for the world (almost). I went there on a holiday. It seemed like any other street but I could imagine the scurry of stock brokers that must be the order of that street on working days.

I went to Madame Tussaud's near Times Square. It houses waxed life-size statues of celebrities. It became extremely difficult inside the hall, within a few minutes, to tell if a person was for real or a statue. The pictures above do not do justice (damn my cheap camera). I gawked a real person and almost touched him only stopping to think for a second before the person moved coz guess what it was not a statue!

Apart from the usual suspects like the statue of liberty, the Empire State building, I also visited the Museum of Sex, which housed this funny board.



I was amused to find a case study on necrophilia in animals.

All in all it was a trip I'll remember for years and whenever greatness is attributed to a place I'll automatically think about the New York City.

Sin City

I visited Sin City, Las Vegas, last weekend. The last words of the pilot while greeting our arrival at the Mc Carren Intl airport were: "Take a final look at your money" as the people cheered.

Las Vegas presents tens of thousands of ways to lose money. The main street, Las Vegas Blvd, is aptly named "The Strip" -- so easily can the road strip you off your money and clothes alike. The four elements of joy considered taboo in a "decent" society -- drinking, smoking, gambling and flesh are abundant as air. It's a festival every day. Blazing lights, music, (free) shows, crowd -- the sin city has it all.

Several casinos host periodic free shows. Famous casinos include: Bellagio, Caesars Palace, The Mirage, Treasure Island, Newyork Newyork, Paris, Excalibur, Monte Carlo, MGM. Bellagio hosts a dancing fountain show which is spectacular. The Mirage has a volcano-on-water show. Treasure Island featured a 20-min long carribben pirate show with real boats moving and canons blowing, while girls danced (of course).

Caesars Palace is my favorite and it's absolutely out-of-the-world. Rich Caesar-theme abounds from the walls to the ceilings, which have royal statues and artwork. Expensive shops are located in a setting with sky-ceiling and lighting that makes u feel you are in the open. Lavishness is the word. Money flows. And you can see it. All casinos are always filled with people who are ever ready to gamble even though they know they're most likely to lose all money -- people earn hard and spend thriftily in Vegas.

Insane is it? Well, is the "real" world sane? At least the Sin City is truthful. Clothes are a redundancy anyway.

Oh, and there's a quote:

What happens in Las Vegas, stays in Las Vegas.

Crookedest Street

My favorite place in San Francisco is Lombard Street. Touted as the crookedest street in the world, a patch in Lombard street takes 8 sharp turns on a downward slope of 40 degrees. The street has beautiful flowers on either side and it's fun driving with a speed limit of 5 mph.

17 Mile Drive + Big Sur

I went on 17 mile drive and to Big Sur last Saturday. The place is a one-and-half hour drive from Moutain View. Both of them are scenic drives along the Pacific ocean, with beautiful cliffs, rocks, beaches, vegetation and such. Awesome weekend getaways and a sight for sore eyes.

Of particular interest is the way such scenic spots are publicized and streamlined for visitors. All along the way you'd find directions, illustrations and teasers about what to expect. It gets a lot easier for visitors and earns natural income to the county managing it.

Back to Hyderabad

I returned back after a 3-month trip to Mountain View in Silicon Valley last Friday. I broke off for 2 days at Singapore. As I summarize the trip, the things that I remember most prominently are:

• People in the US are generally self-centered and focussed. This is a good thing.
• Rules have a reason. Following them makes sense.
• If someone hates US, he is either myopic and jealous or blind.
  
• Driving a white 2-door G6 Pontiac at 160 km/hr
• The place is insanely costly. If you don't earn in dollars, you cannot survive.
• Medial services are extremely costly. Hospitalization will cost you a fortune
• There's no one on the roads to show you directions if you get lost
• There are no small shops in the US.
  
• Don't argue with cops in USA
• Park only when you are damn sure it's not a "No Parking"
  
• Beauty and brains CAN go together. Really.
  
• US has pathetic TV/radio ads
• Afro-americans wear only 1 size of T-shirt - XXL+
• Americans are generally bold and loud.
• People don't work or sleep or weekends. Instead, they go skiing, camping, surfing, etc.
• Wine is just another drink
  
• A$$holes are everywhere
• There are approx 40% asians in the Silicon Valley (note: asians comprise about 40% of the world population)
• Many americans don't know much about anything other than their line of work.
• You're a veg? What's your source of protein?
• Red/Pink == gay
• There's only 1 fundamental right: Freedom
  

Mystery Spot

Imagine a hilly-region about 50 metres in diameter. Also imagine that it's spooky enough to defy some basic laws of physics, that gravity behaves anomalously; a billiard ball placed on an inclined wedge rolls up the slant, two people standing on opposite sides of a level surface appear to change height. Mysterious, huh? Well, that's Mystery Spot and it exists for real in Santa Cruz, CA. No one has been able to explain the phenomenon observed.

A free pendulum makes an angle (about 17 degrees) with the normal, as does this guy hanging from the door. There's a small story about this place. More spooky pics here.