Ever heard of hitching a ride in an air craft?

Well two innovative hitch hikers actually did it. They hitched a ride in an airline. Two members of the Vilinius Hitch-Hiking Club, Lithuania, made history on March 19, 2008 by being the first to air-hitch. In this photo you may see VHHC's members Augustas Kligys and Katja Lachman beside "hitched" aircraft. They members hitched a ride ride from Iquitos to Lima in Peru. Members of the VHHC have been hitchhiking in South America for the first time in VHHC's history. It was the 5th continent on the club's account. So far no one has hitchhiked in Australia and Antartica. I am pretty sure some members are already planning to hitch rides in these continents down under and create history in travelling.


Best Lithuanian Traveller of the Year 2007
Winners of best Lithuanian traveller of the year 2007 contest were announced on March 20, 2008 and guess what. Most of the awardees are HITCH-HIKERS! The first prize winner is a member and former vice-president of VHHC, Augustas Kligys. Currently on the road travelling with Katja Lachman in South America. This traveller was already elected as the best traveller of VHHC in 1997 and traveller of the decade (1996-2006) of the club based on the number of kilometres, covered hitchhiking.

I believe a similar award must be instituted in India too, but should include several categories such as most peaks summitted in Himalayas, most distance trekked, most kilometers travelled on motorcycle etc. The format and methodology of selecting people for the award can be arrived at once a core group comes together to manage and sponsor the award.

Money found in drainage

Ever heard of money being found in drains? Well it is unbelieveable but true and it happened in Israel where a sewage treatment plant workers found about 7,000 shekels currency all in 200 shekel bills. The bills stank of sewage but who cares, money is money and the find became national news and even attracted global media coverage.

Reading about the incident on Dallas Morning News I wondered who the money belonged to. Whether it belonged to an individual who lost it or some criminal who flushed it down the drain to avoid capture. But 7,000 shekels is a lot of money, about US$2,000 to be precise. A sum that could probably create livelihoods for few people in sub-Saharan Africa or even in India.

I wonder how people just throw money like that. It only shows absolute contempt for money. Hope whoever flushed it down the drain is regretting the action.

Surgical Weight-loss programmes

One of the biggest challenges people are facing in America is obesity. Increasingly sedentary jobs, travelling by cars everywhere and not much of activity options unless one consciously does it is making people fat. Once overweight people are finding it very difficult to take up diet or exercise programmes which will potentially disrupt their lifestyle and are difficult to keep up. How many of us can actually give up eating sweet to lose weight? It is difficult.

With obesity throwing up a great healthcare challenge researchers have come up with several methods of surgical weight loss. One of the most flexible and reversible weight-loss survery is through the lapband System. What is this lapband system? and what is so special about it?

Well there are numerous surgical weight-loss procedures but one that gives users the most comfort and ease is the lapband
system. One of the leading weight-loss surgical centers has designed this method keeping the comfort and ease of end-users in mind. JourneyLite surgical center has evolved innovative methods and procedures to make your weight-loss stress free and easy. Small things like roomier gowns, wider hallways, armless chairs, restrooms supporting railings, a soothing environment among many other features have been incorporated to provide ultimate comfort as you lose weight.

The lapband system is one of the systems that have worked where diet and exercise have failed and Journeylite is the pioneers in this new system of reversible weight-loss surgeries. There are several options you could avail of at the center. If you are still unsure, you could attend a free seminar and then decide.

If you are one of those who has tried everything to lose weight and not succeeded, it is time you tried Lapband. Journeylite assures you that you will not regret the step.

Rainy day after sunny day!

I wonder what's happening to the weather in this city. Ten days ago it snowed, enough to cover up homes and cars and make roads slippery. Then it turned bright and sunny and up until yesterday it was fantastic weather. I was roaming around attired in just a jeans and a T-shirt. But today, it has been a completely sun-less day. I didn't see a ray of sunlight the entire day, it was cloudy and punctuated by incessant rains.

The rains were accompanied by heavy gusty winds, lightning and thunder. This is one city where I haven't seen proper weather in the past few months of living here. My friend Jo Ann Holt was supposed to attend the board meeting of Dallas Press Club and she writes to me saying the rains floodded downtown area and the meeting was cancelled. Strange, indeed the ways of weather in Dallas area. I shall wait and watch out for better weather in the coming days of spring and summer.

Since I was holed up at home most of the day because of the rains I didn't shoot any pictures or meet any interesting people. Will hopefully post something interesting tomorrow, till then, bye.

Movie Review: Definitely Maybe

I would say this is one of the most immaturely made movies I have ever watched in my life. The movie starts off with Will Hayes (Ryan Reynolds), a successful Manhattan-based advertising executive and father of 10-year-old Maya (Abigail Breslin) in the midst of divorce proceedings. The only sunshine of his life is the two days every week he spends with his daughter.

One day as he goes to pick up his daughter from school, she has just had a sex education class and starts questioning him about his past life. She is not content with him just glossing over the story but wants to know ever little detail and she wants to know it NOW. Seeing no other alternative, Hayes relents and starts his narrative, which continues through the movie.

The rest of the movie is about how he started off as a young idealistic politician, who moves to New York from Wisconsin to work for the presidential campaign of none other than Bill Clinton. Narrating his memoirs to his daughter, Will relives his past life as a small towner learning to be street smart in a big city and related an account of his romantic relationships with three very different women.

In a bid to be subtle, Will changes the identities of the women in the story and tells Maya to guess who her mother was. Is she Will's college sweetheart Emily (Elizabeth Banks)? Is she his best friend and confidante, April (Isla Fisher)? Or is she the free-spirited but ambitious journalist Summer (Rachel Weisz)? In the movie 10-year-old Maya displays maturity beyond her age and puts together pieces of her dad's romantic puzzle and finally helps him to understand who his true love is. The movie doesn’t stop at that, Maya makes Will go to his true love and confess to her and then the movie ends on a happy note. They lived happily ever after….

In my opinion, Definitely, Maybe isn't a particularly good movie. It is stupid for anyone to expect a 10-year-old to display such maturity as the character Maya. Come on which sex education class for 10-year-olds teaches them about ‘penis’, ‘intercourse’, ‘slut’ etc? And which parent would confide in their 10-year-old the sordid details of their past? These details are what makes this movie a total disaster, despite good and convincing performances by the entire team and above average screenplay and direction.

Direction: Adam Brooks
Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Abigail Breslin, Rachel Weisz, Elizabeth Banks, Isla Fisher and others

My experiments with poetry

I have been essentially a prose person and had not really attempted serious poetry. But my association with poetry groups and reading of anthologies made me feel like attempting one. And appended below is the result. Your comments are invited.

The essence of a woman

The world says
Difficult it is
To understand a woman,
She is so full of contradiction;

The world says a woman is full of
Vanity, jealousy, greed and ego
Her mind full of unsatiated desires
for wealth, comfort, luxury and lavish lifestyles.

The woman charms
and makes you swoon
she has the skills and tricks
to lure, seduce, attack and conquer
to make or break homes and nations.

But I believe that a woman is
A large bowl full of love
Overflowing with compassion,
Love, caring and giving

For my mother, sister, friend and wife
Are all women who have enriched my life!
With hearts full of sweetness,
Voice so soothing and delicate
Face full of smiles that make troubles melt

Giving till it hurts is what women do,
Only to get hurt and accused
Of ulterior motives and wrong intentions
The kindness and tender feelings
That only a woman can give
Are usually unrecognized

Payday loans for emergencies

One of the best ways to get a short-term loan in the US is through Payday loans. Thanks to advancement in technology and internet consumers now much greater access to the financial services industry. And in case of emergencies consumers know that they can avail payday loans with lot less hassle and documentation. Moreover in case of financial emergencies it is difficult to raise loans from national banks. Given the present recession kind of scenario and rising gas prices, opting for a cash advance loan is one of the most popular way to tide over a financial emergency.

There are numerous lenders who provide payday cash advances and each operate on different terms and interest rates. If one is well aware of which lender is best to fulfill their immediate and short-term financial needs, it is easier to go to that lender. In a bid to make this information available easily My Payday Cash Advance Loans.com has launched an online directory of payday cash advance lenders. The online directory enables users to search for loan services in their local area.

For example since I live in Texas, I opted to look up information on Texas payday loans. In Texas cash advance loans have been legalised only since 2000 and the companies which extend these loans have to be registered with the government. Moreover the law demands disclosure of terms, fees and other details of loans.

I believe this is a great facility for people in the salaried classes who lead lives paycheck to paycheck. In cities like Carrollton in the DFW metroplex where a majority of residents belong to the middle classes availability of Carrollton payday loans is a boon to the residents. Addresses of over 10 lenders are provided on the website with their lending terms. The website also provides debt help advise, articles about payday loans and numerous other services. It is good to take a look and be informed.

Snow in Texas

Those of you who have read my earlier blogs will remember my rants and complaints about erratic and crazy weather in Texas. Well the weather continues to be erratic and there has been no changes except that days are getting warmer and sunnier. I don't need to wear a heavy jacket everywhere I go, in fact some days are so warm that I can head outdoors in just a thin T-shirt. But then like I said Texas weather is erratic and suddenly out of the blue the first week of March we had snow. Yes! you heard it right, it snowed in Dallas area in March first week.

View of the green belt and homes behind our apartment.

I am pretty it was not a freak snow fall because we had snow fall twice, the second greater than the first. I was wondering what the hell it is, in Bangalore, summer would have set in by now and people would be reaching out for Air conditioners and heading out for holidays in the hills. But here it is snowing and children wearing mittons, ear muffs and heavy woollen jackets are creating snowmen and playing snow ball throwing matches. I took this opportunity to shoot a few pictures of snow in Dallas area. Look around and enjoy and if you have something to say, don't hesitate to leave a comment.

This SUV was almost completely covered by snow, not quite submerged but enough snow to cause inconvenience.

The apartment lawn and buildings completely covered by a carpet of snow.

Feeling curious I visited the iron horses in Plano again and guess what, they were grazing on snow-covered grass... or should I say "grass flavoured ice-cream".

My Second Byline

Hey friends,
I have achieved another byline in the US. Your comments are appreciated.

Movie Review: National Treasure - Book of Secrets

I have seen only two movies of Nicholas Cage and I liked one (Con Air) and hated the other (Leaving Las Vegas). Since I didn’t have too much interest in his movies, I was not too sure what to expect when my friends dragged me to watch National Treasure II – Book of Secrets. But I was pleasantly surprised by the mature handling of the plot and the excellent screenplay in this movie. Cage fitted his role as Ben Gates, an archaeologist and treasure hunter very well and done complete justice. His bickering parents (Jon Voight and Helen Mirren), best friend IT whiz Justin Bartha, and girlfriend Diane Kruger have done their bit to make the movie engrossing and at times very funny too. The bad guy, played by Ed Harris actually helps Cage unearth an ancient City of Gold hidden right under Mount Rushmore.

The movie starts off with the bad guy accusing Ben Gates’ ancestors of having a hand in the plot of assassinate Abraham Lincoln and then one thing leads to the other and becomes a grand global adventure. Nicholas Cage travels at will to anywhere to everywhere and gets access to anything under the sun. He steals a wooden scroll from the Queen’s desk in the Buckingham Palace, rifles through the American president’s desk in Oval office and swipes the brown diary from the Library of Congress too! And the wonder of all wonders is that he never gets caught. Sounds too fancy, doesn’t it?

The plot of the movie is somewhat like an amalgamation of few of the older movies. Some of the clues to find the treasure are surely some adaptation and modifications of the clues in the 1969 movie Mackenna’s Gold. The high tech stuff which Bartha so slickly uses to give Cage the access to every security ridden place on this earth including the Buckingham Palace and White House look somewhat similar to the ones in The Italian Job (2003).

But then some adaptations and good performances and of course great locations make National Treasure: Book of Secrets a highly entertaining movie and worth your money. But let me warn you, it is definitely not worth watching more than once.

Visiting Austin - Texas State Capital

Last week we visited Austin, the capital city of Texas. This was one of the quickest visits for me. We left Dallas on Wednesday afternoon and returned on Thursday night, covering over 450 miles. Padma was invited to deliver a talk at a entrepreneurship seminar and so there we were in Austin. The talk was in one of the several small conference rooms inside the Capitol building, which is also the seat of the Texas State government. It could be compared to any state legislature building in India such as the Vidhana Soudha in Bangalore.

I took this opportunity to capture some great images of the Capitol building and the statues in its gardens. Here they are for your information. The Capitol building is a majestic structure built of stone and concrete and has numerous halls, conference rooms, a cafetaria, souvenir shop etc. Anyone can enter the premises, there is no red-tape or unnecessary security hidrances. In fact the building administration conducts FREE guided tours of the building so visitors may get familiarised about the same.

This I feel is a great way to encourage tourism and generate revenue. After walking around the building, visitors are bound to buy some souvenir or trinket at the shop. Some of them may visit the cafetaria (which is not subsidised), bottomline is that the state government generates some revenue. Another way the state generates revenue from this huge building is by renting out its conference halls to private events. So anyone can just rent a conference hall and conduct meetings and other official events. The address would sound prestigious and the venue swank too. I think it is time Indian state governments thought up this plan and started additional revenue generation.



These are two details of the shelter around one of the statues. I liked the design as well as the message and of course how Texans embed their state symbol "The Lone Star" in every aspect of their life

Movie Review: James

I went to this movie expecting some grand action sequences as the posters and promotions promised. I was pretty certain that Ram Gopala Verma would have done a good job producing an action movie with new and debutant hero and heroine. But was I disappointed??? No I was thoroughly shocked... apalled... aghast... taken aback.... I don’t have the right words to express my disappointment.

The storyline of the movie is pretty much the same.. boy meets girl... falls in love.. enter the villain baying for the girl’s body and then the boy intervenes and beats him up. Then follows the villain ganging up his brood together and following the hero and heroine baying for the hero’s blood and the herione’s body. There is some good music and photography in these sections....

The most sickening part of the movie is perhaps the ugly, sometimes obscene, vulger and totally irrelevant skin show of the heroine. Perhaps that is what it takes for a debutant female artiste to make it big in Bollywood..... especially when working with RGV. We can recall... how Urmila exposed in Rangeela... and made it big soon after... but here the heroine came, exposed and went away to be forgotten forever...

The move is a good time pass for those who want to while away two and a half hours doing nothing... and it is good for couples who want to get cozy in the dark corners of a theatre as the halls will be hardly full.... To put the movie in one perspective it is good for those who like to watch raunchy item songs with the heroine shaking a leg and more and gyrating to some vague tune while the gals can enjoy a good show of James’ rippling muscles.

The story of Santa Claus family

Review of Movie: Fred Claus (2007)
Director: David Dobkin
Cast: Vince Vaughn, Paul Giamatti, John Michael Higgins, Miranda Richardson and others

Santa Claus is one of the most famous characters associated with Christmas across the world, but nothing is said about his parents, siblings and family life. Converting this into a story telling opportunity, director David Dobkin has made a movie about Fred Claus, elder brother of Santa Claus. Now don’t go into spirituality, god, etc, etc. This is a movie and a very heartwarming one at that.

The story starts with the birth of younger brother for Fred. Like any other doting big brother Fred loves his younger brother and tries hard to make him happy. But the younger brother Nicholas is just too perfect and Fred is never able to live up to the example set by the former. While Nicholas (Santa) grows up to be a role model of giving and love, Fred becomes the opposite, a smooth-talking marketing person who almost always runs out of luck and money.

At a loss to worm his way out of a crisis Fred turns to his brother who agrees to help much to the annoyance of his wife. But he places a condition, that Fred has to come to North Pole and earn the money he needs by working in Santa’s Toy Factory. Reluctantly Fred agrees, for he needs the money and goes to North Pole. The rest of the movie is about how Santa Claus operates and decides which kids to give gifts on Christmas day.

Then there is the cold and calculating business executive who arrives from headquarters with the sole intention of closing down Santa Claus’ operations. The rest of the story is all about how Fred dons the role of Santa Claus and delivers the toys to all the children across the world and saves the toy factory from closure.

The movie is a typical feel good movie with no great trappings. Performances by the central cast is mediocre and the cinematography is above average. The story could have been lot better produced if family confrontations and Fred’s romantic interludes were composed better.

Watch the trailer

Movie Review: 300

When I heard the name of this move, I wasn’t too sure whether I wanted to invest my time to watch it. But after my friend a frequent movie watcher assured me that she had read the book and it was the story of the clash of civilizations, I decided to take a chance. Did I like it? Well I quite loved the movie’s portrayal of patriotism, treachery, politics and how people use these things to achieve their own ends.

Directed by Zack Snyder, of Dawn of the Dead, fame, 300 is an adaptation of Frank Miller’s novel. Once again Snyder proves that when passion, creativity and hardwork are the inputs, the output is always a great story. The movie, set in 480 BC narrates the story of the legendary courage and valor displayed by a band of 300 Spartan soldiers under the leadership of King Leonidas. The war at Thermopylae in which the million-strong army led by Persian King Xeres flounders and falters in the face of a small posse of 300 Spartans, is effectively portrayed.

Gerard Butler who plays Leonidas, the wise king of Sparta delivers an exemplary performance. Raised with the utmost ideals — honor, duty, glory — Leonidas is a brilliant military strategist and egalitarian champion of personal freedom. The movie starts with a depiction of how a Spartan soldier is trained to be a fighter for life and how he is hardened to live anywhere, eat anything and undergo all kinds of hardships. Believed to be the direct descendants of Hercules himself, Spartans are brave and freedom loving people whom the Persian King wants to enslave and subjugate.

So when Persia seeks to declare sovereignty over Sparta, Leonidas rebuffs the declaration and announces that his countrymen must fight to preserve their way of life. As per procedure Leonidas seeks the permission of the council to go to war and is denied as the Oracle says it is not the right time to go to war. The moral conflict within the king whether to abide by the councils words or to go to war (which his heart tells him to do) is excellently shown in this movie. In my opinion the story of this movie is not about history, but of confidence, courage, faith, and for believing in one’s duty, perseverance, loyalty to the King and country, patriotism and love for freedom and liberty.

The film also portrays the cunning politics which was at place. Politicians who would betray their country and people for money and sex. Ultimately treachery is what causes the downfall of the brave army of 300 and ensures temporary victory of the Persians.

While the cinematography, dialogue delivery and acting is exceptional, the portrayal of the Persian King as an effeminate individual is quite off beat. With so many body piercing and jewellery etc, King Xeres looks rather funny and nothing like a king. The only downside to this movie is the excessive blood and gore. Warring techniques of two different armies are very effectively portrayed in this movie. But so much blood and gore may not work in its favour in the box office.

Movie Reivew: I Am Legend

I saw this Will Smith movie sometime last month. It is one of the first movies in which one actor takes the entire credits. Quite impressive and enjoyable for Will Smith fans, but I am not one of them. So here goes my review.

Nirvana for Will Smith Fans
Ever heard of a movie in which there is only one actor? Well if you haven’t you must watch I Am Legend. The movie is set in New York city on some futuristic date and the entire scene at the beginning appears like an enigma. The movie starts off showing Will Smith and his faithful dog, the only two survivors of a virus outbreak which makes affected people and animals thirst for human blood and can’t stand any light, not even that of electric bulbs. The affected population are strong, invincible, cruel, cannibalistic and of course ugly to look at. This kind of ‘save the world’ science fiction movies are a little out of place for the family crowds and definitely a ‘no, no’ for children.

But if you are a Will Smith fan and would like to see some of his exceptionally great acting, then this movie is a must watch. He has played his character very well. Another plus of the movie is their portrayal of New York city as a ghost town, inhabited by sloth bears, deer, the mutant creatures and of course Will Smith and his faithful dog.

The central character, Will Smith is a scientist, who firmly believes that he is the last surviving human being in the world who is not affected by the virus. When the entire country was evacuated he stays back to research and create a cure which would make the mutants human again. His routine everyday is to get up, do exercise and carry loads of guns and tranquilizers and go out into the city in a bid to capture some mutant and bring back blood samples. Every afternoon he sits on the pier and broadcasts a radio message requesting any humans in the city or surroundings to come and meet him.

One of these messages are heard by a mother and son and they come looking for him. Finding him in a violent confrontation with the mutants, they save him and bring him to his heavily guarded home. But the mutants attack that night and Will Smith is left with no other alternative but to kill himself to save the other two. At that moment he finds out that he has developed a cure for the virus and hands over the vial to the mother and son to take it to the rest of the survivors in some protected colony.

Will Smith’s stellar performance is the highlight of the movie. He talks to his dog, to himself, watches re-runs of the news, movies, cartoons etc and goes out into the ghost town, which New York has become in search of blood samples of mutants for his research.

But I fail to understand how Will Smith doesn’t get affected by the virus? And if humans and dogs are affected by the virus, how do the wild animals remain immune. At the end of the movie are all the mutants killed? How do the mother and child take the cure and reach the colony? Don’t they get attacked by the mutants? The directors could have done better if they had given answers to these questions.

Exercises to ease back pain

I got these series of animated cartoons over e-mail along with a message that these represent nine exercises to ease backpain. I thought I'd share it with my readers who are leading largely sedentary lifestyles, working in high-tech fields. Most of us sit in a single position for the whole day in the office, and in the morning / evening drive all the way to our places. As a result at night, while going to bed, many of us experience a slight pain in the back. By doing the following exercise for min 10 minutes every morning and shoot off the back pain. Simple Exercises... to keep you fit and avoid back pain. Need not visit a gym, your home may be the ideal place.

San Francisco, Ahoy!

I had ended my previous post rather abruptly! And then got busy with lot of other things including trying to shift this blog onto my website and some mundane tasks. Finally today I decided that I will complete this travelogue. I have already posted the pictures shot during the 45-minute train journey from Sunnyvale to San Franscisco and some street views of the bustling city on my other blog View from Passenger Window.

As soon as I alighted at the San Franscisco station I didn't know what to do and where to go. The railway station seemed so much like a Bangalore city station, much smaller and cleaner of course. People rushing in and out of the station, shop keepers doing brisk business, taxis waiting for customers outside the gate, people buying coffee, newspapers from the Starbucks outlet etc. Deciding to seek help I accosted the ticket inspector of our train and asked him for a city map. He was surprised and asked me where I wanted to go. When I said I had no particular plans, he beckoned me to follow him to one of the shops and gave me a map of the place. "Go to Pier 39, it is beautiful place," he said pointing to a location on the multicolour map. Then he had a rapid dialogue in Spanish with the shopkeeper and turning to me said: "Bus no. 30 goes there. It stops just outside."

I thanked him profusely and walked out and voila! the scene is no different from any railway station in India. Dusty streets with choc-a-bloc traffic, taxi drivers screaming for clients (in India auto drivers would fall all over you, here they only call you with bright beaming smiles). I decided to talk a walk and started plodding along the pavement and then guess what I saw. A row of two wheelers which had every made and model one can think of; Yamaha R1, Ducati Monster, BMW GS 1200 Adventure and of course the ever trusty Hamara Bajaj Legend 4 stroke scooter and then a moped too.

Though I am fascinated by big bikes, both sporty and cruiser type models, I didn't shoot any pictures because they are so common here. What is uncommon is the Bajaj Legend and the Moped, which sports the Jawa name but I very much doubt it is something else.

After oogling at the bikes for sometime I decided to head on and took a good look at the map. Not used to map reading and accustomed to asking people for directions, it took me a good 20 minutes to figure out my present location on the map and where I had to go if I was to walk across the Golden Gate Bridge. I walked back to the railway station and then went to the bus stop. Soon one of the heritage electrically operated Road Trains pulled up. Getting in I asked the driver whether that bus would take me to Golden Gate Bridge. "You can take another bus at the Laguna," replied the driver. I tried to figure out the locations on my map but it was impossible, so I just decided to go with him.

People load bicycles on the bus and travel. Notice the electric wires atop the vehicle which power it.

Luckily the $1.50 ticket was valid for 5 hours (11 am to 4 pm) and I could travel on any city bus, anywhere in the city of San Franscisco between that time. I got in and sat down waiting for the bus to start off. The relative silence was shaken by a sharp screeching noise, I was shocked and wondered what had happened. It was the bus starting off on its journey across the city. The journey was slow for two reasons, chaotic traffic and the second being the electric contraption atop the bus, which necessitated the vehicle to move only in a particular lane. After about half an hour I got off at the Laguna bus stop and was lucky to find another bus (No.28) which took me to the Golden Gate Bridge and Park.

Bridge built of wires this thick.
Getting off at the area I marvelled at the beautiful sight of the sea, mountains and the man made engineering marvel of a bridge. The entire recreation area around the bridge is protected place and there are remains of an ancient fort at the sea level. The entire area has been notified as the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and facilities for numerous leisure activities has been created. Hiking, Cycling, Camping, Beach, Sailing, Surfing, Ferry crossing etc. I walked along the cycling and hiking trails exploring all the buildings, vegetation and natural formations and revelling in the panoramic view of the sea.

The view of the San Franscisco downtown aka Fisherman's wharf area and the Alcatraz from the Golden Gate Bridge is simply awesome. I could just stand there and stare into the ocean all day and never get tired/ bored. Due to being extremely sunny and bright my pictures haven't come out too good. Next time I walk across the bridge I will shoot better pictures.


Far below the main view point of the Golden Gate Bridge is the fairly well preserved remains of a ancient fort. According to the Signage around the area the native Americans saw the arrival of first European ships in 1775, when Spanish ship San Carlos sailed in through the golden gate. Captivated by the beauty and reach of San Francisco harbour Lieutenant Juan Manuel De Ayala, commander of San Carlos said: "The harbor of San Francisco is one of the best I have ever seen in these seas, from Cape Horn northward... A fine harbor: it presents on sight a beautiful fitness, and it has no lack of good drinking water and plenty of firewood and ballast."

The next year Spain established their military post, mission to spread Christianity and a settlement. This fort/ settlement remained a small outpost of no great significance till the Gold Rush started in 1849, when the town was transformed overnight into a cosmopolitan city. Gold diggers, treasure hunters and adventurers landed here from Asia, South America, Europe. All of them expressed awe at the beauty of the Golden Gate natural formation. Since then several years have passed and history is witness to what has happened.


Construction of the Golden Gate Bridge was started in 1933 and completed in 1937. This bridge is considered one of the greatest engineering efforts of the century. Over 40 million vehicles pass over the 2,737 meter (2.7 km) bridge annually. It is awesome to see that 1.7 km length of the bridge is the main span of the 90 ft wide suspension bridge, which is 27 meters above water level. The towers on either which gives the bridge its imposing and majestic look are each 152 meter tall. I am truly impressed by this great engineering wonder. And I am also happy to note that the surroundings of the bridge has been maintained excellently as a recreation area. Due credits have been paid to the people involved in the bridge construction. The chief engineers statue has been installed at the entrance along with several other important details.

One thing I found a little disturbing is the lack of awareness and respect to heritage among some people. Graffiti on the walls of the forts are quite common in this area and the government seems helpless. I wonder what motivates these people to spoil national monuments and deface them with graffiti.

These graffiti was on the inside walls of a underground passage way in the fort at San Franscisco

An feature of US conservation that every country in the world has to emulate is to involve common people in the efforts and raise donations for the maintenance of the monuments. Donation boxes with appeals for support can be found at every monument, state park and museum in the US making entreaties to visitors to contribute for the maintenance of the space. This way people will be interested in their heritage and help maintain the same. Will India be able to follow suit?

By Train to San Franscisco and by walk across the Golden Gate bridge

One of the days I was in the Bay Area, I decided to get the local flavour of the famous Silicon Valley and headed out alone, armed with nothing but the camera and $100 in my pocket. Padma dropped me off at the Caltrain station at Sunnyvale and wished me all the best. This was the first time I travelled alone in the US. Thinking back I find it ironical because I have been here the past four months and have not ventured out alone. A person who was always venturing out alone to explore new places in homeland has not gone out on his own for four months in a foreign nation! I can't believe it myself. I guess the San Franscisco trip was the first of the many trips I am destined to make in this country.


I fumbled at the ticket vending machine before finally buying a ticket from Sunnyvale to San Franscisco ($5.75). There is nobody working at the station, only machines. You get stuck, then you have to seek help of fellow passengers, passers by or call the helpline. Having bought the ticket I sat down on one of the cast iron benches on the clean platform to wait for the train. One by one people started arriving, a Chinese girl, few Desi techies, some white men and women came in bicycles and got ready to load their vehicles into the train. Soon the train arrived and I was surprised by its silence and smooth movement. There was no chugging noise which I am so used to in India and there is no shrill horn to warn of an approaching train. Everyone on the platform ran towards the automatic doors and scrambled inside, people with bikes went to the bike cars and others made themselves in the two storey compartments.

The interiors of the train was clean and leather seats very comfortable. At the entrance of every compartment there is a small niche with several brochures one about the events happening in the Bay Area, another giving Caltrain schedules and yet another about some business etc. Having picked up one of the brochures I made myself comfortable in a window seat and sat back to enjoy the 45 minute journey to San Franscisco. Of course my camera was ready to capture any interesting sights on the way.

Big Basin Redwoods State Park

One of the other places I visited while in California was the beautiful and lush green Redwood forest. Sited in the Santa Cruz Mountains the state park is home to some of the tallest and biggest trees in the world. Big Basin was declared a state park in 1902 and since then has been involved in conservation of these redwood trees. The route to Big Basin is through some very narrow and steep roads. Driving through the road I felt as I was in India because the roads in hill stations of India are quite similar to these, narrow, curvaceous and surrouded by beautiful forests. But there is one difference here, that is the organised way in which property has been developed. There are no petty shops, hotels etc on the road. The few farms/ ranches that are sited along the road are set deep within the forest and can't be seen. The only sign of human habitation in this region is the numerous mail boxes that are installed beside the highway. It took us 45 minutes of meandering through the hilly tracts to reach the entrance of the Redwoods State Park.

The Big Basin Redwoods State Park was established in 1902 with the primary aim of preserving these tallest trees in the world. The botanical name of Redwood tree is Sequoia sempervirens, it is also known as the Coastal Redoowd. This state park also has the distinction of being the oldest in California. The state park sprawls over 18,000 acres and has 3,000 acres of redwood trees alone and extends upto the Pacific Ocean including 20 sq miles of watershed.

We parked our rented car at the entrance of the park. On display is a cross section of the trunk kept for display so visitors can get an idea of how big and how solid the tree is. After registering and paying the parking fees ($6 per day) we decided to first take on the .75 mile Redwood Trail. This is the shortest trail but gives a perfect picture of the entire forest. The trail goes through the Redwood Circle which is a circle where ancient redwood trees thrived for centuries. The trees which are present around the circle are the offsprings of these old trees. Then there are two trees which are called Father and Mother of the Redwood forest. Both the trees are estimated to be around 2,000 years old and the entire redwood forest is believed to be the result of these two trees. Standing 329 ft from ground, the Mother tree is the tallest in the forest. Both trees are about 75 ft wide at the base. It is impossible to see the top of the tree without craning our necks.


Sun light hardly penetrates through these tall trees to the ground. In the middle of the Redwood trail flows the Opal Creek which is a major tributary of the Waddell Creek. Sturdy wooden bridges enable hikers cross the creek without getting into the water. It is nice to see the water gurgling and hear the wind whistling through the trees. The only noise we heard was the chattering of a bunch of school kids who were on a hiking trip and learning about the country's rich natural heritage and why it should be preserved.
After clearing the Redwood Trail we decided to head to anothter trail which leads to a water falls about 4 miles away but since time was short we decided that we would go halfway and turn back. We walked through the forest climbing uphill enjoying the feel of moist mud below and inhaling the pure oxygen-rich air of the forest, marvelling at the trees and natures creation. After about an hour we turned back towards the park headquarters. We saw Banana Slug and a strange looking lizard in the forest. Here are some pictures of Redwoods State Park.

Strange looking lizard in Big Basin Redwoods State Park

Slow moving Banana Slug is an interesting animal common in Big Basin Redwoods State Park. This is the first time I set my eyes upon this shell-less snail like creature. Wonder what its life cycle is like?

Monterey Bay and Big Sur Highway

Driving through the tunnel to reach Monterey Bay

After hiking around Point Lobos and enjoying the stark beauty of coastal rock formations and lush green forests, we drove towards the Monterey Bay, famous for its mega aquarium. Sited on the Big Sur Highway which snakes along the coast of California, Monterey Bay is a quaint little town dependent on tourism. It's antiquity is obvious when one passes through its narrow one-way roads and parking is at a premium. The cheapest parking available costs $5 for a day, other parking lots charge something like $0.50 for every half an hour. We didn't visit the aquarium because it was late (4.00 pm) by the time we reached there. The aquarium closes at 6.00 pm and according to Padma it takes at least 6-7 hours to take a look at the numerous aquatic beauties displayed inside.

Driving on the Big Sur highway was like a dream come true for me. When I had reviewed the book AMA's Ride Guide to America, the Big Sur had been my favourite chapter. As we drove through the scenic route that hugs the California coast, we enjoyed stunning vistas of rugged sea cliffs and the music of the crashing surf of Pacific ocean.

The tranquil surroundings and clear skies made me long to camp there for couple of days, but time was not in our favour and we had to return back to our hosts home for the night. In my opinion a ride/ drive along the Big Sur is a worthy escape from the daily grind, the beautiful landscapes and panoramic sea views are a bonus to our city sore eyes. Stopping at a few places along the highway we climbed on the coastal rock formations and went as close to the roaring sea as it was possible. Took pictures of the sea gulls which flew along in thousands.