Sep 29 - Oct 2 - Las Vegas and Grand Canyon West

As a part of the ongoing trip, I took my parents to Las Vegas and grand canyon west. Went to all big casinos; my parents were amazed to see the beauty of the interiors and wondered how man could make them. Wynn, Caesars Palace, Circus Circus (where we stayed), NY-NY, Venetian, Bellagio.. covered all of them.

The ranch on the pebbly road to Grand Canyon West has probably the best spring water you can drink. Great hospitality too...there was this typical western guitar playing man, who said that Baldev was his old time pal and he knew a lot about Indians. This is in the middle of nowhere (I'd be less surprised if he said he knew native Indians). We did not get a chance to gamble.. and in retrospect I dont regret it, coz I dont remember winning at gambling!!

LA, Hollywood, Santa Barbara

Took my parents to LA, Hollywood and Santa Barbara on Labor Day Weekend of 2005. Among the attractions covered were Universal Studios, Hollywood and Beverly Hills tour, LA downtown, Malibu Temple and Santa Barbara's sea lion cruise. Good times.

Rafting on South Fork American River.

We went to the South Fork American River on July 31. We camped the day before, since it was really dark and we could see a dense starry sky. Recommendation for the future to others (and myself) - south fork is doable in half a day (the first half hardly has rapids). Maybe we will do the middle fork this time.

Trip to LA and San Diego

Friends met up and made a trip to LA-SD. We went to San Diego zoo and beach. We also went to Universal Studios, City Walk, and Santa Monica beach. We ate at Monsoon in San Diego which has very spicy food.

Trip to Washington DC

We went for Kamla's wedding on the Memorial Day Weekend of 2005. Anu and I stayed in Days Inn. We went to Georgetown in the night and ate at an Ethiopian restaurant. Ate sumptuous food in Memsaab and attended the wedding in Murugan temple (day started at 4 a.m.). Not to mention drove the Sebring convertible for the first time.

Trip to Washington DC and Raleigh

Reached Raleigh on 23rd March for company business, met old friends as well as my thesis professor. Was back to NCSU after 18 months, good to be back.

Next I flew to Washington DC to meet Anu. First lets talk abt the good things abt the capital of USA. Really great monuments, the mere volume of it amazes me. We took a tour called DC ducks which shows u the main monuments followed by a 30 minute water run.

Many bad things about DC, haphazardly designed airports, streets are wild to a new comer... Indian food is outright bad compared to the bay area.

Trip to India - 07 Feb to 26 Feb

Got married.. nuff said.

Ski trip - Jan 20-21

Went to squaw on ski trip Jan 20-21.. had sprained my leg so could not do much.. except go upto high camp and enjoy the breathtaking views.

Muir Woods - Dec 31

Muir Woods is just north San Francisco. We took the 2 mile trail... nice place. Also stopped by Golden Gate. We spent the new year bowling, but that was preceded by great food at Suraj Indian Cuisine. The mango ice-cream was memorable.

Lake Tahoe - Dec 18

Dec 18 Dec 19 - Sierra. First tryst with blue slopes. Probably need to take a lesson before appreciating the blue slopes.

Lake Tahoe - Dec 11 2004

Went to Sierra in South lake tahoe with Karan and Amit. Covered almost all the green slopes there, including Sugar N Spice, a 2.5 mile stretch.. felt really tired at the end of that!! This place really has all the green slopes one could wish for!

Heavenly - Nov. 2004

Left for tahoe on 25th Nov. reached at around Evening. Went to Harrahs to play Roulette for some time. Went to heavenly the next day.. took a level 3 skiing class, where we were taught bicycle peddling, right posture (hips inline with rest of body and legs against the shins of the boot!) and how to get ski's in parallel. To take a left turn, press right leg firmly agains the shin more than the left leg and try to get the other ski in parallel. Practiced for the rest of the time. Got stuck in the snow storm the next day... had to go back for lunch and chains. The snow was crazy. It took us 8 hrs to get back to the bay area.

Austin - Oct. 15-16

Awesome trip.. followed by viral cold. Went to seaworld, riverwalk and did some tubing behind a power boat in Lake Travis. Then fell ill... for a week

Yosemite NP - Sep. 4, 2004

Went to Vernal falls. Glacier point with Anu. Very beautiful place.. must go.

Aug 2004 trip to NY

The most recent one was trip to NY. Went to lake george with anu for camping, rafting on Secadanga river, horse riding and jetskiing in lake george. Also ended up at Lake Daggett, a private lake. Went to Gotham's comedy club in downtown NY to see Jim David, Lenny Marcus and Vic Henley perform. Went to statue of liberty top pedestal was open and Edison, NJ with dinesh

San francisco

Many times, seen Golden gate, pier 29, 1015 club, hard rock cafe, angel island

July 4, 2004 trip to Lake Tahoe

Camping, parasailing and jetskiing at kings beach
Also went to SF for fireworks.. got disappointed.
Ate at Hard Rock Cafe.

Offsite at Santacruz - June 2003

Boardwalk tickets - Summer 2004. Google sponsored trips.

June 2004 trip to Napa, Leggett

Wine tasting at Robert Mondavi in Napa, drive thru' tree at Leggett, with Dinesh and his parents. I am not much of a drinker, hence following wines were tasted and not admired: Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir and another one.. I forget the name.

Seattle, Mt Rainier- May 2004

We went to Mt Rainier, and ate at a nice cabin just below base camp. Its pretty beautiful out there. We also went to the Kirkland waterfront, and its pretty neat too. I just love the greenery in Seattle (reminds me of North Carolina), which is not to be found here. That said, I hate the speed limits, and the need to follow them :). I did not experience any rain, so I can't complain about that.

May 2004 trip to Monterey

Carmel beach, 17 mile dr, monterey, played golf

Berry Creek Falls - Mar 2004

Trekking with Vivek V, Amit A.
Wonderful waterfall

Santacruz - March 2004

With anu
Went to mystery spot and Santacruz beach and boardwalk.

Skiing lake tahoe- Mar 2004

with Nimish Shah at the Donner Ski Ranch
Also went to Reno in the night... was not impressed after vegas.

Pune - Feb 2004

To meet Prakash Jijaji.

Dec 2003 - Las Vegas, Death Valley

Vesit Group and Stefan

In DV, saw Zabriskie Pt, Some place below sea level, Artist's Dr, Sand dunes

Vegas, Venetian, Ceaser's Palace, Aladdin, NY-NY. Missed out on Paris.

Myrtle beach - Aug 2003

Myrtle beach, SC is a really nice place to go. The water is awesome, and more importantly not cold. There were nice waves, we were in the water for a fair amount of time.

It was Piyush's birthday and mine back to back on that weekend. We ate at Hard rock cafe, which had a nice theme and average food*.

On the way back, we stopped over at Wilmington and took a tour of a battleship.

* I find most non-Indian food crappy, so I am praising by saying that the food was average.

Niagara falls - Summer 2003

Went to Syracuse to meet Karan, and Niagara falls, US side with Anu. Went through Philadelphia, pretty beautiful (delwater gap).

Rock climbing trip - July 2003

I think it was Table rock or Marion, NC. Five rocks.. successfully climbed one had trouble with the rest. Didnt learn belaying though. Learnt basic figure 8 knots.

Gatlinburg - July 4, 2003 trip

Gatlinburg, WW rafting on Nantahala river. I went for the double-duck with Kalmady on the Nantahala.

Blue ridge parkway

With Arpit, Kamla, Mihir and gang
Drove in the clouds, literally...

Chicago

conference. With Sarah Doster, Dr Williams

Sat in a stretched Limo.. saw Sears Towers, Water front, blues bar, and signs in IMAX

Sea kayaking Mar 2003.

With Outdoor adventures
Bear Island NC
This time we camped just beside the Atlantic ocean... unique experience.

Skiing Sugar Mt. NC - Jan 2003

This time, we went with Outdoor Adventures to Sugar Mountain. This was the first time I got introduced to skiing. I was really skeptical before going for skiing (and spending a whopping 200 bucks on the trip), but I guess I have the adventure worm in me which led to the decision. The first day was so tiring that by 3 pm, I almost gave up, I was getting nowhere after taking the lesson. But then it happened; my first green run. I never looked back after that :); well, until Jan 2005 when I got injured doing the same.

Rajmachi - Dec 2002

Test of endurance, with Kalmady, sushant, lashmi and other juniors. Memorable, but in a different way, although I must admit it was a nightmare for some in the group.

Singapore - Dec 2002

With Arpit, Lashmi
Sentosa Island with Lashmi.

Nov. 2002- Seattle

OOPSLA conference. Also met up with Ravi.

White water rafting in Aug 2002

New River - West Virginia
First time.. and that on 4/4+ rapids
NCSU Outdoor Adventures

Summer 2002 - Backpacking

Went with Arpit, Nimish and Outdoor Adventures to Linville Gorge for backpacking. Was a fun trip.

New york - Mar 2002

Meet Sunil uncle, chhaya mamiji and santu bhuaji
See NYC, downtown, Empire State Bldg. Also saw temples, big malls (felt big at the time).

Tirupati - July 2001

Ichalkaranji's Uncle, aunt, gopal bhayya, bhabhi, anu jiji
Very memorable trip. Just before I went to the USA.

Lonavla - July 2001

Stopped on trip back to Mumbai from Tirupati. Went to Walvhan dam, bushi dam.

Bangalore - Jan-Feb 2001

BE "industrial tour". Mysore gardens, infosys, IBM etc. Group of 40 ppl

Bhimashankar - Monsoon 2000

Climb was memorable; one of the best I have seen. Rain forest (it was raining).
Some risky bends..

Akola

Bittu bhayya's marriage
Great atmosphere.. two compartments booked to our selves

Lonavla - Impromptu trip

Monsoon of 2000 I think.
Decided in the morning, with Vivek, Furkan and Niraj.
Very memorable, lashing rains.. went to Walvhan, Bushi dam.

Rishikesh, Mussoorie

Went for Bhagvad Gita katha by maternal grandparents. Wonderful trip. Remember buying cheap vegetables to feed a lot of ppl who had come.

Wangni - 2000

Pretty much impromptu.. pretty good though, as far as I remember.

Sagargadh - 1998

SE with seniors (Vishal Ghotge and co. )
First trek in VJTI

Nainital

Went to Nainital, Kausani, Ranikhet - Amazing trip with parents and sis. Summer 2000 I think.

Took the train to Kathgodam. Then rented a maruti van for our entire trip.

Saw golf courses, stayed at the Gandhi ashram in Kausani, at a hotel (rented house almost) in Nainital. Second trip on Rajdhani Express in my life I think. Very good.

Amravati

Benu uncle's marriage...
Amazing reception.. remember seeing Maine Pyar kiya and Agneepath umpteen no. of times

Goa - 2000

This was a trip I made with school friends. A bunch of us decided to goto Goa.
Its a 16 hour bus drive to Goa. We stayed at a house owned by Mayuresh's relative, I think. We went to Calangute beach and lit a campfire. Drunk locals came screaming after us and beat us when we lit a campfire on the beach. I think a couple of us got a whacking. We also played cricket amongst coconut trees. Fun times.

Numerous trips to Ichalkaranji, Jaisinghpur

Located in southwest Maharashtra. Overnight trip.... beautiful journey..
Relatives live out there.. nothing much to see.. except the Sugar and Yarn factories.

Numerous trips to Surat

Almost every six months to a year. The city, earlier was Richie Rich.. now dont know. Great place to live.. really clean by Mumbai's standards (supposedly second cleanest in India)

Trips to Rajasthan

Seen Jaipur, Udaipur, Ajmer... and my home town Kuchaman City. Plus villages like Salemabad, Rajgarh.

Need I mention.. Sand.. great to sleep on the sand on cool nights. The sevaiyan and kachori in Kuchaman are simply amazing.

Calcutta - On way to Assam

Whenever we went to Assam, it was thru Calcutta (now Kolkata). Crowded buses, beautiful Howrah Bridge and Metro rail. Conductors fold the rupee notes longitudinally, in a special way. Jhaal Muri (Sukha bhel with Olive oil) and Toast muri are not to be missed. For the uninitiated, Jhaal means hot (spicy) and muri is the kurmure part.

Numerous trips to Assam

As a child. Rich greenery, rain, rain and rain. Beautiful landscape and a Village of a few hundred ppl where my maternal grandparents live. Places seen:

Guwahati, Nowgong, Jakhalabandha

There u can experience really primitive stuff like water pump (great exercise). Eat hot jaggery (just as it is made) and sit on a grocery store and sell 5 packets of Charminar for 20 bucks or weigh half a kg of sugar. Went to rhino park on one of the trips.

Badrinath Kedarnath

When I was six I think with paternal grand parents... pretty amazing trip. Faint memories of walking on the path with a deep ravine on one side and mountains on the other. Sat in a palki for the first (and last time of my life).. where humans carry you on shoulders. Remember giving Cashews to the guys picking up my grandparents on the palki where I was with them.

Which cars have I driven

Toyota 4Runner
Toyota Prius 05
Honda Civic - 89, 04
Honda Accord test drive
Chevy Malibu V6 - 04
Dodge Caravan (Grand) - First one in the US and same as the first one for my wife.
Ford Taurus
Volvo S40
Suzuki Aerio
Toyota Echo
Chevy Cavalier
Nissan Maxima
Nissan Z350 test drive
Maruti 800
Maruti 1000
Tata Indica
Sebring Convertible
Corvette C6 (Auto show in motion)
Lexus ES330 (Auto show in motion)
Pontiac G6
Pontiac Vibe
Dodge Caliber
Chevy Impala

States covered so far

In India
Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Orissa, WB, Assam, Bihar, Rajasthan, UP, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Goa

In US
SC, NC, Virginia, West Virginia, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Washington, Nevada, Illinois, Tennessee, Texas, California, District Of Columbia, Maryland, Arizona, Hawai'i, Alaska, Florida

Countries
India, US, Singapore

Countries (including airports)
India, US, Singapore, Italy, UK, South Korea, France

Concerts attended to date

July 1: Tabla solo by Anubrata Chatterjee. He is another one of those child prodigies. He is 22 years of age and his fingers are nimble as ever. He is definitely going to be among the top in the next generation of tabla players.

June 17: Lakshmi Shankar's 81st Birthday celebration. My first vocal concert. Recitals by Jayanti Sahasrabuddhe, Nachiketa Sharma, Shubhangi Sakhalkar, Gopa Raha and finally by the living legend Lakshmi Shankar. She is 81 but her voice has all the clarity, pitch and control. Nachiketaji's rendition of Raag Shyam Kalyan is also worth mentioning.

May 5, 2007: Sisirkana Dhar Choudhary AKA Didi on the violin. This was her first concert that I was attending. The concert went over 4 hours, and she played right from the heart.

Apr 26, 2007: Shivkumar Sharma and Zakir Hussain playing Raag Puriya Kalyan followed by Raag Mishra Khamaj. Amazing as usual. Thanks to Uttamda, we got a chance to meet the artists in person and that was an elevating experience.

Sep. 14, 2006: Pt Hariprasad Chaurasia with George Brooks and Group. Raag Yaman Kalyan was played by Panditji. The jazz was also pretty good and Kathak by Kaveri Agashe added a unique touch to the jazz.

Oct 29, 2005: Pt. Ali Akbar Khan, Alam Khan and Ashish Khan in sarode trio. Raag Hem Bihag and Pilu Marwa, simply stunning.

Sep. 4, 2005: Ghulam Ali, Talat Aziz and Anup Jalota in concert. Damadam mast kalandar was awesome.

June 18: Pt. Swapan Chaudhari and Pt. Brij Bhushan Kabra (got cancelled). But it was replaced by Tabla solo by Pt. Swapan Chaudhari and Sarode by Alam Khan (Kaunsi Kanhara). I must say that Alam Khan rocks and he is probably the future of Sarode (with Pt Amjad Ali Khan's sons)

May 20, 2005: Ghulam Ali and Talat Aziz - Unfortunately, Ghulam Ali met with an accident and the show was cancelled.

May 8, 2005: Pt. Vishwamohan Bhatt with Shuben Chatterjee - a most amazing experience. The concert was dedicated to Moms and Rain. Started off with Raag Mian ki Malhar, followed by vocal renditions of Raag Goud Malhar, Ramdasi Malhar and Megh Malhar. Second half was Raag Basant, Raag Hansadhwani and finally, his composition from his album, A Meeting by the River.

Apr 24, 2005: Pt. Shivkumar sharma, rahul sharma and zakir hussain playing raag "Rasika Priya". Simply mesmerizing stuff. Followed by George Brooks on the Saxophone. Steve Smith was amazing on the drums.

Mar 2005: Standup by Bill Maher.... a lot of what he speaks in the show.. not worth it. Especially since I was on pager duty.

Nov. 20, 2004: Zakir Hussain with Shri Alam Khan on Sarode. Mesmerizing... first half Alam khan played Raag Vihag (tantanan tantananan), followed by tabla solo by Zakir Hussain.. Simply mesmerizing.

Nov. 2004: Cobbs comedy club for Ed Helms.

Oct 9, 2004: Pt Hariprasad chaurasia with Pt Bhawaniji on the pakhawaj (first flute concert with the pakhawaj). Raag Balkauns in slow Alaap and two compositions.. mesmerizing. End with Raag Pahadi. If I get a CD of this recording, I am so going to buy it!!!! The disciples of Pt Chaurasia, Debopriya Chatterjee and Rimpa Siva hold a lot of promise too.

Sep 17, 2004: GS Sachdev, Zakir Hussain live. Sat in row E (fifth from the front, around 15-20 feet from Zakir Hussain). Raag Gaurav Vihar, Mishra Khamaj, Jay jayavanti were played. Grace Cathedral in SF is an amazing location to have a concert. The place was simply amazing.

Aug. 2004: Hariharan - Classical, and all his songs (Liyakat Ali Khan on Sarangi) in Hayward

Aug 2004: Hasya Kavi Sammelan - Surendra Sharma, Arun Gemini and Niraj Puri - the most humorous so far (beats Stand up comedy by miles if you have a North Indian Context!)

Aug 2004: Gotham's Comedy Club - New York with Jim David, Vic Henley and Lenny Marcus.. hilarious, amazing performers

Summer 2004: Jagjit Singh Ghazals in Bay Area

GS Sachdev and Swapan Chaudhari - Flute

Dec 2002: Shivkumar Sharma, Rahul Sharma(his son), Hariprasad Chaurasia, Rakesh Chaurasia (his son) and Zakir Hussain - Santoor, Flute and Tabla in Bombay (If you missed this one, you dont know what u missed!)

May 2004: Hariprasad Chaurasia, Ramani, Swapan Chaudhari - North and South Indian Classical flute (Jugalbandi)

2002: Indian Ocean - Kandisa in Raleigh

2000: Falguni Pathak - Dandiya in Mumbai (One near Goregaon Highway I think)