The Reamker- Different perspectives of a familiar story

Thailand and Cambodia, in every temple – even the Buddhist ones, you’ll see pictures of the Reamker (Ramakien in Thai) – the South- East Asian version of the Ramayana. In Cambodian, and Thai classical dance (khon), puppet shows, paintings, in ruined cities and in gold leaf covered temples, there are references to the story. It is in fact, the national epic of Thailand.

The story has less of a religious tone. While Rama is still acknowledged as an avatar of Vishnu, the character that leaps out, captivating your attention is Hanuman. Unmistakable in his mask, only men are allowed to play the him. He’s not Hanuman as we in India know him -  celibate and pious – this Hanuman is a charmer, a romancer, with three wives, and a number of girlfriends.

A favorite story – a dance that I saw performed in both Cambodia and Thailand was of Hanuman and the mermaid. The merpeople carry away the stones for the bridge to Lanka. Hanuman investigates, and finds a beautiful mermaid – Suvarnamaccha – in some stories, actually Ravana’s daughter. He courts her and wins her, and she agrees not to destroy the bridge, and so the army moves on to Lanka.

Like the monkeys of Thailand, Hanuman is everywhere, even where we would not expect to see him; at Suvarnabhumi airport, a large statue, where he’s on the side of the devas, churning the ocean of milk, and the same scene again, at Angkor Wat, in a huge carved mural, not to be missed, right at the back of the temple.

Back in San Fransisco, there is an exhibition in the Asian Art Museum on the Ramayana and its influence across Asia. After another Cambodian dance performance there, I asked the dancer why the story of Hanuman and the mermaid was so popular. “Its how the people make the story their own” she said. The myth, having travelled across the world, has touched people through the centuries, and itself is changed in its turn.

All alone now... and wishing I was elsewhere

Since Mum went back to India it's been quiet here. No more dashing off to some mall or the other every evening. I swear, between Mummy and me we ended the recession. That improvement in the stock market you see? That's us!

Anyway, since she left, I've not had a whole lot to do (which isn't to say no shopping was done- I just got a new while top today- you can never have too many white tops).

So, back to the library it was. And I got Bill Bryson's "Notes from a small Island", his hilarious account of his farewell journey arouss Britain. OK, while I do disagree with him on some things - the monarchy, the lords and ladies- come on, can you imagine Britain without them! In a democracy I was born, and I may live in one now, but as far as Britain goes, I remain a royalist at heart. Observe that countries that do not have monarchies do their best to make them up. India has the Gandhi's and the US has its Kennedy's... why go into all that effort to create a monarchy when you've got one ready made?

I've been to the UK all of once, but thanks to Enid Blyton, Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer I'm a total Angophile. And while much of what he talked about- the charms of Britain, the wild moors, the little tea rooms, tea itself! (how can you not love a place that loves tea so much, come on!)- was very familiar. Lots of it- run down old towns gone to seed in a post-indistrial age- was not.

The best part of it is also unfortunately the part that I will most likely not remember. The little pieces of trivia, about trains to nowhere running on tracks of unimaginable cost, eccentric people from long ago- only the feeling that I had when I read about these remains with me, not the actual pieces of fact themselves.

In the end I'm left with a desire to trace Bryson's steps through Britain, to get to know the country as he did, but I suspect all I will ever do is spend a few days in London and its environs, for the rest I will have to return to the book

Starbucks city (Also known as Seattle)

Where it all began!

From on top of the Space needle

Museum of rock and roll...

The guitar sculpture

The second most famous company in Seattle...

The Pike place marketplace

Inuyasha at the Sakura Con!

Booker prize winner 2008...and weekend in Rhode Island

So, I’m quite deeply impressed with myself. For an entire month I have now gone without buying any new clothes for myself- in spite of Ann Taylor, Boscov’s and JCP throwing coupons at me every time I head to the mailbox. What have I bought? A couple of gifts, 1 book, a brief weekend in Rhode Island, and a ridiculous number of lunches and dinners (where I used to previously eat at home). *Sigh*, if it’s not one thing, it’s another.

The book I read recently was Aravind Adiga’s recent Booker Prize winner- “The White Tiger".It’s a brilliantly written boo, but it paints a painful picture of India. I’m happy I read it, but I don’t think I’ll be re-reading it again any time soon.

Other books I’ve read lately? Robin McKinley’s “The Hero and The Crown”and Gail Carson Levine’s “Fairest”, both so called kids book’s but with ideas that make them appealing to adults too.

I read Mary Stewart’s “The Wicked Day”– the last tale in her Merlin and Arthur chronicles, where she gives Mordred a decidedly kinder treatment that he’s received nearly anywhere else, but to no avail; it all ends in tragedy (as we already know).

Then there was Susanna Clarke’s “Jonathan Strange and Mr.Norrell”, which was written in the style of English novels from the 19th century. It’s a enormous book (the more the merrier, eh?), and her characters are drawn incredibly minutely, their flaws and virtues, that make you sympathize and despise them in turn. The plot is excellent too, and if you like fantasy at all, you’ll love this one. (I'm thrilled that there might be a sequel in the works -speaking of potential sequels... what happened to the one for "Good Omens"?

Also (god help us all) the Twilight sequel. I went with my cousin to the midnight book release, to see kids all dressed up as vampires and werewolves (there was this one kid who was a particularly convincing werewolf – I stayed well away from him). The book was … (what little of it I read, anyway)… overrated does not begin to cover it. Parts of it read more like a horror story from makers of SAW, than any decent book should. Honestly, people scream to burn books like “The Golden Compass” and “Harry Potter” ; do the world a favor, and ban this book – are you seriously telling me it’s “age appropriate” for teenagers to read about baby monsters clawing their way out of theirs mother’s womb? Ugh!

Also, I love Norton Anti virus (yes, they should be paying me for random endorsements, but... ) my computer's been so well-behaved since I installed it!

And here are some pictures from Rhode Island

A basic tourguide to Reading, PA (or, the things I do when I'm not reading)

I've always lived in big cities before, and when I moved to a relatively small town, I wondered what I was going to do with myself.

But it is a fact that it’s not the place , it’s what you do there (and anyway, I was never a nightlife person- catch me going out after 8pm!)

And these are some of the things I do:

1.Shop. Shop,shop,shop till you drop. This used to be the outlet capital of the world (here’s the New York Times article to prove it.

The Vanity Fair outlets are the ultimate shopaholics paradise; I always find that things are cheaper there than in even other outlet stores with the same brand. And when you’re done with those, you can head to Limerik or Lancaster ( Rockvale and Tanger , all at less than a half ann hours drive for fore outlet shopping.

They’ve recently opened Reading. IMAX theatre in Reading. Now with what hope they went and opened it in the very center of downtown I don’t know. I would certainly never go for a night show there… but for a Sunday afternoon… I might. (PS. For the night show I’d go to Fox east; yes it’s tiny, but it’s safe and hey! Its right next to Boscov’s!)

2.Speaking of Boscov’s – Reading’s the base for the store. This is where they have their warehouse- and my favorite store’s the one in East Reading. Its one of the smaller one’s but again, I don’t know why, every thing just seems cheaper here. (It’s my favorite department store- not as blah as JCP, not as threateningly trendy as Macy’s).

3.Moving on to not shopping – There’s the Goggleworks studio: http://www.goggleworks.org/
where every second Sunday they have artists showing off their work and pottery and glass blowing classes.

4.There are also theatres: Sovereign Performance center, Sovereign theatre , Reading Eagle theatre … they have Broadway shows, music, … especially through winter. And its so much cheaper than New York!

5.Love the library. Reading down town library is a block from my office and it is awesome .

6.Pagoda… don’t ask me… it’s THE landmark around here, and I’ve never actually been there – only viewed it from a distance… here . Lots of interesting stories about it though.

7.Fruit picking. Ok, so you can do this anywhere, where they grow any kind of fruit pretty much. And I went to Styer’s Orchard in Langhorne myself. But there is this highly recommended place Weaver's orchard near Reading.

8.Places to eat … there’s this incredible Vietnamese place called Hong Thanh on 6^th street and Penn. Great food, amazing prices (three of us ate for 20 dollars!). Judy’s on Cherry is pretty good too… there’s this amazing little chocolate place called Haute Chocolate on Penn Ave. and a dessert place called Sweet Street Dessert in the Vanity fair outlet café.

What else to do? Well, what more do you need but a decent internet connection and cable TV?

Beadfest!

I'd been looking forward to this for a while(like, a month). The Philadelphia Beadfest at the Valley Forge convention center. And with great enthusiasm (abettede by my mother 6000 miles away), I took off into the bright and sunny morning, to spend my limited fortune there.

Like a kid in a candy store, my eyes darted here and there, strings of pearls, in white, and pink, and gold, and green and blue and black. Stones the size of and egg and beads no bigger that a dust mote, sparkling crystals, delicately shaped glass flowers, finely carved wood, painted shells, beads made of flowers, felt, butterfly wings; long loops of yarn and thread and wire in every colour of the rainbow. Stones like quartz and amethyst, garnet, aquamarine, coral, lapis, tiger's eye. Lampworked glass in a dizzying array of shapes and colors.

And of course I went completely crazy. In the tw hours that I was there I wandered through a million stalls, each more exciting than the last, my fingers flwed through strands of multicolored beads, my imagination took flight, and a million designs leapt into life in my mind's eye. But though the mind was willing, alas, the body was not, hunger eventually took over, and besides, my credit card was almost in its death throes.

So reluctantly I left the treasures behind me. Farewell, till next year.

How to keep busy on a loooooong flight OR more movie reviews than you could possibly read

The India trip was great... it goes without saying I think. Family,food,fun... heh I'm a poet now.

But the flight... ah, there's the rub; about a day in cramped seats, alone, yet surrounded by people, NO INTERNET! What's a girl to do? Salman Rushdie proved disappointing. 'THe Enchantress of Florence" was utterly disillusioning. All that lyrical, delicate wordplay that I loved in "Midnight's Children" or even in "The Moor's Last Sigh" (was never a big fan of "The Satanic Verses" personally), gone, gone, replaced by strict prose and a plot that made no sense whatsoever!

So it was to the idiot box for me. I love Lufthansa for having seatback monitors. No better timepass. I started with "Charlie Wilson's War" figuring that if I was going to watch anything halfway serious, it had better be at the beginning, when I still had the patience for it. I needn't have worried. It was absolutely gripping! Julia Roberts was brilliant- isn't she always?(though I wasn't too into her blonde hairstyle). And Tom Hanks was excellent. Bravo, bravo!

Then I watched "The Golden Compass". I loved the books (by Phillip Pullman), and I thought the 'controversy' about the Church etc. was way overblown. And the thing was, the movie was actually good! They stuck to the plot, the actors were decent... the special effects were not bad... why is it that when something like Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings ot Narnia is made into a move, the plot is turned inside out and everybody rushes to see it, but when they actually stick to the plot, its a great big flop. Anyway, I don't expect to see the next two in the series being made into movies.

Then it was the Spiderwick chronicles... not bad... waay too many plot holes... basic kid's stuff though.

And voila, three movies and a book to get me from Phildelphia to Chennai through Frankfurt.

I watched 'Indiana Jones' in Chennai, at Sathyam (which seems to be the only theatre that anyone goes to anymore... Oh wait, there's the new one at City Center... Movie wasn't bad... loved the food though. I really miss the interval when I'm watching movies in the US. There's nothing like taking a break in the middle, grabbing a puff and a coke or iced cofee and popcorn, there's the sheer variety of things to eat! Americans are so business like even about watching a movie... one shot and its all done.

Then there was the flight back. The advantage of flying in the middle of the night is that you're really, really sleepy and even wailing infants can't put you off sleeping. I did manage "The Other Boelyn Girl" though. I'm just glad I never bothered with the book.

The last movie I say- "Definitely, Maybe"... you know what... I'd have actually liked to watch that one in the theatre! It actually had plot! And an ending that wasn't completly saccharine, some halfway decent acting.... not bad at all.

Finally, watched "The Dark Knight" last Saturday. That movie is intense! I loved the way it explores the darkness in people, pushes them beyond civilization, makes heroes of villains and villains of heroes. Heath Ledger was brilliant... but so was Aaron Ekhart and Christian Bale and Morgan Feeman and Micheal Caine... and I liked Maggie Gyllenhall too(better than Katie Holmes actually).

Last of all.. "Kismat Konnection". Shocker! The movie has a plot (sort of). Two and a half hours? Waaay too much. Should have been an hour shorter- at least. Loved- Vidya Balan's clothes.

The great pre-India pilgrimage

This time next week, I will be in India, likely enjoying thai chaadam with (dare I hoe) paruppu thogayal and veggies on the side. And I expect to be doing a circuit of temples while I’m there. The small middle-of-the-road Vinayakar kovil in Gandhinagar; the Padmanabha Swami temple almost next door to it ;and others that my mother will no doubt take me to.

But it looks like my pilgrimage has started off early. In the last couple of weeks I have been to two temples and one kutcheri, practically filling my cultural quota for several months. The Delaware Mahalakshmi temple and the Pittsburgh Sri Venkateswara temple. And the concert was by TM Krishna, in nearby Blue Bell, and I must say, it was brilliant. He has an amazing voice, and the range of notes that he hits, apparently effortlessly, is stunning. It was a long concert – 3 and a half hours, but I (shocking myself) managed to sit through the whole thing (more credit to the singer, I think, than any musical inclination on my part).

Of course, during the long journeys to these temples(5 hours to Pittbutgh!) I occupied myself with some of the second hand books I had acquired at various garage and library sales. I got done with the mysterious and slightly supernatural ‘Mistress of Spices’ by Chitra Divakaruni, and the very suspenseful and extremely supernatural (not to mention ghoulish- a good buildup to the X-Files movie coming out next month) ‘This Historian’ by Elisabeth Kostova.

‘The Mistress of Spices’ was a little sad, and little sweet, a little Rushdie-esque I thought, maybe a lighter version of Rushdie.

‘The Historian’ on the other hand was a decidedly heavier version of Dracula, with much of the myth of Dracula mixed with a lot of historical references. The settings in Eastern Europe come alive in each word, the spooky beauty, the sense of being a step behind (or is it in front of?) the monster through a beautiful maze builds in a crescendo.

Some time ago, I also found myself in unhappy circumstances (into the details of which I will not go), sitting and drowning my sorrows in Barnes and Noble, over Diana Wynn Jones’s ‘Howl’s Moving Castle’. The book (not about a dog, as I had for some reason expected), a lightly written fantasy, with a toehold (but an important one, to the plot) in the real world, successfully lifted my out of the doldrums, so that I was later able to appreciate Ann Taylor Loft’s collection that had just come out.

Anyway, I now have to pick a book to carry on the plane. I wish now, that I had saved ‘The Historian’ for that. At 650 pages it would have lasted me the whole way layovers and all. Now I have to depend on the In-flight entertainment, of which I have no expectation (what are the chances they’ll be playing ‘Sex and the City’?)

Springtime and Cherry blossoms

The flowers I was growing - Hyacynths, daffodils and mums...

unfortunately, as it turns out, I have no green thumb- you will not be seeing these again.

A weeping cherry blossom tree at the height of bloom in New Hope

Stark white firestar flowers (is that what they're called? I forget)
- in (of all places) my office parking lot.

Magnolias -a brilliant flash of pink - a dash of summer fun against the busy working street

Weeping cherry's in Philadelphia's Horticultural Park

Pansies merry and bright

And row upon row upon row of cherry trees pale pink and white -

a last sigh before they fade for another year.

pics from New York and Washington

Views from a vacation (so long agao... oh so long ago!) Pictures posted in no particular order... from the top left...Capitol Hill Inside and Out.... In the Botanical Gardens at Washington... miniature Smithsonian and Christmas Tree... Winged creatures from ancient times, mythological, real and manmade (angels,pterodactyls and spacecraft) ... monuments to mankind and all that we are (the Washington Monument and the Jekyll and Hyde club) and of course a tribute to what kept us going

Homesick for LA

It was when I was walking across the overbridge that connects the parking lot to my office building that I felt my breath catch as I was transported 3000 miles to the west. Though, it may sound strange that it was the cool breeze that brought it on, not the blazing summer sun that we have had for the past two months. But I have never been in LA through summer – last year I went back to India in June, and this year of course, I had left by February.

But yesterday the sky was blue, the sun was high, there was a nip in the air, and I could almost believe that the red brick of my office front was actually Powell library.

And then reality brought me crashing down, back to 9 hours of work ahead.

Fiascos in Flying

I commented just yesterday on Ash’s blog that I sympathized with her troubles while flying- and was reminded of the entire hullaboo that I have come to associate with flying over the last couple of years.

I remember my first flight quite well actually. I was eight and we were flying from Madras to Singapore on Singapore Airlines. Here, I should make the point that Singapore Airlines was and continues to be the airlines with the best service. The flight was, the food was good(I didn’t understand until years later why airline food was so reviled), they gave us goody bags for kids(to keep them occupied) with this plastic toy with holes into which you could loop colorful thread (I still have it!). I think that early experience is why, though I know that optimism is the certain path to disappointment, I still look forward to a flight.

There were other memorable flights – there was the flight on a tiny plane with about a dozen passengers, which had engine trouble(and excellent sandwiches) and landed in Chandigarh when in was to go to Shimla (or something like that). I think I should have been more concerned than I was, sitting on that flight, but there were magnificent views as we flew along the foothills of the Himalayas, and that distracted me somewhat (what a good thing I was not in the cockpit!).

Its not just the security procedures that are a pain these days – I can live with that- I understand its necessary, maybe its paranoid, maybe long lines are a pain, whatever- that’s Ok. I can live with the ‘only 23 kg’s’ thing that airlines have – I don’t really want to carry heavy suitcases myself.No, what really, really annoys me is the actual flight itself. Long gone are the days when a 7:30 flight actually meant a 7:30 flight. These days you’re lucky if you leave before. No more food on flights – peanuts if you’re lucky. Either pack food from home – or pay a small ransom and buy something to eat at the airport. It's most annoying with drinks. You can’t bring liquids through security and what costs $1.25 one side of the X-ray machine, costs $2.50 on the nother! And its not like the Air Hostesses ( Oh ok – Stewardesses or Stewards) actually answer when you when you press the little light, and bring you the drink you want when you’re thirsty… )

There was the flight from Bombay to New York through London- that was about 9 years ago. I still remember being awed by the number of shops at Heathrow. I watched Jerry Maguire three times over that trip- and never tired of it. Is it just me or is the quality of movies they show on board also deteriorating? (or is it that the movies themselves are deteriorating?) It used to be prospective Oscar winners, fresh as they were running in theatres- no more – now we get six month old flops that you couldn’t pay me to see… maybe they’re encouraging people to sleep on flights? That was also one of the first flights of the Boeing 767 (I think that’s the right number anyway). Huge plane – much more legroom that you get these days (no I haven’t grown any taller – trust me on that!).

Its not just the security procedures that are a pain these days – I can live with that- I understand its necessary, maybe its paranoid, maybe long lines are a pain, whatever- that’s Ok. I can live with the ‘only 23 kg’s’ thing that airlines have – I don’t really want to carry heavy suitcases myself.

No, what really, really annoys me is the actual flight itself. Long gone are the days when a 7:30 flight actually meant a 7:30 flight. These days you’re lucky if you leave before 12. No more food on flights – peanuts if you’re lucky. Either pack food from home – or pay a small ransom and buy something to eat at the airport. Its most annoying with drinks. You can’t bring liquids through security and what costs $1.25 one side of the X-ray machine, costs $2.50 on the other! And its not like the Air Hostesses ( Oh ok – Stewardesses or Stewards) actually answer when you when you press the little light, and bring you the drink you want when you’re thirsty…

And connecting flights – I hope whoever invented that nightmare is burning away in some inner circle of Hell, because Hell is what I feel I go through rushing from one flight to catch another! Imagine that you have 45 minutes between the landing of one flight and the take – off of the next. And of course the first flight is half an hour late. And then the connecting flight is at the nest terminal and you have to catch the Skytrain/ Shuttle/ Just run as fast as you can and hope your luggage also makes it.

I was on supposed to go on this flight from LA to Philly on Continental a couple of months ago. That flight was cancelled(after we got to the airport) and we were re-booked on American Airlines. Of course our luggage got lost. We talked to customer representatives for a week, getting conflicting answers from “Oh, we have it right here – we’ll send it right away!” to “We have no idea. We have no record of such a piece” and I was about ready to give up- or go mad – when an amazingly kind and responsible representative actually tracked the piece down and had it sent to us, finally ending the nightmare.


And connecting flights – I hope whoever invented that nightmare is burning away in some inner circle of Hell, because Hell is what I feel I go through rushing from one flight to catch another! Imagine that you have 45 minutes between the landing of one flight and the take – off of the next. And of course the first flight is half an hour late. And then the connecting flight is at the nest terminal and you have to catch the Skytrain/ Shuttle/Just run as fast as you can and hope your luggage also makes it.

I was on supposed to go on this flight from LA to Philly on Continental a couple of months ago. That flight was cancelled(after we got to the airport) and we were re-booked on American Airlines. Of course our luggage got lost. We talked to customer representatives for a week, getting conflicting answers from “Oh, we have it right here – we’ll send it right away!” to “We have no idea. We have no record of such a piece” and I was about ready to give up- or go mad – when an amazingly kind and responsible representative actually tracked the piece down and had it sent to us, finally ending the nightmare.

The Working Girl

At long last I've left my life of liesure ( please don't tell me grad life is anything but) and started working (alas!). Moved to Philadelphia where I was preceded by an ominous snowstorm- I refused to take the hint and came anyway. Found the place deep in six inches of snow , freezing the skin of my nose!

Already missing LA - warm sun and light breeze, snow is exciting the first couple of times you look at it, it gets old real fast! I'm beginning to regret all my initial ethusiasm at a white winter. To quote some famous and wise guy ( or maybe just a wiseguy) The Worst thing that could happen is that your greatest desires may be fulfilled. That unfortunately is all too true. Still I'm told that all this is only for another manth (at the most), then Spring will be in the Air, flowers, green grass... warm sun.... Fortunately the groundhog did not see its own shadow this year, so we're spared the additional six weeks of winter.

Down to San Diego and hallo to Shamu

We celebrated the Memorial Day long weekend by going to San Diego on Saturday. Started the day by making Pasta ( food being the most important of all things) for lunch- from a Betty Crocker cookbook too- and it came out so well! As good as anything you'd get in a restaurant!

Then we took the bus down to Bundy- then the freeway bus to Union Station. The station which is in Downtown LA is really pretty. And right next to it is a little market in a tiny street with quaint old buildings - unfortunately there was no time to stop and shop - ah well, perhaps another day. But we wanted to take the Greyhound bus to San Diego, but turned out that was waaaay down the road, and no direct bus there. So we took a bus that went to 7th street, which is about 5 blocks from the Greyhound station. We passed the interesting part of downtown- little shops ans lots of tourists... then as we walked down 7th street things rapidly started getting shady- lots of homeless people - people shouting, leering... we just walked as fast as we could and never took our eyes off the road. That was probably the scariest experience I've had so far!

We were too late to catch the bus that we wanted to take- it left in 10 minutes and they had stopped selling tickets for it. So, not wanting to walk back the way we came we took a taxi back to Union station, and were we glad to get back to a halfway respetable area!

We gobbled up lunch while we waited for the Amtrak train to arrive- we'd made Pasta and brought it with us in the morning, and yummy Pasta it was too! Then we were on our way

The train took a wonderfully scenic route, and at long last we exprerience some of the summery weather that California is so renowned for. People sunning themselves on the beaches, playing beach volleyball, surfing, swimming, water-skiing, paragliding... all the world was a playground around us.

sigh... I'm never going to finish this blog, but I'm going to publish it anyway... suffice to say it was a great day and one I still rememer

Past, Present and Future

Right now I'm feeling terribly pleased with myself. I've been blogging for just over a year now and have averaged about a blog a week. Alas, output these last couple of months has gone down. Hopefully, now, with exams out of the way(project thankfully just don't create the same kind of stress- except Adaptive filters- but that's another story), I can start blogging regularly agian.

To update you on my latest movements- Appa and I went to Hollywood on Saturday- Appa was here on a business trip and stopped over with goodies as he made his way back to the Other Side of the World. And we went to Hollywood. No, Spielberg did not stop me on the street and ask me to act in his next movie and no I did not get asked out by Tom Cruise, but yes I did have an interesting encounter with a masked supervillain outside the Chinese Theatre.

There were superheroes as well, not that even one offered to save me- not Batman , not Spiderman nor Superman *sigh* it just isn't the same anymore for damsels in distress. Anyway I have a nice pic to show- with me with a plastic knife at my throat, artistically throwing my head back....

Ate at a MacDonalds. Was outraged to find that theyve removed Veggie burgers off the menu altogether! I mean Hallo? This is the 21st century! Vegetarianism, health foodism etc is in! What kind of idiot takes Veggie Burgers off the menu at a time like this( and me starving too!).

Though I haven't had time to blog recently, I have found time over the past 3 weeks or so to play the Da Vinci Quest every morning- 10 am Pacific Standard time. Pleased to say that I completed the first stage of the quest, now hoping to be one of the 100000 finalists that get an honest-to -goodness cryptex with which they do the second part.... and one winner gets all- trips to Paris, London, New York... a TV ,a Digicam.... well... that's like aimning for the moon, I'll be fairly content just going to the movie come Friday night.

San Fransisco Part I

At long last I actually have something to write about- as opposed to ramblings from my disorganized mind, and day to day happenings that even I wouldn't remember if I hadn't written them down.

So I went to San Fransisco- the city with the Golden Gate Bridge (although its orange, rather than gold- there's a story behind that- will get to it later.)

Left early Satuday morning- by early I mean seriously - 2 o'clock in the morning types- being panicky and needing to get to the airport 3 hours or so in advance( legacy of my grandparents).
Caught flight from LAX- was first person through security that morinng(!)

Flight was short- not much to see out of the window, though I'd specifically asked for the window seat- all was cloudy.

Until we almost landed. We broke through the clouds and voila- there stretched before us the San Fransisco Bay - and a bridge across it- not the Golden Gate- though I named it so in my head immediately- so beautiful was the view - with rays of light gently breaking through the clouds to illuminate it, all in gold.

The airport is almost on the sea, and as the plane landed there was the most disconcerting feeling of appearing to land on the water itself. The airport itself has not much to brag about- small compared to LAX and (in my humble opinion) , could use some better maintainance. Took shuttle from airport to hotel on Fisherman's Wharf.

Fisherman's Wharf is this tiny peninsula on the northern tip of the city. Its a pretty place, with tiny shops and hills and and the sea, has a lovely view of Alcatraz(the Rock) and Ghirardelli Square (the chocolate Ghirardelli?)

It was raining in SF. Apparently its always raining in SF. Was glad I took my jacket- that's my new jacket btw- inaugurated on Tamil New Year's day, bought from Rodeo Drive( Rodeo Drive where the prices are never mentioned- if you ask for the price- you can't afford it- this was bought on sale- naturally).

Anyway- it wasn't the nasty kind of rain- more like a gently drizzle that just cooled the place down without freezing you to the bone.The shuttle drive took us through the Embarcadero - that's one of the Places to See- its this long road that runs along the coast- and for the second time I mistook yet another bridge for the Golden Gate- actually it was the Bay Bridge which connects SF to the city of Oakland- but its huge and imposing looking (actually, I later found out that the Bay bridge was built only about a year before the Golden Gate- that has a story behind it too- everything seems to - in SF)

Dumped bags at hotel and walked down to Ghiradelli Square (the chocolate place) had a muffin and hot chocolate for breakfast. Now fortified, began long climb upto Lombard street. Though only a few blocks away, the climb was exhausting because of the steep hills that seem to go almost at 90 degrees! Finally made it to the top- and as I stood there, panting... finally! my first view of the REAL Golden Gate Bridge. It's top was obscured by low hanging clouds, but it was that distinctive orange. And over it hung anothier bridge - a rainbow. Stood for a while looking at the beautiful sight- felt almost as though the city was greeting me, blessing me - with all that beauty. Finally the rainbow dissipated and I turned away, and went in search of the crooked street.

The Crooked Street (Crookedest Street in the World) is the most picturesque part of Lombard Street. Actually as I looked down upon it, I thought it was some kind of garden or maze of bushes, it took a couple of minutes before I realised that it was a road and there was actuallu traffic moving through it! ( should have a driving test there- ultimate test of driving skills!)

At last after catching my breath went back to Ghirardelli, sat up in the little tower will the bells- the carillons, and enjoyed a lovely view of Alcatraz. Went down to the street after a while. We walked down the road and eyed the street side vendors selling jewellery and pictures and postcards with interest. Went down to and isolated pier where we were chased away by annoyed seagulls on whose territoty we were encroaching. Went to the Maritime museum and stood right on top near the captain's chair and the rudder (looks a lot like the decks you see on Star Trek- looks like deck design's aren't expected to change in the Space Age)

We went for lunch after that - at IHOP (International House of Pancakes) wasn't in the mood for anything sweet- all that Ghirardelly chocolate had effectively killed that! So had a cheese sandwich.

Then we went for a Ferry Ride- through the Bay- below the Golden Gate and around Alcatraz.

That's where all the fascinating tales came up- about the guy who called himself the Emperor of America and decreed that a bridge be built joining the cities of SF and Oakland- it was- many years later - the Bay Bridge. About the Chinese immigrants who were caught and imprisoned in Angel Island- and Alcatraz( which I kept referring to as Azkaban- accidentally- I need to get Harry Potter out of my system!). As it turns out the Golden gate bridge was so named because it spans the Golden gate strait- which was named after the Golden Horn in Byzantium(?)!!!
The gate itself is painted orange ('International Orange'???) to go with the color of the sea and the hills flanking it.

But most exciting(well, that may be a bit exaggerated), but it was definitely entertaining- the sealions that have taken over the docks of Pier 39. Lazy lumps, they just lie there looking fat and content. Some of them rouse themselves enough to fight - like WWF wrestlers really- pushing each other around, keeping people entertained for hours! Then there are ones the flop on to the dock and clamber over the sleeping ones- which only grunt and roll over- at the most! - to find their chosen sleeping spot.

We wandered through the place- saw hard rock Cafe- didn't go inside (alas!). There was a funny show by a couple of jugglers. The last act was particularly good- where she juggled flaming torches while balanced on a pole, held on the shoulders of two men.

We went to Union Square afer that- well, tried to- parking being the biggest problem- we passed through Chiatown- I've wanted to see a China Town ever since I came to the US- and that is one desire of mine satisfied- sadly, there were no Dragons or Chinese people in their little hats, or Pagodas... it was all rather normal though the crowds were homely, reminded me of being in T Nagar.

We went to the Civic centre first. The building is more like something you'd expect to see in Europe- all gilded decorations and statues and lawns.

Then we went to Union Square- there's a lovely square there, and its lively even late at night, and we could hear the lonely notes of a trumpeteer from the 7th floor of the building where we were- 6 floors were Macy's but the Seventh floor was the Cheesecake factory. Now who it was who thought that cheese and cake( two more unrelated things you cannot find in my opinion) are a good combination, I do not know- but they're a genius! We started with desert as we were waiting for a place to be seated, but the cake was so filling we ended packing most of dinner( I ate it for Sunday night's dinner)

Went straight home( or rather, to the hotel)after that- and crashed till Sunday morning.