Hiking up to the Lonesome lake

Tags

amc hut, California, hiking, lonesome lake, New Hampshire, Travel, USA, white mountains

My wife was away, my roommate was moving out of Boston and it was a long weekend. The stars were lined up to have a bachelor hike. Well, a bachelor hike after you get married is a all together different experience. The destination was set, the Lonesome Lake in the white mountains.

Situated in the ranges of Franconia notch in New Hampshire, Lonesome lake can be reached via various trails. An easy hike is from the Lafayette campground. Other more strenuous hike is from Canon mountain down to the lake. If you map it out, this location is really lonesome and to our surprise there was an AMC hut there.

AMC huts are a group of huts situated in the mountains across the US which you can reserve before and arrange for camping there. We were going for a day hike, so we did not bother reserving a hut, but lonesome lake is the place where you should stay overnight if you want to feel the eerie quietness of nature.

Pit stop

This was my first snow hike. It was cold and we were layered up. No wonder within 10 min of walking we started pulling off our layers. As we started climbing, it started getting warmer. After a lot of stops, it dawned on me that after the big fat Indian wedding, I was out of shape! Slowly but surely we reached the top and there it was.. a vast expanse of snow covered lake quietly situated between the serene beauty of pine trees. The view was mesmerizing. We kept our stuff aside, and spent some time on the lake, walking, sitting and just absorbing the beauty in our minds

Lonesome Lake

Now we were freezing. We could see the hut on the other side of the lake and started walking towards it hoping the hut could give us some warmth before we start to descend. To our surprise, the hut was buzzing with people. A group of ten was camping there that night and had begun cooking their turkey meal. They greeted us with a warm beverage. We were thankful. It was a much needed hot coffee. Raghav grabbed a guitar which was lying around and played a few songs. We joined him on the tunes of the guitar and sang Bollywood songs sitting on the porch.

The Hut

After chit chatting with the family we realized they celebrate their thanksgiving here, on the lonesome lake, every single year, away from the noisy city, amongst the stars, trees and the lake, thanking mother nature for all the blessing she has bestowed on humanity. Its a kind gesture. Definitely the lake wouldn’t be feeling lonesome on thanksgiving.

It started getting dark and we decided to begin our decent. Climbing down was faster and more chiller. But we had with us the beauty of the Lonesome lake and warmth of the friendly New Hampshire people.

Yosemite National Park

Tags

California, National Parks, photography, Travel, USA, yosemite

Situated in the Sierra’s around three to four hours from the bay area is Yosemite national park. A popular destination for tourists and an exciting adventure for hikers, the national park has it all.

We started early morning and reached Yosemite around 11am after a pit stop for breakfast. Again, make sure you fill gas before entering the park and have ample food with you. The park is huge and it has one restaurant inside which is shit expensive. It takes around an hour to drive from the west visitor center to the valley. It was an odd day so not much crowd. Exquisite views from various vista points were greeting us on each turn.

The Brothers

Not long after we started for the valley from the visitor center, we had our first encounter with the half dome. Known as the strenuous and hard rock climbing destination, every hiker is attracted to the half dome. Half dome requires permits to climb and is closed for the winter season. The peaks were snow clad and it was relatively colder at Yosemite compared to bay area.

Half Dome

If you have just a day at Yosemite the best way is to go around the loop road which leads from the visitor center to Yosemite Valley and back. This road has all the picturesque vista points you may want to stop and have some moments with.

Bridal Veil Falls

Lower Falls

Bridal veil falls, Lower falls, Upper falls, Half Dome, Three brothers, Valley View and last but not the least El Capitan are the places you want to stop at. More than 4k ft tall straight cliff, El Capitan is a simple delight to watch. El Capitan will give you the feeling of a non-entity in this world. Valley view is another point from where you can view El Capitan on one side and Bridal Veil Falls on the other. Yes this is that award winning picture which is on all the key chains and magnets from Yosemite.

Horsetail Falls

El Capitan

It was a fast but fully engaging day with the nature. There is also internal park transport in the valley if you do not want to drive. The free busses start from the Valley visitor center and take you to all the vista points in a loop. Nature is at its best in Yosemite and the best time to visit there is probably on any weekday.

The Silicon Valley

Tags

bay area, California, golden gate, hanuman temple, san francisco, silicon valley, USA

The best part is that it took us less money to reach the Silicon Valley from LA than what we spent at the Golden Gate bridge toll. Yes, after spending 6 hrs and $5 we reached San Fransicso, the city where all the tech magic happens, and the city where I lived my “Californian dream” for more than two years.

My buddy Aniket was kind enough to offer us his apartment to crash for the four days we were in the valley. He took a leave so that he could spend time with us and also cooked some great Indian breakfast. We spent the morning chatting and catching up. It was three to four years since we lastmet, but felt like yesterday.

Alcatraz is a shut down prison facility situated in the waters near San Francisco. It was supposedly very difficult to escape from the prison given the cold Pacific waters. We had plans to visit Alcatraz Island that day but couldn’t get tickets. Turns out you have to book them well in advance. Hence we changed plans and started off at Land’s End state park with our first fantastic view of Golden Gate. Then of course driving over the bridge, we reached the famous vista point and clicked a lot of photographs.

Alcatraz

Across the bridge, the road branches off into two, one going towards Sausalito and other climbing a mountain, and reaching Sausalito from the back side. It’s a pretty scenic drive. You can get some pristine views of the Golden Gate Bridge and the ocean on a clear day. Yeah, Frisco is always foggy and getting a clear day with ample sunshine is considered fortunate. We were fortunate.

City of San Francisco

We circled around the ocean and got back into the city by nightfall. After driving on the world’s most crooked street, the next stop was to get some dessert, @Ghirardelli. Those mouthwatering desserts and chocolates are unforgettable. And yes, you also get a free chocolate when you enter their store! :). After a full dessert meal we went to twin peaks. It is the highest point in the city from where you can get an entire birds eye view of San Francisco! Its the best place to view fireworks from!

Bay area is full of Indian restaurants and cafés. The best south indian food you will get outside India will be in the bay area. Madras Café, Madurai Idli Kadai, Sarvana Bhavan, Anand Bhavan are some of the must visit restaurants when you are in south bay. Craving for good south Indian food, we planned all our meals in each of these restaurants turn by turn. I was totally delighted to be back! I miss that food!

(from internet)

One full day was dedicated in catching up with all my friends and re-living bay area almost after three years. While we were in the bay area we also went to Santa Cruz which is a small sea side town. We had brunch there and then visited the Natural Bridges state park, again to see millions of pelicans. The park is famous for its sunset views where, at the right time of the year, the sunrays pass through the natural cavity created by a rock in the ocean. It’s picturesque! We planned to go to the Mystery spot, but again, the day was sold out. I have been there before and the illusion of defying gravity is superb! Worth a visit.

About 40 miles south from San Jose, is a Hanuman temple situated in the woods. It literally in the middle of nowhere. This place is super quiet and perfect to sit, meditate and introspect yourself. Whenever  I go here, I find peace. Away from the city, away from the mundane fast pace of the life, away from human civilization, this place is perfect to sit, relax, close your eyes and find inner peace!

Namaste!

(from internet)

Joshua Tree National Park

Tags

cactus, California, desert, joshua tree, National Parks, photography, Travel, USA

Three hours from LA, situated in a desert landscape is a beauty that features Joshua trees. A Tree of Life, as it is locally known, Joshua trees can be found in abundance when you start moving towards the Mojave Desert.

It was past midnight until we reached our Joshua Tree national park. Situated in the middle of no where, Twentynine pines is the village where we decided to take a halt. Pin drop silence, pitch darkness and starry sky is how I would describe the night at Joshua Tree National Park. If temperatures permit, I would strongly urge to set up a tent and camp inside the park. Campsites are alongside big boulders and one would get to see the picturesque night landscape that every photographer and artist craves for.

We started off early morning and visited the cactus garden first. This is a little out of way, but it features millions of cacti in one small area of the park. There are trails that traverse through the cacti leading to nearby hills. I could see a lot of cyclists going up and down the trails, reminded me of Aron Ralston from 127 hours!

As you start moving from the north entrance to the west entrance of the park, you can see thousands of Joshua trees on both sides of the road. The reason behind “tree of life” is well understood when you see such Joshua trees providing a little shade in otherwise miles and miles of barren, parched land.

Skull Rock

We did not know about the Skull Rock until I saw a big alien skull on my right side while driving inside the park. This natural rock is of the shape of a huge skull with clearly marked eye cavities. That particular area is full of enormous rocks and boulders (and after seeing the skull rock, you want to make up something of every other big rock you see).

They were here..

Barker dam was our next stop. We did an hour long hike here which basically circumscribes the dam. The dam was basically a water storage facility of early cattlemen. On the trail there are rocks where you can see native American petroglyphs. That was cool.

Another popular vista point in the park is the Keys view point. This is the tallest point in the park from where you can get a good view of the entire desert and surrounding mountains. You can hike to that point, but if you are pressed in time, driving up there makes more sense. There is also a geological trail featuring various rock formations and flora of the desert, but this trail needs a 4-wheel drive vehicle, hence we were not able to do it. May be next time..

If you are a person who can appreciate the beauty of desert, Joshua tree national park should be on your list. I would go camping there, take my bike and cycle through the entire park. Be sure to carry enough water with you and fill your car with gas before you enter the park!

Los Angeles.. The life behind the screen!

Tags

California, film stars, fossils, Hollywood, LA, santa monica, USA

The second leg of the California trip was visiting Los Angeles and then driving down to Joshua Tree National Park. There is so much to see in LA, that a few hours are not sufficient. After picking up a rental car at Union station we drove to the Griffith’s park. This is a hill in between the city (just like ..amchi MIT chi tekdi) is a perfect pit stop to see the famous Hollywood sign on one side and Downtown LA on the other. Somehow, we thought the sign would be huge, but it was so far away, that that I was glad to bring my 55-200 zoom lens to capture it (of course it was Hollywood ..every thing behind the scenes look bigger and better than in reality! ).

After taking some pictures there we drove to the Hollywood avenue. Hollywood walk of fame are golden stars embedded on the sidewalk here, each one dedicated to a film personality. Chuck Norris, was right there and I could not pass him without taking a picture. This street features restaurants, theatres, museums and tons of souvenir shops.. Everything revolving around Hollywood. Lots of people have open bus tours here which you can go on if you have ample time with you. Big Bang theory was getting shot somewhere in the area at that time.. I soo wanted to see Penny!

We then visited La Brea Tar pits. These are live tar/ oil preserves. This is an interesting place where archeologists have found fossils that surfaced due to the motion of this tar over thousands of years. The picture below is of a live tar pit where you can see an air bubble trapped beneath a tar layer. The air eventually cracks the tar layer and the bubble bursts. Fossils of bisons, saber tooth tigers, lizards, swans, storks and vultures are few amongst the thousands of fossils found here. There are live tar pits here where excavation is ongoing. Science loving people could easily spend couple hours here in the pits.

Ok.. back to the world of filming, now was the time to visit the place where filmstars live and shop. Beverly hills is the area where many film stars have their houses. You can buy a map of the area which shows the locations of the residences of your favorite stars. Close by is Rodeo Drive which features shopping destination for the affluent. People from Bangalore, its like Brigade road, but for film stars. We could only window shop here, and then we were off to Santa Monica.

Santa Monica is situated on the coast. It has a nice pier full of restaurants, music and excellent views of the ocean. We were there right for the sunset and then had dinner there. The evening was made lively by street musicians playing violin and guitars on the pier.

A long drive to Joshua tree National park was still in front of us. We started for Joshua Tree at around 8pm in the evening. The one place which was on the cards but we couldn’t do is Venice beach. So, anyone of you if been there.. would love to know your experience!

California Part 2: Ola mi amigo. Esto es San Diego

Tags

animals, beaches, California, San Diego, Travel, USA, West Coast

And the vacation begins…

We reached LA at midnight and started for San Diego at around 2am in the morning. Both of us were fresh after a good sleep in the flight stretching on all the three seats. A road trip at night with Kishore da playing his best from the 70s couldn’t be a better beginning to the vacation. Cruising along the coast with our Kia Optima set on cruise control we were enjoying the songs and singing along. Within couple of hours we started seeing signs for San Diego downtown and we turned on our navigation to take us to our friend’s place where we were supposed to crash for the night. It was 4:30 am in the morning. Her husband was awake and greeted us with a welcoming smile. We felt at home. After taking a quick shower, we crashed on the bed to take a nap. The day was going to be long!

The world famous San Diego zoo and the Sea World are must see attractions when you are in town. Both are huge and would easily take more than a day each. Speaking to a lot of people it was clear that Sea World is for people who like rides (Shamu the killer whale show is awesome!) and shows and teens would enjoy it more. Zoo was for the other set of people those who don’t mind walking miles under the sun to see animals (Skyfari is a must do in the zoo). I am a kind of person who likes to visit those places which would give me the local flavor and hence zoo or sea world were not on the cards.

After a morning drive in the upscale neighborhood (where my wife started dreaming about buying a house) we started off at the Torrey Pines beach.

Stretched alongside the Pacific is a scenic bridge that leads to the Torrey pines beach. Plenty of morning sunshine made it perfect to hit the beach and get some tan. Wifey liked her new outfit and I got to use my new sun glasses for the first time. Chilling on the beach for an hour after playing in the waters, we then were ready for our next pit stop La Jolla Cove for lunch.

La Jolla Cove is an interesting place. Lots of pelicans and sea lions would greet you here on a rocky beach. We had food at a hill top restaurant facing the ocean and then walked near the sea lions. These mammals with external ear flaps and long fore flippers are a delight to watch. They just come out on the rocks and rest there. Yeah.. totally harmless until you try to go near them and they will bark like dogs, probably attack and bite you. There was a family of sea lions sleeping on the beach. Just when one cute gal was busy clicking their pics the daddy lion approached and scared the shit out of her. Guarding the family, daddy did not let anyone near the kids. Family ties in the animal kingdom, rare sight in humans these days!! Looked like the pelicans were keeping an ariel watch.

The Daddy Lion Approaching…

You can easily spend two to three hours at La Jolla. Our next stop was Pt Loma. Pt Loma is a point from where you can see Mexico border on a clear day. We reached there at the sunset and enjoyed the sun setting down at the backdrop of a cemetery. The other side portrayed exquisite views of San Diego downtown starting to get lit up at dusk.

Pt Loma

Coronado is an island connected to the main land by a bridge. Downtown “skyline” is best viewed from here. After Pt Loma we headed to Coronado which greeted us with a fantastic views of the glittering downtown. A quite walk on the beach holding her hands looking at the downtown is simply unforgettable. Our day was coming to a conclusion. We then headed to the downtown. Gaslamp Quarters is the “happening place” in the downtown. It features a lot of bars, pubs, theatres, museums, exquisite dining restaurants and gift shops. After a quick stroll in the Gaslamp quarters and buying a souvenir, we headed back for dinner.

View from Coronado

Unlike some of the northern states in the US, people are more friendly here. They will greet you, stop by your house, have a chat, share meals and home cooked sweets and interact more. The day was well spent. Torrey Pines, La Jolla Cove, Pt Loma, Coronado, Gaslamp Quarters and then a fresh home cooked south Indian meal turned out to be the icing on the cake!!

Next was Hollywood…. To be continued…

California: Part I – Travel

Tags

Airlines, Alaska Air, Boston, California, Delays, Flights, Travel

My buddy’s engagement was the occasion which got me thinking about planning a trip to the west coast of the US – California. It would have been the first time for my wife to see California, the place where I spent couple years working and eating good Indian food. I was excited. It was Sunday night, all our bags were packed and we were all set for the flight to San Diego next day. The itinerary was packed. A day in San Diego, couple days in and around Los Angeles and four days in San Francisco.

And then Murphy struck. Boston experienced a worst snow storm of the season that night and our flight stood cancelled. I called Alaska airlines and requested them to accommodate me in some other flight. Of course all other Alaska flights were full and it was not in their policy to accommodate me in some other airline. So per Alaska customer rep (this is important, “per Alaska customer rep”), I initiated the process of cancelling my reservation to get a refund and booking another flight. Busy calling various airlines finally American Airlines told me they had a flight to San Diego that evening. I pulled the trigger and paid an extra 500 bucks to get two seats, just so that we stick to our plan. I had no other choice. Yeah, I missed a heartbeat (or may be two).

So we started for the airport pretty early so get a head start. At the airport, I just thought I should stop by Alaska counter and ask for a price match. At the counter, the lady tells me to wait to see if she can accommodate me in some other airline. She comes back and says that because my ticket cancellation and refund was in progress there was nothing they can do. Now I was pissed. Over phone I hear they cannot accommodate me in other airline and ask me to cancel the ticket and on the counter I hear they could have potentially matched me the prices, but now as the refund is in process they are helpless. So the bottom line is “the house always wins”. Who knows even the flight cancellations could be a big scam to jack up prices under the name of “act of god” ! There were indeed other flights taking off at the same time as my Alaska flight! I was not happy.

This was just the beginning. So then we reach to our AA counter and I was not able to print my boarding pass at the kiosk. Worried I stood in the customer service line where I realized that this flight is delayed by two hours. This meant I would have missed by connecting flight to San Diego. There was no other flight that night to San Diego. The AA rep suggested a flight reaching LA at mid night and a connection to San Diego after 7 hrs. So basically I would have to wait 7 hrs on the airport to catch a flight which is 10 mins long.

I reevaluated by options. Thank god I had a hotspot and a fully charged laptop with me. I went ahead with that flight but decided to let go the LA-SD flight and take a rental car instead. It’s a two hour drive. Which meant cancelling the San Diego rental car reservations and the tickets for the train we were supposed to take from San Diego to LA the next day. Now even my flight to LA was delayed, but that turned out to be a blessing in disguise. After spending hours on phone speaking with rental car agencies and Amtrak customer service, I sorted out my travel changes.

So finally 4 hours later, we boarded our flight to LA. We had a rental reservation at LA to drive to San Diego where our ETA was 5am in the morning. We were all set for a good night sleep. Finally Snowy Boston did let us leave for Sunny California and I entered my PTO.

…to be continued

Office Office!!

Tags

amreeka, California, Living, people, police, rules

It was the day when I got my first ticket.. a parking violation.. and I realized that even this leading economy, a so called perfect country to live, is not that perfect at all. The difference being.. here corruption is coded into rules.. so it is “by the book!”

 

A few days back when my car was parked off street, I saw an envelope on the windshield. I guess it right.. it was a ticket. It mentioned I had to pay $53 for not displaying right registration sticker on my license plate. Here it is called a 5402 violation. The envelop mentioned that that under correctable violation section (4000a) if I provided a proof of correction within 21 days then my fine will be reduced to $10. Well..I was happy.. Thought it’s not that bad! 🙂 So the next day I corrected it by sticking an updated tag on the plate.

 

After correcting my violation, proudly, I went to the Sunnyvale police station to get a sign of an officer as a proof of my correction. (The ticket was issued by City of Sunnyvale). I was surprised to learn that in a police station here, I have to speak over a phone to the officer who is standing few meters away from me with a bullet proof glass in between!! Well, police station should be supposedly the safest place in the city right! :P. Anyways, so I told him the story and asked him if he can sign off my ticket. He smiled, said “yes” and then pointed me to a notice which said I will have to pay $41 for an officer to walk to my car, check the plate and then sign off. So, for a $53 ticket, which would then (probably) reduce to $10, I will have to pay $41 to get it signed!! Wow!.. and it’s not wrong huh.. it’s written in the rules!

 

Then he himself suggested me that I can ask around at other places (he did not know where) where I can get it signed for free. So I called up Mountain view police station.. $25 for people not living in Mountain view (free for residents). Thinking on the same lines that I am a resident of Santa Clara, I went to Santa Clara police station.. $11 no matter where you stay! 😀 .. God.. yahan bhi log lootne ko baithe hai. I can catch a cop on a road and ask him for his sign (probably when he is at Starbucks).. but interrupting a cop on duty.. could be another ticket. So these guys tell you alternatives and then tell you how that alternative is not possible :P. Then I visited San Jose police station.. where finally I got it signed for free. !! The adventure does not end here…

 

I asked the same officer to confirm that now I had to pay only $10. He had no clue why in first place the ticket issued was of $53. According to him it should have been much less. So again.. now I had to go to Sunnyvale police station to clarify what I had to pay. The same officer at Sunnyvale saw the ticket and said that the fine will not be reduced as it is a 5402 violation and the ticket mentions correctable violation (section 4000a). Well..  4000a means not registering the car at all. So I asked him that not registering the car should be a more serious violation than not displaying the correct sticker right? Then how come that is correctable and mine is not!! His answer was.. “it’s not what we think, it’s what written in the rules”!! 😀 😀

 

So then, I did some internet browsing and found that my violation was correctable. I went there again and told him that the website mentions 5204 is correctable. His response “well, the website may mention it is correctable, but that does not mean your fine will be reduced, it only means you can correct it!” …now I had started losing my calm!! I asked him where I can confirm this.. and he said “We  do not handle payments here.. we do not know”.!  I called up the citation processing center (place where I had to submit my payment) and they told me I had to pay only $10 after getting the proof of correction. So I had both answers.. and no way to confirm what I  should be actually doing.

 

Sunnyvale court is next door. I had read on the internet that I can pay off the tickets at the court,  so I stopped by. I asked the officer there about the ticket, and he directed me to the police station for parking violation inquiries….. Now I am stuck in an infinite loop!! (and I can’t inquire anywhere else as the ticket is issued by Sunnyvale.. so other places won’t have any clue). Bhai SAB TV par Office Office  lagta that bachpan  me.. uske jaise halat hui hai!!

Speaking with my friends I heard few more such instances. A moving violation (like speeding etc.. which is safety related and more  serious, which accumulates points on your license) can be “converted” to a parking violation by paying the lawyer double the amount of the ticket. Any ticket can be “settled out of the court” by paying the officer some amount that you negotiate. All the officer does is tells the judge he does not want to press charges. Well.. all this “lobbying”, “off court settlement”, “converting moving violation into parking” is perfectly fine as it might have been written somewhere!!!

 

Seriously!! What is the point in blaming our police officers, blaming our system? Bus hum illegally karte hai isliye?? Ya khule aam dikh jaata hai isliye? Log itne jyada hai.. to obviously such instances will be more evident right? Point is.. it’s everywhere and it is wrong.. We should be proud that at least our government does not legally permit these kinds of things (probably?)!!

 

Don’t know how much I am going to pay for this ticket! 🙂

The Cultural Difference

Tags

amreeka, California, Living, shades

After grad life, now working in a company most of time with Americans, staying with an American family, using public transport daily has brought me more close to the American culture, the western way of thinking. There are still many things to imbibe, but some cultural differences between us and these western people are prominent.

Independence, thanks to technology, is what is seen in every American. And now I realize it has many shades. Every person, be a man or a woman, a kid or an old one, a fit or a disabled, can live his entire life on his own. Buses have ramps for disabled to get in, traffic light ped crossings have radio records for blind to help cross, every house has a garage and tools to fix their own vehicle, and internet is everywhere; these people hardly feel a need to interact. Every person has an i-gadget in his ear, a kindle in his hands and a smart phone with data plan activated. They hardly care to come out of their world.

Good thing is you are independent. You don’t need anyone to help you do your daily chores. You are free. No one would care if you do stupid dancing on roads or if you kiss your girlfriend at the train station. You don’t need to ask around if you are lost, you will have a GPS or an i-phone to see directions. But.. it disconnects people. This disconnects families. A father thinks his son has to leave his house when he is 16 as he thinks “his mother still feeds his a** and after he leaves my house I would spend that money to buy a Porsche” And a kid thinks “I don’t have to stay with them, I earn, I have money, and a girlfriend, I can afford to rent a place. So why should I rely on them!” As a result, kids stay with their girlfriend(s), and old people are transferred to old age homes. But there is no regret as nothing changes in their lives, they have all the tools to live their life independently and happily (?).

In contrast, we have grown in a culture where we stay together. We are emotionally attached and kids feel a sense of responsibility towards their parents. The culture in which we are brought up, we tend to take care of our parents when they grow old. When I communicated these thoughts with a fellow American, he was surprised, and felt great about the culture in which people are brought up a few thousand miles far.

I am surprised when I see that every American can fix his car in his house, and does not have to go to a garage. Come to think of it, it’s due to high labor charges here. If they quote me $50 to fix brakes on my $80 bike, I would refer to google and fix it myself. On the other hand, I will easily give Rs5 to a Puncturewala in Pune and get my punctured tire fixed. These guys are surprised when I tell them we have a doodhwala that brings us milk every morning, we have a maid that daily comes and cleans the house and even when I tell that we get the newspaper in hardcopy. They are used to read e-versions.

Within a family everything is “ours” in India whereas here, its “mine” or “yours”. The other day I was talking to a collogue during lunch and said “in my house back in India…..”. He was surprised and asked me if I owned a house! People here always distinguish between “my house” and “my dad’s house”. Similarly, within a house, its “my car” and “my dad’s car” where as in India its “our car”. These people respect privacy to such an extent that my landlady asks her mom for permission to use her car, or to put a couple of her clothes in a washing machine with her mom’s.

There are so many more things. But the bottom line is, is it solely the technology and infrastructure that has facilitated this upbringing? With technological advances in India, will we see an Americanized India in a few decades? I hope we consciously imbibe all the positive aspects of technological advances, keeping our emotional attachment, and our strong cultural values intact.

The Midwest and the Valley

Tags

amreeka, California, Living, shades

It was a leap from Midwest to West. After two fun filled years at Michigan, it’s now time to experience what they call as the valley of startups aka Silicon Valley.

I joined Tesla Motors which is located in the heart of Silicon Valley, Palo Alto, very next to Stanford University. California is a huge state, but Silicon Valley spans from I guess San Jose to San Francisco and it is altogether different than The Auto State: Michigan!

They have their own standings. Where the Big 3 rule (GM, Ford, Chrysler) in Michigan, they are nonexistent here in the valley. Here it’s all about Google, Apple and Facebook. In Michigan every person has to have a Ford (F150 is favorite amongst teens! :P..mereko abhi tak nahi samjha kyu?!) whereas here.. every person has to have a i-gadget. Here you will see all Hondas and

Toyotas unlike GMs and Fords in Michigan. Some people say that here there are more young and educated people that don’t blindly go for American models.. but cmon.. Sikkim la bakarwadi milnara dukan kasa milel! :P. Big 3 has a dominance on their home ground. They have created living for millions of people for over more than half a century! (and also ‘politically’ made sure that no public transport will ever bud in Michigan).

I saw apartments in California! Seriously! This is worth mentioning. Two long years after I saw apartments having parking below, tube lights in the parking, small children playing with their tri-cycles, grandparents sitting on benches and couples going for a post dinner walk. You know what I am saying. Nothing else in US can get more close to India. There is this road called El Camino Real, can be portrayed analogous to Karve road in Pune or ‘main road’ in any other city. This El Camino has shops on both sides. Right from groceries, restaurants, salons…. To Gadgil Jewelers!!! Awraaa! Chitale bandhu ch yayche rahilet.. rather te pan astil kuthetari!

Bike! Valley is very green, eco friendly. People use public transport, people bike to work. There are bike lanes on majority of the roads. Companies have monetary incentives for people who will not drive their car to work. This is not the story in Michigan. Firstly, the distances up there are huge.. you just cannot bike from your home to your work place. People drive for nearly half hour daily to reach their office in Michigan.. One cannot imagine anyone “wasting” so much time here! Secondly, you cannot bike when its below 0F!!

Michigan is more laid back. No startup culture. Whereas here its all about a budding idea and fast paced efforts for its implementation. I am amazed seeing the enthusiasm people here have. Everyone is bubbling with ideas, willing to help, willing to sponsor, willing to guide. People are young and so are the companies. The enthusiasm for innovation is spectacular which I doubt could be experienced in the Midwest. And hence there is not a person who will, after listening to your idea, say.. “40 saal se kaam kar raha hu.. nahi ho sakta ye! Time waste mat kar!”

California is a different ball game, and I am all excited to play this neatly! 🙂