I recently came back from vacation at Hawaii. It was nice fun. Here are glimpses of the Luau at Hyatt.
Do the Hula
Glimpses of Luau
Showing posts with label Travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Travel. Show all posts
Saturday, December 30, 2006
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Updates
There are a lot of things that have happened since I last wrote. My parents are in US. They landed on 8/30 and will be here till 10/15. They are currently with my sister and brother-in-law in San Francisco after having stayed with us till 9/24.
Since they were here for a short time, they had to undergo a crash course. They have already been Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, Sea World at San Diego, Disneyland, Universal Studios and Yosemite. Additionally, I think they might know West Covina & Ontario Mills mall inside out.
The latest at my end is I have given my GMAT and scored 740 (Q-50; V-40; AWA - 4.5). I gave it on 8/31 and have been busy completing apps ever since. I managed to submit apps on 9/20. Now I am trying to short-list further schools.
Since they were here for a short time, they had to undergo a crash course. They have already been Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, Sea World at San Diego, Disneyland, Universal Studios and Yosemite. Additionally, I think they might know West Covina & Ontario Mills mall inside out.
The latest at my end is I have given my GMAT and scored 740 (Q-50; V-40; AWA - 4.5). I gave it on 8/31 and have been busy completing apps ever since. I managed to submit apps on 9/20. Now I am trying to short-list further schools.
Saturday, August 5, 2006
Las Vegas
We (Ketki & I) had gone to Vegas in May. Here is the summary of the trip.
Day 1 - Friday- We started from LA real late..the car rental company took up a lot of our time.Fridays are always busy with them. Abhi had taken printouts of all the maps.He took inspiration from Vikas and created a file for the maps.. :-)! The journey to Las Vegas was great...the terrain changed from cool lush green in CA to dry barren in Nevada. The desert called Mojave is spread over Nevada and Arizona. It isn't a desert like the Thar in India. This desert has got mountains too.
We entered Vegas at 9.30. The first view of the city is out of the world. The lights and the music gets you in the mood. It truly is a different place..They all say that 'What happens in Vegas..Stays in Vegas'..! This place has a party going on 24* 7..365 days a year..!
After we checked into our hotel, we decided to go to Las Vegas downtown..There's a street called Fremont Street ..they have laser shows at night..! its wonderful..!
Day2 -Saturday We woke up real late. Our hotel had promised us some free tickets if we went to this particular presentation..So we did and we got our free tickets to a show by the Master Magician -Lance Burton..! After coming back from the presentation..we visited all the casinos one by one.The 'Strip'...as they call it , is the main road in Vegas. It has hotels and casinos lit up on both sides. The interesting part about these hotels is that each one has a theme. For eg- Our hotel,The Excalibur was based on medieval times.It has knights and horses and shining armours hung all over. The other hotels were New York -New York.As the name suggests, this one is based on NYC.It has a dummy statue of liberty..it has the New York skyline..! There is a hotel based on Paris..one based on Alladin..another one on Rome and Venice...! They are all exquisite and different..!
But out of all, my favourite was Bellagio.I did not recognize the theme of this hotel..but it was beauuutifull.! They had a garden inside with dummy butterflies and beetles and frogs made out of flowers.. :-)and dancing fountains...! Abhi has taken lots of pictures.
We also went up the Eiffel tower replica...the top view of Vegas city is greatt.!
After covering 50 % of the Strip, we decided to head back to our hotel.We had to get ready for the magic show. We had a nice buffet dinner at the Monte Carlo Hotel followed by an amazing magic show..! Sure was a treat to watch..!
Day 3 -Sunday- We checked out of our hotel...grabbed some breakfast and headed off to Hoover Dam. The mercury was soaring..it felt like India..burning hot.!The dam is built on river Colorado. It provides water and electricity to 3 states - California,Nevada and Arizona. The lake created by the dam- Lake Mead is the largest man made lake in USA. This location is also very popular for movie shootings. I recollect a Bond movie being shot here..!
We clicked some pictures at the dam..and headed back to LA. Our vacation was over..! 50 miles south of Vegas and no one realises that there is place like this just round the next mountain..! It sure is holiday destination..!
Day 1 - Friday- We started from LA real late..the car rental company took up a lot of our time.Fridays are always busy with them. Abhi had taken printouts of all the maps.He took inspiration from Vikas and created a file for the maps.. :-)! The journey to Las Vegas was great...the terrain changed from cool lush green in CA to dry barren in Nevada. The desert called Mojave is spread over Nevada and Arizona. It isn't a desert like the Thar in India. This desert has got mountains too.
We entered Vegas at 9.30. The first view of the city is out of the world. The lights and the music gets you in the mood. It truly is a different place..They all say that 'What happens in Vegas..Stays in Vegas'..! This place has a party going on 24* 7..365 days a year..!
After we checked into our hotel, we decided to go to Las Vegas downtown..There's a street called Fremont Street ..they have laser shows at night..! its wonderful..!
Day2 -Saturday We woke up real late. Our hotel had promised us some free tickets if we went to this particular presentation..So we did and we got our free tickets to a show by the Master Magician -Lance Burton..! After coming back from the presentation..we visited all the casinos one by one.The 'Strip'...as they call it , is the main road in Vegas. It has hotels and casinos lit up on both sides. The interesting part about these hotels is that each one has a theme. For eg- Our hotel,The Excalibur was based on medieval times.It has knights and horses and shining armours hung all over. The other hotels were New York -New York.As the name suggests, this one is based on NYC.It has a dummy statue of liberty..it has the New York skyline..! There is a hotel based on Paris..one based on Alladin..another one on Rome and Venice...! They are all exquisite and different..!
But out of all, my favourite was Bellagio.I did not recognize the theme of this hotel..but it was beauuutifull.! They had a garden inside with dummy butterflies and beetles and frogs made out of flowers.. :-)and dancing fountains...! Abhi has taken lots of pictures.
We also went up the Eiffel tower replica...the top view of Vegas city is greatt.!
After covering 50 % of the Strip, we decided to head back to our hotel.We had to get ready for the magic show. We had a nice buffet dinner at the Monte Carlo Hotel followed by an amazing magic show..! Sure was a treat to watch..!
Day 3 -Sunday- We checked out of our hotel...grabbed some breakfast and headed off to Hoover Dam. The mercury was soaring..it felt like India..burning hot.!The dam is built on river Colorado. It provides water and electricity to 3 states - California,Nevada and Arizona. The lake created by the dam- Lake Mead is the largest man made lake in USA. This location is also very popular for movie shootings. I recollect a Bond movie being shot here..!
We clicked some pictures at the dam..and headed back to LA. Our vacation was over..! 50 miles south of Vegas and no one realises that there is place like this just round the next mountain..! It sure is holiday destination..!
Wednesday, May 3, 2006
LA Experiences
I have just moved to LA (US) for a 2 month assignment. I am still settling down in the country and will start blogging again soon.
Experience so far has been horrible. The prices are sky high and nobody is ready to give apartments on short term (month to month) lease. I have finally managed to get one apartment by paying 200 bucks extra. Total rent for 1 bedroom apartment 1225 + 16.67 (for renter's insurace). The appartment does not have a fridge have got that on a 3 month lease for 27 bucks. In addition there are huge set up costs involved for everything fridge, electricity, apartment securiy, phone etc.
The last 2 weeks have been tiring. I had to wrap everything in Pune in a 3 days. More than personal things getting clearance from the office was a headache. Then air tickets on such a short notice was altogether anoher struggle (though the company pays for it).
I landed in LA on April 24, 2006 and directly went to Extended Stay America in San Dimas. First 2 days were bad as I didn't have a car on the 3rd day rented a car from Enterprise to search for an apartment. I (infact Ketki) got hold of numbers from Rent.com and called up bunch of guys. We finally got 3 to 4 properties which did month 2 month lease. We then checked out all of them and narrowed it down to 2 places. One was farther away from office and not on a bus route but was cheaper by 225 bucks. Second one (where we moved in today) was closer to office and on a bus route.
Hopefully, we will have internet connection (got it from Adelphia) & fridge by tomorrow. Another 2 days and we should have our phone (got the connection from Vonnage). I will be returning the rental car tomorrow (after almost 10 days) and after that its back to walking.
Workwise its been ok. The work is not great but so far that has been wonderful. I am not sure how we would have managed to find an appartment / phone / internet if we had been busy with work. So, I am not complaining.
The 1st weekend at LA was good. It was Mishy's 1st anniversary and they had planned a trip to LA (planned before we came to know that we would be there). So our being there can be seen as either icing on the cake OR it can also be seen as "kabab main haddi". Anyway we all (atleast Ketki & I) had a wonderful time. Vikas had the complete trip planned out. I guess he must have done it for Mishy but we tagged along anyway :). We went to universal studios. Did almost all the rides starting from Jurrasic Park to Mummy to Back to the Future to Terminator 2 to Shrek. After that we went around to Hollywood and Kodak theater (where oscars take place). This area is wonderful and looks like a mini version of times square. The dinner was at a Thai Place called Pink Pepper in Hollywood. Mishy did the booking through internet and was disappointed that it did not match up with the photos posted on their site. Rest of us found the place prety good. Next day we went to the california beaches. The setting was like straight out of a Baywatch episode. Mishy & Vikas rented tandem bike. Ketki rented crusiser bike and I rented roller skates. We then went around the complete place on those. Though I had a difficult time balancing. The photos for the complete trip are here.
LA is a nice city but I find it unsafe and the city looks run down atleast to me. Its probably me but I find Chicago much better than LA offcourse NYC remains the best city in US on my list. LA is around 4 hours drive from Las Vegas. We have planned a trip to the Sin City from May 12 to May 14. That should be a lot of fun. Since we are here for only 2 months most of the weekend have already been planned out. Six Flags & Raging Waters (which should open up soon) are on top of the list though Ketki is pushing for some Scenic tours too.
Well that just about recaps the last 2 weeks in "My Life"
Experience so far has been horrible. The prices are sky high and nobody is ready to give apartments on short term (month to month) lease. I have finally managed to get one apartment by paying 200 bucks extra. Total rent for 1 bedroom apartment 1225 + 16.67 (for renter's insurace). The appartment does not have a fridge have got that on a 3 month lease for 27 bucks. In addition there are huge set up costs involved for everything fridge, electricity, apartment securiy, phone etc.
The last 2 weeks have been tiring. I had to wrap everything in Pune in a 3 days. More than personal things getting clearance from the office was a headache. Then air tickets on such a short notice was altogether anoher struggle (though the company pays for it).
I landed in LA on April 24, 2006 and directly went to Extended Stay America in San Dimas. First 2 days were bad as I didn't have a car on the 3rd day rented a car from Enterprise to search for an apartment. I (infact Ketki) got hold of numbers from Rent.com and called up bunch of guys. We finally got 3 to 4 properties which did month 2 month lease. We then checked out all of them and narrowed it down to 2 places. One was farther away from office and not on a bus route but was cheaper by 225 bucks. Second one (where we moved in today) was closer to office and on a bus route.
Hopefully, we will have internet connection (got it from Adelphia) & fridge by tomorrow. Another 2 days and we should have our phone (got the connection from Vonnage). I will be returning the rental car tomorrow (after almost 10 days) and after that its back to walking.
Workwise its been ok. The work is not great but so far that has been wonderful. I am not sure how we would have managed to find an appartment / phone / internet if we had been busy with work. So, I am not complaining.
The 1st weekend at LA was good. It was Mishy's 1st anniversary and they had planned a trip to LA (planned before we came to know that we would be there). So our being there can be seen as either icing on the cake OR it can also be seen as "kabab main haddi". Anyway we all (atleast Ketki & I) had a wonderful time. Vikas had the complete trip planned out. I guess he must have done it for Mishy but we tagged along anyway :). We went to universal studios. Did almost all the rides starting from Jurrasic Park to Mummy to Back to the Future to Terminator 2 to Shrek. After that we went around to Hollywood and Kodak theater (where oscars take place). This area is wonderful and looks like a mini version of times square. The dinner was at a Thai Place called Pink Pepper in Hollywood. Mishy did the booking through internet and was disappointed that it did not match up with the photos posted on their site. Rest of us found the place prety good. Next day we went to the california beaches. The setting was like straight out of a Baywatch episode. Mishy & Vikas rented tandem bike. Ketki rented crusiser bike and I rented roller skates. We then went around the complete place on those. Though I had a difficult time balancing. The photos for the complete trip are here.
LA is a nice city but I find it unsafe and the city looks run down atleast to me. Its probably me but I find Chicago much better than LA offcourse NYC remains the best city in US on my list. LA is around 4 hours drive from Las Vegas. We have planned a trip to the Sin City from May 12 to May 14. That should be a lot of fun. Since we are here for only 2 months most of the weekend have already been planned out. Six Flags & Raging Waters (which should open up soon) are on top of the list though Ketki is pushing for some Scenic tours too.
Well that just about recaps the last 2 weeks in "My Life"
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