En el camino a México

It so happens that trips with friends from IITK (we'll assume Ankit is from IITK) leave me in a trance - an overwhelming feeling of close friendship, carefree happiness and reluctance to get back to work - a feeling which I have to face whenever I come back from visiting my huge joint family in India. I also noticed that the last blog I wrote here was from my December 2005 trip to Vegas and Yosemite with Ikks, Nikux, Yash and Ankit. Lots of fun even though I was always in the back seat. Later, in the summer of 2007, I went on some nice trips with Roti when he was in NYC and then we had an IITK reunion in NYC in October 2008 (Roti, Ul, Nikux and me). I was busy (or so I thought) and didn't pen those lovely and unforgettable moments down.

Last week, over Spring break, I went to San Diego (March 23rd-30th) to meet up with friends and head over to Mexico. This trip was being planned for some time since we need VISAs for Mexico and I had to buy gear since we would be riding motorcycles (yes!!!). The plan was to take two motorcycles (Yamaha yzf600R and Suzuki gs500) and there we would be three people - Nikux/Baba, Ankit and me. When I reached SD, I was informed that Anshu would be joining us on his Suzuki gsxr600. So we set out on Wednesday morning (25th) on our five-day trip to Guerrero Negro (which means the black warrior) and back. What we did not know was that it would be more eventful than we could imagine and would change everyone's lives in some way or the other (or so I think).


Two hours into the trip, we were standing at the place above in the picture complaining about literal pain in the ass. I was told that the first day on motorcycles is bad and things become easier gradually. Within two minutes of starting from this random spot on the highway, Anshu realized that his backpack was not on his back anymore and so he turned back to go and find it. When he didn't come back after 10 minutes, Ankit went after him and then me and Baba. The bag was gone with no sight of the pick-up truck which took off with it. The backpack contained Anshu's SLR, 2G iPhone, passport and I-20. When the news sunk in, it was decided to head to the nearest comisaría de policía and file a report. We ended up in a small town called El Porvenir (which means the future) and sure, the town was going to decide the future of our trip. What we would later remember about this town was the park in front of the police station where people were enjoying a warm summer day on a weekday and the little treats we bought from a stall (literally "thela").

The night was spent in Ensenada where we had awesome fruit-chaat, churros and a lavish Mexican dinner. The next day we headed back to Tijuana to leave Anshu on the Tijuana airport from where he would take his flight to Ciudad de México. What I will always remember about that journey is the first half hour of when I sat behind Ankit and he raced his motorcycle at 100 mph on curves on hills. I do not remember being able to enjoy the natural beauty of hills on one side and the sea on the other. I thought that if I knew that this was what I was signing up for, I would never have volunteered, but since I was stuck on to the back seat strongly clutching onto the bars on the sides, why not enjoy the roller coaster ride while I can. I can tell you it was one of the best I have ever been on :)

It was decided that we would go back to San Diego, leave Anshuman's bike and then head off on our next trip. And I got to drive Nikux' bike from Tijuana to San Diego. It was my first time on US highways without any prior practice but I did just fine :)
On Mar 27th, we started for Calexico from where we would get to San Felipe through Mexicali. We had nice Chinese food at Mexicali and after a long day of driving, we reaching San Felipe just before it got dark. The first night was spent exploring the restaurants and we found two nice ones - 'Rice and Beans' and the ice-cream shop which became Nikux' favourite.



Next day, we started off for Puertecitos. This was a small beach town with privately owned resorts and miles of coast where no one had set foot. We stopped on the way to this place near some beach houses and went towards the sea. it became progressively hard to drive the bikes on sand and the final leg where we used planks to get the bikes on the beach was fun. After that followed a few hours of extreme fun, given that I love water. Later we went to Puertecitos and saw the hot springs there. The evening that day in San Felipe was the best - we had nothing to do but stroll by the beach. Later, we got Ankit drunk on a margarita and that was fun too. We spent the next morning lazily discussing a range of topics from the Indian caste system to Ramcharitmanas. Reminded me of bulla in IITK.

Finally, we started back towards San Diego so I could catch my flight next day on time. This last leg was as eventful as it could be. First we stopped on the way to see the sand dunes on the way to Mexicali and we saw ATVs being raced in the desert. Then I drove the suzuki gs500 from Mexicali towards Calexico and I gained all the experience I needed. There were strong winds (10-20 mph?) and it was VERY hard keeping the bike steady. I relinquished the bike to Nikux as we entered the Cleveland National Park which was hilly, windy and cold. By the time we went up to 4000 feet and came down, we were chilled :)



Finally, its interesting how traveling (which I have been doing a lot over the past few months) and a particular trip in general can decide so many things for you:
1. I want to move out of midwest to warmer climes where I can use my motorcycle the year round.
2. Cars are good (I missed my Mustang in the high wind area).
3. Cruisers are also good for long drives through harsh weather.

And so the list of things I have to buy once I get a job:
1. Dodge challenger
2. Jeep Renegade
3. A pickup truck (Ford)
4. A bigger sports bike
5. A cruiser

Drive to San Ramon and its adventures

So on the morning on 21st around 10 pm, we set on our journey to San Francisco (would I reach there?). Nikux was at the drivers' seat aided by Ikka. I, Ankit and Himanshu (Khatriji, Ikka's roommate who had to go to Sunnyvale) were on the back seat. hmmm, so what do we do to make the journey interesting - I being the only one new to the area (around San Diego) was soon buried under the innumerable scenes being thrown at me (faster than my eyes could scan and my brain could actually interpret) - "bhatele woh dekho pani, bhatele woh dekho pahad, bhatele woh dekho truck pe motorcycle, arey bhatele woh raha Hollywood, bhatele woh dekho road, car, pani, machchli (machchli?? no not until later in the day ;)) .....

And then "bhatele tumhare illinois mein 4 lane hoti hain? bhatele tumhare yahan road ke ek taraf sea hoti hai? bhatele tumhare yahan itne bade truck hote hain?". I said "nahi, nahi, bhatele to gaon se aaya hai, !@#$@%$^%$" :) By afternoon, we had become hungry and so we stopped at TacoBell where I got my first toy of the trip - a spring driven crab! The suggestion by Ikkan to gift it to Yash's nephew was immediately and brutally turned down. Playing cards along the way (less Blackjack and more teen-do-paanch), we finally came close to San Jose.

This was a new sight for me - the Silicon Valley with buildings of all the well known software companies, multi-level flyovers and lots of lights. After much deliberation (losing our way twice because of Ikks, the Phantom) we finally reached Himanshu's friends' place at Sunnyvale. There it was decided to scrap the detour to Stanford (yay!! who wanted to meet those geeks anyways .....) and head for San Ramon (Yash didnt sound too pleased on the phone and we were being threatened to be left out for the night). With that the plan to go to SFO also seemed to be losing ground (I wasnt wrong after all when I thought that we wouldnt reach there). Around 9:30 pm, we reached our destination (and home for the night) - Yash's sister's palatial home .....

to be continued ....

San Diego - Finest City of America

I entered a dimly lighted living room which looked cleaner than is usual for students' apartments. I immediately took upon the task of inspecting the apartment and was pleased to find all modern amenities in Ikkan's room. Wasnt given much time for it though because we left for dinner soon. I was told that we would be picking up two people - Dhiman, Gaurav (his first name) and Ankit (uh huh, I would see who he is).

Couldn't see much of Ankit in the car and so had to wait patiently. We reached the Indian locality in San Diego and decided to go to a south Indian restaurant. So - the face value of Ankit didnt enthrall me much and I thought, "didnt I tell them not to rope in any outsider". Anyways, I had met Nikux and Ikka after a long time and so became busy talking to them and ofcourse relishing the tasty dosa (was eating at a good Indian restaurant for the first time in the US: disadvantage of living at a small town). While coming back, we decided to watch a movie and so brought 'Bunty and Bubli' with us. I was tired and so without much notice fell asleep towards the end. After the movie, I packed stuff for the long journey we had to embark upon the next day.

That brings an end to Scene I at San Diego. We would come back here with Yash around 7 days later and so the blog will be again be updated after that! Hold on till then ....

Trip to California

Funny isn't it? Not going to India just because your friends will be touring California! But nevertheless I did it: I had almost decided to go to India but then cancelled it because one fine day Nikux said on the phone "India jake kya karoge, yahan aa jao".

Hence started the planning for the trip. The first thing was to convince my parents back in India that how difficult it had become to get tickets for India during Christmas time. The rest was left to Ikks (deciding the places, the bookings and everything). He would call sometimes to confirm the program or just inform us. I and Yash had to decide the time when we would arrive in California. As is always the case, I ahd to help Yash find cheap tickets (though it is he who has been in US for a year and a half). I also decided to buy a few things before going - a cabiin baggage, a camera, chocolates and other sweet stuff.

The worst nightmare turned out to be the camera. I had settled down upon a sleek Sony DSC L1 which I thought looked very cute (thats how I usually select my stuff). But whenever I compared its pictures with the good Canon S1 my roommate has, I would get disappointed. At some point, I even thought of returning it but then Nikux told me to use it for a while and see what happens. I thought to go by what he said. I ordered for its bag and a 512MB memory stick. Lucky me, I got the stuff on the day before I had to leave.

So after my exams finished on 16th and the parties concluded on 19th, I did my packing and got ready to leave for San Diego. I had to take a train to Chicago on 20th and then a flight to San Diego from the Chicago Midway International Airport which would go via Las Vegas. On the morning of 20th at around 6 am, I took a taxi to the Terminal (which is just 4 blocks from my home) - because of the chilling cold (30 degrees) and the heavy luggage I had. I reached Chicago at 9 am and then started my search for the nearest CTA station. The windy city was so cold that it was impossible for me to take off my gloves even for a second. After walking for 6 extra blocks, I finally reached the Orange Line Clinton station which would lead me to Midway. When I reached Midway, I had lots of time and so I made good use of my iPod Nano (also to impress the four beautiful girls standing in the opposite line). I reached San Diego around 5:30 pm and Nikux and Ikka had come to pick me up at the airport.

Let me now introduce you to the characters in the 10-day long play which had commenced the moment I stepped on the soil of San Diego (you can very well make out who the protagonist of the play was). The elders: Nitin Gupta (ikka, ikkan, ikks, ng), Yash Kapoor (machchhli and nothing else). The freshers: Abhinav Bhatele (thats me and the 'central' character), Nikhil Rasiwasia (nikux, daddu, baba - this was a new nick given to him, Nicksie) and finally the stranger: Ankit Srivastava (whom I had to 'check' out and whom I would call Ankiiiii later) .

Lets move on to first scene of the play. The set is San Diego and the characters on stage are everybody except Yash: Scene I

Sleepless in Seattle - SC|05

Just photographs now, details later ----

My first drive to Tuscola

I had been driving around in the city for a few days. It so happened that my friend Amy asked me if we had to go to Tuscola to shop for our winter clothes. I said that would be wonderful because I could drive too. So on a sunny Saturday afternoon (Nov 5, '05), we set out for Tuscola - me, Amy and my roommates, Paritosh and Arpit.

I sat at the wheel and pretty soon we were on the interstate highway enjoying the countryside. Occasionally I would swing the car too much and Arpit would go shouting, 'Aage dekh tu, aage dekh!"

So far, so good! Paritosh was busy taking pictures of the countryside. All of a sudden, Amy was gripped in fear when I had to take a sudden exit. It so happened that I didnt realise it was so close and then I swung into it at speed which blew (eeeewwwww!!!) everyone. Well finally we reached Tuscola and found ourselves amidst a huge mall.

We immediately got busy in shopping and I couldnt stop oogling at the cheap prices of jeans, t-shirts etc. We finally selected Nautica snow jackets for the three of us which Amy assured would be pretty warm. Amy chose to drove on the way back and the journey proved to be uneventful but safe!