America

"The first thing that hits you about Bombay is it's Heat. It's present everywhere and at all times. Nowhere in Bombay can you escape the humid heat" The above lines, taken from Gregory David Roberts' "Shantaram", aptly describe my feelings when I stepped out of Chatrapati Shivaji International Airport on Monday Morning.

Well, sorry to be updating so late. But my net's been conked since I've arrived. Anyways, my bad but moving on...Man, America was decent alright. I don't quite love the country but I am definitely not hating it though. Just a word of advice - Don't ever go to Los Angeles, It's bloody the boring-est place in America. See, basically the entire city's hot spot is this 1 mile long road called Sunset Strip and if you have cash to burn and no parents to stop you, then you can go and chill out there. Man, I stepped out of my hotel at 8 in the night to just take a walk and Jesus, I was like "What a ghost town".

On the bright side, I got to visit Universal Studios Theme Park and also Disneyland. That WAS amazing man. I love theme parks and rides et all. I guess I am still a child inside. But that was like the only bright spot in L.A.

After L.A. came the sinful Las Vegas. Oh man, this place rocks. Basically it's a city of Sin. You can get anything you want there - Booze, Cash and Sex, and cheap too. It was a wild time there. I like used to step out of my hotel at like 8 and come back at 4. Man, the city lives during the night. I love gambling too, I was quite the hotshot at Roulette. Too bad my parents didn't let me really get into it, I could have made a killing. I like Las Vegas, it's a city of extravagance and of wealth. Everything is so larger than life there. It's a city to lose yourself from reality.

Well, after that came the best part of the trip, The Cruise. Oh man, THIS WAS FRIGGIN AWESOME. I love cruising. I'll say one thing, Alaska is beautiful. It's a virgin land, untouched. And I love the open sea. I used to sit out on the deck till 5 in the morning. On board, there was this magican, Shawn Farquhar. I swear, he was the best magican I have ever seen. Like he did a couple of illusions, you know, the cutting the pretty assistant in half and all, but then he did this close up magic trick with cards. It was....simply put, It was the greatest magic trick I've seen in my life. Here's the video link to it. The trick will remain with me for the rest of my life. The song is "Shape of my heart" by Sting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkYNAwdFH9M

Also, at this one port I did America's largest Zip Line. See, a zip line is this extreme adventure sport, where they hang cables from the top of a mountain to the bottom, following the slope of the mountain, but above the trees and all. Then, they drive you to the top in a bus (the ride itself is 50 minutes) and strap you into a literal 'jhoola', a swing, with only a helmet and a seat belt between the two pieces of rope and then, they release you. Words are hopelessly inadequate to describe the experience, so am sending you a video link. See the entire video, as in after some time there's a first person point of view. Link :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhQchdegof4

Man, this is the best. This thing is 5600 feet long and drops me 1400 feet in 90 seconds flat. the speed is approximately 106 kmph. Its not even funny this one. And thanks to a massive spring, it comes to a stop in 0.5 seconds flat.

SONGS :
On my trip I was lucky enough to come across some good songs. The lyrics of all these songs are what sets them apart.
1. Shape Of My Heart by Sting

2. Luck, Be A Lady Tonight by Frank Sinatra (A wonderfully apt song to be heard in Las Vegas)

3. Son Of A Sailor by Jimmy Buffet

4. Country Road, Take Me Home by John Denver

5. Piano Man by Billy Joel

Humour :

Finally, on a jocular note. While I was in America, I came across these two totally howlarious snippets.

First, was when I was using a Public Restroom in the airport at Alaska. It was a wonderfully practical rhyme from which one could sense the author's anxiety. It goes like :

"Here I lie in deadly stupor,

Waiting for some toilet paper,

I wonder how much longer shall I linger,

Before I am forced to use my finger."

Secondly, there was this amazing inscription on a T-Shirt, which was made like an Master Card Advert. It goes like :

"3 bottles of beer : $21

4 shots of tequila : $26

2 shots of vodka : $12

6 Yeager bombs : $30

Taking home the girl who drank all this : Priceless."

On a brighter note, I met a group of people who made my cruise not only fun but unforgettable thanks to their quirkiness. I would like to thank them for their company and presence, they transformed the ride from a memorable one to an unforgettable one.

To Vas, Peter, Dominica, Rasiaka : Thanks for the best games of pool and Karaoke and large doses of fun.

To Cindy, Nancy,Marleen : Thank you for teaching me the importance of taking time off to smell the flowers, for giving me one of the biggest shocks of my life, and for silencing the cynic in me. I had some wonderful times with you all (P.S. : The cynic will be back).

Cheers for now people.