Aditto's Travelogue

#243 US Trip Memories

2009-04-05T19:59:00.000+05:30

#227 Obama Victory Night Rally Ticket

2009-01-15T04:41:00.000+05:30

[caption id="attachment_483" align="aligncenter" width="401" caption="Prized Possession!"][/caption]

#224 Farewell...

2008-12-21T05:20:00.000+05:30

[caption id="attachment_392" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Rashmi, Sriram, and Satish... Thanks for absolutely everything..."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_394" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Rashmi, Saunvit, Prateek, Sriram... Thanks for the awe-kasam Smoky Trip :)"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_398" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Rashmi, Ramya... Thanks for all the meals we had together... :)"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_401" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Jae, Heera... Thanks for the most amazing Bibimbap and your warmth... :)"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_399" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Chicago... Thank You..."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_400" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="New York... Thank You :)"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_402" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Fall... Thanks for the most beautiful moments that you gave me and my camera :)"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_403" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Snow... Thanks for the mind-blowing cold and an amazing experience..."][/caption]

And Guru (for the amazing talks of everything starting from China to Peru, vada-pav to chai-at-a-tapri, NCC to 'bakch**di'...), Anna, Chris (on the Metra), Jing, Sally, Liliana (whom I may never meet again), Kunal, Riya and everybody else...
I know there are many more...

Thanks,
Goodbye...

23340.9466

#223 Whiteness

2008-12-19T04:36:00.000+05:30

#221 Natquik... the drifting one...

2008-12-10T05:08:00.000+05:30

Few things are as beautiful as innocence, purity, tenderness, freshness, softness and whiteness... Few things bring as much joy to a saddened soul as something so beautiful... Few things are amongst those that one must experience in his or her lifetime...

It all begins when the sun starts setting early in the evenings, and the nights get longer than days. A week of mild cold and a week of extreme, makes you wonder what would come the morning after Sunday.

Then the clouds build a fog and the sun hides its face... down comes a flake and so with a grace...

Voila... it's snow!

I heard the Eskimo has a hundred words for snow...

'qanuk' for the flakes and 'kaneq' for the frost... and 'kannevluk' for the fine snow, and 'natquik' for the drifting... and 'muruanek' for the soft deep one, and 'nutaryuk' for the fresh... and 'igloo' for the home...

I wonder if snow would mean more to anyone else...

I feel the snow is warm. It has a warmth in it that winter lacks...The sight of snow makes me happy, keeps me warm... refreshes my memory of places so high... sends me back to being a child... until my fingers hurt...

Like a little pretty girl, in her white merry frock, dancing all alone, the flake slowly comes, goes a bit to my left and a bit to my right, and then lands on the ground as a bird's touch n fly... and some more come along and they stick each on top... and this goes on till my heart fills with joy...

It is so pretty that I do not feel like taking pictures... let it be untouched... let it be pure... let it be the way it is... perfect...

22752.9060

#218 A day in the life of a round, fat boy

2008-11-19T14:07:00.000+05:30

Some time back...

RFB: So where are you from, originally?
Ji: I was born in a city in mid-west China, called Xian.
RFB: Oh! I have just started reading a book 'Shadow of the Silk Road'. It starts in Xian. China is amazing.

Some time before that...

Matt: So why aren't you eating eel?
Saunvit: I am particular about certain fishes. I don't eat mammals.
RFB: Eel is amazing.
Matt: But eel isn't a mammal.
Saunvit: I am very particular about which fish to eat and which not to eat.
Matt: What has it got to do with being a mammal? But I would find it gross.
Saunvit: In Korea they offered me pork.
RFB: Pork is amazing.
Matt: I don't even consider chicken as meat, its vegetables. In Kansas we eat steak.
Saunvit: I miss soju.
RFB: Soju is amazing.
Ji: Hey, everything is amazing for you!

Some time before that...

William: Tickets please.
RFB: I ran out of my 10-ride ticket.
William: So tomorrow morning you buy it. In the evening I will punch two holes in your card. Don't buy a ticket today.
RFB: That's amazing.

Some time before that...

SXR: Are you gonna travel by train?
RFB: Yeh.
SXR: It's cold.
RFB: The cold is amazing.

Some time before that...

Guru: I am not gonna forgive you for bringing me to this cafeteria.
RFB: I am sorry, but is that all you're gonna eat?
Joe: This fish is good.
RFB: Is it amazing?
Guru: It has lead and mercury.
RFB: Mercury? Amazing.
Joe: There is no mercury. This fish is good for heart and cholesterol.
Guru: It wont matter what you eat. One day a truck will just run over you.

Some time before that...

Lady: Can you toss the omelette like her?
RFB: Ofcourse. I do it all the time.
Lady: I can never do it. She is amazing.

The lady at the hot bar in the cafeteria was crestfallen when RFB said that he could toss the omelette as well as her. She did not thank him. If he could not appreciate it, I wish RFB had not said that.
I wish I wasn't RFB.

[The characters and dialogues in this blog have not been altered to make it better to read. Though, permission has not been taken to publish any of these conversations. I hope they don't mind. Everyone I met today was amazing :)]

21386.7976

#217 See with your own eyes, Feel with your own heart...

2008-11-17T15:59:00.000+05:30

A picture speaks a thousand words... who said so? Someone did! Haa...
Spanning over 200 galleries, and maybe more... The Art Institute of Chicago has so much to offer, paintings, photographs, sculptures and much more than just that. From Peru to Alaska, from Paris to Egypt, from India to Korea, they have everything from every continent on earth. Here are just the few of them that I could capture on my camera, not because I ran out of memory card or batteries or energy, but I ran out of the will to take photos. The beauty of art took me over...

Click to read more and see the pics...

Adam and Eve...

A pub?

Marvelous sunset by a lake... Do not try to look for the sun :)
It is on the other side...

Women...

Common people...

And Christ formed the subject of a really large number of paintings...

The contrast of darkness and light used in this painting, was more remarkable than it appears in the photograph...

Something sad is depicted here, but look at the details...

Out of the many photographs, this photograph from a market in Mumbai caught my eye...

---
And now...
Perhaps the best or one of the best parts of the Institute...
These are houses... the most beautiful living places I have ever seen in my life... but...

But...

OMG lovely carpet... :) but...

Yes, all of this is amazing and excellent... but...

This is perfect, isn't it? It sure is, but...

Ok, enough of "buts", now look closely at the picture below to get an estimate of the size of these things :)

I hope you saw me, wondering about something, looking through the...

Glass windows...
---
Okay... now, its time for perhaps the most popular piece of art kept at this place in the world...
Here is something about it... Can you guess what it is? Have you seen it before?

This is about one of those few paintings that were in school textbooks while I was in school...

Isn't this brilliant??

Have you seen this somewhere before?

Sure you have :)
A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte - Georges Seurat

Well, that is all I could capture... after that I did not feel like clicking pics anymore... It was too beautiful to capture in the camera... It sure was captured somewhere else...

“Few are those who see with their own eyes and feel with their own hearts.”
- Albert Einstein

21233.7869

#216 End of Fall...

2008-11-17T14:29:00.000+05:30

The most beautiful season I have ever seen... is almost finished over here...

The beginning of November, marks the beginning of colder days, subzero temperatures and snow flurries...

It was the first time I saw such a beautiful fall, or it was the first time I saw fall AT ALL.

Here are some of the pics I took in Evanston, my way to wish it goodbye.

Click to see the pics...

But I missed walking on crispy dried fallen leaves with Roshnai...

21198.7847

#215 Lost

2008-11-10T12:46:00.000+05:30

Today, it snowed, and it was much more than just flurries.

Yet, I am lost. I don't know where I am or who I am.

#214 Fall, falling, fallen...

2008-11-08T16:39:00.000+05:30

Just pics...

This is the route I take from home to work and back :)

20760.7530

#213 New York

2008-11-08T16:12:00.000+05:30

Maybe, my views about US are changing... And I do not doubt that it is the greatest country in the world.

From bustling cities to affluent locations, it has everything to offer...

Like, what I found in NY is this...

Madison Square Garden: World's largest arena. Watched Wintuk (Cirque du Soleil) here.

Do you know this place?

Click below to see more pics...

.....

This is it!

Times Square

Arbit building! Really Arbit!

This post office takes up one whole city block!

The Empire State Building

Broadway...

At Madame Tussuad's...

Pennsylvania Station, NY

The really dirty NY subway, but do you see the Korean lady?

CP, NY

All of Fall in Central Park, NY

World Trade Center, Ground Zero

The Manhattan skyline looks a bit empty without the WTC

On the top: Empire State Building

All this was good... really! Good! but the thing that captured my eyes, my sorrow and definitely my camera's lens was this...

This might be a good sight, till you click the link below and read the following shocking truth about the pic above...
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/26/nyregion/26manhole.html

#212 Life like what?

2008-10-19T16:04:00.000+05:30

A long page full of pictures, did that make my blog a spot to watch? I made a blog to be read, it just got a bit deviated, just a bit carried away...

Living in a place, 'thousands' of kilometers away from home, decades of degree Fahrenheit apart and half a day on the other side of the world, it is a feeling that does not go down so well, or may be it does but I cannot realise it. Things are different, very different from the way I see them in homeland or closer to homeland.

I always had this notion in my head, "I do not want to go to US" and I would tell it loud and clear to people. And they would ask me "why?"... I would go on and give them all reasons, whether they made sense or not, I went on... I have been fascinated by some places that are almost never on a person's wishlist to travel. Places like Russia, China, Mongolia, Turkey, Georgia, Israel seemed more "calling" to me than the West.

Fortunate I was to travel to the magnificent and uber-cute land of Daehan Minguk, South Korea. I was there for a little under three months, and I traveled almost the whole of that little country, tasted almost all of its deliciously healthy cuisine, understood and appreciated the technology decades ahead of Indo, learnt and almost perfected the script, and totally enjoyed my first stay abroad. I maintained a good blog and filled it with a lot of photos of almost everything I saw, everyone I met and everywhere I went. People who saw it, loved it, and wondered how they never knew Korea was so wonderful!

Here I am today, on the other side of the globe... Trying to maintain a blog, busy work schedule means I cannot do this more often, trying to enjoy the cuisine, but... "________" and trying to be happy...

This is a great country. I must say so and I appreciate it when I say so. The roads are perfect, the buildings are exuberant and the cities are brilliant. Things are pretty good here, in the shops and showrooms, clothes, accessories, electronics, chocolates, drinks are cheap here and superior in quality. Water supply is almost unlimited and comes in two temperatures. Perfect. Period. Food is great! Yes, food is great. I keep going back to the tiny Korean restaurant JK Cafe on Clark in Evanston to have that great delicacy called 'Bibimbap' - do you remember? I keep going back to the Korean restaurant to have sushi rolls, to have kimchi, to have odeng, to have ramyeon! I keep going back for more reasons than the food. I go there to socialise. I am happy to meet and interact with the cute Korean couple that runs the restaurant. I asked them their names, 'Handsome man' and 'Pretty Ooman' (in the typical Korean accent came the reply). I was glad, and gladly wrote down my name Aditya in Korean script on my business card and handed it to them. They are more than happy to see me there almost everyday. This is not a story about the Great America, it is a story about a small Korean restaurant that I have come across right in front of my office.

I go there almost every other day and the things I love the most at their restaurant are not Bibimbap, rolls or coffee milkshake... but the love and the warmth they show and serve me with. They feel as if I am one of them. I started eating rolls out there with a certain customization. When I first went there, I told them I want california rolls, but no fish and only vegetarian ingredients. They kept asking me if "fish is ok", "tofu is ok?", "radish is ok" and I kept answering "yes" or "no" and at the end of it, I had a fully customised roll all for me... Since then, whenever I have been there, all I tell Hara (the Korean lady) is "Can I have a roll please" and she shouts back inside here kitchen "Adi-tta roll juseyeo" (Get him 'Aditya Rolls'). With so much and more warmth, as I go and take my seat, her husband brings up a number of banchans (side dishes) like kimchi, yellow radish and soy sauce for me to enjoy... and makes sure that he himself comes and serves me my fully customised 'Aditta Rolls'.

I am touched.

Last friday, I wasn't very hungry and decided to go to JK Cafe and eat a california roll. These rolls are very delicious, very healthy, have almost zero fat and are not filling at all. So I thought, I would have them and I would be done. Given their generosity, warmth and liking for me, they would not let me eat just the rolls and within minutes of my taking a seat, my table was filled with more than the regular set of banchans.. and a sweet potato dish made in the shape of a fish... It was yummy, but by the end of my meal, I was full, more than full.

I was filled. I was filled with emotions, I was overwhelmed by their selfless attitude and care for my taste buds. Last afternoon I even got them a couple of Samosas from the local Indian restaurant in Evanston. It happened that the lady dint get any of it to taste as Mr Handsome Man loved and finished them himself. In the evening when I went there again, he told me "I loved your samosas... I have enjoyed it earlier in Indonesia with beer. Fantastic". The smile on their faces and the smile on my face never seems to fade away. They work hard. It is perhaps the only restaurant in the Northwestern Univ area that stays open late till about 2 or 3 am every night. But the warmth with which the bells rings when I open the door and enter JK and the warmth with which Hara wishes me "Annyeong Haseyeo" and the warmth with which Handsome Man waves at me from inside the kitchen, touches me. Touches me more than anything else.

Things like these keep me going on. And on. Yes, I miss Korea to date. I miss my Korean friends, Yunseong, Daeseong, Jaejin and everyone else I met in Korea. I miss those cute girls moving around in the trains, on the streets and everywhere else. I miss those jingles the vendors used to shout at their street side bbq shops. I miss that smell of kimchi. I miss that language... I miss Korea.

But here I am in a totally different country. It is not much different from what I have seen it as in the movies, and the television. Perhaps it is much different and definitely better once you are here. Life is convenient. It is safe. It is the greatest country of the world. When I go back to India, I will tell people that my notion about this country was not completely correct. Now I am convinced about it. It was incomplete.

Everything is perfect, but the warmth was left behind in Asia...

19898.6900

#211 Halloween at Six Flags

2008-10-12T15:07:00.000+05:30

So me, Ramya and Rashmi had been to this amazing amusement park Six Flags. It is pretty close to where we are staying and let me tell you, it was amazing! It was a halloween special weekend there and the setup was extraordinary. I had my face painted with a wound, and let me tell you... I have never got so much attention before :P especially from hot chics :P

Well whatever it is, here are the pics, of ghosts and me... I did not take pics of rides, I was busy enjoying them :)

Click below to see all the pics...

19536.6603

#210 Evening...

2008-10-12T14:20:00.000+05:30

So I met Yash, my school friend after a very long time... and it was kinda nice meeting...

The best part of it was the awesome pizza at Giordano's :) no, maybe it was just the meeting :)

So we walked through the tallest buildings in the country and they glittered in the night lights...

[gallery]

19518.6601

#209 Night Lights

2008-10-12T14:19:00.000+05:30

Somewhere in Evanston, in the night...

I somehow like clicking pictures in the night. It gives me more creativity to play with the available light :)

19518.6601

#207 Evanston's Shore of Lake Michigan

2008-09-28T14:02:00.000+05:30

This Saturday, I headed to a random place in Evanston, The Grosse Point Lighthouse. The place was just fine, well maintained over the century, but what caught my eyes, and certainly my camera's lens, was the beautiful Lake Michigan once again :)

Wanna see the pics?

I stay pretty close to the Northwestern University, and the city of Evanston is kind of centered around the NU Campus. NU was founded by John Evans, and the city of Evanston owes its name to him!

Kellogg School of Management, one of the top ranked management schools in the world. Noteworthy alumni list includes Philip Kotler and Andris Zoltners (The "Z" in ZS:)

The Grosse Point Lighthouse was the first lighthouse on the North Chicago shore and is a historic place.

An architects model of the GP Lighthouse.

Lake Michigan, ever so blue, just like the sky above :)

Hero No. 1 :P

Have feet, will travel :)
[At: Evanston Art Center beach On: Sep 27, 2008]

Some go fast...

And some just sail with the wind :)

Some walk ever so elegantly on the sands, touching the waves as they touch the shore...

Maple leaves, fallen in fall...

18928.6159

#206 Downtown Chicago

2008-09-22T05:02:00.000+05:30

Went to Chicago, downtown on Saturday, only to see the tallest buildings in the world and take a rive cruise to see the architectural beauty of downtown Chicago...

Want to see more pics??

Boeing HQ

The Triangular Building

What is this shape called?

3rd tallest building in the world Sears Tower

On the river cruise...

Look up to those tall giants...

Villa by the river...

After the cruise...
-----
At John Hancock Tower
Amongst the tallest buildings in the world, the elevator at JHT is the fastest in North America. 95 floors in 40 seconds!

Looking up John Hancock Tower...

Looking down from John Hancock Tower

Looking away from John Hancock Tower

Lake Michigan from JHT, this road is the fanciest place to live in Chicago. (Any number), Lake Drive, Chicago!
---

Navy Pier

Navy Pier at night, with the giant Ferris Wheel

Fireworks to wrap it up...

Note: These fireworks were captured without using any tripod. Do you think I have graduated as a better photographer? :)

18568.5881

#205 Evanston

2008-09-22T04:08:00.000+05:30

So here I am, far far west this year!

Flew to Chicago on Sep 15th for office work and it seems I would be here for a few months before going back to Indo.

Where I stay and work is located by the shore of Lake Michigan, the largest fresh water lake completely inside USA. It is absolutely blue and very beautiful from the shore. Here are some pics from the shore in Evanston.

18560.5877

#186 Somewhere in Calcutta

2008-05-31T01:35:00.000+05:30

Photgrapher: Me ofcourse!

14294.2323

#183 Kolkata Phototour

2008-05-13T20:38:00.000+05:30

Kolkata Phototour

Date: May 13th, 2008
Camera: Sony DSC-H1

Route: Maidan-Victoria-Babu Ghat-Howrah-Babu Ghat-Esplanade

Rabindranath Tagore's memorablia in front of Elliot Park, Chowringhee.

Birla Planetarium from Chowringhee. Seen behind it is St Paul's Cathedral and in front is Indira Gandhi's statue.

Maidan in front of Victoria Memorial. Far away are the flood lights of Eden Gardens getting ready for the IPL match.

Vidyasagar Setu: The new bridge over Hoogly. Lovely architecture.

Horses and Ponies at Maidan.

Magnificent Victoria Memorial.

Stalls to cool the customers on a hot afternoon in summer.

Front facade of Victoria Memorial.

Ghoda Gaadi :)

Inside the ferry from Babu Ghat to Howrah.

On the ferry to Howrah.

All so magnificient Howrah Bridge.

"Ferry us across the river."

"Vrrooooooooooooom"

Millions cross the bridge everyday, either in a bus or on foot. Thousands cross this bridge everyday on their way to calling Kolkata their new home.

Howrah Station. One of the oldest railway station complexes in India.

The Howrah Ferry Wharf.

The end of it with an awesome Lebu-Chaa (Lemon Tea).

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#177 East Sikkim Trip - April 2008

2008-04-08T02:34:00.000+05:30

After so much of planning, and so many disruptions, the much awaited trip to East Sikkim did materialize. Frankly speaking, I have no words to describe the experience. It was just awesome. I had been to Sikkim in 1999 and trust me, it no longer looks the same. Gangtok has been completely renovated and made into a truly world class Hill Station. It was the first time ever that I was amidst fresh snow and played a lot in snow. I also had the opportunity to experience the first ever Snow Fall. It was absolutely beautiful. Roshnai's presence made the trip the most lovely trip I've ever had. Not to forget Golu and Bollu. :)

Wanna read more and see about 80 photographs from my trip? Click the link below...

April 2, 2008:
Started from Kharagpur (Kgp) by the 1.35pm Midnapur-Howrah local and reached Kolkata by 4pm. Moved on to Sealdah Station to catch Uttar Banga (Kanchan Kanya) Express for New Jalpaiguri (Njp) at 7.35pm.

Waiting at Sealdah Railway Station, Kolkata: Me, Golu and Bollam

Catching the sunrise in motion

Two cute girls in the same coupe... Roshnai and a cute little co-passenger

At Njp, my old friend Vishwanath had come to pick us. We had breakfast together at Siliguri. Met him after almost 5 years I suppose.

In the taxi from Siliguri to Gangtok. It was a 4 hr drive of about 120 km and cost us Rs 100 per head. Me and Roshnai sat in the front and Bollam and Golu in the back seat. People who sit in the front are not supposed to sleep. The driver feels sleepy too~

That is river Teesta, a tributary of Brahmaputra. Mostly it is very calm and slopes gently down across Sikkim. It originates at Cho Lhamu Lake in North Sikkim and hits the plains near Sevoke in Bengal, where the Coronation Bridge has been constructed by the British. It is one of the most scenic rivers of that part of India.

Bollam, trying to enact a free fall... but the motion blur is missing :(

Welcome to Sikkim. Rangpo, situated in Sikkim at the WB-Sikkim border is a small but very lovely little town.

Teesta is an ideal place for rafting and some other water sports. Its clean, wide fast and not too violent!

Sikkim Manipal Institute of Technology is situated in Sikkim at the bank of River Teesta. What a lovely place to study engineering at!

Reached Gangtok at about 1.30pm and headed straight to the hotel. Pappa booked a lovely hotel for us: Travel Lodge, Tibet Road, Gangtok. We got two rooms. One a single small room on first floor and another a huge suite for 3-4 people on the third floor.

Bollam and Golu... Tired but ready to go...

Gangtok City as seen from footbridge over MG Road. This city has changed dramatically since I had been there in 1999. It has been beautified and promoted as a Green Tourist Destination. The triangular embankment in the pic is called Titanic Park... for obvious reasons.

This is the building right in front of Titanic Park where I had stayed with my family for a week in May 1999 and fallen in love with Sikkim.

Mahatma Gandhi Road, used to be the main road that passed through the city centre till some years back. It had been renovated and closed for vehicles. New tiles, green painted buildings, footpaths on the sides, divider decorated with flower pots and tall halogen lamp posts make this place look better than or as good as any mall roads on any other hill stations in India.

Roshnai, Golu and Bollam go all-smiles after their first walk on MG Road.

Our first lunch in Gangtok. It started raining outside and we entered the first restaurant that came in sight. This is a new restaurant with really cool interiors and an Ambassador Bonnet-like design for the bar counter. Had spicy Schezwan (watever the spelling be :D) Rice, Pan Fried Noodles, etc etc...

Pom Pom

Back to MG Road. I am really impressed by the school kids of Gangtok. The whole day you can see school kids going up and down the streets and lanes. The uniforms are really impressive and colourful. It was a treat to the eyes. :)

Opposite directions... Roshnai and Abhinav

MG Marg: Litter and Spit Free Zone, was inaugurated only on March 15th this year. So we were there at the right time!

Beautiful Promenade

Most buildings on MG Marg have been painted green to keep in sync with Sikkim Tourism's Green Tourism Promotion. Lovely :)

Picture perfect.

Back to hotel, tired and fresh at the same time.

April 3, 2008.

That night, there were loud thunders and lightning struck somewhere very close to our hotel. It rained heavily and there was hailstorm in Gangtok. IT got very cold in the night and in the morning, Golu was all gol.... :D

Our destination: Tsomgo Lake (12,400 ft above seal level). This road is a part of the Silk Route that comes into India. Indo-Tibet (China) border is at Nathula, 51 km from Gangtok. To visit Nathula, we needed to take permit 2 days in advance, where as to reach Tsomgo Lake, permit could be obtained just a day in advance. Moreover to visit Nathula we needed to pay Rs 2500 more. We decided to visit only Tsomgo Lake and Baba Harbhajan Singh Temple. However due to bad weather we could not visit Baba Mandir.

Through these clouds, we would go from 6,000ft to 12,400 ft

It was time to put on our jackets, caps, mufflers and gloves as the temperature fell close to the Kyangnosla check post at 10,400 ft.

The road from Kyangnosla to Tsomgo was all covered with snow on both sides. It was the first time all of us were travelling amidst snow.

We stopped on our way due to traffic jam in the snow... All of us took to our first snow ball fight!

It was lovely to see roof tops with snow all over them. I had only seen such things on TV.

Roshnai's expressions are a mixture of excitement and snow chill...

There we were...

Tsomgo Lake for you...

Those are about 50 shops selling hot tasty food. They also rent jackets, snow shoes, gloves, and eye glasses for the snow. After some time it got really difficult to look around due to the bright glare of the sunshine over the white snow. We had to go down and get sun glasses.

The four of us.

Had great fun playing in the snow...

The lake was almost frozen, we could see ice floating on it. It wasn't safe for walking at that moment.

The Lake market would be shifted one kilometer down the hill to make the lake area clean and to beautify it. The Sikkim Govt is planning to construct a ropeway very soon. In the month of October, just before winter, this place has no snow at all, but is filled with very beautiful flowers like Rhododendrons all over.

Yaks are major attractions at Tsomgo.

The valley below Tsomgo...

Time for fun... near the Alpine Cafeteria at 12,400 ft

Bollam trying out his snow adventures...

A happy group after long play in the snow...

After the games, its time to eat... Bollam making one of his million different camera-friendly faces...

Momo... always a treat...

Its time to leave, but Bollam wants more...

Back to Gangtok, and we slept the afternoon. In the evening we made a dash to MG Road once again...

Had Ice Creams...

Saw ghosts while clicking pics...

We all were mighty bugged by this little bug who kept singing while listening to his mp3 player...

April 5, 2008.

We all woke up to a surprise on a clear morning only to find the mighty Mt Kanchenjunga (8568m), the highest peak in India, right from our room balcony. Seen to its left is Mt Siniolchu
After such a beautiful start, we set out on our own to explore Gangtok Town. The tourist cab would ask for anything between Rs 400 - 700 to show us around the main attractions. We believed in walking and checking out the nearest places. First we reached the Ropeway...

The ropeway took us one kilometer down along the town's main road and then back. Cost Rs 60 per head. Time almost 15 minutes.

It stopped in the midway to offer a panoramic view of the valleys on both sides of Gangtok

A bit of hiking and we found ourselves at the doors of a private monastery and the Gangtok Palace.

Being audience to a traditional Buddhist prayer excited us and we were just in time for the daily prayer. It was an experience I would never forget. I have been to many monasteries in India and a few in Korea but I never saw monks praying.

Along all roads of Gangtok, almost 50 km or so, side walks have been constructed. They make it safer and easier to walk along the roads. Especially for school kids and tourists.

One of the many schools in Gangtok

Next stop was the beautiful garden.. with fountain and a resting shed...

And then... The Flower Exhibition Hall...

Some local Sikkimese people are protesting against the construction of a dam in North Sikkim and are on a 200+ days Satyagraha to save the Khangchendzonga Wildlife Sanctuary.

Then it was time to have lunch and leave Gangtok... with fresh memories and a lovely experience...

On the way down from Gangtok, at a stopover, Bollam's antics remind me of the comic strip... "to drive away the crickets with a baffled look on the face"

The roads made by Border Roads Organisation (BRO) are really awesome and we should thank them to enable us to visit such beautiful places at such mind boggling heights in the Himalayas.

Finally in Darjeeling Mail... back from Njp to Sealdah...

Lama Bollam at his photogenic best...

And Roshnai... tired but very happy... and refresh after a lovely trip to the Himalayas.

Maximum altitude climbed: 12,400 ft
Minimum temperature felt: 0 degree C
Photographs taken: 970+
Total expenditure: Rs 2100 per head
Memories: Priceless

For some more pics click here to check out Abhinav's blog

#170: 37,000 km in search of... 비빔밥

2008-02-15T05:19:00.000+05:30

What sucks?

Life sucks,
People suck,
Studies suck,
Mess food sucks,
Gravity sucks.

Lol.. poor joke. I only intended to magnify so many things that actually Suck! It has been a short semester.. so far.. I wish it was longer... I've slept so much. Ive slept more than I had ever slept in my life. I sleep and I eat. That is all I do these days. I wish I did something more fruitful.

What am I blogging about btw?

In 2007, I travelled a total of 37000 km. Now so many of you travelled to the US and back! That by itself would make so much :( So let me exclude the flying miles to and back from Korea. That leaves me with 26000 km. Now isn't that a big number? Over twenty five thousand kilometers of domestic travel. I like it :) But the very unfortunate part of it was that I hardly visited any new city in these 26000 km. Nevermind, I predict 2008 to be a big year, and 2009 to be the year of Aditto!

And the one thing that I am still searching for in India, is a place where I can get to eat Bibimbap! Do you know what that is?

Bibimbap is served as a bowl of warm white rice topped with namul (sautéed and seasoned vegetables), beef, a fried egg, and gochujang (chile pepper paste). The ingredients are stirred together thoroughly just before eating. It can be served either cold or hot.

Vegetables commonly used in bibimbap include julienned cucumber, zucchini, mudaikon), mushrooms, (doraji (bellflower root), and gim, as well as spinach, soybeangosari (bracken fern stems). Dubu (tofu), either plain or sautéed, or a leaf of lettuce may be added, or chicken or seafood may be substituted for beef. For visual appeal, the vegetables are placed so that adjacent colors complement each other. Many areas of Korea typically serve a vegetarian version of the dish which may well be the more traditional alternative.

Wikipedia

So go ahead and check it out!

#169 Seoul South Gate... burnt :(

2008-02-12T10:47:00.000+05:30

You may want to check this:

May 24, 2007

#142 Seoul Trip Two: Rainy Day

or you may want to check this:

February 11, 2008

BBC News: Seoul Landmark Fire

#160: Plagiarism of some sweet Korean Memories

2007-08-09T16:48:00.000+05:30

I have been back in India since almost a month now, but the Korean memories wont just leave me.
What do I do? In the mean while, I got interactive on Cyworld and often keep in touch with my Korean friends over Cyworld. http://www.cyworld.com/aditya0401

From my trip to the East Coast and Gangneung City, I have kept and will always keep the sweet memories close to me. After the trip, Jeong Hwa put up the following post in her cyworld blog. This is what she wrote...

This is the Choding we met in the bus who actually introduced me to her :)
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처음에 이아이가 우비를 입고 갑자기 나타나

"여기 버스 6시 50분에나 오는데?"

하고 말을 던졌을때 우리는 스물몇살쯤 된 정신지체아인줄 알았다;;

First, when this child said suddenly putting on a rainwear “bus is coming at 6 : 50 here”, we thought he was a mentally retarded child about twenty years

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그러나 이아이는 우리가 대꾸를 하던 안하던 우리를 보며

쉴새없이 예의가 없거나 개념이 없거나 하여튼 무언가 부족한

이야기들을 쏟아내서 우리를 정신없이 만들었다;;;

But he said a little strange story continuously seeing us without our answering, so we were out of our senses.

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덕분에 묻지않고도 이아이가 초딩6학년의 역도선수이며

얼마전 대회에서 1등으로 200만원을 상금으로 받았으며

나에게 관심이 있다는 것을 알게되었다(ㄲ ㅑ ㅇ ㅏ!!!)

At result, we knew he is 6th grade of an elementary school without asking him and he won weight lifting mass meeting, so he was awarded 200 man-won. And he was interested to me. (kha –a!!!)

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He wanted to talk to me, but he knew no english, and I knew no Korean... Miss Jeong Hwa sitting behind me, translated for us... and in the process started talking to me too... :)

우연히 강릉시외버스터미널로 향하던 버스에서 만난 아티

(놀랍게도 같은 기차를 타고 정동진으로 왔던 아티가

정동진에서 마구잡이로 찍은 사진중엔 우리의 사진도 한장 있었다)

We met aditya in a bus to Gang Lon bus terminal by chance (to our surprise, aditya who was getting on same train to Jun Dong Gin , he took a picture which our figure is there)

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Actually it happened that I was taking some pictures of the Jeongdongjin station even much before I met her. Later while coming back to Incheon in the bus, while I was showing her my camera pics, she saw herself in one of those pics. Coincidence!
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4개국어를 할줄알지만 한국어를 못하는 바람에;;;

곤란해 하던 아티는 나의 부족한 영어에도 매우 감격해했다...ㅋ

He can speak 4 language , except Korean… he felt difficult but he was deeply impressed even by my low English.

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인도 봄베이에서 인하대학교에 3개월 교환학생으로 온 아티

Aditya who is coming to Inha Univ. from India Mumbai for 3 months as an interchange student.

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22살이라는 믿기지 않는 나이임에도 불구하고

Though his age is 22 years old that is unbelievable.

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나이답게 호기심이 많고 순수했다.

Was curious and pure like his age...

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인도사람인 아티는 한국사람들은 왜 사진찍을때마다

Aditya who is Indian wondered why all of Korean people do ‘V’ of finger every time when they take a picture.

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I miss you!! and all the Korean memories like you...

#159 Farewell...

2007-07-12T13:48:00.000+05:30

...at Professor Won's house...
but whose farewell was it?