The Landlord

OMG - Hahahaahaahaahaahaahaahhaaaa!

http://209.249.86.44/v1/view_video.php?viewkey=3efbc24c7d2583be6925

Best Easter Ever

Who knew there was so much fun stuff in this town for Easter? I don't think I can even recall what I've done on that day for the last 11 years. This year was action packed. Why? My highlights:

1. Ethel Merman Experience rocking out in Dolores Park (thanks to the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence Annual Easter Fest)

2. The 7th Annual Bring Your Own Big Wheel Race, Crooked Part of Lombard:

www.youtube.com/watch

www.nowpublic.com/bring_you..._francisco

3. 2007 Kickball Season Opener, GG Park: Jesuses vs. Bunnies (Jesuses won in the end...):

flickr.com/photos/sanjp...ni/452706614/

Add some good food, drink and friends....

I'll be looking foward to this all again next year.

Pics are up

I found good use of my time while dealing with the jet lag caused by the 13.5 hour time difference. Finally got all of my pics uploaded early early this morning. I would invite you all to view and/or comment on any of them:

www.flickr.com/photos/sanjpardanani/

I have to say that I am super happy with my new camera and would recommend it to everyone! At the $233 I spent on it--very reasonable--it has been worth every cent. (Canon Powershot SD600, ELPH body type).

Last (real) night in India

Time for one last short blog post. after 3 weeks in India and 5 days in Bangkok, it's time to go back to "real" life.

I'm glad I extended my trip to be with my family. Dad is still in the hospital with his reoccuring nightly fever, but he really looks better. I hope hope hope he comes home tomorrow. I'll feel better knowing that he'll be home, and that Mom won't be alone, once I'm gone!

The last week or so has been so completely chill. There has been no agenda except to visit my Dad, and essentially just "live" in Poona. The daily routine has essentially been: breakfast, shopping and/or email, visit Dad, lunch, kickin' around town/reading/drinking iced coffee, visit Dad again, dinner, kick around town/drink iced coffee or get a beer/upload photos/do email, then home to bed. Oh, and a liberal sprinkling of watching BBC news when I'm actually home.

I haven't spent this much time with family in years. This trip is going to have to happen more often -- every 2 years at the minimum. Not a bad deal, really: do the holidays in Goa, then spend family time in the cities, with maybe one "adventure" trip in the mix? Yeah, I could totally get used to this.

Stll uploading photos every day. More are coming all the time.

Home Saturday evening, barring any travel mishaps. I'm sure I'll be in the Mission that night, staying awake in order to thwart an extended jet lag.

Ancient India, an Extended Trip and More Photos

I'm "home" again, in Poona with my family after an excellent trip to the Buddhist, Hindu and Jain caves at Ajanta and Ellora. Such beautiful and amazing stuff! Though I've been there on my big Asia trip in 1999/2000, it was entirely worth revisiting (espeically with a new digital camera).

Doing this trip was essential. After our week in Goa, all we have done in India has revolved around life in big Indian cities. Life is very cosmopolitan in both Bombay and Poona, not to mention face-paced and relatively expensive. This kind of life is enjoyed by few Indians, in comparison to the rest of the country. City burn out was imminent, especially for my brother-in-law and his sister. This was there first trip to India, and city life can be tough! Doing this trip offered a view into smaller village life on our way from Poona to the caves. More importantly, the caves themselves offered all of us a view into India's rich history. The caves we saw dated back as far as 200 BC though about 800 AD. The most impressive of all was the Kailash Temple, the largest monolithic sculpture in the world. By that I mean that, over 400 years, sculptors started at the top of a giant piece of rock and cut their way down into it, creating towers, ornate wall sculptures, and a central multi-roomed temple to the Lord Shiva. Mount Kailash (in Tibet) is known as Shiva and Parvati's Himalalyan home, and this temple was a representation of this.

I was floored when I saw this in '99 and was equally floored now. Simply one of the most incredible and important things that I have laid eyes on.

Pictures will come. I have also uploaded a bunch more photos (inlcuding some Indian ones, finally):

www.flickr.com/photos/sanjpardanani/

I should've arrived in Bombay with my sister and crew this evening to catch a 4am flight to Bangkok and start my long journey home. Instead I've decided to stay on this week and return to SF next Saturday, 1/20.

My dad is still in the hospital! We are hoping we can get him home in the next few days. I'm sticking around to help Mom.

Speaking of Mom, gotta run home and meet her for dinner...

Bombay and Poona

We're a day behind schedule, but arrived in Poona yesterday evening. My dad's time in hospitals seems everlasting, having spent an extra day in the hospital in Bombay, and immediately checking into one in Poona about an hour after our arrival here. They've determined what's wrong with him, but he wanted to stay in a hospital where they could continue to administer the needed antibiotics via IV. Though we understand that his condition is no joke (apparently an infection caused by a liver abcess), it almost seems that he prefers to be in the hospital then at home! We've actually seen this before with him, but having spoken with him today he seems like he is finally ready to come home and be comfortable there. I know my mom is hoping for this; she's been running around back and forth from hospitals to hotels to family flats for the last week, and needs a break.

Before leaving for Poona, we did manage to have some interesting experiences in Bombay.

I had received some recommendations for nightlife spots to go out from a couple of Bombay gals I met in Bangkok, and those same stops were mentioned in Time Out Mumbai (I couldn't believe there was a Time Out for this city, but everything here is changing). We ended up deciding to hit a spot called Aurus. It was in the same district as our hotel (Juhu); only a short auto rickshaw ride. This place oozed exclusive L.A./South Beach Miami chic. You couldn't tell that the place even existed from the front, whith only a blue door to mark it, but once inside it was all modern lighting and furniture, chill trip hop music, and a verandah overloooking the beach. This place was big money; the kind of place that Bollywood stars would pop by for a bevvie or 3 with their posses. We gringos looked kinda dumpy and out of place compared to all of the uber-styly upper class Indians hanging here, but hey, I guess our money was just as good. We nearly didn't get in, since we were wearing flip flops, and not closed-toed shoes. Drinks, as expected were PRICEY. Much more than western prices. Then again, we were drinking imported Jameson's, Johnny Walker Black, and Jim Beam martinis for the first (and only) time in India. It was fun, and the drinks were fine, but... the bartender decided to pour doubles each time. Next thing we knew, we had a $200+ (that's US dollars, folks) bill. Ouch. There are clearly people in this town with money to burn, and we're not them. Ah, well... we got our taste of Bombay high class establishments.

We also got a day, more or less, or sight-seeing in a hired car around Bombay. My sister and I have done this, but this allowed Brian and Sarah a chance to get to see some of the major sights of Bombay in a short amount of time: the Hanging Gardens and Nehru Park in Malabar Hill; driving along the water along Marine Drive past Chowpatty Beach to Nariman Point; a drive by Victoria Terminus, a remnant from the British Raj in India, which is a beautifully ornate train station built in the late 1890s (and still Bombay's busiest station); and of course to the Colaba district to see the Gateway of India and the Taj Hotel. We even stopped by Leopold's Cafe (any of you read Shantaram?) for a quick meal and a beer before sneaking into the "residents only" section of the Taj hotel to see the opulent quarters, garden and pool area (the "other half" is living pretty damn well). Pictures are coming, I promise (just started uploading to Flickr as I write this, though it'll be some time before they are all up)!

While outside a pharmacy in Colaba, my brother-in-law Brian got approached by someone representing Mehboob Studios, one of Bollywood's oldest and most famous movie studios. He and his partner, an American named Cory, who used to live at 16th and Valencia in SF and was now living n Bombay for more than a year now, were out looking for goras (foreigners) to use as extras in a film that was current shooting. We decided we couldn't pass up the opportunity and so they signed the four of us up (apparently my sister and I looked "western" enough to make the cut) and the next morning 3 of us (sis has been feeling crappy for a few days now, being pregnant and all) took a taxi to the studio and see what this was all about. We get there and get escorted to "wardrobe." Apparently, gringos are needed for some scenes for dancing (in the background) in a banquet hall of sorts, and also for dining at the tables. The guys are to wear suits and ties and the women have evening gowns. So we show up. Brian and I are escorted to mens wardrobe, which is full of other goras that were scooped up either yesterday or even that same morning, and a vast array of very ugly suits, shirts and ties. Clearly there isn't much effort made to make us look good. We're probably going to be so far back in the shots that it wouldn't matter! I don't think Brian nor I even had shoes where the left matched the right. Attention to detail for our parts did not apply.

I was coveting Brian's suit, though! After getting one that didn't fit, they hooked him up with a pale lime green jacket, with a shirt-like collar (think hip mafioso), with matching pants, the same color shirt and tie! It was so pimpin'. We wanted to steal that puppy but there was no way we were getting that out undetected. That suit would've fetched a pretty penny in an SF thrift store, I tell ya.

The ladies definitely looked better. Their evening gowns were several steps up from our janky suits. Pretty funny to see a bunch of backpackers suddently transformed into elite westerners invited to some special Indian party in which there would be dancing and singing galore. We were fortunate enough to see the rehearsal filming of an actual Bollywood dancing sequence, though we were not allowed to take any pics or videos during that. I managed to sneak a couple of photos before the sequence, and I think Brian got a few more, which I hope to get copies from and upload.

After it was clear that our day waiting to be movie "stars" was going to be a day of "hurry up and wait", wasting the entire day (our last day in Bombay), we opted to bail and headed back to the hotel to join my sis by the pool and wait for mom to get back from the hospital, and eventually go visit more relatives that night. Seeing family, without a doubt, has been the best part of the Bombay trip. The visits, though brief, were important for us to catch up after years gone by. I know that with my parents living here more, I'm going to make more frequent visits, and am happy to be able to reconnect with my wonderful family.

And now Poona, 3 years after my last visit. The city is about 3 hours ESE from Bombay, not including the inevitable traffic jams on either end of the trip while either entering or leaving a city. The new expressway makes the drive less painful that in the past, though taking the train is always a nice way to go, as well.

Since 1995, this fast-growing city (up to about 5 million, methinks) has been my second home. My dad inherited my grandmother's flat after she passed away in '94. I lived in it for 6 months in '95, and have spent some time here on trips in '99/00 and 2003. Now my parents have had a new flat built in another district not too far from the old one. It's crazy to see the changes here. While the flat is absolutely gorgeous and very comfortable, it seems like the housing complex is in the middle of a shopping mall. In actuality, it seems that this whole part of the city is one giant shopping mall! So many new malls and stores have been built in the last 3 years. There is clearly so much more wealth in the country now, and it shows. Bombay was the same way.

Indian cities are pretty hectic. Poona has definitely gotten more so. Before it's too late, we've decided to make a trip out of the city to see some old historic caves at Ajanta and Ellora tomorrow. These caves, which dates back many, many centuries, contain Hindu, Buddhist and Jain art and sculptures. The site is a UN World Heritage site and Ellora, in particular, is very impressive. This will be my second visit, though I am excited to take more pics of these sites.

We'll be back on Friday evening, and will be in Poona until Sunday afternoon, at which time we go back to Bombay to catch our late-night flights back to the States. I'm trying to extend my trip for a few more days, but am having no luck getting a flight from Tapei to SF (the last and longest leg of the journey). Still, I'm hoping that something might open up and I can stay with my family a bit longer before getting back to the real world.

Ok - my first batch of pics is up! They're all Thailand, still, but I'm psyched to have something up. More to come.

Here's the link:

www.flickr.com/photos/sanjpardanani/

Bombay and the Family Black Cloud

Alas, the beach is behind us now -- just as we were really adjusting to the pace of beach life! The crew has moved on to Bombay (Mumbai) for a few days of family time and some big city exploration before we move on to my parents' new flat in the city of Poona (Pune).

This is the fancy pants part of the trip. We're staying, along with Mom and Dad, at nice hotel right on Juhu Beach in north Bombay. The scene on the beach is quite lively in the evenings for sunset. Got some great pics to share, but alas, these machines are not allowing me to upload my photos from my disc just yet (GRRR.). I WILL get some dang photos up soon! There are lots of food stalls and vendors, where you can get tons of Indian snack foods like pav bhaji, bhel puri, pani puri, samosas, kulfi (Indian ice cream), as well as coconut water, grilled corn, roasted peanuts, a variety of fruits, chai, coffee, and lots more. We stick out pretty loudly on the beach: I don't look much like an Indian (or so my family tells me) and my brother-in-law and his sister are white. The result is a LOT of attention from the vendors:

"Hello madam - henna tattoo??"

"Hello sir - want bag?" (kids with tote bags for sale)

"Hello sir - want to see monkey break dance like Michael Jackson?" (Yes, we heard this 3 times yesterday).

Of course you get the beggars locking in on you, too, as an obvious rich person. Anyone who's been to India knows about this, and you do, sadly, but out of necessity, become desensitized to it. You ignore them, shoo them away. There weren't too many out there yesterday, the result of changes to the beach since I was here 3 years ago. It's also much cleaner, and I finally saw some trash bins on the beach! What a welcome sight, since people generally throw trash anywhere and everywhere, even in the most beautiful places.

It's unfortunately been pretty intense since we got here, related to family. I'm honesty a bit freaked out since yesterday with everything happening at the same time. Before we left for Goa, my masi (mother's sister) had a heart attack and was hospitalized, probably with surgery needed as a result. Since then, there have been some other crazy events, all happening at the same time: (1) Krishna--my dad's older sister--and her husband have somehow contracted some insect-borne disease that has affected their joints and is making it very difficult to get around; (2) my Dad, who's been having problems with gall stones since before he left for India last November, has been battling a fever for 2 weeks for an unknown reason (originally thought to be related to the gall stones), had a fever of 105(!) last night, and we took him to the emergency room (he was already going to have a procedure done today for the gall stone episode, but we got him there early, and he's still there overnight tonight); (3) the saddest of all of this: my nephew (actually a young second cousin) Bhishma, was killed in a motorcycle accident yesterday. He was only 16 years old, and was planning on buying a bike. The accident happened with him and a friend on a bike to try it out. My aunty Krishna (see above) was his grandmother, and she can't go to visit his family due to her condition. It's got everyone shook up.

With this black cloud on both sides of my family right now, the family reunion here at the hotel has been cancelled. Looks like my mom, sister, her husband and his sister are off to visit a few relatives after dinner tonight.

Things seem to be getting better, though, and tomorrow Dad should return. Us "kids" are going exploring and sightseeing around the city all day, as well. This is our last full day here, and Monday we're off for Pune.

Well, my time here is about up and I'm off for some food. Hoping that tonight ends up being fun seeing family and maybe enjoying some Bombay nightlife in the end, as well...

India

Happy New Year! I'm moving slowly today, after a long New Year's night on the beach. Spent quite a bit of it around a big bonfire on the end of the beach in Palolem, where I currently am.

So I'm done with my "extended layover" in Bangkok, which was a lovely time of eating, drinking, a bit of sightseeing, more eating and drinking, shopping and sleeping. I guess this is Phase II: the Goa/beach/New Years phase. After a trouble-free flight to Bombay, I met up with my family crew -- sister, her husband, and his sister -- and we were all picked up by Mom at the airport. After some quick family time that night (Dad, aunt, a couple of cousins), we got a couple of hours of sleep and caught the early flight to Goa.

This is the third time I've been to Goa, and this beach in particular. It's the third New Year's, in fact! Palolem beach is arguably the nicest beach in Goa -- bath water temps, super fine sand, no rocks in the water whatsoever -- and though it's thankfully not built up with big resorts, it has become very popular. Beach huts and restaurant/bars take up every bit of coastline on this beach. But it's definitely mellow enough. North Goa is a bit more party-centered -- think techno/euro/ravers. Not my scene.

This place has definitely changed as it's grown. No shocker there. I do miss the past, though, when there was less development, less traffic, less people and less stuff! But change is inevitable, and the beach itself is still lovely and people are still nice. I do think that this will be my last New Year's here, though. Time to find another lovely, less discovered spot for future India travels.

Nonetheless, I have zero complaints about how I'm spending my days here: working on my tan, playing frisbee, reading an excellent book, cold kingfishers, and yummy seafood. Damn it's good to be on vacation!

Since Neeta (sis) is pregnant, we are staying at a new hotel this time, rather than the simple cheap beach huts. While I miss staying on the beach (we're about a 10 minute walk), it is nice to have my own room in a brand new hotel with a few amenities. Super nice people there, which is always good. They threw their own New Years party, which we attended for a short bit. It was a flop though, and I would imagine that anything NOT happening on the beach that night was bound to fail. They had advertised some hot shot DJs from Bangalore, posters everywhere, but to no avail. We got back there from the beach to find about 9 Indian guys drinking and dancing. Sadly, this is typical! We felt bad and stayed for a drink before my sister went to bed and the rest of us journeyed back to the beach to continue with the revelry.

There are very few Americans here from what I can tell. We made friends with an Anglo Indian guy from England and met his frend, a woman from New York City. I've met 2 Americans overall, including her. It's mostly Brits, on holiday, as well as the long-term backpackers.

Our 2 new friends joined us for a very disappointing dinner on the beach (alas, the restaurant staff just didn't know how to handle the crowds for dinner), and for drinks all night. That poor gal from NYC had to stay up all night and catch a 15 hour bus back to Bombay, in order to catch her flight to Thailand. OUCH. This is the peak of the high season in Goa and every flight and train has been booked up well in advance.

3 and half days left here on the beach, then it's on to Phase III: Bombay/family reunion mayhem. Gonna relish in the calm/sun/seafood before the chaos of Bombay hits us.

Bangkok Observations and Musings

My time in BKK is just about over. I catch a plane tomorrow evening for Bombay, for one quick night and an early morning flight to Goa.

It was nice to get over my jet lag here. I haven't had any crazy late nights, probably due to the fact that I couldn't stay awake past midnight if I tried. First couple of days were early risers. Up by 6 or 7, reading, getting up and walking to a park by the river (Chao Praya), grabbing an iced coffee on the way back to get some breakfast, and then the usual kicking around and spending a few bhat on fun stuff (cheap silver jewelry, the requisite Thai fisherman's pants in the latest backpacker fashions, etc.) before getting yet more food and making some type of excursion.

Food. A big part of life in Bangkok for sure! This town is a food lovers paradise. In addition to many restaurants, there are countless more food stalls/vendors all over the city. Take a walk down any small alleyway and you'll see all of the carts and makeshift dining areas. Meat, fish, fresh fruits, juice, innumerable snacks of all shapes and sizes: these are what Bangkokians live off of. The variety of food is mindboggling to me. Some of it is recongizable, though that's definitely a small percentage. I expect to visit Bangkok again, but don't think I'll ever master the range of street cuisine here. Still, I've been quite OK with the Pad Thai (about 50 cents a dish) and various satays (about 25 cents a skewer) that I've picked up throughout my trip. It's always consistently good.

And so far... not one big of digestive turmoil to speak of. Nothing. Now that's a surprise for adjusting to the world of food in southeast Asia.

Here's a great fact of life some of my food-loving friends can relate to (and you know who you are). People in Thailand don't just eat 3 big meals a day. Rather, they eat 5 or 6 times a day, but in smaller portions. Like I said, food is everywhere, and people make time to eat as they feel like it. That's how they roll, and with all of the quality cheap street food around, it's easier than cooking at home!

When I haven't been eating, I have actually gotten out a bit and seen a few things. I have not had the time or desire to run around and do it all, but did manage to get to some of the important historical places (Wat Pho and What Pha Kraew/Grand Palace), taken some walks and boat ferries though the older parts of town, and even venutred back into modern Bangkok today, with its gigantic malls (they really are overwhelming in size and buzzing with activity, and where all the hip teen Thai kids can be found) and SkyTrain (above ground metro). While out in that neck of the woods, I even took a small detour to walk down "Soi Cowboy", which is a Vietnam-era strip of sex clubs and go-go bars. This isn't the main red-light district (Patpong), but gives one an idea of that whole other side of Bangkok tourism is about. This is clearly a big draw for men from all over the world. One can't help but notice the old, white guys walking around holding hands with young, pretty Thai girls. You get the picture.

As with my last teaser Bangkok trip on my way to India in 2002, this brief time in Thailand makes me wish I could stay longer! I met two girls from Bombay yesterday who were on their way to Ko Tao that night. I felt a pang of envy when I heard this; I had spent over a month on that lovely island when I travelling in Asia in 1999/2000 and loved, loved, loved it. They're going to have a wonderful New Year's out there.

And so tomorrow I'm on to Phase II of the trip. I just got some "breaking news" from my sister that her husband has some gnarly infection in both ears and may not be able to fly right away. This may impact their trip, and might mean that I'm off to Goa by myself to start. They're scheduled to leave today (28th). Guess I'll find out when I check email again tomorrow morning.

And on that note, and the end of my hour on line, it's time to sign off, grab a bite, and enjoy a sang som (brand of Thai rice whisky) with soda and lime on my last night in town!

Back in Asia - I'm finally here!

Merry Christmas, all! Hoping the holidays are treating fine thus far. After 24 hours of straight travel from SF, I am finally in Bangkok for a short, but sweet, bonus trip on my way to India. Even though I am only here for about 5 days and 4 nights before leaving for India, it feels sooo good to be out on my own as a backpacker again. I miss this life -- new experiences and people all of the time. If only I had more than a month and wasn't starting a new job in late January (well... it ain't actually all that bad back in SF).

It's been a long ass trip, and I have to vent. The 13.5 hour flight from SFO to Tapei was... how should I put this... suboptimal (a word many of you know me to use). The old 747 was too warm (and no idividual vents), the entertainment system and screens were totally budg, but worst that than, they hardly gave you any water to drink (dinky little cups with meals, no bottles) and probably the worst thing was that, although we left after midnight, they woke us up at 2am for dinner! Now I put down a couple of drinks to ensure that i would fall asleep after takeoff, and I did, but when they woke us up, I thought; "is this the only food that they're going to give us on this bucket?" I hence got up and ate, only to end up not falling asleep for a few more hours. Luckily that did pass and I got my 8 hours before landing in Tapei.

Last venting point: Tapei... probably the worst layover I've ever experienced. Getting there early, before everything food/drink-wise open (note the lack of water issue mentioned earlier), no vending machines that took foreign currency, also sucked. Very trippy to see many, many, many Duty Free employees all wearing santa hats as they tried to see you cigarettes, booze and other high end junk.

Anyhow, the flight to BKK was better for sure. Too bad the plane and service on this 3.5 hour flight couldn't have been there for us for the 13.5 hour voyage.

Bangkok Airport is apparently brand new and looks ultra-modern. which is a look this town sports, in addition and contrast to the very beautiful traditional architecture that abounds. It's a cool an interesting dichotomy.

Anyhoo... it's all over now. Got a great room behind the Wat (temple) near (but definitely NOT ON Khao San Road (the backpacker circus), am showered, had my first yummy pad thai from a street vendor and am good to go.

Speaking of which, my hour here at the internet cafe is almost up. Less typing, more exploring. I gotta get out there.

Hope to upload some pics as I go.

Hope you are all well!