A Rock(ies)y adventure

July 12, 2011 Leave a Comment

Two days after we safely landed at the Windsor airport and crossed the border back to Michigan through the tunnel, one question comes to my mind as I begin to collate the happenings of my past few days. “Why didn’t I do this sooner?”.

Everyone who gets to see the Canadian Rockies will agree that the most beautiful stretch of this long mountain range lies in Canada. The rock formations and the general landscape of this humongous range varies so much between BC and New Mexico, yet somehow the stretch in Canada, especially in the Alberta region by far as the highest density of glacier, fresh lake formations, which when combined with beautiful crevasses and crevices, fir and spruce trees, provide the most picturesque capture for a camera hungry traveler or the near perfect challenge for the adrenalin junkie who wants to bike, hike, ski or climb. For a recreational traveler, this may not be the ideal place but still you will enjoy a ride on the gondola (not the Venetian inference here) as you whistle past valleys or when you take a relaxing boat cruise on blue/green/turquoise/aqua water.

We did our share of hikes – almost 5-6 a day for the entire duration we stayed. The shortest one being a km while the longest hike being about 11 km. The most adventurous being the one when we underestimated a trail and ended up scaring a 7 year old with thunderstorms and with a close encounter with Caribous. Looking back, we are proud that as a seven year old, he got to experience what very few boys of his age would ever get to do. More importantly, our attempt was really to show the real world which is far different from the make believe world where we live in for 300 odd days every year. We have been successful in doing this since our son has been 2 months old. A trip every year to the wilderness for as long as we could afford. And we hope to keep this up as long as we can, not just for him but also for us. It is an energizing experience to say the least.

Here are some snapshots that may give a feel for what is hidden behind this natural treasure.

Filed under Pictures, Travel

View from my Window – Canada

July 6, 2011 Leave a Comment

This picture was taken by my son through the window of the cabin we are staying at.

Canmore, Alberta - Falcon Crest Lodge

Filed under Pictures, Travel

View from my Window – Orlando

May 18, 2011 Leave a Comment

Every time I come to Orlando, I notice that there is nothing much that has changed. But then, for a Michigander, the sight of Orlando is itself a welcome change.

Orlando

Filed under Pictures, Travel

View from my Window – Gurgaon

January 13, 2011 Leave a Comment

This is a quick click from my hotel window..

One winter afternoon in Delhi NCR region

Filed under Pictures, Travel

Embedding a Run

October 26, 2010 Leave a Comment

Stuff you can do with just an iPhone in your hand is amazing.
Here is a Google Earth 3D video of a recent 5.08 mile run I did in Chicago.

Just for kicks, here is the video…

 

Filed under Sports - General, Travel, Videos

AaRumBum – The Beginning

October 15, 2010 Leave a Comment

Filed under Travel, Videos

View from the floor

September 2, 2010 Leave a Comment

Westward Expansion - St. Louis Arch

Filed under Pictures, Travel

Notes from the Road – India, July 2010

July 15, 2010 Leave a Comment

  • Why do they insist on lining up so many people at airports when it seems that half those people are simply watching the other half do the work?
  • Mumbai and Chennai airports deserve to be in the list of worst airports among major cities in India – To be specific, those airports that have failed to adapt to the growth..
  • Mangoes – Delicious. Makes a trip to India in frying pan weather really worth it.
  • Visited Courtallam. Thoroughly disappointed that more and more non-vegetarian restaurants are cropping up almost in a proud manner. Why is it becoming fashionable to eat meat at the cost of looking down upon vegetarianism?
  • In spite of the crowd, I enjoyed Courtallam contrary to my fears. It is one place, where once I walk under the gushing waterfall, I forget everything around me. Blissful in a very unique way. Guess you have to grow up in that area to learn to enjoy standing under a waterfall, taking bath in what may be the most direct source of fresh (& clean) water which is falling at probably 1/6th the speed of Niagara and trying to push your way into the heart of the waterfall..
  • Different kind of experience in Gurgaon under rains this time around. Unfortunately, rains expose the reality behind Indian infrastructure…Doesn’t matter if it is a seemingly well-planned city like Gurgaon or a good old urban downtown, it is such a mess. Yet, there was something that brought a small smile on my face as my cab waded through flooded highways in Gurgaon – Well, a sad smile I should add. A bunch of kids – all standing in line only in their underarms – bare-bodied – swimming in the puddle..
  • Absolutely surprised and satisfied with my stay at the Courtyard in Chennai. Truly a place I would go back to stay at..Great ambience and stunning service..
  • As always, left India with a slightly heavy heart, but sort of consoled myself with the fact that since my frequency of visiting India of late has been increasing, I could very well be seeing the next seasonal change in India this year or the following one..

Filed under Travel

View from my Window

July 15, 2010 Leave a Comment

Only in India - Colorful landscape

Filed under Pictures, Travel

Notes from the Road – India through a business traveler’s eyes

March 10, 2010 Leave a Comment

Week 2 and Week 3

  • Couldn’t have found a better location to travel to as a business traveler. Gurgaon is probably the most modern city/town that India can offer to Western business travelers (as a complete package). So much so, that I heard one of my drivers mention that there are no places for common men to shop for their daily needs such as groceries, etc. Malls, Malls and more malls.
  • In fact, there are so many malls in Gurgaon within a 10-15 kilometer radius that you wonder, if there is any other city in the world that can boast of that kind of mall density. Henceforth, I coin a new statistical measure – MDI (Mall Density Index). The MDI for Gurgaon is somewhere close to 1.0 (Malls within a kilometer radius).
  • Domestic air travel has become so common that Indian metro airports on weekend mornings look like Walmart on a Black Friday…and on week day mornings, look like Walmart on a Saturday. But in spite of the continuous growth that the air industry has witnessed over the years and the increase in air passenger traffic, some of the airports too have gotten better – overall. Hyderabad airport apparently is ranked No. 1 in some list and am not surprised why. To me it is simply the best airport in India and probably in the top 5 of my favorite airports list.
  • Business Travelers some time get to see a part of India (specially if they are in Gurgaon), that is experienced by only a very small percentage of the country’s population. Yet, there are certain aspects of everyday normal Indian life they cannot avoid experiencing. Like, calling a cab company to make a reservation and getting a confirmation (with the cab number, driver’s phone number, etc.) on one’s cell phone within a couple of minutes, only to realize after 30 minutes that the cab driver was not even informed about your reservation. Or driving through the inner roads to beat the traffic based on the driver’s recommendations, only to realize that you would be late by an hour for your appointment. Time seems to be perceived as a commodity that is available in abundant supplies for normal Indians, yet the reality is that there are only 24 hours in a day, 60 minutes in an hour and no one could change that. Yet, it is amusing how people take other’s time for granted. As someone who is providing services to a client in a professional set up, there is not a single day so far, when everything I planned went as per my plans on time.
  • A weekend in Chennai is not enough to reconnect with my roots, yet, I got some taste of it through a concert, a movie (Thamizh Padam – an audacious attempt and is worth every penny) and some family get togethers. What I didn’t have time to do was to connect with friends. Oh well, that’s the best part — Having friends who can understand why you couldn’t spend time with them. With family, it is not easy to stray away from their expectations.

    • Filed under Travel

    ← Older posts

    Follow

    Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

    Join 146 other followers