USA

Let’s go Puerto Rico- 1

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Driving in Puerto Rico is not for the faint-hearted. You get used to it of course. As I started to drive somewhat nervously, I realized that not only were the signs in Spanish, but the driving somewhat resembled the aggressive driving in India. Some of the bylanes were filled with potholes and without lane demarcations. Pedestrians just flagged you down trying to cross busy streets, something you never get used to unless you have driven in India. The roads close to the hostel were tiny compared to mainland US standards, often the car from the opposite would have to stop to let you pass, and I would have to find parallel parking on the street, something I am not very good at. When I parallel parked my car, half my car was hoisted up the pavement, just like every other car before and after mine. I said a silent prayer as I prepped myself for five days of driving around the island and parking. The next day, I was kicking ass, innocuously breaking a few driving rules, cruising through the potholes, and navigating my way with a confidence as if I have always driven here. It is amazing how fast your brain gets used to doing things. Some of the Spanish words I learned while driving were “Pare” (to stop) and “Salida” (an exit).

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Channel Islands National Park

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Channel Islands National Park (located in California, United States) is a cluster of five small islands- San Miguel, Santa Rosa, Anacapa, Santa Barbara, and Santa Cruz, varying in area and distance from the mainland. Although close to the shores of Southern California, they are isolated for many reasons.

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Universal Studios – Los Angles and Orlando

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The first memorable ride I remember in LA was the studio tour by bus, they take you in a multiple bogie bus for a tour, it gives you an experience of flood, train accident, Kingkong. In the middle of tour, driver and conductor starts arguing whether to cross a bridge or not which looks very fragile and can break any time. Conductor says that bridge will go down if we drive down the bus but driver wants to take a chance and he finally drove down the bus over the bridge. And, all of sudden you experience that bridge has broken, everybody starts screaming, after few minutes, bridge comes back to it’s original position and everybody start laughing. Your bus enters in to a railway station and suddenly everything started
shaking, one train tried to hit our bus, fire on the platform and then you say “Wah Kya Scene hein”. Then you pass through a Mexican city, bus suddenly stopped due to flood, it felt that we all are going to drown in the flood. I must say that this was one of the most memorable 90 minute ride I can have any time. But, this bus ride is not available in Orlando, all the above scenes has been converted in to a separate exhibit or ride. One of the exciting ride in Orlando was when they take you in the boat and sharks start following your boat and all of a sudden one of the shark appears from the water – name the movie now.

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Edmonton to Seattle USA

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Seattle has a sea shore. Cruise ships proceed from there. It has islands and ferry left every half an hour. Lots of population resides on islands.  Seattle is famous for Boeing factory. Microsoft has head office in Seattle, Bill Gate and other staffs sits there. Total population is less than seven lakh. Green lake park popular among runners, contains a 4.3km trail circling the lake. We were there. Local white people greet us with smiles and waving hands.  We also visited to Indian Restaurant, Food was so spicy, but sweet gulab jamun and kheer was there. Mexican cook was working there. Mexico is also famous for spicy food . In Canada food is normally not spicy.

Weather was windy. There was big merry go round. Some people walking there. On roads there was traffic but not much hustle and bustle. I miss my India here as lots of kids, young couple are present every tourist places there.

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A Day Trip OF Philly

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Philadelphia has lots of statues in the parks and roads most of them of historical figures like Presidents and war heroes  specially popular being President Lincoln’s statue on Kelly Drive, I could not take its picture as the bus was moving too fast. But I was able to take picture of the statue of chief justice John Marshall outside the west gate of Franklin Institute. Ever heard of a Judge’s statue in India? If yes please inform me.  There is also a controversial statue of the Italian Stallion Sylvester Stallone as Rocky Balboa a must for movie buffs as the story of Rocky series is in Philly. The guides in the buses were very knowledgeable and were telling a lot of stories about not only the city but also some of the controversies going in the city. The controversy around Ricky’s statue was another one.

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वाटरटन नेशनल पार्क और यु.एस. बोर्डर (भाग २)

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पार्क की सुबह बहुत खूबसूरत थी. हिरण जैसे दो प्राणी घूम रहे थे. सुबह उठ कर एक चक्कर गांव का लगाता हूँ. एक दुकान खुली देख कर अंदर काफी लेने जाता हूँ, साथ ही खाने के लिए एक पेस्ट्री ले लेता हूँ. यह दुकान वाला बहुत सामान बेच रहा था. काफी, ब्रेड चोकलेट, और बहुत सा सामान. पेट्रोल पम्प भी इस दुकान वाले का ही था. साथ में साइकल भी किराये पर दे रहा था. एक साइकल का एक घंटे का किराया १० डॉलर, और हेल्मट के १० डॉलर अलग से. साथ में मोटर बाइक भी किराये के लिए थे.

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वाटरटन नेशनल पार्क और यु.एस. बोर्डर (भाग १)

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वाटरटन नेशनल पार्क यु.एस. के मोंटाना प्रान्त और कैनेडा के अलबर्टा प्रान्त के बोर्डर पर स्थित है. लाखों लोग यु.एस. और कैनेडा से हर साल नेशनल पार्क घूमने आते हैं. फोर्ट सस्केच्वन से वाटर टन पार्क की दूरी ६०० की. मी. है.

कैलगरी शहर के बाद सबवे पर लंच के लिए रुकते हैं. सबवे की संसार में 37,207 से ज्यादा लोकेशन हैं. भारत में 282 लोकेशन हैं. सबवे सेक्टर 15 फरीदाबाद में भी है. विदेश में शाकाहारी भोजन के लिए सबवे अच्छा आप्शन हैं. मेनू में पहले सफ़ेद या ब्राउन ब्रेड, उसके के बाद सौस, खीरा, टमाटर प्याज, शिमला मिर्च, (कच्ची कटी हुई) आदि डाल कर सब त्यार कर दिया जाता है.  भारत में यह ८० रूपये से शुरू होता है, विदेश  में ४ से ६ डॉलर का है.

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Memorable trip to Virginia Beach

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Roads were descent rather better compared to Myrtle Beach. At some point I was sleepy but pretended to him as if I am wide awake and hooked to every detail. Clear skies, scenic beauty, greenery on every side delighted me . Finally we arrived in our destination , a moment of exhilaration for me. Virginia Beach is a resort city with miles of beaches and hundreds of hotels, motels, and restaurants along its oceanfront. It is also home to several state parks, several long-protected beach areas, three military bases, a number of large corporations, two universities, Edgar Cayce’s Association for Research and Enlightenment, and numerous historic sites.

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Vegas to LA: Entertainment Unlimited (Part 1: Las Vegas)

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A trip to these two cities is a must if you’re visiting the west coast of USA. From hip-hop Gen Y to grey-haired grannies, from the rich and famous to everyday citizens, there’s something for everyone in Vegas and LA. But first things first – those of you who think Sin City is just a gamblers’ paradise, think again. Apart from the lure of the lucre, there are a number of wondrous sights to be seen here, and many of them, surprisingly, do not involve semi-clad women!

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Revisiting Skagit Valley Tulip Festival

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How lucky one can be when one gets to time their conference trips with one of their favorite festivals happening concurrently at a different city, in fact, a different country? Once the conference dates in Vancouver was decided, I waited with bated breath for the official announcement of the dates for the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival, about 70 miles and 1 hour 10 minutes drive north of Seattle on I-90 (Exits 230, plus minus one). The tulip festival has been my favorite things to visit in Seattle, and every year, I waited for Spring to arrive, heralding a trip to the daffodil and tulip fields.

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