An LA Bite and a Vegas Night

My cousin brother (elder, referred hereafter as Dabhai) lives in Simi Valley, a suburb outside Los Angeles [referred hereafter (and in the title) as LA] with Boumoni and their 4 years old daughter Papan. As I had planned, I got to spend the last week of 2012 at his place. Unfortunately, he was just back from India after a three weeks off from work, so he could not take any more days off. And concreting the reasons for not going out on any long tour during the time was that I too was working. The return of Boumoni was not due for some more days and those were the days of pure bro-codes! Cooking meat, wines, eating cold, installing the new TV, ... then came the weekend and Vegas called! O ya! it was Vegas Baby!

Thanks to the traffic on I-15, it took us eight $%#@ing hours instead of 3.5 to 4 to reach Vegas from Simi Valley. But as far I could see, it worked out for good. It was ten-ish in night when we reached. Dabhai went to the hotel where we had a room booked (The Excalibur Casino, in case you...) and dropped me in front of The Bellagio.

Only a few days before this trip of mine, I was having a chat about Vegas with one of my friends and Bellagio came in the discussion inevitably. And for the sake of that friend (primarily), I attempted to record this world famous Bellagio fountain. That friend was the first of people whom I called from the sinful soil of Vegas. It was freezing here in Vegas and that friend was getting on a train near Bangalore, none of us were very comfortable talking at that moment but the chat was as equally worth as standing there and awe-ing at the fountain for the whole song. (Youtube did a great job here making this video unshaky).

It was taking time for Dabhai to return to the place where I told him I will be. So I explored a little bit more. Went inside the Bellagio. If I had had a co-sinner with me that night, I might have done something not-mentionable in this blog. But since, there was not, there is honestly nothing that catchy to mention here. Except for the fact that I went inside a few more casinos by myself, got a beer from a shop just below the Eiffel Tower, went into another casino only to see two ladies shockingly close, finding a silver pole very hug-worthy (no picture of that, sorry).

Honestly, there was not much of clicking as much there was ogling. One interesting Casino we went to - The Venitian. And that is where I came to know something new. The casinos in Vegas not only play with the pockets of the gamblers, but also with their psychology. A person gets tired, when he knows it is the time to get tired.  None of the casinos in this desert city has no clock. And The Vanetian goes a step more - the interiors have been designed in a way so that it duplicates a lazy late afternoon of Venice. And they designed it with as much loyalty to the feel as possible - water canals, gondolas, singing gondoliers (singing in Italian), and a 5pm sky 24x7x365. It was very difficult to bring to consciousness that it is past midnight just outside the doors behind me and there was a frustrating 8 hours drive earlier that evening.

After going up and down the most famous and most illuminated road strip in the world, we finally went to the casino of The Excaliber. And as it turned out, Roulette was the game enjoyed the most by my brother. I followed his lead, but i don't think any elder that night was less proud of his younger brother for his performance on that numbered board and that small white ball. And again, it was clear that the casinos only want you keep being inside. They were ready to serve off free drinks and cigarettes (and the way those ladies ask you, sometimes, in black bunny dresses, you find it morally criminal to refuse to take a drink) as long as you are on a table and turning your pockets inside out. My cash graph went on like the worst sinusoidal curve ever - 100 then 80 then 160 then 000 dollars. And it was these were not even close to what people were throwing away (at times more than my bi-weekly salary!).

The night ended at 4am and after an idle wake up and brunch, we checked out to find that Vegas is also a place which almost dies with sunlight. In comparison to the most happening place on the planet at night, it is appears like the city suffering from some serious of personality disorder.  Well, knowing that the MGM Grand does not hold the Lion's show anymore, we left the city and reached home later that evening. 

Dabhai told me more than once to have a visit to the Universal Studios and to the Disneyland but I think he also knew that it is only going to suck if one is alone. On Christmas, we decided to have a walk on the Santa Monica Pier before going to a gathering at Dabhai's friend's place. But, before going to the pier, I went down the stoney-sandy beach at West Malibu, and touched the water of the Pacific. Thats 3 out of 5! The only ones left now are the Arctic and the Southern Oceans.

Later that evening, at the gathering, I felt very welcome as the "newest one" in the US trying out experimental chilli cocktails made by our host, having some out of the world fried rice and chicken and also criticizing some adjectives that should not be used for women (and some that are not applicable for the Kardashians).

Boumoni and Papan came two days later and by the end of the same day, I was feeling a couple of pounds lighter running after my 4 year old niece all the rest of the day. By the time I went off to sleep that night, there was delight engine running in me with the smoke of "its great to be with family during holidays" all inside. Next day was for the Griffith Observatory and this is the view you get the cliff of that hill.

That evening was about walking on the the most celebrated street of the town - The Hollywood Boulevard. Walking on the actual footsteps of countless stars on the Walk of Fame sidewalk, the Kodak Thetre (Academy Awards)... It was truly the most glittering part of this dream city. A picture of mine with the Batman, a handshake with Captain Jack Sparrow and some more ogling...

That night, it was a more than splendid dinner by Boumoni and I relished it to the last grain of rice for I knew, California is not a lets-pack-bags-and-drive-it-there place for someone who lives in Kentucky. Deep down a part of me knew that it is going to be a long time again when I will be sitting in the same table again (may be a year... not sure).

On Dec 31, I flew in to Lexington. It was not a very easy to smile and say "ba-bye" to Papan outside the LAX airport. On my return, my flat mates picked me up and we went for dinner at a local restaurant with desi style food with half the population my acquaintances here at Lexington... I could not have expected a warmer finish of the year.


Since it is winter, I have abandoned any more planes for any holiday in near future... But sure have seen something when the summer is scheduled to come.

Till next time,
cheers!

Pensacola Beach, Florida

THUMB-RULE OF ANY TRIP: DO NOT TRAVEL WITH ANY CREATURE WITH YOU WHOM YOU DON'T GO ALONG.
Other than that fifth creature (masquerading as human), the summary of this post would be - the rest four of us had a brilliant time in Pensacola beach. Asish da, Vijay, Pradeep and me. And this is the trip I realized that I am really good in the seat beside the driver (the "shotgun seat" as they call it here).

Not even a month in the US and I am already in the Sunshine State of Florida. When people say "Florida" its either Miami or Orlando that comes to mind. But given the kind I am (a misfit in party beaches and an unamused being in amusement parks), I had to go for a place more filled with openness. Thankfully, the rest of the group thought so too. So, we headed for Pensacola - a 10 hour drive from Lexington.Not realizing that the Jack D distillery remains closed on Thanksgiving, an extra 100 mile on the road cost us more than an hour and half more than what we had expected to reach our hotel in the beach town. With the excitement barely in containment, we headed for the beach in when it was already dark and I was glad we did. It was an innocently secluded it was - shining in its own white sand under the feeble moonlight. The best part was - no one else was seen around. We could see the water, we dipped our feet in it and re-realized that it was a night time at the fag end of November. It was a little thrilling.Next morning, the party sat out to see the sunrise. I was still in disbelief that I was actually in Florida. But after I stepped out of the car at the beach parking, I breathed the cold air, breathed it out with an unnecessary extra effort and told myself - "Okay, but get to business. Use the "awe" feeling in you photos."
  
The long thin white beach was still not crowded and had plenty of mindless runs. It was morning and the sun was only a giant "i" on the water and sky. The excitement in all of us took a formal shape when Pradip decided to just run... and decided to do it into the flock of gulls.

A drive on the road by the beach and you seem to be reaching the edge of the last land on this earth. There is the road you are driving and there is sand on both of your sides and then there is water, the blue which could inspire emeralds.

After having some breakfast at a gas station, it was time to do what they call "hitting the beach". The camera took some rest as the water-wears took positions. But honestly, it was not very pleasant. Being  inside the warm water was rather a more comfortable state than standing back up and let the (November) wind kiss you all over. Shivering, after 30 minutes or so, we all decided to stop convincing ourselves that we are enjoying the draft wearing those wet cloths and went out to get into something dryer. (After we were inside something dryer, i specifically noticed that ours was the only car in that parking lot which had cloths spread all over it for drying!)

As the sun traveled lower and towards the horizon turning red, some crazy idea came to me to ignore any kind of jacket on purpose and try to photograph the setting sun from the pier. Mr. Das had no idea how mischievously pricking the wind can be at the end of that pier which runs more than quarter of a mile into the gulf. To add to my annoyance, the sun looked only prettier after I had just taken a shot of it. I kept of clicking, strictly hiding my heat (cold) sensitive body clad only in a t-shirt and bermuda shorts, behind those neck high and a feet wide concrete pillars. Just like the way I could not let go off the setting sun, the wind would not let go off me.
 
Finally, it sat.
The night was not very eventful... some food... and sleep.
Next day was our visit to the distillery of the famous Jack Daniel's whiskey in Tennessee on our way back home. And a Thanksgiving feast was waiting for us along with many of our friends and their families at our apartment.


And by the time I had gone to sleep that night, I already had some ideas where my next trip was going to be.

See you in the next post,
Cheers!