TravelStream™ news feed for member antonber on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/antonber en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Wed, 19 Mar 2008 16:56:20 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/antonber/2/1205267760/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/antonber/2/1205267760/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/antonber/2/1205267760/tpod.html Wed, 19 Mar 2008 16:56:20 -0400 Nicasurf!

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Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States

godot finally arrived and delivered us to ft. lauderdale, where our connecting flight was to pick us up five or so hours later. we decided it would be fun to stop by the ft. lauderdale beach, and so we left the airport in pursuit of some sort of public transportation. after walking in circles for 30 minutes or so, we hopped on a local transit bus, from which we connected to a bus whose final destination was the galeria mall at the beach. the entire trip to the galeria took over an hour, so when we arrived the sun was quickly setting. we entered the galeria, headed straight for the food court, plowed down some chicken and sushi, and began our return trip to the airport knowing full-well that we'd wasted our day in ft. lauderdale. this time, we grabbed a cab.

on the way to the airport, we stopped by a verizon wireless store and purchased a global sim card for my blackberry. it was a long and expensive process, but we ended up leaving fort lauderdale with the global travel pack completely installed. only later did we realize that nicaragua is not a verizon-sponsored global location -- so not only did my internet not work in nicaragua, but neither did my telephony.

the fact that the plane was again delayed wasn't accompanied with much surprise (from either azim and me or from any of the other patient flyers). the delay actually provided us with time to use the airport's free wireless internet to make skype calls to nicaraguan hostels and cheap hotels so we could find a place to stay for the night. after over an hour (no joke) of calling random places we found online, we received the number of hotel pachelly from a friendly hostel manager in the outskirts of managua. well, at least when we'd arrive in managua we would have a place to stay.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/antonber/2/1204991100/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/antonber/2/1204991100/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/antonber/2/1204991100/tpod.html Wed, 19 Mar 2008 16:35:12 -0400 Nicasurf!

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Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States

i write this entry 2 days late only because any traveling we've done thus far has been loops between philadelphia, atlantic city and new york city. i'm sitting in the atlantic city international (yes, international) airport now and waiting for a perpetually delayed flight. i've decided that i'm waiting for godot; after all, it's no mere oincidence that our airline is titled 'spirit air'.

the aiport (acronymized ACY) is a dinky little guy with 7 gates. the airport's demographic is largely 50+ year olds with a few scattered teenagers and twenty-somethings. the senior members are the kind you'd expect would be traveling between atlantic city and ft. lauderdale, florida on a low-budget airline (spirit air) -- slightly overweight, traditionally american, khaki'd and bright-eyed. a remarkable combination of endearing and unattractive traits that characterizes so much of floridian and gambling america.

the airport's floor is the kind you'd find at a high school gym: cheaply laminated yard-long planks creating an athletic, alternating pattern. a 4-year old boy stumbles by in LA lights, vigorously grabbing on to his mommy's hand as she guides him through the narrow airport space. above me is a 35" RCA tv blasting fox news, playing an infomercial selling "samurai shards" and sears interspersed between biased election coverage. it's funny to think that the things we think are peripheral are the things that allow what we deem to be primary to exist. news can't exist without advertising.

we were here two days ago, when we'd spent all day traveling. azim had left philadelphia by train at 5am for new york city to get his passport stamped with a nicaraguan visa, only to take a bus to atlantic city and arrive 4 hours prior to our plane's scheduled departure. i left philadelphia in the afternoon and met azim in atlantic city. we cabbed to the atlantic city airport from downtown, only to be stuck in traffic after what i would guess to be a drunk driver clogged the expressway with an inopportune crash. at the time, we had only an hour to get to our gate. places like AC and vegas are the worst places for driving -- casinos, restaurants and strip clubs in the middle of nowhere, necessitating some sort of transportation to get there, with overly expensive lodging and casinos distributing free drinks to coax people to continue playing.

we arrived to ACY on time. everything seemed to be going smoothly. only problem was -- the plane was not yet here. we waited an hour. two hours. three hours. finally, on account of inclement weather in fort lauderdale, our flight was cancelled and moved to today. we took a cab back to AC, grabbed some popeyes and took a train home. despite it all, i was happy to get an extra day in philadelphia. now we're here again, and again we're delayed, this time due to inclement weather here in jersey. i've certainly decided that we're waiting for godot.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/antonber/istanbul-india/1188001260/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/antonber/istanbul-india/1188001260/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/antonber/istanbul-india/1188001260/tpod.html Thu, 30 Aug 2007 23:20:54 -0400 Vacation in Istanbul, service project in Southern India (Trichy) and vacation again in Las Vegas

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London, United Kingdom

i think i was running amidst a field. or maybe atop a cloud. or i could have simply been jogging through the muddy waters that regularly flood south india. whatever i was doing, somebody must have decided that i was doing it wrong because a whistle resounded loudly in my ears, over and over again. "must be a cop or gym teacher or something," i thought. five minutes later i glanced at the phone on my bedside and noticed a blinking light, chaotically winking at me in the darkness. instinctively, i grabbed at the receiver handle and heard on the other line "wakey wake up call, it 3 40am." and with that, i was on my way to bangalore airport in order to hop on a plane headed to heathrow airport, london.

there is no dearth of interesting people to meet in this world. to my left was a guy from oklahoma sporting a harley-davidson shirt and nondescript blue jeans. as we began talking, he described to me that he was visiting his outsourced operations in bangalore (something to do with networking and telecom). the man had spent many, many years of his life traveling in and around south america for an oil company which is now owned by BP, where he took care of their networking and telecom infrastructure. now he resides in oklahoma (and looks like the stereotype) and travels the world for business. the contrast between this man's appearance and his job description is hard to believe.

to my right was a woman who is currently employed by a major garment firm that targets men and women in the 40+ age range. she was visiting bangalore to visit, once again, an outsourcing facility (a buying plant). however, must of her production is done in bangladesh. her story is fascinating -- once again, she traveled the world prior to settling in england. doing similar things (garment industry), she lived in madagascar for 2 years and created their manufacturing / buying operations there. she says madagascar is beautiful, with approximately 60% of it deemed state park territory. she qualified this by noting that she hadn't been back to madagascar in about 9 or so years. she worked and traveled in and around africa and the middle east for the better part of her early career.

heathrow airport was not nearly as bad as i thought it would be. after hearing from both my rightward neighbor and the newspapers that heathrow is ranked one of the worst, most ineffecient airports (but hey, it receives 60,000 more people than it can handle PER DAY, says international herald tribune), i had a perfectly convenient and quick visit to customs and flight connection.

and as though i was receiving the justification for everything i'm doing in my life, the seal of approval from God, the "you're doing alright" from british airways (of all entities!), i found myself suddenly upgraded to business class on my flight from london to chicago. i was in a full-size chair, one that could recline to form an entire bed. thank you, british airways, for helping me believe that i am morally headed in the right direction!

once again, the people to my left and right were fascinating.

the guy to my left works for RBS in FX trading, and prior to that had been an independent trader at CBOT trading his own capital for approximately 18 years. it turns out that chicago is home to a pretty sizable community of independent traders who, self-employed, work on the floor of the exchange and do very well for themselves. after this 18 year stint, he created the entire fx trading division for a smaller trading organization and just in the past year began his tenure at RBS.

to my right was a girl employed by mcdonalds international brand strategy (out of london). she told me of the irony when she met, on her flight from geneva to london, an individual who worked at philip morris (what could be more polarising than fast food?? tobacco!! finally she found someone who had to defend their career choice to her rather than the other way around). she told me of her travel experiences (casinos in egypt populated by israelis who are not allowed to gamble in israel; her adventures in las vegas, which i hope to share tomorrow; her visit to a professional bra model fitter -- 34b -- with whom, along with the fitter's husband, she hiked the palisades and boated / swam in the hudson). i shared with her orobroy by dorantes, which ami showed me earlier. i can't wait to show my parents and brother this incredible song. thanks ami.

now i sit on the plane, writing frantically, trying to bottle my memories and infuse them with the aroma of my emotions. it's not easy to take one's experiences and write them down, let alone let them soak and simmer in past feelings and emotions. in hindsight, emotion often appears to be stale and unnecessary, better to be left behind rather than replayed and rewritten. instead, history is influenced by the state of the writer today. a then-depressing, -desperate moment is transformed into a life-altering, insightful spark with a single stroke of the brush that is our current emotional state. all recorded history is the deliberate welding of a fact at one point in time and an emotion at another point in time.

for the record, i'm very happy with british airways service and the airline in general.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/antonber/istanbul-india/1188364980/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/antonber/istanbul-india/1188364980/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/antonber/istanbul-india/1188364980/tpod.html Wed, 29 Aug 2007 22:29:51 -0400 Vacation in Istanbul, service project in Southern India (Trichy) and vacation again in Las Vegas

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Las Vegas, Nevada, United States

i'm watching one of the two televisions in my suite at a palace of a hotel that represents all that is las vegas. it's made to look like venice (aptly named "the venetian"), but it is decidedly not venice. it's home to all forms of epicureanism -- from celebrity-chef restaurants (wolfgang puck, mario batali, emeril legasse, and more i can't remember) to overpriced fabrics cut to perfect the human shape to rocks and jewels that adorn the hands, arms and necks of the confident, wealthy and those who like to give the impression of being wealthy. it's home to a fantastic, glittering casino populated by tattoos, suits, wifebeaters, shorts, jeans, khakis, sunglasses, tans, silicon. its neighbors are infamous hotels and casinos such as the mirage, caesar's palace and mgm grand.

most visitors come with a very particular purpose in mind, a goal and benchmark by which to measure success or failure -- "i will spend no more than $300 this weekend." "i will cap my losses at $500." "only one lap dance this weekend." "i will not cheat on my wife." everyone holds three distinct conceptions of their existence post-las vegas -- different visions for where they can be, should be and likely will be. i can be a bit more wealthy, i should be a ton more wealthy, and likely will be slightly less wealthy. statistically speaking, anyway.

after an aggregate 36 hour flight i found myself leaving my shoddy little travelodge motel that i had rented for the night (i arrived a night early), hopping into tom's prius and heading into the las vegas night for the first time in my life. it was 2 am when he picked me up. we walked to hooters casino, right behind my motel, and played (see: lost) some hands of blackjack. the restaurant at hooters, contrary to what common sense might argue, is not hooters restaurant, but the riverdam restaurant. one thing i did realize was that i can now handle spicy food with some courage and even pleasure. thanks india!

we drove to the rio only to find that the minimums were too high for our wallets. instead we moved on to billy's casino, a cheaper but still not particularly local casino where i watched a game of craps for about an hour. there was screaming and excitement and, on my part, cluelessness. suddenly, it was 7 am. tom put it best -- at these casinos, it's 11am no matter what time of day the outside world believes it to be. it's always 11am. the sun had already reappeared, gazing at my early morning or late night or timeless trek. on my walk back, i was stopped three times by happy, heavyset women in suburbans and explorers offering me the best rides of my life. having been complimented on my sexiness and handsomeness, i reluctantly rejected their offers (after all, the casinos had already raped and pillaged me and that was more sexual interaction than i could handle). i finally found my way back and passed out in one of the two beds of my motel room. the next day i would move to one of the top hotels in las vegas, but that night i was an average newcomer to a city of lights, chaos and excess.

=======

i took a cab to the venetian in order to meet up with spoon and his parents. after passing by the entirety of new york city bundled into a single set of connecting buildings (empire state and all at "new york new york"), a replica of generic parisian attractions (eiffel tower, arc de triupmh and hot air balloon all within a quarter-mile radius), a jet black pyramid emitting a massive light into the sky (luxor), a happy, colorful replica of king arthur's castle (excalibur), i was greeted by the clean, clear, blue, picture-perfect plastic canals of venice. the real venice was certainly not this clean. it's funny to think that the real venice feels to be more natural -- but it is still a manmade landscape that has been aged and made more authentic by the passage of time. we laugh at the many las vegas venetian weddings, the american canals and gondolas, the US singers and shops and casinos. but they are home to a kind of authenticity of their own.

if you want to find a replica, then travel to the venetian that opens in macao this week: 3 times larger than any hotel and casino in las vegas, the venetian macao is part of a $12 to $14 billion project undertaken by las vegas sands that will add 2500 five-star rooms to macao's 4800 and an amazing 17500 four-star rooms to macao's 4,000. the venetian macao resort itself is a $2.4 billion project with a 15,000-seat sporting arena and three indoor venetian canals (compared to las vegas' one!). holy shit, and i thought las vegas was ridiculous.

we ate that evening at joe's seafood in the forums at caesar's palace with all the guys and spoon's family (delicious food, great service). we gambled (see: bankrupt) and headed to tao nightclub (see: seriously bankrupt) to celebrate. the club is outdoors around a poolside and dancing area with an incredible view of massive wealth-generating and -destroying structures. at midnight we toasted to las vegas, to being and turning 21, to jon and spoon. personally, i toasted to being in a place, at a time, with a group of people that my parents never even thought imaginable. i toasted to the world of possibilities that my parents have provided me and to the friends neither they nor i ever thought i'd have. i toasted to las vegas and new york and immigrants and travel and freedom; i toasted to the entirety of the united states, overconfidence and materialism and happiness and all.

we spent the next day in and out of casinos, pools and restaurants. we watched the belagio fountain show, an aquatic dance with well-lit fountains erupting to modern music every 15 minutes. we watched -- or gazed, stared with eyes and mouths wide open -- "O" at the belagio theatre, a cirque de soliel show with no discernible plot or real characters. we witnessed such creative and unimaginable acts of human capability, from contortion to coordination, that we left speechless. throughout the performance, in my exhaustion i floated in and out of sleep. every few minutes i would doze off and take the stage with the cast, interacting directly with the actors, hosts and contortionists in a combination of reality and surreal dreaming. i would find myself wandering on stage with the two trapeze artists, paternally creeping up from behind and gently pushing them as though they were children on a swing. i would suddenly meet the ghoul-like creature who effectively narrates the story and have a few laughs with him over a drink. i would join the two clown-comedians on their sunken houseboat in the on-stage waters and join their jittery tango. and then i would suddenly awake as ro elbowed me to consciousness.

a few of us ended up at ghost bar, an open-space lounge on the 55th floor of the palms hotel and casino. the outdoor portion of the bar extends beyond the width of the building and the floor encases a glass window through which one can see the ground below. the window was faded and scratched, but the view was still intimidatingly impressive. a lake of lights stood before us -- not limitless like a skyline or landscape, but concentrated in a single area where the feeding frenzy is. the lights have a clear-cut finishing line, but that line is clearly quickly shifting outwards.

=======

i think i finally have some sort of handle on gambling. actually, it's less of a handle and more of an appreciation -- despite my understanding that the house always has an edge and in the long run always wins, i've learned to share my gambling rush with my neighbors as we cheer one another on in games of craps and blackjack. i didn't play a single hand of poker; instead, i joined my fellow losers in betting against the house, knowing full well that the we were playing the dealer's game on the dealer's terms. it was the rush of playing as a team as well as playing for yourself. in hindsight, it reminds me of swimming -- to play as a team but alone, to win for yourself and to a lesser extent for others, to watch as your friends and teammates achieve new medals and records. and finally, on a single significant hand of blackjack, my last bet of the night and las vegas week, i more than doubled my earnings (although i'm still down for the week).

after a full night, we were off on our separate flights back home or back to school only to reunite a couple days later.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/antonber/istanbul-india/1188004920/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/antonber/istanbul-india/1188004920/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/antonber/istanbul-india/1188004920/tpod.html Wed, 29 Aug 2007 22:28:52 -0400 Vacation in Istanbul, service project in Southern India (Trichy) and vacation again in Las Vegas

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Chicago, Illinois, United States

i dozed off again, this time in a full-size bed aboard a full-size plane. i felt as though i was an actor on one of those singapore airlines or british airways commercials. i rolled as usual before falling asleep.

it was dark by the time i saw the lights of chicago and the o'hare airport. the contrast was stark. there were three things that immediately came to my attention -- 1, the smell of mcdonalds burgers as soon as i stepped out of customs; 2, the enormous amount of lights that glow without hesitation or relief, a proud and stubborn testament to our economic dominance over india, where illumination at night is far less gaudy; 3, the high heels and fake brownish yellow rubber colors of 13 and 14 year old girls. the girls in india are dark, but not like this.

it wasn't disappointing or disheartening, though. i was happy to be back to a place that was unabashedly honest, diverse and accepting. cocky and arrogant but equally so, spread amongst the many races and geographies and wealths. an overconfidence that dwarfs the indian mentality. that bangalore kid i'd met earlier would fit right in, no matter what he looked like, what he wore, or what he said.

the idea that i am waiting for my flight to las vegas, which is a town established on the premise of making and losing money from money, is a confusing one. maybe it's because i've been flying for so many hours and am not looking forward to the last leg, or maybe it's because india has actually left a significant impact on me. but traveling from immense poverty to a city that is founded upon stealing wealth through games, traveling from dark humidity to bright lights and dry, hot air -- it feels contradictory but necessary, and hence the confusion. witnessing the spectrum of all things human, from the bottom of the pyramid to the top, feels to be undeniably important. am i a judge? a witness? of whom and of what? of myself? of ignorance? of greed?
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/antonber/istanbul-india/1187914740/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/antonber/istanbul-india/1187914740/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/antonber/istanbul-india/1187914740/tpod.html Wed, 29 Aug 2007 00:34:51 -0400 Vacation in Istanbul, service project in Southern India (Trichy) and vacation again in Las Vegas

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Bangalore, India

the driver that arjun had arranged for me was one we'd never seen before. as grama vidiyal and then central trichy grew smaller and smaller in my driver's rearview mirror (a completely useless object, as the only time i've witnessed an indian driver even glance at his rearview mirror was to move it so as to block the sun's glare from his eyes), the thought that jogged through my mind was something to the effect of "ominous" -- a foreign man at the wheel of a vehicle that was taking me away from a group of people i had spent most waking moments with for 3 weeks. i was sad but excited, lonely but independent, finished but in pursuit of a new goal. the silence in the car felt appropriate and necessary; i didn't bother changing it.

as usual, i didn't print out any boarding documents for the kingfisher flight and was told to wait as one of the staff printed out my boarding pass and got me on board. and as usual, the service was unbelievable (or at least unpredictable). all i really remember from the flight was waking up midway to find drool running down my chin and wetting my shoulder. a bit startled, i turned to my left and saw, across the aisle, a well-dressed indian guy staring at me, smiling in either sympathy or amusement. in any case, i smiled back and we chuckled about it as i fell back asleep, this time mouth and mind closed, content to find that my earlier solitude was very temporary -- happily, i contemplated the natural tendency for humans to sympathize with one another until i once again began to wet my shoulder in a peaceful slumber.

i picked up my luggage from the airport (all the while fearing it may have been taken to mumbai again) and reserved a room at a motel called palms residency on brigade street, not far from the intersection of brigade and MG streets. as usual, my driver was speed racer, but i was no longer phased. i think he may have been surprised by my composure.

the motel was a tiny ranch-style place. it felt cozy. i left immediately in pursuit of something to eat and walked around brigade street, stopping by at some local food cart to pick up some treats. i'm still not sure what they were -- they were served on an old piece of newspaper, they were breaded, and they were delicious. i watched as students piled out of the many schools and universities that occupy much of bangalore's real estate.

i stepped into a european cafe (i don't recollect the name now) to grab a cup of tea. soon after i took a seat a foreign couple intelligently entered the shop. they looked italian. they were italian. they sat down beside me and we began talking. they spoke of their travels (this was their third and last week in india) and of their disillusionment with india. having heard so much about india's development, about the IT capital of the world, about infrastructure and railway improvements, they were disheartened to find pollution and oftentimes chaos. we talked a little bit about US politics (at which point i assured them that i knew virtually nothing - only that neither hillary nor obama were going to win) and shared our perspectives and sentiments. we affirmed our ideas about the kind and dedicated indian culture.

i departed and stepped into several lounges on brigade street as i walked without much direction; great venues with inviting employees. only 2 problems -- for one, there were no patrons and every response was "come back at 8, we have good crowd." but that leads to the next problem -- all of these lounges are required to close by 11 pm as ordained by karnataka state law. which leaves people 3 hours to get wasted and get out.

and they do get wasted, and they do get out. i sat down at an indian fast-food place next to two very unique looking kids. one was a french student from bordeaux studying for a semester in southern india as he completed an environmental project, while the other was a malaysian girl who was backpacking for five months in and around india. both were fed up with india -- the guy was fed up because his town was small, provincial, traditional; the girl was fed up because transport and communication was difficult and tiring. they joked about the consistently positive attitude that indian's generally displayed (as eloquently pointed out by erol -- paraphrasing: "i love the place because people say yes and ok to anything you ask, even if they have no idea what you're asking"). i call it the "bobble-ok" move.

back to the nightlife and getting wasted -- these guys shared with me their perception of bangalore nightlife. go to a lounge, get wasted, leave. that's it. although my perception is more of a go to a lounge, talk a lot, get wasted, leave, they were more or less right. when you've got to jet by 11 pm, it doesn't leave much time for idle chatting.

next i found MG street and wandered down it as several poor children clinched to my arms and hung like baboons, simultaneously laughing and begging. it would have been cute if it weren't so depressing, as these kids were clearly homeless. i'm not sure what will become of them, but one thing that will accomplish nothing in the long run is handing them money. but how can you not when confronted by such sad poverty?

as it began to pour, i walked into a random 7 story building and explored its many floors. it turns out that the top 2 floors housed a bar, a lounge and a restaurant. i stepped into the restaurant and noticed a singaporean couple sitting by the window. i sat down next to them and began to order. "beer?" no. "wine?" no. "cocktail?" mocktail. what's up with this place? turns out they lost their liquor license for some reason. although i never did find out why, i did begin speaking to my neighbors after deciding to stay despite the lack of satisfying drink. i introduced myself with a question -- "are you from around here?" understandably, they looked at me like i was an idiot. seriously though, who knows?

we talked a bit about singapore, i told them the people i know from penn and they invited me to join them. these two, a guy and a girl, were temporarily stationed in bangalore to train some indians for a division that deutsche bank had opened there recently. we shared some seafood (so refreshing to have a shrimp cocktail after weeks of indian food!) and stories. after a few hours we parted, but alas the rain continued.

so i stepped outside next to a college kid from bangalore. i asked him for a light (hey, when it rains, it pours -- might as well smoke a bit to add to the mood). we started talking and he shared with me some interesting facts about bangalore. for one, i didn't know that the 11 pm closing time was a state-institued law and, as predicted, the tourism industry lobbied to push it back but the initiative was defeated by bureaucrats. several years ago, the nightlife in bangalore was fantastic. bars, lounges and clubs were allowed to stay open until 4 am or even later; the city didn't sleep. we hypothesized that the reason for the new law must be crime (but could it be religion?).

this student's brother is working for tata consulting in washington state and the student is looking to leave india sometime soon. he shared with me his dislike of the fragmented communities in india -- how denizens of karnataka refuse to speak hindi or english to foreign indians. in his 5 years in bangalore, he was forced to learn kannada despite the fact that most people could speak conversational english. he also noted that he was forced to cut his mohawk and is discriminated against for his piercings, which were positioned on the inner lobes of his ears. i assured him that in the states such discrimination is less likely, although still possible.

about an hour later i hopped into a rickshaw and headed home in the rain, pouring on either side, flying through pools of murky water. a motorcycler sped by, soaking my entire body in the process. i chuckled a little bit (i was still dressed in work clothes), tipped the driver and headed to my room where i watched indian bollywood pop until i fell fast asleep.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/antonber/istanbul-india/1186907460/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/antonber/istanbul-india/1186907460/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/antonber/istanbul-india/1186907460/tpod.html Tue, 14 Aug 2007 04:32:02 -0400 Vacation in Istanbul, service project in Southern India (Trichy) and vacation again in Las Vegas

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Pondicherry, India

everything about this trip so far has been a pleasant surprise, an accidental joy, a fortuitous adventure. the work i'm doing is a continuation of this summer -- valuing the operations of a company (albeit a financial non-profit that is in the process of transforming into a non-banking financial company) in an effort to convince potential buyers infuse equity into the organization. in 2 years, the organization has made tremendous headway, in large part due to the new CEO, arjun, and COO, shirley, who both hail from a 1 year stint at GE Capital. they've grown the organization into the biggest microfinance bank in Tamil Nadu and have enacted some very effective policies, published informative and comprehensive informational material and have even hired a third party to create a valuation model of the business (which is entirely too extensive). we're now evaluating the model's assumptions (interest rates, member growth rates, etc) by looking at historical and projected data.

there's really too much to tell about this past weekend and the stories are a little overwhelming for me to write. this past weekend we hopped on a train to pondicherry. to our disappointment, we found that there is no zoo in pondicherry (just adding to the mysticism of pi patel's story). however, pondy does house some of the most stunning colonial architecture i've ever seen, renovated as summer hotels and guest houses. unfortunately, each and every hotel and guest house we approached was at full occupancy. having explored the entire town inside and out and remaining conclusively homeless, we came across a smooth salesman selling chess sets on the street -- his hair was slicked back, his english was confident although not perfect, and his mannerisms were more western than indian (i.e., sans bobble-head). he took us to several hotels (which were all full) and encouraged us to follow him into a couple of rickshaws only to be driven an hour to some cottage far from the city, express our disinterest, be driven back and in the last second find luxury "hotel sunway," erected only 3 months back. the hotel search took about 4-5 hours.

that night we feasted at le dupleix on french cuisine -- a detour from our usual native spices. with full stomachs, we walked to a nearby party hosted "for the sake of the children," which was out of both drinks and women and provided us with rubbing alcohol under the disguise of gin. we headed to the beach and played with stray dogs (bad idea, i know) only to be left astray ourselves with a couple of waiters we'd met at our lunch spot who were nice enough to eventually jet away on their scooters in order to call us a couple of rickshaws.

we spent the next day exploring pondicherry -- the touristy bazaars, the sculptures of gandhi, the colonial architecture and atmosphere. we visited the sri aurobindo society ashram, where a french elderly woman's spirit ("the mother" who studied under sri) still remained. it was pleasant to read the short common sensical quips that philosophers and zealots alike propound: succinct statements that remind you of what you already know.

on our return trip, after skipping two trains that were full beyond their means (sleeping cars, regular cars and AC cars), we paid a random driver at ~11pm to make the 3 hour drive back to trichy. again, probably a bad idea. 3 hours on roads in india gave us a newfound appreciation for lanes, laws and sane drivers.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/antonber/istanbul-india/1186409400/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/antonber/istanbul-india/1186409400/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/antonber/istanbul-india/1186409400/tpod.html Fri, 10 Aug 2007 01:13:46 -0400 Vacation in Istanbul, service project in Southern India (Trichy) and vacation again in Las Vegas

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Bangalore, India

having run through several chores and visited the supermarket (razor, check. toothbrush, check. 12 vitamins-, 7 minerals-packed baby food, check.), we were off to the istanbul airport in order to catch a plane to new delhi. watching the clumsily clad tourists made me feel self-aware: as they approached the airport starbucks, clad in out-of-place hiking boots and zip-off pants, they began yelling orders at the poor turkish baristas who could hardly understand abnormally loud noises coming from the abnormally dressed foreigners. having spent the better part of 10 minutes directing the workers with hand motions, the tourists sat down to enjoy their coffee. we watched them without realizing that we would later see one of them detained at an airport gate for reasons unbeknownst to us.

we were greeted by friends who had arrived from new york upon our arrival in delhi. we spent a good deal of time hopping from outdoor airport terminal to airport terminal amidst the humid night, carrying luggage there and back, finally arriving at the indigo terminal (imagine me excitedly muttering "indigo not like the spice indigo, but like IndiGo, India Go!") and filing into a well-run, clean, moderately-sized plane. we were the only westerners on the flight, and it was obvious. we clamored and laughed and expressed our awe and excitement. the other passengers (our audience) sat silent as they watched a live confirmation of their perception of loud americans.

we were impatiently waiting in baggage claim as time ticked on while our connecting kingfisher (sounds like a beer, right? well, it is) flight was waiting, then boarding, then full, and then in flight. we were still waiting. it turned out that although we were shipped to bangalore, our luggage was shipped to mumbai. several hours of hectic arranging, rearranging, writing, talking and bobble-heading later, we hopped in cabs to 'natasha inn,' a hotel situated about 1 km from the center of bangalore city. for anyone who's interested, you can find our hotel on linden street, right next to the cow lazily strolling in the dirt street, who sometimes invites his 2 male and 1 female friends over for afternoon siestas.

we switched our room from non-AC to AC (americans) and were provided the best service we could ask for -- we were given two additional beds and all bags were carried by doormen to our 3rd floor suite. that kind of service is typical of everything i've seen in india thus far, which makes me wonder why such a massive population generates such slim productivity numbers. having settled in (with what little we had to settle in with, given our missing luggage), we immediately fell in pursuit of pizza hut. we hopped into a couple of rickshaws and raced each other to MG (mahatma gandhi) street, where we lost each other for a good 15 minutes and reunited at an incredibly packed and western-priced pizza hut. and even the pizza was spicy.

before pizza hut, we showered. the bathrooms in india (all of them) are incredible -- the entire restroom is a massive shower, with a shower-head as the centerpiece to a toilet, sink and shower set. incredibly, there is nothing preventing you from simultaneously performing all bathroom functions without physical contortion or psychological self-disdain.

our return to the hotel took at minimum an hour. apparently, the directions i provided the reader with earlier (you know, by the cow) weren't good enough for the drivers and so we rickshawed through nearly every street in our area. eventually we ejected out of the rickshaws and ran maniacally around the town until we finally spotted the purple walls of our temporary home. we showered again.

most of us spent the rest of the afternoon napping away the jet lag. after calling the airport several times from a telephone that was the livelihood of a kind woman (10 rupees), the luggage finally arrived -- fully complete, untampered, perfect. to say that the arrival of our luggage redefined the term "taken for granted" would be an understatement.

that evening we dined at a rooftop restaurant / club that overlooked all of bangalore. the view was brilliant, the food delicious, the people fun, enthusiastic and excited. the drinks were even better, maybe because of the company, maybe because of the environment, or maybe because they were truly well made. in any case, we were moderately unfazed by the fact that we were 800 rupees ripped off in the end. we hopped in a couple of rickshaws of two buddies who were probably the most confident (see: crazy) drivers i've ever seen, playing chicken with oncoming rickshaws and offering us weed ("you smoke? you smoke?"). finally, our drivers and jay left us for 15 minutes, returning with our order of 12 30s of kingfisher beer (not quite bottles, but not quite 40s) for which we generously paid. the rest of the night was a swirl of discussion, music, and happy sleep.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/antonber/istanbul-india/1186246800/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/antonber/istanbul-india/1186246800/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/antonber/istanbul-india/1186246800/tpod.html Thu, 09 Aug 2007 02:52:24 -0400 Vacation in Istanbul, service project in Southern India (Trichy) and vacation again in Las Vegas

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Istanbul, Turkey

erol woke me around noon so we could continue my tour of istanbul and we were off to dolmabahce palace -- a massive model of european gaudiness built in the mid-19th century by sultan abdulmecid. much like the hagia sophia, the palace was deemed a museum in the early 20th century by ataturk.

dolmabahce is an enormous, crystal-packed series of european-decorated rooms and hallways on the coast of the bosphorus. the palace stands as a testament to the size and power of the ottoman empire, so much so that it bankrupted the empire at the time of construction (costing 5 million ottoman gold pounds, or 35 tons of gold). its most impressive hall, the main ceremonial hall, is home to the world's largest bohemian crystal chandelier, containing almost 700 lamps and weighing 4.5 tons (and provided as a gift by queen victoria). it hangs about 20 meters from the ceiling by a long, interconnected metallic chain. the story goes that a richter scale 8 earthquake shook istanbul in 1901 while a party was going on in the main ceremonial hall. as the chandeleir began to swing back and forth, party-goers paniced; in the midst of a crumbling empire, the sultan (who was ill at the time) stood steadfast in the middle of the hall as the chandeleir swung above his head, quelling the party-goers. the chandeleir never fell and most of the hall was left uninjured. the entire hall seems absolutely enormous (and the echo confirms it), especially because the walls are painted with roman pillars that mimic perfect perspective.

as the guide discussed rules ("no flash, no touching") we whispered between ourselves, only to loudly be hushed by a woman in a red polka-dot outfit. i thought the hushing was a bit premature -- akin to shushing someone during the previews of a movie instead of waiting to see if they'll quiet up when the actual movie starts. the lights haven't even shut off yet! it later turned out that the woman was russian (was there even a doubt?).

attached to the palace is the harem (living quarters) where mustafa kemal ataturk died. the reverence that ataturk gets from all of turkey is unmatchable -- he's the founder of the modern republic of turkey. having served as a division commander in the battle of gallipoli, he eventually led the turkish war of independence and accomplished a great deal towards his dream of a modern, democratic and secular nation-state.

although the city is definitely not secular. 5 times a day there's a call to prayer that resonates throughout the many streets and homes of istanbul. i passed by the dolmabahce mosque on the way to the palace during mid-day prayers -- it was so full that muslims in suits were praying outside on mats. not something you'd see back in the states. and from what i understand, the new government will only contribute to greater non-secularity.

before the palace, we walked around taksim square, a popular shopping and tourism district filled with restaurants and shops. we stopped by a franchised eatery, saray, that erol wants to bring to the states. what i found most interesting was the fact that between the many shops and restaurants stood consulates -- russian, french, greek, the list goes on. the architecture, although aging and not yet renovated, was incredible. we walked mostly with eyes looking up at third and fourth story engravings rather than first story shops.

an intermission at the gym.

we went back to taksim square that night to meet up with some friends after a delicious home-cooked dinner. we dropped in to a dive off one of the main arteries in the square and, although we had great ambitions to bar hop, managed to leave the place hours later. we met up with an international group -- a latvian studying in switzerland, an italian from turkey studying in italy, a half-asian californian studying in switzerland, a turk studying in warwick, a turk studying music in new york, and a turk studying in beirut. we eventually ended up at a terrace club, the rest gets a little hazy, and then made our way home through the now-extinguished square, grabbing some late night food along the way.

now, having awoken extremely late and finally received a haircut, we're about to depart to india (we fly to delhi, then to bangalore, and then finally to trichy).
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/antonber/istanbul-india/1186092900/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/antonber/istanbul-india/1186092900/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/antonber/istanbul-india/1186092900/tpod.html Thu, 02 Aug 2007 19:34:23 -0400 Vacation in Istanbul, service project in Southern India (Trichy) and vacation again in Las Vegas

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Istanbul, Turkey

having napped a couple of hours, we ate a home-cooked meal in the toker living room. the dinner was oddly similar to dinners at home -- plain chicken and pasta, delicious as i remember it.

we dropped by erol's family club, complete with gym, pools, lounges, restaurants. we walked to the recently public shore (it used to belong to the club but then was appropriated by the municipality) and walked on a club-owned extension that was a way-station for small speedboats and housed a bar at the tip, in the middle of the sea. we talked and drank local beer (efes pilsen) as we watched the lights on princess islands flicker in the distance.

erol drove me to nisantasi, across the bosphorus from where we were earlier in the day in older istanbul. traditionally a textile and fashion area, nisantasi is lined with louis vuitton and other designer labels. we began and ended our night at taps, a euro-style bar and brewery where we tried the brewed beer sample (red, schwartz, koelsh ales and one not-equally-fulfilling one i can't remember) until erol's friend mat showed up with his girlfriend and her friend -- a tattooed girl from hampshire college who was about to begin her fulbright (awesome!).

we headed home and sipped on a little locally-distilled safari orange before ending my first full and incredible day in istanbul.
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