I applied. I finally got accepted at one of the top 5 programs in the country (low residency) — Pacific University, Oregon. It starts next month June 18 where I”m off to Oregon for the first semester workshops for 10 days. (Each semester we have intensive straight 10 day workshops at the campus).

How I”m gonna continue work, spend 20-25 hrs a week for the course for the next two years, earn 52 credits and complete by final semester thesis — is another story. Wish me luck!

My best shot, I think. A thin man running, in deep thought. The old man next to him, frail, in juxtaposition with the running man. For a moment, it was like his future, or maybe the old man”s past, divided by the signal line crossing — this is his last run, he doesn”t want to fail. That”s why the title — my only chance, my last run, father

I couldn’t wait. This is the most expensive, serious equipment I ever bought. (After my home theater system, of course). With the new Canon 5D Mark II in my hands, I was like a teenage boy discovering his half grown moustache. As a part of our workshop project, we took the neighbourhood — Davis Square in Somerville for shooting people at an “event” or public place. With Boston”s Independent Film Festival in the background at Somerville Theater, I wanted to see what people do, who aren”t a part of the festival. Especially on a 78 degree sunny day. I saw people — running, biking, stretched & facing the sky, sometimes. It”s amazing what you see, when you don”t see what everybody sees.

I couldn’t get many shots, but I got a few. Canon 5D Mark II is impeccable, if there”s a fault, it”s only the photographer. The HD Video … is another story. It”s like Canon has reinvented SLR again! All the pics shot on a 100-300mm Canon L Series Telephoto (had to sneak in corners to shoot strangers)

Click here for the pics

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Film-making is a far more technical subject than I originally thought it was. Cinematography, Lighting, Continuation, Angle of subjects, Sound engineering, Editing, so many fine details in each piece of the art, it’s staggering.

I plan to blog about my experience, “what I learnt in filmmaking in 48 hours” but due to copyright issues, I cannot reveal many details for now. But watch out for this space.

But things change. Economy has changed. Priorities have changed. And I’m getting older (shit).

Suddenly I felt like “belonging” somewhere. I applied.  Thankfully, inspite of the economy, I got multiple offers. I accepted an offer from a company that I think is a great place to work for. Honest managers, great people, discount lunches, free beer on Fridays, an office painted with orange and yellow, work flexibility and they pay well.

My new employer — Cramer.

I’m glad I’m an Engineer.

The Sphoorti “Smiles” Project was started when I visited the wonderful kids at Sphoorti in Jan 08′ at Hyderabad. I wanted to tell a story through these kids’ smiles.

Pictures of poverty stricken children, with dire sickness and unholy conditions are often a showcase of irony than reality. It does break your heart though. And when you break your heart, there is so much guilt that you sometimes forget to give. It is not because you don’t care but maybe, you’re ashamed. I was ashamed.

This project was started to change that perception. There can be happy kids too. They can be infectious like the morning dew and dream like you do. It doesn’t have to be a sad story, always. There is another side to these wonderful kids. It’s called a beautiful smile.

Event Details: Read about the event in this week’s Boston Magazine

Click here for the facebook invite.

I will be raising funds at this event from the sale of these photographs (as postcards). If you know anyone that would care to come, please do let them know! Someone needs their smile too.

If you can’t make it, I can understand. You can still get five postcards from the kids, the one that says — “SMILE.” Pl donate generously …

I got myself into reading a couple of books in screenwriting, looked at the editing process of Final Cut Studio & also did a few screenwriting courses. What amazes me is that the entire process has become much more accessible if you have the right set of tools and ofcourse, a passionate team to work with. There are even opensource tools, we’re planning to use. For instance, Celtx is an outstanding opensource tool for scriptwriting. (works on mac)

It’s rare to find a company where you have immense faith in the people — this is one of them. And I hope we are successful in bringing out the best.

There is a lot to talk about, but I’ll keep hush hush now. I’ll be working on some of the earlier projects as a script writer and asst director. Our first project is called “The Departure,” its a short film filmed in a single location and I really believe that it has a great story!

Check out our website — www.clapboyfilms.com.

1) A/V receiver with a standard AUX input.
2) Apple Airport Express ( “n” network recommended)
3) ITunes 7.x (windows or mac)
4) 1/8″ ( 3.5MM ) mini stereo male to dual RCA male CABLE
5) IPhone/IPod touch
6) IRemote app for IPhone/IPod Touch

I have a THX certified 7.1 channel A/V Receiver, Onkyo TX-SR706. I think its the best sub 1000$ receiver out there today. Follow these steps to setup up audio server of sort with your existing ITunes Library using the airtunes feature of your Airport express.

1) Connect the cable mentioned above from the stereo output of AirPort Express to the AUX input.

2) Open your ITunes Library and look for at the bottom right corner. You’ll have two options. One being “computer” and the other “<your wifi network name>”. Select the option for wifi network. This means, the sound is now going to stream onto your router.

3) Check your A/V remote control to change the “mode” to AUX. It should now be able to receive sound signals from the RCA cable.

Voila, crystal clear sound on your A/V receiver! Depending on the quality of your receiver you can change into different listening presets. On my receiver, I mostly listen to Neural THX 7.1 as it distributes some tracks with an insane accuracy through all channels. I listened to Nora Jones, Within Temptation, Karunesh and even the latest Slumdog Millionaire — beats me. Most audiophiles would still stick to true Stereo sound. I would agree to some extent. Some of other other sound environments I like is the “Orchestra” (terrific soundstage) “Unplugged” (crystal clear voice), “Dolby PL II Music” (5.1 simulation from your stereo channel)

Now, it doesn’t end here. What if you have your PC/Mac hooked in another room, typically your bedroom and don’t want to run around to change the playlists or songs? If you have an IPhone/IPod touch, you can get a free remote application that allows you to remotely control your entire ITunes Library on your device! Not only that, you can control it from two different sources, say your gf using your laptop doesn’t like the song, she could use ITunes to skip the list and you on the other end at the same time are skipping back with your IPhone app.

Want to listen to Radio? I love Pandora and I think it’s the next best thing to mp3 in the music industry. But I hate to open the browser everytime. I use PandoraJam, a desktop app (mac/pc) that, hold your breath — streams your sound to airtunes. And it records radio on the fly too. Can’t ask for more.

So now, you can listen to radio and mp3/aac collection from a single source (ITunes Library) or Pandora — all wirelessly, for free from your existing devices at home rather than spending hundreds of dollors on custom Audio Servers (including Apple TV)

Four and half years back, we were here. The smell of fresh memories vivid.

Oct 12 – Went on a stroll to the familiar places around Madrid, I was pleasantly surprise that I could recollect so many buildings, gardens from my past visit. We went to the same Irish pub. Surprise. Chocolate bars, and local Spanish tapas filled the palate for the day.

Oct 13 -Bidding goodbyes, I left for Toledo, an hour train ride from Madrid. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage site with a spectacular architecture, a place of coexistence of Christian,

Jewish and Moorish cultures. It reminded me of Old San Juan in Puerto Rico – small alleys, crooked shaped buildings, pebble-stone roads. Ironically, there aren’t any hostels around the area but I got a cheap Hotel for 30 euros and with a map in my hand, I headed south. The Cathedral was one of the finest I’ve seen. The Jewish Quarters and the towers are a must visit, and by 6pm I was pretty much done with all the attractions (at least that’s what the map says.)

I had dinner (veggie kebab) at a Pakistani restaurant, browsed internet for an hour and headed back to the hotel by 11:30. Off to Athens, the next noon!

For all the pics, click here

Oct 8 (morning): The random sights at the station: dirty, disorganized. Certainly the worst looking station in Europe so far. The people looked “different.” The hostel, Carpe Noctem was a large 3 B/R apt converted to fit around 20. Fresh shower and off to the “Buda” side of Budapest. In case you don’t know, Budapest is two cities — Buda & Pest, seperated by the gorgeous river Danube. Coincidentally, I met four other hostelmates on the bridge, and we all headed to the Buda castle and the museum. We spent the entire afternoon walking around the castle, the museums, the art shops. The views from the castle were wonderful. By 4pm, the beerd buds were calling for a drink, after a couple of drinks, we headed to church hill. It was so tempting not to miss the breathtaking view from the top of a restaurant where beer was poured with private music being played by the side. Spectacular. Now what was I doing with the bulgarian guy and the kiwi girl? We just smiled.

After watching the sunset, we walked all the way, down the hill, to “Pest.” The hungarian parliament in particular us so incredible I had to shoot 20 different angles of the same. Magnificent architecture (for a parliament). I walked over 10 miles already. Hungarian architecture initially reminds you of Czech but its not really. Nevertheless, its gorgeous. In the day or night. We ended up having dinner at a local place for 1100 forints (4.6$), we got two large soups of bowl, fresh hungarian bread, salad and 3 mushroom potatoes. I tell you, it was amazing.

Back at the hostel I was contemplating whether to take the pub crawl or not since I was so tired already. But I did go anyways. It was crazy, never before Ive seen pubs as “gothic” as these.The first one was an “underground” garage themed pub with graffiti, old car wheels, broken tables and lighting which resembled the set of “dracula.” The second one was an old castle-like pub. The third one had cartoons from all around the world screened on it’s walls. I’ll stop with the fourth since it was a regular pub. My hostel mates, who were around 20 of them are a peculiar brand of people. One of the girls seems to have put herself “up for auction.” Suddenly there were so many guys in our group. Where did they come from? Something fishy here. As if it wasn’t over yet, we went to a night club. It was tuesday and we were in till 4 am. Donner kababs and out to bed. Long day!

Oct 9: I was surprised that I woke up early but not until 11 am did I get out. This time around I headed to the “Pest.” First stop was the house of terror. Go check it out for the nazi regime on the hungarian jews. I walked 2 miles on the famous street, forgot it’s name but it surrounds itself with trees, and some of the houses looked like palaces. At the end of it was the spectacular hero’s square. I walked past it to a palace/museum, I was so hungry that I ate in the fine dining restaurant in the palace. I’ve said this before and I say it again, the vegetarian food in Europe (if ordered special) tastes so much better, its like everything about the food is organic. Anyways back to the square and took the subway this time to St Stephens’ Cathedral. The views from the top, again are unmissable. Catch a glimpse of Hungarian life from here. I forgot how many more “attractions” I saw enroute, but I must’ve walked for another 10 miles, again. Came back to the hostel at 8pm, had the cheapest burger (yuck) in town and slept at 10pm. I really needed some sleep.

Oct 10: Woke up surprisingly early. I had to catch a flight in the evening. I went to the Citadell, a long hike to the buda side of the city. I should’ve done this on day one since I was there alreadty, but you know, we were distracted. But it was well worth the hike to the top. See my pictures later and you’ll know why. Some of the most spectacular views of a city from across a river. I took a bus to the city and headed to the second largest jewish synagogue in the world. (First is in nyc). I visited the museum, the “tree of life” among others before heading back to the hostel, late evening.

Off to Madrid!

Click here for the pics of Budapest.

5 Oct: 09:16am – I ran, and ran, and ran faster. I’ve missed trains and buses before, the last “closest” call, I can remember of, is the train from London — Leeds, when we were back from Paris, back in 2004. I missed that in 39 seconds. And this time, I saw the train, moving in front of me, literally.The next train was four hrs ahead, so I had to take a different connecting train. Finally, I reached Munich at 6:15pm. The hostel was right opposite to the Central Station, I couldn’t ask for more. The grounds for Oktoberfest was a subway stop away, and it was the last day. I met a couple of guys from Venezuela in my hostel room, they said they had other friends meeting up at Oktoberfest, by the time we reached, we were a group of seven. They spoke Spanish.

The first sights of Oktoberfest was *mayhem.* Guys asking random girls for a kiss (and the girls agree), drunken bodies unable to drag themselves, the sweet smell of Hefeweizen across the beer halls, large tents and hundreds of thousands of people squeezed on the ground and in the tents. It was as if people were “manufactured” inside, because its impossible for so many to fit into a beer hall, otherwise. I can’t say how many beers I had, or how many people we met or how much fun we had. I had 3.5 liters of beer in all (you only get one liter jugs). Sadly, they close at 11pm, so went straight ahead with three other South American girls we met, to another salsa/cuban club which went on till 3 am. Back in the hostel, I made sure I ate a sandwich and drank lots of water to hydrate myself (thank to my recent experience in Brussels, I was prepared this time). In case you want to know how beers are sold during Oktoberfest — 6 million visitors in two weeks; 5 million liters of beer.

Oct 6: I decided to take the walking tour from the same company that did free tours in Amsterdam and Berlin — the free Sandeman’s New Munich Tours. I’ve told his before & I tell again — these tours are great! There was a group of 90 that started at Marien Platz, the city’s main “square.” We split into three groups before watching the second most overrated tourist attraction in Europe — the “sound show” of Glockenspiel clock at Marienplatz. In case you’re wondering which is the No# 1 overrated attraction, it’s the one I mentioned in my Prague travelogue — the Astronomical clock. Back to the tour, I cannot comprehend to explain how much I learnt in the tour. It was ridiculously good. Our guide was an American, a history student living in Germany (by choice). He taught us the finer details of WWII and Hitler, we walked through the same alleys where Hitler first marched in early 1920′s as a rebellion against the German Govt. One of the most memorable talks was when we passed a particular intersection, it was a spot where Hitler was battling against the Germany army, when Hitler’s bodyguard took 11 bullets, saving Hitler. This was in 1922. Now, imagine if even one bullet at got through?

The tour was over by 2:30pm, I decided to goto Deutsches Museum, even though I wasn’t left with much time, as it was supposedly world’s largest Science & Technology Museum. For the next two hours, the time evaporated into seconds. When I came out, something seriously was bothering under my right thigh. I previously had a skin rash or something similar, on my way to Prague. I hadn’t seen it bother me much until now. It looked like a bullet shot into my thigh. Pretty scary shit. Luckily I was standing next to a pharmacy, the pharmacist referred me to a dermatologist (who was upstairs). Got an appointment for the next day.

Came back to the hostel, I couldn’t do much, so much pain, I couldn’t even sit. The marble under my thigh was about to explode. I slept early at 9:30 pm .

Oct 7: Pain still exists. I went to a Museum before I checked with the doctor at noon. She said, it was nothing to worry about, just a skin infection. She gave me free meds and antibiotics. That was fast, I thought. The next stop was to the east end of Munich — the Olympic Park. It still is an architectural wonder, built 36 years ago in 1972. But before heading to the park, I walked into the newly renovated BMW Musuem. One word – WOW. Imagine Apple designing a storefront for BMW, this is exactly how it would look. A large car showroom displaying some of the popular BMWs including the latest Hydrogen car, H7. Talk about perfection, the bathrooms were the cleanest I’ve ever seen, automatically cleaned by multiple sensors. The museum, which is another dedicated building is a must watch. It takes you to a roller coaster ride from 1920′s where BMW first made their engines for flights, all the way to motorbikes, race cars and commercial cars that you see today. In terms of installing technology, this museum goes to a level where very few museums have incorporated. It uses a giant table touch-surface (Microsoft Surface?), which displays the entire history of BMW in slides and bullet points, depending on what you “choose.” A unique experience indeed.

Next, I walked alongside (it was a long walk, I tell you) the man-made lake in the Olympic park. I watched the palm prints of celebrities like Bryan Adams and Aerosmith, to every top name in the music scene. The sernity, people jogging, large open spaces, — was this man made? I took the 2200 feet elevator trip, which gives you incredible views of the city, specially the Olympic park itself and the aerial views of BMW museum. It was long walk back to the train station (S-Bahn). I think I must have walked atleast 4 miles in and around the park. Back to the city — to the biggest beer hall in the world — Hofbrahaus. The top tourist attraction in Munich. It is here I got converted from a Stella guy to a Hefeweizen guy. Ladies & Gentleman — German wheat beer rocks. I met a cute American couple in the pub, we became friends in no time, and watching us celebrate, 4 spanish guys and a Switz couple joined us. Talk about backpacking and having a good time! The best way to end the journey in Munich!

Click here for the pics.

Oct 1, 9:45 pm : Reached the station. Trains were dirty, so was the platform. People looked “different”. Czech, athough in EU, doesn’t accept Euros, had to change the currency into Kronos. I got to my hostel — Czech Inn, perhaps the best looking hostel I’ve ever been. I got into my room, the only other roommate at that time was a girl from Brazil. “Do you want to go clubbing, ” she asked. I remember watching the movie, Hostel, where 3 american backpackers check into a eastern european hostel, get “invited” by ultra hot looking chicks to a nightclub and soon, they see their body parts being cut by a butcher, who prefers human flesh to animals. I looked at my watch, it said “10:55pm,” the hostel looked pretty and she was from Brazil. “Are you coming?” she asked again.

Before I realized, we were out in search of that club that one of her friends recommended. “Are you sure, there is a club by that name?” I asked looking at the narrow and dark alleys. “It sure is somewhere here,” she said. I had no gun or knife and I had no God with me either. My momma used to tell me, “You should pray to God, he’ll help you when you fear.”  We couldn’t find the club, but we found a few bars where we spent sometime. I felt lighter after having the local beer, Pilsner; beer in Prague: 1.65$.

Oct 2: I woke up, counted my fingers, my arms and legs. It was all in shape. Thank God, this is not Hostel – part III. We decided to travel together. We took the bus on Route# 22 which goes all across the major views in the city, all the way to Prague Castle, our first destination. It’s the best example of Gothic architecture, make sure you have atleast 4-5 hrs allocated. We checked out the lobkowicz-palace, one of the finest art-history museums in Prague. Beethoven’s original symphony no 5 notes is preserved here. After several hrs touring around the castle and museums, we walked down the bridge, overlooking breathtaking views of the city from the hill. then came across — Rudolfinum, home of the legendary Czech Philarmonic Orchestra. I couldn’t tell you how happy I was, like a little boy, when we got tickets for Friday night show. It was a live performance show (Bach). We walked on the Charles Bridge, watching sunset drop and hundreds of tourists taking romantic pictures.  Tiny roads hugging the architectural wonder, it was almost as if every building had “fine art” written on it. The most beautiful city, I’ve ever seen, in terms of architectural splendor.The night ended with a an Italian opera/puppet show. It was ok, I think I slept for ten minutes.

Came to the hostel at 10pm, I browsed for a while before I crashed.

Oct 3: Got up in the morning, our first destination was to cover the many sites of Josefov, the Jewish quarter of Prague which has such rich history. 6 synagogues and museums, it was a time well worth spent, a must visit in Prague. After spending several hours, we headed to the historic square called, “Old Town Square.” The eternally comical “Astronomical Clock” had hundreds of spectators. After a late lunch around town, we forgot where we walked, but we did walk a *lot.* Prague is quite a small city. Late evening, all roads led to Rudolfinum — live, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. We looked at everyone — the ladies in elegant dresses, the men in suits and blazers. I looked at mysel — a Torn Jeans and sweat shirt with a camera backpack. I looked at my new friend from Brazil, she was no exception. The two hour show was magnificent. We walked back to the hostel, walking again through the Old Town Square for a quick dinner. This time around, it looked even more beautiful, with the lights on.

Oct 4: We decided to go separate tracks, I booked for a day trip (which would start at noon) to rural Prague, Kutna Hora (Unesco site). Meanwhile, I used my feet to the best. First, it was the shopping district, then to the “Powder Tower,” from the top of which I got some breathtaking views. By noon, I boarded the minibus, we were out of Prague in 30 minutes. With a multi-lingual guide and eight Russian tourists, my patience was being tested. Were they loud? We came to a little town, itself looked dead, being a Sunday. When I asked the guide, he said, “People enjoy time with families during weekends, not outside.”  One of the churches I saw was something extraordinarily unique – An ossuary in Kutna Hora, a church made of 4500 bones and skulls. Next stop was Mint Palace & Museum, where they made coins out of bronze until 18th century. Nice. The last stop was a bronze church or something like that, I still don’t remember the name. But it was one of the most fascinating Gothic architectures I’ve ever seen. Spent two hours inside the church, they played organ music, supposed to be one of the best compositions in the world. The sound was perfect, I looked around for speakers, couldn’t find any. I looked close in the pillars — “Bose.”

I still had a night to spend; without further wait, I booked a ticket at the National Theater of Opera/Ballet. It was Romeo-Juliet. Yawn. But I liked the women, and the ambience. Did I say, I czech women are cute?

Hitting the sack, for the last in Prague/Czech. Defintely one of the best places I’ve seen. Off to Oktoberfest!

click here for the pics

It was dark but my hostel was right opp the subway, 15 mins away from the heart of Hamburg’s night life @Reeperbahn. Met this Finnish guy in the hostel, we went out on a pub crawl, making sure we avoided the hookers in the Reeperbahn area. (it has a red light district). I don’t know how many beers I was down but I remember that I learnt a ton of info on Finland, it’s free education, medical benefits, Nokia (the guy  had a nokia phone with him), why socialism doesn’t work, and then there was this girl. She was wearing a saree, raising funds for the new “Guru” film. She was beautiful, but she didn’t know how to wear a saree.

We headed to a few more pubs, before crawling back to the hostel. (lost the way twice)

27, Sep 08:
The IPhone alarm wasn’t my best buddy the next morning and I woke up ar 11 with a effed up throat. What happened in consecutive nights in Belgium and Hamburg was bad. REAL bad. (I wasn’t able to talk.) To keep the tour simple, I took a hop-on-hop-off tour bus from the hamburg dock. Saw a lot of churches, fish market, historic buildings, some of the houses were really pretty with long jogging tracks in front The town hall, Rathaus was magnificent, sat there for a while to sink in the beauty. It was almost like every visitor in town had to sit there for aleast half an hour watching the ducks and swans.

I walked alongside Moenckebergstrasse, the shopping district, bought a Mango pullover. Jeez, I sound a girl. Must’ve spent a couple of hours wandering around the area before I head to a cruise tour on the port. I saw container hips from Cosco to “outsourcing” ships from India and China, and that time it was nearly 6:30 pm/

Off to Berlin!

27 Sep ’08 night – Berlin:

I reached late in the night with a soar throat, got some meds in the central rail station. No wonder, Germany is far more modern and “accessible.” Thr infrastructure is so good. Trying to reach the hostel at 10:30pm, lost my way couple of times. A German girl on her bike, stopped by and helped me out with the route. I put my sack next to the bed, ensuite shower rooms, lovely hostel, there was a pizza joint in the corner. For 3.40 euros, I got a full-size veggie pizza.

28 Sep’ 08 – Berlin:

My throat was still effed up. I took the New Berlin Walking tour, same tour from the folks at Amsterdam walking tour. That day was Berlin’s Marathon day with over 40,000 runners. We started at Brandenburg Gate and walked along more than ten miles covering the holocaust memorial , the bunker where Hitler took his last shot on the head, check point charlie, the berlin wall and a ton of other historic sites. We had lunch near a sanwhich bar near check point charlie and it was the best veggie sandwich I ever had. Unlike in the US where restaurant chains predate on every corner over local mom-n-pop shops, Berlin has a lot more variety in terms of food. The tour ended up with the Museum Insel (island) where more than ten museums are spread in sprawling green and river views. I met a couple of girls from Vienna in the tour, we planned to meetup later next day. In the interim, I spent the rest of the evening and night, wandering on the streets, like a little boy lost in a fair. Unter Den Linden, the boulevard in the center of Berlin is plan beautiful. I saw a woman in the park, reading a book with a beer on the side, I thought to myself, “it happens only in Berlin.”

Back at the hostel, met this Canadian guy, he was into programming too. I asked how long are you on the trip, he said “I bought a one way ticket.” Another Chris McCandless, I thought.

29 Sep’ 08:

Next day was a day trip to Potsdam, in the suburbs of Berlin, which houses the magnificent — Sanssouci, former summer palace of Frederick the Great. I’m not going to talk much about the trip, its like reading a wiki on Potsdam. All I can say is – we walked a lot, and there was so much history (fantastic guide). There were Aussies all over the place, and in our tour too.

Later in the evening, I spend three hours in the Jewish Museum — one of the best museums I’ve seen –  splendid architecture and very very informative, unlike other museums that overwhelm you with scattered information. Caught up with the Austrian girls, later in the night near my hostel for a few drinks.

30 Sep ’09: A good sleep, all nine hours. It was my “museum day.” Pergmanon Museum, rated as the best in the city, I was a put off inspite of it being brilliant because, why would one want to learn about Ancient Greek history in Germany? I followed up with another Art Museum, German Technology Museum (terrific) and the best — The Story of Berlin. (don’t miss it). Its like going through the entire history of Berlin in two hours.

Back at the hostel, I washed my undies, watched ten minutes of the movie — “sex and the city”  with all girls. I coulnd’t stand it.

Oct 1′ 09:

I woke up, saw my bag — my new sweatshirt was missing. The roommate stole it, I knew it because I heard him juggle with my bags, late in the night. I started late, and checked out my last museum  –  German history museum. Splendid indeed. I can only think of two other cities in the world that can match Berlin’s array of museums — Washington DC & New York City. I took a brief walk at the junction where Obama gave his historic speech in Berlin in July 2004.

By 2pm, I was all set to leave the city I fell in love with — the city of Berlin.

Sep 23 evening: - It was quick train ride to Brussels, my first stint on traveling on EURail Pass. While I had a squeezed in schedule in Brussels (2 nights and one day), I haven’t forgotten to read up and know about some of the best things in here. I landed @2Go4 Quality Hostel, which was right around the center, luckily a 10 min walk to the pub with the world’s largest selection of Beers — The Delirium Cafe. (It actually holds a Guinness record.)

Now, I’m not gonna tell you what happened inside of Delirium Cafe, you’re not gonna tell anyone either. I was sloshed, completely, thanks to an Italian guy I met and the two french girls we met a little later. For over 5 hours, we went on an on talking about crazy stuff. European girls are different, I’ve seen earlier too, this time perhaps a bit too close. The Italian guy was busy charming the girls while I sounded like the only sensible guy who could talk some things other than, you know what I mean. Was sure a lot of fun and the bartender challenged me with the strongest Beligium Beer, naming Stella as just for starters.

3:10 am – I walk(barely) back into my hostel.

Sep 24th

11:14 am — Looked at the watch . What. The. … yeah that’s what I thought. I woke up at almost noon. I wasn’t feeling good about the beer the previous night. But I moved on, my face (as you can notice in a few pics), looked like shit even after drinking a lot of water. So with the time I had with me, I planned for a hop-on-hop-off tour after of course walking alongside the Grande Palace Square. Beautiful and Majestic. As I walked along, saw the architecture to be stunning. On my bus, I finally headed to the Atomium, where I peacefully lost a good three hours. The climb to the top is a must and you get a splendid view from there. I was surprised by the time I learnt about Belgium and Brussels, how much french influence was here and political significance it exerts on EU (it’s the headquarters for EU!). Back to the center of the city, after almost getting lose in the trams, mistaking it to be a subway. (I almost ended up going to a suburb)

My smile could not hide when I passed the Stella Artois Restaurant at the square. Later in the evening, I visited a chocolate museum and walked for more than 5 miles around the Grand Palace area. Lovely restaurants I must say, the shopping districts, the chocoloate boutiques, and of course gorgeous women. I bought something for myself at Mango. At 9, I was back to the hostel, checking my way to the Central Station to … Brugge!

10:30pm : In Brugge.

St Chirstopher’s Bahuaus Hostel, what a great place to stay! (there’s a bar downstairs) But the town was so empty and dark, I wondered if It was a part of Shawn of the Dead. I got a quick bite at a neighboring restaurant, checked out our bar for sometime and hopped onto my bed. Poor feet needed a nice massage.

Sep 25th – Brugge

One of the best things about staying in hostel, apart from meeting new people, making friends and partying is — you get tons of free maps, resource infos and tips. I got this map form the hostel, it’s called “Use-it” maps, simply the best foldout map ever. If you’re tired of those books, black/white text and boring websites, get a copy of this simple, precise fold out map, you get to see everything in two days, and you pretty much walk yourself everywhere. I started with Burg Square, with magnificent Churches, and the Holy Blood Chapel, which has the little cylinder that was taken on a crusade to Jerusalem in the 12th century. True Catholics believe that it is filled with Jesus blood. Next to Burg square is perhaps one of the world’s best squares — Markt Square. If you’ve seen the movie, “In Brugge” (what a pity, I have to refer a movie for such a historic town), you will know what I mean. Right at the center, there’s a 83 mt high belfry, with 366 steps to climb onto, I tell you, the view out there is magnificent. They call this the “stairway to heaven.” After a bite of a delicious sandwich, I set my way to the Chocolate Museum., a sure visit if you want to learn, understand and appreciate the history of chocolate and the art of making it. Spener Tunik was here a couple of yrs back, photographic nude and chocolate. Belgians have always had a sweet tooth (some people say Swiss). Headed to Michelangelo’s Madonna, the “Madonna with the child” is for Brugge is what the Mona Lisa is for the Louvre in Paris. A Chapel worth visiting …

There’s a lot on the way, the names of which are too many. Historic buildings tugged in the corners of cobblestone streets and narrow lanes. But the best part was yet to come — The canal ride. What a lovely sight! The only problem was I was in a boat of senior citizens, kinda made me look like a little kid with a big Camera on his neck. In the evening, there was the Old Flemish Masters, art museum. A couple of other smaller art museums near the Brugge Park,  and finally spent the sunset near the park.

Back at the hostel — Surprise. The hostel mates turned out to be a group of 3 from Spain, and we took no time in introducing each other. The next 6 hours, were the best (the best is always coming). Lots of beer (meter beer, where they give you 10 small glasses) for 15 euros? Was a steal. We met so many other Spaniards on the way, just like ants trying to figure out it’s own species. Once again, I always end up being the odd man out, but when it comes to a laugh and getting people entertained, I guess I do my job. 2 pubs, a little dance and we came back late in the night, after someone played for us “hotel california” on the pavements at 2:50 am. They were from Canada.

Next day was brief, I checked out a few other goodies and headed towards Hamburg in the afternoon.

If I had the just five words about Burgge — Gorgeous. Romantic. Peaceful. Lovely. Incredible. It’s definitely one of the most beautiful little towns I’ve seen …

See the pics here.

When I landed in Amsterdam, the customs guy told me to “enjoy”. Right ON.

I can’t stress on how great the public transport in Europe is, and my hostel, St Christopher’s Inn, was a 6 minute walk from the Central Rail station. It was a 6 minute walk to the Red Light Area as well. Since the check-in was only at 2pm, I had no place to take a shower. The free walking tour was at 11, so I had to kill some time. I went on a stroll along the narrow lanes of Amsterdam, the sight in particular was not very friendly. At 9:30 am, I see nobody on the streets, not a shop opened. For the next one hour, I spent time admiring the canals, the empty bikes parked, taking empty pictures, the cobblestone streets, the “leather” shops, the sex posters around. I came back at 11, all set to go for the “new amsterdam” free walking tour which was starting from Dam square. These tour guides are great, they punch a lot of history with humor and you meet so many interesting people through these groups. It was a 5 hr tour, we walked pretty much all of central Amsterdam –  the historic points of interest, red light area, a couple of museum (just from outside), a ton of Dutch history and a great lunch spot (the best veggie sandwiches & milk shakes I’ve ever had, I swear). In the evening, I got  to sing a dutch song at Dam Square from a local group, who literally dragged me in to sing it! (some competition).

Night: I was all set to explore the night life, after freshening up at my hostel. The hostel was great, had its own bar and stuff but it lacked the certain friendliness that the cozy hostels have. So I met this guy, who I met earlier from the group to go check out some “coffee shops.” He was a thin, pale guy from Seattle, must be 22, he had a gentle voice. He said, he “did it” a few times earlier. We went to Dampkring, the same place where Brad Pitt, George Clooney went in Oceans Twelve. OK. From here, I’m not gonna discuss much about “coffee shops”, but you get the point. There’s something interesting that happened that I cannot still put together in pieces. We went coffee-shop-hopping, so in one of the shops, after a couple of “coffees,” the Seattle guy started looking into my eyes rather a little too intense. Now, I told you he had a gentle voice but I didn’t tell you that he looked a little too sweet for a guy. I’m not sure what you would do if you’re in my shoes, but I’ll tell ya, it was not the most comfortable feeling. Before I was counting my minutes on my watch, the guy was already high, he said he wasn’t feeling too well (no wonder) and had to leave. No, he did not touch my hands. Interesting encounter, I thought.

I was checking out the night life in Amsterdam, walked along the Red Light area, the canals in the night were pretty, and so are the 37D girls in the red neon light windows. It’s like you knock the doors, ask what you want. The rate is fixed and that includes doggy style only, and for every “extra,” you have to add a 20 Euro topping, something like the Pizza toppings. Must be good for those guys who are willing to try out the extreme.

As for me, I came back to the hostel area, a few beers. crashed in at around midnight.

SEP 21:- Woke up late, it was the museum day. I checked out the Historisch Museum, Van Gogh, Rijks Museum, Van Gogh Museum. What do I say? It’s like reading reading 10 books of history in one day. Was impressed with the paintings of Van Gogh and Rijks musuem. Specially the black and white paintings

at Rikjs. In the evening. I took the canal ride for an hour, the best part of the tour! Walking over the bridges and Canals is one thing. And swimming through the canals in a small boat is a totally different thing. Trivia time — For the 700,000 people in Amsterdam, there are more than 1 million bikes. And nobody wears a helmet. Amazing. The next stop was the Sex Museum, a must visit. You might wonder if there is fine line between pornography and erotica, but there isn’t in here. Casual conservatives might be shocked by some visuals. Beware.

Back in the hostel, I met this guy who was a cross breed of 2 ethnicities & 4 cultures. Some component of him was Indian, I guess the eyes. Few bars and dinner that night, I came back again at midnight. The Dutch really don’t have their cuisine, but there are a ton of Turkish restaurants around.

SEP 22:-

It was a day off, to the Dutch villages, away from the city of Amsterdam. I took a tour to see the Cheese factories with the picturesque views of the Windmills in the background, then to the world famous Delftware of Netherlands. The wooden shoes that they make is particularly interesting, so is the craftsmanship of the delftware. The next stop was a picture perfect village/harbor called Volendam. Walking through the houses, made me wanna settle in here, marry a dutch woman, father a dutch child, smoke cannabis and live happily ever after … yawn yawn …

Lunch at the harbor; luckily I’ve been getting veggie food everywhere. I met this lovely Indian woman in the tour, wasn’t quite sure what her age was until she told me she was a top dermatologist in India. I took some free advice for my skin care without any further delay.  Next stop was the miniature park — Madurodam which comprises of the most important landmarks in Netherlands. The archiutecture of these “miniature” buildings and things were flawless as you can see in my album. Wondering how many Bollywood and Regional films were shot here.

Came back by around 7pm that day and was alone for the night. There are two things most single guys would like to experience if they’re in Amsterdam — Coffee shops & Live Sex Shows and for those who need a “round trip’, a third thing — walking into the Red-Neon light doors. I was curious enough to check out the Live Sex show at Cassa Russo, the best in town. Unlike most of you, that might think its pornographic and “cheap,” well not really. I was pleasantly surprised by the theatrical performances by the “artists.” 8 performances of five minutes each, Broadway style seating, there was humor, some plays and the legendary — “banana show.” In that show, they call for volunteers (some 5 of them). The artist who is naked, lies down on the floor and has a banana in her … you got it right. Now, its the turn of the volunteers to come one by one and “eat” the banana little by little. The last guy has the best bite of his life. I think my show was a litte different, because of the crowd. The audience was entirely filled with 2 buses of Chinatown and I was the only brown man sitting there. There was this thin “spectacular” Chinese dude who volunteered for pretty much everything, of course, including the banana show. Poor guy was struggling to keep his hard-on-invisible-to-the-audience. Everybody was cheering for him to “go” as if he was the quarterback of a Football team. For the banana show, the performers placed him in the end of the line and when it was turn to “eat” the banana — guess what. He dived in full zoom, only to find his spectacles stuck IN … you guessed it again. I’ve never laughed like that in my life.

Back to the hostel in the bar, no beers but good sleep.

Sep 23:- Last day in Amsterdam, I kept the best museum for the last — Anne Frank’s house. Anybody who has read her published diary, will realize the pain that this Jewish family has undergone during WWII. This is one of the best museums I’ve seen, not for the grandeur of it, but the way they’ve preserved every detailed of the house from the 40s. Sometimes you learn so much history, and for the first time you think of you social teacher from high school. I walked around the shopping district of Amsterdam, including the open flea market, Albert Cyupmarkt -  the biggest of it’s kind. One thing I have to tell you is the public transport in Amsterdam. You have the subways. But in the city you have trams too and there are thousands of bikes, and thousands of pedestrians, a few cars too — all on the same road. Believe it or not, that’s how things work here and it does, unlike any other place I’ve seen. A step on the wrong side, you could be run over by a tram, but they say, its relatively safe.

The last two stops were particularly interesting. The Hashish Marihuana Museum was one. I was startled by some facts I learned in this museum, so many that its hard to chronicle here. And there was this guy in the museum, he knew so much of the world, I tell you. From Stephen Hawking’s Radiation, Big Bang theory, Relegions, Santa Claus, Darwin, Electrons, Atoms & Molecules, Philospopher’s stone to … I don’t remember. The half an hour interview was like a roller coaster ride. I was so impressed by him, that I took his picture. The last stop before I took the train was Condomerie, the world’s first (possibly one of the largest) speciality condom store. They have over 600 condom varieties and when I entered to buy some, the woman (all sales rep were women) asked me the first question — “Do you know your size.“

Now, it did take a while to understand how the dutch measure their … in four different points of “reference.” I ended up buying some innovative-perfect-fit condoms.

Off to Brussels.

*** Click here for my pictures

Why is pain so beautiful when it doesn’t hurt anymore?
Why does love choke your heart when you think of it no more?
Why does your heart break without telling you why?
The music transcends to spaces, that you cannot hide
Like the waves of a burning tide
Like a heart beating the first time.

Sometimes he breaks your silence in the night
The colors run so fast with height of light.
But the silence breaks again, like a satin pull.
Empty spaces that vacuum your heart
You are a mermaid in a silent spring.
A whirlpool of a thousand tears in a sleepless wind

I got excited that this poem was published at poetry.com but later figured out, that it was just a scam site!

4 days in Amsterdam was a blast, coffee shops and understanding marijuanaFromTheSource is a great experience. Every person in Amsterdam has 1.5 bikes. YES. And many more, a lot more than that. Met this guy from Seattle, was unusually sweet for a guy (?), and another guy from Reunion Island (ever heard of it?) He had a mixed race of African, French and Indian. Picture that. Can’t write more on Amsterdam as it’s *discrete*

Then it was off to Brussels, the first day was completely sloshed out at the world’s largest stock of beers (2004) — Delirium cafe. Met an Italian guy and soon two beligian girls and then I saw the time. It was 3:30 am. Brugges was beyond beautiful — swans, palaces, river, churches and cobblestone street, you get the romance part. Met 3 spanish guys/girls at my hostel and by the night, we were eight. Met another guy from Venezuela. The guy said to me, “You’re the best guy I know from United States.” Apparently, Spanish people hate the US.

Hamburg was a just a short stay but quite refreshing. Met this great Finnish guy from the hostel, who gave me a crash course on Finnish history and went for a straight 5th drunken night, the night when my throat gave up. Oh, it wasn’t the danish girl’s effect at the bar, which was yetAnotherNameInMyAddressBook. 4 days in Berlin, was the best so far. Learnt so much about WW2 and German history, I could write a little wiki. I wanted to live in this city after 4 days. Serious. Met this Canadian guy in the hostel, who basically took his backpack just like Chris McCandles from “Into the wild” without a return ticket. When asked him, “dude, how long?”, he said, “maybe 6 months.” I hope he gets what he wants. And he’s safe. Well, he has a mac and a hacked IPhone … he aint stupid.

Oh there were tons of Aussie guys everywhere, for the first time I was forced to talk about cricket!

Berlin has completely changed my observation of Germany, its people (so polite) and it’s history. (not hamburg or frankfurt). And then I met these two Austrian girls on my day trip, we met for drinks later for a couple of days. They were really sweet. There was a guy from Brazil, made friends with. He promised he will show me the Brazil Carnival if I come to Rio, next year. I think I’m all set to Rio, next February.

Coming to Prague, was a totally different observation — the first scent of “eastern europe” with different looking people and strange languages. So far, its a place with staggering beauty and the beer costs 1.5$ in the bar. Yes, cheaper than Belgium. Met a girl from Brazil in the hostel and did a day trip together. We’re attending the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, live, tomorrow, its a dream come true.

I have met so many wonderful people in this trip already, cant say more. 3 more days here and off to Munich. My throat is better now and Oktoberfest should be a treat. And then it’s Budapest for 3 days and to Madrid for 4 days to meet dear Ines, again.  We’re calling this “After Sunset.”

32 days, my longest backpacking trip planned till date (beating scotland in 12 days four years ago)

Amsterdam –> Brussels –> Brugges –> Hamburg –> Berlin –> Prague –> Munich (Oktober fest finahle) –> Budapest –> Madrid –> Valencia/Toledo –> Athens –> Islands of Greece –> <Boston>

I’ve taken a Eurorail Global Pass and can’t wait to even think of writing and traveling on a moving train surrounded by some of the best things in life. Thanks to a couple of my past backpacker friends, who advised me enough tips, from notCarryingYourLaptop to avoidingGypsiesInBudapest, to taking the countrySide compared to the visitorAttractions, I should be all set with my “rough” itinerary along with three guide books, my custom tour guide and new hostel friends that I’m hopeful to meet in this trip.

On the sad side of the story, my current contract at the client gets over this Friday and I’m basically without a job and pay for a *long time*. But if you think about it, what better can it be, when there is no one waiting for you, no phone to answer, no date to fix, no politics and no time on internet.

I think its gonna kick ass.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZw3TLfthEE

[update Aug 21 midnight]

Just came back from Molly’s live show @LilyPad. The music transcended into spaces so intimate, you cannot hide. I asked her to play “Satin Pull” and she did. When was the last time, music has felt so pure, I don’t remember.

There were a couple of other artists, a dark edge rock vocalist (Molly, again) from Jaggery, the other was Goli. She played a Cello. Molly’s song — “Whirlpool” was performed by all three, with backing vocals by theOther “Mali Sastri”. Blew me away.

Listening to Wind Chains now.

[/update]

It’ amazing how music can grow on you, while listening to an artist, LIVE. The performance. The passion. Like a new breath. I haven’t been active on picking up new music since the last four years. Perhaps Buddha Bar, Karunesh, Chris Spheeris and the world music radio on ITunes has made me lazy. Pandora on IPhone certainly got me closer to my kind of music.

Of late, I’ve been listening to a lot of acoustic rhythm piano with minor/major key tonality. Clint Mansell and Eric Bachmann being heavy influences of this genre. Its almost like a Dream music, floating you into layers of (un) consciousness. Sometimes, lost. I love this. Specially when you’re into a meditated soul in chasing your creative pursuits. My last story that I wrote, had some heavy listening of this acoustic sonority.

Coming back to “Organic Music”. Why does it grow on you? I don’t know. I think it’s to do with the passion from the source. When you see Beer made of hops, from a local family and its served to you fresh from grandma’s hands, the Beer tastes better than anything you’ve tasted before. Same with the feel of organic soaps and home made food. And perhaps, that’s the same with local independent musicians who work for the sheer passion. Its so beautiful, its infectious.

I went to an open mic + art gallery hosted by a friend. There were poems, short writings read by a few good local artists. And then there was a pretty girl playing the piano. Sorta reminded me of Tori Amos. I was on my fourth wine glass. It felt like I heard something familiar. A deep voice. Smooth as silk. It was a phenomenal piece — “Smoke, Pins and Paper”.  She can’t be newbie, I thought. Bought the cd, “November Antique” from her and shared my new found interest in piano, and the recent crush on Margeda Irglova’s music from “Once”. Not surprisingly, she likes the band too.

I came home, listened to the songs, again and again, specially the song, “satin pull.” Little did I know when I looked at her website -- Molly Zenobia, she had two previous albums, there are torrent files already and some youtube links. I think I’m going to buy the other albums from her, personally.

Please buy it here, if you can. This is incredible music. A rare gem. Someone said in a website review,

“This music can break your heart. It reconnects you with something you’ve forgotten about yourself, calling up instincts and memories long buried by the pressures of life”

Couldn’t agree more.

After two weeks, here are my impressions: -

- The rock star of the new IPhone is not the phone but the software update and the *App Store*. The IPhone 2.0. It ‘s a revolutionary model which other companies will take years to build on. I’m hooked to Pandora at my work.  Imagine something like this, you hear a song in a coffee shop or the radio, anywhere in the world, you hold the iPhone facing the sound and in seconds, you get youtube links, itunes links for the song, artist and album. Yes, of *that* actual song. That’s Shazam for you. Games built on accelerometer is so much fun, it’s like bringing the Wii on your mobile. I can’t tell you how incredible this platform has become since the invention of the original Tring Tring phone.

- As for the phone itself, 3G is ok, not something I’d rave about. Twice the speed is not really that fast. GPS is very very basic and I’m disappointed. 16Gig still feels so small, When will we see a 64 gig? The Phone feels almost the same.

- The biggest disappointment is the performance of the phone. It’s become SLOW. Apps don’t close properly. Keyboard delays, call drops, sometimes the phone freezes too. Things become normal when restarted but *that* is not a good sign.

I’m sure Apple is working on it.

On the other hand, yesterday I purchased what they say as “the best earplugs in the world.” Cnet gave a 9.1, Amazon reviewers rave about it, Stereophile and almost every audiophile reviewer say, it is a “wow”.

Sound Isolating. Triple TruAcoustic MicroSpeakers. A dedicated Bass Woofer. It’s Aural nirvana.

It “shure” costs a whopping 550$ retail. ( I got it for 325$ on ebay, as usual). I’ve had four different earplugs before, including the ones from Etymotic Research, V-moda Vibe but the bass was never enough. It took a while to hook it into my ears and adjust the several sleeves that it comes with, but when I first listened to my buddha bar collection on the IPhone. It was like water flowing through a creek, a voice penetrating from a sound stage so vast, rich bass hugging my body. I wondered how it would sound from an audio source, like my Home theater. It was much better. In two words — MIND BLOWING.

If you are really passionate about the sound of your music, try one of the Shure earplugs — they have a wide range starting from 100$.