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. I don’t do this stuff but I guess, “you’re in Amsterdam,” gotta try it. 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.

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Or maybe it’s the one month long vacation, walking over 150 miles, countless liters of beer in the three beer capitals of the world, hard hitting clubs in the best cities of Europe, making friends from 8 different countries, countless museums, learning different cultures. It sucked so much energy, that after coming back to Boston, I haven’t gone to a pub, a restaurant, cinema or met a friend and I don’t even feel like blogging or uploading my 2000 pics. Suddenly, the most mundane things in life — like watching tv, preparing dal curry at home, sitting on a potty for an extended time, reading TIME magazine, seems like the most productive thing I’ve ever done. And then, I look at my watch and I wonder — was it all, a dream?

It’s like having the best sex in your life, and your nuts explode like if a volcanic eruption had just separated the lower part of your body, but you still have a gleaming smile on that face, because you no longer are searching for your limbs. You’re transformed into a meditated land, you begin to see things differently, the sounds are jibberish, the people in the subway look like martians on the wrong planet, and the winter wind, no longer cold. You are elevated above the normal dimension. A sense of freedom like you don’t care anymore. No beer or movie and for hours together, you sleep like a baby. You know that it’s not gonna last long, but it’s good, almost like a psychedelic but without the mushrooms and I tell you and you better scribble this little secret on a piece of paper — the difference between freedom and desire is, walking naked.

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!

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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.”

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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.

[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$.

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I got a chance to organize a road trip to Newport, covering the famous Newport Mansions and the Cliffwalk. From an architectural geek, to a nomad traveler, to mom-next-door and international students & grad students alike, it was a fun group of twelve people! Interacting with people while traveling has always been so much fun, laid back and sportive.

Starting at 8am from Boston, it was 10 by the time we started with the magnificent Breakers mansion. It was the biggest and grandest of all. Some 70+ rooms, 23 bathrooms with a peak servant/staff of 45! After a quick lunch at a local pizza house (thanks for the tip from one of the local travel members), we headed to The Elms. Though not as magnificent as Breakers, in sheer size it was no less. This was followed by the Rosecliff Mansion with the gardens full of roses and the White Marble studded Marblehouse. My picks were the Breakers & Marblehouse. One of them had a huge ballroom with large doors, pillars and windows, they were all made of 22 carat gold. I stood in awe. In case you’re wondering who built all these mansions (which are just a small quota of the wealth of the owners, read more about one of America’s wealthiest families — The Vanderbilts.

Incidentally, sometime last year I was in North Carolina and visited the largest mansion in the United States — Biltmore Estate, it was built by the Vanderbilts too.

By the time we finished the fourth mansion, it was 5:30 pm and we headed to the Cliffwalk strolling alongside a breathtaking coastline, with surfers in far sight and water bodies splashing right next to us. Some of the guys got themselves wet (no, its not what you think). Ended the day with an open house restaurant with beer and fries, watching the sunset in 80’s style music playing by the side.

When I returned home at midnight, I got an email from one of the members -

“Yesterday is a wonderful day. I am so happy to meet you and other friends. I will never forget this day. Thank you to take care me for a whole day. Thank you very much!”

I don’t remember the last time, when a stranger had thanked me so sincerely.

Click here for the pics.

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For a change, I haven’t gone out for the long weekend. The Boston Pops 2008 fireworks was a spectacular in itself that I stayed back for a lazy, warm weekend.

See more pics here

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The last movie that blew me away was “The Fountain“, with staggering visuals and haunting soundtrack. And then I saw Once today.

It’s rare to see a beauty so aching, an acting so real, a love in it’s purest hope and form. Made with an almost documentary realism on the streets of Dublin in 17 days, with two handy cams at a cost of less than $150K with the same star cast that wrote and performed for the music in the film, this “musical” is an astounding achievement. The director took a risk in choosing professional musicians over professional actors, but Glen Hansard (of the well-known Irish band the Frames) and Marketa Irglova (a Czech singer/songwriter) are not only remarkably charming together (they’re actually dating now), but they’re equally adept with the more melancholy shades (Hansard’s lonely soul, stuck on an old flame; Irglova struggling to support a mother and daughter). Burdened and brokenhearted, their musical bond is the heart of the film and of their love.

Very few interpretations of love in the contemporary world have succeeded without making it sound cliched. A perfect marriage of music and film making, a “musical”, it may call itself and turn you away but this film can touch you in so many ways, not possible in any other mainstream cinema. So much, that the lead pair do not even share a single kiss or a hug together throughout the movie. No looking into eyes. No holding each other. No missing each other. And that is precisely why this movie is so beautiful - nothing ever gets told in this movie and leaves the viewers to interpret emotions. The only other movie of this genre of “untouched love” is perhaps - Before Sunset

From the Sundance film guide: “A Dublin busker, who ekes out a living playing guitar and repairing vacuum cleaners for his dad’s shop, meets a young Czech immigrant who sells roses on the same street. She likes his song, and what’s more…she has a broken vacuum cleaner! They soon find themselves playing music together in a nearby music store (since she can’t afford a piano, the owner lets her play his floor models). Over the course of a week, they form a musical rapport and, newly inspired, decide to record an album.”. He has a broken heart and she is a single mom, still married.

Watch the movie first and listen to the soundtrack. It’s worth it. Really. Specially the songs - Falling Slowly, If you want me.

“Once” won the Oscar for best original song in 2008, best dramatic world cinema at the Sundance Film Festival and another 18 awards this year.

Some people feel that they don’t deserve love. They walk away quietly into empty spaces trying to close the gaps of the past into the depths of the sea. The sea only gives them harsh blows, occasionally the chance to blow strong. You’re wrong if you think that the joy of life comes principally from human relationships. That joy is an illusion. It can be here. Up here. In your heart. It’s fragility is like a crystal. It is not it’s weakness but fineness. A fine crystal glass has to be cared for, not shattered. Like a river suddenly reversing the direction of its flow, suddenly uphill; like a murderer of everyday truth, you’re entire life would feel fiction if you do not experience this Love.

… Only when you don’t need anyone and you find someone, only in that case you can say you love this person.

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“We need silence to be able to touch souls”*

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Watched Before Sunset, yesterday, again. I must say, it’s one of the most intellectually stimulating romantic movies, I’ve ever seen.

Let me sing you a waltz
Out of nowhere, out of my thoughts
Let me sing you a waltz
About this one night stand

You were for me that night
Everything I always dreamt of in life
But now you’re gone
You are far gone
All the way to your island of rain
It was for you just a one night thing
But you were much more to me
Just so you know

I hear rumors about you
About all the bad things you do
But when we were together alone
You didn’t seem like a player at all
I don’t care what they say
I know what you meant for me that day
I just want another try
I just want another night
Even if it doesn’t seem quite right

You meant for me much more
Than anyone I’ve met before

One single night with you little Jesse
Is worth a thousand with anybody
I have no bitterness, my sweet
I’ll never forget this one night thing
Even tomorrow, in other arms
My heart will stay yours until I die

Let me sing you a waltz
Out of nowhere, out of my blues
Let me sing you a waltz
About this lovely one night stand

— July Delpy (a waltz for a night)

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