New York Trip-III

Our aim was to go to SARAVANA BHAVAN, but since that happened to be a labor day weekend and in this food craze city, we were not able to find a seat and were forced to check other restaurant.

We chose Banana Leaf, and man what an ambrosia that was. I , a hardcore lacto-vegetarian, devoured on the South Indian Veggie thali meals. Guna and Hari gulped the chicken pakora, feasted on the chicken briyani and lamb.I know for sure, that those dead animals rested in peace in their stomachs  😆😆😛😜.

After a heavy meal,  I wanted my comical portrait.  The artist tried hard to make comical sense of my face and i think he failed miserably. It was neither exact nor comical. It was a disastrous. Then, we went to the TIMES SQUARE. with those glittering lights and advertisements , we seemed to be staring at flat screen TVs everywhere.

Aswin and Guna at the TIMES SQUARE

Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed our trip.

Such a pleasant drive it has been on I-80 route from NJ to Chicago. we pit stopped to munch some sandwiches and pizzas near ohio turnpike, and then headed on straight to downtown Chicago.

with a slight glitch to find Union station and finally succeed at it , Guna signed me off from chicago union station. I took my favorite mega bus to reach St.Louis and then to jeff city and then to columbia on Tuesday afternoon.

The amtrak journey from St.Louis to Jeffcity, revealed the beauty of missouri country side, with lush green fields and creeks and mountains. On a bright sunny day, it seemed to be a paradise.

Typical Trailside

All is well that ends well!!.
Ah, I forgot to mention our beloved buddy GPS all the way. without that GPS , I am sure our travel would have had some trouble. GPS and the lady voice has made our trip sweet and sound and a memorable one.

GPS

Finally watch this video for a short tour of NYC. [:D]

NewYork Trip-II

We met at Days Inn and headed to Penn Hills , the abode of Lord Venkateswara. Pittsburgh Perumal temple as usual was crowded as any other Balaji temple,on a Saturday afternoon. We had good darshan of Perumal amidst long queue and an hour`s wait time. With vedic chanting and devout crowd , the place felt home. We had the privilege of shouldering the UtsavaMoorthy . Man that was bliss . The purpose of our Pittsburgh visit completed with our tongues devouring the pulihora and curd rice, I mean , seriously.

Haribabu drove us to Jersey City, NJ with , Jai dropping by Pittsburg downtown to catch the Megabus back to Chicago. We reached NJ at around 1 AM Sunday morning.  Jersey City ,full of desis,  felt like home. We woke up when the clock hit 10 on a pleasant Sunday Morning. We hurried ourselves to finish our morning duties and after a DISASTROUS PARKING EFFORT, we set off to roam around New York City, with Hari the Casanova.

Jersey City walk with Guna

First we went to World Trade Center. Paid our tribute to those lost lives, by visiting the site.

Hari honing his modeling skills at WTC.

As a faithful guide, Hari took us to Ellis island which houses the Famous Liberty Statue, where we spend "quality time" (which means most of our time). After zillion photo shots ( of Hari !! haha!!!!) , we decided to go to midtown Manhattan.

Another Disastrous photo shoot near Liberty Statue

The famed Wall street was our next target. The wall street bull was surrounded by tourists and people were taking pictures from all the corners. We had a good laugh when someone was holding the balls of the bull, posing for a snap.

It would have been a perfect snap of Wall street if Hari and Guna haven`t come in between

Meantime, Hari was all about himself. Man he has really changed. The boy from the small sleepy town called Gudiyattam has come a long way. He is so sure of himself, about his ideals, his way of life.  He really wants to enjoy his life.

He blew his own trumpet most of the times, like the dates he had in the past weeks and places he has gone, but all that was bearable for us. After all, we are NARCISSISTS , arent we?? we had good laugh , when hari , as in the process of boosting, showed us a couple kissing on the road, as if that event is unique to New York City.

Ah, the subway transit is another diamond in the crown of NYC. The performing artists along the subway stations are the most interesting and amazing individuals. Their Theatrics excited us. Special mention to a dwarf who impersonated Michael Jackson to the audience oohs and awws. Then, we went to Grand central to visit  Empire State building and to 23rd street in Manhattan for a Desi Restaurant.

Blurry picture of Guna, Aswin, and Hari, indicating the hurried nature of the city and its people

NewYork Trip-I

New York Trip-I
What a wonderful trip this has been. I remember an advertisement that carries a tag line,"where sanity makes a comeback". when i thought of our trip, this came to my mind," Insanity makes a comeback".It was hilarious, heartwarming, and fun filling (which bordered over insanity) trip.

Right from my start from Columbia, Missouri to Jefferson city and then to St.Louis, and then to Pittsburgh and then to New jersey and to New York, man its been a roller coaster ride.
I started off from Columbia,Missouri and went to Jefferson city to catch the "Kansas Mule". its a befitting name, delayed by an hour, I boarded at 8.00PM on Friday, for my 7.00 PM schedule. I reached St.Louis Union Station at around 11PM , the place which always amuses me with a rich history ,to welcome Guna and Jai.

After couple of calls and a cat and mouse game, we were able to unite.That set off our journey in the CHEVY Uplander with GPS to Pittsburgh.Gunasekar, my buddy from Chicago was  excited of having got hold of such a full size car. Along with GPS, he seemed to have knack for the art of making Car rental deals.

CHEVY UPLANDER

We set off, to Pittsburgh from St.Louis Union station. We stopped for a late night dinner and gas at a pit stop.

With soothing illayaraja s music from 80-90s and pleasant and clear night , the travel was perfect. The serene night travel evoked the Philosopher in Jai. Jai hails from karnataka,works with Guna and truly his knowledge about Hinduism and spirituality is impressive. While I drove, we discussed Existionalism, Ayn Rand`s objectivism and what not, while Guna cozily slumbered in the passenger seat, which i would say the best thing to do , with Illayaraja`s melody.

We welcomed Saturday with a coffee at McDonald's outside Indianapolis and captured the beautiful sunrise in our virtual and real memory along the Indiana skies. We drove all the way to pittsburgh. Again the morning was full of heated arguments between me ( ofcourse) and Jai debating on the "Role of Common man in Ancient Art Architecture, Literature".

With his near perfect lane discipline and zeal for driving , guna has certainly matured into an awesome driver who always puts safety first. Guna , has not changed a bit after 8 long years. he is the same guy, who is always there for you, with a laid back life and pleasant attitude and has an honest appreciation for others.

The city of Bridges welcomed us. The yellow bridge with its brilliant architecture beckoned us.

Pittsburgh Panoramic View

Our meeting point was Pittsburgh Perumal Temple. Yes. The same place mentioned in the Tamil Blockbuster Ayutha yezhthu. I have hunch that it is because of those lines uttered by siddharth to trisha  the Pittsburgh perumal temple became more famous. May be i am wrong. But in a state of Movie buffers/eccentrics such things are not impossible.

Let me introduce you to the quintessential metrosexual now. He came all the way from New Jersey to pittsburgh and to walk us through to NYC and Jersey City, NJ. He is Haribabu Gajendran. The man with a mission to make our trip as much sweet as possible. oops, I forget his surname. He demands that to be mentioned. He is Haribabu Gajendran Moparti.

Gudiyattam Guys: (From Left to Right) Aswin, Guna, Hari