Tokyo - San Fran - Sydney

The last 3 months have seen a bit of travel and I have gone to various developed parts of the world.... To be honest I like the developing part better but these were still quite fun. Tokyo and Sydney I had not been to before...

Tokyo

In the short amount of time I spent in Tokyo for work complete with apprehension of being away from Antara for the first time and hoping and praying that she wasnt going to hold it against me for the rest of her life....Tokyo for was quite fun. I didnt really get to do much sight-seeing. Whatever I saw of Tokyo was very modern and ultra efficient. Although, as you drove over the bridges, you would get to peep into offices that were still full of people at 8pm; with a large number of people crammed into a small space with the seniorish looking guy getting the tabel by the window.

You would also catch glimpses of a lazy looking canal over which the hustle and bustle of Tokyo is built. There were no traces of the traditonal Japan in Tokyo proper other than beautiful and ornate lampshades on tall well maintained lamp poles. I couldnt get a good picture of it....which is a pity. Incidentally buddy Nishant had flown in from the US for some work and his better half was going to join him the day after I left. We managed to catch up for a quick dinner. So i dragged the GQ-esque Nish and we went to Asakusa - a part of Tokyo which is supposed to still have some of the old-Japan feel. Most things were closed by the time we got there but we did enjoy a nice dinner in a hole in the wall little shanty where a hospitable couple running the restaurant put up with our quirky requests in English and served us a nice meal.

San Francisco

It was great fun being back in SF. This time along, Hari and Antara had come along, so it was fantastic! It was a bit of a re-union with the old adda for Hari. For me, it was getting my fill and catching up with all the people we have left behind there...

Time with my aunt and uncle and their little brats who got along famously with Antara was super cool and super fun.. Antara had a blast getting roughed up and playing with the boys. She turned out to be quite the show-off as well. It was not funny how many toys she took away while leaving their place.

It was also a reunion of sorts with the old gang. Its amazing how I didnt feel very disconnected with them all....if felt so comfortable as soon as we all got together. I guess thats what happens when you know these folks for over 8 years. So Praf and Janvi were pregnant at the time (baby Dhruv is here now...so CONGRATULATIONS) and VJ and Poonam had gotten married. We loved their cool funky pad. Nish and Chinni got formally engaged...how beautiful and we got to be there! They house is super elegant as well. Antara cruised in and out of lunches, dinners, engagement parties and more with sheer elegance. And we also got to catch up with Tina & Nasir over a 4pm dinner (hadn't done that since Utah!!) and also had coffee with Deborah...!

Wait, its not done. We met dear dear Aparna who had flown down from Chicago, timing her trip to co-incide with ours. And we met her little darling Mira! It had been two yers since I last saw her through it didnt quite feel that long. The last day, we spent in Nipun and Aarti's place (another kickass home) and kicked back and relaxed.

It was the most people packed weekend I had ever had but boy its something I will remember for a long long time....it felt so good!

Sydney

Sydney was more a quick jaunt for work again. This time, I left Antara with a bit more ease but with still the same amount of guilt to deal with.....9 months old, teething and saying "ammma" in a slow pronounced manner with an obvious pout...!

Again, my experience of Sydney was restricted to the downtown Sydney area. We went to dinner at a restaurant that had a lovely view of both the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge (Check and Check on my tourist list). I managed to sneak a quick trip to the museum of Contemporary art which was fun. There was a gallery dedicated to a Aussie artist /photographer called Fiona Hill who made interesting weaves of stuff from shreded coke cans to destroyed VCR tapes.

I also went shopping for a bit. The entire experience felt a bit like the US but honestly I havent done Sydney any justice...But the one funny thing was that I walked into an Opal store and as soon as the shop-keeper saw me, she said oh Indian? Let me show you to the cheap stuff here (!!##!!) - The White Opals....(basically devoid of any colour or interesting texture). She also went on to say, look white opal will look good on black backgrounds like your dark skin :-)

Anyway, aside from that not much else that was interesting.

More on the other bits in Life soon.....