Jigsaw puzzle

It took a long time to put this together so I will probably keep it assembled for a few days.

Skylab

Today when UARS (Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite) was to fall over North America/California, I was reminded of Skylab which re-entered the Earth in 1979. No, I wasn't born yet but I had heard stories about it as a kid. I don't remember how much of those I comprehended. I used to think of it as an astronomical phenomena and had an image of "giant ball of fire falling from the sky" in my head. Little did I know, it was a man made space station which re-entered after completing its lifetime. I even have faint memories of asking my school friends if they had heard of it to find out more but I guess we were just too young to understand about the profound universe and numerous efforts we make to explore our own world and beyond! 

Image of Skylab fragment in U.S. Space & Rocker Center in Alabama.

Fine dining

I guess I will never understand the concept of fine dining no matter how hard I try. I am a foodie and can cook good food but fine dining is not about food after all. Is it about fancy restaurant names, crisp tablecloths, fine china, glasswares and waiters in tuxedos? You eat tiny portion of food which may be visually appealing but may not appeal to your taste buds.

Is it because I am a vegetarian and do not drink? I have seen people enjoying wine for hours and hours until they get a little drunk or as they say "sober" ;). Shouldn't it be named "fine drinking" in that case ?!! I have been to these restaurants where the bill for a small group turns out to be greater than my month's salary.
PS - I am not the one who is paying at such restaurants :)

Yellowstone National Park

If you are looking for a place to visit in US and you have not already been to, you should consider Yellowstone national park in Wyoming. It is an enigma with numerous geysers, hot springs, colorful pools, fumaroles, mud pots, canyons, lakes and waterfalls. Unfortunately the park is buried in 50 feet snow in winters so summer is the only time to go. It is extremely hot in summers so don't forget your sunscreen & hat, ah! and also mosquito repellant (I don't want you to get red scars like me). The park has a couple of thousand geysers, some very faithful ones which erupts right on time and others for which you will have to wait long like 50 years ;). You will smell Hydrogen sulphide (rotten eggs) most of the time in geyser basin (one of the areas in the park) and also get a free warm sulphur bath at a couple of places but it is totally worth it.

The park also has a variety of wildlife. Some animals like Bison are abundant like mosquitoes. If you want to photograph or see a Bison closely, drive to Lamar valley. A few of them can also be seen in Old faithful geyser basin but it's better not to waste time for them in the geyser basin when it is hard to avoid them in Lamar valley. You can also spot Pronghorns, mule deer and elks in Lamar. Do remember to carry your binoculars. I was able to spot a wolf high up on a hill using mine.

There is a park Grand Teton National Park adjacent to Yellowstone and the same permit/ticket allows you to see both the parks but trust me it's not worth it, try to spend an extra day at Yellowstone instead.

Are you really a vegetarian?

New Yorker: Are you a vegetarian?
me: "Yes"
New Yorker: So, no fish also?
me: :o :o :o "ahaaannn"

And this conversation did not happen just once! So, now I choose to say I am a "vegan" ;)

Oh dear God! I used to think egg was considered vegetarian in many places these days. I had heard that chicken was "veg" @Denny's but fish became veg only in this trip. Looks like a vegetarian's choices are growing day by day.

New York City in January

It's cold, colder than I ever thought it be.
In-spite-of the unfavorable weather, there is so much to do here, the city actually never sleeps. There are so many tourists all around in Manhattan all throughout the day and night - Times Square being the busiest place of all.

New York has amazing mode of transportation. Though people like to walk when in New York, there is a good network of Subways and buses which run 24*7. You need to learn a bit before you can comfortably travel - believe me, a few trips in the opposite direction teaches all ;)

Before coming here, I was scared but I kind of like the people here. In my initial days here, whenever I was lost and was standing near a Subway gazing at my map trying to figure out whether I should be traveling Uptown/Downtown, towards Brooklyn/Bronx , someone would ask me if he could be of any help. Could it be any more convenient? Well, now I have stayed in Manhattan for 2 weeks and things have become opposite now - people ask me for trains and directions :)

There are magnificent pieces of architecture - you can see soaring tall buildings which would never end no matter how much you try to bend your neck. "Empire State Building" is the finest piece amongst them. "Madame Tussads" is the best exhibition of wax models I have seen so far. If you want to see all of the great things in the city and you are visiting in the month of January, pack yourself thick overcoats, boots, caps, gloves and everything else you have because it's freezing cold here.

National Highway 9(NH-9)

NH - 9 connects Hyderabad to Vijayawada.

I happen to live in one of the apartments on this Highway. It's overloaded with traffic all 24 hours of the day. Specially in the night, you get to see a diversity of vehicles on this road - gigantic wagons, lorries, trucks, volvos, cars, bikes and also bicycles. This highway which connects two major cities of Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad to Vijayawada is not wide enough. Not only that, at some point, thats near my house, it narrows down to some x width where just a truck and a bike placed exactly together can fit. Beside this narrow road is a huge and deep nala (drain). More surprisingly, can you imagine a national highway devoid of lights? Oh yeah!! its India right :)
.... and thats pretty much what makes me hear ambulances all the time because bikers at high speed can't envisage this and bam!!

Unfortunately, I went out to buy some groceries this evening and it grew dark by the time I was returning. I was standing at the divider waiting to cross the other side of the NH-9 (which pretty much appears some narrow road to me), a huge truck passed by. Hadn't I rushed towards the other side, I wouldn't have been blogging about this now :P
May be the truck drivers are seated high enough to notice a tiny creature like me. So, either grow up or pray before you attempt to walk on one of the national highways that the drivers are relatively less drunk otherwise who knows when they might end up engulfing you.