New Travel Blog

I have decided to have two different blogs, one for general and one specific for travel plans. The travel blog is located below

https://adilstravelmemoirs.blogspot.com/

Look forward to comments and brickbrats for both blogs...

Where the East meets the West

"We will begin our descent into Hong Kong shortly" goes the crackling voice over the PA system. Words that feel very soothing after a 14 hour long journey across the Pacific cramped inside a tube of metal affectionately called the Boeing 777. We finally land at 6am local time and my connecting flight to Mumbai is scheduled at 810pm. With lot of time to spare, I decide to visit Hong Kong city and do some roaming around.

After spending sometime charging my phone and checking emails, I head to the immigration counter. There is a long queue for immigration, however with multiple counters operational, it just takes 20 minutes for clearing it. Not making any comparisons, but similar queue in both Mumbai and San Francisco took my an hour and half. The officer asks me some basic questions regarding my stay after which I am given the permit allowing me to stay in Hong Kong for a maximum duration of 14 days. After clearing immigration, I head to catch the Airport Express to the city. The Airport Express is the fastest way to get to Hong Kong Central from the airport. The journey is swift and in no time am I at Hong Kong station located in the Central District of Hong Kong. The station is located on the premises of the International Finance Center and the sea of humanity passing through the station takes me instantly back to Churchgate station and Penn Station in New York.

Before leaving home, I had chalked out a plan for doing some sightseeing in Hong Kong. It all looked very easy then, but now that I am in Hong Kong, everything seems so confusing. In this confusion, the familiar sight of Starbucks feels very comforting. I head inside for a cup of refreshing Machiato while checking the map for the route to Peak Tram. After checking the map, I am back on the road and thankfully the signs on the streets are quite helpful. I easily find my way to the lower level terminus for the Peak Tram. The peak tram is a funicular tram heading up to Victoria Peak, the tallest point of Hong Kong. The tram arrives in five minutes and soon we are on the way up. This is my second trip on a funicular and I am enjoying every moment of it. As the tram heads up the slope, all the skyscrapers around seem tilted at 45degrees. Slowly but surely, we head up the hill and reach the top of Victoria Peak, located at a height of 550 meters. The Peak tram covers about 400 meters in altitude over a distance little more than a kilometer. The view of Hong Kong Central and Lower Kowloon is quite breathtaking, however there is rain in the air with gusty winds ready to spoil the show. The clouds are covering the view of the city, but the site of clouds covering Victoria Peak is quite enthralling. I would have loved to roam around the peak, but it was cold with the rain and the wind and I decide to head back indoors to the tram station. I do consider sending postcards from Victoria Peak post office, however the post office wouldnt have opened for another hour and so have to cancel those plans. I take the tram back to lower level enjoying the slanted looking towers once again.

Next on my agenda after Victoria Peak is to enjoy a ride on a double decker tram in the city. Hong Kong Island has an extensive tram system and is the only system to employ exclusively regular double decker tram services. These are popularly called "Ding Ding" based on the double bell ring the trams sound to warn pedestrians of their arrival. All the tram lines pass through Central Hong Kong and I checked the map to find out where I could travel. The tram lines run east to west and the stations are numbered sequentially. As you head east, the station numbers are increasing odd numbers while increasing even numbers are for west bound line. I am at 68W station and decide to head west till 80W station. This station as I later find out is the stop for Macau Ferry Terminal. The ding ding arrives and I am off to the upper deck. The deck has 1-2 sitting layout and I find an empty window seat in the front half. As the tram crackles away slowly on the creaky rails in the middle of busy Hong Kong roads, I take in the atmosphere inside the tram. The wooden seats does lead an old world charm to the trams. While there are justifiable concerns of motorists about trams slowing down the traffic in downtown, lot of Hong Kong residents use the tram and it is one the most environment friendly modes of transportation in the city. We are now passing through central district of Hong Kong and it bears a lot of similarity to Central Manhattan though I am not sure how people in New York would react to a tram running slowly through Madison or Park Avenue and slowing down the vehicular traffic. After getting out at 80W stop, I head to the Macau Ferry Terminal and roam around for few minutes. After enjoying the views of the ferry terminal, I decide to head back to Central. Due to the different numbers for the stop on the east bound track, I am initially not sure which stop to get down. Thankfully the maps also have the name of the street and I find out 33E stop is the closest to star ferry terminal. After another fifteen minute journey crackling the rails on the street, I am back to where I started my tram journey. While I have traveled by light rail in many places, the enjoyable experience of the tram in Hong Kong will very much be at the top.

After the tram ride, I decide to head to Tsim Sha Tsui located across the Victoria Harbor. I will be taking the famous Star Ferry across the harbor and head to the ferry terminal. After getting off the tram, I walk back to Hong Kong station and from there take the sky walk to the ferry terminal. As I walk, the amazing skyline of Hong Kong Central rises on my right side and it is a beautiful sight. On reaching the ferry terminal, I head to pier 7 and buy the token for the ferry to Tsim Sha Tsui. TST is the lower part of Kowloon peninsula and has a beautiful promenade with beautiful views of Hong Kong skyline. It is also well known for its shops and eating places. The star ferry arrives and since it is raining, I have to settle on the lower level. The ferry leaves soon and begins the short journey to TST pier on the other side of Victoria Harbor. Next to the TST pier is the old clock tower which is the only remains of the old train station at TST. After taking few snaps of the clock tower, I head to the promenade. The promenade has two levels and so I can escape from the rain. Looking at the view of the skyline across the Victoria Harbor, I am immediately reminded of lower Manhattan and thus starts the inevitable comparisons. Of course lower Manhattan is one of its kind and I dont think any skyline can match the charisma of it. However the Hong Kong skyline is very impressive and is made all the more beautiful with the rain clouds blanketing the Victoria Peak in the back ground. After walking around the promenade enjoying the views, I decide to head for lunch. Looking around for some place serving local food, I spot Starbucks, McDonalds and Subway in almost every block in TST. I guess its the sign of increasing globalization. I finally find a restaurant serving chinese food and enjoy curry chicken with rice. Its little past 1 when I finish my lunch and I have to decide my next action plan. I can roam around TST promenade or check some other place. However it is raining steadily and hence I decide its best to head back to the airport. Taking the star ferry back to Central, I am back at Hong Kong station. The Airport Express takes me back to Hong Kong International Airport in 24 minutes and thus ends my visit to Hong Kong.

There are still five hours to go before my flight to Mumbai. Hong Kong airport is a treat for an aviation fan with views of wide body airplanes taking off and landing continuously. Thus these hours pass by in a jiffy and it is time to board the 747 to Mumbai. In the five hours I spent roaming around, I see plenty of B-747, B777, A330, A340 and of course the super jumbo A380. For all A380 fans, you should definitely visit Hong Kong airport. I was able to see Emirates and Singapore Airlines A380s at adjacent gates with a British Airways A380 parked little distance away. Lufthansa's B747-8, the worlds longest passenger plane is also waiting for the return flight to Frankfurt. (I also spotted Thai Airways and Malaysian Airlines A380 on my return journey). I would definitely recommend aviation fans to travel via Hong Kong airport.

They call Hong Kong as Asia's world city and I would say it is very true. Hong Kong has the best of both western and eastern worlds. All the road signs, instructions and announcements are in Cantonese and English and hecne very easy for the tourist to roam around. The public transport system is quite good and people in general were friendly and helpful if you had any questions. While the weather was little bad the day I was there, I definitely enjoyed my visit and would definitely love to visit Hong Kong again. 

26 years, 26 memories

While talking with my friend Aigis, I got to know that he was considering writing his blog entry on his memories from childhood and school life. Reading about it got me interested in making my own list. As I got started, I realized I could write 26 memories, 1 for each year that I have lived on planet earth. I know its not yet November 15, but I guess 2/3rd of my 26th year is already over. So here we go...26 years, 26 memories. Please feel free to comment and let me know your thoughts on this post.

1) The twin diesel engines taking the Mumbai Delhi Rajdhani Express speeding past Boisar. It started a long life passion for trains that continues with Amtrak, NJTransit and Septa trains even today

2) I dont remember which was the first episode of Tom and Jerry that I watched, but have loved watching each and every episode of it and love watching it even today. I still have more than 9 hours of Tom and Jerry cartoons on my laptop.

3) The days when Indian cricket started and ended with Sachin Tendulkar. Sachin out means its time to close the television as even Gods wouldnt have been able to save the Indian team and help it win.

4) My first international flight from Mumbai to London on British Airways on way to Philadelphia. It was the first time I was travelling alone and everything was overwhelming me so much. Never felt so small and unmeaningful as on that journey.

5) My two return journeys to home from Philadelphia. The feeling and excitement of landing at Mumbai airport was just tremendous. Can never forget it.

6) My first news of the day presentation in school. I had completely forgotten about it and remembered it at 11pm the night before. With the help of Mom, saw the 11pm news and wrote something. It was the same day that lot of Seniors from the Indian Cricket Team had been dropped and half of my news telecast focused on it.

7) The day I drove a car for the first time. This was on Sanju Motor Training School's car. With the trainer sitting there, it was easy as he was controlling the clutch. The first time I started our car, it gave such a jerk that I really thought I had broken the car. But slowly started the interest in car driving. And making the switch from right to left wasnt difficult.

8) The first three years in the swimming pool. Every time I felt confident about learning, the summer would be over and the pool would be closed for rest of the year. JP Bhai tried his best to teach me swimming, but eventually after three long summers of trying, he gave up. A month after he gave up, I learnt swimming and that started another long life affinity with water and water sports.

9) My first cycle ride on my own. I forgot that there are such things called as brakes. Went too fast and then banged into a wall. Fortunately, neither me nor my cycle got damaged. But that fall reminded me that I need to improve my cycling a lot.

10) My first camping trip. Shyam had planned one to the Appalachian Trail and Sajeel and Sajeel's two friends joined us. It was the first week of November and I saw live snowfall for the first time. It was wonderful experiencing fresh snow in the Appalachians.

11) Going to Somaiya College during admissions round. A fellow student came and sat next to me and started chatting. That was the first time I met Sandeep Pillai and was the beginning of a friendship that is still going on great.

12) Joining the Drexel Badminton Club. The badminton courts have literally become my second home here. Made so many good friends there. Have got addicted to badminton and finally this year took part in the local badminton tournaments here.

13) Winning the GK contest in school. Got me interested in general knowledge and started my participation in many quiz contests. Wont forget the drama in the Rotary Inter School Quiz in 2000. It was a negative marking round and we lost 20 points there. Add 20 points and we would have won our semifinals. Finally won quizzes with Sandeep during the four years of Somaiya. Our most frequent opponent was Aigis, a veteran GK champion.

14) My class X examinations were going on and India was playing Australia at that time. We usually had a five day break between exams (something that definitely continued during the engineering exams). But between Science and Hindi exams, there was only one day. And Dravid and Laxman had to choose that very day to bat the Australians out. Tried studying a bit in between breaks of cricket. Was so happy when I got to know three months later that I had scored 85 in Hindi.

15) Going to Vadilal ice cream factory with Bejoy. We would play cricket in the lawns and then every hour, head inside the factory to enjoy some fresh ice cream. I have had a lot of ice cream in the last few years, but nothing to beat the fresh taste of Vadilal.

16) The trump card wars with Bejoy. Shawn Michaels as super trump. Hulk Hogan as Rank 1. Undertaker Height 6 feet 10 inches. Stats that no one born in the 80s would forget. And the initiation into WWF (now known as WWE). Shawn Michaels vs Bret Hart, Stone Cold vs McMahon. Do I need to say more?

17) The cricket matches on the terrace. If the ball fell out of the terrace, the batsman would be out. That started the tradition of playing defensively and concentrating more on technique. I know I am not even a thousandth as good as Dravid, but it felt good when I was compared to him once on the field.

18) Watching cartoon network a lot. TNT movies would start at 5.30pm and it was a day of great celebrations when they changed the timings and Cartoon Network ended at 9.00pm. The Centurions, Popeye, Scooby Doo, Top Cat, Tom and Jerry, some of the very best cartoons I saw.

19) 26th July 2005. This was an unforgettable day. For a journey that normally took only an hour, I took 26 hours due to the rain and flood. Pretty much used all modes of transportation that day. Walking, swimming, climbing atop a bus, taking a boat, travelling by bus, car and auto rickshaw. This day had it all. And I had this experience only because I wanted to attend the last lecture of the day.

20) The interview for co-op with Motorola. Dont know why, but I was so nervous that day that I just mumbled something during the two hour long interview. It was the worst possible interview anyone can have. I guess it was only the fact that I literally bugged Bob with emails and phone calls in the previous two months that I got the co-op at Motorola.

21) Messing up the board while holding the topographic map in Shekhran Sir's class. Topographic map became lopographic map due to my activity. As a punishment, I was supposed to write an essay on Discipline and its benefits. Next day was also the day when I was supposed to give a speech during the school assembly. So I had my topic ready. Shekhran Sir was so pleased with my speech that he agreed to give me some extra marks during the tests that followed soon after.

22) Dr. Abhang Prabhu. I will never forget him and his lectures in Agrawal Classes. I was his usual bakra (being a PCM student) and he tried his best to convert me to a medicine student. Thankfully I won and became an engineer. But he made me so famous in the class that Agrawal Classes K batch of 2002-03 was rechristened Adil's batch.

23) Going to Wankhede Stadium with Ruchir and Shreyas to watch Day 2 of Ranji Trophy final between Mumbai and Bengal. Got to see my cricket idols in real. Sachin, Zaheer, Agarkar, Jaffer and Dada were in action that day. Highlight of the day was Zaheer removing Dada for a duck. And the selection committee for the WC was meeting in Mumbai that day. So was able to spot Rahul Dravid, Sir Geoff Boycott, Dilip Vengsarkar, Vinod Kambli and Tendulkar family in the pavilion.

24) The Kingfisher Open was going on at the CCI tennis courts in Mumbai and I decided to see some matches on the semifinals day. Saw Thomas Berdych vs Stefan Koubek followed by Dimitry Tursanov vs Tommy Robredo. Both the matches were really interesting and I loved every moment of it. But the evening's blockbuster was the doubles match between Mahesh Bhupathi / Mario Ancic and Leander Paes / Aisam Ul Haq Quereshi. Everytime I see these players on TV, my mind goes back to that evening at the CCI tennis courts.

25) Going hiking with friends. The natural beauty of Pine Creek State Park, the pristine waterfalls of Glen Ricketts State Park, the fall foliage of Appalachian Trails are just too beautiful. Also biking the Schuylkill River Trail from Norristown to Philadelphia. Its a total of 20 miles of fun biking. I have done it three times now and each time was more enjoyable than the previous one. The trail along the river is just beautiful and made me appreciate the beauty of nature.

26) The train journeys from Boisar to Goregaon on Sunday evenings with Kinjal. I believe my patience and listening ability improved a lot due to these travels. Kinjal, dont kill me on reading this. But I am sure you will agree to this.

NY in NY

I know this should have been up long time back, but due to hectic pace of life currently going on with so many happenings, it feels that its better late than never. On the 26th new year eve of my life (of course I have no recollections of a quite a lot of the earlier ones), I found myself thanks to the convincing and planning skills of my friends, in the big apple to celebrate the new year eve at Times Square, New York.

The plan was simple, just go to NYC and soak in the atmosphere, move around in Manhattan and then hopefully, crowds permitting see the famous ball drop at Times Square. Then just hang around till day break before doing some sight seeing in Manhattan. But then, things that look simple at first never turn out to be that simple.

I will never forget the image that I got of New York when I got off the megabus just off Penn station. Being from Mumbai, I sort of like the feeling of seeing crowded streets in New York as it brings a familiar feeling. But this was something else. I am sure the population of the borough of Manhattan must have increased by a significant percentage that day. Contacted my friends and found out that they were at an Indian restaurant on 39th Street. As I was walking towards 39th Street, I could see the rush that had developed for the ball drop. And it was only 7pm, another five hours to go for the event. I could only imagine the crowds that would be there at midnight.

After meeting up with friends, some of whom I was meeting after years, we decided to head down south to Brooklyn Bridge. Standing halfway on the Brooklyn Bridge brings to your notice two things about New York. First is the color of the night sky. Its not black, but orange due to the high amount of lights that are on through the night. The second thing is the hectic pace of life on the roads that spread out connecting Manhattan with Queens and Brooklyn. And then of course, as you look towards mid Manhattan, the Empire State Building, in all its glory rises above the skyline. Seeing the Empire State Building stand out in the skyline, I can only think about how spectacular the twin towers would have looked and how Freedom tower will look once its completed. After absorbing the sights for an hour, we head back to central Manhattan.

So we are trying our best to get into Times Square and it says a lot about the crowds for this event that despite our best attempts, we can only get till as close as 38th street. And people tell us that for entering at that late hour, we are pretty lucky to have reached this close. And as the countdown begins, the frenzy just goes up. As the clock strikes midnight, people start celebrating. Strangers who dont know each other at all and might never meet again are wishing each other Happy New Year.

Once the excitement goes down and crowds leave, we head and finally few hours after midnight, we have reached Mount Times Square. Thanks to the snowstorm the previous week, there are literally hills of dirty snow around for it to be officially called Mount Times Square. The next few hours are spent chatting over coffee and sandwich at the very famous McDonalds located in center of Times Square.

In the morning, we head up the Empire State Building and get a fantastic cool winter morning view of New York City. As the sun shines over the East river, the thing that stands out the most for me are the various bridges in New York. Up close, the Manhattan and Brooklyn bridges are shining gloriously while at a distance, the Verrazano's Narrows bridge and George Washington Bridge are doing their daily work of transporting vehicles in and out of New York. After an hour atop the Empire State Building, I start my return journey back to Philadelphia and end what was a memorable NYE in NYC...

Wishing everyone Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

Labor Day Weekend Biking and Hiking

The weather was a nice 75F and sunny, just perfect for any kind of outdoor activity. So decided to make full use of it and plan hiking and biking trips for the two days.

Day 1 - North Side Trail at Valley Forge National Historic Park

The Valley Forge National Historic Park is located 25 miles north of Philadelphia near King of Prussia. There are 27 miles of walking and biking trails there. One trail which interested us a lot was the North Side Trail, which follows the Schuylkill River during the entire 6 mile span. Caught bus 125 from 30th Street Stn and reached Valley Forge in an hour. From the Welcome Center, walked towards Rt 422 to cross the river. It was an awesome experience walking on the wooden section high up on the river with the winds tearing down you and the vehicles on the road behind you making growling noises. After crossing the river, we followed the Schuylkill River Trail for half mile to reach the North Side Trail. From there on, it was a six mile walk along the river. The best thing about this trail was that there were continuous access points and you could keep on going to the river bed regularly. It was fun climbing a fallen tree which was overlooking the river. A long walk through deeply wooded section next to the river brought us to the parking lot at the other end of the trail. Here we went down to the river bank and sat on the rocks there and had our lunch. After lunch, had a small session enjoying bouncing rocks on the river water. While returning, we took a diversion midway and found ourselves back on the Schuylkill River Trail. On the way back, spotted several deers along the trail. Once we crossed the river on the same bridge, a short walk got us back to the welcome center from where we caught 125 again back to center city. In all, a wonderful day spent outside hiking. The photos from the trip can be found at

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=233885&id=613978677

Day 2 - Schuylkill River Trail Norristown to Philadelphia biking

I have been reading about the Schuylkill River trail from Philadelphia to Valley Forge for a long time and always desired to do the biking trip. This summer, I realized I can get bikes on rent from Drexel and so the desire to do the trail was overwhelming. After doing the 5 miles from Philadelphia to Wissahickon and back for a few weekends, I wanted to do the entire trail. When I realized that the trail passes by the Norristown Transportation Center, I knew I had to do the trail before the winter sets in. The second day of the long weekend was also fabulous. Not hot, not cold, not humid. So I decided this was the day.

The start was really inauspicious as I messed up the tire. Instead of filling air in it using the automatic pump, I ended up blowing it out. However got a manual pump just in time and headed to 30th street station to catch the R6 train to Norristown. This train follows the trail as well as Schuylkill River from Wissahickon and thus I had a preview of things to come. Started the trail from Norristown and then realized that the train tracks were in between the river and the trail, which meant I would not be having access to the river bed for some time. But even if the river is not accessible, the trail is pretty good with lots of trees surrounding it. This trial was earlier a train track section and thus its pretty level. After crossing both I-276 and I-476, we pass through beautiful apartment complexes in Conshohocken. Just north of Manayunk, we cross the tracks and touch the river bed for the first time since Norristown. Here, there is a beautiful dam across the river and the view of the dam and the surrounding scenery is really beautiful. After taking pictures to the heart's content, I proceed on the trail towards Manayunk. This section is a mix of unpaved trail and wooden sections and follows the Manayunk Canal. It is really nice as you are biking next to the canal. As you reach the Southern end of Manayunk, the trail is diverted onto the road and the next section is a mile long path on the road. At Wissahickon, the trail again becomes a paved bicycle/pedestrian trail and follows Kelly Drive into Center City Philadelphia. Near Wissahickon creek, I take a diversion onto the Lincoln Drive Trail. After taking pictures along the trail, I head back to the River Trail and follow Kelly Drive. The turn after Columbia Bridge gives me the first view of Center City. I stop here for some time and take pictures of Amtrak, Septa and NJTransit trains crossing the Schuylkill River. A half an hour ride brings me to Market Street. As I climb up the ramp to the street, I can feel the tiredness of biking 18 miles, but with it comes a feeling of content and happiness as I finish something that I have been wanting to do since the past two summers. My next target is to finish the entire trail from Philadelphia to Valley Forge and back.

The photos of the trail can be found at

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=243612&id=613978677

After the snow storm

the sky was full of bright shining stars
there was 20 inches snow on the cars
the trees were full of crystals white
such was the beauty of that snowy night

everything has on it, a blanket of snow
oh mother nature, to your beauty i bow
the buildings, roads, cars, trees have been white dressed
enjoying the wonderful sight, i truly feel blessed

it is so still, nothing is at all moving
its so quiet, where is all the sound and chirping
i begin to wonder whether i have lost my hearing
and then i realize its 3 am and all are sleeping