I landed in LA on a sunday afternoon :) And as I went through the immigration, I was thinking "Oh what nice people. They're smiling at me (the way Indians smiles at foreigners when they're in India)" ;) I was booked at a hotel in Santa Monica while my colleagues were put up near LAX (the airport). Paavama, I had to fend for myself - took a cab alonely and checked in and all :D Anyway. I checked into my hotel and found out the my hotel was walking distance from the Pier. Needless to say, that was the start of my sightseeing in the USA :) My colleague picked me up for dinner and we went back near the pier - I saw Bubba Gump Shrimp & Co. :) and as a snack I got to have a small cup of Ben & Jerry's chocloate ice-cream. In an effort to make my first meal in the USA memorable, we went to a steak house (Daddy - i missed you much here). We lost our way back to the car and walked in circles for about half hour before I remembered and reminded him to use Google maps. pch.
The week went in a blur -
Wake up at 6:30-7.
Start servicing India - personal (30 min), professional (120 min)
Go to office
Meet a couple of customers
Come back to hotel
Continue to service India - personal (30 min), professional (180 min)
Sleep around 12:30-1
Wednesday - My colleague was sad for me cuz i was working all the time and i hadnt done any sightseeing. So he took me to Hollywood :) I got to see the Kodak Theatre, the Walk of Fame, Ripley's Believe it or not Odditorium, the Chinese Theatre, Madam Tussaud's, Beverly (not the Hills).
Thursday - We went to and helped him do some shopping for India (he was leaving on Friday).
Friday night, I got picked up by some friends who stay at Pasadena. So I got to see Downtown LA, Staples Center, Nokia Plaza & went to place called Yard-house which apparently has the world's largest variety of Beers. I even got to go for a movie :)
Saturday - I saw the Malibu beach, the Hindu temple society of CA (it has a Balaji temple & a Shiva temple), Got to eat puliodarai, koottu & thair-saadam :D saw the Hollywood letter (through all the fog), passed the campuses of Perpperdine university & UCLA, passed the Dodger's stadium, then went to Universal Citywalk (where I went to the Hard-rock cafe, took a pic in front of the Universal Studios Globe, did some time-pass, took a picture with one of the kids who come in the movie the Role models and saw Sean Kingston perform), had dinner at an Ethiopian place.
And to help quickly put everyone at ease, i'll do the round of FAQs :)
1. Yes, I'm working longer hours here. But thats only because I am actively involved in a lot of projects in India.
2. My company's taking pretty good care of me - they're putting me up in 4star hotels & pay for travel, stay and food + plus i get a $25 daily allowance that I can spend on personal stuff like souvenirs, alcohol etc.
3. I'm not exactly jet-lagged because I'm used to staying up late hours in India. But my guess is that it's gonna be really hard when I get back to India.
4. I'm loving the food here - I try to eat something dinner for each meal. I've had some good Japanese, Ethiopian, Diner food, Breakfast food, Take-away Sandwich, Subway and the works.
5. Yes I hope to get a local number today, so that I get a little more accessible :)
6. The sunshine state isnt exactly having sunshine weather. It's a little chilly but apparently that's normal at the beginning of summer.
7. I dont know what my itenerary is right now. But I will get to NY on tuesday. (I will confirm exact details). And keeping NY as a base, I will be travelling to a couple of other places like Atlanta & San Francisco for a day or two each.
8. My thoughts about the US? It's just like in the movies :)
1 comment:
jealous jealous :)
Post a Comment