Saturday, October 12, 2013

Juggernaut Braces For The Storm

Five years ago I was standing on the beach in Puri, Orissa, watching the fishermen bring in their catch and being awed by the splendor of Ratha Yatra festival. I was dancing in monsoon rains and touring the Konark Sun Temple on Odisha. I was enjoying floating in the pool reading a book and eating at a local restaurant down the street from my hotel.
As a cyclone prepares to made landfall in Orissa I remember all the wonderful people I met while I was there. The rickshaw driver who took me to the Sun Temple who later on became my body guard as people crowded around me to take photos.
The nice police woman who introduced me to coconut drinks on the side of the road when I stopped to admire the beaches of Orissa's coast. We took pictures together as I sipped on my coconut.
The young man who took me to his favorite temple in Bhubaneswar while I waited for my train. He introduced me to new cuisines and accompanied me to Aarti ceremony.
I remember the wise British woman who shared a rickshaw during a monsoon down pour as well as stories of traveling and romance over tea. She loved Orissa, she returned as often as she could to bask in the peacefulness and beauty of Puri.
Puri was a whirl-wind adventure. I had not planned to visit when I arrived in India, but when I was studying my Lonely Planet guide I decided to make it a pit-stop before I headed to Chennai. 
Alone I disembarked the train. I remember the memory of the rickshaw that took me from the train station to my hotel. I had picked it in the Lonely Planet guide because it was cheap. I was happy with the accommodations, despite being stuck in the basement with a bucket for a shower I was happy that their was a pool and it was located only a short walk from the beach. 

I remember walking to the beach by-myself. I sat on the beach contemplating what to do next.  I found a small restaurant to eat near my hotel. I decided to venture off to find the huge carts they built for Ratha Yatra festival. These towering structures were not hard to find. 

Every year during the festival, locals build huge wooden monuments on massive wooden wheels. They load the statues of Jagernaught gods into the cart and thousands of people pull these carts down the long street to a separate temple. They stay there a couple days and then are pulled back home. 

This elaborate ceremony brings in many spectators despite the monsoons. Chaotic masses of people pass by the carts waiting for offerings from the gods. I thew myself into the chaos hoping to feel the energy from the crowds. That's when it began to rain. 

The monsoons are not a light rain, the monsoons feel as if someone is pouring buckets of water on your head or if you were standing under Iguazu Falls. I scrambled with the masses to find cover. Most sheltered under small tarps set up outside of shops. I found a shop near by and stood with a group under the hole-ridden awning.



I turned around to look down into the shop to see another white woman inside. Privileged I ventured into the shopping, knowing that I would have to buy to take shelter. That's where I met the lovely British woman. I don't remember her name now, but I remember we struck up conversation immediately. She was much older and well traveled. 

She suggested we weather the monsoon and find our way back to the hotel, that we both conveniently were staying at. We ran out quickly, water up to our ankles, we wadded through the streets by the massive carts looking for a rickshaw to take us home. Finally after haggling down to what I thought was still an outrageous price we jumped into one and sped back to the hotel. 

We were both soaked down to our bones when we returned. The woman was nice enough to let me use her shower in her much more luxurious room on the roof. We sat near the pool the rest of the day sharing stories over tea. 

In the morning I ventured off to the Sun Temple with a rickshaw driver. It was about 30 minutes from my hotel. When we arrived the driver escorted me around the complex. The sun temple was a massive stone carved temple. Like the carts it had massive carved stone wheels along the edges. Along the teared walls were intricately carved depictions of sex. These elaborate yet very erotic carvings showed a glimpse into the past of Indian history. 


On the way home I stopped to walk on the beach. On the way I met a nice police officer. We began talking and she immediately bought me a coconut from a vendor. She said I could not leave Puri without trying fresh coconut milk. In front of me the vendor chopped off part of the coconut and handed it to me with a straw. I thanked the nice officer and went on my way back to the hotel. 

I was sad to leave Puri, it was such a short stop in my trip around India, but the two days I was there it was packed with many memories. Now almost five years later I can still see the massive carts surrounded by chaotic crowds. I can feel the cold monsoon water pooling around my feel. I can taste the coconut milk and can hear the motherly British woman's wisdom. 

One day I might return to Puri, and I hope when I do it brings many more warm memories. 

Thursday, October 10, 2013

No Sleep in Vegas

A week ago I went to Las Vegas for the first time to attend a medical conference called OMED. I have never had that drive to go visit Las Vegas, but I was given the opportunity to go as a representative of my school. I made a poster and presented at the global medicine part of the conference. Before going to Las Vegas my notion is that it was, how my dad describes it,
“plastic.”

When I arrived Friday night my immediate thought was: “Wow the electricity bill must be outrageous.” Lights filled the streets, I arrived at almost midnight and the city was still bustling with people, music and cars. Unlike normal cities, Las Vegas was alive when the sun went down and asleep when the sun went up. Unfortunately the conference had me up at 6am and the parties kept me awake until 4am. 

Las Vegas is not for everyone. If you hate loud noises, cigarette smoke and crazy people then don’t go, but if you love to dance and you like a show then you will have a ton of fun.


What are my tips for traveling to Las Vegas on a budget? 
Las Vegas Do's and Don'ts:

1. Budget, What does that mean? 
My first tip is, throw your budget out the window. If you set a budget, I am almost 99% sure that you will go over it. Las Vegas is not called plastic for nothing. Most restaurants are expensive, if you don’t want to settle for McDonalds every day, get use to $30-40 for a meal per person. Drinks at any bar or club are around $12-20 each, and bottle service ranges from $500 to $250,000. Yes I just said 250k for a bottle.

2. Know Someone
My second tip is to know someone. Whether you want to get on the guest list or you want cheaper tickets to Cirque de Soleil. Locals get discount tickets for shows and know people, who know people who know this other guy… you get the picture. You can easily find your ways into clubs without paying and get hooked up with VIP access.


3. One time being a woman rocks!
Be a woman, sorry men Las Vegas is twice as expensive for you. Entrances to clubs are free for women and usually around $30 for men. Many clubs offer free drinks for women at the beginning of the night. Promoters for the clubs will sign women up on the guest list if you walk around the streets in the evening. To enter the club you need to have an equal male to female ratio. If you are a group of guys, you better know someone and get on the guest list.

4. I Love Heels!
Get comfortable heals, maybe some Dr. Scholls. The night starts early and ends very very late at night (or early morning). When I left the clubs around 3-4am people were still going strong.

5. Take a Walk
Don’t miss the view. Walk down the strip at night while its cool. Ride the elevator to the top of Eiffel tower at Paris Paris ($20). Watch the free fountain show at the Bellagio. Ride the rollercoaster at New York – New York ($14). Walk the maze of casinos (unless cigarette smoke bugs you).

6. Don't Lose your Money
Don’t gamble, although you might win at first, you will ultimately lose. I spent $1 on a penny machine, if you don’t want to leave Vegas without gambling, try a penny machine or small buy-in blackjack table ($5), but set a limit for how much you will spend. Trust me your money will go fast. I spent a dollar in less than a minute on a penny machine.

7. You sleep when you die.
Don’t sleep, or better yet sleep during the day. Las Vegas is not as magnificent during the day as it is at night. Buildings seem bigger; the fake plastic rocks look more real and the weather is cooler at night. During the day tourists head to the elaborate pools and air conditioned casinos to escape the heat.

8. Don’t forget a sweater. 
Although most of the year Las Vegas is hot the nights can be cold and the casinos and hotels are freezing.


9. Dance as much as you can.
There is no other place where you can dance every night until the sun comes up to famous DJ’s. The clubs themselves are awe-inspiring.  A combination of lasers, lights, confetti, smoke and dancers will blow your mind. I have been to clubs all around the world, Mumbai, San Francisco, Buenos Aires, New York, and Los Angeles, Miami, Nairobi, Istanbul but Las Vegas was the most extravagant thus far. Big name DJ’s such as Tiesto and Avicii play often at theses extravagant clubs.

10. See a show.
But get the tickets through a local. I spent $120 to see O Cirque de Soleil show. O is the only one that is only available in Las Vegas. O is a water show; the stage was built specially for the acrobatic water show. With an evolving and ever changing pool built into the stage, the set itself is a show. When I met up with my friends from LV I found out that I could have gotten the local price of $50.

11. Watch your bag.
I learned the hard way that Las Vegas is a dangerous place. I am writing this after one phone down. While going out I put my phone in my friends purse, when we left the purse was empty. Even a clutch or small “going-out” purse is vulnerable to pickpocketing. If you go out, find a way to attach your important articles close to your body. Don’t leave things in your pockets or in purses. Ladies, put all your important cards and money in your bra, if your phone fits, put it there too. During that weekend in Vegas four of my friends were robbed, three of them on the night I lost my phone. 

Clubs:

XS 
This is one of the most extravagant clubs I have seen. With a pool setting the center this dance and swim club will wow your senses, and the bottle service prices will drop your jaw. Even the extravagant prices, $2100 for a bottle of Grey Goose, don’t deter wealthy young men from handing out free drinks to cute girls. The laser shows are amazing, but the crowed was a little too rough for what I was expecting for an Avicii show.


Hakkasan
This was my favorite night, minus losing my phone. The fact that Steve Aoki threw cakes and champagne into the crowed made the night awesome and the floor very slippery. The dancers, lights confetti and music was a wild combination. I recommend seeing Aoki and going to Hakkasan, just be careful with your belongings. 

Marque 
Known for its Sunday pool parties from 1-5pm, bring your bathing suite and lots of sun block. Marque Monday’s celebrates one of the best dance parties in Vegas. With its high tech light show and choreographed dancers its ½ show ½ dance party.