My first tag... and a nice one to start with...

Saw this tag on SG's Blog here. A very interesting one..
So the index is as below

• The bold ones are the ones that I have already done.
• The asterisks ones are the ones that I'd like to do soon.

Ok. So the points are as below.

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink

02. Swam with wild dolphins

03. Climbed a mountain - (I hope the size does not matter)

04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive* (There are two options to this.. Here in New York, I can get it for $1000 a day or have to wait to get to UK where I could drive them at Silverstone for £220. Guess will have to wait to go to UK.)

05. Been inside the Great Pyramid

06. Held a tarantula

07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone* (Hmmmmmm.. ;-D )

08. Said 'I love you' and meant it

09. Hugged a tree - (Don't remember doing it. But am pretty sure I must have done it)

10. Bungee jumped* - Would require a hell lot of guts from my side.

11. Visited Paris - (Been there, done that. Spent nice four days there and covered almost all the main places. Eiffel Tower Rocks!!!)

12. Watched a lightning storm at sea (Not much interesting in sea travel)

13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise (I don't remember doing both simultaneously)

14. Seen the Northern Lights (Where exactly in North are these lights?)

15. Gone to a huge sports game - Been to Silverstone F1 Grand Prix in UK and guess what Schumi won :-) . Even the Mini World Cup Final at the Oval between England and West Indies.. What a match it was.

16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa - Yeah baby, this too. Its hell of a fun going to the top.

17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables

18. Touched an iceberg

19. Slept under the stars - Many times

20. Changed a baby's diaper* - This would of course be due some time later.

21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon - Went up in a balloon at the Niagara. It looked like a hot air one.

22. Watched a meteor shower (I remember remaining awake very late during my engineering days to see the shower. Bugger meteor did not turn up!!!)

23. Gotten drunk on champagne - Got a little high. But champagne is not the best drink to get high on.

24. Given more than you can afford to charity

25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope

26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment - Well do so when we guys from 12/7 get on a conf call.

27. Had a food fight - Used to fight with my brother at home generally. Food used to be just one of the reasons.

28. Bet on a winning horse - Betting is not for me. I hardly even win at Tambolas.

29. Asked out a stranger

30. Had a snowball fight* - Haven't experienced snow. Hopefully this winter I'll get the chance

31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can - Did so during my Matheran trip with my cousin gang. Left me speechless for a couple of days.

32. Held a lamb

33. Seen a total eclipse - Remember seeing it during my school days.

34. Ridden a roller coaster - Have been on some. But not game for the extreme ones.. they are verrrry scary.

35. Hit a home run - Did so only in the video games.

36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking - Anytime I dance, its the same.

37. Adopted an accent for an entire day - I can't change my accent. But do pickup words from others

38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment - All the moments, till now.

39. Had two hard drives for your computer - That was one of the most common things in engineering. Had 2 hard disks and 2 CD drives as well.

40. Visited all 10 provinces - Provinces of where?

41. Taken care of someone who was drunk - Even I was drunk, then!!! :D

42. Had amazing friends - Lots of them

43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country

44. Watched wild whales

45. Stolen a sign - What sign?

46. Backpacked in Europe * - Yup.. on my list

47. Taken a road-trip * - Have had very small ones.. Guess will do one while here in US.

48. Gone rock climbing - Went with my mom when I was pretty young. Almost 3rd or 4th. Should do it again.

49. Midnight walk on the beach

50. Gone sky diving

51. Visited Ireland - This too is done... :-)

52. Been heartbroken longer then you were actually in love - Luckily, No

53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger's table and had a meal with them

54. Visited Japan - Not inclined as well. Heard its very crammed and being a veggie, food is a major issue. If at all I go, would not want to go for more than a week.

55. Milked a cow

56. Alphabetized your cds - I am the most incorrect person for such orderly things.

57. Pretended to be a superhero - Haven't done that. But would like to be STUPENDOUS MAN!!! :-D

58. Sung karaoke - Now that's what I do in the bathroom

59. Lounged around in bed all day - Did this last Sunday.

60. Posed nude in front of strangers - Em Ummm Hmmm... Excuse me..

61. Gone scuba diving* - Would like to do it provided first I learn swimming

62. Kissed in the rain* - Waiting for the right person :-)

63. Played in the mud

64. Played in the rain - Did it yesterday. Played tennis in the rain.

65. Gone to a drive-in theater - Oh I so miss "Drive-In". I so miss Ahmedabad.

66. Visited the Great Wall of China* - Plan to.. Already on my list.

67. Started a business* - Hope to something on this sometime down the line.

68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken - I have rather been the heart-breaking kid.

69. Toured ancient sites - Yup. India has so many of them.. Me has been to Ajanta and Ellora.

70. Taken a martial arts class - Sensei Tejas is an orange belt holder in Judo :-)

71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight - What is D&D?

72. Gotten married* - I hope someone agrees to marry me.

73. Been in a movie

74. Crashed a party

75. Gotten divorced - Lemme first get married... Then will think about it.

76. Gone without food for 5 days - 5 days is tooooo long.

77. Made cookies from scratch

78. Won first prize in a costume contest - My best chance till now has been the consolation prize that I got in Kindergarten for dressing up as fisherman.

79. Ridden a gondola in Venice - Yipppppeeee....

80. Gotten a tattoo - I am not for getting a tattoo for myself. Instead prefer looking at them ;-)
81. Rafted the Snake River - May not do it at Snake River. Maybe somewhere closeby.

82. Been on television news programs as an "expert" - Me giving "expert" advice?? Are you kidding?? Don't you love ur own life??

83. Got flowers for no reason - :-(

84. Performed on stage - Did so in school days. I remember performing the role of Ravan's son Indrajit in the drama "Modern Ramayana". The next day, VHP (Vishwa Hindu Parishad) sent a leaflet in all newspaper claiming that the drama made a mockery of gods, specially considering that our school was a convent school.

85. Been to Las Vegas - Very recently... Udaaoed $100 as well in the casinos.

86. Recorded music

87. Eaten shark - Please, I am a veggie.

88. Had a one-night stand - Not my cup of tea.

89. Gone to Thailand

90. Bought a house* - Plan to do it soon

91. Been in a combat zone

92. Buried one of your parents - How the hell did someone even think of such an idiotic point..

93. Been on a cruise ship - I could go. But it does not excite me much.

94. Spoken more than one language fluently - Heh Heh.. Almost all Indians can. For us it should be can we speak more than 3. For me, the count is 4.

95. Performed in Rocky Horror

96. Raised children* - Sometime I'll have to.

97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour

98. Created and named your own constellation of stars - Haven't stargazed much.

99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country* - Hope to do it here

100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over - Done it 'n' number of times.

101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge* - Rather than walking I'd luv to drive through

102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn't stop when you knew someone was looking - Done, but for the car.

103. Had plastic surgery - It is not possible for anyone to be any better. :-D

104. Survived an illness that you shouldn't have survived - Touchwood. Haven't been ill for more than a few days. The best was one week. Chicken Pox!!!

105. Wrote article for a large publication - I don't have much of writing skills. well atleast article writing skills.

106. Lost over 100 pounds - There is no scope for that. Me minus 100 pounds = Invisible Me. :-D

107. Held someone while they were having a flashback - Yes. If that means what I think it is.

108. Piloted an airplane - Chalo jis kise apni jaan pyaari nahi hai, plane mein baith jaao...

109. Petted a stingray

110. Broken someone's heart - Did that more than once.

111. Helped an animal give birth

112. Won money on a T.V. game show

113. Broken a bone - Again Lucky!!! No bones broken yet....

114. Gone on an African photo safari* - Wud like to go to South Africa

115. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced

116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol - If you consider the ones which are used in the desi "mela" for shooting balloons.

117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild - I hate mushrooms!!!

118. Ridden a horse - Done that but not alone..

119. Had major surgery

120. Had a snake as a pet

121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon - If I define Bottom as "something not at the top" then yes. Went down the trail to the bottom. But returned back in an hour. The whole trail from bottom and back is supposedly for two days.

122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours

123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states - It will take a hell lot of time to complete more than 50 countries. Current count is at a mere 5 other than India.

124. Visited all 7 continents - Current Count is 3.

125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days

126. Eaten kangaroo meat - Eeeks. I am a pure veggie.

127. Eaten sushi

128. Had your picture in the newspaper

129. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about

130. Gone back to school

131. Parasailed

132. Petted a cockroach

133. Eaten fried green tomatoes

134. Read The Iliad - and the Odyssey

135. Selected one "important" author who you missed in school, and read

136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

137. Skipped all your school reunions - Technically Yes. So far there has been only one official reunion and have missed it. Otherwise have mostly made to the ones which we friends had arranged for ourselves.

138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language - Chennai mein yehi to kiya..

139. Been elected to public office

140. Written your own computer language

141. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream - Many times..

142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care

143. Built your own PC from parts - Have done the reverse though.. :)

144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you

145. Had a booth at a street fair

146. Dyed your hair - Just a couple of times..

147. Been a DJ - Haven't done so. But I think I have the talent. I can pick up a good playlist for a home party. My roomies in Engg. even nicknamed me DJ.

148. Shaved your head

149. Caused a car accident

150. Saved someone's life

Hell!!! And I thought my life is boring...

Four years later...

Hmm... Had this Long Post Long overdue. Many things kept coming up and it got delayed. Wasn't sure that this'd be so long. An exhaustive read, I guess.

August 12, 2002.

A very important day. The day from when I had to start taking control of my life gradually. It was when I started my professional career. The first day of my first job. At the head office of this company in Bangalore. It could not have been any more picture-perfect, well atleast for me. Got placed at my first ever interview for a job during the campus interviews in the final year and that too at one of the most reputed organisations in India.

August 12, 2006.

This day, I complete four years in my career. And I am still at my first job. And have no wish to move out of it atleast for sometime, unless anything "drastic" happens. Now that I consider is an achievement, specially when job-hopping in today's times is as common as Himesh Reshammiya songs on TV. It was easy for me to get lured by the extra money that the other companies would offer and probably hop on a better looking boat.

So this day, I look back and wonder what are the factors that have actually made me stay in this place. Rather than asking these questions to myself alone, I did ask a few friends of mine, who also happen to be my colleagues, the same question.

Name any three reasons why are you still in this organisation.

I got a lot of different answers. Almost every answer that I got makes up one of my reasons as well to stay in this organisation.

Anyways.. so here are the responses from them one by one....

1. A good friend from my London team, who also happens to be here.

a.Great work
b.Great work culture
c.Timely promotion
d.Onsite opportunities

2. My training batchmate and another close friend

a.Onsite Opportunities
b.Stock Options
c.Fair and Transaparent Working Environment

3. My roomie nicknamed "Newton"

a.Because he did not get a job anywhere :)
b.Relaxed Life
c.Onsite Opportunities

4. My "Mumbaikar" roomie

a.Great Office Campus and Great Infrastructure
b.Great people to work with
c.Salary
d.Onsite opportunities with spouse

5. A lady in my current project team

a.Employee Interest
b.Onsite Salary
c.Good Managers :)

6. Mr.Hasmukh Swamy of my current team.

a.Brand Name
b.He was one of the lucky folks to join the company during the recession in 2000-01.
c.The founder of our company :)

7. Monsieur Z.

a.Lethargy
b.Lethargy
c.Lethargy

8. The soon-to-be married guy in our group

a.Bangalore - That the office is in his hometown.

9. My Current Boss :)

a.Culture
b.Emotional Attachment considering that he has spent quite some time here.
c.Brand

10. One of the three ladies from whom I learnt a few lessons as to why ladies go shopping.

a.Joining this company was one of her million dreams. And as not all dreams are fulfilled, she loves being with it.
b.So far so good. No never thot of hopping
c.Gets world wide recognition for being an employee of this company

11. Finally, Boss. Not my boss, but a very close friend whom I call "Boss".

a.Inertia & Laziness to go out and find other options.
b.Onsite Opportunities
c.At home here - with the people and the environment here.

My Story of why I am here is almost the summary of all the points above.

1.Environment/Culture/Work
This has been the the most common answer from all. Well when I say culture, I talk about people, the warmth that these people bring along, the flexibility that I have had. I have got away with coming late to the office as long as I ensure my work is done on time. I have, during all these times, been blessed with good managers. None of those wicked or evil types that appear
on the Dilbert strips. Hence, so far have managed to keep my career graph at an acceptable growth.

2.People.
In these four years, I have made a lot of friends and quite a handful of close friends. I had an excellent time during my training days. It is one of the times in my life that I would like to relive. My first project has probably set the tone for my time here. It was all fun. We had a lot of parties during my first project. The motto of the project was "MTV mein just party, guys!!!" (The project was called MTV :D). Another of the most memorable of my times has been with the CustDB team in London. That was an amazing time. We used to play COWS and BULLS in office after lunch and that too at client's office. I have spent some real nice time, be it the short and sweet trip at Dublin or be it the trip to Chennai, specially when it was raining or even the time now in US.

All this has been due to the lots of friends that I have made over these four years.

3.Travelling
Before I started out on my job, the list of places travelled was mostly governed by the places where our relatives chose to stay. Usually it used to be a trip to the North of Maharashtra, which coincidentally is my native place, in the scorching summers. But things have changed since I have started working. I had my training in Bangalore, later moved to Pune for a project and
then to London for my first onsite and well almost since then I have kept on moving. In these four years, I have moved almost 14 times from one place to another which makes my average stay at a place for four months. Never ever had I imagined in my life during my engineering that I'll travel so much.

And now I enjoy travelling and hope to complete my list. :)

4.Pune
Now this is probably the most important one. That I can be in Pune is very important for me. Its a place where I am very close to my family and friends. During my engineering days, I used to travel every weekend home. Its that close. Most of my friends are planning to get settled in Pune. It is a place where I have spent a lot of time, been comfortable and loved it.

5.Financial Aspects
I have been able to make my own ground and stand on my own feet. I can say I am financially sound. The dreams of owning a decent car and a good house seem feasible in the near future.

6.Brand
The brand or the image that this company has created today simply makes you proud to be associated with it even if you know that you are just a tiny drop of the ocean.

7.Inertia/Lethargy
Despite these positives which keep me bound, there are times when I do want to move out. But then there is so much of inertia to take the effort of looking up for an alternative option that is better than what is now.

Finally quoting a part of what "Boss" wrote to me and with which I agree fully,

I know hundreds of people here; hundreds of people here know me for something… I can identify with the campus, bldgs, meeting rooms, processes, and so many such things.. The immediate higher mgmt knows me & what I’ve done… So, its more of a feeling of - At Home here in this company… And there is a certain reluctance to go out and make a home again..!!!!

With this, I do not say that this place where I work is the best place in the world. All I say is I have probably got more than what I had expected from this place.

I wish the best for this organization.

Hope that it goes even a longer way than what it has completed.

And I just hope to be a part of it till wherever I can...

Boooorrrrrrrriiiinnnggggg...

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwnnnnnnnnnn.......

Hmmmmmmmmmmpppppppppphhhhhhhhhhhhh...............

Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigggggggghhhhhhhh......

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!

Aaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhh......

Huh....

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwwwwwnnnnnnnnn.......

That's almost what I feel right now...

The price of a teeny weeny bit of self-esteem

INCIDENT 1.

Where : Somewhere in US.

Once while returning from the office, a person, lets call him A, was walking along with a friend of his, back from the nearby rail stop to his home. On his way, along the footpath was group of 7-8 "Afro-American" boys roughly aged between 12-17. As A approached nearer, one of them offered his hand and said "Hi dude". Well looking at him, A thought that he did not exactly look friendly. Hence, ignoring him, they walked forward. It was then they passed some comments, which A conveniently ignored (probably his friend as well).

What followed was a couple of moments of silence and then resumption of the discussion that was going on.

INCIDENT 2.

Where : Somewhere in US.

Well, a few days back, A along with a few friends of his were returning from their shopping of groceries from the Indian Street, a guy again in an SUV was waiting at a traffic signal. He, too, was not what he could call as "friendly". They passed him on their way to the bus stop. He, too, passed some comment, which the guys conveniently chose to ignore. Obviously looking at the excitement of the guy in SUV, A and his friends were not expecting him to enquire about how well they were doing in US and whether they had any problems.

Again, what followed was a couple of moments of silence. But this time they did not resume our discussion. Instead, one of them (not A) replied how tame they had become, how they should have gone back to the guy and give him a mouthful back. Instead, others decided to keep walking on.

INCIDENT 3.

Where : On a famous street in Bangalore.

This was when A was in Bangalore early this year. A was thugged on what is probably one of the busiest and happening places in Bangalore. Two rowdies approached him saying that they were looking for a guy who had slashed their friend with a knife and A resembled like him. At the end of the whole talk during which A was desperately trying to get out of the "mis-understanding", A lost his cellphone to them. The guys maintained the "Fear Factor" throughout and hence were successful in pulling out the whole thing on him.

Two days later, A had put the incident behind him. Many people advised him that he should have gone to the police and lodged a complaint. But he did not.

Well that brings me to the question whether what A did was right or wrong.

Basically in such a situation, there are two ways that one would react.

The idealistic way

• Tit for Tat. Wherein you defend your self-esteem. You go back, return the "compliment" back to the person.

The submissive way

• Ignore them as if they have never happened to you. But you always know that it did happen and you are not comfortable with your own reaction to it.

So on paper, to put it in black and white, the second way appears much greyish compared to the first one.

Then why do most of us opt for the darker option?

Well the answer probably is that we are not ready to pay the possible price for being a HERO.

In the three incidents mentioned above, it could be simply that you could simply make the 'other' person keep quiet by giving a word or two back. But there is a chance that things could go worse. And that is where most of us falter and take a step backwards. We are more worried about the 'WHAT IF THE WORSE HAPPENS?'. So, is it wrong?

That takes us to another question.

What is the price of a teeny weeny bit of your self-esteem?

Now a confession. Yes, the above three incidents occurred with me.

Well, I don't feel like a hero after these things.
I know I have compromised.

So what did I gain?
Possibly saved on some physical damage to myself by avoiding confrontation.
And hence, some hospital bills.
But the most important, A litte peace of mind.

It requires a small spark to ignite a huge fire.
A huge fire that can possibly damage everything.
Hence, its always better to never to let the spark out in the first place.

I have always wanted to live my life peacefully with minimal troubles.
I've got only one life and am very careful about making the most of it.
For me, my peace of mind is much pricey than probably squabbling with some person for almost no reason.

So am I wrong?
Well, I think 'No'.

I think I may have just got a fair deal...

The "Hum" part of Hum-Tum...

Hmmm..

Have been reading a lot on Guy-Gal thing of late, sheerly through blogs.

Even happened to watch Hum-Tum as well yesterday.

Thought of writing about the 'men-are-from-mars-women-are-from-venus-thing'.

But could not build a chain of thoughts properly.

Just then, Read this article about Single guys by Smiling Girl.

Thought of commenting on a few points. But then, it became a good size.

Hence putting it up on my blog.

So here are my comments. Point - to - Point.

1. Actually the very opposite of it.. Gals are too much into dates.
If guys dont remember a date, they are *GONE* and I mean it very literally.
I think it flatters them if guys remember some important day. Well not just remember it but do *SOMETHING* special as well.

2. Agreed. Showing off does not work at all.
But such talent, if timed properly, can go a long way. Timing is the key.

3. I agree here.. SPEAKING OUT is the only solution. Silence seldom works.

4. Hmmm.. Yaa.. agreed again. I've seen similar fights as well during my 11th and 12th.And yes. It does happen mostly in small towns.

5. Being a nice guy *IS* a solution. I mean if the guy is not a nice guy, gals would not like them in the first place. Being Chivalrous always helps!!!

Again there are two types of gals

a. *GIRL* girl

b. *BOY* girl - commonly know as "Tomboy"

Now if it is a *GIRL* girl, well she'll think thousand times before agreeing to go to a movie with the guy *ALONE*, or going for shopping with him.

I feel now, if the girl asks for the guys opinion on the dress (Thats the only thing that girls buy), there is indeed some spark. More the girl asks for the guy's opinion, the bigger the fire is.

Well, if the girl's a Tomboy, well maybe then this point would not work.

6. I think the same applies to girls. Quite a lot of guys dont like their girls to be completely submissive types. (There are some who prefer it the cliched manner.) They would like the girls to stand tall on their feet. (I do accept here that almost all of the guys would prefer that the girl stand atleast an inch lower)

7. True. There is a limit for anyone's optimism.

8. That is one point where I nod with you. Thats a definite NO-NO.

9. Hmmm.. Cheating really not accepted. Guys do come back asking for forgiveness. But thats where the trap lies. Quite a few Girls, being the emotional fools they are, forgive them. I think they should ditch such guys. The reliability of such guys is very low.

10. Now that is one fact which is probably well known only in girls!!! :DIf at all guys do gossip, they do not do so when girls are around.

11. Hmmm.. Now in this case, its a thin line between TAKING CARE and EXTRA-CAUTION.Quite a lot of girls *DO* like this. In fact, they enjoy the attention they get from guys. But then, as I said, there's a thin line. If it is crossed, it becomes intrusion into privacy.

12. Weird. Do guys seriously discuss this??? At length?? Most of the guys would simply make a small comment. Thats it.

13. True. There is a risk that the girl may feel he is flirting with her friends. Again that is not acceptable.

14. Some things are better not divulged to girls. If at all guys use 'FAIR AND LOVELY', that should be a deep dark secret. It should be ensured that all the people who know about it swear by their blood.

15. Thats true. Guys, as it is, hate shopping and Chick-Flicks.

16. Hmmm.. true. But cribbing is something that is best when done over a bottle of Johnnie Walker :-)

17. Men cannot handle maids. Period. As it is, they don't like to do so. It's indeed for girls.

18. Guy with more girl friends than guy friends.. Very Rare!!!

19. Point taken. Specially when the joke is cracked on a guy by his girlfriend herself.

Well the point here is. Actually what drives guyz to do such things is that girls like guys to do such things. But then some like it and some don't.

It eventually boils down to "WHAT WOMEN WANT".

Hope some day, some guy gets the key to the most complex puzzle of the world, the female brain.

Till then the fun game continues.....

Dilbert Bosses in my organisation

Title : Dilbert Bosses in my organisation
(Based on a real life incident)

Cast :
A Software Engineer
A Project Manager
A Senior Project Manager

Scenario: A Software Engineer goes to Cafeteria where he meets his Project Manager and Senior Project Manager. Software engineer heats up his coffee in Microwave.

SPM: Hey SE, how long did u keep the coffee in microwave?

SE: 45 sec

SPM keeps it for 45 sec and then coffee overflows in oven...

PM: What SE, u just mislead people..

SE: But I generally keep for 45 sec

SPM: Hey PM, it must be because we had already kept it for 1 min earlier...!!!!


I seriously hope the characters in the above post do not read this.. Else I'll have to keep my resignation ready...

Copyrights © . All rights reserved with the SE and his team. These rights have been forcefully taken for the sake of publishing this post.

Places to visit before I die...

After all the josh that we got from the last weekend's trip, we started hunting out for a place to go for the coming weekend as well...

Started from places nearby to those far off...

I went on Googling for the locations..
(my gosh.. Seriously Google has become an integral part of my life.. guess sometime I'd also want to write a post on this.. may be the various things that I have googled for... sure the list'd be interesting..)

Searched on National Park sites.. but cud not get anything exciting..

So from there I went to our own very desi Kesari Tours.. hoping that there would be some *famous* place that I've missed out.. But then.. I could not find any.. atleast none that'd be fine for us to go this weekend...

But then looking at their website... I saw so many places... that I just loved simply looking at them... So thought.. maybe I'll write about them.. I don't know how many I'd write down.. But the places will come as I think...

Ok so here I go..

1. Rajasthan by Palace on Wheels

• This has been on my list for long... Visiting Rajasthan is not the main thing. But going there by the most luxurious train in India, Palace on Wheels is the main thing that interests me. I am damn sure the experience would be a helluva experience. Just now checked it out some details.. Good thing.. I should be able to afford it.. :-) And Bad thing.. Bookings are filled up very well in advance.. Booking for 2008 are also full!!! :-O

2. Switzerland

• Well for obviously obvious reasons... :-) What can be said about this place.. Paradise on earth. Jungfraujoch. Titlis are the MUST ones... Specially want to go when there's lot of snow.

3. Mauritius/Maldives/Lakshadweep/West Indies/Port Blair

• Either of these is fine.. But preference is in the order from Left to right. So if I visit Mauritius, I am skip the others. But if I visit, lets say, Port Blair, I still might want to go to Mauritius. Ok the reason of attraction being the blue water and white sand beaches. They look sooooo beautiful... All I have seen till now is some dirty beaches all around.. in India and out of India.. But I want something that is veryyy clean. Hence the list.. Just want to confirm if such beaches exist in the real world.. or is it just in Hindi Movies.. ;-)

4. God's own country - Kerala

• Sheerly for the natural beauty of the place.. Those backwaters.. the trees... Appam and Veg Stew.. and A houseboat.. Imagining all these together makes me smile.. I guess being at the place would be even more pleasing.. OnceI reach there, maybe I can think seriously on the plans of starting a business of houseboats.. A concept nurtured by me and Vinod(a friend of mine from office) ;-)

5. Taj Mahal

• Now actually.. This is an irony.. Whenever I go onsite, meet people there and talk about India, they'd say how they had been to India and how did they like India and all sorts.. How they went to Taj Mahal and the place was so beautiful.. Well at such times.. I feel bad that being in India, I haven't seen Taj Mahal.. Actually same holds true about people in other countries.. I came to know of this bus driver in Jersey City (where I am now) who hasn't been to the Statue of Liberty.. while my enthu made me visit the place within days of coming to US. The typical case of 'Ghar ki murgi Daal baraabar'. Anyways, coming to the main point, I want to see the place.. Afterall it ain't a Wonder just for nothing.

6. Great Wall of China

• Man's only creation on Earth to be visible from Moon... Seriously, The concept of the wall itself is too much... So looooooooooooong is it.. around 6.7K kms.. Was this guy crazy who built it? Kya duniya ka saara patthar khatam karna chaahta tha kya? Anyways.. its on my list.. And I have to go there to find out why do I not find a stone when I have shoo off Ramlal (Gali ka kutta,re...)

7. Europe - Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, France, Spain, Greece, Austria

• I have this wish since long (atleast since I have started working).. I should get a Schenghen Visa and should get posted to some country like Germany or France for an year or so. Then every weekend I would go to some place in any of these countries. Europe is indeed very beautiful. Have been to a few places in Europe like Paris, Venice, Rome. The flexibility that the Schenghen Visa offers is a boon for travellers like me. Otherwise getting a Visa for each country is a problem. Anyways.. My wishlist consists of visits to Frankfurt (heard a lot about it from Makarand), Berlin, Nice, Brussels, Amsterdam (specially during my bachelor life ;-D ), Milan, Madrid, Athens, Vienna.. (Have heard a lot about the beauty of Austria)

8. North India

• Now that is a very generic statement... But yes.. North India.. When I say that , I mean, Delhi, Himachal and Uttaranchal.. Specially watching the Roadies show on MTV, Their journey from Jaisalmer to Leh looked fantastic.. specially towards the end. Being a bike freak I am, I would love to go for a ride on such beautiful routes. Another reason for my fascination with the North is specially due to the fact that the most North in India I have been to is Mount Abu, a place just above the Gujarat Border in Rajasthan.

9. Golden Quadrilateral

• Well my list is not always about going to a certain place. Destination is not always what I am interested in. The journey also matters. Golden Quadrilateral, for sure, is one thing to ensure that it would make even the journey a pleasure.(Of course, the govt. permitting). I would be very much interested in taking a drive on these roads in an SUV, halting at dhabas for meals and adoring the beauty of my home country. Of course, that would also give me a point to boast about my country...

10. Others

• I could now actually go on and on.. But to cut short.. Few more places in the probable list are Pondicherry, Coorg, Darjeeling and others.
• I would like to go to Ahmedabad and Halol again sometime. Specially to the places where I lived, the schools that I went to and relive the old memories
• Well Sinhagad would have been on my list.. But just covered that some time back.. Seriously difficult to believe after being in Pune for almost 8 years, I hadn't been there..

Finally.. I guess I have prepared a very idealistic list.

Something which is very common and where most of the people would share interest in similar type of places..

Anyways, that hardly matters, so long as the list matters to me.

So far I think this is an optimistic list for me to complete.

And at the current rate of travelling that I am doing, I should be well in time to finish visiting these places during my lifetime, provided all goes on well..

Touchwood!!! :-D