Sin City & the Grand Canyon

We have always wanted to go to Las Vegas. An opportunity presented itself when we got invited to Shafali's surprise Anniversary party hosted by Mami. It was a wonderful event and as you can see Shafali and Richard were very surprised!



We had lots of fun at Las Vegas. We drove through desert and couldnt believe that the city, is actually right in middle of it. Temperatures were soaring and using the car air conditioning was not recommended for fear of car overheating. So we were relieved to get to our hotel Golden Nugget which wasn't on the Strip (which is that part of Vegas where all the popular and larger casinos are situated).



The hotel was next to another popular attraction called the Fremont Street experience which boasts of a unique light and sound experience. The entire street of 1400 feet has a unique foyer with columns 90 feet high supporting a screen over one's head. The LG screen (also called as space frame) requires 32 computers to display animation. The space frame has 2.1 million lights in the inside surface. The sound comes from 208 speakers producing 540,000 watts of sound. Its awesome!




Over the next 3 days we managed to visit almost all of the hotels on the strip. We visited the Madalay Bay, Luxor, Excalibur, Tropicana, MGM Grand, New York New York, Aladdin, Paris, Ballys, Bellagio, Flamingo, Ceaser's Palace, Mirage and the Venetian. Whew! And there were still a few more that we missed!
Here's a link to the hotels on the strip:
http://www.lasvegasmaps.com/stripmap.html
And here are a few snaps:

Thats Rex in front of the Lion statue in the MGM Grand.


This was our favourite place for lunch and dinner buffet. It was called the Main Street Station. We loved the vast choice of menus available and the ambiance was amazing!


We loved the Luxor for its Egyptian setup. We cant wait to see the real thing. But the view in the night outside was quite breathtaking.


The Mandalaya Bay was stunning from inside as well as outside (as were many of the others that we visited). From the picture one cannot begin to imagine the grandeur of these hotels from the inside. The parking structures are huge and in most of these popular hotels, its tough to get a good spot. The casino from inside are amazingly huge. You can easily spend the whole day just in one casino and never have to go anywhere else.


Ceasers Palace was another stunning architectural wonder. Its amazing how much design and detail has been incorporated in the buildings. For most part we found the architecture of the hotels in Vegas more fascinating than the "chi-ching" of the casino slot machines!



The tower in New York New York hotel was unfortunately closed for construction. So we had to make do seeing it from the outside.



Between the Ceaser's and Mirage was one of the fanciest malls that we had seen. It was called the Forum shop. Some of the most exlusive and expnsive goods are sold at these stores.



The Bellagio had a most amazing display of models of various buildings made completely out of 100% natural material. Here are some snaps:



The Venetian was one of my personal favorites. It was a setting right out of the victorian era. I could close my eyes and just imagine ladies and gentlemen dressed up in the victorian corset dresses and ready for a ballroom dance. There was a nice little gondola ride just outside the hotel. The architecture on this hotel was very European, it reminded me of our beautiful buildings in Mumbai!




But our undisputed favourite was Paris. When we walked in we were completely stumped by the setting. The entire casino floor was made out to look like.. well.. the streets of Paris! We didnt get a good shot of it, so here is a link to whats inside:
http://daguerre.frejol.org/photo.live?id=20040805010
We didnt get to go up the Eifel tower because it was under construction. But we have heard that the view from top is one not to be missed.
We also didnt get to take a snap from inside, but we did get one from the outside which is also quite spectacular.


The gambling and stakes at Vegas was quite an experience. We got to see and feel why one could completely succumb to the temptation. We saw young and old alike gambling hundreds of dollars at a go on the crap tables and at the poker tables. It was quite unnerving. We decided to try our luck on slot machines and we had a net gain of $50!

Las Vegas was a sight to see.. an experience by itself. A man made wonder in the middle of the desert!

But the desert had yet another wonder to offer... A natural wonder.. one which left us speechless and stunned. The grandest of all wonders: The Grand Canyon.

This is one experience which is NOT to be missed. The magnificence of the Canyon cannot be described in words.. so here is a peek at what it looks like.

This is the place we stayed at.


A glimpse of the Gand Canyon:














Some quick facts of the Grand Canyon:
The Grand Canyon stretches over 277 river miles. The average rim to rim distance is about 10 miles. The elevation of the South rim is around 7000 milses and the North rim is 8100 miles.Approximately 4 million people visit the Grand Canyon national park every year. The canyon is over 1 million acres of land and is over 1,900 square miles, one of the largest formations on the earth. It is one of the deepest canyons on earth. The vistas from different parts of the rim offer stunning and diverse view into its grandeur. Geologically it was formed by the erosion of the crust by the Colorado river over thousands of years. The oldest of the rocks found in the canyon date back 2000 million years. The canyon itself is five to six million years old!

The last mile
The ongoing debate on Network Neutrality.
Today’s generation is the true Internet generation. Within our lifetimes, we have seen the technology and internet revolution change the way we live and learn. The internet is the sole medium enabling creativity, thought and ultimately revolution.
Now the telecommunication giants are here to change it all. They claim that the other carrier services like our postal services or shipping companies charge a premium for fast delivery. For example, courier services charge higher for next day delivery. Similarly, the telecom companies want to charge higher for providing faster access to websites. So for companies like Google, Yahoo or Craigslist, who generate higher traffic, will have to pay to keep the current level (if not more) traffic to their webpages.
What does this mean to users?
* Slower access to websites while we pay the same monthly charges for internet access.
* Bloggers, who are the next generation creative minds and use media such as audio and video, will be discouraged from uploading content, since access is so much slower
* Manipulation! When providers give better access to selective websites, they are doing an injustice by discouraging users to access other (slower) websites. This could mean lesser choices for users.
* Telecommuters will suffer badly if they don’t have reliable access via conferencing and other media for their home office. Smaller home businesses will also suffer the same casualty.
* Online sales will take a hit
* The non profit organizations that target to reach millions of users through the only low cost medium will have to rely on more donations from known sources. Philanthropy which is so hard to come by needs support from free medium like the internet.
There are much larger issues about the internet which need to be addressed urgently. Real issues like tracking molestors, child pornogrpahers and stalkers on the internet are issues which need to be more actively dealt by the powers at large. As more and more children go online each year, the threat to their safety and security is only increasing. Statistics show that one out of every 17 minors are solicited, threatened or harrassed online. Cybercrime is touching our lives in many ways and there needs to be an increased effort to tackle this issue urgently. With such serious issues needing immediate attention, Net neutrality should never have become an issue in the first place.

links:
http://www.savetheinternet.com/
http://handsoff.org/
http://www.alternet.org/mediaculture/35557/

Summers finally here!
So on the memorial day weekend, we decided to go hiking and do some nature walk. We discovered a trail which promised to show spectacular views of the ocean off and on.
Here are some pictures we took on our sunny day out.
Mt Tamalpais location:

On the day of the hike:

Genocide: Germany, Rwanda and Darfur..

gen.o.cide :
The systematic and planned extermination of an entire national, racial, political, or ethnic group.

Genocide was often a word associated with the events in Nazi Germany. In history books we read about the atrocities committed on the Jews by the Nazis. In my childhood I read about "The Diary of Anne Frank" which revealed the horrors of what a simple girl like me went through because a group of people didn’t like another. As good people we hope and pray that humanity would not have to go through yet another heartless and senseless killing of people.

Alas, it happened again. In Rwanda.
One of the most poignant stories that we came across last year was the real life drama of Rwanda. "Hotel Rwanda" left us with a feeling of shock and anguish. In 1994, a systematic genocide of millions of the Tutsis of Rwanda, by the Hutus, was witnessed. What was worst is that the International Community stood and watched; no help came until it was too late.
What left me feeling sick was the fact that I was completely uninformed about the happenings in Rwanda.

Today it is happening again. Darfur, some 6000 people are marching 400 kilometers through unknown territories and forests, avoiding the known routes which are now heeded dangerous to travel because of land mines and collapsing bridges. Sudan has been at war and specifically experiencing genocide from 2003. There is no exact count on how many have died in this period. The displaced alone count to 2 million. Recently the UN commissioned a force to investigate into claims of genocide and concluded that there were severe human rights violations committed. To top it all, the food rations from the World Food Program have been cut in half, just as the UN reports occurrences of severe malnutrition. The rationing is happening in part due to the upcoming hunger season and in part due to the shortage of International donations. In spite of ceasefire and efforts at peacekeeping by the militia and the rebels, millions of Sudanese are facing starvation, the silent killer.
Mr. Morris, director of World Food Program, rightly asks, "Haven’t they suffered enough?"

Is this the world that we live in? Have we been brought up only to ignore moralities?
How many children, women and men have to die to shake us out of our inertia?
Think about it.. In my lifetime alone, in less than 35 years, I have witnessed 2 counts of genocide! We aspire to change the world we live in by our deeds.. how many more genocides should we see before we stand up and say "Stop!" There is a desperate need for each one of us to act and act now.. To contribute towards stopping this waste of lives NOW.. in any way we can.

Links:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/3922461.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4954096.stm
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=33060
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12554797/
http://www.hotelrwanda.com/main.html

Photo: courtsey www.unicef.org

"Specs"tacular!
I love those cool classy glasses that Rex has been wearing recently...
Check him out...

Work of Art

Recently I happened to receive in my mail an attachment, a movie file showing an artist called Illana Yahav who works with her hands to create art on sand.
She "draws" to music and this combination of art and music leaves one breathless. It is indeed incredible to see sand art in this form.
Check it out at: http://www.sandfantasy.com

Maui Trip contd..

Wednesday 18th January

Today was Snorkeling Day! We decided to hit the beaches where the snorkeling would be good. Since we weren’t very comfortable with the deeper oceans, we decided not to do the Molokini trip this time around. Molokini is supposed to be one of the “must-do” for people who enjoy snorkeling. Oh well, may be next time when we are more “ready”.
We were advised to go to the Black Rock beach or the 14 mile maker beach on the West of Maui. But that turned out to be a waste of time. We knew from our guide book the 14 mile marker beach was over hyped, so we headed straight to Black Rock beach at the Sheraton. But the water was quite muddy at the shallow side and was not at all appropriate for beginners. So we headed back to the South. We had heard (and read from the tour book) that the “Fishbowl” was supposed to be “The” place for snorkeling. But to get to it, there was a bit of a hike and had to be done really early in the morning. We decided to just go back to our favorite spot which was just as fascinating as it was the other day. This time around though, I had rented out the prescription glass snorkel gear and could really appreciate the sights underwater.
We were so involved with the snorkeling, we soon lost track of time. We realized that we had to catch a boat soon and headed back home. This was something that I had been really looking forward to doing. The Whale Watching tour! The boat was a catamaran and didn’t leave anyone sea-sick. The weather was just right since we did this activity between 4.30pm and 6.30pm. We got some good seats right in the front of the boat and we waited eagerly for the whales to show themselves. Well, we didn’t get to see them real close, and they didn’t come out all too often either. But overall we had good company (thanks to Dan and Janet) and a good boat ride. We enjoyed every bit of it. I think some other tours do better than the one which we took.
All in all, it was a great fun filled day with lots of marine life to admire.





Thursday 19th January

Today was our last day at Maui. We were already beginning to miss this place. We started off by grabbing some good breakfast and then later packing. We had decided to do a hike as a last activity before we were off to San Jose. This trail was called the Waihe’e Valley Trail and we got the details of where it was from our tour book Maui Revealed. The only thing that had changed was that this place has become so popular for hiking, that they now have someone full time at the trail entrance charging 6$ per person for the hike. In a way that was good, because we felt safer leaving the car and all our stuff at the parking lot where there was someone to take care of it.
The trail was really exciting. It was beautiful walking next to a stream and through the valley into the mountains. It was green everywhere and we stopped often for photographs. We came across two swing bridges which I like to call as “Indiana Jones’” style. These bridges had rusty wires and some logs laid out exactly the way you see in some of these movies. It wasn’t as high, so we could make it through safely. We also waded through two streams and finally came to the end of the trail which was slightly disappointing. We were supposed to see the Mana-nole Falls from this point, but it was too foggy and we couldn’t see a thing. Nonetheless, the view of the valley was worth the trip up and we really had fun crossing the bridges and boulder hopping through the streams.
We freshened up and headed towards the airport, did some souvenir shopping on the way and ended up quite exhausted at the airport.
What a day and what a trip. Maui was one of the best trips that we have ever done, and we hope to go back again some day.