Going out till 4am with four people I barely knew, meeting two people who sold their car to a drug dealer in Paraguay in order to buy an air ticket to Europe, almost getting arrested by Vladimir Putin’s security and getting to drive a complete stranger’s twenty-plus year old car, not to mention meeting someone who had a “kohlapuri” sandal with him at a greek restaurant… I guess you could say that it was an exciting two days in Budapest.

I did not have any hotel reservations. However, as the train made its way into the station, a young man representing a hostel came on the train and sold me a bed in a hostel for around $10 a night. I was under no obligations, all I had to do was take the free shuttle provided by them to the hostel, check it out, and I did not have to pay anything upfront. I decided to take a chance, as the setup seemed legit, and made it to the hostel without getting abducted on the way.

The Mellow Mood Hostel well exceeded my expectations. The location was fabulous, right by the river, and next to the Kempinski and Le Meridian Hotels. It was an old office building converted to a hostel so had large rooms with high ceilings, very clean, and all amenities. We were eight to a room, and each had their own locker. Additionally, they conveniently had the laundry room right next to the bar, which was where I found myself, and about ten other fellow-travelers while waiting for my clothes to dry. Over the course of the next four to five beers, I got to know two australian former construction workers who were traveling around the world and had some of the craziest experiences. These guys bought a car in Canada and made their way down to South America, picking up hitch-hikers in Mexico who along the way helped themselves to their iPods and clothes and money leaving them stranded. They then sold their car in Paraguay to someone they claim was a drug-dealer, and then after working in Denmark and France, finally made their way to Budapest where they were merrily getting drunk in the company of complete strangers such as myself.

And then there was a Bosnian girl from Croatia who had actually visited Darjeeling in India purely because she saw it on a teabag, or the American kid who showed up in the middle of the night after visiting villages in the Ukraine, or a charming girl from Denmark who was in Budapest interviewing people for a radio show, and coincidentally was on the same flight as me on the way out of Budapest.

Budapest is really a beautiful city. You can see both its glorious past and the influences of various cultures have had over the years. You also see a new, emerging country that is genuinely excited about joining the EU, and is embracing the modern world with enthusiasm. I was surprised to learn, from a guy I met at a greek restaurant, that India’s TCS has about 800 software engineers in Budapest, about 100-200 of whom are from India! Its still very reasonably priced, and even the new fancy shopping malls have quality merchandise at significantly lower prices than the West.

I was also very pleasantly surprised by how friendly and helpful people were. Almost everywhere I went I managed to engage in conversation with complete strangers, and in the rare moments that I got lost or needed help (finding an internet cafe, for example), even if someone couldn’t communicate in English, they would try their best or ask around until they found someone who spoke English.

My most unexpected experience happened, well, quite unexpectedly. I was walking toward Buda Castle on the hill, and even made my way in until a kind Russian or Hungarian security guard with a not-so-kind automatic rifle politely asked me to turn around. He did not speak any English and I did not know any Hungarian, so I was quite perplexed until a German tourist couple standing outside the castle told me that Vladimir Putin was expected there any minute and no one was allowed to go where I had inadvertantly gone in order to take pictures of the breath-taking views that the castle’s elevation offers!

Anyway, so I turn around and head toward a quieter part of town and see these two old east-european cars that look a lot like the old Indian “Fiats”, and I start photographing them, just as the owner of one comes out. Through halting English and gestures, he asks me if I’d like to take the car for a spin. Now, this is an old car, filled with lunch-boxes as the man delivers food to old folks, so there is room only for one, the driver. Yet this guy trusts me enough to walk along the street while I slowly edge the car out of its parking spot and take it along the road for a spin! It might have been only 200 meters, but it was an amazing feeling. Later I was told that in Hungary cars are expensive, and people have a special attachment to their cars, and for this guy to let a complete stranger ride his was a really big gesture!

Other than that, I spent a lot of time walking around various neighborhoods, exploring areas, tourist attractions (the terror museum and Andrassy Boulevard), and of course cafes. I went to see some of the famous Baths, but unfortunately I got to the Hotel Gellerd too late and the baths were closed.

Check out some of the pictures here as words don’t to justice to this really beautiful and culturally rich city. I really want to come back here again sometime.

Pictures from Europe uploaded to http://www.sinhatravel.com/photo/Europe

Cafe Pruckel, Vienna

If there was a city that just has too many old, historical, and
beautiful buildings and monuments, it has to be Vienna. At almost
every turn there are streets, both broad and narrow, lines with
centuries-old buildings and spectacular architecture. The problem,
however, with such an architectural largesse, is that the eyes soon
get bored and yearn for something more.

I had about six hours in Vienna, and after spending the first couple
darting from one U-bahn stop to another, and taking in this palace
and that garden and this park and that museum, I was pretty hungry
and was a little tired with the touristy stuff. Lunch was at this
sandwich shop in the crowded Stephens Place where they serve these
tiny open-faced bruchetta-type sandwiches for a mere euro apiece!
After gorging on three of them of different varieties and paying
about the same amount for a small bottle of water, I then headed out,
on foot this time, to wander and see what I found.

I walked for about two hours, took a couple of photographs here and
there, not of the old time-tested monuments, but of the new glass-
facade office buildings that were cropping up here and there. After a
few clicks of the camera, and two hours of walking, I needed
refueling, and made a concerted effort to find the ideal cafe. After
walking another couple of kilometers and discarding about seventeen,
I came upon Cafe Pruckel, which occupies a prominent corner opposite
some impressive museum. The travel snob that i am, I immediately
suspected it of being a tourist trap, given its proximity to the
monument. However, before commuting a death sentence to it, I decided
to offer it a fair trial and stepped in, and became a part of
something that I’ve probably only seen in a Roger Moore James Bond
movie.

Cafe Pruckel is a large, airy expanse within a centuries old
building. Chandeliers hang from the ceilings supported by tall
pillars and arches. The furniture is from the sixties or seventies,
and extremely comfortable. Waiters in tuxedos scurry around bringing
white cups of cappucinos in small steel plates to waiting customers.
Posters on the door discuss upcoming cultural events. Newspapers from
around the world are found encased in wooden reading trays, and
available for customers. The pace is unhurried and I helped myself to
a table right in the center, and began taking in the smoke and
conversation filled atmosphere. It was the first time I have been at
a place that would have lost its charm if there was no smoking.
Around me, well dressed people were sipping on their hot beverages
and were either deep in conversation or just sitting around with a
book or a magazine. Nobody appeared to be in a hurry, and the space
between tables offered privacy without the feeling of being secluded.
You could almost hear the background music from Bond playing, and any
moment expected Roger Moore to emerge from one of the tables with a
conspiratory look.

It was snowing outside, providing more of a reason for me to stay and
take-in more of the place. I ordered my second cappucino as I dug
into a heavenly walnut pastry which tasted like it was prepared about
an hour ago. Now I know why they say its a must to taste the pastries
in Vienna- they give Mozart, Vienna’s other famous icon a real run
for his euros.

Before I knew it, it was time for me to leave and catch my train and
reluctantly I asked for the check. One of the tuxedos came over,
wrote up the check on the spot, and doled out change from a purse
then and there! This, by the way, is an amazing part of European cafe/
restaurant culture. They may not bring you the check until you ask
for it, unlike the rushed students of optimization algorithms who
double up as waiters in manhattan, but when they do, they come with
their purse, so that no time is lost in making change!

On my way out, I finally saw the one thing that would not be from
Roger Moore’s era, but would definitely suit Daniel Craig- the cafe
has Wi-Fi.

Ok, so admittedly its taken me a little while to get my Jamaica post up and running. Now to a few of you this might be a little disconcerting, given that Jamaica was in fact my first port of call. Except for a random two line email post sent on a weak stolen Wi-Fi signal from the beach, which for some reason that I can’t fathom has the largest number of comments to date, I’ve only managed to talk about Pelican Bar and the villa experience. What, you might ask, was I doing for the rest of the five days? And what about details from the rest of my trip? Am I going to be as tardy all the way through? Do you, the few readers who come by and check this space regularly, have to wait until 2007 and the culmination of the cricket world cup before you get to read my posts from June 2006?

No, my dear friends, I assure you that order and regularity shall make their way onto these blogs. We shall start by catching up on my first day here in Berlin, and then shall fill in Amsterdam and Jamaica in a few days. I am currently sitting at a desk in my room on the 21st floor of the Park Inn, a four star business hotel in Alexanderplatz. The room is about as big as my studio in New York, and has the sleek ergonomic european design that I quite enjoy. True, I am not really “roughing it” as a backpacker should, but then again, I never said I was backpacking, and more importantly, there was a great deal on Expedia, and this place cost about half of its normal price! Long live the Internet!

Berlin

Berlin is a really interesting place, and I will do more justice to it in my next post as I have another day here. However, a few initial observations after my first day here:
1) Berliners love public transport: You have the U-bahn (underground subway), the S-bahn (overground train), the H-bahn (tram, which threatens to kill you everytime you attempt to cross the street) and buses

2) There are helluva lot of monuments and government buildings- almost two at every corner

3) Hugo Boss suits are cheaper here than anywhere else, including Toronto and Vancouver. Now why would someone who is not going to wear a suit for another six months buy one? Just put it down to craziness, and we should be fine.

4) Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan:
Friendly competitors to the venerable House of Morgan, Deutsche Bank have gone one step ahead in the world of corporate sponsorships by actually naming a museum the “Deutsche Guggenheim”, and putting a massive poster just outside the building. At first you might say that it is fine, after all, Deutsche could also just mean “German Guggenheim”. True, except then the marketing geniuses at my friendly competitor decided to add their logo of the square with the slash on it, and on every other reference to the Deutsche Guggenheim. To add insult to injury, this massive sign was on a massive building right opposite a tiny building with a tiny sign that announced the offices of JPMorgan

4) Einstein Kaffe: This chain of well appointed coffee shops will give Starbucks a run for their Euros any day. Can’t wait for them to make an entry into the New York market

Confession: I can’t escape my past. Here I am, on my way around the world, “away from it all”, and yet I try and read the FT when I can, I find humor in investment bank sponsorships, I try and think about business strategies of coffee shops. Maybe it isn’t my past. Maybe its the present and these six months are just one long commercial break!

Is it a good idea to start packing twelve hours before leaving for your six month trip? Probably not. But I ended up doing it anyway.

This is what I planned on taking with me:

As you can see, its all about the important things in life:
– a couple of cameras, associated cords
– a USB reader to upload while on the road
– Paperwork
– Books (Shalimar the Clown, Samarkand, 1000 places to see before you die, Bill Bryson down under, Istanbul by Orhan Pamuk)
– gifts from work colleagues (note the I love NY boxer shorts and toilet paper)
– laptop
– toiletries
– medicines (though I have no idea what half of them are for- succumed to consumer marketing and got swindled into buying an “Adventure Medical Kit for Zone B travel”. “Zone B”, for those of you unfamiliar to the world of consumer marketing in the travel world, refers to what is commonly known as “third-world nations” or euphemistically as the developing world)
– All-important “Not all who wander are lost” t-shirt gifted to me
– running shoes and clothes
– oh, and some clothes

Unfortunately, about twenty five seconds into packing I discovered that my goal of traveling around the world with airline-compatible carry-on backpack alone was not going to happen, and so had to resort to adding a duffel bag to my travel group (primarily for the winter clothes for Europe).

So, after hmming and hawing, I finally managed to fit all my stuff into this:

Of course there were some casualties who couldn’t make it:

I have a sneaking suspicion that I won’t use half the things I’ve taken with me, and will probably find a dozen things I should have taken. Well, I guess part of taking such trips is to take things as they come and not try and plan everything. Anyway, I will be touching India in March and can buy stuff there or drop stuff off there to lighten my load. Plus I can impose on friends in London as well next week!!

Well, this is my last post from New York. Expect the next one either from sunny Jamaica or drizzly London.