Eurotrip Day 1: Arrival into Vienna (9/15/13)

Arrived at the Vienna international airport from where I took a train to the Westbahnhof to check into my hostel (Wombats - The lounge) before getting some money, a sim card (which wound up being useless on the phone I had), and some basic food supplies to snack on as I walked towards the city center. Once I arrived in the old town, I walked through the museum quarters; a cool, artsy area with beanbags, hammocks, etc. and people lounging about eating and drinking and just hanging out. 

The Museumplatz with tons of people just hanging out on weird furniture while eating and drinking. Was a great unexpected surprise. 

Me exploring the old town area focused around the museumplatz.

Nice courtyard nearby to enjoy the nearby buildings and statues.

Really enjoying the architecture of these buildings. I was not alone as even the little man on the horse was pointing at the buildings awesome facade. 

Driveable entrance to more historic buildings in the heart of Wien.

The city had these historical markers around town. Thought it was pretty cool as you knew what to look out for.

Impressive building - the ephesos museum. Didnt fit in one picture which makes it even more impressive.

One of the doors in the old town to walk through. They were very ornate. 

Some statues as I was walking between buildings. 

I happened to walk across the Spanish horse riding school area. They all fancy in Wien.

Top of one of the buildings in the museumplatz area with its renditions of Greek gods I believe. 

After my walk around the town, I decided to check out some of the beer places I looked up before the trip. This one was hard to find but had some good beer (it was called Kolar).

entrance to get into the Esterhazykeller. There were many of these basement bars around town. Definitely not complaining as they were usually pretty chill and cool to be in.

The Ephesos museum at night. When I go back, Ill have to go inside this place and check it out. If it looks this good outside, it must be great inside.

I then walked through the Museum platz and Heldenplatz which had some pretty cool architecture and views. After wandering around that area for a little bit, I went up to check out Kolar, a brew pub, and the surrounding area for food and drink. First stop was Kolar where I had their dunkel and a sandwich (which they called a quesadilla). After that I went to check out the Goesser bierklinik, but it was closed, so I then went to nearby Esterhazykeller which had some steep steps to get down into the place, some cheap wine prices, and a typical lager beer (Panther?). After a few drinks, I went next door to Bierhof (this was a square with many restaurants all grouped together with outdoor seating and tons of people around) which had a better beer selection but was also a little more pricey. After a beer here, I began the walk back to the hostel (about a 3.5km walk) where I had a few beers (Ottakringer lager and Weihenstephaner) before calling it a night.

Puerto Rico Trip Overview

4/29-5/8/11

This was a nice, quick trip. It is kinda cool being able to go to a place vastly different than most of America and not needing a passport. Old San Juan is very old feeling (imagine that :) ) both with the architecture of the buildings, many of the roads being cobblestone, and the fact that they have a few ocean forts within walking distance. These forts are fun to explore, as is the city itself with lots of night life options in such a small city area. Near the port of call is a lot of touristy places, however they have some nice dive bars and places off the beaten path that made walking around the city randomly at night worthwhile. Driving through the country was crazy if you went into the interior. These roads were second in their crazy scariness only to the one in Lesotho. That being said, it was interesting seeing the contrast of the country around the interstate in the big cities and the inland villages/homes. The country side is beautiful (I guess when you are in a tropical rain forest, that is easy to accomplish), with lots of natural exploration possible. This was also my first exposure to the bio-luminescent bays, which I fell in love with. I really hope these countries do everything in their power to preserve this wonder and natural beauty so that future generations are able to bask in its glory. Enough about Puerto Rico...

Culebra beach who would have thought an island in the Caribbean has amazing beaches? 

It definitely has hills/mountains (depending on where you are from). 

The interior also has beauty within itself. Little waterfall in El Yunque.

...and onto the main event, the union of 2 amazing people in a surreal atmosphere. Not only was the resort amazing, but the ceremony and its events were all just utterly spectacular. After attending another Indian wedding or two, I realized this is just how they roll. The event the night before was chill with many performances and people doing the mehndi henna tattoos (I asked for a small one since only women get it done normally but I wanted to try it out). Those skills are impressive; the intricacy of the designs is just amazing! The day of, the entrance was just a giant party that was amazing to be a part of. The ceremony was perfect with the ocean in the background on such a gorgeous day. And then of course the reception was a wild and fun time as wedding receptions tend to be.

Love these guys and the outfits. 

Rishi and Paru - thank you both for allowing me to be a part of your special day!

Puerto Rico Trip - Day 8: Wedding day (5/7/11)

After breakfast, we have dance practice/rehearsal for the reception which was fun. We then chilled in the room until picture time. After pictures are taken, we head down and get it started. 

Me in my snazzy getup. Back-lit a bit but it is snazzy trust me. 

The groom and his parents. Looking dapper as always!

The carriage is pulling in to pick up the passengers. 

The Modh family gathers to begin the procession to unite the groom with the bride. 

R and his sis get in a horse drawn carriage and all of R's side starts dancing and celebrating on a slow march/celebration towards the wedding area. Music playing, people dancing and carrying on; it's quite the spectacle and people staying in the resort were all coming out and taking pictures everywhere and V going into a crowd of spectators and dancing with them as he is a good dancer and enjoys it.

Here we go. People were all out watching the giant horde of people dancing to loud music. 

As I said, there was dancing. We stopped in a few places so they could all dance and what not.

Groom and parents getting jiggy with it. 

Twins and the groom dancing up a storm. 

We then decided to pick up Rish and carry him around a bit so he could dance a little higher.

Once at the wedding area, P's side is waiting there. We enter in our pairs of groomsmen and bridesmaids to get the wedding started and then P gets carried in with a veiled enclosure with 4 guys carrying her. She joins R and they get on with the wedding. 

The bridal entrance to the ceremony. Once again, these women are artistic; those designs were flower petals.

Groom waiting his bride with a spectacular view of the ocean behind them.

The groomsmen hanging out waiting for the ceremony to begin.

The bride gets carried in like a boss! That is how you make an entrance!

Having some water in my awesome outfit while I enjoy the ceremony.

After the ceremony (very pretty – both in the actual ceremony and the backdrop of the island paradise overlooking the water), we get changed into our reception attire and get that part kicked off. It was a lot of fun and very well done with people dancing the whole time and everyone having a great time. Once that finishes, we continue partying in the hospitality room for another long night. In the morning, I say my good-byes and head back to the airport on the shuttle to catch my flight home.

Some handsome dudes hanging out with the recently married Rish.

The happy married couple. Looking great guys!

My bridal party companion for the entrance dance.

They had these tall ladies on stilts dancing through the reception to the latin music.

Chocolate fondue fountain dippings touthpicked to a pineapple tree I believe. Such a great and tasty idea!

Me and my roomy/the groom. Congrats my man!

Bunch of handsome dudes hanging out after an amazing day!

Puerto Rico Trip - Day 7: Let the Festivities begin! (5/6/11)

One of the views from our hostel. We stayed really close to the second fort I visited in OSJ. 

After showering, Pushkar, our other roomy and I head to Cafe Mallorca for breakfast where I get a guava pastry and a mallorca, both of which are delicious. We get a call saying that if we get to the airport soon, we can get a shuttle to the resort (we didn't know how we were going to get there up until now); so P and I head to get R a wedding present and grab our stuff and get a taxi to the airport where we made it just in time. P and I wind up getting our own party van to the resort which was pretty nice. 

Push and I on our bus. Dont know why they didnt relieve some of the other buses of their people but whatever. On to the resort!

Our room. Wonder what the view from the balcony is like...

Not too shabby! Some moutains in the distance with lush landscape as far as the eye can see.

Nice gift basket upon checking in. Hydration is key.

Check in and have time to check out the resort's private island so we go, and I swim to an island in the distance which is a bad idea without a snorkel/mask; I do not like the taste of saltwater. After we all hung out a bit on the island, we head back and get ready for the festivities. 

The island has its own welcome sign. Small island but very relaxing and nice.

Our boat arrived at Polomino Island (the resort's private island). Little slice of heaven.

Chess set on the island. It clearly has everything!

Dont want to play chess? Why not lay back and enjoy the view of the pristine water. That island in the distance is the one I swam to.

Dont want to relax (like my friends)? Play some volleyball.

Eat some great food, watch the performances and walk around catching up with everyone. In the process of talking with some old friends, I decided to get a henna tattoo as I have never done it before; they are usually done for the women at these get togethers but I wanted to try it. I am so impressed with these ladies' artistic ability and the definition they are able to exact on one's hand/body. 

Nice sunset from the resort. I do love sunsets!

I have found the festivities! Time to celebrate!

Me with the happy couple. Love them!

The ladies showing off their henna with a disapproving Viraj. hahaha 

After that party winds down, we go to the hospitality room for the after party. As that was winding down, I got my swimsuit on and splashed around in the pool and hot tub  before heading to bed.

Random pic from inside the secret party room.

Little fountain by the pool that flows into the pool (if I remember right).