Thiruvananthapuram

Its green. Its exotic. Its God's own country[1]. Its the land of the kettuvalam and Mohiniyattam. Of Kathakali and Kalaripayattu. Of two monsoons as if one wasn't enough. Its where you go for the backwaters and the houseboats. Its all color. Its like someone has set the color contrast bar on the television to the last bar. It also happens to be home. Thiruvananthapuram is the southernmost district of Kerala; a couple of hours South and you will be at the tip of the peninsula. Its the most polluted and the least pretty of all places in Kerala but that doesn't mean anything to a non-Keralite. There's enough here to keep you occupied for 48 hours, hell, there was enough to keep me occupied for 18 years but let's not go into that now.

Friday 5PM
Padmanabhaswamy Temple. The city gets its name from this temple - the city of Ananthan. The city where the 18-foot Vishnu reclines on Ananthan, the snake. This temple has a seven-tier Gopuram which one can climb up during daytime. The temple's corridor has more than 300 beautifully carved stone pillars, and going around the corridor a couple of times is enough exercise for the day. This temple, in my opinion, is also the cleanest temple I have ever seen in the country and for that reason alone, it is worth visiting.

Note: Non-Hindus are not permitted to enter the temple which is a pity. However, certain resourceful people have gotten in claiming to be members of some Hindu cult or the other. Just name a Swamiji and chant a mantra, and you should be okay. The other thing about this temple is that no trousers are allowed inside, but you can rent dhoti/mundu right outside.

Friday 8PM
If your stomach can take street/local food, stop by Paradise at Manacaud Jn and pick up a couple of "parottas" and mutton gravy. Awesome stuff. If you can't take it and you are in the mood to spend some money, take an auto to Muthoot Palace by the state secretariat.

Saturday 8AM
We are leaving town. A bit of a drive South on NH47 and a little way across the state border to the Padmanabhapuram palace. The seat of the princely state of Travancore during the 16th and 17th centuries, this palace is probably the best example of the Kerala style of architecture - teak, rosewood, granite and stone used lavishly to build the 127 room palace. Nalukettus and concert halls, dancing and dining halls, galleries which still house the original watercolors, and trapdoors that lead to escape tunnels. Simple, elegant, understated, a must-see. You will be transported to the age of Maharaja Marthanda Varma and his general Anathapadmanabhan. Guaranteed.

Saturday 12 noon
Couple of choices now - we can keep heading South to Kanyakumari, visiting some forts on the way and get to Vivenkananda Rock by sunset. Nice but hyped, a little overrated. And anyway, we are doing Thiruvananthapuram now. So I suggest driving back to the city to hit the beaches. Food, you ask? Some roadside cafe should work. Or if you can wait for a couple of hours, we can get food at Kovalam beach.

Saturday 3PM
Kovalam beach. Most resorts in Kovalam have their private beaches and the public ones are pretty crowded. But even with the crowds and the commercialisation, Kovalam still retains much of its charm - rocks, coconut trees and sand slopes which can get pretty steep once you get in the water. There are three beaches and the southernmost one is probably your best bet. Spend some time here at Kovalam and then we will head North through the bypass road to visit some local beaches and coastal neighborhoods. Right after the airport, you will start to see the shoreline; keep going North. The next few miles you will see numerous churches by the sea and communities around them - men playing cards under the fishing are a common sight. Stop wherever you think the beaches look inviting and take your time. If you are lucky, you will encounter men climbing down coconut trees dragging down fresh toddy which they will happily share with you if you just ask them nicely. Drive upto the Veli kaayal where you will see the backwaters separated from the sea by a small stretch of land, and then turn back.

Saturday 8PM
Dinner at Ariya Nivaas. It is arguably the best vegetarian restaurant in the city and you absolutely have to try one of their special dosais - Malli dosai, Kallu uthappam or tomato onion uthappam. They usually have atleast four different types of chutneys, all of which taste heavenly. Vegetable kebabs are quite decent and worth a try. Disclaimer: I know the people who own this place but then in this city, I know someone in every establishment, so that doesn't really count.

Sunday 9AM
The Napier Museum is one of the oldest museums in the county, and has an eclectic collection of wood and ivory carvings and rare coins from the Chera, Chola and Pandya dynasties. The most interesting exhibit though is the building itself - built in 1880, with a gothic style roof and minarets it is very much an architectural landmark here in Thiruvananthapuram. Right next door is the Sree Chitra Art Gallery which houses the famous oil paintings of Raja Ravi Varma. There are also paintings from other famous painters across the country especially some from the Bengal and Tanjore schools which are worth seeing.

Sunday 12noon
Lunch at Highland. You didn't really think we were going to leave the city without having fish, did you? Highland's Kerala meals along with umpteen varieties of fish curry(prawns, searfish and kingfish are common) is a local favorite and should absolutely be tried. If you don't feel like rice, try kappa(tapioca) and karimeen(pearl spot), which along with Kallu(toddy) is the state's staple 3K diet.

Sunday 2PM
Check out the state run SMSM Institute for souvenirs and Kerala handicrafts. Excellent quality and is usually much cheaper than the fancy, private stores. Wooden elephants, boats and Kathakali faces are the most common trinkets, and serious shoppers go for the sandalwood figurines and lifesize watercolors. Spend the rest of your afternoon strolling around the area - from Statue to Palayam you will see some marvellous colonial buildings like the Secretariat, VJT Hall, Public Library and some colleges of Kerala University.

Getting There
Indian, Air Deccan and Jet Airways have flights in from Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai. You can also fly into Kochi and drive down here. It takes about 5 hours and is a beautiful drive.
If you are flying in from the Middle East, you will have no issues getting here.

Accommodations
Quite a few decent, economy choices inside the city. If you have some money to spend though, there are beach resorts are all over the coast. For the backpackers, a very decent Youth Hostel in Veli, right next to the Veli backwaters and the Arabian Sea is worth it. If you have to stay somewhere local and "authentic", that can be arranged. For the right price, a nice couple with a spacious home in the heart of the city can be conned to spare you their daughter's vacant room. Please to email me for details.

[1]Everywhere else belongs to the in-laws.

PS: No, sorry, no resorts and ayurveda spas in this itinerary. This is strictly an in and around the city thing. When someone pays me to go visit all these resorts around I promise to do a post on them.

Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh? Of all places, Pittsburgh? Well, why not? Might not be the place where you can spend an entire lifetime (Is there such a place? Really?), but you can definitely spend 48 hours here. So okay, I have never heard of anyone heading to Pittsburgh for the weekend to look around but that doesn't mean you shouldn't do it. I have spent a good part of two years in this city, and some others have languished here in Steel town for over 5 years and we shall all tell you that for a city this size, Pittsburgh has a lot to offer - very cool museums like the Andy Warhol and Carnegie Museum of Art, beautiful views of the Three Rivers and downtown from top of mountains, Wright's Fallingwater not too far from the city, renowned universities like UPMC and CMU, and lovely old neighborhoods like Shadyside and Squirrel Hill. Recommended season of visit is fall but summers should be okay too.

Friday 6 PM
Getting in to the city from the airport, you will go past the Fort Pitt tunnel and through the bridge from where you shall get a pretty neat view of downtown. Allegheny and Monangahela rivers become the Ohio at downtown Pittsburgh. You will see signs of a dying city - deserted downtown as everyone's gone back home from work, shabby stores that were once hip, factories which don't look operational, McDonalds and Dunkin Donuts, lifeless skyscrapers, Point State Park deserted too unless there's some summer event, and the only crowd you are likely to see will be in front of Benedum Center for the season's musical. Once inside the city, head to the Monangahela Incline and take the funicular rail lift upto Mount Washington from where awesome views of the rivers, bridges and the city can be beheld. If you are the strolling type, promenade along the half mile walkway to the ice cream store at the other end.

Friday 8 PM
Dinner at Station Square. Its sort of a waterfront mall right where you get down on the rail lift on your way back, but it has some decent restaurants and the waterfront views are quite nice too. I would suggest the East Carson Street on the South Side for dinner and after but we need to get an early start the next day, so you decide.

Saturday 7 AM
I know, I know but we have to drive an hour and half to Fallingwater at 8.30 AM. Only at 8.30 AM do they have a special two hour tour of the house and only on this tour is photography permitted inside the house, and so needless to say, it must be taken. The most popular of all Wright homes, Fallingwater was built as a vacation home for the Kauffmans' in 1939. Perched on top of a small waterfall in the Bear Run Nature Preserve, this spectacular house is like nothing you have seen - the house is so integrated with nature that it is difficult to see where the house ends and the woods begin and yet, even when it is so organic, Fallingwater is so clearly a celebration of modern technology and architecture. Ofcourse like most Wrights, it wasn't exactly what the owners wanted and neither was it particularly livable[1], but hey, that's the engineer's problem.
If you haven't had enough of Wright, don't worry, there's another house quite close by. Kentuck Nob, lesser known but a signature Wright nevertheless. Well worth your time.

Saturday 1.30 PM
On the way back, right after you get off the PA turnpike and onto I376, by the Monroeville Exit you will see directions to the SV Temple. Trust me on this one, take it. You will go up and down through narrow, winding roads and you will be almost certain that you are utterly lost when you will see the Balaji temple. One of the oldest desi temples in the New World and definitely the most popular, there's always a wedding/naming ceremony every weekend. There's also some seven hills Tirupathi type funda about this temple which I forget now. Why are we here, you ask? Because its lunchtime, stupid. Go straight to the cafe and buy $2 puliyodharais, sambar saadhams and thayiru saadams. Peace will happen.

Saturday 4 PM
Andy Warhol museum. Don't think Pittsburgh associated itself with Warhol when he was alive, but he's hometown hero now and they have a seven-story converted warehouse building dedicated to his works. Campbell's soup cans, Marilyn Monroe, Elvis, Silver clouds and everthing else pop that Warhol touched is here. For more entertainment, make sure you take with you atleast one person who is utterly clueless about Warhol and his works. Will make your day, I promise.

Saturday 8 PM
Dinner at Church Brew Works. Or how to draw crowds inside a church. Convert it to a brewery/restaurant. Cut up the pews and make dining booths. The confessional into a merchandise store. Courtyard now an outdoor patio. Good beer and decent food. Go for the atmosphere of course. And to find out how the church can really serve humanity for a change.

Sunday 10 AM
Note to active types: Get up early and go for a run in Schenley Park. It has miles of hiking and running trails, and it borders both CMU and the U of Pittsburgh. Here and there, you will come out of the woods and see neat views of the city and the Cathedral of Learning.
Brunch at Pamela's on Squirrel Hill. Will have to wait a while but its worth it. While you are waiting, explore the stores on Forbes and Murray Avenues. Couple of second hand bookstores on Murray are quite decent. And don't get scared by men walking past reading the Torah. They don't mean any harm, really.

Sunday 12 noon
Walk from Squirrel Hill to Shadyside and check out the uber classy Walnut Street. Upscale stores and galleries all around. Beautiful houses on the side streets. [If you happen to go in August, check schedules for the Shadyside Arts Festival. It draws artists from all over the country and is great place for bargains.] Now walk to Oakland, and check out the campuses of Carnegie Mellon and the U of Pittsburgh. At CMU, look for the very good looking Hammerschlag Hall. And now, look at the nondescript Wean Hall next to it. Draw your own conclusions. At U of Pitt, do not miss the Cathedral of Learning and the Heinz chapel next to it. The chapel really has some amazing stained glass windows.

Getting There
The Pittsburgh International Airport, while not a hub anymore, still is well served by US Airways. For the price sensitive traveler though, there's always Southwest who offers some very excellent fares. For instance, Chicago to Pittsburgh and back costs about $120 if you book a couple of weeks in advance. Last minute fares and e-fares to Pittsburgh are quite common and very affordable.

If you are driving down, its a six-hour drive from NYC through the PA turnpike, and four hours from DC. A couple of hours North will put you in the Lake Erie area, and another couple of hours to the border and ofcourse, the overrated Niagara Falls. Driving in from Chicago in good weather will take you a good eight hours but if you happen to miss an evening flight and drive through the night in the middle of the winter, its more like twelve.

Accommodations
Do yourself a favor and don't get too excited by the promise of quaint, bed-and-breakfast inns all over the city. There are enough places in the world where its worth paying thrice what you usually pay but we aren't there yet. Stick to your nearest and favoritest economy chain hotel and you will be fine. If you hate that idea and absolutely have to stay in an "authentic" local place, that can be arranged. A spacious, three-bedroom mansion in the Jewish haven of Squirrel Hill, a stone's throw away from Schenley Park and the restaurants of Murray Ave awaits you. You will be sharing acco with three men known for their culinary and bartending talents among other things. Please to email me for details.

Caution
Pittsburgh, like Chicago, is a huge sports town. If you, like me, are not the sports type, stay away from the city on weekends when the Steelers or Pirates are playing. The Penguins though are worth a watch in case you can stand hockey.

[1] As the story goes, once when the Kauffmans were at Fallingwater, some roof started leaking in the middle of the night and someone called Wright to tell him about it. He's supposed to have (famously) asked the person who called him to fetch a bucket.

48 hours

The ruling passion of my life, moi has decided, needs a blog of its own. But who needs another travel blog with random ramblings about places, people and everything else under the sun? So moi shall stick to basics and set boundaries too so that I don't get carried away. Moi shall do itineraries and only itineraries as moi loves planning almost as much as I love traveling. Since I am not capable of coming up with anything original, the idea will be stolen from the Times except that this time around, we shall do the Math right. So 48 hours it will be - 48 hours in any city, Saturn ring, village, country, book, museum, Shire, mountain, library, theater, satellite, ballpark, building, forest, park, meteorite, wonderland, ocean, school, or home will find a place in this space if it catches moi's fancy. And one day in long, distant future, of course with a little help from friends, we shall have an itinerary available for every place in our universe worth visiting, real or otherwise. Such modest dreams moi has.