To heaven and back.

Last time I visited Himachal Pradesh in 2006 November, I came back with a resolution to visit heaven once every year. Once in Bangalore, work, movies and wasting time took most part of my year and I used the rest to obtain a not-so-good score in GMAT. A couple of weeks back Vikram came up with the idea of visiting Himachal and woke the sleeping bear (btw, I saw bear foot trail in the snow). The plan was made in 5 days, hotel and travel bookings were done, and before the snow could melt, we were in Manali.

Except for not-so-exceptional food, there is nothing else not-so-exceptional about Himachal. Really! Whattey place! Other than the climate and people, following things will make your eye brows go up in admiration (except the Hashish part).
Himachal is a plastic-cover free zone. The shop keepers cannot give you things in plastic bags. If caught violating this rule they will be fined Rs.1500 and the guy who takes the cover will be fined Rs. 500.
Felling of trees without permission is illegal in this state that boasts of greenery every which way you look!
You cannot spot a beggar in Himachal.. Not on the roads, not near the temples! People there tell me that most people there are self sufficient.
Malana, a place near Rohtang, is famous for hashish! And the people in Malana consider themselves the successors of Pandavas and all the brothers in a family together marry one girl!
And this is only the tip of the iceberg.


When we trekked in Solang Nala into the people free zone, I saw footprints of a bear. The bear had treaded all over the snow white snow. The thought of possibility of encounter with a 3 ton beast sends a chill down your spine.

The next time I go to Himachal (hopefully next year), I want to climb up a few mountain tops, trek for 5 - 6 days, stay in tents, and experience the wild nature. Call me if you are interested.

Hate getting back to work!

btw, received an interview call from NUS. Hopeful!

Hi-Con fitness.

The gym that I used to go to (Hicon fitness) has closed down. Reason : They defaulted on the rent.
The only consolation is that they lived up to their name and managed to con all the members and run away with the bag of cash. This gym was recommended to me by Deepu (Sandeep's brother). who was one of the oldest members of the gym. The gym closed a month after he left for the US. It seemed like he had something to do with the closing down (other than Deepu himself defaulting on rent.. :) )
I made Chetan, Ganapathy and Abhilash join the gym. They were happy to get a Rs.500 off and joining fee waiver for the quarterly scheme and thought that they had struck a great deal. Little did they know what was in store.

It was time to look for another place. I went back to Ozone, where I had gone for 3 days and paid a entire month's fees in September. When I joined in September, it was 2 floors and spacious. Now it is reduced to 1 floor with all the instruments cramped in 1 room. The fees has not changed.
Sad state for the gyms. Is it because people are no more interested in going to the gym? Or is it because everyone is joining Chisel/Fitness One etc..? Or is it because all the companies have their own gyms and no one is joining local gyms? What ever it is, At the gym, I always get treadmill to run. I am happy about that.

And btw, life is not going as intended. I got a reject from HKUST (mba school). This was almost a sure shot by the way the interview went.. or so I thought.
[To myself] better luck next time dude..