chandrachud04

I have a little Quotes.txt notepad file in my Dropbox where I save lines that I come across and like. These used to go into my Facebook Quotes section but that's out of space and I like that the way it is.

In what was a very intense year, I collected more quotes than usual - from friends, from Facebook, from Twitter, from Couchsurfing, and strangely enough, most of the latter from Bloomberg. As a way of marking the year and starting afresh, I would like to share these lines here. And maybe I will do this every year in the years ahead. The evolution will make for interesting reading, if nothing else.

“Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forward.” - Soren Kierkegaard. Something like Steve Jobs' "connecting the dots"

“Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” - George Bernard Shaw

“Youth is wasted on the young.” - GB Shaw again

"The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. What is called resignation is confirmed desperation." - Henry David Thoreau, paraphrased by nyxview on her blog

"Sex, booze, rock and roll; Weed, speed and birth control; Life's a beach and then you die; so fuck the world and let's get high" - I believe i got this off Urban Dictionary :)

"I believe the key to happiness is: someone to love, something to do, and something to look forward to." - Elvis Presley, via Little B Bombay

"This above all - to thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man." - Polonius, Hamlet - Act 1, Scene III

"... recuerda que los finales dependen de ti, dependen de donde tu quiera poner il punto y final... Recuerdame siempre! tu amigo, paco" – In  the diary of Francesco, a Portuguese couch surfer 

"Virtue is learning, loving and acting, to make your thousand weeks shine." - A.C.Grayling, at the Jaipur Literature Festival.

"Loneliness... is the most terrrible poverty." - Mother Teresa

"Do not wait for the last judgment; it takes place every day." - Albert Camus

"In Freedom From Fear, the recently released Aung Sang Suu Kyi wrote: It is his capacity for self-improvement and self-redemption which most distinguishes man from the mere brute." - @spiceboxofearth on Twitter

"Don't we all do things to feel alive, and forget that we will die?" - Spanish movie 'Queens' on World Moves, ending line (or the subtitle, at any rate)

Take the English section of this bilingual notice at a Chinese supermarket, featured on onengrish.com, purveyor of entertaining English: “In case of dense smoke, use wet towel to cover your mouth and nose, bend over to evacuate.” 

Some seasonal advice for the festive season from American writer David Sedaris: “Real love amounts to withholding the truth, even when you’re offered the perfect opportunity to hurt someone’s feelings.”

"We do not remember childhood - we imagine it. We search for it, in vain, through layers of obscuring dust, and recover some bedraggled shreds of what we think it was." - Penelope Lively, in the voice of Claudia Hamption in Moon Tiger

"Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterwards." - Vernon Law.  Like Limp Bizkit's "Life is a lesson, you learn it when you're through!"

François Mitterrand, that most literary of French presidents, perhaps put it best: “A man loses contact with reality if he is not surrounded by his books.”

Or in (Japanese) local parlance, sake ga sake o nomu: the liquor drinks the liquor.

"The knowledge that every ambition is doomed to frustration at the hands of a skeleton has never prevented the majority of human beings from behaving as though death were no more than an unfounded rumor." - Aldous Huxley

"The history of what man has accomplished in this world, is at bottom the history of the great men who have worked there" - Thomas Carlyle

“Graveyards are full of indispensable men.” - Charles de Gaulle or Georges Clemenceau

"A man should read as his fancy takes him, for what he reads as a chore will do him little good." - Samuel Johnson

"All You Who Sleep Tonight.

All you who sleep tonight
Far from the ones you love,
No hand to left or right
And emptiness above -
Know that you aren’t alone
The whole world shares your tears,
Some for two nights or one,
And some for all their years."

- Vikram Seth at the Jaipur Literature Festival

"A tweet is a very lonely man, (and he needs counselling)." - Tom Vadakkan #Twitter
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2051wc6lkXA

"I like the stars. It's the illusion of permanence, I think. I mean, they're always flaring up and caving in and going out. But from Here I can pretend... I can pretend that things last. I can pretend that lives last longer than moments. Gods come and Gods go. Mortals flicker and flash and fade. Worlds don't last; and stars and galaxies are transient, fleeting things that twinkle like fireflies and vanish into cold and dust. But I can pretend."

"Out, out, brief candle! Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more: it is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." - Macbeth Act V, Scene V, channeled by Woody Allen in the Freida Pinto starrer You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger

"Maria Elena used to say that only unfulfilled love can be romantic." - Juan Antonia in Vicky Cristina Barcelona

"No puedo ser perfecto, pero mi imperfección consiste en que me hace único del resto de la muchedumbre. A mí, la perfección es sobreestimada. Soy feliz con no ser perfecto."- Barkha Bakshi (on facebook via Aprameya)

"I always find it more difficult to say the things I mean than the things I don't." - that man W.Somerset Maugham, not that I agree.

"Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." - The Bible, Matthew 26:41 (King James Version): a statement of the difficulty in living up to the high moral standards that one has set oneself.

For now, most who were inside the stadium or on Marine Drive early on Sunday morning will just echo Natalie Merchant's lyrics from These Are The Days: "Never before and never since, I promise, will the whole world be warm as this." - @spiceboxofearth on that night of the World Cup victory

It was in Madame Bovary that Flaubert writes, "We must not touch our idols; the gilt sticks to our hands." - @supriyan on Twitter

"The journey of a thousand miles begins beneath one's feet." - Lao-tzu

"It is only in sorrow bad weather masters us; in joy we face the storm and defy it." - Amelia Barr

"Always back self-interest. At least you know it's trying." - a shrewd Australian prime minister - not that one, but the one before him.

"To love is to destroy, and to be loved is the one to be destroyed" - Nicole O'Keefe via Megan Cuddahy on Facebook

"We can know only that we know nothing. And that is the highest degree of human wisdom." - Leo Tolstoy
And also, "We don't know a millionth of one percent of anything." - Thomas Edison

"Laziness is nothing more than the habit of resting before you get tired." - Jules Renard

"A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of." - Ogden Nash

"If you don't know where you're going, any road will take you there." - George Harrison via @udupendra

"Enjoy present pleasures in such a way as not to injure future ones." - Seneca

"Love all, trust a few. Do wrong to none." - William Shakespeare

"Cherish your own emotions and never undervalue them." - Robert Henri

"Of all afflictions, the worst is self-contempt." - Berthold Auerbach

"Joy is not in things; it is in us." - Richard Wagner

"What we see depends mainly on what we look for." - John Lubbock

"In the midst of winter, I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer." - Albert Camus

“A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.”

"A thing worth having is a thing worth cheating for." - W. C. Fields. I suppose.

"To find fulfilment...don't exist with life - embrace it." - Jim Beggs

"Lady Gaga taught me its ok to be different. Ke$ha taught me to be myself and not care what anyone else thinks. Eminem taught me that life is hard but you can make it through. Wiz Khalifa taught me two new colors. But most importantly, Rebecca Black taught me the days of the week" - all this from a hilarious YouTube comment - @udupendra

"Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it." - Maya Angelou

"The only gift is a portion of thyself." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Nothing is so firmly believed, as what we least know." - Montaigne

"Hypocrisy is the Vaseline of social intercourse." - @shenoyn #GetIt

"Applause is the spur of noble minds, the end and aim of weak ones." - Charles Caleb Colton

"I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand." - Confucius

"Prepare your mind to receive the best that life has to offer." - Ernest Holmes

"The glow of inspiration warms us; it is a holy rapture." - Publius Ovidius Naso, or simply Ovid

"There are two levers for moving men -- interest and fear." - Napoleon Bonaparte. Carrot or Stick #YouPrefer

"What comes from the heart, goes to the heart." - Samuel Taylor Coleridge

"I want you to be everything that's you, deep at the center of your being." - Confucius 

"I'll be over you when the grass grows over me." - George Jones, quite like the line from the Colin Hay song "If I live to be a hundred and one, I just don't think I'll never get over you." 

"Men eat dreams of the future for food. Women eat memories of the past. That's why old men are thin, and old women are fat" - via @udupendra on Twitter :)

"One must still have chaos in oneself to be able to give birth to a dancing star" - Nietzsche via @rashmid on Twitter

"Brave men are brave from the very first." - Pierre Corneille

"The mind in itself can make a heaven of Hell, a hell of a Heaven." - John Milton

"Fix your eyes on perfection and you make almost everything speed towards it." - William Ellery Channing

"Friendships, like marriage, depend on avoiding the unforgiveable." - John D. MacDonald

"Adults who are unwilling to re-educate themselves periodically are doomed to mediocrity." - J.Michener

"Custom, then, is the great guide of human life." - David Hume

"Every man desires to live long, but no man would be old." - Jonathan Swift

"Diligence is the mother of good fortune." - Miguel de Cervantes

"Greatness is the road leading towards the unknown." - Charles de Gaulle

"The supreme happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved." - Victor Hugo

"Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage." - Anais Nin

"The love of beauty in its multiple forms is the noblest gift of the human cerebrum." - Alexis Carrel 

"Imagination is the highest kite one can fly." - Lauren Bacall

Salut tout le monde!

Aujourd'hui je vais parler des films de Cédric Klapisch, un réalisateur français. En 2006, j'ai regardé un film qui s'appele << l'auberge espagnole>>. C'est une histoire d'un jeune parisien qui va a Barcelone pour Erasmus - ca veut dire étudier comme un étudiant étranger. Il habite avec des autres étudiants de différent pays et il a une expérience très riche et intéressant. Le film était un grand succès dans France et pour moi aussi c'était intéressant parce que je moi-même avait été a Barcelone comme un étudiant étranger en 2005.

En 2008, j'ai vu le sequel de <<l'auberge espagnole>>. Ca s'appele <<les poupes rousses>> est ca suive la vie du Xavier, l'étudiant joue par Romain Duris. Ce film est un romance et j'ai aime ca aussi. Apres ces deux films, j'ai commence télécharge autres films de Klapisch et enfin quand j'étais a Paris l'année dernière, j'ai acheté le coffret (box-set) avec 10 films.

J'ai regarde quelques films français d'autres réalisateurs aussi et j'aime le cinéma français en général mais en particulier, je suis un grand fan de Klapisch. Je vais parler un peu de chaque film et en chemin je parle des éléments communs que j'aime.

Son premier film était <<Riens du tout>>, réalisé en 1992. Ce film raconte l'histoire des employées d'un grand magasin: comment il y a un nouveau chef qui essaye d'améliorer le moral des employés et les ventes du magasin , et comment ils lui résistent. Le film a l'humour satirique mais c'est tres différent de ses films qui venaient plus tard, qui sont sur les vies de gens plus jeunes, et sont plus contemporain pour moi.

Le 2eme film, qui a gagne pour Klapisch beaucoup de reconnaissance, était <<le péril jeune>>. On peut dire c'est comme <<American Pie>>, mais avec une sensibilité plus française. Ici, on rencontre pour la première fois l'acteur Romain Duris qui est dans beaucoup de films de Klapisch. Duris et ses amies au lycée sont teenagers - jeunes est sans souci, mais imprudent aussi. Il y a des histoires de romance, de sex, de drugs etcetera et c'est super.

Une chose c que j'aime dans tous ces films est la musique. L'auberge espagnole a chansons de Radiohead, Daft Punk etc.  et <<le péril jeune>> a un soundtrack "rock". Le 3eme film, <<chacun cherche son chat>> est sur une fille et son chat perdu, est a un soundtrack plus "girly", avec Portishead etc. J'aime ce film aussi. Ce nous montre la vie d'une jeune parisienne dans un quartier de Paris, avec un colocataire qui et homosexuel, sa cherche pour son chat, pour amour aussi, ses voisins excentrique etc. Tous ces films sont a Paris et nous montre la ville d'œil d'un local, pas d'un touriste comme dans un film d'Hollywood!

Le 4eme film - c'est <<Un Air de famille>>. Ce film aussi est un peu différent - l'histoire d’une famille un peu dysfonctionnelle, avec deux fils et une fille. Un fils et la fille n'ont pas des emplois tres bonne et il y a des issues communes avec les familles - comme jalousie etcetera. Donc, on peut voir la variété d'œuvre de Klapisch comme ca.

Le 5eme - <<Peut-être>> - pour moi, âpres <<le péril jeune>>, ce film est classique Klapisch avec des jeunes en cherchant d'amour. Mais il y a un élément de "sci-fi" aussi ici parce que le film se passe en 2070. Un autre film (7eme), ca s'appelle <<Ni pour, ni contre>>. C'est encore un exemple de la versatilité de Klapisch. C'est un film noir comme les films de Quentin Tarantino avec suspense et action dramatique. Alors, j'ai déjà parle sur <<Les Poupées Russes>> (8eme) son prochaine film.

Le dernier film que j'ai vu, c'est Paris, avec Romain Duris et Juliette Binoche, et plus sérieux que les autres films avec Duris. Duris apprend au début du film que c'est tres probable qu'il va mourir d'un problème cardiaque. La vie devient plus claire quand vous regarde le mort en face. Binoche joue le rôle de sa sœur.

Cette année, un nouveau film a été <released> <<Ma part du gâteau>>. J'espère le voir bientôt!

Dans tous ces films, l'histoire, ce n'est pas la grande chose. C’est l'humour, la compréhension et le peinture de la vie humaine dans un style discrète mais forte, le musique, et aussi la vie français, la langue, la ville, la culture.

Enfin, un peu sur Klapisch soi-même. Je ne le connais pas bien mais il à 50 ans maintenant, assez jeune quand il a commence. Il fait écriture de ses films, pas seulement la réalisation.

Donc, si vous voulez voir des films français, bien sur voyez des films de Godard, Truffaut, Rohmer etc. mais pour quelque chose plus moderne, je vous recommande Klapisch!

Merci, bonsoir !

Friend and most esteemed cricket analyst lokendra_kumar had a lot to say about the team picked for the World Cup, and none of it very flattering to the selectors or the captain. So I asked him to mail me his thoughts:

1. In all likely scenarios, India will be playing with 6 batsmen and 4 bowlers. Hence the selection of 7 bowlers and only 7 batsmen doesn't make any sense. The team composition should always have been 8 batsmen, 6 bowlers and the obvious captain cool wicketkeeper.

• To the list of Rohit Sharma's sterling performances, add his solo effort  (ultimately in vain) against Australia in the most recent World T20.
• Raina & Yousuf might get away against most attacks most of the time, but this is really just a three match knock-out World Cup. On the big day against a big team, I'm afraid they'll come a cropper. (Then it'll be just that man Yuvi in the middle order, and he's not had the best of times either of late.) And it has happened in the last three ICC tournaments (two World T20s, one Champions Trophy.) Imagine a 250 chase under lights with some moisture in the air, and think of the likes of Tait, Lee, Steyn, hell, even England's pace attack bounced them out in the earlier World T20 in England. 
• Cheeka was all over the news channels, and though he didn't want to speak about particulars, he seemed to be justifying picking Chawla by listing the opponents in the group stage, against whom Chawla might fare well. But really, are you picking a team to get through to the QF, or are you picking a team to win the final!? If India are relying on a mystery wrist spinner (not!) (a bit like how South Africa picked Paul Adams over Donald in the '96 QF, and we all know how that ended) to get them to the knock-out stage, them um, that says a lot about the selectors confidence in the rest of the attack. 

Pfff, in the bigger scheme of things, not that any of this matters much to anyone reading, or to me either, but had to get this out.

Allez, and on verra.

Latest country additions - Norway (Oslo only), Sweden (Stockholm only). Both these cities were done on weekend trips from Paris. Luckily, I had decided to stay put in Paris the weekend in between, and hence dodged Eyjafjallajökull effects quite smartly.

Also visited since the last post - Avignon and Marseille (France), Bayonne - Anglet - Biarritz (France / Pays Basque) and San Sebastien (Spain / Pays Basque).

So, so you think you can tell, champions from losers, blue blood from turd? It's all too easy to put up a Facebook status saying "Chargers - In your face, losers" or "KKR for the win!" If you really think you know your game, then participate in the So you think you can IPL? prediction contest, brought to you by lokendra_kumar  and chandrachud04 .

Predict the entire end-of-tournament rankings table to win, wait for it, gloating rights on the Internet!* We have a deadline of midnight 23:59 on Sun Mar 21st. It might seem early but an average of 3 matches per team should be enough for you to form informed opinions on the teams' chances, instead of merely basing your predictions on mid season standings. Of course, take into consideration foreign player arrivals later in the tournament.

Team ranks 1 and 2 will be the actual winner and runner-up respectively. In the absence of playoffs for the third place, ranks 3 and 4, as well as ranks 5 to 8 will be as per the league stage standings. The winner of the contest will be the entry with the least sum of squared differences between individual teams' actual rankings and predicted rankings. You can submit entries by leaving a comment here. Comments will be hidden till the expiry of the deadline. The organizers will also submit their own entries.

So, do you think you can IPL?

*We do have an offline pool with real money of Rs.100 per head.

Update:
1. Thanks for the um.. overwhelming response. My inbox runneth over.
2. GDocs spreadsheet tracking each contestant's RMSE score. Lowest RMSE wins.

Before the toss -
RCB looked like the most settled team in the competition with a strong set of young domestic players. Ross Taylor was missing in the middle but one thought Morgan would be a competent substitute.

The XI -
Boucher was sacrificed for Steyn to strenghten the bowling, which is decidedly the weaker suit. Not the worst combination as S.Goswami had been in strong List A  form.

Deja vu -
Within four overs, RCB were in familiar territory, lots of wickets down with a paltry run-rate in the power play. Top order seemed totally unsettled, maybe first match nerves. Goswami set the tone moving around and slashing all over the place. Pandey, Kohli and Morgan all imitated the headless chicken act and paid the price.

Mathews -
Dravid's cover drive alone was worth the match ticket but once Mathews broke through, it was almost game over. Irritating customer this guy, as he showed against the Chargers and against India last year.

Lower Order -
van der Merwe, Praveen Kumar, Steyn / Vinay can all bat / clear the ropes. So theoretically we bat till no.10 but can't expect these guys to make up for top order collapses consistently. Need partnerships at the top.

Bowling -
T20 is not Steyn's best format. He prefers bowling length, which is ideal at his pace for top order batsmen. And Kumble made it worse by not giving him the new ball. Don't expect PK and Kallis to knock out openers with swing and seam on Indian tracks.

KKR -
Tiwary looked good for the first time when I've seen him. He reminded me of Pandey. With Murali Kartik, Langeveldt and Mathews, and Ishant in decent form, KKR look much better this year. And McCullum and Gayle (and Bond) to come! Don't know what Dada is doing, but it is working.

What next?
Bowling is a big worry. If 40/1 is the best Steyn can do, better to play Vinay and Boucher instead. Kumble and vd Merwe will get hit somewhere down the line. That Kallis is indispensable more for his bowling than his batting shows how limited our bowling options are. (KP or White could play otherwise.) If RCB's to make the semis, need to bat big and hope the bowling is tidy.

vs. KXIP on Tue -
Need Ross the Boss back. Just realized NZ still has tests to play against Aus. Can we have at least White then? Don't know if Jennings and Kumble will give Steyn/Goswami another go. No need to panic but you need to react quick, or you could be 0 wins from 3 games before you know and looking at an uphill struggle again.

Sidelights -
Most teams have changed their team kits / uniforms, and all for the better. RCB have been lazy, just adding two blue feathers below the jersey number on the back. And how about home and away jerseys for all the teams?

Over and out.

What – 11^th Mumbai Film Festival
When – Last Sat, Sun, Mon plus Thu evening
Where – Fun Republic, Andheri and Metro Big Cinema, Marine Lines
How much – Rs.1000 per head for the entire festival
Which movies – 10 + 1 watched, out of 200 screened across 7 days x 8 screens

Day 1 – Saturday

Moon Inside You - from Slovakia, in French and Spanish
Documentary on er... the waxing and waning within the female half of the species. Tricky topic handled with just the right touch of humour, entertaining yet enlightening.

Eden à l’Ouest (Eden is West) – France
On the travails of an illegal alien who washes up at a seaside resort in southern France, and makes an eventful journey all the way to the Lido, Champs Elysees. Less gritty, realistic and more bitter sweet laced with laughter.

Donne-moi la main (Give Me Your Hand) – France
On the escapades - romantic, violent and stupid - of two brothers traveling across France into Spain to attend their mother’s funeral. French weird, watched by a hall packed to the aisles, mostly drawn in by a line in the synopsis.

Celeb Spotting - Anurag Kashyap, very chilled out watching Eden a l’Ouest in the row in front.
Non Celeb Spotting - girl in jeans and navy blue England jumper. British Indian, of probable Kashmiri / Punjabi provenance*
Pleased to note - Own level of comprehension of francais and español.

* more on craigslist / missed connections

Day 2 – Sunday

Velký respekt (Big Respect) – Slovakia
On a gang of guys being losers, getting robbed, doing weed, trying to be cool, getting pregnant. Watched partly because it is set in Bratislava's famed Petržalka district. Very funny and very Slovak vibes.

Bist (Twenty) –  Iran
Owner of a hall that hosts funeral dinners decides to shut shop in 20 days in order to brighten up his own life. But the lives of several people depend on the hall staying alive. Slow but strong, again done with humour, this time dark. Several Persian words familiar from Hindi.

Complices (Partners) – France
Teenagers meet in a cyber cafe and romantic sparks ensue. But the the guy is a ’hustler’ and it is all too easy how life can get *ed up, once you step on that slippery slope. Compelling viewing, probably the pick of my picks.

Dimensions Mumbai – Mumbai
Selection of 25 shorts shot by Mumbai amateur film makers. Hall packed again. Just watched the first three, which were, well, amateurish.

La Tigra, Chaco – Argentina
Set in La Tigra, Chaco. Young man from Buenos Aires returns to the town he grew up in, and meets the girl he left behind. Tender, small town laidback loveliness, and Guadalupe Docampo above.  Debut movie of two young directors, 30 and 31, made with just three professional actors.

Celeb Spotting -  Reema Lagoo, Naseeruddin Shah, Lalita Lajmi with a couple of Benegals (all identified only from their name tags), Mrs & Mr.Amit Varma
Celeb Non Spotting -  More vaguely familiar Bollywood and television faces, none of whom I could recognize.

Day 3 – Monday

Man on Wire – NYC / France
Maverick tight rope walker Philippe Petit walks across dances on a rope tied across the rooftops of the World Trade Center twin towers in 1974. Dramatic narration with real footage and photos from 1974. In the elevating, awe inducing category.

The Girlfriend Experience – NYC
Fictional documentary on the life of a provider of um... the eponymous service, payable for in cash.  Not particularly revelatory (as in insightful, I mean, but in the literal sense as well, in case you wonder) but engaging nonetheless. Sasha Grey is demure and respectable. New York City not as alluring as in Man on Wire.

Paltadacho munis (The Man beyond the Bridge) – Konkani
Forest guard in thankless job finds solace in the company of mad woman. Complications ensue thanks to timber, temple and villagers on the other side of the bridge. Movie much closer home, and not just physically. Director, lead actor, and several of the crew in the audience - all unassuming guys who must struggle in the shadow of Bollywood.

Celeb Spotting - Renuka Shahane, looking her age, sadly for me
Commoner Spotting - Most of the attendees, or the delegates, as we were called, seemed to be from the film fraternity – FTII, Whistling Woods, and other idlers you would find at Prithvi café on a Saturday evening.

Closing Day – Thu

Singularidades de uma Rapariga Loura (Eccentricities of a Blond Hair Girl) – Portugal
Watched only due to paucity of better options. Much fun, so bad that it was a parody of itself. Very little to do with the blond hair girl. Left one wondering how it succeeded in getting itself made.

Epilogue
Well organized. Solid festival guide book.  Several other movies in the schedule worth watching.

In January 2006, I wrote here that the twain - Europe and Chan - would meet again. It was a vague assertion based on general faith in life rather than any real plan or expectations. Once the direct bus to Europe was missed that March, it took two long years, but eventually Chan did make it back to Europe.

In March 2008, I spent two weeks in Paris, which had previously disappointed, but was much better on the second coming. Exchange ‘05 had been as much about Eurail as it was about Europe, and back then I'd told myself that I somehow had to do the whole Eurail Youth Pass thing again, before turning 26. I did exactly that in Aug - Sep '08, starting with Brussels, a city I had passed through before on the way to Amsterdam, but not really visited. Post 2005 additions to the Schengen Treaty from Central and Eastern Europe were too far away by rail for weekend trips, making me go back to Munchen and Berlin. Why these two cities in particular, though, is another story. By the end of these two trips involving overnight trains, mostly seated upright, I was sick and tired of Eurail. Not only was it not that much fun anymore, but it was also less than inexpensive, given that I used only 6 out of a possible 10 days of travel.


Map 2: Update March 2009

So it was no surprise to find myself flying across Europe on the next trip, in Feb '09. This time Prague, Geneva (Switzerland became part of the Schengen area in Dec '08), and Bratislava became the latest additions to the map. Along with Eurail, the other casualty from the 2005 travels was staying at Youth Hostels – I had started hating them as well by the previous trip. So it was doubly lucky that I came across Couch Surfing, and I had a much better time staying with and meeting the incredibly generous and invariably nice folks on CS.

There are still a lot of countries to visit within the Schengen region itself – Scandinavia, Iceland, Greece, Hungary, Poland, Slovenia, the Baltic States - and it’s a safe bet that the area will expand further by the time I cover these countries. And then there’s the UK as well (at least now I have an excuse to spend on a visa), not to mention all the other continents, and the rest of India (I've actually done Haryana and Andhra Pradesh since then). Let’s see how it goes, la vie.

A la prochaine.