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Fun, Frolicking, and Kayaking ...

The Washington DC area is just an unbelievable area for all kinds of activities - fun, outdoors, indoors, theatre, sports, and just about any kind of conceivable activity that can be considered a "fun" activity! It has been two years since I moved to the area, and I'm not even about close to seeing half of what this area has got to offer. Every now and then, I "discover" some of the many wonderful things are this area has to offer.

The past weekend, I went Kayaking with a couple of my friends. Knowing the DC area, I was expecting very busy waters, with people with kayaks all over the place, just like they do with their cars on the I-495 freeway. Boy, did it turned out to be a small little wonder! The place that I visited was the Mason Neck State Park in Lorton, Virginia. Not really far away from urban Virginia and the Pentagon and tucked away in the woods, this place was serene with beautiful wildlife (this place is a heaven for birdwatchers!) and calm waters that are just ideal for kayaking and having a relaxing day out on the waters. Adding to this beauty, the weather was just perfect and we had a great day. At the end of the day, we had a nice little "Russian" picnic to celebrate one of my Russian friend's birthday. Turned out to be an awesome day!


Washington DC never seems to stop me from being excited! Check out these photos.

i,Photographer!

I really enjoy taking photos. Lots and lots of them. Each time I travel, I try to snap something that grabs my attention. Although in no way I'm close to being a pro photographer, I think I do a pretty decent job on some photographs. Of late, I've been getting some really good feedback on a few shots, thanks for my digital camera. Although I'm ready to graduate to a better, bigger, and costlier camera, my little Nikon camera holds up quite well in taking some high quality shots.

Recently, I received the following email from a Web-based travel guide company (they are a startup, I think), Schmap, asking me the permission to include one of my older photos when I was in San Antonio. The email reads:

Hi Shriram,

I am writing to let you know that one of your photos has been short-listed for inclusion in the third edition of our Schmap San Antonio Guide, to be published later this month.
...
While we offer no payment for publication, many photographers are pleased to submit their photos, as Schmap Guides give their work recognition and wide exposure, and are free of charge to readers. Photos are published at a maximum width of 150 pixels, are clearly attributed, and link to high-resolution originals at Flickr.
...

Best regards,

Emma W-------,
Managing Editor, Schmap Guides

The photo that was chosen was this one, taken with my film camera way back in 2005!


Apparently, they searched Flickr for interesting (I hope) photos of San Antonio and found my photo. I'm quite glad that somebody else liked my photo, just considering the number of excellent "pro" photographers out there on Flickr! And this photo was taken with a very low resolution film camera! Anyway, I gave them the go-ahead to include this image in their travel guides. Again, while this is NOT a huge recognition of my "work", the very fact that somebody else considered my photo over 1000s of others make me feel good.

Sweet Mother of God..

Need say anything more? Apple just dropped the 8GB iPhone price from $599 to $399. I was gonna buy this last week. Thank GOODNESS, I didn't buy it for $600 bucks!

Now I know for sure I'm buying this baby!

My Impressions of South Africa

Oh, let me start by saying that South Africa is a magnificent country. South Africa, I felt, is an interesting combination of a first-world and a third-world country. There were certain times I felt the same way I would have in the US, yet at certain times I felt otherwise. The culture is unique - a combination of Afrikaans (Dutch-ish), African, along with a strong Indian influence create a unique "South African" culture. Further, beautiful landscapes, great people, and a very interesting culture, combined with great opportunities for outdoor recreation make it a wonderful place to visit. Sure, South Africa has both good and bad - just like any other place. Unfortunately, the bad sometimes wins over the good, and that's the way the world goes. Everything I say here is just MY opinion and in no way must be construed as the "gospel" on South Africa.

Like I mentioned earlier, South Africa is a BEAUTIFUL country. You should have gotten a good idea looking at my photos in this blog. I stayed in Pretoria (SA's capital), about 30 miles north of Johannesburg. I also had a chance to drive out to the countryside and see some sights. On my way back, I had a brief opportunity to visit Johannesburg and visit the apartheid museum. Most of the South African countryside I visited is pristine with rolling mountains and great variety of wildlife (because of it's proximity to the Kruger National Park). I was told that most of the South Africa's coastline and the beaches are pretty much untouched, and that the diving experience there is quite unbelievable. I wanted to see quite a lot, but since my trip was short and work-related, I couldn't do any outdoor activities. Neither could I visit the Kruger National Park. But hey, I'm certainly going back there to visit sometime.

The unfortunate thing about South Africa is the unbelievable amount of crime. I was repeatedly warned by my colleagues and friends not even to roll down the windows when in the car, or not to even dare to step out of the car when in downtown Pretoria or Johannesburg. I was quite reluctant to believe that it could be THAT bad. But trust me, they are true! My guide book told me that carjackings are pretty common in SA. But I didn't quite believe it until I saw warning signs at traffic lights to be alert and to roll up the windows. I even saw signs that said "Crime Alert" and "Carjacking hotspot". Driving through certain areas, my car GPS beeped and alerted to be watchful. Here is an example of how bad the crime situation is.... one guy told me the story of a police station employing private security agency so that they could properly do their "policing" jobs!! Whatever that means. Yup! What a pity for such a beautiful country.

Another sad thing in SA is that racism is alive and well (in my opinion). I heard many comments and jokes from the taxi drivers who drove me around. Every person they saw who's not of lighter skin color was inferior to him. (sigh!). Visiting from the most politically-correct country (USA), I couldn't believe my ears what I was hearing! I found some people using the terms "white" and "black" without a slight discomfort. Every where I visited, I could clearly see the physical divide between the races in the cities between the "rich" and "poor" neighborhoods. The first few days were pretty uncomfortable, but the more I looked in to the social malaise of racial segregation - or apartheid - that was in place until the early 90s, I more I understood the deep rooted problems that SA faces - poverty and crime. Once these are addressed and dealt with strongly, South Africa will be even better as a nation and a tourist destination.

I realize that it takes time for South Africa to "normalize" and move ahead. I saw a great potential for SA to become one of the best places in the world to visit and live. I'm sure as time passes, this will certainly happen. I'm positive about it.