OMG Its so cool!

Let's Go! We left Las Vegas in the morning. Nothing exciting about it but just to mention that the entire ride to Grand Canyon involved lots of sledging, shouting, getting emotional about relationships and talking about other's affairs and marriages. Yeah, I completely agree with you here - aren't my friends becoming *uncles* and looking like settling in life? (besides the sledging and shouting part) ;) Anyways, all this happening with loads and loads of music (thanks to my iPod+FM transmitter). We noticed a few listening patterns here. All of us have similar music taste but which song to listen to next depends on the mood. Everybody tried DJing but some failed to put the right song next. While the iPod rotated through different people, it was only one iDJ who came out on top (the one who *created* the best mood in the car). Unfortunately, that award does not go to me (I admit I suck at DJing). Its Bonda! From "Qayamat se Qayamat Tak" to "Love Rap", it w...

Drinks with Cleopatra Just an attractive title to catch your attention :) But its ok. There is a Cleopatra in the story. Read on! After freshening up in the hotel, we decided to visit a few more casinos. We headed to the heart of the Las Vegas Blvd strip and considered parking in Ceasar's Palace parking lot. We enter the parking lot without taking a parking ticket or anything. It was free! Its not what you'd expect in US where in most big cities, parking is like $15-20 bucks. I did tell my friends about this little fact but they didn't seem to believe me. At that point though, everybody agreed with me that parking is indeed free all over in Las Vegas. Actually, my friends never believe me the first time for anything as I come out with these wierd facts which simply sounds, umm, made-up. Well, sometimes they are not! :) So, as we entered the parking lot, [Again, this section is censored. Its the damn confidentiality agreement of 813ers]. ... and we walked out of the parking ...

Arrival of the Corporate Pal, Bonda and I were leaving Luxor's 32nd floor when we got a call from Patil. He announced the arrival of "Black Beauty", otherwise known as the Corporate. The Corporate's characteristics are very peculiar. His poker-face will hide every thought in His mind but His *broadcasting* nature will make sure we are up-to-date with the latest in our common friends' lives. Why is he THE Corporate? Because He is known for his adventerous lifestyle, having extravagant dinners, buying latest gadgets and ofcourse, his frequent trips to Europe, Mexico and to his ideal city, Raleigh. The Corporate made no exceptions in this trip too and made sure he had the most expensive airline ticket and paid a whopping 25 bucks for a cab from the airport to our hotel. But it took us only a few hours to bring Him out of his *corporate* mode. Bus ride Pal, Bonda and I leave Luxor to return back to our booked hotel. We had to catch up with Patil/Kokate to pickup *corp...

Rental Car We booked a rental car at the airport itself. All five of us were waiting in line to get one car. Its the kind of close friendship we have (umm, and the other reason is that otherwise, they would have just left the whole goddamn thing on me). So we got a Ford freestar but boy, its horsepower felt less than my Honda Civic. This ford minivan dragged like a hand-cart and a full press of its acceleration pedal only resulted in the rpm zooming into the red zone (but the speed would remain the same). That's ford's magic for you! Anyways, Pal was the navigator and he sure knows how to be a *pain-in-the-ass*. For the car! :) Our rental car policy is simple. Drive to its extreme! Taking some hints from New Orleans trip, Pal jumped up to take the sole responsiblity to check the music system. Yea, it did sound *loud* at full volume and no, it didn't break the car windows. Oh, he even tried slamming the doors a few times in the parking lot to make sure it sounds *closed*. Bo...

Poop Fluid When we left for the flight, we didn't have breakfast. So, we grab a quickie at the terminal only to find the coffee was horrible (that liquid shit made me dehydrated throughout my flight). I had a muffin too which was really wierd. It had a shape like a wild mushroom. Somehow, in the anticipation of meeting old pals, I gulped it down. The Airport Timetable 03:00 EST: Bonda leaves Erie to reach Pittsburgh in 3 hours time due to heavy snow. His first experience of driving in heavy snow went alright. 05:00 EST: Along with Patil, my journey starts from Raleigh. Keyur drops us to the airport while he was suppose to leave for India the next day. 08:00 EST: We meet Bonda on Pittsburgh airport. Our connecting flight is the same flight to Las Vegas. 08:15 EST: Patil calls up on Pal. He's fast asleep. Lol. PST, EST mein gadbad. 10:00 PST: Pal confirms he's waiting for us. So does Kokate 11:00 PST: We reach baggage claim. In a second (literally), we find our bags and Pati...

"We ride together, we die together. Bad boys for life." Introduction I look back two months ago and I don't even see 7 of us ready for the trip. Two weeks back, we had no details of the trip. Somehow, we got it right. As always! :) There is so much I have to say that I could write a 200-page book on it. But who has the time for it, unless ofcourse, somebody is ready to pay for it :) So instead, I'll just write my experience in a blogger's style. We planned this trip in a way that, with one stone, we kill 2 (actually, a lot more) birds at the same time. We visit Las Vegas, drive to Grand Canyon, visit some *points* and return back to Las Vegas. Ofcourse, during the trip, we see casinos, take fun-rides, see the sunset at Grand Canyon, maybe even a helicopter ride and gamble. The icing over the cake was that this was suppose to be our 1st annual reunion. But not everything worked out. We planned for a "Frisbee Football Championship" (a Clemson tradition) bu...