Inside Out - PIXAR strikes Gold

After wowing us with the feelings of Toys, Cars, Rats, Superheroes, and most recently Planes, PIXAR studios is back with its latest offering, the feelings of 'Feelings'. Yes, you heard it right. Inside Out is a movie about a 11 year old girl, Riley Anderson and her troubles with moving on to a new city and growing up while managing her feelings.
The main character of the movie is not Riley, but the five feelings inside her, namely Joy, Sadness, Disgust, Fear and Anger, which drive her emotions. As the movie starts, we see first glimpse of Joy when Riley is born and giggling, Slowly and steadily we are introduced with these 5 never-seen-before characters, all trying to be the dominant ones, with Joy leading the pack. In a terrific opening scene, where all her memories are being stored and the concepts of the movie are being laid, we see how far PIXAR has come in terms of technological marvel. Some of these memories are core memories, which lay the foundations of her personality, and define who she is. As she grows up, her memories are being stored and with it these 5 characters show different shades of her. Post this, in some misunderstanding Joy and Sadness are out of the Headquarters and land in a strange place full of multi-colored globes which are her memories of all her lifetime. With Anger, Disgust and Fear controlling all of Riley's emotions, things go haywire very quickly, as she ditches with her family and school. A new town, new school, new life is not easy to handle when you lose the emotions of happiness and sadness, and that is shown beautifully here. In another hilarious scene, when her mother asks how school was, and she replies with disgust and signals the father is pure genius. The rest of the movie shows different encounters of Joy and Sadness working their way back to headquarters to save her life from ruining, the clock is ticking as her world crumbles in front of their eyes. In this journey they meet some delicious characters like bingbong, her imaginary friend who dreams of going to the moon with her, the memory deleters who delete the faded memories, and go to the deepest places of her mind such as Dream Productions (the ones which shows her the dreams), Imaginary land (which stores her fantasises), Train of thought (which works when she is awake) and many others.
All in all, this is one of the best PIXAR movies till date after misfiring with sequels. It has a brilliant premise, attention to detail and extra-ordinary effects. Amy Poehler as Joy is wonderful, but the underdog is Sadness which steals the show. Contrary to popular belief, Inside Out is for all ages alike. Pete Doctor has brought an almost impossible idea to life and with what grandeur. Running at a crisp 103 minutes, this is a roller-coaster ride of emotions and fun that one shouldn't miss, by the end of it you'll start seeing things in a different manner.

First Weekend in videsh....

And finally the most awaited part had arrived-'Friday'. The weather was sunny, with serene winds blowing. The clock was well past 4, and a piece of me excited about the pretty sights of what this beautiful city had in store for me, and another trying to close the day at work, I was still at work, awaiting for it to finish rather impatiently. Sometime after 6, everything was done, and I stormed the way out and rushed to the Hotel.

Come 8, and I was in the bus to reach the famous shopping district of the new city, 'Xinyi' district. Along the way, I was delighted to see the city at night. Well-lit streets with supercars zooming away, artificial greenery beautifying the streets, super-awesome-fashionable girls, 'Neon'ified buidlings, I was falling for the city rather steeply. Xinyi is the newer shopping districts of the city, boasting of the magnificent Taipei 101, among a number of important places. Walking along the streets, looking at the stores of almost-all brands, buzzing youth, time flew rather quickly. I met a few friends there at this place called "Room18". It is one of the first night clubs in Taipei, and since has been showing a good time to an entire generation. We reached to the EDM room (the other is for Hip-Hop), and boy the scene was electric. The music was loud, LED's and Lasers were trippy, the crowd was mad. Although the BC friends got missing midway through the night, it was probably the best party I had been to until now. We partied as crazy fucks allnight, and hence Friday was over-and probably Saturday too...

Xinyi with 101 in backdrop

Xinyi Shining 

VieShow Cinema (Near 101 and Room 18)

Saturday was as thought ruined, the day passed in a jiffy. The day went out to clean the 'system', and by then Sunday had arrived, and it was time to explore the city. Longshan Temple was the first stop. From a cultural point of view, its interesting to see how people practice religion differently. Architecturally, its okay. I left the place after sometime, and moved to the next lane to explore some lunch options. After light lunch, I reached Da'an Park. It is Taipei's answer to New York City's famous Central Park. Lush green with well-connected pathways to roam the park. Many beautiful kids playing around on a lazy afternoon, couples relaxing, parents enjoying a day-out with their kids, the atmosphere was very calm and happy-ish. I took solace near a lake in the park (yes, there are 2 lakes too), and just trying to breathe-in the place. Very near to it is the famous weekly Flower and Jade market. These markets work only on weekends, and is quite an attraction for locals as well as travellers.

Longshan Temple

Daan Forest Park

Greenery everywhere

Kids having a great time

I had heard a lot about this Elephant Mountain. I was told that it is one-of-the-best places to enjoy a sunset and boasts of a great look of the city's skyline. It was a little far from the park, and I managed to reach at the summit by 6 (The trail comprises of roughly 150-200 stairs, and you reach the viewing deck, and this is called the 'Xiangshan Hiking Trail'). The sunset was still 40 mins away, so I was well-on-time. It was almost time for lighting-up-the-101-building. (Every evening around sunset, the lights of the building lits up in a synchronized manner).Well, everything they said about this mountain is completely true. It offered a great view of the city, with the 101 lighting up (It was one of the major highlight of the day), and all other so-called sky-scrappers looking minuscule in front of the majestic 101. As the sun was settling down, the lights of the city started to lit-up slowly and steadily.  At that moment, I could say that I had never seen anything like it. I am writing about it, almost after a month, but the charm is still there and yes I still miss the place.

The way to Xiangshan Hiking Trail

Almost there !!! :)

Wonderful Skyline

This had to done !!

Glittering Taipei 

The 101 is not very far from the trail. The next thing I know, I am in the vicinity of 101 neighborhood. I was smitten by this building, to be honest, and call it universe's-way-of-working, but I used to find myself at 101 every weekend, sometimes planned, sometimes unplanned. The building is truly an extra-ordinary piece of architecture. As one enters the main area, one would find little things (some glass-work, statues of the damper in a cute-sort-of-way, a big L-O-V-E statue, a neon-lit fountain which performs for 10 mins every hour, etc.) here and there, which makes it even more beautiful. This place had a different positive vibe around it. I think I can write another complete post (and pouring my heart out) on the 101, but that's for later. It has 101 floors, out of which first 5 floors boasts of a shopping mall for the elite (pun intended). I was taking a stroll looking at super-brands outlets, all of this was over-whelming, Since, it was a long day, I decided to experiment with the Food Court. The first reaction on entering the court was 'Fck! Its huge'. The variety available here is undoubtedly its USP. From Indian, to Thai, to American, to practically every place one can think of, one'll find everything here.

Indeed

The entrance to a brand new world

After complete satifaction of taste-buds, the stroll continued. The clock struck well past 10:30, and tiredness crept in, I came back to hotel, as Monday had almost approached. But something strange happened midway to hotel, I was not dreading it, instead I was embracing it, as I was one day closer to next weekend.

Taiwan !!!

A very normal day in office, working on that PLM, sipping on coffee, Hardwell trying to tear apart my earphones, and there comes Vinod Sir. "Shrey, there is some requirement in Taiwan, do you want to go ?", and here I was packing for Taipei.

Before leaving, we had a big celebration, and I left for Kempegowda Airport. Bode farewell to friends, and boarded Cathay Pacific. Hong-Kong was the first stop. Clearing Transfers at the airport, I am met with a strange glare by the officer, he looked at me suspiciously, and had a little interrogation. After not-so-many hassles, I entered it, and was awe-struck (going to use this term a lot, as I saw many new things). The biggest brands, hottest ladies, suited businessmen. Wandering around the airport, seeing Gucci,Prada, Rolex, and what-not, having a glimpse of traditional Chinese wear displayed along with a little history was good. Anyways, it was time for next flight to the would-be Karmabhoomi for a month 'Taipei'. A crisp 1-and-a-half-hour flight, and I reached Taipei.

Chinese traditional wear at the HongKong Airport

There was a big line at immigration, after sometime came my turn, and I stepped forward and passed my documents to Officer. She looked at my passport, and then at my face and was confused. I told her it was 5 years old photo, but she wasn't convinced, asking me for more ID's and Photo's. A little-off, and tired, I passed her all those, she took her colleague's help, and both of them are scanning me , and the documents. finally after 5-7 mins and a long interview, I entered the city.

It was raining rather heavily, and I was somehow trying to communicate with a Cab Driver. He didnt know English, and I was clueless about Chinese. After some hassling, I think he understood, as he was all "okay,okay sir", and the trip had started. The first thing of notice was the driving pattern, Here, the driver sits on the left, rather than on normal right. As he was driving, I was looking through the window, and the city looked beautiful. Big, wide-clean,highway-types roads, the best automobile, and the shocking thing, greenery. Even with so many buildings on the surroundings, they have maintained lots of flora around the place.

It was almost sunset and lights were coming up, making the view even better. Surrounded by mountains, with rain pouring, the atmosphere was surreal. 10-15 min into the ride, and I could see Taipei 101(one-o-one, as the locals call it), with its head covered by clouds. It was huge, all other buildings looked minuscule around it, it was absolutely gorgeous. I was almost amazed with how disciplined things were here, no traffic policeman controlling the crowds, people adhering to traffic signals on their own, heck, I used a zebra crossing for the first time in 22 years of existence :P. Exhausted by the debauchery last night and the flight, I reached my home for the following month "Hotel June".



The 101, with its head among the clouds


After a delicious dinner, the day came to an end, as the dreadful MONDAY had already approached.
Officially it was a 'business trip', and it was that for 5 working days, but for other 2, it was a vacation, in this series, I'll write about the vacation part ONLY... :)

Day 1

Day 1:
Being from the holiest city on the planet, Varanasi, there has always been an inclination towards Religious Sites, with that in mind, I wanted to cover the most famous religious sites of the city. From Malad Station, I boarded a local, and it was like some other thing. The huge rush, indifference among rich and poor was striking. People were generally very helpful.

Dadar was the first stop. Asking for directions, I reached Siddhi-Vinayak Mandir. It looked beautiful, there was some rush due to holidays, but never mind. The Ganpati idol awe-strucked me. The blessings were taken, I sat for sometime trying to take a feel of the place. The mantra's, chants were on, and it was the closest I felt to home for 6 months, it was relaxing. Next was Mahalakshmi or the goddess of wealth. It is said that Mumbai is blessed by two Goddesses-Mahalakshmi and Mumba Devi. I took the blessings, and then was the main attraction of the day, Haji Ali. Reaching there was not easy, as the first bus that I boarded took me to the wrong direction, somehow I reached there. To reach there, one needs to cross a roughly 1 km foot-bridge, with Arabian Sea on both sides, the winds were extra-ordinary, the place was calm, the famous Bombay crows were there wandering. I offered my prayers, and decided to sit around. Looking at the Arabian Sea, with many distant High-Rise buildings, I was in a different zone all-together. The waves hitting the rocks repeatedly making that sweet sound, occasional water sprays, sun settling in, people offering prayers, it is impossible to worry about anything, one is bound to be contented and just be in the moment.

The sun was settling down, and it was time to depart from there, never knew an hour and half passed by. With a calmer mind, I moved to the next place - Gateway of India. Given to the Britishers, as part of dowry, its a beautiful monument. I boarded a cab, cruising through Nariman Point and Marine Drive, watching big sky-scrappers on the left, mighty Arabian Sea on the right, and beautifully-lit streets was exhilarating. I reached GOI, standing tall in glory, lit with pinkish-bluish colors.

After this was a very famous ferry-ride. It costed a mere 70 bucks for 30 minutes ride, without a doubt, I was on the boat. Although it was dark, but seeing the glowing city from the sea was worth it. On the ride, I met a guy, who wanted a get a snap for his son. We started off talking, and he told some stories about how people lives have changes oernight in Bombay. By the end of the ride, I made a great friend in him. Fayaz, if you are reading this, on my next visit, we'll definitely have that Tea :). Adjacent to it, was the majestic Taj Hotel glowing like a champion. Royal-ness was pouring from every inch of the place. It is said that JRD Tata (the founder of Taj Group) was once declined entry in some British Hotel which had a board saying "No Dogs, and No Indians", infuriated he decided to start his own hotel, and soon the entire clientele of that British place was shifted to Taj. It had to happen sooner or later, as this is the glorious Taj we are talking about. Today, that British hotel is in ruins, with its 1st floor occupied mostly by lawyers due to its proximity to Bombay High Court, and Mantralaya.

I started walking around the place, and the place had a great Victorian feel to it. Be it the British-styled buildings, roads, or the richness pouring from the place. With big-foreign-branded cars around, super-fashionable youth, it never felt as if one is in India, it was more like one is in London. Strolling around the area, I passed an old building when I heard a Hardwell track being played, and I was like WTF, where is it coming from. Turned out, it was an old building, renovated into a pub with a trippy name "Colaba Social". Taking a peek into the place, beautiful girls celebrating the weekend, I continued with the journey, after having some very-Mumbai'an Franky, fully exhausted, I came back to Churchgate station, from where I had to board my local. Finally reached home, told my experiences to my folks, and seeing their amused faces was the best thing, as they thought I was mad to travel solo. Following a light dinner, and planning an outline for the next day, it was sleeping time.

Bombay !!

Seeing it in the movies, hearing rave things from people around, I was always fascinated by the thought of visiting Bombay. I had a lot of chances to be there, but it never happened. Maybe someone up there was working on a plan, And finally, after 22 years of existence and more than a decade-old fascination, things finally came together, and here I was bag-packing.

But this was pure-chance. The trip wasn't in my head even 2 days back. Come New Year '15, seeing an European On-Site opportunity crushed, job going nowhere, friends having other plans for the long weekend. Hell bent on leaving the city and getting some fresh air, out of the blues, came the idea of going solo.

Solo Trips always confused me, seeing other's experiences on different travel blogs, and thinking "How can it be so good without friends","What do people do all day, don't they get bored", etc. Anyways, because of so much negativity around, something had to be done, and the search for a destination began. One day I'm like Auroville is a good place, other day is like Headout to Goa and find your answers. Then came 22nd Jan, and as usual destination search was on, and there was a beautiful snap of Victoria Terminal, and it striked "THIS HAS TO BE THE PLACE",  This was a chance to kill two birds with a stone. I can have a perfect trip, and also can visit my Grandparents place. It couldnt get better. So the buses were booked, bags packed, and all set to travel to the "Maya-Nagri".

But as the saying goes, " no great success was ever achieved without fare" or something like that, it wasnt easy. As I reached Kalasipalyam (where the bus had to be boarded), where the worst thing was waiting. The bus is cancelled, and next trip is next morning. Getting a refund, I stormed out of the place, looking for other options. Things shaped out real bad when every other dealer were charging 2.5 times the normal fare. Feeling frustrated, search for a eating joint began. During the dinner, thinking about the situation, flight was the only plausible option. Hesitantly, I looked for them, to my luck (and some discount voucher), I got a great deal, and here I was all-set for trip, Reaching home, we celebrated till the dawn, as the flight was for next morning.

Bidding adieu to friends, with an un-explainable adrenaline-rush, the flight was boarded, after crisp one-and-a-half hour, and a super-power nap, I was there, at the "Home to Indian Cinema", "Financial Capital", "City which never Sleeps". Stepping into the city, I could feel a different energy around the place, a chill that one feels while reaching home, i knew this would be unforgettable.
I reached Malad, where my folks stayed. During the way, I was told a little history and working of the city, be it the concept of Bombay Locals or the difference between North-South and East-West. After a huge breakfast at home(including the famous "Vada-Pav") and planning out the first day, I was all set to have an Unexpected Adventure ;)
I'll write about the trip experiences in subsequent posts. :)

What this is about, and what this is not !!

After so much nagging by folks around, I am here, starting my Blog.
This is not something where you'll find loads of info or daily tips. It's more of like digitization of thoughts, memories, same old stuff. You may find some Movie Review on a day, maybe Travel Experience on the other, or an opinion on the hottest debatable topics, or anything random which I'm not able to think at the moment.

So you are still here, Maybe you'll find something in here entertaining.