Exotic Gringo

The WorldNomads Travel Film Scholarship is back!

If you are a 18+ novice film maker (non-professional), you can apply to win a fully paid trip
to New Orleans and be mentored by film maker Briann Rapsey. What are you waiting for?

Click here for details.

Last year, the lovely Shriya Pilgaonkar from India won this trip.

Travel Brazil - Film Scholarship Winners Go To Rio Carnaval (Part 1) from WorldNomads on Vimeo.

Super energetic Kim had made plans for us to visit nearby Virginia City just a day after her wedding.

Not to be confused with Virginia state, this is a quaint little town in Nevada that's stuck in time.

- Or that's what they love to market!

The region was at the peak of it's glory when the first gold deposits were discovered in Comstock Lode, followed by silver deposits in 1859.

Originally a mining boomtown, Virginia City is a fun touristy place today, telling you stories of the
yesteryears through it's olde style architecture, signboards and colourful costumes.

Almost every shop and service here is crafted to maintain the theme of it's glorious past.

We did a quick tour of the region onboard the slow but fun Virginia Truckee Mining Train!

Interesting anecdote: Mark Twain first used his pen name here! Speaking of pen names, ahem...

Las Vegas was extravagant but not exactly 'exciting' for me. Perhaps because i've never really favoured opulence, and always preferred nature's grandeur and simplicity to manmade substitutes.

Almost as if the travel Gods were to concur, we drove from Vegas to the Grand Canyon after spending 2 nights in Sin City. I was expecting this big gorge which would be a photo op we'd do and forget about.

But when we reached the Grand Canyon National Park and got our first peek of the natural wonder,
I just stood there in awe of the magnificence, humbled by such an outstanding force of nature.

Just 5 minutes of being in such a splendid place, you realize that 'grand' is an understatement!

The sudden realization that one needs to spend not hours, not a day but at least a few days circumnavigating and exploring this structure set in...

... but we had an agenda to complete... My best friend's wedding!

As i looked back at the Grand Canyon one last time before we left, i promised myself i'd come back to soak in more of it's splendour and explore the area in more detail.

Made it to New York City / The USA!

The primary agenda of my visit here is my oldest pal Dru's wedding.
But being my first ever trip, I had to visit my dear friend Nick Gray in New York first.
He asked me to write "Quick notes about my first impressions of his country / city."

Nick and me at the Metropolitan Museum of Art - he runs exclusive 'Museum Hack' tours of it.

Welcome to The MET - came straight here after a 17 hour flight, BOM-KWI-LHR-JFK

All the resources I put together for my epic one month trip of the USA.

Washington Square Park - this was like a better version of Shivaji Park back home!

Nick was kind enough to write this awesome note for his friendly neighbours!

The Yellow Cab, Hot Dog vendor and Sightseeing Bus #NYC

An open deck NYC sightseeing bus, a hot dog vendor and the ubiquitous Yellow Cab.

I'm writing this blog post exactly 10 days before i head there, after finally receiving my 10 year visa!

My oldest pal from school is getting married and his fiancée is helping me make secret plans to surprise him by showing up as an unexpected groomsman :D

What better way to begin this exciting trip than a VIP invitation from the US Consulate to attend the 4th of July celebrations in the city?!