Fall Leaves in Central Park and Bergdorf Goodman Holiday Windows

The sun gods treated us to a special Thanksgiving weekend, warming us up with 60-degree temperatures. Sunday marked the last time of the year where I would be able to sit at the park in a short-sleeved top, run along the Hudson without a sweater, and watch the Central Park rollerskaters without my feet freezing. After brunching in the Upper East Side, a few of us walked to Central Park to view the foliage and stare in bewilderment at the old man who bounced non-stop up and down as if he was having seizures while rollerskaters and dancers glided around him.

We walked down 5th Avenue to help digest our brunch and check out the holiday lights. I typically hate walking down the tourist-clogged streets of 5th Avenue, but during this time of the year, the lights entrance me, forcing me to slow my pace and stare up at the sparkling buildings.

Bergdorf Goodman had the best holiday windows I've ever seen. The theme was "Carnival of Animals" and each of the five elaborate windows was designed using different materials. Here we have paper...

...mosaic...

...textile...

...metal...

...and wood.

Saks Fifth Avenue's windows paled in comparison to Bergdorf's so I didn't even bother taking pictures of them. After we left Saks, we passed by some other buildings with holiday lights.

Trump Tower

Fendi

Cartier

Tanning, Dancing and Celebrating Love in Anguilla

About two weeks after I returned from India, I went to Anguilla with my bf for his friends' wedding. Without any direct flights from NYC to Anguilla, we flew into St. Maarten and then took a boat to our destination, aka paradise.

We stayed at the CuisinArt Resort & Spa. When I first heard the resort's name, I thought, Why would Cuisinart create a resort? Is the place pimped out with its eponymous kitchen appliances? But I was wrong. The resort has no affiliation with the Cuisinart with the lowercase 'a.'

The first night we went to the Dune Preserve, a beach bar by our resort, to listen to Bankie Banks, a famous raggae artist.

We went to sleep and woke up in the morning to the sound of gentle waves rolling to and from the shore.

The view from our room.

The mountains on St. Maarten.

The whitewashed walls of the resort along the warm, clear waters of Rendezvous Bay.

Elvis Beach Bar in Sandy Ground.

On one of the days we drove through unpaved rocky roads to get to Junk's Hole Bay. With the exception of a couple of other people on the beach, our group had ocean to ourselves.

After we drove to Captain's Cove, an isolated beach only reachable by driving through rocky terrain.

During the night of the rehearsal dinner, we lit wishing lanterns and released them into the sky. I hate littering and polluting the earth, but the sky looked magical with the bright lantern lights ascending, getting smaller and smaller as they disappeared into the darkness.

The calm waters of Crocus Bay set the backdrop for the wedding ceremony.

This is the most beautiful destination wedding I've ever (and only) been to.

We drank and danced the night away at Da Vida Restaurant, which is next to the ceremony site. The after party was at the bride and groom's villa, where we ate finger licking ribs and chicken wings from a food truck.

View of St. Maarten as we rode on the boat to head back to NYC.

Whenever I travel to a country, I typically don't want to go back because I want to experience new places. But in Anguilla the locals are so friendly, the road food is a party in my mouth, and the turquoise ocean is warm and relaxing, that I wouldn't mind going again.

Two-Month Trip Wrap Up Report

Fifty-five days, three continents, eight countries, 13 cities. I strolled through the most romantic streets in Paris, ate flavorful food from street stalls with a friend in Marrakech, got a full body scrub in a communal shower by an old woman in Essaouira, met distant relatives for the first time in Annemasse, breathed in fresh air as I walked around the serene lake in Geneva, received a visual history lesson on WWII and the Cold War in Berlin, was enchanted by colorful baroque architecture and cobblestoned streets in Prague, met a group of fascinating free-spirited travelers in Vienna, savored mouthwatering pasta and gelato with friends in Rome, stayed at a Tibetan monastery and arm wrestled with a five-year old monk in Mundgod, India, thought I was going to die in a car accident in the chaotic streets of New Delhi, meditated underneath the bodhi tree where Buddha once sat to reach enlightenment in Bodh Gaya, and watched bodies burn in a Hindu ritual along the Ganges River in Varanasi.

All my family and friends asked what was my favorite city. It's hard to choose just one because I had unique experiences in all of them. Paris is, hands down, the most beautiful city that makes you want to fall in love with someone just so you can kiss that person as you cross the bridge Pont Alexandre III or as you stand in front of the Eiffel Tower as it lights up at night. The people in Morocco are welcoming (as long as they're not trying to sell you something or extort money from you by leading you to a wrong address) and their culture is rich in traditions. Lake Geneva and the surrounding mountains provide a glimpse of the natural magnificence of Switzerland's landscapes. Rome or any city in Italy will never fail your tastebuds. India will assault your five senses and literally clog your lungs, but if you learn to embrace the culture and the people's spiritual way of life, your soul is nourished for a lifetime.

During the time that I was away from the comforts of my own bed, familiar faces and the English language, I rediscovered that if you open up yourself to trust strangers and to experiences outside of your comfort zone, you will have more enriching experiences than if you were to travel in fear and with a closed mind. This trip rekindled my passion for seeing the world, the way different people live and think. It reminded me to live in the present, that you can be amid chaos and poverty and still be happy if you have inner peace, and to be appreciative of your life because most people in the world would fight to have a fraction of what you have. And most importantly of all, it showed me that despite all the incredible experiences I had, none of it would matter if I wasn't able to come home to share my stories with the people I love.

New Delhi, India: The Red Fort

Thursday, October 27

The trains to Agra were sold out and I didn't feel like taking a car so I will not be seeing the Taj Mahal. Several people told me that Shah Jahan, the king who created the Taj Mahal, had the workers' hands cut off after they completed building the mausoleum so that they couldn't build another one for someone else. I tried to verify it but couldn't find anything.

Since I couldn't see the Taj Mahal, I ended up going to see the Red Fort, also constructed by Shah Jahan. It was unimpressive.

South Indian vegetarian food. I like Indian food, but I'm curried out.

Varanasi, India: Ganges River and Sarnath

Monday, October 24 - Tuesday, October 25

I slept on the top bunk on the train ride to Varanasi. Every now and then I'd wake up to the sound of a man yelling, "Chai, chai!"

The bunks were covered by curtains. The bathroom didn't have a toilet. Women have to squat and pee through a hole in the ground.

We arrived in Varanasi around 10:30am and tried to drive to the Ganges River but traffic came to a standstill from all the people shopping for Diwali. Most people around us were on motorcycles, bicycles and on foot and tried maneuvering through whatever opening they could find. One cow walked past our car. We decided to get out of the car and walk to the river.

The area in front of the river.

So skinny.

The Ganges is considered one of the most holiest places for Hindus, who believe that bathing in the river absolves them of all sins.

The river has many ghats, or steps leading down to the water.

People bathing in the river.

Manikarnika Ghat, where the dead are cremated and their ashes are placed in the river. Cremations take place 24 hours a day and about 400 are performed daily. Hindus believe that being burned at the river provides instant liberation from the cycle of reincarnation. A local Tibetan woman who took us around said that when she was younger, her mom told her that every person should see a cremation at least once in his/her life in order to see the complete cycle of life, that every beginning has an ending.

Local women aren't allowed at this ghat. From our boat, we could see orange cloth covering the bodies, several fires burning the bodies and men in the river mixing the ashes with the river (I later found out that they're probably searching for jewelry). I watched men place a body on top of wooden logs but we left before they started the fire.

The next morning we went to Sarnath, the area where Buddha first taught the dharma.

The excavated site probably used to contain a temple.

Many people pray at Dhamekh Stupa, which commemorates the spot where Buddha gave his teaching.

I think I have seen enough religious sites to last me a lifetime.