About My Name

I often get confused for being Indian, primarily due to my  name, Anil. Several months ago after my post from the Shiva Temple in Bangalore, India the conversation came up and I thought I’d bring the conversation up here. Although Anil is a very common name in India, it is also used in Turkey. It’s not as widespread and can be given to either boys or girls.

Its meaning, in Turkish comes from the verb ‘anilmak’ which means to be remembered. I had always wondered about the origin of the name in India, especially after my first trip to Bangalore. It seems that I’d get a different answer, anything from “fire” to “flame” – basically heat related.

Priyank was able to clear things up for me and have found Anil is a Sanskrit word, meaning ‘air’.

‘Air’ is a metaphor used to denote speed, sublimity, omnipresence etc, is name of the God of Wind, but all those are interpretations only (and not the meaning itself!)

Many in India find it confusing that a ‘Muslim’ (assumed since I’m Turkish) has a Hindi name. As far as I can tell the origin of the name in Turkish is murky at best and may have been brought over with one of the waves of Mongol conquerors of India. My name has influenced how people see me on my travel numerous times as do all of our names.

Finally, I got an email a while back from a reader congratulating me on my Lonely Planet award. Unfortunately, it’s not me. The author of that travel blog Windy Skies (the winner of the 2009 Lonely Planet Best Travelogue), Anil P., is consequently Indian.

[photo by: drtchock]

Disconnected In Seneca Rocks, West Virginia

Seneca Rocks, West Virginia is digitally isolated, no cell phone service, Internet, or many television channels. It’s getting harder and harder to digitally disconnect while easier to physically travel. The area around Seneca Rocks is great for motorcycle rides and cabin vacations, hiking, rafting, and exploring caves.

Refreshed, I’m now ready to dive back online.

15 Travel Related Things About Me

Reading Erica’s 30 travel related things about me inspired me to follow my own advice on building a successful travel blog and share some of my personal travel habits. In no particular order here are 15 travel related things about me.

1. I am habitually late for flights, buses, and pretty much any mode transportation.
2. I never take pictures of myself when I travel.
3. I enjoy sleeping in airports.
4. My favorite city in the world is Istanbul, which consequently has the best airport I’ve ever slept in.
5. I primarily travel with the small but efficient SwissGear Synergy computer backpack.
6. The longest I’ve ever been without a shower on the road is 22 days.
7. I always travel with my digital essentials – a laptop and encrypted USB drive (loaded with these 12 applications).
8. I am never without a book, ever.
9. No matter how much I fly, every time I get on a plane I feel like I’m pushing my luck.
10. Traveling makes me appreciate everything I have and realize that family and health are things never to take for granted.
11. I can’t leave a hotel room without checking it over and over only to still feel like I forgot something.
12. Due to poor planning, I’ve run out of cash in the worst places.
13. Bargaining is a great way to get a deal – and make a lifelong friend.
14. I missed my first flight ever last December (see #1 above).
15. Although I speak English, Turkish, and French, I always end up in places where none of those languages do me any good.

In case you thought you were off the hook, I’ll be asking some of you to add a few travel related things about yourselves next week. Until then if you’d like to get to know me better you can read my About page, see where I’ve been, or catch up with me on Facebook.

Strolling Around Stanford

On my way between the beaches of Santa Cruz and wine tasting in San Jose, I dropped by the open spaces of Stanford University. The campus is lovely – so many wide open spaces, greenery, with constant activity – I felt smarter for a moment just being there.

Wine Tasting At J. Lohr – San Jose, California

Located in downtown San Jose in a quiet residential area is the J.Lohr tasting room. Approximately the 15th largest wine seller in the United States they offer free weekday tastings. The daily event, from 10am to 5pm, is a great quick stop for any trip in the San Jose area. Up on my way from the beaches of Santa Cruz recently, I decided to pay J. Lohr for my first ever wine tasting.

Despite the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, there were only about 15 people in the tasting room, a nice sized crowd for the space. I walked right in to a small shop at the entrance of the tasting room and made my way up to the bar. One of the J. Lohr employees came up to me promptly with a wine list and explained to me that anyone who visits during a regular weekday tasting is entitled to 6 complimentary tastes of either red or white wine, or a combination of the two.

The glasses are filled generously, a little less than half full, and I drank 6 of them – an assortment of their red wine selection. Most of the J. Lohr wines are grown in Paso Robles, although there is a small vineyard right behind the tasting room in San Jose. The best red wine I had at J. Lohr, the Cypress Hills Shiraz, is also their best value. ($4 a bottle but you have to get a minimum of 6. They can wrap it in an airline approved packaging or ship it within the US.)

You are not obligated to buy a bottle once you’re done tasting so once you’re done you can simply walk out the door. This felt weird to me personally so I picked up a bottle of the Cypress Hills Merlot, my second favorite (that I could afford.) In all, the entire experience will take you at most an hour, cost you nothing, and keep you close to public transportation and the rest of San Jose.

You can find more about J. Lohr and their daily tastings at their website, JLohr.com. I’ve also posted some of my pictures from inside below.

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The Setting Sun Of Santa Cruz

I was able to get some time at the beach during a recent trip to California. I wasn’t able to stay long in Santa Cruz, but from what I can tell it definitely looks like a party town. The houses lining the beach were packed with barbecuers, students, and permanent beach bums.

Le Jardin – Oberoi Hotel, Bangalore

I was lucky enough to enjoy some food at the Le Jardin Restaurant inside of the Oberoi hotel in Bangalore recently. The courses were decent but not particularly tasty, especially considering the high cost of the food there.

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The Dog Days of Cubbon Park in Bangalore

About the most interesting thing at this large but quiet park. Cubbon Park has nice greenery for local residents to stroll though, but the fuss being made about it didn’t warrant a stop on my latest trip.

Shiva Temple – Bangalore, India

You can see the rest of my pictures from this Shiva Temple, with impressive statues of the deity here.

Sunset At Vidhana Soudha, Bangalore India

Here is the first picture from my most recent trip to Bangalore, which I’ll be posting about more this week. Vidhana Soudha seat of the state legislature of Karnataka.

If you can’t wait for more pictures from India, here are some I took from Chandni Chowk and India Gate, both in New Delhi.

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