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| chicago skyline |
I went to Champaign in june end on yet another site trip. this being a new city and after spending 6 months in cyprus, i was excited and looking forward to this trip. and i had a nice time indeed.
as usual, i have some or the other minor annoying experiences while traveling and it had to happen here as well. onwards from ny to detroit, i got delayed and delayed and more delayed that finally i missed my connection flight to champaign and reached there a day later.
on reaching there, i was kind of taken aback in the hotel when i found out that almost 80 % of the rooms are occupied by people on site there mostly from india. didnt look like i was much away from india.
hoping to find some good company, i was happy to see my colleague and friend ayu there and more happy when later his stay got extended and would be leaving with me.
and now onto describing champaign. was totally different from what i would have thought it would be. i was in us earlier in seattle and champaign was nowhere close to what one would think of a major us metropolitan city. it was a beautiful small town, not cramped by skyscrapers around, lot of greenery and nice weather. it was very welcoming place indeed.
a good thing was i got a car for the whole trip and since i love driving so much, its no surprise that i drove close to 1500 miles in 2 months of which 500 in a day when we went to chicago. the trip to chicago was amazing and more amazing was the return drive where we got lost and lost and lost. indeed driving without a gps may not appeal to all but the experience of finding the route and getting back on track without technology but relying on people and your instincts is amazing and worth it !
i was there during the 4th july weekend and got to see some spectacular fireworks. also didnt expect but ended up watching 4 movies in theaters.
being the lazy butt that i am, thank goodness my friend ayu was there else would have been sitting and lazying around the whole trip in the confines of the hotel.
all in all, i had a good time in champaign, not much work pressure, good company, car for the whole trip, fireworks, 500 mile drive in a day, shopping, and munching on some great cuisines.
hope the next trip whereever would be turns out as good as this one ! rumours are flying in the air about a possible travel to an exotic never heard of place. hope to write another exciting post soon :)
