California Diary: Venice Beach

There are about 40 of my company employees contracting at Nestle and about 500 possibly in the state of California alone. That makes it convenient for the uninitiated when they reach here. Luckily for the 4 of us who have been staying here, Dinesh, a colleague has gone out of his way in ferrying us around. On the 1st 2 weekends alone, he took us shopping, to Venice beach, Pepperdyne University & a Hindu temple at a place called malibu. This blog is about the beach.
Californians are envied for the wonderful weather they have through out the year. Its a wonderful place to come away for an entire day and families do that. Whether its to sun-bathe, cycle, roller-skate, skate-board, get a massage, fly kites, play beach volleyball, play paddle tennis or just take in the amateur but unique art displays and music performances.
I enjoyed playing paddle tennis with my colleagues. Even enjoyed taking a dip in the sea. But what I enjoyed most was the walk down the road by the beach taking in the vibrant culture. Everyone had his own unique way of making money. Nobody begged. Even if they did it was with a sense of humor. I saw a bunch of ragged punkish kids with a sign that read- 'Aren't we glad that we are not your kids' Then she hollered 'Give me some money to feed my kid-sister'.

There was this art display of movie monsters like the Alien & Predator made out of scrap metal. Then there was this guy who spray painted amazing cosmic & landscape paintings in a matter of minutes. Another young performer juggled barbells and knives mixing it with a good sense of humorand at the same time encouraging the kids to stay at school, so that they may not end up like him.

Then there was the DJ, the solo-artistes, palm readers, tattoo artists, fortun-tellers, snake charmers, hare krishnas (I saw this hare krishna couple and with their permission took their picture, coz I thought the girl looked beautiful in a sari) and even Iguana handlers. I even saw a bush-man. There is even a full-blooded gym by the beach and a basket-ball court where I witnessed a group of bare-bodied muscular blacks kicking some white brother butt.

In all, there is a vibrancy about the beach here. A sort of culture, a way of life that is more than just a hang-out. Its a wonderful place to spend an entire day. Come prepared with your own bikes, skateboard, volley-ball etc as things can be got for a rent here, but can be very expensive. Its a nice place, but am hoping to see more than beaches in california. But yeah! if you live around here, its a great place to spend a relaxed weekend.