Finally CHP has it now from July 1st 2008.

All those drivers above 18 years, need to use a hands free while talking on cell phone.

Highlights :

• Fine is $ 20.00 and $50.00 there on.
• No Points and DMV is not going to assign points. This is considered an offense.
• If you are driving a CA registered in vehicle in another state, you still need to use hands free.
• You can use a SPEAKER Phone [ : ) ]

More information is available @ http://www.chp.ca.gov/pdf/media/cell_phone_faq.pdf  

Tips :

• If you planning to buy a new car, most of the cars now come with Bluetooth integrated might cost an extra 2K, but it is very nice.
• more to come…..

If you are planning to visit Tirumala/Tirupati here are some of the tips i can pass on.

Food :

• Make sure you eat at Annamaya restaurant. The Food was great.
• Woodlands is one more good place

Cottages :

I stayed at Annamaya cottage. If you are planning to go with you family and you need 2 or more rooms. Book at this places. It is a very big cottage with around 4 rooms. Here is a video of the same.

Visiting places around Tirumala

Papanasa

Tips

I happen to know this Travel Agent and the driver Name is BABU and had a good experience with him and i would recommend him. I would advice know your drive before hiring one. Here are his contact details as well. Just call him in advance and let him know when you are coming and he should be able to pick you up from the air port or Railway station.

I had the opportunity to land at the shamshabad airport on the very second day. My experience was wonderful. I was out of the airport in just 25 min.

Rajiv Gandhi International Airport also being called/known as Shamshabad Airport

The below video is the Domestic airport just before entering the Security Check.

My immigration and customs took 5 min. Baggae i got it in just 10 min. I just walked out of the air port and it was quick.

Look & Feel

I would compare it with SFO air port w.r.t to the top view. Interior is some what similar to San Francisco airport, the high ceiling and the design. There are around 12 Boarding Bridges, one of the beauty worth mentioning is that it is Made of GLASS. ( I actually heard from a passenger discussing it ).

Here are some of the pictures

Some of the high lights real quick

Food & Shopping

There are lot of outlets present where one can shop. There are lot coming up. Lot of Food courts to eat out. There are lot of coffee shops also. it was costing around Rs 50.00I read in the papers saying the coffee was expensive compared to the old air port which was available for Rs 10.00Here are couple of them. I did not go, but there is a place where you can have casual drink, could not take a picture, if any of you go there place take a picture.

– I had a quick lunch at the above place the food was “Oaky” not too good. It was a buffet 200.00 for Veg and 250 for non Veg.

- There are lot of small terminals present where you can give feedback to the GMR
For those who don’t know what is GMR, it is the company which built the Air port

- The international and domestic airport are the same. Just that they have different enternaces
FYI : THe first entrance is for domestic and the second one is for International

Commute to & from Air Port

The air port is situated about 22 KM from Hyderabad. When there was no traffic it took me 45 min to reach the air port from Hyderabad city. When there is traffic it would take more time. There is a FlyOVer which is still being Constructed which connects to Hyderabad City and the airport, i guess it would be easier once this is completed. There is lot of public transport also available. hyderabad.aero buses, and. Also there Hertz and Budget car rentals if you wish to rent a car.

- Very few or i should say Only ONE PHONE booth to make Phone calls.

- There are more terminals to provide feed back than the number of phone booths.

- Over all the air port GREAT.

There 100’s of them in bayarea. If you are like me who wants to find out the best travel agent then continue to read the post and let me know your feedback, so this will be useful to other as well.

I am not going to start by giving you all the travel agents, there are tonnes of sites, or just Google it and you should be able to get it.

What is the criteria and what are you looking for in a travel agent,

- Who provides the BEST Deal on earth.

- Who provides a Good service and helps us choose the right carrier for right price.

Well, fine. Based on the time we have it is very tough for us to call each one of them or send email to all. Taking this into consideration, i have talked with couple of agents whom i had a good experience with and request them that when they get an email from me, they provide a good quote.

Do you know most of the travel agents don’t work on SUNDAY”S

Staty Tuned…. I am in the process.

Things to do before you leave to india,

- Hold your postal mail [ USPS offer a free service where they can hold your postal mail form Min 3 days to Max 30 days ]

• You can do it online @ https://holdmail.usps.com/duns/HoldMail.jsp
• You can also walk in to your nearest Post Office

-  Pay your Bills

-

Please keep in mind that Singapore Airlines announced that from 01 April 2008, for itineraries involving USA and Canada, the allowed weight for each bag will be reduced from 32kg (70lb) to 23kg (50lb).

If you plan to travel after April 01 2008, please ensure that you have only 23 kgs.

Baggage information for other airlines / Per person & Economy class

Singapore - 50 lb [ 23 kg ]

NWA(KLM) - 50 lb [ 23 kg ]

Cathy Pacific - 70 lb [ 32 kg ]

Click here for more info

US Customs and Border Protection regrets that it is necessary to take agricultural items from your baggage. They cannot be brought into the United States because they may carry animal and plant pests and diseases. Restricted items include meats, fruits, vegetables, plants, soil, and products made from animal or plant materials.

Agricultural pests and diseases are a threat to U.S. food crops and livestock. Some of these organisms are highly contagious animal diseases that could cause severe economic damage to the livestock industry and losses in production, which would mean increased costs for meat and dairy products. Other pests can affect property values by damaging lawns, ornamental plants, trees, and even homes.

Bakery items and some types of cheese can be brought into the U.S.

If you have import permit, you may be allowed to import some plants, cuttings, unprocessed plant products, seeds and certain endangered species into the U.S. You may require export permit from the country of origin for threatened or endangered species.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) are partners in this effort to protect American agriculture against the introduction of foreign plant and animal pests and diseases at our nation?s ports of entry. USDA?s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) develops the policies that determine what agricultural products can come into the country and what products pose a risk and should be kept out. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at ports of entry enforce these agricultural policies. Confiscated items are carefully destroyed in special CBP facilities. For additional information, write to:

U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Office of Field Operations
Agriculture Programs and Liaison
1300 Pennsylvania Ave, NW
Washington, DC 20229

For more information on agricultural policy, please call APHIS? Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) at 1-866- SAFGUARD. If you have any questions please write to:
APHIS-PPQ
Quarantine Policy Analysis and Support Staff
4700 River Road
Unit 60
Riverdale, MD 20737

CBP: Protecting America?s Agricultural Resources

Medication

You are allowed to bring the medicine into the U.S. as long as they are not any of the prohibited drugs types such as GHB, Fen-Phen, Rohypnol etc. The quantity that you bring should really be for personal use depending upon your dosage and the duration of your stay. If you are bringing cough medicines, sleeping pills, tranquilizers, stimulants or antidepressants that may potentially be addictive or narcotics, you may have trouble bringing them into the U.S. However, if you bring them in original containers, carry limited quantity for personal use and carry a priscription or written statement from the physician that these medicines are indeed prescribed by him/her and they are necessary for the well being of the patient, you should be fine.