कैलिफोर्निया चलो बुलावा आया है - California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger

California is here to woo India

Sourish BhattacharyyaMon, Mar 29 12:26 PM

It doesn't take very long for California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to charm his way into people's hearts (he says "Hasta la vista, baby" before dispatching his opponents to their creator only in movies).The Terminator, who's now his state's charmer-in-chief, just sold California to Bollywood's top honchos with the offer to be up for grabs for a Hindi movie role after he completes his term as governor this November.

He floated the idea in a video address to launch a campaign by the California Travel and Tourism Commission (CTTC) to promote the state as a destination with more to it than Hollywood and Silicon Valley. He joked that he would get in touch with the producers to land a Bollywood movie role.

India had emerged as an important international travel market for the US. Figures shared by Caroline Beteta, CTTC president and US Travel Association CEO, reveal that of the 599,000 Indians who arrived in the United States in 2008, 179,000 went to California.

Ten years back, in 1998, the numbers were 211,000 and 89,000 respectively - the ballooning of the number of Indians visiting the US is in stark contrast to the 2.4 million fewer tourist arrivals between 2000 and 2009, which spurred President Barack Obama to unveil the first-ever travel promotion programme - 'Come to America' - to be launched by the US. But California's share in the Indian market has dipped from 42 per cent to 30 per cent between 1998 and 2008, and this may be why the state is on a charm offensive led by its governor, who is himself quite a tourist attraction.

Indians travelling to California spend significantly less than the average overseas visitor ($ 69 per day, compared with the average of $ 123), but because they spend a longer time in the state (22.7 nights, compared with the average of 11), their overall spending ($ 1,566 per visitor) is higher than the average ($ 1,353). The low per-day spend may be because most Indians go to California on business (essentially, they are techies, which explains why San Jose is their most-preferred destination). They have less time to spend on entertainment and dining out, yet the CTTC sees a market opportunity here, and it would like to see more leisure travellers headed for California from India.

But Beteta - or for that matter anyone who knows a little about California - will tell you that the state is many destinations rolled into one (and that San Jose hardly qualifies as a holiday getaway). Here's our pick of the five things you must do in California outside of walking the Hollywood Walk of Fame:

Go gawking at Beverly Hills

You may not be able to afford a mansion (the median home price in Beverly Hills is $ 2.2 million), and the offerings at Tiffany's aren't exactly for those with light wallets, but the least you can do is take a walk through the town - or a spin through Bel-Air, which is next door - and feel rich. Whatever you do, don't miss the majestic Hearst Castle, which had inspired the Xanadu Mansion in Orson Welles's 1941 dark classic, Citizen Kane.

Tee off at Death Valley

Don't confuse it with the "valley of death" that inspired Alfred Lord Tennyson's famous poem (that reference was to the Battle of Balaclava in Ukraine during the Crimean War). The Death Valley is the hottest place in the United States, deep within the Mojave Desert. Avoidable at the height of summer, it lends itself to an unusual golfing experience at Furnace Creek - besides a lot of nature watching and exposure to the Native American lifestyle.

Dine at Chez Panisse or Spago

Most ordinary mortals won't be able to afford both, hence the 'or', but if you lead your life according to the whims of your belly, you must do both. The first is the iconic restaurant started by Alice Waters, the mother of California Cuisine, in Berkeley in 1971. If you find it expensive, go to the more informal Café Fanny in West Berkeley.

Spago is Austrian-born superchef (and presiding deity of the Governor’s Ball that follows the Oscars) Wolfgang Puck's posh Beverly Hills restaurant. If you're on a tight budget but badly want to experience Spago, go for a pizza and sandwich lunch. We recommend the spicy chicken and garlic pizza followed by the grilled lobster club sandwich. But be warned that these two basic offerings will set you back by $ 51!

Taste the good life on Napa Valley's Wine Train

If you love Californian wine and wish to see where people like Robert Mondavi and Godfather director Francis Ford Coppola turned grapes into magical potions, hitch a ride on the train, which is famous for its gourmet wine lunch. The journey can cost a couple $ 495+ for a weekend, but it is well worth the experience. If you visit the wine train's official website, you may land on to a good deal that is a hundred bucks less.

Flaunt your pectorals in Venice

If you have grown up on a diet of Beat poetry, or lusted after the bodies of the surfers and rollerbladers who populate the town's famous promenade, you can't miss it for anything else. It has more adrenaline per square foot than any other town in America. When you're in Venice, being on foot or on bicycle is the only way to soak in the excitement.