New Orleans Saga

After missing out the tour of New Orleans during the Def Leppard concert, I got another opportunity. My friend Samar from LA Tech University came to visit me with his six other friends. They were on their way to New Orleans from Ruston (North part of Louisiana), and Lafayette happened to be on their way. It was a lousy Saturday morning and I had nothing else to do, so I happily joined his group for the trip.

Before I moved to Louisiana, I synonymously used New Orleans for Mardi Gras. After hurricane Katrina New Orleans got the global recognition. Like the saying “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas”, I thought ‘to know New Orleans you have to be in New Orleans’. I had witnessed Mardi Gras in St. Louis and someone told me that it’s the second biggest Mardi Gras event after New Orleans. But here I was told that all the major cities in this state has much biggers Mardi Gras celebration compared to any other cities outside. Well I will have to wait till Mardi Gras to find that out. Schools and offices are closed, for couple of days to a week, during that period to avoid the traffic. No wonder tourism is the main source of income for Louisiana.

When driving to New Orleans I had pictured it to be very crowded during the Mardi Gras time but very slow during the rest of the year, similar to Ocean City during the summer. But, when I got to the Bourbourn Street (one of the popular tourist hangout) it was jam packed (this is how it is through out the year). Carrying booze in streets is legal in New Orleans (I guess its legal in LA too) so you could see drunken people hovering around with their drinks. I could also smell the marijuana in the air. There are different bars with different bands playing: Jazz, Rock, Cajun, Hip Hop etc. There are also strip bars, gay bar etc along side other regular businesses. And, I had never seen cops riding on horses before in US (had seen traffic police riding horses in Ratna Park, Nepal).

To sum it up, it was entirely a different experience for me. Most of my friends wanted to come visit me during the Mardi Gras event, but I would like to suggest them it’s quite impossible to get there just for that day (because of the traffic and booked hotels). So, if you guys want to come to New Orleans for Mardi Gras but don’t have flexible schedules to plan your trip for that particular date, come any time to New Orleans, you wont see the Mardi Gras at the peak, but you wont be disappointed either.