Well, the Sunnyvale City Council elections are all wrapped up and the city is returning to normal. One incumbent got thrown out, the other two got re-elected and the library bond I talked about in the previous post got rejected. Anyway, I went around the city, looking in on some of the local attractions. The biggest attraction, for me, was a visit to the Yahoo! HQ in Sunnyvale. Surprisingly huge campus, with half a dozen buildings and a massive parking lot. But had a lot more steel and looked much more like a conventional office building than you would think for a one of the biggest tech companies on the internet - Lot less geeky than I imagined.

Other stopovers in Sunnyvale:

Sunnyvale Community Center Fountain: Lotta ducks, lotta people and generally speaking a lotta squaking. Lot less relaxing than advertised...Still fun, though - Specially watching the kids plotting to get hold of a duck.

Sunnyvale Historical Museum: Today it might be the home of Yahoo and AMD and a million other tech startups, but Sunnyvale does have a past with canning and agriculture. Was nice, but a little depressing. I mean, makes you think if this tech boom is going to last, and what happens if the techies crash and burn? The artifacts of the not-so-distant past were quaint reminders of days gone by when cities used to work without a single piece of code being written....Also worth visiting is the Sunnyvale lace museum, with lace tools and depictions of the history of lace. They even offer lace clasess.

Baylands Park: It was refresing to see so much lush greenery, specially after the hurly burly of the highway traffic. Parking was free ( off-season ) and the rolling thick grass, with tree lined pathways snaking through the park, looked highly inviting for a nap - If you manage to stay out of the way of the bikers.

Heard there's one park in Sunnyvale. If it's anything like this one, maybe I'll stopover there tomorrow. For now, it's back to dimsum and fried rice. Later tomorrow, I need to pack up and head over to Fremont. Hopefully, I did find a good Fremont hotel online, but a review of the Fremont stay will have to wait for a couple more days.

Just arrived in the heart of Silicon valley. Home of Yahoo and AMD, a hot-potch of spectacled Indian-Americans, Chinese businessmen and a few stray Caucasians sprinkled here and there. And restaurants with endless culinary possibilities.

If I get any time, I'll update this foodlog. Seems like the City of Sunnyvale is holding its City Council elections today, and the whole town is abuzz over the candidates. Nerds that they are, the main issue for Sunnyvale residents seems not to be the Iraq war or global warming or Britney Spears, but a proposed expansion of their public library. It's amazing how much you can pick up about a city just by sitting at a diner and listening to the shoptalk.

And this was in a newly opened Chinese outlet called Ginger cafe. Everybody seemed to be sampling Dim Sum, so I had some Stuffed Squid with chilli sauce and and a veg steamed bun. Mouth watering stuff. After hours on the road, the comfortable seating, soft lighting, the quiet chatter with a mix of languages and accents, and the delicious aroma was kindof of difficult to let go, and I felt like falling asleep there. But I really want to sample more of Sunnyvale's culinary offerings, and I think I'll spend the next couple of days hopping from one restaurant to the next.

Oh, and before I forget, what I really came here for was to conduct some interviews with a Sunnyvale based company which seems to be on the verge of triggering a revolution in green business, with eco-friendly products which cut Co2 emissions by 90%. Amazing, this city.

Had dim sum for lunch in the middle of the week at this Chinese restaurant in Sunnyvale. It was a big restaurant full of people. Fishes were swimming in a tank at the back of the restaurant, and roasted ducks were hanging in a window of the kitchen. Waitresses pushed carts of dim sums between the tables, and you order them off the carts. You can also order from a menu. We had several steamers of various dim sums with shrimp and vegetables inside, and also a chicken wrapped in lotus leaf which also had an egg yolk inside. A separately ordered green leafy vegetable dish with garlic stir fried was very good. My friend highly recommends this restaurant, and I would agree this to be a good place to have some authentic Chinese foods even though the name of the restaurant is not entirely Chinese.

Best korean bbq ever! Dinner is freaking good because you get long ribs, but it is mad expensive (approx $25 total including tax and tip)