Travel_LeisureIndiaSouthAsia-January_2017

BEYOND

Spotlight

and fi nally swerved around Echo Park Lake

to reach our destination. Flanked by trees

and endearing houses, a slanting street

led up to my Airbnb home for the next few

days. Accessed by a security code, the doors

opened to a warm, pastel interior that was

so cosy, I dropped on the bed and had the

best snooze in months.

I woke up to the sound of chimes out on

the patio, and remembered to read the note

Elena had left with ‘how-tos’ in the house.

I noticed she had placed miniature glass

jars on the window ledge in the kitchen

with marigold fl owers. So thoughtful.

Next, I took a tour of this two-

bedroom property—each room was

painted a diff erent hue; wooden furniture

upholstered in vintage Spanish patterns;

antique-fi nished eclectic lamps and

hanging ceiling fans added to the old world

charm; the kitchen wall was hand-painted

with a fl oral pattern—I felt like I could

live here. I ventured to the backyard, and

discovered a clay oven, a BBQ station

surrounded by garden landscaping and

soft lights. Even if Elena hadn’t left a single

instruction, everything in the house was

located in a familiar place, one just had to

reach out to fi nd the blow dryer, towels,

cereal, detergent—you name it.

In the evening, Simran Kodesia,

the Airbnb India country manager

invited me to have dinner along with other

journalists at Terroni, an Italian restaurant

in Downtown LA (terroni.com).

DAY 3 BOULEVARD OF DREAMS

Early next morning, as my

cab pulled over South Broadway Street in

Downtown LA, it felt like I had stepped

inside a TV screen and onto the sets

of not one, but a thousand Hollywood

movies, clearly etched in my memory:

Michael Jackson and Ola Ray walking out

of The Palace Theater (palacedowntown.

com) in Thriller (1982); Jackie Chan and

Chris Tucker chasing ‘Juntao’ around

California Jewellery Mart (607 Hill Street,

Los Angeles; Tel: +001-213/627-2831)

in Rush Hour; ‘The Battle of Mission

City’ in Transformers (2007) or stage

performances from the The Artist (2011) at

the Orpheum Theater; The ‘Beatles Walk’

from I Am Sam (2001) at the corner of the

Tower Theater (towertheatrela.com);

As my cab pulled over

South Broadway

Street, it felt like I was on

a Hollywood set.

From above: Ashton

Kutcher and Brian

Chesky; open market

at the Airbnb Spotlight

2016 Event; Gwyneth

Paltrow; crowd cheers

as Maroon 5 walks on

stage; community

areas at the event.

CLOCKWISE: STEFANIE KEENAN/GETTYIMAGES; JOHN SCIULLI/GETTYIMAGES; JOE SCARNIC/GETTYIMAGES; CHARLEY GALLAY/GETTYIMAGES; COURTESY

OF AIRBNB