Disaster - 24 MAY 08

Today was our first full day in NY and nothing prepared me for my life's most traumatic moment that I was about to experience later that day. Woke up pretty early at 5.30 am since I had to collect the New York Pass at Madame Tussuad's and then start the bus journey (hop on, hop off).

The best way to see cities in US is to take a ticket for a hop-on-hop-off bus. These buses are run by various tour companies and they have a fixed route, with various stops en route depending on places of interests that the routes cater to. You hop ON a bus and ride on it to the next point of interest. Then, you hop OFF and proceed to explore a point of interest, say a museum, a building, a ride, etc. Once you're done, you come to the stop from where you had hopped OFF earlier, and then wait for the next bus (of that same company) - that serves the same route - to arrive. You hop ON this bus and similarly go to your next destination and then you hop OFF again. Buses run after every 1/2 hour or so, and you much come back to the same point to board the next bus from where you had earlier hopped off. It's a great and one of the most efficient ways to tour a city. There are guides on the tour bus, so they talk and explain about the sights and sounds you see whilst on the bus, so even if you do not want to get off, you get a good idea of the city just by sitting in.

My first chosen stop was the Statue of Liberty ride. To go to the Statue of Liberty, you have to go to Battery Park and then take a boat that takes you to the Liberty island. Our turn to hop on the boat after an agonising wait of over 2 hours since it was morning + weekend + Memorial Day weekend. So NY was very crowded. Once we hopped on the ferry, I took mom to the top deck of the boat since I was keen on taking some great pictures of the NY skyline. Mom felt it was "too sunny" so she went down and sat on the first deck. Unfortunately, when the boat reached Liberty island, everyone - save for 4-5 passengers I suppose - got off. Since I was on the top deck and there was mad rush at the entrance, i thought mom would have gotten out. But she hadn't. And I got off. By the time I realised she was still on the boat, it was too late - the boat was ready with another set of passengers waiting to go onwards with their journey and the boat was ready to leave.

I had to wait for an agonising 3 hours at the Liberty Island waiting for her to take the next boat to come back, but that didn't happen. After almost three hours, I reluctantly took the boat myself and headed off to Battery Park, where, thank GOD, I found her. Turns out, she had gotten off at the Battery Park from the same boat that we had boarded earlier that day.

Anyways, the day was ruined, my mood was off and despite checking out Wall Street and the Bull as a saving grace, we checked in back at the hotel and retired for the day at 16.00 hrs. I did not expect that I would be back at my hotel at 16.00 hrs on my first-ever day in NY.

Arriving at New York - 23 MAY 08

On 23 May, we left for New York. After having being completely frisked at the Detroit airport - we were shortlisted for special screening - we boarded the Northwest Airlines (NA). I kinda got a feeling that we were profiled because we are Indians and perhaps, not white. Although the flight was on time, I did not like the service. There was this snooty air-purser who was oozing attitude as if he's the CEO of Northwest. Now, in US everyone has a lot of ice in their drinks, even water. So whenever we place an order, we have to outrightly and immediately tell them to go easy on ice or no ice. So when this purser came up to our seats, I asked for a glass of juice with no ice. I thought I wasn't loud enough, so I raised my voice, albeit by a bit and said it the second time "no ice please", not to be rude or anything, but in a way that I thought I wasn't loud enough in the first place.


Very snootily, he replies back "Do you see ice in here?" I didn't respond to that as I do not believe in unnecessary confrontations, but if this would have happened in some Indian based airline in India, I would have ripped his ass apart. USA may be ahead than Indian in several matters, but in hospitality industry India is the best. US airlines suck. They do not know the abc of service and are just interested in picking up passengers from one destination and throwing them at another. Unlike Indian airline companies, they do not serve food anymore. Just water, coffee and/or soft drinks. No airline knows to serve their customer better than India. You travel by any of the Indian-based airlines and they treat you like Kings and Queens. I have heard good reports about Chinese airlines too, but I have not first-hand experience there. International staff should get some training from Jet Airways or Kingfisher Airlines.

Rest of the flight was good. We took the famed NY yellow taxi and reached our hotel on Lexington avenue. I decided to venture out in the afternoon and within minutes I got lost and was stranded.

NY is a large and very vibrant and lively city. Like Bombay, the city never sleeps. It's very easy to get lost in NY the first time, but it's even easier to get accustomed to the city and then never get lost, ever again.

Manhattan - NY'S main island and the centre point of all activities - is like an island. There are streets and avenues in Manhattan. While streets run from left to right (horizontally), avenues run from top to down (vertically), depending upon from which angle you look at the map. While streets are numbered from 1 to 49, avenues are usually numbered from 1 to 10. There are a few avenues that have names - like Lexington avenue where I stayed, Park Avenue, etc., but that's not much of a problem and easy to get accustomed to. The trick to finding your way is to get to know two things - your street number and avenue number. Then you simply, meander your way through an array of horizontal and vertical rows and columns of streets and avenues to get to your destination. The best way to explore NY - and by that I mean Manhattan - is by foot. Else, you got a perfectly working underground railway, new yorkers call it Subway, or take a bus and simply stop a taxi. Like Bombay, you'll find taxis everywhere. But the Subway is my choice of getting wherever you want to, whilst in NY. It's cheap, efficient and fast. Also, like Bombay, you'll find lots of people everywhere. You don't find people walking about in Detroit, but in NY, they're everywhere. Pedestrians also break traffic rules and attempt to cross roads or even cross at many times even when the pedestrian signal is Red. And if you drive to NY and manage to find a parking spot, consider yourself to be blessed! But despite such heavy traffic, narrow roads and high population, things never comes to a standstill and they keep moving and there's an enormous amount of discipline - road discipline - to be seen there.

Anyways, I checked out Times Square, Grand Central Station and the main hall of Madame Tussuad's on day 1. In the evening, we watched a show at Broadway called 'Mama Mia'. This wonderfully crafted play has songs sung by ABBA interwoven in the story. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience to watch a show at Broadway and I am anyways a huge fan of ABBA, so it was perfect way to spend the evening. The tickets were very steep and my pocked was light to the tune of $320 for 2 tickets. But it was worth it.

Dhansakh at Havovi and Erich's

Just 3 days away from my NY tour, mama took me to AAA. This is an institution across USA and Canada that has database of every travel to all the parts of the world that you can go to. In exchange for a annual fee, you can avail of services like maps, travel guides, AAA travel agents that guide and / or plan your entire travel, arrange tours for you, etc. It's a pretty neat organisation and the officials there really take time out to help you, very patiently.

Another thing that I observed there was the courteousness with which most sales staff of any shop / help desk, etc would help you. They'll ask: "hi, how are you going today?" to complete strangers and they always greet you with a smile. You do get some grouchy ones here and there, but those are to the bare minimum.

Later, it was time to go to Erich and Havovi's house. Havovi had cooked great dhansakh and my favourite dessert - chocolate mousse - to go with it. Dhansakh was awesome and I didn't mind over-eating. In addition to being a fabulous wife and caring mom, she's also a terrific home-keeper. And like many women of my family, a terrific host.

Erich's home lived up to all the hype that I have been hearing for quite some time. Everything is grand here. The seating area, the dining area, the entrance, the patio, the bathrooms, everything. Obviously a lot of sweat, toil and of course Vitamin M, has gone into building it. Two things that I loved most about his home; his home theatre in the basement - who would want to go to the cinema after watching a movie there - and his backyard that he had specially made for his kids to play around.

Next day, Mama & mami took us to a mid-eastern restaurant and we had nice Lamb Wraps there. The best part of the restaurants in US - and something that we later had a first-hand experience throughout our stay in New York - is that one portion can suffice for two. Wraps available here are three times the size and quantity of the wraps that are available at say Tibbs Frankies at Aga's Place in Coloba. A nice afternoon siesta followed. zzzzzzzzzzzz...............

My first ever Starbucks

If you think that the Mall culture is vibrant only in India, think again. Of course, in Detroit and in other cities across US, since spending is such an integral part of their culture that stores are always in abundant everywhere, that they have had, for years, a cluster of stores and shops in one big complex. These are not malls, they are called shopping complexes, where you have several shops, just like a mall, but unlike the latter, they have separate entrances and are technically separate from one another but are just there in the same complex so that customers are convenienced.

But on 20 May, we went to this luxury mall in Troy, mama & mami's home suburb for over 20 years, before they shifted to Novi. For us though, it was more a window-shopping experience. But I had my first-ever Starbucks coffee there. I am not much of a coffee person; I like to have my tea wherever I go. But coffee culture is soon spreading in India too; coffee parlours like Cafe Coffee Day, Barista and Mocha have becomes a good dating ground infact. Starbucks serves tea too, and though I wanted to have tea more than coffee, I thought it's sacrilege to have tea in Starbucks when you are visiting it for the first time in your life. So it was coffee, then, for me and chocolate brownie to go with it. I would have preferred Kayani's Shrewsberry biscuits, but the brownie was great too.

USA 2008 - Detroit - Week 1

So it's still week #1. We went to Kensington Park and did a tour of the various parks and lakes in the area. It's a beautiful picnic and recreation spot filled with gardens that surround many lakes there. Of course, like the rest of the city, its spotless clean and you won't notice a speck of dirt or garbage lying anywhere. Because of the cold climate and windy conditions prevalent early on the week, there were not many people out there on picnic, but few groups of children and adults were there, having fun, playing games, Frisbees, cycling and also fishing. Long and never-ending roads winding between rows and rows of lush green forest areas take us through this large park and past many lakes. You could also see ducks and swans in the lakes, and also a few kayaks there. It's a beautiful picnic spot to spend your day with your family. If you wish to cycle, there are long and uninterrupted cycle tracks. Provided the weather is bearable, of course.

In between sightseeing, stores tours began. So a regular dose of Kohl's DSW, Meijer, Dunhan's was in order. We also visited the Walled lake, one of the many lakes in and around Michigan with old, but beautiful homes built on its edge. These houses may be old, but carry a good worth on account of its location. The other lake that I visited was Orchard lake, but unlike the Walled lake, this one is surrounded by big, palatial houses.

On 19 May, it was Villoomami's birthday. So in the evening, her children - my cousins - and their families organised a dinner at a local Chinese restaurant. The food was very good and it was nice spending good quality time with the entire family and kids.

USA 2008 - Arrival - 16 MAY 08

After a gap of around 25 years, I made my first out-of-country trip. And like last time, it's the USA this time around too. Getting a good deal on airfare was tough even though i started hunting a good 5 months prior to departure date. But then I heard, I should have started 8 months back! So anyways, it Jet Airways finally. The only downside: I had to fly to Newark and then i had to change flights and airlines to go to Detroit - my final destination and base whilst in US.

The flight was damm good and on time. Overall, Jet Airways's experience was very good and the leg room was also quite good, better than we had expected. The food was very good, and we relished the various delicacies that they served us. Choice of Indian and Continental, vej and non-vej was given to us. Service was also good. But the flight was jam-packed and I heard was over-booked.

Brussels was a quick stop where we did not even realise how time flew. We were there for about two hours but the airport was so large that it took forever for us to disembark, go to the other end to embark the aircraft for Newark. Mom loved Brussels - the scenery we saw before landing was awesome, just like English country-side with beautiful homes amidst lush green fields. Mom immediately thought of buying a house there!!! The airport was also very beautiful and as expected sparkling clean.

We landed at Newark at around 11.30 local time amidst rains and gutsy winds. It was cold and the temperature outside was 14 degrees C. By God's grace, everything went of smoothly. Unlike in India, luggage carts are not free. But what I would find out later in the trip as being not-free would shock me, and you too when you come to that part. I paid $6 for 2 carts.

Customs and immigration was quick and we thereafter surrendered out bags to the officials to be shifted to our onward flight to Detroit. We took our that we took the sky train to go to Terminal C; we had arrived at Terminal B by Jet. One of the good things at the international airports is that they have trains to go from one terminal to another. The train at the Detroit Metro City Wayne airport is newer and looks more swanky. Anyways, it was a long walk from the station to Gate 85 where we boarded the flight. Gate 85 is right at the end of the Terminal C. We went through security checks; they made us remove our shoes too. Everything was very systematic though, so we didn't encounter any difficulty. Staff at both, Brussels and Newark airports, were very helpful and courteous. I've heard the JFK staff is very aggressive though. Continental flight arrived at Detroit at around 4.30 or so and since we had already gone through customs and immigration at Newark, we came out in a jiffy.

The new Detroit Metro Wayne City is fabulous. It too has a sky train, but only to go from one end of Terminal A to another. Terminals B and C do not have sky trains. With good signage everywhere, one doesn't have any difficulty in finding one's way. We walked from our terminal to Terminal A - and eventually to baggage claim - in an underground passage that took us from beneath the taxiway and aircraft parking bays. It's a long walk, but time flies by quickly especially when you keep admiring the beautiful underground passage whose walls change colours like a fountain whose lights change colours. Rusimama's car is so large that all our 4 suitcases and hand baggage got neatly tucked away in his car trunk at the back. I won't be surprised if in addition to all of that, I too would fit in! After a sumptuous dhan-daal and fish patia (Villoo mami's fabulous cooking magic had just started and there was much, much more to come) and a glass of white wine, I could barely keep my eyes open; yet it was around 9.30 by then.

Hypocrisy of Indian students

These days we come across many Indian students wanting to go abroad for further studies. Nothing wrong with that. But while some of these students return back home after finishing their further studies, most don't choose to return. They take up a job there, rent an apartment or if their mommies and daddies are rich, buy homes in suburbs there, and lead their lives there. A significant chunk of the latter type say they don't want to come back to India because India is oh-so dirty and filthy and USA or whichever foreign country they go to study is oh-so clean, etc.

It's quite sad that these people who were born and brought up in India - their motherland - should speak of their home country in such degrading manner. After spending around 20 years of their lives here, after just two months into their stint abroad, they start liking everything and anything about foreign countries. Suddenly, they find all the world's faults in India only.

The worse part is that they equate settling abroad with success. In other words, they think if you want to achieve true success, go to USA and settle there! This is one of the most ridiculous philosophies. Didn't prominent Indians like the Tatas, Birlas, Ambanis achieved success despite living and worked in India? Are they all mad? With all due respect, there are many Indians who have settled in US and drive taxis or work at gas stations. That's hardly success, but nevertheless a job is a job. Somebody's got to to do it, and I respect that. But to term going to US with being successful in life, is ridiculous. You can be as successful in India as you can be anywhere in the world.

True, the quality of life in some of the developed nations is much better than in India. Here, you cannot get most of the things done without greasing people's palms. Infrastructure has crumbled and discipline is beyond repair now. But at least people working for the Indian economy do not feel that with their money, their government goes about attacking other nations and being a world bully.

No nation is a perfect nation. Every country has its positives and negatives, including the developed and developing ones. It's how you lead your life and what you do, matters. Now whether you sit in India and do that or even Somalia or choose to settle in some of the affluent nations, it doesn't really matter. How clean your surroundings are does not tell a person's character and true worth. Indian students wanting to go abroad and thinking of settling there should remember this.

Even people studying in prestigious institutions like IIT dream of settling abroad. Here in India, education is still a privilege. As per my estimates, at least 80 per cent of India's population must be illiterate or could not afford education. Affluent urbanites that get quality education do not want to put their education to use in India - and therefore return something back to society - but are more interested in settling abroad. My solution: Cancel the Indian citizenships of students that work abroad for more than five years and choose not to return to India, thereafter. I doubt whether this is feasible, but if they don't want their motherland, the motherland shouldn't want them, too.