So finally after a lot of rushing, hushing and mushing (I just used it for the rhythm)... I finally reached the United States.... I wanted to write down this blog earlier.. but then as you know I am a real lazy guy... I took all this time.. in fact exactly two weeks later after I reached here... I am kind of still settling down and all..
Well I took my first flight in my life and it turned out to be a pretty long one as well... three flights from Hyderabad to Minneapolis... totalling a journey time of around 30 hours, well that's 10 hours of waiting included... The flight was good considering it my first flight(s) in my life and I obviously cannot compare it with anything else, so it was good. Well I took a Kingfisher to Mumbai from Hyderabad and it was a jiffy.. after all it was just 1:30 hrs of flying time and by the time I felt cozy and comfortable we touched ground. I felt the power of jet engines for the first time in my life while take off and it was awesome..It was good and I did not have any major heart-attacks during take-off and landing.. so I reached Mumbai in the time I reach home from office.. and then a lot of waiting.. shifting luggage to the international terminal.. (I was a little nervous that I would lose my luggage on the conveyor belt, which obviously did not happen).. and then the pain of waiting in long queues for checking in the luggage and immigration checks... all the time praying that the pickles in my suitcases would still be there by the time I reach my destination.. and again waiting.. in the meanwhile I spent a bomb on a couple of sandwiches... imagine paying a 150 bucks for two pieces of bread with a few vegetables in between.. (actually I asked that guy thrice before paying.. sounding like.. O really - have you sprinkled gold or what).. and finally the big boeing 777... It was awesome!
Well I met a good friend Ravi on the plane.. he is a NRI... and he told me a lot of things about the plane.. I thanked god... at least I wouldn't spend the next 16 hours sitting dumb sandwiched between two people (by this time I figured out I was in the middle seat on the left side - I had specifically asked for a window seat... Alas!) Well he was the one who told me.. chewing gum would help me while take off and landing... (Considering the fact that I was half deaf on my flight to Mumbai - I did not want take chances).. and it did work...
We had to wait for the take off due to the constant pouring in of planes.... and finally our turn came.. The kingfisher's jet engines was nothing compared to the this one.. It was as if we were just pulled up into air... The force of gravity and the force of jet engines all combined was something to be felt... I understood how much the seat belts help... and we quickly gained an altitude of 38000 ft (approx 12km)... dinner was served as Ravi was explaining me the nuances of the in-flight entertainment system... well that's it.. my 16 hr long flight had just started...
Well for the first time in life.. I ate without brushing my teeth and it did feel weird. And finally after 16 hours we landed in the early hours at Newark.. It was a beautiful sight seeing the lights of one of the biggest and busiest cities of the world. We finally landed.. a pretty decent and smooth landing considering the size of the plane.
Well then came the immigration clearance and security checks... I did not understand in a continuous flight what can we do to compromise the security of the airport! Anyway blah blah blah.. I finally got out and made it to the air terminal.. The air train carrying me between the terminals A and C was fantastic.. I wanted to take a few more rides on the train.. it was free of cost anyway.. but was tired to do it. Then came the long and most boring waiting.. I had to wait for almost 3 hours before my next flight to Minneapolis... so I decided to watch planes getting loaded... and read the book Phani gave.. even though I did not suceed much thanks to pangs of hunger! I had no clue what could be eaten which was wholly vegetarian... so I refrained from any adventures.. pity of life - I had a dozen restaurents around me and I could not eat anything! Finally after almost what felt like a lifetime.. I boarded the small jet which would take me to Minneapolis. It was real tiny and kind of cramped! Thankfully I got the window seat so I spent a lot of time watching out of the window... Newark is a busy airport, so we had to wait 30 mins waiting for our turn to take off... this time I had real bad earache and I foolishly tried fiddling with my ear and it turned quite painful... and the jet was too loud... I tried looking out at the clouds spread out like fluffy blankets out there and it was an awesome picture had I not had my earache.. Even though at first flying through the clouds feels good after sometime it gets all boring as its all what you keep seeing all time.. Anyways the 3 hour flight was not the best.. I could survive it.. And finally I landed in Minneapolis...
After a quick walk and a short wait for the luggage I was waiting for Keerti who finally turned up. And he forgot where he parked his car... so we went around the parking lot searching his car for sometime.. finally he set his GPS (if he sees me mention the GPS he will murder me :P).. and we were on the way home...
Well frankly I am not too impressed or disappointed by the US.. I am impressed by the way they have developed infrastructure and all that.. but I really miss the Indian crowd and the smells and sounds of India as I put it... After all I am an Indian by heart...
Well I met a good friend Ravi on the plane.. he is a NRI... and he told me a lot of things about the plane.. I thanked god... at least I wouldn't spend the next 16 hours sitting dumb sandwiched between two people (by this time I figured out I was in the middle seat on the left side - I had specifically asked for a window seat... Alas!) Well he was the one who told me.. chewing gum would help me while take off and landing... (Considering the fact that I was half deaf on my flight to Mumbai - I did not want take chances).. and it did work...
We had to wait for the take off due to the constant pouring in of planes.... and finally our turn came.. The kingfisher's jet engines was nothing compared to the this one.. It was as if we were just pulled up into air... The force of gravity and the force of jet engines all combined was something to be felt... I understood how much the seat belts help... and we quickly gained an altitude of 38000 ft (approx 12km)... dinner was served as Ravi was explaining me the nuances of the in-flight entertainment system... well that's it.. my 16 hr long flight had just started...
Well for the first time in life.. I ate without brushing my teeth and it did feel weird. And finally after 16 hours we landed in the early hours at Newark.. It was a beautiful sight seeing the lights of one of the biggest and busiest cities of the world. We finally landed.. a pretty decent and smooth landing considering the size of the plane.
Well then came the immigration clearance and security checks... I did not understand in a continuous flight what can we do to compromise the security of the airport! Anyway blah blah blah.. I finally got out and made it to the air terminal.. The air train carrying me between the terminals A and C was fantastic.. I wanted to take a few more rides on the train.. it was free of cost anyway.. but was tired to do it. Then came the long and most boring waiting.. I had to wait for almost 3 hours before my next flight to Minneapolis... so I decided to watch planes getting loaded... and read the book Phani gave.. even though I did not suceed much thanks to pangs of hunger! I had no clue what could be eaten which was wholly vegetarian... so I refrained from any adventures.. pity of life - I had a dozen restaurents around me and I could not eat anything! Finally after almost what felt like a lifetime.. I boarded the small jet which would take me to Minneapolis. It was real tiny and kind of cramped! Thankfully I got the window seat so I spent a lot of time watching out of the window... Newark is a busy airport, so we had to wait 30 mins waiting for our turn to take off... this time I had real bad earache and I foolishly tried fiddling with my ear and it turned quite painful... and the jet was too loud... I tried looking out at the clouds spread out like fluffy blankets out there and it was an awesome picture had I not had my earache.. Even though at first flying through the clouds feels good after sometime it gets all boring as its all what you keep seeing all time.. Anyways the 3 hour flight was not the best.. I could survive it.. And finally I landed in Minneapolis...
After a quick walk and a short wait for the luggage I was waiting for Keerti who finally turned up. And he forgot where he parked his car... so we went around the parking lot searching his car for sometime.. finally he set his GPS (if he sees me mention the GPS he will murder me :P).. and we were on the way home...
Well frankly I am not too impressed or disappointed by the US.. I am impressed by the way they have developed infrastructure and all that.. but I really miss the Indian crowd and the smells and sounds of India as I put it... After all I am an Indian by heart...
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