Well this blog is all about the damn tiring yet mentally refreshing trip I had over this weekend.
It is supposed to be the travel memoir for this long and unforgettable trip.
Sitting in Peterpan on the way back to Boston eating Onion Pakkoda's brought all the way from India.... I felt this experience is worth recording. It all started with a very usual call made back home to India wherein I got the good news from mom that my mama might be coming over to Hartford. Boy, I was so glad that at last i would get to meet someone from my dear family long before i go back to India in Jan for a vacation. After too many plan changes at last he was on the way to meet me [sorry for his business trip :-)]. Having lived in Boston for over 5 months, it is sad to realize that I haven visited any place outside the city yet. So here was the best chance to visit to NY (the over hyped city)... which i decided i will not miss.
Preparing for NY
So the illusive Friday had come giving way to the long awaited Saturday and Sunday. I had planned to travel all the way to NY >> receive mams at JFK >> accompany him to Manchester and get back to Boston on Sunday.
After some planning, i booked the tickets to NY and determined the different legs of my long journey [Over 700 Kilometers round trip]. Just as i was abt to print the tickets the fire alarm in the office went off !!!! We were forced to run towards the emergency exit. I thought it was fire drill but was not sure. So I just dumped my laptop inside the bag even without shutting it down and dashed towards the staircase. It was then i realized that i was on the 20th floor !! It was very painful.... my legs ache when i think of it even now. It turned out to be a minor incident and the Fire engines went back silently :-). The next day i woke up at 4 am in the morning on Saturday [had not done this in the last 4 years :-)] to get the Peterpan at 6.30 AM from Atlantic avenue near South station in the heart of Boston. You may relate this bus terminus to our very own CMBT in Chennai. I had to walk all the way to Quincy center station [the station in my locality] in the early morning darkness. It was probably the 3rd or 4th time i sensed sweat trickling down my forehead in the last 5 months.
The building in the picture is my office.
The beginning
I was lucky... I reached bang on time at Quincy Center and hopped onto the RedLine. Was before time at South station (Atlantic avenue) were i had to get the bus to NY. I found the place effortlessly... I still wonder how??? Possibly my intuitive power was at its peak. I was kind of walking in the right direction continuously as if i knew the place by heart though i had never been to that part of Boston.
The bus ride took over 4.5 hours. The expressways were awe inspiring... i repeatedly kept wondering why India doesn't have any of these and how long will it take to get these there? I still wonder if it would happen at least in my generation! On the way we had quick stops in Farmingham and somewhere near New Haven. Had yummy french fries and a large coke in breakfast [american style!]. Dozed after that until the lady sitting behind me woke me up with her loud laughter. Throughout the ride she was non-stop. I am sorry to say, but i almost heard everything she said... right from her interest in Social studies, her crush for Johnny Depp, her ex-boy friends minor accident in Iowa, her new curtains and other crappy blah blah... I used to think that only Indian women were good at talking :-) There is a joke on women on this.. here it goes :-
A tour guide was explaining to the tourists that the roar of Niagara falls was loud enough to eclipse the sound produced by five F-22 fighter planes flying together. He then said - "Ok ladies! If you could stop talking we would like to listen the roar of Niagara"
Welcome to New York city
Nothing much to write here... i was not at all impressed by the very sight of the city. It was crowded and very dirty. Boston is heaven compared to it !!! I am just keeing my hope alive saying that I have probably not seen the best part of NY yet. I guess NY looks good only in pictures !
One of the most difficult part of the trip was the one from Port Authority bus terminus were i got down from the bus in NY. On the subway which i took to JFK, a few French guys became dependent on me ! They were not good at English and were new like me to NY. So now i also had the burden to guide them all the way to the airport. My bad luck.. the subway was supposed to take me to Stuphin Blvd were i had planned to take the air train that would directly take me to the terminal. But due to some maintenance i ended up getting down at Kew Garden station and had to take a shuttle to Stuphin Blvd. Thanks to the map the MTA help desk lady gave, tracing the route became a lot easier.
The Air train
Waiting at the station for the next air train, I checked the time - It was already 12.45 PM and mams plane would have landed half an hour ago !! Dis-appointment sank in.... all the effort put in since Friday had gone waste. Well, i tried my best. Let me describe the air train a bit... its a light rail system which connects NY city to the JFK International airport. It starts at Stuphin blvd and takes you to all 8 terminals of the airport. A word of caution - dont miss your terminal. Else you will end up coming back to Stuphin's. The whole route is circular and you can get a bit dizzy trying to understand the circular route.
For us (Indian's) Jet Airways is on terminal 8 the last one ! :(
Don't plan to walk from one terminal to the other - u will get run over by the speeding cars. I dint even see any side walk there. So even if you miss your terminal, its better to stay on the air train. Its better late than never.
Every terminal is connected to the air train, you just have to walk a bit. (2 mins)
Re-union
I was again lucky. The plane had landed on time, but the customs and Port of entry formalities took a while. So all i had to do was patiently wait for mams. Within 10-15 mins he came out.... it was one of the happiest moments in the last 5 months i had experienced.
I thought i wud hug him... but he handed me his bag before that :)
To be continued.....
