From Beginning to the End, here's a detailed description of My Recent visit to the United States of America. It has everything, straight from the drama in getting my US Visa, to the Fun we had in Universal City!
Wish you were There!
It was a warm Thursday morning, and in the Mumbai heat, I was sweating already. We were waiting in line to get our US Visa. The line dragged along serpent like, all the way to the point where we were. People who were to appear for the 12 PM interview were already forming lines at 9. We were told that the 10:30 AM interview was about to commence in sometime, even though the 10 AM interviews were not completely done. We had made many preparations for this day, right from the start, we knew how much this day meant for the both of us.To make matters worse, Anu had to go to college to write an exam that day, one that was going to start at 3 PM. We waited for 2 long hours, before they finally let us in. There were strict restrictions on the things that we carried, and every document had to be carried in a clear plastic file. After another hour of waiting inside, after the security check, and the fingerprint collection, we were finally ready for our interview. Two women interviewed the two of us, at the same time, asking us questions like "Who's working in America?" And "How old are you ?" It wasn't anything difficult, so we ended up landing a successful interview, thus getting our visas. After an evening spent in Churchgate and around, we went to the Facilitation center to get our stamped passports back. It took a while there too, but we got our visas just before 6 PM, and seemed relieved that the entire ordeal was done.
Let me take you 5 days forward, after all the packing and preparations, we were ready to go. We left for the airport on the 16th Night at 11 PM. Dad's friend was kind enough to drop us off in time. When we reached the airport, we discovered that the flight was going to be taking off at 3:40 AM , but soon, this changed, our flight was ultimately delayed by almost 6 hours, and we ended up spending more than 7 hours in the Airport alone. They gave us a option to have dinner at the diner in the Airport, which was a good meal at 2 AM. Amidst lot of confusion, our Immigration was completed, and we found ourselves in the lounge. After this we were informed, that our flight could be possibly even more delayed, and they offered us a alternate Air India flight which was flying via Paris, but going to a different airport, Newark, which was 90 miles away from Jfk Airport, which was where we were supposed to go. But after a short talk with our cousin abroad, who was to receive us there, she agreed to this flight. This was it. We finally boarded the plane at 6 AM, and were relieved that our wait was finally over. The flight took off on time, and we were served some food later. The flight stopped at Paris, after our long and comfortable sleep for over 7 hours. When we touched down in Paris, a lot of people seemed to board , so the flight flew packed into Newark. Finally, after 10 more hours, and more periodic meals, we landed in Newark, only to discover that it was raining heavily, and that made the atmosphere gloomy. After going through Immigration and the Customs officer, we proceeded to collect our luggage and wait for our cousin, Sharvani. She came with her husband, and they drove us all the way from Newark airport to their home, amidst Heavy Traffic, rain and our jet lag. We drove through New York City, and it was a wonderful sight to see it's Night Life. It was truly spectacular. After we got home, we had something to eat, and quickly dozed off , ending our long journey from Mumbai, to New York.
The next day, we found ourselves boarding a train to Penn Station, from Long Island[which is where we stayed] which was the main station in New York city, it served as a hub for all the train routes in this city. When we exited Penn Station, we were able to see the famous Auditorium called "Madison Square Garden" It was huge, spectacular, and breath taking, As we walked down the street, we saw a one time wonder of the world, The Empire State Building. It was once the tallest Building in the world. After purchasing tickets, we proceeded into the building, and climbed[thorugh elevator] to the 84th floor of the building, There was a magnificent view from the top, We could almost see the entire structure of New York City. All the prominent building which we had seen only in the movies, were now alive before us. For the rest of the chilly and cold day, we made our way around New York city, to Times Square, and around the main city area of New York. We took the same train back home, and made it in time for dinner. Our Cousin, Sharvani, made sure that we had all the cuisine's that American s enjoyed, including Mexican, Greek, Italian and some few delectable Sandwiches as well. The next day, we took a full tour of New York, seeing various places like the Chrysler Building, Times Square, Ground Zero[the place where the World Trade Center stood] and finally getting dropped off, at the ferry to the Statue of Liberty. We took the ferry and could see the whole of Manhattan borough, which looked beautiful in the morning. We arrived at the island on which the statue is located, and got a wonderful view of the statue and the island, even though we could not go inside the Statue. After having a meal there, we left back for the city, after some time. Once we came back to the mainland, we proceeded into the same Sightseeing tour that we had taken earlier, to drop us back to the station. We took the train back home, and truly retrospect upon the wonderful time we had that day.The following day , could be referred to as the day of relaxation, as most of the day we spent at home, and during the afternoon, we left for a nearby Mall that had various stores. After a short round of Shopping, and catching a movie, we headed to the Cove, which was also nearby Sharvani's place. It was a beautiful beach, where we witnessed the sunset. The same night, Mom arrived in new York, but as she came late in the night, we were abel to see her only in the morning. She was glad to see us after a gap of nearly 2 months. AS the next day was a Sunday, we went to a waterfall in Pennsylvania state called "Bush kill falls" where one can take a trek around the many surrounding waterfalls in that area. The weather held up, and it was mostly a pleasant day, although it got a bit cold later. We arrived back home in the night after a long tiring drive through New York's many boroughs and sights. Our seven day sojourn of New York was coming to an end, We prepared to board the flight from New York to Phoenix, where Mom stayed.
After a long Six-hour flight, we landed in Phoenix, in the late evening, after stopping over a dinner party, Mom's friends had organised for Diwali, we headed home. The next days were more of complete relaxation, and unwinding, we spent them watching TV, going to the nearby Public Library, which was neatly maintained, and had a large collection of books, and the facility of Internet surfing as well. The Library became a regular haunt for us over the week. We always went there during the mornings, and spent the whole, morning there itself. We had a good time, especially when Mom had the Saturday off to take us to the two malls in her Area. They were Chandler Fashion Center and Scottsdale Mall. Both were at two ends of the city, so we had to utilize the public transport to get there. We had a wonderful day observing the malls, and the shops that sold things that were never found back home. We had our Lunch there, and enjoyed the huge amount of shopping centers that they had to offer. We saw innumerable shops and stores that day, apart from purchasing a few things as well. The next day, Mom had organized a trip the Grand Canyon with one of her colleagues. He said he enjoyed driving, so he offered to drive us all down to the Grand Canyon, via Flagstaff, which was going to be our stay overnight. WE first stopped at Sedona, where we could firs witness the bright red rocks , which portrayed the desert nature of Arizona. There was a little Church at the top of a hill, which stood out from the whole scene. After reaching the Hotel mom had booked for us , in Flagstaff, we proceeded to have dinner at an Indian restaurant. It truly felt like coming back home, and having the same delicious Indian food again! The next day, we visited some places in Flagstaff, in the extremely cold weather. We then headed off to The Grand Canyon, our final destination. It was a long drive, but the view that we got of the whole of Arizona and Flagstaff was simply exhilarating. It was beyond imagination. When we reached Grand Canyon, the southern rim was where we stood. It was considered to have more view point that the northern side. We spent the whole day, looking about this Huge Gorge that we ahd seen only in photos. It was one of the best natural structures I had ever seen. We also saw a short Movie on the IMAX theater about the Grand Canyon, and it's discovery. It enlightened us all, about the existence of this Natural Wonder of the world. AS we headed back, we were thankful that, Nikhil[Mom's colleague] was willing enough to take us there.
The Next day, we left Phoenix , this time to go to Los Angeles, where one of Dad's old school friend stayed. He had agreed to let us stay at his place, while we went around Los Angeles, seeing various places of interest like Disneyland, Universal City, and Seaworld. The first day, we went to Universal City, which was the Film Studio for major Hollywood movies. As it was Halloween that day, many people had come dressed in various different Costumes, much to our amusement. We enjoyed the various 3-D rides and simulations in Universal Studios, and we even saw various studios, where they emulated Pyrotechnics, Water effects, and other things that popularly featured in Hollywood movies. WE headed back home, through the train, and even saw the world famous Hollywood Walk of Fame. Los Angeles is a city of complete culture and different people from varied backgrounds. There was a mix of Americans, Blacks, Mexicans/Hispanics, Indians and Asians. The next day, we headed towards Disneyland, to which Shridhar Uncle[Dad's friend] dropped us off at. We spent the Whole day at Disneyland, and one has to admit, that this place was huge. It was bigger than what we thought, our feet were aching at the end of the day, as we had walked around so much, But it was all worth it, as we had one of the greatest times of our lives there. We really enjoyed all the rides, like Indiana Jones, Star Wars ride et al. They even had a place called Tomorrowland, where the future meets the present. They had various Showcases of gadgets and electronics as well. At the end of the day, we witnessed, the Disney parade, which showcased many artistes, who danced , on the streets of Disneyland. It was a very bright, colourful energetic Display of talent. We truly enjoyed it. The following day, we were scheduled to leave for San Diego, where Sea world was. We took a train there, and bid adieu to Los Angeles and Shridhar Uncle, who had helped us in the greatest way, by taking care of us, when we were in Los Angeles. When we came to the San Diego station, we took A free bus service, to Sea world. Truly, Sea world was full of Aquatic animals, that we had never seen. They were all very well maintained, and we even saw the Dolphin Show, along with the star Attraction, a killer whale called "Shamu". Apart from which there were some 4-D shows as well, which we really liked.
At the end of the day, we went in some very thrilling water rides, and enjoyed ourselves thoroughly, before departing for the airport, in San Diego. After that, we were back home, in Phoenix.
The next day, we were back to our usual routine of going to the Library, and renting out books to read. We Always looked forward for Mom to come home in the evening, we usually went shopping to the nearby superstore. There was this one Superstore, called Costco, which sold goods only in wholesale, it had huge quantities,of daily consumed items, like chocolates, milk, water and clothes as well. The next day, we went to the Desert Botanical Gardens, which truly displayed, all the characteristics of a desert, we learned about the various types of Cactus growing in desert regions, and the other trees and plants that could be found there. Today was a big day, we were going to Drive down to Las Vegas with a couple of mom's colleagues, who offered to come with us, The drive was long, but as usual, the scenery kept us enticed and awake. We reached Las Vegas the same day, after a long 4 hour journey through the Hoover Dam, and witnessed a city that never slept at all. In Las Vegas, in any give casino, and at any given time, it would look all the same. We took a quick trip around Las Vegas, and saw many Casinos there, like MGM Grand, Circus Circus[where we stayed] , Bellagio, Caesar's Palace, Paris etc. It was truly wonderful to see the replica of the Eiffel Tower in Las Vegas. We were allowed to go all the way to the top of this replica, and from there, we got an Magnificent view of the whole of Las Vegas, it was like a city of Blinding Lights, once into the night, Las Vegas, never looked dark. We could see all the structures from there. We had a late night hunt for some food, after seeing the circus show, but we finally settled for some Pizza. It was almost 12 AM when we had "Dinner" The next day, we woke up late, and had breakfast in our rooms, and headed for the "Adventuredome" where there e were many rides, and entertaining prospects. It was really good, and we had lot of fun that day. We took a ride in a roller coaster that had many twists and turns, including a loop! We played a lot of games that day, and even had a lavish Buffet for Lunch, it was very filling.We finally headed back to the car, and ready to leave Las Vegas, the city that was always alive. After a tiring and exhausting Journey back home, we retired into bed after a Long day full of fun and excitement. We went to the mall again the next day, to watch a movie, as this was going to be our last day in Phoenix. We really enjoyed that day with the whole family, we had great lunch and dinner, and thoroughly had relaxing day.
The Next morning we headed back to New York, hurriedly catching a flight at 8:30 in the morning. After six long hours, and due to a late check in, we got our bags, one by one, thus delaying us. But luckily, we got all our bags, on the same day, considering it could have been worse. The next day, was going to be our final in America. We were all ready, and we had packed completely. Sharvani took us to a clothes store, to buy something for us, and Dad. She then took us to the Temple in Queensborrough, whcih was very famous around New York. It was a long drive, but we had a good time, looking through the last unexplored part of New York. When we got there, it looked exactly like we were back hime, and visiting a temple in India.We offered our prayers, and took a round of the temple. It even had a special cafeteria, where we had Indian lunch. It was a different experience, to see everyone around dressed in traditional Indian clothes as we ate. Then, we finally departed for JFK airport, where our flight was scheduled at 7 PM. We came there at 3 Pm, and discovered that the Flight was delayed until 11:15 PM, so we had another Seven hours to spend at the Airport. But they gave us a meal voucher, and we check out many shops in terminal 4 of the Jfk Airport. It was a hug terminal, and had many many stores located in it. AS we had our Dinner, before leaving for boarding, the flight, we were finally going to witness the end of our month long vacation. We boarded the Air India flight, and proceeded after a stop at London Heathrow Airport. Where we were asked to deplane, undergo Security Checks and then board again. We finally reached Mumbai at 6:30 local time. We collected all our luggage, and left the airport, after Customs check. We were on the way back home, at 7 in the morning in a Taxi, to get back home. In Retrospect, it was one of the best vacations that we ever had, All of this was obviously not possible had it not been for Mom to organise our visa arrangements. And for our Dad to accompany us all the way. It was truly one of the vacations that one can never forget in their entire life span. It helped us discover what the other side of the world looks like, and find out, how different people from different countries, all stay in America.
The End
More: http://www.hsengine.com/s?w=new+york+new+york+tours
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