Continuing the saga of my journey to the USA...
HRW to JFK- BA 115
This leg of the journey was around 7 hours long. The one thing I must commend is the effortlessness of the travel. A very good pilot at the helm makes a marked difference to the experience.Once again, I had opted for the front row seats (40C and 40B). I must add, however, that in the economy section of British Airways, the so-called extra legroom is not of any significant value. I still felt a bit cramped and with taller people, it just makes it more difficult.
The steward assigned to our section appeared cheery and helpful at first. However, he seemed more interested in chatting up other passengers than actually being around for assistance. I had to wait for over half an hour for a glass of water at one point of time.
What was equally annoying was the way I was constantly woken from a sound sleep to drink,eat or nibble on something! Good company on the flight made it more tolerable. A young Swiss student was in our row and Gy kept up a steady stream of conversation with him, which he found highly amusing :)
Overall though, it was still a good experience, though the food was not as good as the first leg of the journey. Rice/dal was there, but tasted a bit insipid. And an organic sandwich tasted a lot like sand! But, airline food can only be that good at any given time, so no major complaints there.
At JFK Airport
We landed at JFK airport (New York City) at 7.50pm (EST). The pilot made up the time difference very well, I must add. Gy was again asleep when the plane landed and waking her up to walk the distance to the Immigration Counter was a Herculean task.
Once off the flight, we walked fairly quickly to reach the Counter, but were pretty much towards the end of the queue. Gy was very tired and refused to stop whimpering which meant I had to carry her, together with the 2 backpacks while pulling the small suitcase along. After 10 minutes of that, I signalled to the lady in the front who was guiding the passengers to the Immigration Counters. I requested that Gy be allowed to sit in one of the chairs near the counter as she was in no mood to stand. Happily, she allowed me to come to the front of the queue, right in front of the counter!
The Immigration Counter was the one thing about the entire trip that I had been dreading because of what the lady at the Chennai Consulate had told me. But, God was on my side! At the counter the official asked me where I would be, whom I would be visiting and how long I intended to stay. I answered that I would be staying with my cousin in NJ, and also travelling to Boston, Washington and Seattle, followed by Ohio. He looked at me and said, 'You must be very rich ' . I merely smiled and said, 'Well, God has been kind enough to us '.
Then he just asked me to place my fingers on the scanner for verification, stamped my passport with approval and said, 'Welcome to the USA'!
Now it was time to collect my check-in baggage. As I walked past the conveyor belt, I could see both my suitcases had already arrived. They stood out from the rest because of the bright orange ribbons that I had tied to the handles (thank you for the tip, Janu Amma :)! I walked up to the row of trolleys and pulled one out. Out of nowhere, a large, black chap materialised and stood in front of me. He said, 'Where do you think you're going?' I was unsure of what I had done, so merely said that I was going to collect my bags. He looked me in the eye and said, 'That isn't free. You have to pay for the cart. 5 dollars, please.' Oh, was that all? I sighed inwardly in relief and said I would pay as soon as I collected my bags. He agreed but did not budge from his spot, eyeing me all the while with a look that said , 'I know you're going to steal my cart'. Having taken the bags and paid the 5 dollars, I walked on.
This was followed by the Customs check. Again, this was very smooth. The lady asked me if I was carrying any fruits or vegetables. I said no, just some sweets. She said I could go straight ahead, without any check required! What a relief! Then it was out the swing doors and into the summer night of New York. Waiting for us, smiles on their faces , were Vasu Anna and Meena Manni.
From there, it was an hour and a half by car to their place in Edison,New jersey. Arriving home to idlis and chutney for dinner was a welcome treat. Chatting and catching up on news took up the better part of an hour and we retired by 11.45pm. Having slept for less than an hour on both legs of my journey, I was exhausted and slept as soon as my head hit the pillow. Good thing too. For I woke refreshed and feeling no jetlag at all the next morning.
My vacation was ready to begin :)
HRW to JFK- BA 115
This leg of the journey was around 7 hours long. The one thing I must commend is the effortlessness of the travel. A very good pilot at the helm makes a marked difference to the experience.Once again, I had opted for the front row seats (40C and 40B). I must add, however, that in the economy section of British Airways, the so-called extra legroom is not of any significant value. I still felt a bit cramped and with taller people, it just makes it more difficult.
The steward assigned to our section appeared cheery and helpful at first. However, he seemed more interested in chatting up other passengers than actually being around for assistance. I had to wait for over half an hour for a glass of water at one point of time.
What was equally annoying was the way I was constantly woken from a sound sleep to drink,eat or nibble on something! Good company on the flight made it more tolerable. A young Swiss student was in our row and Gy kept up a steady stream of conversation with him, which he found highly amusing :)
Overall though, it was still a good experience, though the food was not as good as the first leg of the journey. Rice/dal was there, but tasted a bit insipid. And an organic sandwich tasted a lot like sand! But, airline food can only be that good at any given time, so no major complaints there.
At JFK Airport
We landed at JFK airport (New York City) at 7.50pm (EST). The pilot made up the time difference very well, I must add. Gy was again asleep when the plane landed and waking her up to walk the distance to the Immigration Counter was a Herculean task.
Once off the flight, we walked fairly quickly to reach the Counter, but were pretty much towards the end of the queue. Gy was very tired and refused to stop whimpering which meant I had to carry her, together with the 2 backpacks while pulling the small suitcase along. After 10 minutes of that, I signalled to the lady in the front who was guiding the passengers to the Immigration Counters. I requested that Gy be allowed to sit in one of the chairs near the counter as she was in no mood to stand. Happily, she allowed me to come to the front of the queue, right in front of the counter!
The Immigration Counter was the one thing about the entire trip that I had been dreading because of what the lady at the Chennai Consulate had told me. But, God was on my side! At the counter the official asked me where I would be, whom I would be visiting and how long I intended to stay. I answered that I would be staying with my cousin in NJ, and also travelling to Boston, Washington and Seattle, followed by Ohio. He looked at me and said, 'You must be very rich ' . I merely smiled and said, 'Well, God has been kind enough to us '.
Then he just asked me to place my fingers on the scanner for verification, stamped my passport with approval and said, 'Welcome to the USA'!
Now it was time to collect my check-in baggage. As I walked past the conveyor belt, I could see both my suitcases had already arrived. They stood out from the rest because of the bright orange ribbons that I had tied to the handles (thank you for the tip, Janu Amma :)! I walked up to the row of trolleys and pulled one out. Out of nowhere, a large, black chap materialised and stood in front of me. He said, 'Where do you think you're going?' I was unsure of what I had done, so merely said that I was going to collect my bags. He looked me in the eye and said, 'That isn't free. You have to pay for the cart. 5 dollars, please.' Oh, was that all? I sighed inwardly in relief and said I would pay as soon as I collected my bags. He agreed but did not budge from his spot, eyeing me all the while with a look that said , 'I know you're going to steal my cart'. Having taken the bags and paid the 5 dollars, I walked on.
This was followed by the Customs check. Again, this was very smooth. The lady asked me if I was carrying any fruits or vegetables. I said no, just some sweets. She said I could go straight ahead, without any check required! What a relief! Then it was out the swing doors and into the summer night of New York. Waiting for us, smiles on their faces , were Vasu Anna and Meena Manni.
From there, it was an hour and a half by car to their place in Edison,New jersey. Arriving home to idlis and chutney for dinner was a welcome treat. Chatting and catching up on news took up the better part of an hour and we retired by 11.45pm. Having slept for less than an hour on both legs of my journey, I was exhausted and slept as soon as my head hit the pillow. Good thing too. For I woke refreshed and feeling no jetlag at all the next morning.
My vacation was ready to begin :)
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