Sunday, August 24, 2014

Onward to DC!

Even with our 2 hour shopping spree in Delaware, we still made it to DC by lunchtime! Our hotel - Holiday Inn, again - was in the Georgetown area, and we had initially planned to go to the hotel, checkin and then head to the Mall area - but as we entered the DC area, Ajey came up with an idea, which made our day so very easy! First of all, we decided to head straight to the Mall - the plan was to park the car and then walk - easier said than done, of course!! We must have circled around quite a few times - but no luck! That's when Ajey had the best idea ever - taking inspiration from the Big Bus tours, Ajey decided to drop us off within walking distance of the monuments - he had been to DC before, and was quite happy to miss the touristy circuit!!

Starting at one end, we drove across the Potomac river to the Arlington National Cemetery - but the gates were as far as we got! Compared to the mild days we had had in NY, today the July sun was at its fiercest. Leaving the air-conditioned comfort of the car to walk in a cemetery wasn't very appealing - although I did want to see JFK's grave marker - decided to move that to the end of day, we would come back if we had enough time and energy. Next stop, Lincoln memorial - Ajey dropped us off, and drove off - Manasi and I would take pictures and come back in 20 minutes - totally, unapologetically touristy!!

Lincoln Memorial

Statue of Lincoln

Reflecting pool and Washington Monument

"In this temple, as in the hearts of the people, for whom he saved the union the memory of Abraham Lincoln is enshrined forever" - reads the plaque carved over the 19-foot marble statue of Abraham Lincoln. Built to honor the sixteenth President, Abraham Lincoln, the stately, imposing Memorial resembles a Greek temple straight out of Athens! Names of 36 states and the date they joined the Union are carved over the columns at the entrance. Why 36? That's the number of states in the Union at the time of Lincoln's death! From the steps of the Memorial is a beautiful view of the Reflecting Pool, Washington Memorial and even the Capitol building in the distance! More history here - it was from these very steps that Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous 'I have a dream...' speech!! And I can't believe I missed the engraving on the exact spot where the great man was standing!!

From the Lincoln Memorial, we drove all the way across the National Mall to the US Capitol building. Got a kick out of parking in the Senator's parking lot - this is, of course, reserved parking - but since Ajey was going to stay in the car, and we were going to do our quick photo thing, figured it would be ok!! The Capitol is the seat of the Congress, the heart of the government - and it is fitting that the entire city is laid out with the Capitol at the center! There are tours available, but need to be booked ahead of time - our whole tour plan was so fluid, that it was impossible to make any bookings like these - so no tour for us!! But the exterior of the Capitol is no less impressive - the massive dome, gleaming in the sunlight, dominates the landscape! I especially liked the Ulysses Grant Memorial - an equestrian statue of General Grant, who led the Union forces during the Civil War flanked by castings of soldiers - frozen for ever in the struggles of the war!! The darkening sky was a perfect backdrop for the pictures - heightening the sense of drama beautifully!!





Like the Capitol, tours to the White House have to be booked in advance, too! Now this was one tour I was quite determined to make - I was quite willing to adjust everything else around this. However, ever since the 9/11 attacks, security at the White House is understandably off the charts! I found out, much too late, that I needed to apply 6 months ahead of time to get in - and not just that, I also needed an endorsement from a local Congressman, or in our case, a letter from the Indian Consulate in DC. Huge disappointment!! We did try to get as close as we possibly could - had to be satisfied with a picture from a distance! The Washington Monument obelisk - the tallest true obelisk in the world!! - is right across the street from the White House, few more pictures and we were ready to call it a day!

The White House

Washington Monument

Next day, we headed back to the Mall - this time by public transport, first a bus and then the DC metro. Didn't think we would run into any problems - after all, we have navigated the public transport systems in countries in which we didn't even speak the language, this should have been a piece of cake! Except - and I'm almost ashamed to admit this - the DC metro completely baffled us!! At the station, trying to buy tickets - seriously, what's with the manual systems, the entire world has digital ticket kiosks!! Walk up, select your destination on the interactive map, enter number of people, enter the amount the machine has calculated - and voila, you're done - well, not here! We had to look up our fare on a chart, and then after we calculated how much we needed, we bought 1 card with about $20 - just a couple of days before in NYC, 1 card could be swiped multiple times, as long as it had cash on it - well, once again, much to our dismay, not here!! One person, 1 card - and surprise, surprise, no refunds!! - not only did we have to but 2 more cards, but we also lost more than half the money on our first card!! What a relief it was to finally arrive at the Mall metro station!!

Today was a museum day - the National Mall is home to the Smithsonian Institution - it would take the better part of a month to visit all of the Smithsonian's museums - almost 20 of them, I believe! We  were hoping to do quick tours of the Air & Space Museum and the Natural History Museum. Walking along the Mall is exhausting - what trees there are offer scant relief from the unrelenting sun - and everything is so far (or maybe it only seemed far because of the heat?)!! A typical tour would mean walking from the Lincoln Memorial all the way down to the Capitol - the true enthusiasts will start from the Arlington Cemetery - ok, just thinking about that is enough to send me running to the nearest air-conditioned location!! So grateful that Ajey drove us around yesterday - I don't think I would have lasted too long otherwise!!

Federal tax dollars hard at work here - entrance to all the Smithsonian museums is free!! The Natural History Museum was a bit of a let-down - possible because we have been to so many similar museums in the past few years. I thought the Animal Kingdom displays were a bit dull and unimaginative,  all the stuffed animals just standing there - at the Shanghai museum, a magnificent tableau showcased the animals in their natural habitats, so much more appealing! Also, a big attraction, the dinosaur displays were closed for renovation. The Evolution of Homo Sapiens and Understanding DNA sections were quite good - but here too, lot of the interactive displays were not working properly. The highlight of the museum is, of course, the 'most famous diamond in the world' - the 45 carat Hope diamond!!


Hope diamond

The National Air and Space Museum, on the other hand, was like a treasure chest! Luckily, we were there just in time to join a guided tour - which took us to the highlights of the museum! All the way from Wright brothers to Space Exploration - this museum offers a fascinating view into the history of aviation! Not to forget the science - the interactive How Things Fly gallery, a great introduction to the basic principles of flight! The absolutely amazing thing, in my opinion, is that all the aircrafts and spacecrafts on display are originals - this is actually the largest collection of historic aircraft in the world!! The last existing plane built by the Wright brothers, the 'Spirit of St. Louis' - that took Charles Lindbergh from New York to Paris, the Voyager - first aircraft to fly around the world, the Bell X-1 - flown by Chuck Yeager, the first airplane to break the sound barrier - simply fantastic!


Voyager

Spirit of St. Louis

Even better are the space exhibits - touch a real Moon rock right at the entrance, and then onto the Sputnik and Explorer satellites, to the space capsules - the Mercury Friendship 7 in which John Glenn became the first American astronaut to orbit the earth, the Gemini IV - Ed White, the first American to perform a 'spacewalk', and the incredible Apollo 11 Command module - that took Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins to the moon and back!!! Surreal to lay hands on something that has actually been to the moon!! The Apollo to the Moon exhibit is just as thrilling - actual spacesuits worn by Apollo astronauts, a Lunar Roving Vehicle, a timeline of the Apollo program and the astronauts involved!! Simply mind-blowing!!


Moon rock

Apollo 11 command module!

2 days in the nation's capital - barely enough to scratch the surface - well actually, just enough to do the whole touristy circuit! It's great to have both NY and DC off my list - yes, I do have a list! - but while I would love to go back to New York, DC didn't really hold the same appeal for me. Manasi was the perfect age for this whole vacation, and except for the whole 'Why do I have to learn, I'm on vacation' conversation in the museum, a good time was had by all! Can't wait for the next one!!

Thursday, August 14, 2014

The French lady in Manhattan


Day 2 in New York - back to the Princeton station, this time to catch the 'express' - have to admit, I was a bit disappointed that the express wasn't any faster, it just meant that it was a non-stop train to Newark! This was the train that so many people take in to work everyday, so Monday morning meant a lot of suits - I'm sure our casual clothes screamed 'tourist'!! Our second connection took us into the heart of downtown - to the very station, in fact, which used to be the stop for the ill-fated World Trade Center towers - the whole station is being rebuilt and renovated, but just being there gave me the chills - thinking of the so many people who must have streamed in to work, completely unaware of the horrors of the day to follow...

We would come back to the memorial later in the day, though! For now, we had a rendezvous with Madame Liberte - and as we had thought the day before, getting to Battery Park early did mean a shorter wait - we were through the security and on the ferry fairly quickly!! Liberty Island - to see the Statue of Liberty from the water is to see it through the eyes of countless immigrants, not merely as a statue or a landmark - but as the very symbol of freedom from oppression, freedom to live and dream.  To leave everything familiar behind, to venture out in search of a new life with no hope of ever turning back - after a dismal, perilous voyage at sea, the first sight of the Statue of Liberty, her beacon held high, must have seemed like a vision from God!


An audio guide was included with our ticket to Liberty Island - and we walked around the base of the statue, listening to a comprehensive history of the iconic statue and its makers, some first-hand accounts of immigrants who had sailed into the New World under the Statue's gaze and some priceless nuggets of information! Everyone knows the statues is hollow - but did you know that the veneer is only as thick as a penny?? Or the framework on which the copper 'statue' is bolted was designed by Gustave Eiffel? Or the base on which the statue stands is actually a converted fort?? Most ironic - at the time of the unveiling of the statue, this statue of a strong determined woman breaking her shackles, women's liberties were actually severely curtailed, no women were allowed to be present at the unveiling - and a group of suffragettes actually hired a boat and sailed around Liberty Island to protest!! Hands down, being here on Liberty Island, gazing on the Statue of Liberty's serene face - the absolute best for me on this whole vacation!!

We decided to skip the Ellis Island tour and headed back to Battery Park - the whole Manhattan experience awaited us!! We made our way to Wall Street and the New York Stock Exchange - the very pulse of the nation, and maybe, even the world! I had always imagined Wall Street as almost futuristic - sleek skyscrapers, the rich and powerful striding along purposefully, the smell of money all-pervasive - was a bit surprised to see a fairly narrow street, lined with historic buildings and tourists like us! And what's the story with the bull?? - people were almost climbing over each other to take a picture (of course, I did too!) - but I do have to look that one up!!


New York Stock Exchange

The bull of Wall Street
From Wall Street, we meandered slowly back towards Ground Zero - the brand new Freedom Tower raising its proud head, New York's fitting reply to the events of 9/11. The site where the Twin Towers used to stand are now memorial pools with the names of the victims carved all around - those elegant towers that defined the very skyline of Manhattan - gone, absolutely gone! All these years later, the hushed silence around the memorial shows that the people have not forgotten, will never forget. The memorial is at once serene, and also immeasurably sorrowful. I think an entire generation will always remember where they were, and what they were doing at the time of the attack - I was driving to work when the report of the first plane hit the news - at that point, it was still thought to be an accident - and then the shock, the disbelief, those searing images of the towers in flames - all those lives lost! Very, very disturbing to be faced with this piece of living history.

WTC memorial

Freedom Tower

We were in a somber mood as we headed back to New Jersey - this last time we took the ferry across the Hudson, to get the full effect of the New York skyline. The ferry was surprisingly empty - until I found that it costs at least 3 times as much as the subway!! The view from across the Hudson was, as expected, absolutely spectacular!! And too soon, our time in New York was at an end! Easy to see why this vibrant city has captured the imagination of so many - the allure, the magic of NYC was not something I was expecting! I know we'll be back - next time, not so much as tourists, but to explore this wonderland a little further, to capture a little more of the elusive New York spirit! Au revoir, New York, until next time!!



Sunday, August 3, 2014

New York, baby!!

'New York, duniya ka sabse bada shaher...' - so begins Kal Ho Na Ho, followed by a montage of Preity Zinta jogging through various famous neighborhoods in New York - defying logic, obviously, her morning run takes her from Queens to Brooklyn to Manhattan - nevertheless, the film manages to capture the heady magic of New York. As did Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna and many other Bollywood films that have shaped my perception of New York!! American sitcoms - starting with Seinfeld and Friends, all the way up to the recent How I Met Your Mother - have brought NY home, made it so familiar, that going to NY was like visiting an old friend!!

The train from Princeton took us to New York Penn station - it was Sunday, so no express trains - which meant that it was a slow ride, stopping at all stations. Right outside Penn Station is Madison Square Garden - and the first thing we did here was buy a map. Seriously, all the places we've travelled, never had to pay for a map - oh well! We had a kind of rough plan of what we wanted to do - high on the list was the Statue of Liberty - so once we got our bearing, that's where we headed - Line 1 all the way to Battery Park at the tip of Manhattan.


The first sight of the Statue of Liberty was thrilling - but it was going to be another day before we got to see her up close. Lines for the ticket, lines for the ferry were absolutely horrendous, and after waiting about 30 minutes in the scorching sun to get through the 'airport style security', we decided a strategic retreat was in order - our tickets were valid for 3 days, so we would be back first thing the next day - couldn't have made a better choice!! Back to the subway, this way all the way up to Central Park. I wish we had walked a little further into the Park, but just a short stroll had to suffice - tired and hungry, we were happy to get lunch from a falafel vendor, and watch a couple of mimes and street shows, New York style!! By the way, how is it that street food always tastes so much better than the best of restaurants??






From Central Park, we walked towards Fifth Avenue - admiring all the fashionable stores - Coach, Louis Vuitton, Saks Fifth Avenue, Macy's, this is after all the mecca for shopping!! For me a walk through the Apple store - would have been sweet to buy an Apple in the Big Apple! - and F.A.O. Schwarz for Manasi, of course!! We made our way down to Rockefeller Centre - the Christmas tree scene from Home Alone? - of course, it's summer, so the famous ice rink is a fancy seafood restaurant, but the GE building and the statue of Prometheus in the Plaza are exactly as seen in so many films - well, duh!

Louis Vuitton

Prometheus, Rockefeller Plaza

What's a day in New York City without a ride in a New York yellow cab - took a cab down to Empire State Building - staying firmly on our touristy path!! Everyone knows I'm a sucker for going up tall buildings - and come on, Empire State Building, how can I miss this one?!! Of course, Ajey and Manasi didn't really see it that way - in the end, it was the crowds that made the decision for us - even I didn't really have the energy to wait in line for who knows how long! So after getting ice-cream and souvenirs, Times Square it was!! Along the way, a place close to my heart, the New York Public Library - what an absolutely amazing building, and a glimpse of another Mid-town landmark, the Chrysler building!

New York cabs

Empire State Building

New York Public Library

Chrysler building

Finally, Times Square!! The song from Annie running through my head - NYC, the shimmers of Times Square! We were a little early for the full effect of the shimmers, but even then, it was still pretty dazzling - could have done without the construction, although it was cool to see our Cat machines at work!! Again, Times Square was exactly as I thought it would be - didn't I say NYC is like an old friend - my first time here, and still everything was so familiar!! Our original plan had been to hang around Times Square till it got dark, see the city lights - but the full day of walking had completely exhausted us - nothing seemed better than heading back to Princeton, so that's what we did - even managed to catch an earlier train back!




Quite exciting, huh? I actually had to pinch myself a couple of times - I was in NEW YORK!! You would think that after having seen so much of the world, I would be a bit more nonchalant - but hey, New York is New York!! And I still had one more entire day to spend in this wonderful city!! Another day, another post though! Coming up soon!!

Friday, August 1, 2014

Road trip!

After a month in the US, being back in China is almost surreal!! China, really, that's where I live now?? It is so easy to slip into familiar rhythms of life back in the States, so easy to drink in the blue sky and fresh air, so easy to believe that I never left, that China is but a fantastic dream. Sigh!

As always, time flies when you're having fun!! This last month is actually quite a blur - at last count, we visited almost 11 states - unbelievable, right! An incredible amount of traveling, including all possible modes of transportation - planes, cars, trains and even a ferry or two! The plane rides getting to the US and back are always the dreariest - 14 hours each way, the only saving grace being the on-demand entertainment! Manasi and I flew Delta this year, so our connection to Peoria was through Detroit - compared to Chicago's O'Hare, the Detroit airport is considerably smaller, easier to navigate - so even with the short layover, we made it to our next flight with plenty of time to spare!!

After a week in Peoria, we were off on our first mini-vacation - to Houghton, Michigan, to visit Ajey's uncle. Houghton, of course, has a special place in our personal history - Ajey and I both went to school here, and it was here that we met 17 years ago! Located right at the tip of Upper Michigan, near Lake Superior, quite literally a stone's throw away from Canada - Houghton's main claim to fame is its school, Michigan Tech. Locals joke that there are only 3 seasons in Houghton - last winter, this winter and next winter! Having lived through 2 of these winters, let me tell you that this is no joke!

Severe as the winters are, the summers in Houghton are breathtakingly beautiful! While the rest of the country swelters, temperatures here are pleasant - in fact, this time we were there, we had to put on sweaters and coats - unthinkable in July!! The air is ambrosial - it has been years since I've slept so deeply, my allergy medications and nasal sprays unused - again, a sobering reminder of just how bad the pollution in China is. Despite couple of cold, rainy days, our 5 day stay in Houghton was very, very relaxing. Lots of naps, good food, a little drive around the town, badminton in the evening - perfect, just perfect!!

Lake Superior

Back in Chicago, it was a weekend with the B family - family friends who are more family than friends!! I have known them since forever - Manoj mama's mom was my first teacher in Kindergarten, and she had an especially close bond with my mother. And when I first flew to Chicago (seems like a lifetime ago), it was Manoj mama and Anu Maushi who received me at the airport, and later, even drove me to Houghton!! A more welcoming, warm couple would be difficult to find - being with them is so comfortable!! I always think of spending a week here, but somehow, have never been able to manage more than 2 days - this time was no exception, and soon, too soon, it was time to head back to Peoria!!

Not for long, though - Ajey flew in a couple of days later, and then right after, we left for our much-awaited vacation - a road trip to New York and Washington DC!! I love driving in the US - and while having a driver is undeniably a luxury, I do miss this simple freedom in China! It had been quite long since we had been on a real vacation in the US - was it to the Niagara Falls in 2002, or was it the Kentucky trip a year later?? Anyway, we were all quite excited - especially Manasi - more so after we stocked up on snacks for the trip - I do think we went a little overboard with these! Walking into Walmart after 2 years in China is a sensory overload - almost a bit too much to handle!!

The plan was to drive all the way to New Jersey - almost a 1000 miles - with an overnight halt in Pennsylvania. The landscape all through Illinois, Indiana and most of Ohio is almost the same - cornfields, cornfields and more cornfields - the monotony broken by huge silos and farmhouses! Cornflower blue skies above, powderpuff clouds floating gently, verdant green fields all around and the road, straight as an arrow - it was like being in a trance almost!! Midway through Ohio, the cornfields started giving way to woods and rolling hills - the road now winding its way through a short stretch of W. Virginia into Pennsylvania and our first halt - the little town of Somerset.

Town? Crossroads, more like it!! Seemed to be a popular stop for bikers - there was a huge Harley store in this tiny place, and all the hotel parking lots were full of bikes! Not too many dinner options though - we finally ended up eating at our old standby - Pizza Hut! It had been quite a drive - just over 600 miles!! A shorter drive the next day, but still an early start - we made it to Princeton, NJ just in time for lunch with our friends the Vs. Again, a nostalgic meeting - it has been 11 years since we last met them!! It is actually quite a surprising friendship - KV came to Michigan Tech the same time as Ajey, but he transferred out a mere 4 months later. And yet, over the years as other people faded away, we have always stayed in touch with KV!!!

We spent that evening walking around Princeton, admiring the historic old buildings, awed by the sheer weight of knowledge that seemed to permeate the atmosphere - how awesome it would be to be a student here!! It was a lovely place, the town square lined with with quaint little restaurants and cafes, flowers blooming everywhere! Dinner, not surprisingly, was to be at an Indian restaurant - but this was a place unlike anything I had seen before. First of all, the strip mall where it was located was dominated by a huge convenience store named - are you ready? - 'Subzi Mandi' (Vegetable Market in Hindi) - with a poster of a beaming Madhuri Dixit! The other stores in the strip mall were also all Indian - a pizza place, a dry cleaners and of course, Mithaas - which was actually a combination of a sweet shop and restaurant!! What a mouth-watering array of delicacies!!





The next 2 days we experienced the joys of commuting to New York City - a 90 minute ride one-way on the New Jersey Transit Rail. And while the novelty was fun - I can't imagine doing this day in and day out - almost 3 hours a day, unimaginable! Give me good old Peoria any day, with work barely 5 minutes away!! The trains were a bit disappointing - most Asian cities these days have highly sophisticated rail networks, and comparatively, the NYC metro trains were quite old, even dingy! The Vs were a big help in planning our 2 day exploration of NYC, and it was so nice to come home to hot meals and warm beds and great conversation!! What absolutely wonderful hosts!! And no, I did not just skip over NYC - that of course, will be another post - so moving on...

From NYC to DC is another 4 hour drive - and 3 more states! From New Jersey into Delaware - barely 10 miles before we crossed into Maryland, and still, it took us a couple of hours. Why? Well, Delaware is on of the 4 states in the US that has tax-free shopping, that's right - no tax! And barely a mile after we crossed the border was this huge, huge mall - of course we had to stop! I did have something particular in mind that I wanted to get - a little addition to our collection of Apples - that's right, a brand new Macbook Air that is just so awesome!! My Toshiba I've had for about 10 years now - time for an upgrade, don't you think?!



In the DC area, we had the chance to meet up with one more of Ajey's friends - this time a school friend, AN, from the VB days - a solid 24 years have passed since these guys met! Talk about reunions!! Drove to Ashburn, Virginia from DC - another state to add to our kitty - and spent a wonderful evening with AN and his lovely family!! Like NYC, DC will be a separate post - so we're finally all the way at the end of our vacation - driving back to Peoria! Once again, one solid day of driving to Elkhart, Indiana - which turned out to be a surprisingly happening place with all kinds of restaurants! A few hours in Chicago the next day - a quick catch-up with our dear friends BH and NK - and then it was straight to Peoria!

So how many states was it? Let's see - Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, W. Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia - of course, we did go to Michigan too, bringing the total to 11!! Well on our way to get all 50 done! After all the excitement, coming home to Suzhou is a bit dull - Manasi and I are severely jet lagged - staying up till 2am, and then falling asleep at oddest hours - not having a routine to get back to is not helping!! I do have my new Mac to play with - indeed this is the first post on my new laptop! Ajey will be back next week, and soon we will all be caught up in the new year at school! Until then, I'm happy to get some time to get caught up on my posts - NYC and DC coming up soon!!