USA, the land of opportunity, the land of milk and honey,
the land of unfettered freedom. The most powerful country in the world, the
country where everyone wants to be.
The epithets can flow thick and fast, could cover reams of
paper and would still not be exhaustive enough.
While the world would gaga over this place, while it came to
traveling/ holidaying we had other thoughts.
For us the majesty of England, the beauty of Europe had far
more lure than the parvenu US, a country whose history was at best modern.
But, like many things, our views were also flexible. We realized
that by ignoring the USA from our travel plans, we were missing something key!
How could we be ignoramuses when it came to the US? How could
we say, no we don’t know how Times Square looks like or we haven’t been to the
Grand Canyon? Or, we don’t know how a jet lag created by 12 hours of time
difference feels like?
We decided we must put this to an end and explore the country
on the other side of the globe.
The first step was the Visa. The VISA has two stages, bio
metric and interview. How could we avoid it eating up two working days was the
question.
Fortunately for us, the biometric recording center was open
on a Sunday. Hurray, we could get the interview over by losing just one working
day!!!
Depending on whether a person has got the coveted US Visa or
no determines their explanation of their experience at the consulate. Having heard
enough horror stories about what could go wrong, we went for the interview thoroughly
prepared, with multiple copies of all necessary documents.
To our pleasant surprise, the VISA officer was charmingly
friendly and he announced the willingness of the Government of US to let us enter
its territory. Relief indeed.
The next step was the booking of tickets. Was it a two week or
a three week trip? Should we do both the east coast and the west coast (they
come with their itinerant time difference issues)? Should we land on the west
coast and move east wards or vice versa? What are the must sees?
The next few days were a blur. Finalizing schedule, booking
flight tickets, booking rooms (we discovered Aibnb), buying tickets for tourist
attractions like Grand canyon, Statue of Liberty etc…
With each passing day, the contours of our trip were taking
shape.
The D Day happened soon enough. Together we were, the four
of us, on a holiday that had been in the pipeline for a long time.
From Hyderabad to Dubai and from there to Washington, as our
flight descended into the capital of the most powerful nation in the world, we
were excited.
Would the trip meet our soaring expectations?
Read on, in the next leg of the travelogue.
