Foreword: What's a blogger's 'dream come true'? Well, other than getting a book published with a collection of his best works, it might also be something more profoundly gratifying as being able to put up a blog written by his dad. And that's what this post is all about. My dad and mom happened to visit the USA last year and here are his musings on what he saw and experienced over here. So, before I go do extensive brow-beating and chest-thumping, let me just leave it to him now....
Words: Venkata Ramana Murthy Nagavarapu
Moderately Edited by me.
"Funny how certain details in Life seldom
change; our travel has started from Kotabommali (in Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh, India) with the usual traffic jams at
NAD junction in Vizag that put us through one of those many tense moments! Add
to that the restaurant at the Airport ended up being shut down and we had to
adjust with a sandwich for the night. Surprisingly, Silk Air served hot food at
1.00 AM in the morning! An interesting start indeed!
We landed in Singapore in the morning and
it felt good to see the wonderful airport and sneak in some window shopping
alongside. The same happened at the Hong-Kong Airport. The last leg of our
journey was a 15 hour long flight to San Fransisco. Much to our surprise, we
were welcomed by Gunnu (My eldest brother who stays in Los Angeles) and
Odinamma (His wife) along with Srikanth (My elder son, with whom we’re supposed
to stay in San Jose).
It was a wonderful experience, for
starters, to go out on the streets and freeways without the hassle of pedestrians
crossing the streets wherever they wished to, alongside the usual horde of animals
and cyclists. Another surprise unfolded itself as we visited an Indian Grocery
Store where every common Indian commodity item was available on the racks. Talk
about the world being a small place!
We also noticed vigilant cops hiding to
punish traffic violaters. I understand that they get a percentage of fines they
collect from people. We visited the temple at Livermore and the
homes of a few of Gunnu’s local relatives. We also went over to the Monterey
beach, a 17 mile beautiful drive all along the Pacific coast. It did bring
memories of the Vizag-Bhimili road back home, the only difference being the
lack of irregular traffic.
Well, it didn’t take too much to lose track
of all the details from then on, for the good experience that it was all
turning out to be. Here are a few nuances I’d managed to observe about the
country and culture in general though -
At the Golden Gate Bridge in San Fransisco
– enjoyed the view; The best part was going past the toll gates without having
to stop cars. Cars having passes are recognized electronically and the others
receive a toll plaza demand by mail to their address as per the registration.
The traffic discipline, cleanliness,
maintenance of public toilets et al has to be appreciated and it would be great
if we could follow this, at least in tourist places. In all the towns, parts where early
development took place are usually called as the Downtown with high-rise
buildings, busy offices, costly restaurants, the works. Parking restrictions are
tight there and have to be sincerely followed as there is fear of getting hefty tickets
if violated.
Visited the campuses of some famous universities like Stanford, Berkeley, California and Ohio State in Columbus.
Noteworthy point in all the universities is their choice of not going for
concrete structures and giving importance to trees, landscaping and the much
needed priority for a natural look. All the universities were buzzing with
student activities.
Development of pedestrian walkways and cycle
paths in all public places, for instance, in the beaches, is highly appreciable
and to be noted by us. All these are useful for the morning walkers, and other
health conscious people who are seen walking, running at all times of the day as
per their convenience.
Another point to note is the development of science museums and their maintenance for the benefit of all. Space shuttles
which were decommissioned are kept in museums with information on the highlights of their voyages.
It’s a very moving thing to see senior
citizens and retired people volunteering as guides at tourism locations and explaining people the
various aspects of each object/place in a systematic and interesting way.
Dignity of Labour: Everybody enjoys their
work and feels proud of their job. People especially old aged, manning toll
booths, cash counters, driving tourist vehicles/boats in national parks enjoy
their work and work with total dedication. They try to explain minor intricacies
also to the visitors. Nowhere is impatience shown by these people.
Freeways: Most of the drivers follow the
traffic rules meticulously, and drive their vehicles with discipline without
causing traffic blockades. Imagine freeways having a speed limit of 80 miles
per hour! (We came across some of these in the state of Texas). One memorable experience was covering 220
miles in just 2 ½ hours starting by 8.30 AM at Santa Fe and reaching Artesia on
our way to Fort Stockton.
I’d have to remember the folks at AAA for their
guidance in planning a road trip with maps showing important places with
distances, different combinations of freeways to reach the destinations, the
maps showing locations of hotels, rest areas, gas stations, availability of
food etc.
Of course, visiting important and
internationally famous tourist places like Grand Canyon, Niagara Falls, the Times
Square in New York and Washington DC have been cherish-able experiences in
themselves. We spent an entire evening at Times Square in New York City where
at any given point of time, tourists from more than 100 countries could be seen
roaming around.
What’s more interesting is to come across
special areas like Santa Fe where hundreds of art galleries have been
established both by the Government and private individuals. There were no high
rise buildings in the entire town based on a custom that no building should be
higher than the Cathedral built centuries ago. We were informed that artists
from different parts of the world stay there for months together making their
exhibits in art studios.
Similar was San Antanio where the river
walk was highly attractive and a famous tourist spot in itself. However I was a
bit disappointed to see total commercialization of the river walk by big hotels
and others, just to have their presence there.
I want to throw in a special mention about
the Subways of New York city; they're wonderfully planned in the early 50s with
three vertical levels of underground railway tracks and platforms with good connectivity
to all parts of city. It’s surprising to note trains moving with good speed
underground and having high rise structures above the ground near the Times
Square, the Empire State Building, the new World Trade Centre, the works; at the same time.
Let me go back and add a few notes about
our visit to the Niagara: One of the most memorable places that we’ve visited;
the ‘Maid of Mist’ journey - going very close to the falls on a boat and
getting drenched by the mist - great experience indeed!
P.S. - Sorry, couldn't resist the aforementioned chest thumping and that's where this comes in. I just wanted to thank my dad for showing that even at his age, one can maintain a sense of child-like wonderment and charming naivete in appreciating basic things that surround us in Life.
