It’s been sometime since I last wrote. I have been keeping a bit busy lately. Been busy having new experiences.. experiences which I would love to share. Not sure where I should begin from.. :) But let’s just start from the start.. It all started when I was about to head home for Diwali holidays, I was informed that I would be needed to pack my bags and report onsite my mid of November. Onsite being US. (Fyi.. Our project caters to a leading American financial institution).
This being my first trip out of my country.. try imagine the excitement mixed with apprehension, euphoria with a tinge of fear, etc etc etc.. I was experiencing. Last couple of days in Bangalore was just flew by.. spent on shopping, eating, treats to friends, chatting with them (with night-outs on the last weekend) , more eating and then more shopping.. And then all too soon the D-day arrived. This was not just my first international flight; it was also my first flight ever. It would be quite impossible for me to express the mixed feelings I was having. Away from family & friends. Off to an unknown land. So let me just skip the part.
Flight was wonderful. B’lore -> Frankfurt -> Chicago -> Greensboro (my destination). Family of 2 of my colleagues were also travelling with me. Had a window seat in the Frankfurt->Chicago flight. :) :) The view, simply put, was breathtaking. Especially during take-off. Frankfurt is surrounded by some very beautiful hills and the scenic colourful display was wonderful. We crossed the Atlantic Ocean at an altitude of 38,000 feet. :D. (Being a first time traveler, I was noticing everything.. from the altitude, the trajectory, the outside temperature and pressure,.. At one time the outside temp was -59 degree centigrades.. ). The clouds made beautiful formations with sun rays crossing through it. The plane went right into three cloud covers while preparing to land in Chicago. You feel like you are in a dream. It looks just like the dream sequence they show in movies. Saw a couple of movies in-flight. The food served in the flight was quite good, contrary to my expectations. Infact, the b’lore-f’furt flight had Indian food, complete with Paneer & Raita. I was advised to drink lot of juice and hence followed it diligently. (Fyi... the coffee was BAD.. especially after the wonderful coffee you get in Krishna Cafe' or the various ‘Sagar’ restaurants).
Frankfurt was crowded and it was raining in Chicago making it freezing cold. Thus passed the journey, complete with lot of security checks and long queues but on the whole uneventful. All seemed to change as soon as we landed at our destination. Just when we were picking up our hand luggage and preparing to un-board, the flight attendants asked us to go back & take our seats. After around 45 minutes on the plane, we were asked to go into a conference room on the airport. It seems some bomb threat was received and we were about to be questioned… oops I meant welcomed by.. guess what.. FBI.. quite a warm welcome right? ;-). So after waiting for another hour in the conference room, feds arrived and we were told that people sitting in a particular area need to wait and others can go. And believe it or not I was one of the few who had to wait.. Just my luck!! :(.. hey on hindsight, this could be the effect of a movie of the same name which I saw in-flight.. :D. After that each one of us was taken aside, asked to write down our name,address,etc, questioned about wheather we saw anyone do anything suspicious, told we would be called again if needed, told sorry for delay & thank you for co-operation and then we were free to go. Phew!!
My colleagues, who had come to receive me, had to wait for around 2.30 hours. And finally I did manage to reach the US of A. Its been 2 weeks now, have some more experinces to add but guess that would have to wait. :) Cya.
This being my first trip out of my country.. try imagine the excitement mixed with apprehension, euphoria with a tinge of fear, etc etc etc.. I was experiencing. Last couple of days in Bangalore was just flew by.. spent on shopping, eating, treats to friends, chatting with them (with night-outs on the last weekend) , more eating and then more shopping.. And then all too soon the D-day arrived. This was not just my first international flight; it was also my first flight ever. It would be quite impossible for me to express the mixed feelings I was having. Away from family & friends. Off to an unknown land. So let me just skip the part.
Flight was wonderful. B’lore -> Frankfurt -> Chicago -> Greensboro (my destination). Family of 2 of my colleagues were also travelling with me. Had a window seat in the Frankfurt->Chicago flight. :) :) The view, simply put, was breathtaking. Especially during take-off. Frankfurt is surrounded by some very beautiful hills and the scenic colourful display was wonderful. We crossed the Atlantic Ocean at an altitude of 38,000 feet. :D. (Being a first time traveler, I was noticing everything.. from the altitude, the trajectory, the outside temperature and pressure,.. At one time the outside temp was -59 degree centigrades.. ). The clouds made beautiful formations with sun rays crossing through it. The plane went right into three cloud covers while preparing to land in Chicago. You feel like you are in a dream. It looks just like the dream sequence they show in movies. Saw a couple of movies in-flight. The food served in the flight was quite good, contrary to my expectations. Infact, the b’lore-f’furt flight had Indian food, complete with Paneer & Raita. I was advised to drink lot of juice and hence followed it diligently. (Fyi... the coffee was BAD.. especially after the wonderful coffee you get in Krishna Cafe' or the various ‘Sagar’ restaurants).
Frankfurt was crowded and it was raining in Chicago making it freezing cold. Thus passed the journey, complete with lot of security checks and long queues but on the whole uneventful. All seemed to change as soon as we landed at our destination. Just when we were picking up our hand luggage and preparing to un-board, the flight attendants asked us to go back & take our seats. After around 45 minutes on the plane, we were asked to go into a conference room on the airport. It seems some bomb threat was received and we were about to be questioned… oops I meant welcomed by.. guess what.. FBI.. quite a warm welcome right? ;-). So after waiting for another hour in the conference room, feds arrived and we were told that people sitting in a particular area need to wait and others can go. And believe it or not I was one of the few who had to wait.. Just my luck!! :(.. hey on hindsight, this could be the effect of a movie of the same name which I saw in-flight.. :D. After that each one of us was taken aside, asked to write down our name,address,etc, questioned about wheather we saw anyone do anything suspicious, told we would be called again if needed, told sorry for delay & thank you for co-operation and then we were free to go. Phew!!
My colleagues, who had come to receive me, had to wait for around 2.30 hours. And finally I did manage to reach the US of A. Its been 2 weeks now, have some more experinces to add but guess that would have to wait. :) Cya.
