USA - Part 1 -The Travel from India to the States

It's been almost three months that I have been in US. Before I left, I used to think I would write blogs more often than what I used to do back in India. But I guess I have been a little lazy (Little is an understatement). So I thought of breaking the trend and write about my experiences in this country. If I had to sum up my experiences of three months in a word; it’s got to be "enriching".

I had a North West flight from Mumbai to Detroit via Amsterdam. My experiences started from the check in process. There was an Indian guy (of Gujarat origin - I heard him speak in Gujarati) who was doing the check in process. He seemed to be very friendly with the foreign nationals but was quite rude to the Indian nationals. I had a family in front of me in the check in line who were travelling to attend a marriage in the states. The kind of expressions that the check in officer gave to them for carrying extra luggage could have been avoided. I knew Guajarati’s had a soft corner for USA, but I failed to find a reason that our own people be subjected to a lower treatment.

The flight from Amsterdam was better than that from Mumbai. I spent most of the time chatting with my co passenger who was a British National. Nice conversation, Nice food and some good sleep - A perfect flight. The decent to Detroit had a pleasing sight. The city seems to be never ending. The streets running zig- zag reminding me of the winding toy trains tracks; straight from the funskool toys of childhood. I had a little bit of anxiousness before the immigration clearance, which they cleared after finding my documents in order.

During this entire travel I found that US government has left no stones unturned to ensure a check on the people entering the country. Some people might complain of the heavy security measures, but then when you see it in terms of the larger picture and the benefits of the process, you'll generally not mind undergoing the process. Such kind of security becomes indeed essential when the stakes are really high.