VIDESH YATRA: BHAGA-6 (VISIT TO NEW YORK CITY ON 13TH, 14TH & 15TH JUNE'08)
Hello Namaste,
I know you are waiting for my Videsh Yatra Bhaga-6. See, it is here. Please read and respond. On Thursday the 12th June'08 evening we started our journey to New York by Train. Train journey in USA is also a new experience to us. They are all electric Trains run by Amtrak Company and they run at minimum 130Kms speed per hour. Distance to New York City from here is nearly 400Kms which will be covered by Train just 3 hrs. We boarded the Train at 8.30Pm & were supposed to reach there by 11.30Pm.But for our bad luck; it stopped on the way after one hour journey due to mechanical problem. Of course, comforts in the Train including Restrooms were fine. Absolutely there is no smell in the Railway Station as the wastes from the Restrooms (Lavatories) are not allowed to fall on the railway track. The system is to collect it in box kept there & to take it to somewhere else to dispose. There is elevator facility to move up and down in the station. No shops or Tea stalls on railway platforms. Just think a moment about our Railway stations & lavatories in trains. We were delayed by 3.00hrs & reached Metro park station by 2.30 night. Mr.Deepak, my brother-in-law took us to his home at Edison, an area in New Jersey.
On 13th morning (Friday) we went to see New York City; first to the famous Empire State Building, a world's tallest skyscraper, an icon that endures as New York's proudest achievement of the 20th century. It is having 106 floors, but admission is only up to 102nd floor (1st stage is up to 86th floor Observatory ($29) & 2nd stage is up to 102nd floor for which separate $15 ticket is required and it is sold only in the Empire State Building. We viewed the whole city around from the 86th floor observatory. Really it is one of the most breath-taking view and a view of a lifetime. Day time it is a thrilling experience to the endless expanse of geography. I want to tell you something about the fascinating facts of this building. The area of the building is nearly 2.66 acres. This building construction was completed in 1 year & 45 days, employing as many as 4000 men per day, working 7 days per week, at a completion rate of 4 1/2 stories per week.& it was inaugurated on 1st May 1931.Structural composition of the building is 60,000 tons of steel,10 millions bricks,2.5 million feet of electrical wire,120 miles of pipe,1000+ miles of telephone cable,6500 windows,1860 steps and 73 elevators operating at the speed up to 1400 per minute. Actual construction cost is $ 41 million. For interior decoration & artistic designs rare marbles were imported from Italy, France, Belgium and Germany. Renovation costs over the past ten years are $ 100 million.
Next we went round the city by bus on guided tour. The cost per head is $ 40. It was hop-on & hop-off. The guide was giving beautiful commentary on each of the place/ building. we saw Flatiron Building, Macy's square Garden, Greenwich Village, China Town/ Little Italy, City Hall, Brooklyn Bridge, Battery Park, Wall Street Center (Financial District: world economy vibrates here, we took snaps with the metal big bull here) Manhattan Bridge, World Trade Centre site (now it is called Ground Zero), (seeing this site we felt sad as to how these world tallest buildings were crashed down in a wink of eye on Sept 11th of 2001. Now they have started to construct the 2 buildings in the same site much taller than the earlier one and will be completed by 2012.) We also saw United Nations building, Rockefeller Centre , Central Park ( here we got down and had a view of the park by a horse chariot .it is 843 acres of beautiful park where many movies like HOME ALONE, SERENDIPITY etc have been shot.) The important museums in this city are American Museum Of Natural History, Guggenheim Museum, The Metropolitan Museum Of Art and The Museum Of Modern Art. In the evening we went to visit Madame Tussauds – Wax Museum where statues of famous personalities from all over the world in the field of Science, Art, Music, Sports, Politics, etc have made in wax and they look as if they are very much alive there . We took snaps with Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Dalai Lama, John F Kennedy, George Bush, Einstein, Princess Diana, Opera Winslet, Hillary Clinton, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, etc. after this we spent time in famous TIME SQUARE of NY city where we were simply mesmerized by the dazzling and flickering lights all over .This is the city which never sleeps .The big streets , varieties of shops, the gigantic buildings with colorful lights ,with overwhelming crowd we were stunned for a moment whether we were in the AMARAVATHI OF LORD DEVENDRA . Also we went to see the TOYS' R' US in this Square where innumerable toys of different varieties had been displayed and this is a big toy shop stop for kids of all ages. There we saw a model of Dinosaurs which was of 5 tons, 20 feet high, 34 feet long which rocks its head, roll its eyes, even swing its mighty tail with an awesome roar. We were thrilled to see this and caught some snaps of that gigantic scary animal. By 11.00 pm we went back to Edison getting down at Metuchen Railway Stn.
Next day on 14th our plan was to visit the Bridge Water Temple, a 30 minutes drive from New Jersey (Lord Venkateshwara Temple) I don't know why Lord Venkateshwara is main deity installed in all the cities we visited. By 11.30 we had been there in the Temple. Of course, all most all deities of Gods are there as usual in other cities in order to please all kinds of devotees coming over there. I offered my prayer for self & for family members and friends for their good health & bright future. We had our south Indian food like Puliyogare. Masala Dose, Menasinakai Bonda & Mosaranna. Next we came to Princeton (N J) to see Deepak's under construction house. It is being constructed with all the facilities required therein. It is in a good locality surrounded by greenery. Look wise also its very nice. It is almost in completion stage .Don't be under impression that he is constructing a bungalow. In US all houses are alike. They will not allow to construct a house as we like according to our whims & fancies. There are only five or six plans at a maximum with the builder allocated to the community. This is done to maintain the uniformity and look of the community. We have to choose one & construct accordingly without any deviations. Base will be solid with concrete & the remaining structure will be only by wood. (Whether one is rich or poor, there is no discrimination.) For construction of such houses also the cost comes in crores.It is not a joke to construct a house in US. It is one's life achievement. We felt very proud of him & happy to see his house. We blessed him full heartedly.
In the evening we went to OAK TREE ROAD. Do you know the speciality of this? It is all dominated by Indians. All shops, hotels, gift centers, bunks etc here are run by Indians having name plates in Indian style. There we went to the Bombay Chats Center and ordered for sevpuri, panipuri, dahipuri, veg. spring roll & fried rice and that was our dinner for the night & that's the end of the day.
Again on 15th it was an unforgettable day for us since we planned to visit that day the Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty having a ride in HUDSON river which very closely joins the great Atlantic Ocean. We had booked for this on online in advance & from N J we went there by 12.00 Noon. As soon as we reached there rain started pouring down & it continued for more than 45 minutes. We worried a little as to we would miss it. But luckily it stopped and we rushed to ferry. It was a nice experience to sail in that big river. Hudson River separates the New York & New Jersey creating common boundary for the both. First we went to Ellis Island, a beautiful island to see. To say some thing about this island, you know that America is always a nation of immigrants and this Ellis Island is considered as its greatest symbol of immigration. In 1808 Fort Gibson was built here on this island for coastal defense From 1830 & onwards immigrants began to arrive in U S in larger numbers from Ireland, England& Germany. At that time Castle Garden (now Castle Clinton) was the immigration center. Subsequently, immigrants in large numbers from Scandinavia, Italy, Russia, Austria, and Hungary began to arrive in US. In 1892 immigration station opened in this Ellis Island. After a thorough inspection including medical test & only on clearance, immigrants were used to allow in US. Some 12 million immigrants are said to have come through this Ellis Island. When this immigration station was destroyed by fire in 1897, it was rebuilt & opened in1900. During 1st & 2nd world wars period the enemy aliens were detained here. In 1954 this was closed permanently and in 1965 National Origin Quotas was abolished & this Island became the part of Statue of Liberty National Monument. In 1990 the restored main building opened as an Immigration Museum. we visited the museum here. After our lunch, we got in to Ferry to see the Statue of Liberty Island.
One more beautiful & fantastic structure is the Statue of Liberty which was proclaimed as eighth marvel of the world in 1880s and was setatop in its pedestal in 1886. The height of the Statue is 151.01 feet (Height from the ground to the top of Torch is 305.01 feet.) Length of its nose itself is 4.6 feet. Just imagine its gigantic structure. It is welcoming people from all over the world for the last 122 years. It stands for freedom & democracy. The idea of this monument of liberty is of Mr.Edouard de Laboulaye, a French Intellectual. We were allowed to go up to the base of its feet because we had purchased the monument pass way ahead of time.( From 11th September incident onwards it has been restricted to go up to its hand torch.) From the base of the statue we viewed New York City, harbor, Manhattan & Brooklyn bridges, Ellis island and New Jersey etc. Really it was a thrilling experience. We spent there till late evening & returned to Edison for our backward journey that day night at 9.30 by Train.
This is all about my Videsh Yatra Bhaga-6. I stop here as all members are getting ready for dinner now. Wait for my next and last Bhaga i.e. Videsh Yatra Bhaga-7 with Upasamhara. Till then take care .Bye. See you.
Yours,
Krishna murthy.K
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