Where do I begin. Last weekend husband and I decided to meet up somewhere in the US for his birthday. I didnt care where. Unfortunately air tickets were too high for my last minute plan to meet him, so I decided to take the Greyhound bus one way and fly back, return to Toronto. Now starts the adventure. I have never travelled alone in an overnight road trip, and that too in a bus. Back home we took overnight buses to Bangalore from Hyd (when we had to make urgent trips) or from Bangalore to Udupi even, but again never travelled alone there even. And here I am also talking cross-country. Phew! Whatever I gathered about the journey online and from an aquaintance I was informed the US immigration is at its worst at Buffalo/Niagara. Well how worse can it get I thought anyway, took the bus from Bay, Street in Toronto. The bus started half hour late and was packed till Niagara. An African descent woman going to Georgia and I started talking and time flew, did not realize when the immigration booths came up. She shared her story, as to how she was going to bring her daughter back in Canada after a divorce etc. Now I was taking the bus to Albany, NY and my husband was suppose to come and pick me up there, we decided we will spend a night there somewhere nearby or drive back to Boston whichever.
Anyway the whole set up was so eerie at the immigration. I dont know what 'image' the American Customs and Immigration wants to create for itself, but they surely are successful in making even an honest person nervous. My immigration went ok, straightforward. Customs too, they made everyone remove their bags from the bus obviously and checked. Somehow they opened everyone's bags/suitcases and skipped me. Thank god! I thought, this time I was carrying dirty laundry back home too (all my formal wear and winter wear that I wouldnt need), I spared him the stink.
Anyway the bus then dropped the passengers of to Buffalo and everyone had to get off and take their respective buses to wherever it is we were going. My bus driver from Buffalo to Albany didnt appear so they had to call a replacement, further delay. Finally we started, we were a bunch of very different people in the bus I must say. A Mexican who kept staring at me for some reason, an African American older lady going to see family who kept smiling at me. A British traveller in his 30's. A student from Tajakistan. A senile old genetleman behind me going to see his son who is now 23 years old, apparently, and was 2 years when he had last seen him (probably another divorce story). This man kept hallucinating and talking to himself the whole night. (Yes! sad and scary, but no sleep for me!). And then a teenage girl or boy, honestly I couldnt make out the sex, dressed in black with all that silver jewellery, looked very wierd and smoked at every busstop non stop, barely in her/his mid teens, looked like one of those satan worshipper/ cult person. And me :) Traveling is indeed interesting, each traveller has a story. And if you sit back and watch/observe people you can almost read their stories...... The bus then took off, and I tried my level best to sleep. But didnt happen, the seat beside me was vacant (2 seater) but not enough for my long legs. Next stop was Rochester, and my lovely bus driver couldnt find the bus stop. A street was cornered off by Police (something had happend as there was debris all over the closed road) so my driver after taking the exit, honked and asked the cop for the bus station which was very close to that street cornered off my the police (it just kept getting wierd) and there we were greeted by Border Patrol personnel. He religiously came and checked each of our passports and even asked a couple of questions to some of the passengers. US citizens and GC holders didnt need to show passports, just picture ids. And how would he recognize them? As long as they speak their accent and are blue-eyed caucasians is it? I thought and rolled my sleepy eyes. Some passenger didnt have his GC so the Officer called the immigration from his cell phone plugged in his last name and some other id that person was carrying and checked his credentials. Oh yes! I was surprised in the detailed and quick inspection once again. This was something new apparently according to a co-passenger who travels up and down via bus on this route. It reminded me of some movie where this happens, (too sleepy to think of the movie, but the immigration at Niagara reminded me of Babel, where the nanny with kids is trying to get back into the US). The bus station and people and the whole setting at Rochester was not pleasing, thank god I dont live there. And pretty much this driver (who I realized was new) needed directions to find the bus stations after taking the exits. And like I can sleep now when I know the driver dosent know the way? Yeah right! :) And then there was this Asian/Chinese passenger who kept complaining when it got cold with the air conditioning, he was my spokesperson, thank god for him, he spared me from requesting the same each time to the driver. He would exactly start complaining to the driver to reduce the air conditioning when I was feeling cold. And then when it would start getting warm and stuffy, complain again to make it cooler. Ok now definitely I cannot sleep.
The next biggest stop was Syracuse. Where more people got in, more young people actually. The bus was full but luckily I still got to keep my seat empty beside me to stretch. Finally I arrived at Albany and was happy to get off and see my husband. P, had to drive 2 hours to be there - started 4 am to be there at 6am to pick me up from Boston. Albany bus station was as deserted as it could be at that hour, thank god husband had arrived before I did. And then P announced we will spend the weekend in some sort of resort. He hadnt mentioned this to me so it was a surprise. Yes, his birthday was the next day, I got there informing him in advance and he surprises me. I guess I am proud in that sense, at the level of our relationship. Instead of a stereo type way of me landing in Boston, giving a surprise and getting a cake ....; you know the whole birthday paraphernalia, I mean? Anyway I tried to sleep as P mentioned it was couple of hours drive (I didnt sleep a wink in the bus).
Finally we got to PA and it was the Poconos, Ceasars resorts. Awwwww! it was so romantic. We had a great weekend there. Simply great - jacuzzi and a pool in our suite, in our very own suite what else to say. P is great at such things, sometimes subtle gestures which make me really happy and blush!! (Indeed small gestures like this are treasure for a life time). He was a very romantic person when I met him when I was 17 and he is still now after almost 10 years ;). We had taken Monday off, so we drove to Boston back after spending couple of nights, listening to some hindi songs of the late 80's and early 90's (who yes all the Maine Pyar kiya times) and I flew back to Toronto Monday night. And then there was delay again due to thunderstorms, I reached 3 hours late. Did you know that the ground staff are not allowed outside during thunderstorms? Union rules apparently, not sure just in Canada and US or everywhere. So my plane was at the gate but we/passengerd had to wait, as we were safe there but couldnt get the staff come out until the storm settles, to let us in. And finally after reaching home I couldnt sleep either, cos it was one of the most horrific thunders I have heard in my life. It was like the world was coming to an end or something (or I would expect that bad rumbling of clouds when something really untoward is happening). Hence had the grumpiest of Tuesday mornings ever.
And since then work! work! work! - presentations, customer issues, production issues, technology issues and this was all amid team building session with our boss and supply chain team 2 nights in a row! ......and this weekend in Toronto more work! Sigh!
