[vnabhi]

All right guys, this ain't a travelogue of a long journey on a car, but one that involves change of my work place from Durgam Cheruvu, Hyderabad to downtown, Washington D.C. I'll be posting many pics in bits and pieces, so please bear with me.

Prospects of a foreign trip started in the 1st week of December, 2009, when I was already in the midst of an implementation project. It was that very project that was to go-live just before Xmas, owing to which I had to drop out of the AP2AP trip. So instead of one helluva trip to the Himalayas, there came another to the banks of the Potomac river: I was deputed to a client for 3 months starting Jan 2nd!

Since I'd never been to very cold places (being used to warm places like Hyderabad, Vizag and Cuttack all through my life), I was a wee bit apprehensive. But thanks to team-bhp, I got many inputs on winter wear and footwear.

So the journey began on Jan 2nd in a British Airways flight from Hyd to London, and another from Heathrow to Dulles International Airport after a gap of 5 hours. The flight was very comfortable and the food was very good.

When I got off at Heathrow, I noticed the sea change that had taken place there since I last visited in 2003. The terminals were really spruced up and as good as Shamsabad, if not better and bigger.

Here is what I saw on Terminal 5:
The Audi and Lamborghini held me enthalled for more than an hour---absolute time pass in the airport for that interval.

[NFS2024]

Go ahead - waiting for more

[pulsar56]

LOL.
Venu Sir, DC to DC Title had me in splits!
I am now wondering what Avi will say after seeing DC mentioned in a travelogue!
Awaiting the rest of the pics eagerly.

[MileCruncher]

Venu saab, I was quite intrigued by the DC to DC title. Knew the second one but was clueless about the former. Thoughts that crossed my mind mainly hovered around the Deccan Chronicle mark but never could think of Durgam Cheruvu.

Anyways thats a good start.

Please keep the pics flowing.

OT: Did you fly any new gen aircraft on the way?

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by pulsar56

LOL.
Venu Sir, DC to DC Title had me in splits!
I am now wondering what Avi will say after seeing DC mentioned in a travelogue!
Awaiting the rest of the pics eagerly.

You bet! I know he is going to be like this--

Originally Posted by MileCruncher

Venu saab, I was quite intrigued by the DC to DC title. Knew the second one but was clueless about the former. Thoughts that crossed my mind mainly hovered around the Deccan Chronicle mark but never could think of Durgam Cheruvu.

Anyways thats a good start.

Please keep the pics flowing.

OT: Did you fly any new gen aircraft on the way?

MC, no it was just old gen aircraft, unless the Boeing 777 falls into the new gen category.

[vnabhi]

The flight from Heathrow to Dulles airport, Washington was delayed by 90 minutes owing to very strict security checks at Heathrow to all planes going to the US. The terminal was almost full with passengers going in 4 flights to the US, and all of them had to go through a harrowing search.

When it came to my turn, I was asked to remove the laptop from the bag and also open the hood. My hand baggage was meticulously checked, as was my coat. The guy took out something from my coat pocket that looked like a folded knife, but when he flicked it open, he realized it was just a pocket comb . He also gave a curious look at my metallic tongue scraper and then cleared me off.

The flight reached Dulles airport 30 minutes late at 845 pm, despite taking off 90 minutes late at Heathrow, owing to favourable winds. My jaw dropped when the pilot announced that he was landing amid winds of 40 mph and a temperature of 25 degrees Farenheit. Despite the turbulence--felt one of the wings would clip the runway-- we had a safe landing.

The African guy at the immigration was amused to see the Black Label I was carrying with me (I'd bought it in the flight for 19 GBP), and remarked with a smile-''hey man, I wanna have some of that". I said, 'it's all yours buddy', and he politeley declined. He asked me a few questions and stamped my passport saying ' Welcome to the United States'. I said thanks and went to locate my 2 huge suitcases.

My pal arrived after an anxious wait of 15 minutes, during which I could not reach him. I suggested we walk to the parking lot, and he said 'are you mad? It is chilling cold outside, so wait here and keep watching at that exit door till you spot my Honda Odyssey'.

Only when I stepped out a little later did I understand what he meant. The 25 seconds dart to his car itself chilled me to the bone, especially with the cyclonic wind. He took the trouble of loading my luggage as he was properly attired.

On the 15 minute drive to his home, I found ice on the roadside, and trees bereft of leaves,with snow on some of them.

The next morning, when I woke up, I saw a sight like this from the window:-

[prasadee]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

The African guy at the immigration was amused to see the Black Label I was carrying with me
Attachment 277210

Hi vnabhi,
Thanks for sharing your excitement, and those pics. Sorry for taking the liberty to say this, If I were you - I would ignore the skin color and call him immigration officer. I do not bring up race/skin color in any conversation. Its a sticky subject, he is obviously not African.
Enjoy your stay!

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by prasadee

Hi vnabhi,
Thanks for sharing your excitement, and those pics. Sorry for taking the liberty to say this, If I were you - I would ignore the skin color and call him immigration officer. I do not bring up race/skin color in any conversation. Its a sticky subject, he is obviously not African.
Enjoy your stay!

Thanks for the pointer----I desisted from using words like 'Black' or 'Negro' .

Anyways, he was a cheerful guy and deserved a mention.

We are having a fresh bout of snow as I type this, and I had a great time with the snowflakes outside.

I'd missed seeing snowfall all through my life (even in Manali in Jan a few years ago), and I must confess that it is a heck of an experience to see black roads getting transformed to white within minutes. Making snowballs like Dennis the Menace is another great experience. I'll post more pics over the weekend.

[Ravveendrra]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

........ I'll post more pics over the weekend.

Including, I hope, the one where you discussed TBHP and cars with the great man himself!

Looking forward to a great account of your experiences (travails & all), in the D of C.

Cheers,

P.S. Nazim, Arun & I are going to claim royalty for your title being 'inspired' by our title "AP to AP" once you are back. Royalty being strictly payable in kind while you regale us with things you cannot post

[phamilyman]

Post more pics and get on with the story asap dude!!

[maddy42]

Well i Hate snow. Its the first time in life am seeing it here in NC and its painful unless properly attired. We are 8 friends now in an apt with close to 40 beers which we bought as every store in town is shut!

Anyways nice experience. Enjoy your stay in the states as its fun

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by Ravveendrra

Including, I hope, the one where you discussed TBHP and cars with the great man himself!

Looking forward to a great account of your experiences (travails & all), in the D of C.

Cheers,

P.S. Nazim, Arun & I are going to claim royalty for your title being 'inspired' by our title "AP to AP" once you are back. Royalty being strictly payable in kind while you regale us with things you cannot post

Will do, Ravvs. As regards the royalty, I do admit that I was inspired by your travelogue's title, and since I could not partake in that epic journey, I had to contend with something else, but the inspiration carried over to 'plagiarism'

Originally Posted by phamilyman

Post more pics and get on with the story asap dude!!

Sure buddy, hold on till evening (my evening)

Originally Posted by maddy42

Well i Hate snow. Its the first time in life am seeing it here in NC and its painful unless properly attired. We are 8 friends now in an apt with close to 40 beers which we bought as every store in town is shut!

Anyways nice experience. Enjoy your stay in the states as its fun

Wow, great idea to stack things and hibernate till things clear up, eh?
As regards the snowfall, it has ended early this morning (9 am Sunday now) and the scene is really good.I'll post pics soon after I get back to my apartment in DC in the evening---I am staying with a pal at Chantilly now.

[vnabhi]

Folks,

Sorry for the long interlude--was a tad busy with other things. Now that I am stuck at home for the past 24 hours (DC area got the biggest snow storm/ blizzard in the past century and it is still going on), I got time to re-visit this thread.

Here are some pics of the snow we'd got on Jan 30th---that snow was light and dry, known in these parts as "Utah snow".

Here is the pic of the same Odyssey after the snowfall:



Life ain't all tha fun, when you gotta clear your entrance and sidewalk in front of your house:



But kids sure know how to have fun with snowballs:



Deep snow beside the house:



A car moved and we can see the original blacktop road:



Team effort by neighbourhood leaves a clean sidewalk:



More to come:

• Pics of New York
• Pics of Smithsonian Air & Space Museum
• Other pics, including one with the big man

Hold on guys, will be back soon.

[vnabhi]

I shifted to another apartment that is only 2 blocks away from the White House.

On one of the weekends, I ventured out to the Washington Mall area on the Metro train. I got down at Smithsonian station that was only 3 stops away. As soon as I went up the escalator, I entered the area between the Capitol building and the Washington Memorkal that is commonly known as the Washington Mall.

Here are some pics of that area, including the famous Smithsonian museums on both sides of the Mall

The Washington Monument (dedicated to George Washington, 1st Prez of USA)









The Capitol building far away (equivalent to our Parliament)





The 'M' board indicates the presence of a Metro train station underground



This castle is the Smithsonian Info Centre, close to the metro station. Other pics above are various Smithsonian Museums.

:

[vnabhi]

After wandering leisurely around the "National Mall' area, I sauntered into the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum around 1 pm, and was glued to that place till all of us were shunted out by 530 pm. Entry is free, but the IMAX show named 'Air Force Pilot' cost me around 9 USD.

Believe me, if you are a plane-lover as much as a car-lover, you will feel like going there again and again. I did want to go on Feb 6th and 7th, but the whole darn gamut of Smithsonian institutions were closed down due to the snow storm. Darn, why do they way on their website 'we are open on all days of the year except Crhistmas' ??

Here are some pics:

The various objects in the Entrance Hall range from old planes to moon rocks to modern experimental (X) jets:-