On the journey

December 31, 2003 was a very exciting day for me as I was flying to Illinois, USA for my graduate degree. Like “Gambhir Man” in our SLC text book, I too had some mixed feelings; leaving parents and beloved ones but at the same time venturing a new life ahead. That day was really busy for me, although my flight was late at night I was already dressed up from the morning and interacting with visiting relatives and friends. Finally, it was time to go.

I knew Kundan (known him from my undergraduate days at KU) and Lalit (had contacted me before) were heading to same school, so I wont be short of company. After, bidding farewell to my parents, promising I will be back soon (haven’t been to Nepal since then), I went to check in my luggage and find Kundan and Lalit. To my surprise, there were total of 31 Nepalese, including me, in that same flight to DC (our port of entry). I found out later that those people were from diverse professional backgrounds; majorities were students, some were DV winners, few were businessman, and some were traveling to see their pregnant daughter or daughter in law etc. The trip was already shaping up to be very adventurous.

I took my seat in the plane and started watching ‘Johnny English’. Even after I finished the movie, the plane still hadn’t move. I was told that there were some technical issues so we will be flying only next afternoon. So we all were taken back to the boarding area. The Airline accommodated us in Soaltee Hotel, but typical of Nepalese attitude, foreigners were given more respect and priority when transferring to the hotel. When I finally was moved to the hotel and given room it was already 6 am and our flight was at 2 pm, so best I could get was a power nap. I quickly forgot the discrimination of the airlines between foreigners and Nepalese as I was very excited in spending a night in a 5 star hotel (for first time in my life).

Next morning after having breakfast we were taken to the airport, again same attitude: tourist first. Flight to Vienna was pleasant; I think wine has a lot to do with that. As expected, we had already missed our connecting flight to DC so we will have to spend a night in Vienna. But, we did not have visa to go beyond the transit area, and it was too late to obtain a visa for a night. The airline officials promised to take care of this and we were allowed sit in one corner of the airport. This was the time when I interacted with most of them. After couple of hours, when most of us were already asleep on floor, we were told that we will be taken to the hotel. But, they will write all our information from our passport before we move out of the airport and in the morning they will verify if anyone escaped.

The hotel was better than Soaltee but we had only 6 hours of time before we had to be back in the airport. Restaurants in the Hotel were closed, so we all had to be contained with the dry food we brought in our hand carry. In the morning after having breakfast we went back to the airport, we all were in standby but fortunately we all got a seat. Everything from there went smooth, except the hustle at port of entry.

I forgot many incidents from that flight, I am quite sure there were plenty more. I guess other people will have other stories from that flight. Besides Lalit and Kundan, I recently met Bardan (Nepalese Cricketer) and used to be in contact with Ruby and Mani, I hope others are also fine and doing well.

After missing out the tour of New Orleans during the Def Leppard concert, I got another opportunity. My friend Samar from LA Tech University came to visit me with his six other friends. They were on their way to New Orleans from Ruston (North part of Louisiana), and Lafayette happened to be on their way. It was a lousy Saturday morning and I had nothing else to do, so I happily joined his group for the trip.

Before I moved to Louisiana, I synonymously used New Orleans for Mardi Gras. After hurricane Katrina New Orleans got the global recognition. Like the saying “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas”, I thought ‘to know New Orleans you have to be in New Orleans’. I had witnessed Mardi Gras in St. Louis and someone told me that it’s the second biggest Mardi Gras event after New Orleans. But here I was told that all the major cities in this state has much biggers Mardi Gras celebration compared to any other cities outside. Well I will have to wait till Mardi Gras to find that out. Schools and offices are closed, for couple of days to a week, during that period to avoid the traffic. No wonder tourism is the main source of income for Louisiana.

When driving to New Orleans I had pictured it to be very crowded during the Mardi Gras time but very slow during the rest of the year, similar to Ocean City during the summer. But, when I got to the Bourbourn Street (one of the popular tourist hangout) it was jam packed (this is how it is through out the year). Carrying booze in streets is legal in New Orleans (I guess its legal in LA too) so you could see drunken people hovering around with their drinks. I could also smell the marijuana in the air. There are different bars with different bands playing: Jazz, Rock, Cajun, Hip Hop etc. There are also strip bars, gay bar etc along side other regular businesses. And, I had never seen cops riding on horses before in US (had seen traffic police riding horses in Ratna Park, Nepal).

To sum it up, it was entirely a different experience for me. Most of my friends wanted to come visit me during the Mardi Gras event, but I would like to suggest them it’s quite impossible to get there just for that day (because of the traffic and booked hotels). So, if you guys want to come to New Orleans for Mardi Gras but don’t have flexible schedules to plan your trip for that particular date, come any time to New Orleans, you wont see the Mardi Gras at the peak, but you wont be disappointed either.