A letter to Shakeel
Finally we decided that we will go to New York by road, I packed up few things, had a light break fast & started our journey at 10 A.M. in the morning from Miami FL . It was the same year '98 when I entered USA, NY was an unfamiliar state to me. We rented a car by $200, filled the gas tank ($ .99 / gallon) , drove almost 4000 miles to NY & returned back after one week. Many people prefer to go by air for comfort & to save time but we chose the roadway. More than hundred dollars was spent only on gas & toll ( road tax). Time to time I had to switch driving with my partner as it was 2 days drive from Miami, FL to Queens NY .
Florida is a state in the southernmost part of east coast of USA; on it’s east, the bounty of Atlantic ocean , fresh breeze makes weather very pleasant , even though the temperature goes up as high as 90 degree F; for low humidity there's no sweat. It’s amazingly clean city, newly inhabited by Spanish speaking people coming from Cuba, Pacific Islands & South America. They are warm, friendly & mind their own business. Famous Miami beach was only one hour drive from our apt. At around 11 A.M. we reached West Palm Beach , Orlando- famous for Disney world, Lake city & Jackson Valley finally crossing the Florida border.
I-95 eastbound The interstate 95 , which is the longest route for vehicles to run in USA took us from Miami to NY. It is a highway or a free way, having no street lights / traffic lights & the vehicles can run to their destination in high speed. Usually they are made out of town, away from the metropolitan city, having 3/4 lanes in the same direction.
We stopped every 2 /3 hours in different rest areas for toilet, fuel or tea. There were numerous fast food center like Taco (Mexican food) Mcdonald's, Burger King, located along the traveling rout & they are cheap easy to eat as compared to Bengali food.
There were number gas stations like Shell, Sunoco, Exxon, Gulf, Citgo- the prices are almost same all over America & no bargain But few penny makes a lot of difference where US one cent was BDi 3 taka at that time we were travelling .We passed Atlanta -Georgia, a small state , drove all night , stopping at the rest area for few hours -slept in the car, then started driving again. We could rent a cheap motel for few hours but saving time was important. Then went through South Carolina reached North Carolina in the early morning hour. We stopped for few hours to see the University of NC in the foggy spring morning. But we couldn't see the smoky mountain for scarcity of time. We were moving around the city, had Chinese for lunch( $5 /person). Saw some people gathered in a church & a funereal procession was going down the street.
Our journey started again crossing Raleigh- Virginia , reached Washington DC (District of Columbia ) at 10 o'clock at night. I saw people in the street covering all over by blankets trying to sleep in freezing cold at night. We stopped for few hours at DC rest area but couldn’t sleep for sitting posture & cold; we had to turn the car heater on time to time. We started again at 3 A. M . heading north; weather was getting cooler, as we approached north. We reached Baltimore -the harbor city , the largest sea port famous for John Hopkins University . We went through Fort Mchenry tunnel which went under the Chesapeake river (largest river which crosses the Northern part of Maryland which divides north to south on east coast of USA.
As we were crossing Delaware memorial bridge we entered New Jersey; saw the International NJ airport in Newark , paid the toll (road tax) each time on our journey. Finally at 5 in the morning reached NY after 2 night spending on the road. When I put the car radio on there was a playing familiar Indian tune .
New York is one of the oldest city, not so clean especially in the areas of Indian patties & most populous by Asian Indians, Bengali, Pakistani, Chinese. African Black lives more in Bronx - the area which was known for crime & mugging.The state is divided by 5 boroughs- Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens , Bronx, Staten Island , Long Island -in the banks of Atlantic ocean. There are 2 long bridges (Brooklyn & Manhattan ) on the river Hudson & 2 long tunnels ( Holland & Lincoln) under the river.There are 2 Intl airport - JFK & Laguardia .
Glitz , glitters n' glamour of Manhattan city .City of Manhattan after midnight dazzled by the street lights . Huge billboards with posters of celebrities, advertisements in shimmering colors, twilight zones in front of the cafe's, blinking neon lights lit on the verge of the setting sun on the banks of river Hudson. People are streaming from work, crowds gathered in front of cinema halls bursting with energy; police cars, security car from the state offices, sleek limos, yellow cabs (taxi) displaying fixed fare rate on the door , yelling at each other & looking for passengers; private cars moving in a great hurry, making crazy turns in the streets of Manhattan.
I saw washed cloths hung on a long string of rope between two buildings . Bengali, Paki , Indian immigrants in a close nit community, lives in a low cost apartments mostly drives yellow cab for their living. Some of them work in the grocery store or in the Asian restaurant, know little English but good enough for work. Illegal Asian immigrant could enter USA by crossing the Canadian border drives taxi in NY city . The money they earn is enough for making a living in America & also could send to their folks back home
We spent the night in a small apt in Queens, few blocks away from my aunt's house. Next day went to Jackson Heights -an Asian market place, full of Indian, Paki, BDi stores. Street vendors were selling street food which looked delicious & the aroma was all over, hard to resist. Next day, we went to see the twin tower- 107 storied , world’s tallest building which in Sept 11, 2001 was demolished by the air attack .There were also the Federal building , Cathedral church overlooking the Hudson river. Rockefeller center & the central park.
When the cars are lined up in the morning rush hour for going to work, stuck for hours & it was no wonder how I got those back ache due to the frequent jerks , when a NYorker drove his car in a sudden speed , then puts the brakes to a complete stop & continued to do so until the street jam was cleared.
Another experience I had while visiting NY , when our car was in a rolling speed & hit another car in front; a Chinese girl from the miniature car came out screaming on the top of her voice; I was speechless by the awkwardness of the situation, after when her car bumped the car in front also Chinese, which got a big dent on the back- then I knew the situation was now not in a good shape. But luckily no damage was done on both the car behind. I was looking for the police to show up as we were in the middle of two- way- highway & vehicles were passing in great speed. Then I saw a police car crossing quickly ignoring us. We had to settle the situation right there because both Chinese & us wanted to get out of the horrible situation. But next day when I came back to the apt , I saw a similar fresh dent on the back of our car parked outside. I was relieved to see that the issue had ended like that. 4th day - in NY we went to see the statue of liberty by crossing the Hudson river by a big boat. A large statue of a woman holding a burning torch, made of copper. It is a gift to USA by the country France in NY harbor in the Hudson river but I wonder how they shipped that to USA!
5th day - we went to Connecticut little further north to see another Bengali family. Same day, we decided that we will see the Niagara fall. We started our journey at midnight, drove all night, reached the Canadian border - to a small town called Buffalo in the early foggy morning. On the way, police caught us for over speeding, got a ticket which was paid by mail from Miami on a later date. I could see the American side of the fall which is situated in Lake Ontario. The magnificent misty view of the huge waterfall could be seen from the both side of the continent. We crossed the border to see the other side of the fall in Canada, by crossing the border. We were there for an hour , the country Canada was quite similar to USA only few currency difference; on our way back the border patrol checked our passport & let us back in to USA.
It was almost evening, back to Miami was crucial as because the rent car we drove needs to be returned by 8 am nest morning & refueled on time. We crossed Syracuse , Baltimore , reached DC where I wanted to meet my aunt in Potomac but she wasn’t home. Then we drove another one hour drive to Richmond - Virginia to one of my uncle's house
( mother side) . At 9 o’clock at night we started our journey back to Miami . When we crossed Virginia , there was heavy down pouring of rain fall. As if, an angry lion was roaring in the sky all the time . But next day in the morning when we came back to Miami safe & sound, it was full of bright sunshine.
Even though , it was a long tiring journey but a beautiful experience. After the trip to NY we made plan to go to Key west - the endpoint of Florida only 90 miles away from Cuba.
There’s a small piece of advice for those who’re just- learned driver or driving enthusiasts: Turnpike hypnosis when driving for long hours especially at night will make the driver drowsy & sleepy which is very common in I 95. Huge 18 wheeler trailer truck or bus will always come in front & blocking the view also driving in snow & rain needs special skill.
Accidents happens within a split of a second & without any warning even Bengali food for travelers is an absolute no no. Please take an experienced driver with you with legitimate driver’s license when taking a road trip to east coast or anywhere in USA .
photos from internet
This letter I wrote to my brother Shakeel in '98 almost 20 years back; as long I'm the writer from the beginning to the end, some people took the privilege to copy & made a duplicate version in their name, now trying to steal my writing style & telling me to stop writing in this manner .
