Our First Day of Landing in USA

We were too excited to head for USA. All my sisters families were at our Jangpura house to see us off. 

Tejpal my enthusiastic brother-in-law was in fore front to drop us at the Palam Airport ( Although the changed IGI in 1986 but still popular as Palam) on 18th March 1988 night. He engaged a Matadoor a van to carry us and our huge luggage of 6 big bags, 3 carry ons and hand packages which also included food to go. 

On the way to Airport, we incidentally met our A-18 neighbors fully loaded in their Ambassador car. We waved at each other as we passed their car. In fact we were shocked that they were leaving for USA permanently for settling as immigrant. None in our neighborhood knew about it.

Mammi ji received us on the morning of March 20, 1988. Her Joy knew no bounds and uttered buoyantly that now her whole family was together at one place.

While family lined up to receive us warmly.

While Traveling to USA en-route Tokyo

So we reached Narita International Airport,Tokyo on March 19 1988. 

The Japan Airlines arranged for picking up and arranging an overnight stay in a 5 Star Narita View Hotel near the Airport and about 60 miles from Tokyo City. This was a luxury we experienced first time. 

Narita View Hotel

Dinner was Airlines in the same hotel. None of us liked it. But we had a comfortable night sleep.

All three of us got up early in the morning and took a warm shower another first for us. After getting ready, we were the first to enter the Hotel Lounge for breakfast as there was not to take benefit of. Breakfast was good consisting of fruits, juices, flakes, nuts, bread, butter and pan cakes along with hot milk, coffee and tea.

Now we had still 12 hours for next flight to depart. We decided to have a walk around the track around the hotel. While walking we decided to go out to nearby city. The information center told us there wAs a beautiful town called Narita And is famous for a Buddhist temple. 

This town was at a distance of 30 minutes. We also found out that there was a beautiful rail connection. We walked to the station but it was difficult to get ticket. There were all machines and instructions written in Japanese. So we searched for some body who could converse with us in English. So finally we had decided to walk back to the Hotel, a gentleman who knew English a bit helped us to get tickets. He guided us towards a train and pressed us again to delight at the very first stop.

Coming from India, we found everything super stylish, neat and clean. The train doors will open and close on its own. With in 10-15 minutes, the train halted and we victoriously jumped out of it as if we had conquered a Moount Everest.

We asked some body for route to Narita-san Temple. It was a 15 minutes walk through a beautiful decorated shops and restaurants flooded with flowers and trees. At this one restaurant I saw a butcher cutting a big long snake into small 8-10 inches pieces and cleaning the garbage inside snake meat. He will then putting same pieces on the grill. I was told that this was a delicacy in that part of the world.

Grilled snake

Finally we reached the temple and found well dressed Japanese young women doing some sort of Tea Ceremony. 

As we returned, we felt hungry and bought a bag of peanuts, to us it looked as if they were more costlier than almonds in Delhi.

Narita-san Shinshoji Temple 

So we reached well ahead of checking time for the next departing flight to San Francisco. We were thrilled to have taken a journey on our own in a foreign land. As we reached at the hotel, we were joined by another co-passenger couple who was shocked to know that we had ventured ahead alone, as he was an old immigrant and never dared to do so in Japan where there was such a big communication problem.

What a Super Journey!