United States of America - enjoy the country when you get a chance to visit.

Well, three and half months or 104 days etc in the US is a pretty long time for me to be away from home.

When I told a few friends that I am going to the US, they advised me that I will be miserable as one is dependent on many occasions on others for transport and there are no autos to hail as in Chennai or for that matter in India. But I was fairly really independent except on occasions when I felt the need of the 'Credit Card', which of course was also resolved with timely help from a very good friend.

On the 3rd day of my landing, my nephew Hari ensured that I was 'Mobile' - yes he got me mobile telephone which was my lifeline - I could be in touch with hundreds of my relatives and friends.

Hari did a rehearsal of sorts by taking me to the railway station in Trenton - many people do not really wish to go to this station - some say it is unsafe. But having lived in Zambia, it was a piece of cake for me and fun too. So on the 5th of May 2008, I was dropped off by Hari the entrance of Trenton railway station. I just had a book and and two pieces of luggage. I waited for a whole hour and then went to board my train to Route 128 or Westwood, where my sister and brother in law came to pick me up.

The Amtrack as the train service in the US is called is mighty expensive, and does not cater to the common man, as the Indian Railways do. The journey which was meant to be 5 hours lasted almost 7 hours from Trenton to Westwood, a distance of about 222 miles. Another 18 miles and I would have reached Boston, but my sister said that this place was closer and so I got off at Westwood.

The delay was due to 'Police Activity' near Newark station for over an hour. Never in my life have I heard of such a thing in India. But we have surely heard of buffaloes and elephants on the tracks and delaying trains in India.

More about 'Amtrack' - they have excellent seats and leg room and all their trains are fully air conditioned. In fact they have all their trains air conditioned and the temperature they maintain is just right inside the cabins, neither too cold or too warm.

But the Pantry car provided on these trains are 'HORRIBLE' - they do not cater to the common man. Water is expensive and the food is only non-vegetarian and they treat non Americans like 'you are not welcome' - their hospitality in the Pantry Car was much to be desired. All I asked for was a vegetarian sandwich and the answer' no vegetarian food on board, next'. I was shocked at the lack of common courtesy normally shown by most Americans, in the Pantry Car. I just about managed to get a bottle of water and fruit and nut bar which had to be my lunch for the day.

The travel was more expensive that the normal Shatabdi Express which I travel from Chennai to Bangalore, where we are provided with a bottle of Mineral water, a newspaper of your choice if you take the early morning train, a coffee of tea and some sumptuous breakfast - all this is included in the cost of the ticket which is roughly 575/- Indian Rupees or roughly $15 (USD). Here you py a whopping $99/- for the ticket and nothing else except your travel which is slower than a passenger train in India. The distance is 387 kms with four or five stops in between Trenton and Boston. There is only one train service to this place in a day. Most of the Amtrack trains are always running far behind their scheduled time of arrival - they do not seem to care. Do they?

United States of America needs people from India to tell them how to increase their train services and also also how to attract the crowd to use these services. What with increase in fuel prices, the Americans would surely welcome this suggestion. Hats off to Indian Railways, they are doing a great job.

Amtrack also does not have sleeper coaches in all the long distance trains - you need to travel like you do in Rajdhani Express in practically all their trains. In case you need a berth or a bedroom facility be prepared to pay three to four times the cost of the ticket. We Indians should be happy with the AC 1st Class, AC 2nd Class and Ac 3rd Class coaches and the ordinary sleeper coaches without AC. They have excellent weather throughout the year in most parts of their country and they can afford to have sleeper coaches without AC at reasonable rates and there would be a boom in their business within a short time.

Infrastucture in stations is also a zero but what is to be admired in their Information System available on the phone which gives information fairly accurately.

They have attenders for the coaches who check your tickets and make a small card marking the place you need to get down. They also ensure that you are informed well in advance about the station where you need to get down, enabling you to be packed and ready. In case the train stops where there is no platform, they the attenders are carrying a strong plastic stool for you to get off the last step of the train. Mind you they are very courteous and help you with your luggage when you need to get off. They do not harass you for payment and if you offer them money they are courteous enough to say 'Thank you' and also wishing you ' Have a good day'. They do not show courtesy on the basis of the money you paid , but there is the warmth they give which makes your day.

Amtrack is also friendly to handicapped people and senior citizens. The attendants guide them into the Cabin cars and ensure they comfortable and the handicapped have seats specially allotted to them.

Amtrack also has one Cabin Car which is called a 'Quiet car' where you cannot be talking and you can remain peaceful without the noise of people talking.

No Smoking is allowed in the Amtrack but if there is going to be a signal delay in any area they announce that people who wish to smoke are requested to go towards the Engine and have a great puff and get back when the driver tells them to do so. The discipline adhered here was simply amazing to me, as I have seen characters in India who will smoke when you are told not to do so and they think that they have achieved something great in life.

The Amtrack stations and many places in the US of A has plenty of escalators, which are not found much in India.

To proceed further on my holiday - my sister took me to her place in Medway, Massachusetts and I was admiring the expanse of the country side. Since my sister brought me some Indian food , a drink plus fruits, I was able to get rid of my hunger pangs. Thanks to the mobile phone, I was able to communicate with my sister and tell her about the train delay and told her to come much later than scheduled to Westwood.

We went shopping for her house - she was repairing her bungalow to put it up for sale before she moved to California for good. So visits to Home Depot was absolutely interesting - yes you get all your household needs in one single shop - everything is standardized and therefore you are not having irregular sizes of material. Most important thing, if a product does not suit your house, you are welcome to return the same provided you have your bill. No questions asked.

The next day my sis took me to K Mart and we just could not believe that we could get excellent jeans for just $2 to $10 and both of us picked a few. These jeans saw me through, throughout my trip in the US. One thing I learned in my very first trip to the US. Do not carry more than a few sets of dresses. Saris is not essential unless you a regular sari wearer and do not have intentions of wearing salwar suits or jeans. If you can wear jeans then your days are easy and you can wear them for a minimum for 4 days without washing - they hardly get dirty over there. * MORE ABOUT THIS LATER.