Even when we were planning our Dec 2021 trip to USA, we felt that chill burrow through our bones and send tremors of anticipatory trepidation. Not that we were strangers to USA in winter. We have successfully negotiated the numbing cold of Chicago in Dec/January, accentuated by the freezing lake nearby, multiple times but that seemed eons back. Now we are that much older, with that much less tolerance of change from the balmy Bangalore weather, we were just anxious. Nevertheless, we had to go because we hadn't seen our boys and their families in two years. When we actually reached, we found ourselves in an apartment right on the bank of the Hudson river, which meant that we were fodder for all the concomitant forces of the elements. At first sight we were very excited about the prospect of looking into the vast expanse of the river all through the day (no doubt it was extremely serene and soothing), but later on when the weather asserted itself and got nasty, we realised that there was a pretty significant price to pay. The increased impact of the cold whenever we stepped out. The temperature tended to be some 3 to 4 degrees C colder than a bit more inland in Manhattan. With wind-chill we were usually walking around in -6 to -18 deg C temperature and that was not very enjoyable. We would have preferred to trundle along the length and breadth of the place in trousers/shorts and tees during summer, just as we wont to. Consequently this also meant we ventured out less, walked less and were disappointed that we could not indulge in our favourite Manhattan pastime, just walking!
If the cold weather was a problem, even worse was what we had to do to counter that - wearing multiple layers of warm clothing, even for the exposure of a very short walk around the corner to the supermarket. The process was akin to dressing up with all those props for a part in a historical drama like Ramayana or Mahabharatha. That ritual paraphernalia began with the addition of another layer under the trousers as the cold increased. A pair of woollen socks became mandatory and that meant struggling with our shoes because of the thickness of the socks. A sweater was an add-on below the jacket we were using and one felt like one had bulged in all directions for no reason at all. The long overcoat which was my permanent companion in New York during winter, seemed to weigh a ton all of a sudden and increased the discomfiture. Pulling on a pair of good gloves was essential to avoid having to pick up the fingers from the floor if they fall off at the end of the trip due to frosty cold. Yes, what one would have used to pick up those fingers from the ground is a pertinent question. Then a monkey cap to prevent the icy wind from drilling its way through the ears. A pair of heavier than normal shoes to prevent the toes from curling up even as we walk and a shawl/muffler around the neck to cover the last exposed part of the body, all became necessary weapons to fight the weather. As if all the above were not suffocating enough, our kindly friend Covid accentuated the oppressed feeling with the mask (our sons mandated N 90, nothing less). For someone walking in Bangalore with the barest necessary clothing, all these were layers of extraordinary distress obviously.
That cumbersome ritualistic dressing up made us wise enough to curtail trips out of the apartment and robustly question the need for getting out of the cocoon of its heated environs. There was a fair amount of discussion before stepping out and we got into the wholesome habit of choosing `required' outings over `wanted' ones. Still, we walked daily along the promenade by the river or in the river-side park. Cold itself was not the issue (not after the protection offered by all that stuff) but the weighty responsibility of carrying all those pieces of clothing made us groan. Our usual gentle pace was even further reduced by the strenuous effort and we found it difficult to keep pace with our two-year-old grandson, who was invariably our companion on such walks. That guy never walks, only runs and his velocity effortlessly outstripped ours and we ended up huffing and puffing to catch up. And he would never let up and goaded us to go along without a pause. Interesting that he only had a jacket and a cap for protection and seemed none the worse for that despite his tender age. Children have warmer blood, we have heard, but this one seems to be blessed with hotter blood for the winter!! Having said that, we enjoyed our two hours' outing each morning with him and were willing to wear additional layers of warm clothing to do that, if warranted. That's what grandchildren do to you, I suppose.
The daily essential trips were the above morning saunter with our grandson and the evening walk to my son's apartment, less than a km away for more family time. One night at about 8 pm when we said good bye to our son and left his apartment, there was a very slight drizzle. Unmindful of that we began ambling against the slanting rain and wind towards the river, to our apartment. Lo and behold, in a jiffy, the capricious weather metamorphosed so much; the slight drizzle gathered pace with a howling wind, which almost sounded like a gale to us unprepared Bangaloreans. We were struggling to hold our feet to the ground, as the wind made progress painfully slow. We had to hold on to some rods on the roadside to make even that snail paced headway. Our struggling movement against the wind was reminiscent of some disaster movies in which you see people heaving and panting as they fight the elements! At one point, our feet were lifted off the ground by the gusting wind; but for the fact that we were attached to the scaffolding of a building, we would have probably been deposited at some unintended destination, negating the precious little progress we had made in 10 minutes! We can assure you, dire situations like these kind tend to dim your wit and responses. When we reached our apartment eventually (that wind did not last very long, mercifully), we wondered why we did not use our sagacity to get into one of the buildings on the way, hiding from the raging wind. There were at least 20 tall buildings which could have offered refuge. That was a terrifying experience but we can now look back and say we have gone through that also! Ironically we found out from our son subsequently that there was a gale warning out for that time!! Being non-New Yorkers we did not check that before stepping out.
It snowed 3-4 times during our stay and usually one foot of snow accumulated on the ground and quite a bit on top of cars parked on the roadsides. Our grandson looked out from our apartment window and yelled `fonny' (his way of saying `funny') as he watched a parade of many vehicles with solidified snow on top, as if they were wearing a white canopy for the season. Outside our apartment, between the road and the river, there was a sizeable slope, going down about 150 yards or so. Every time it snowed, that slope was nicely laid out with snow and the whole area transformed into a skiing slope for adults and children. Teeming crowds gathered there, equipped with whatever they can find at home, from large, flat plates to coracle like contraptions and everything in between. They tirelessly screamed down the slopes on their backs or haunches and made the required tremendous effort to traverse the ascent back to the top, for the next trip down. It was hilarious to see some novices, with no knowledge of what to do or how to, starting with the intent of going perpendicularly downwards, but in their state of perfect imbalance switching to horizontal travel some way down. They struggled to control themselves and upset many other neighbouring skiers, who got scattered all around trying to avoid the errant skiers. It was fantastic and energising to watch youngsters ski all day long without a hint of fatigue.
While booking tickets to New York, we discovered that all those pronouncements about bubble flights and difficulty with connecting flights were just hogwash. For instance, middle eastern carriers were unabashedly carrying passengers from India beyond their shores through connecting flights. Even though flights between Qatar/UAE were under the bubble arrangement. At the same time, British Airways very scrupulously told us we cannot connect to a BA flight from London to New York. Then came the surprise that if you book with American Airlines (a partner of BA) a Bangalore-London-New York flight with a BA connection in London, it is a breeze, you are okay. One BA agent told me we will not be able to fly BA from London, come what may, because the airline's aircraft cannot carry Indian passport holders beyond London. But, if it is an American Airlines ticketed and BA operated code-share flight, all is well. I guess that small part of the aircraft is American's and not BA's!! Do you see any logic in this?? These rules just confuse you even more.
Another issue to compound the confusion is the Covid test requirement for the flights and countries you go to. Airlines have ensured that there is no clarity about the tests required for the transit points. Nobody would tell us for sure if we needed some test taken at a specific time for transiting through London. We diligently filled out some forms that seemed required for London transit and were prepared to be grilled about our vaccination status and test results to anyone who would want to be informed of such frightfully critical details, in London. But not a soul was concerned about what we were or what our Covid status was! There seemed to be perfect indifference about you, just as in normal times. Looked like they did not care so long as you stayed Airside and did not shove your nose into the rest of England beyond the airport. One line somewhere in the policy/rule book would have clarified this to harassed travellers but they did not think it was necessary.
Similar was the uncertainty on the return trip through Paris. We were disheartened by the fact that there is no uniform rule regarding when you had to take the test for travel. For India it was `not earlier than 72 hours' and for Paris `it was not earlier than 48 hours'. Logically, the latter test would have covered the former also, but then there were timing issues which could have screwed up our plan if the results do not appear in time for our travel. So, we were wondering if we had to do one test for India and another for Paris, because India test was far more critical and there was absolute lack of clarity about test for Paris as a transit point. I was ready to do two tests, like that genius of an individual who made two holes in his door for his cats to move about - one large hole for the bigger cat and another smaller one for the small ones. Fortuitously, at the last moment we chanced upon a Air France web site which clearly stated that no test is required for transit passengers, same as London. That released me from the horns of dilemma where I stayed on tenterhooks for a couple of days before departure.
Why can't all countries agree on tests 72 hours before travel and no tests for transit points as uniform rules and pronounce them prominently to help the hassled passengers? Too much to ask?
All said and done, we were okay with the wintry trip to New York, but will probably take any suggestion of a future winter trip under advisement, only to decline vigorously.
