So come fly away with me....

So come fly away with me

A new world we shall see

One where life is about living

And feeling absolutely free

So let me pick up where we left off last time around.. Mom and Dad decided to visit me from India. Well, this is not their first time to US.. So there were not very many anxieties..but only the ones that you may typically associate with baby boomers from another culture who are visiting US. What kind of anxieties you may wonder? For starters, there is always the American accent issue which some Asians (my parents included) find it difficult to grasp easily. Second, and probably more important, is the food scene. My mom is vegetarian but dad likes meat. So any trip anywhere needs planning for sure.. but vegetarians have their extra mile to walk…

(L To R) Ashish, Pranay, and Ruturaj

The 3 musketeers for you

In March, I got a phone call where Mom pleasantly surprised me that she is coming to see her only son.. She had enough of the Skype experience. Hey, families are important.. Just check what Mr. Bean has to say on this…

A few seconds later, I call my childhood buddy Ashish..(yea, I know him since we both were 5 years old) He is the second son my parents never had!! Full disclosure, there is a third guy Ruturaj who is the third son they wish they had.. and it is Ruturaj’s birthday tomorrow. So a shout out to him just in case he ends up reading this .. many happy returns mate..

........................................All of us know each other since first grade..

 

Back to Ashish… He works in Boston..and not exactly a Red Sox fan. How do I describe him? Ever heard of Launchpad McQuack? Yes, the incredible pilot from Disney’s DuckTales. Yup, the one who is brave and amazingly good hearted. That one. Well, besides the personal qualities, there is also the imposing physical similarity.. Ashish is 6 ft 3in or so…. now for Americans that may be usual ??, but not so much for Indians..average Indian is about 5 ft 5 in I guess.. No wonder so many feel he looks like a Russian model..Ha Ha..

As soon as Ashish hears me say “Mom and Dad are coming”, he is like a duck takes to water… “Lets get them here to Boston”, he says.. He knows they have visited US before and seen almost all the major cities, but never been to Boston…

So I found the idea interesting. Boston is a nice place.. New England feel to the core.. Irish street names, Red Sox nation, and of course, a very educated and young crowd thanks to the hundreds of universities.. So, I say – “Ashish, we are on.. ” Full Disclosure: I had been to Boston before, but never explored it….just visited Ashish..

So what follows below is a mixture of me recollecting specific chats I had with Ashish who did the heavy lifting all the way of course...but he just wanted to make sure we were dotting the Is and crossing the Ts as far as my parents were concerned..Consider it to be the family equivalent of “targeting the segment of one”..tailoring the entire experience for an individual.. Jet..set ..go

Sometime in May.. I get a follow up call from my amigo in Boston..

Ashish: Ok buddy, is the plan confirmed? Your folks visiting US for sure? Tickets and all booked from India..

Me: Yup, we are good

Ashish: So, Boston trip is on then in August? Just the 3 of you and me? 

Me: For now, yes

Ashish: How many days do you plan to be in Boston?

Me: I don’t know right now. But I have a week off between my summer internship in San Francisco and first UT class.. So that is when we will come..

Ashish: Fair enough. I will plan for 3 days ..and then let’s circle back sometime 

Me: Agreed

Ashish: By the way, if you are free for a week, why not go to New York City as well ?? Uncle and Aunty will like it ..plus the contrast makes it an exciting experience no? We can take the bus from Boston to New York.. So you need to come to Boston and leave out of New York..

Me: Hmm.. That sounds intriguing..I know Dad loves a big city feel.. So he will like it for sure.. Now that you brought it up, I am game.. but it all depends on my holiday schedule and ticket prices….

Ashish: Geez, ticket prices… come on bro.. you can figure out something.. don’t worry about the ticket prices for now.. just make up your mind on whether its worth it or not.. everything else will fall in place.. and ya, I am going to figure out the local details.. You just book the flight tickets….

(5 minutes later, the phone rings..again)

Ashish: Well, you do know you need to tell me when your flight tickets to Boston are confirmed..so that I know when to come to receive you at Logan airport...

Me: Ha Ha.. Yes, indeed

So, here is what I think this conversation was about.. As a planner, Ashish wanted a clear picture..actually, it is not necessarily his style.. but I think he just wanted to make sure Uncle and Aunty have a perfectly jolly time.. now that is his style… I really appreciated his idea of mixing up NYC and Boston..I call him back in June to tell him that tickets to Boston are confirmed.. He seemed very gung-ho about it..

So the trip happened.. I will not bore you with details.. But I am sharing a few snaps... Here are some of the key highlights of his planning ..(based on his interview response..)

 

The very first thing Ashish did to start planning …

                                    Asked his office colleagues (mostly those who were born and raised in Boston) to describe Boston….I asked him why.. he said he wanted to get a feel for identity and pride that locals associate with their culture.. just like he and I do with Mumbai…I could not help but chuckle.. only a Mumbaikar..(that’s what we call people of Mumbai) knows what is so so special about Mumbai anyway..

Deciding who would come/handling invitation….

                                    So he had asked me to keep it a surprise… “Let’s surprise Uncle and Aunty after they land in Austin”..And he was the one who called right away once they arrived at Austin Bergstrom… extending the invite to Boston and New York..

Deciding on the exact location…

                                    Well, Ashish came up with the idea for Boston.. That was a sweet gesture.. But what made it an exciting trip was his planning...All of us had been to New York before, so he decided we will spend time to explore New York from a Food perspective.. He is a foodie.. Loves trying different food styles and flavors.. He knew that Mom and I did so too.. (last blog, I said Mom loves cooking.. well, so my friends know too.. not because I told them.. but she cooks good stuff whenever they show up)

Logistics/Transportation…

                                    Once I booked airline tickets, he took care of the bus tickets from Boston to New York.. and the local spots in Boston.. “Duck Tours”..He called it a "Bostonian way" of seeing things..sometimes on land.. sometimes on water.. He insisted on staying at his apartment in Boston.. “no hotels” were his strict instructions.. but he booked Courtyard Marriott in Manhattan..I asked him why that hotel – he said his plan was to save as much time as possible while traveling… that would give us time to explore New York more and visit more eating joints :)

Actual places…Boston 3 days

                                    Ashish created a short template to identify what places my parents would like to see in Boston.. but he wanted to make sure they saw Boston like a local Irishman..Unfortunately, he had some urgent work in office, so he could not show Boston spots himself.. I did the needful, but his planning made it easy for me. He laid out the routes.. He laid the order in which he wanted us to see them..And finally, each evening he took us to dinner for a different cuisine.. 

Sorry clam chowdah.... 3 vegetarians trumped the lone non-vegetarian into giving it a miss..

He knew Dad likes tea.. so he got up early morning to make a special Tea…You are the best my amigo !!

Well, what about the little animals – birds, chickens, goats, pigs, and rabbits? Knowing that people usually don’t get to play with such animals in India, he insisted we visit Harvard on that specific day at that specific time to see and play with little animals.. Mom and Dad loved it!!

Actual places…New York 3 days

                                    Well, New York was interesting.. Ashish wanted to contrast it in every way possible..The Real Ashish.. No Planning..Explore New York randomly.. mainly food places..The contrast was not just in the Cities.. but also in the way we travelled.. Google Maps, asking around, Reading up Yelp only to Disregard it totally..and Go based on reviews from other customers outside.. and just casual talks on the streets..

And then Ashish sat down to get his own portrait made!!

But he did plan one thing – at least that’s what he says to me – making sure Uncle and Aunty watch a Hollywood flick at Times Square.. He felt it was just a great experience.. the whole Theater District.. the clowns roaming around in costumers.. and us watching a movie at 10 pm and coming out at 1 pm only to see streets still filled up with late night party goers…

My takes…

I thought Ashish walked the extra mile to make my parents feel absolutely comfortable throughout the trip.. At no point did they face the anxieties that I described at the beginning…It is not usually in him to plan and figure out things.. but I am sure he did that to play the role of a perfect host..

Knowing Uncle and Aunty well, he felt they would not like sleeping on those big bad beds (ones with spring boxes).. So he actually got multiple sleeping bags and created a soft landing on the floor.. Dad really liked it. It gives the flatness of the floor and yet it is very comfortable, Dad remarked.. Very thoughtful of Ashish…

Ashish knew Aug 27 was my Mom’s birthday, but we were leaving for Austin on 26^th. So he stepped out secretly and got wonderful cupcakes from Crumbs Bake Shop.. I had Zero Clue he was going to do that.. !!! But Mom loved it so much.. she was already figuring out the recipes..

What I really appreciate is how he mixed and matched the feedback his colleagues gave him on Boston sightseeing with “an Indian feel”… tailoring it to suit Indians who just flew in from half way across the globe.. he wanted to show Boston in a good way without creating any sort of “culture shock” ..you know one where kids go out strutting half naked..So he made sure to advise me on what streets to take and what to avoid..

Here is a quick milestone route that he described in his own words

-- Find out the main details like who is coming, for how long, and when

-- Identify what is something that they will like to explore and experience, something they will not see elsewhere

-- Get the logistics out of the way (smart move, I said to him)

-- Do a bit of mix and match based on people’s tastes

--Make sure everyone is comfortable

--Have fun (that’s him alright)

I will not pay a homage here to the trip.. but I will say this.. You know you are having a good time when you are with family.. when you can laugh out loud.. when you can say things without being judged.. and you can just enjoy forgetting world’s troubles.. That is a holiday..and that is what Ashish made sure happened.. 

Thanks a lot Ashish...