January 08, 2009

January 08, 2009

In MSP Lindberg Terminal, browsing through the Boingo webpage -  it is the paid wireless internet service available in MSP airport with $7.95/day or $4.95/hour or $9.95/month unlimited access … lol … amrikan haru le janeko cha hai … there is no way I gonna pay that amount to use internet ni hoina, so I am using the power to charge my laptop and mobile since I will be needing them till dawn today.

And good thing, I can access the MSP airport website to check train schedule and stuffs ..aba aru ke chahiyo ra malai hoina …

I waited till 9AM to get the ticket from LRT from Lindberg terminal so that I could save $0.50 …. that was fun though … I spend 15 bucks unnecessarily by checking in my luggage, which I could have hand carried and here I saved half a dollar - what a deal hai, maybe that’s  the reason I never wanted to inherit my father’s business. Whatever, once you know the public transportation well, it is very easy to travel around and this trip has been a learning experience for me in the same.

Now I am at Grey Hound Bus Station 2 hours early for departure. It is warm and cozy inside the station, not bad to spend the couple of hour I got in spare.  The public internet access is available in the city of Minneapolis, and here is the rate:

…no way I gonna pay that amount to use net ni, hoina ra?

January 03, 2009 NJ Transit, Edison, NJ

January 03, 2009

NJ Transit, Edison, NJ

Traveling through train has become easy deal now, especially after I came to know that I can use my Wellsfargo Debit card just as any Credit card. It just require couple of minutes to search through the net regarding the route and time of the train and know where you have to get off (google map rocks), rest goes easy, unless you forget your station.

Suresh being generous enough dropped me off till the station though it was like 5 minutes walking distance. The one way rate to New York Penn Station from Edison is 9.75 bucks (ain’t that cheap though), and takes an hour to reach there. Two of the Korean/Chinese/Japanese looking girls suffered a bit to get the tickets from the vending machine since they were paying cash and all of us behind the line were getting anxious. It was normal that these vending machines go out of order every now and then here (amrika ma ni hune raicha)

It is my first time riding a double story train, and it is cool. The train is full, might be because it is Saturday and lots of them going to New York to enjoy the holiday. What I like about these trains are they are about precise on timing and frequently announces on the upcoming stations and safety notice (… when leaving the train, please watch the Gap) very unlikely to my train riding experience in India.

Yup called Aashish to  come to Central Park. I will have to take subway from Penn Station though; hmmm …… arko 10 bucks ko chunna lagne bhayo J

….. once again I was doomed by the MTA teller machine, of course coming from South Dakota what else can one expect … I tried to use my Debit card as ATM card but the damn teller didn’t authorize it … used it as CC where it asked for zip code … how in the hell am I supposed to know it was asking the zip code of the state where my bank is (came to know about this later)  …. aha … I kept on pining in my security code and authorization failed everytime …. made me think (as a lame country-men) if I shall go up in the street and start walking ….hehehe … turned out to be a good idea since I got to see Madison Square Garden, which I have been seeing in the TV all the time in NBA as NewYork Nicks home ground.

Back on the street, there was no way I could walk from there till the Central Park, which was like damn 25 blocks. This forced me down to subway once again and fortunately this station lady was there helping others telling the directions. She told me that I am supposed to put in the Zip code of South Dakota to get my card work, and yala it worked ... another 10 bucks ;)

December 23, 2008 Humprey Terminal, Minneapolis

December 23, 2008

Humprey Terminal, Minneapolis.

Got through the ticketing and security check in niff of a time and just an Photo ID was good enough to get the boarding pass (I bought the ticket online, so had no paper tickets). Unfortunately could not have my baggage to hand-carry and had to pay extra $15 for luggage.

This time I tried to be little more careful in security check by taking off my belt and all the rings and bangles. But missed to take out my laptop from the bag, and had to run my back-pack once again through the security, still with very less hassle. Since the public wireless network was available but without the Internet connection, I found this little of time to write.

A group of girls here in the terminal are entertaining everyone by singing Christmas songs “Jingle bell jingle bell …” and dancing around accepting every applause they are getting after the end of every act they do.

Back in Nepal, it would have been considered as outrageously pagal act, but here it seems so usual and everyone is enjoying the Holiday vibes these singers spreading around. … hey, just got an announcement that my terminal is changed to H3 from H1 and looks like they are checking in …. I shall move now … c ya