I have been traveling recently in the United States on a study tour for a ‘Senior Journalists Fellowship Programme’ conducted by the East West Centre at Hawaii. The programme this year is ‘Bridging the gap between United States and Asian countries having sizeable muslim population. I did not really find in the time to blog as was trying to catch up with tight programme schedule. It is not really just catching up with the programme schedule but is like catching up with time.
It seems you are either trying to match the steps with the sun or sometimes turn around and move away. I am in Honolulu and the time here is fifteen hours behind India.
As I was trying to pack for Honolulu and was wondering how would it be, in far away Pacific Ocean in the islands, I had not realized until I reached here that I would go back to time once I reach here. It is hard and difficult to just wait to catch up with the sun. Not that the mornings and the evenings are any different here but that the feeling of having extra time does dawn on you. Where ever you are once you come to Hawaii, you would come with all the extra grace time you get in life. This was very evident in the flight itself as the sun did not go down for me on the twenty seventh of February this year for long, long hours.
United States is a wonderful nation. You keep setting your watch timings as per their time zones. And the vast country is divided in five time zones. With the big difference in the timings of sun rise and sun set one can understand the vastness in size of this country and all the more if you are in Hawaii.
As I flew from India to the West, the one realization I had that day was that the sun was rising really late that day very lazily.
And then the sun did not go down as I flew on the Pacific Ocean for long eleven hours. It was almost like traveling for half a day and still being on the same time.
Amazing is’nt it. But traveling within the United States is still more intriguing. You are in the United States playing hide and seek with time setting your watch either forward or behind like a game. The sun would rise and set accordingly then United Sates.
A co journalist from Asia commented, 'it's is good to have those extra time in life. Come to hawaii and relive some more time'.
So here I am, just trying to catch up with you guys waiting for the sun to set here and bring the new morning.
Waikiki Beach sunsets are amazing and I am sure all of us would wanna fly back in time from my part of the world to see the last late sun going down for the new morning here.
