Rollercoster to Tampa, Florida

I was quite intimidated at the prospect of travelling 30 hours one way from Chennai to Florida on work. I did not expect to survive that. The silver lining was my entire team, most of whom were flying to the States for the first time on work, were quite excited. A business class fare can certainly be very spoiling and we flew Emirates, my favourite air liner. I love their movie collection and was looking forward to their in-flight menu, which I hoped was better than Qatar. However, Qatar beat Emirates on their in-flight service hollow. Wonder if my favourite is losing its sheen.

We were told Florida is similar to Chennai for weather conditions. But with the recent cold wave hitting the States, Tampa, FL was terribly cold, even for the Florida folks. I loved it though. We took a day more to visit Universal Studios. While some of us preferred the Islands of Adventure, which was a thrill seeker's paradise, the other two preferred to take it easy. So we ended up at Universal, which I had already been to in Singapore. 

We started with Terminator 3D, which was so outdated and after much whining, I coaxed my team to go on the roller-coaster, Hollywood Rip Ride RockIt. For everyone, it was their first time on this thrill ride and they had no idea what to expect. By the time we were done, the adrenaline rush and a set of gleaming grinning faces said it all. We loved it, hands down!

Next, we went for a fun roller-coaster The Revenge of the Mummy. The effects were fantastic and the roller-coaster here spins and moves in the reverse, so as creepy as it feels, nevertheless left as in awe. To give everyone a chance to enjoy their day out, we stopped over at Twister, which was a simulation that started off great and ended flat. Not much of a twist to this tale!

By this time, folks were hungry and we stopped at one of the fast-food joints. For vegetarians, especially from India, this can be a nightmare. We had to settle for a slice of cheese pizza, raw salad and a cupcake followed by a soda or maybe plain water, for lunch. It was alright.

We headed over to Shred 4D, which was a pleasant experience. The team then voted for Transformers 3D. This was absolutely fantastic and nothing like what we imagined. The simulation was mind-blowing and the creativity was to die for. It was almost real!

Next we went for a Men In Black-Alien Attack that looked promising, but we realised it was not what we were expecting. You zap at aliens and score. 

As the day was drawing to a close, we decided to quickly do a ET tour based on Speilberg's movie. It was very colourful like the Avatar and the ride into the Moon was the best memory of it all. We then headed over for the Hollywood Horror Make Up Show, which started on great promises and quickly deteriorated into nothing - we were horrified!

Just as we were making our way out, the lights show and the fireworks had started. It was a show stopper and the perfect wrap to our long day. The marketing and the imagination is something we should all experience and emulate, if possible. Words can only do so much justice than what your eyes see and you heart feels.

Homeward bound, our return 30 hour trip took us from Tampa to JFK to Milan to Dubai to Chennai. What all of us enjoyed was the fabulous menu and desserts at JFK and Milan lounges. I also had a couple of hot showers in between my stop-overs to freshen up. I thought it was quite fun actually as I got ready to embrace each leg of the flight as we inched closer to home. We especially loved the landing in Milan, which was amidst beautiful snow capped mountains and to make it sweeter, the chocolate filled wonton drizzled with chocolate sauce and white chocolate shaving served just a little chilled made us swoon. 

The trip was an opportunity to strengthen existing partnerships and make new friends. The golf club for the offsite was a stunning location and the evening dinner with marshmallows on one side, a fire place on the other, a lovely glass of white wine with a friend made it all a trip to remember.