Ok, so where do I start? I went to India last week for business. Bombay to be exact, which has since been renamed to Mumbai; but most people still call it Bombay.
This was my second time to Bombay (I also went back in February) and I actually really like the country and its people. Like a lot of Asia, its definitely a little rough around the edges, but that's part of its charm. And the people are extremely friendly and outgoing. They also love to talk as much as I do.
One of the best parts of India is its TV. Its wild. Definitely the two best countries in Asia for TV are Japan and India. I think its because, of all the countries, India and Japan have their own distinct entertainment industries apart from the US. That combined with very different opinions of what they consider entertaining. Here are a couple of shows I came across when channel surfing.
The first clip is of the Indian version of American Idol >>>
Then second clip is of a Bollywood (India's version of Hollywood) movie>>>
Unfortunately, vast numbers of Indians live far below the poverty line. Occassionally, beggars would come up to my car asking for money. After I gave 20 rupees (about 50 cents) to a woman holding a very young child, another young girl came over and I gave her an additional 20 rupees. Well, word got out fast and soon our car was surrounded. Yikes!
Leaving proved to be a bit problematic as my flight (already due to leave at 3AM because there are never any normal flight times) had a mechanical problem. Not one general announcment was made over the public address system and the airport is in worse condition than most bus stations. The night ended up being one of the craziest experiences I've ever been a part of. Here is a run-down of my Friday night spent in the Mumbai Airport
1. At 2:30 AM I'm told the flight is delayed an hour
This was my second time to Bombay (I also went back in February) and I actually really like the country and its people. Like a lot of Asia, its definitely a little rough around the edges, but that's part of its charm. And the people are extremely friendly and outgoing. They also love to talk as much as I do.
One of the best parts of India is its TV. Its wild. Definitely the two best countries in Asia for TV are Japan and India. I think its because, of all the countries, India and Japan have their own distinct entertainment industries apart from the US. That combined with very different opinions of what they consider entertaining. Here are a couple of shows I came across when channel surfing.
The first clip is of the Indian version of American Idol >>>
Then second clip is of a Bollywood (India's version of Hollywood) movie>>>
Unfortunately, vast numbers of Indians live far below the poverty line. Occassionally, beggars would come up to my car asking for money. After I gave 20 rupees (about 50 cents) to a woman holding a very young child, another young girl came over and I gave her an additional 20 rupees. Well, word got out fast and soon our car was surrounded. Yikes!
Leaving proved to be a bit problematic as my flight (already due to leave at 3AM because there are never any normal flight times) had a mechanical problem. Not one general announcment was made over the public address system and the airport is in worse condition than most bus stations. The night ended up being one of the craziest experiences I've ever been a part of. Here is a run-down of my Friday night spent in the Mumbai Airport
1. At 2:30 AM I'm told the flight is delayed an hour
2. At 4am I'm told (only when I go up and ask) that the flight is delayed an additional hour.
3. At 4:30AM , I realize that there is another flight going to HK and start scrambling to get on that one.
4. After I'm told that I'm booked on the other flight, I am part of a group of 15 people led back out of security to get our bags moved and to get re-ticketed.
5. When exiting security, the employee of the airline gets in an argument with someone from security and they start grappling with each other. The security guy rips off the pass of the airline employee as the 15 of us stand there not knowing what to do.
6. We are all led out onto the tarmac of the airport (its now daylight) where another airport employee is calling everyone's name out (there were over 30 of us) to give us a new ticket and make sure their bag gets checked on the other plane.
7. I never get a new ticket or see my bag but am told to go back up to the plane. Unfortunately a big group of us tried to go at once and there was only one tiny elevator. People start pushing, they overload the elevator and tons of time is wasted.
8. When we get back to security, we're told its closed and that we have to go to another floor. After another 15 minutes waiting for the tiny broken elevator, we plead with the security guy to reopen that security section, which he then decides to do.
9. After a frantic scramble through security, a whole group of us goes running to the gate only to be told its full. At this point the yelling by some of the passengers really starts. They rip into to the airline staff like nothing I've ever seen.
11. Then we go back to our original gate and some of the other passengers really let the airline staff have it. Many of the complainers were native to India and used it as an example of why India was not meeting its potential. One quote from a native Indian that I'll always remember: "There is no communication, no organization, this is what's wrong with India!" The shouting literally went on for about 3 hours until I finally boarded the plane at about 10AM. I did not get home until 7:30PM on Saturday. Oh well, Incredible India!!!
Here are some of the highlights from the trip:
Bombay's most famous site is Gateway to India, which the British passed through when exiting the country after India ceased being a British Colony.
3. At 4:30AM , I realize that there is another flight going to HK and start scrambling to get on that one.
4. After I'm told that I'm booked on the other flight, I am part of a group of 15 people led back out of security to get our bags moved and to get re-ticketed.
5. When exiting security, the employee of the airline gets in an argument with someone from security and they start grappling with each other. The security guy rips off the pass of the airline employee as the 15 of us stand there not knowing what to do.
6. We are all led out onto the tarmac of the airport (its now daylight) where another airport employee is calling everyone's name out (there were over 30 of us) to give us a new ticket and make sure their bag gets checked on the other plane.
7. I never get a new ticket or see my bag but am told to go back up to the plane. Unfortunately a big group of us tried to go at once and there was only one tiny elevator. People start pushing, they overload the elevator and tons of time is wasted.
8. When we get back to security, we're told its closed and that we have to go to another floor. After another 15 minutes waiting for the tiny broken elevator, we plead with the security guy to reopen that security section, which he then decides to do.
9. After a frantic scramble through security, a whole group of us goes running to the gate only to be told its full. At this point the yelling by some of the passengers really starts. They rip into to the airline staff like nothing I've ever seen.
11. Then we go back to our original gate and some of the other passengers really let the airline staff have it. Many of the complainers were native to India and used it as an example of why India was not meeting its potential. One quote from a native Indian that I'll always remember: "There is no communication, no organization, this is what's wrong with India!" The shouting literally went on for about 3 hours until I finally boarded the plane at about 10AM. I did not get home until 7:30PM on Saturday. Oh well, Incredible India!!!
Here are some of the highlights from the trip:
Bombay's most famous site is Gateway to India, which the British passed through when exiting the country after India ceased being a British Colony.
This is one of the old train stations, a very cool mix between Indian and British Architecture.
This is India's version of the Tuk Tuk (they don't call it that), which most locals use to get from place to place its very cheap (only a few cents a ride).
My co-worker was kind enough to take me to some local shops, on the edge of the Bombay Slums, the largest in all of Asia. 
Last, here are some cool views of the Arabian Sea 
No comments:
Post a Comment