Catching a Taxi in Delhi & Travel in India

Have you ever had to hail a cab in New Delhi, India? Let's just say that it is quite an experience -- something that you want to avoid if at all possible. I had my first chance to do this today, and I would prefer to avoid it on future trips. Here's why.....

Today was my last day in Bangalore, India and I was very much looking forward to the trip to New Delhi today for two reasons. The first reason is that tomorrow, I will be going to see the Taj Mahal in Agra. Although the drive promises to be long (4-hours each way), I am sure it will be worth it. The second reason is that I am close to going home. Shortly after the trip to Agra, I will jump on a flight back to the United States -- and that means Steak and Beef.

Our offices were pretty close to the airport, so there was no real problem getting there. The wait to get our tickets and boarding passes from Jet Airways was nothing to complain about either. We cleared security in about 15 minutes and had 40 minutes to wait until boarding time.

In some comedy relief, the seat that Jonathan and I selected happened to be right in front of this water fountain where people could come and get cups and get *purified* water for a drink. The only problem? It was out of order. I cannot tell you how many times people came up to the machine and played around with it trying to get it to work. I thought about posting an out-of-order sign on it, but I had no tape with me.

After boarding the airplane, a new phenomena occurred. We were informed by the pilots that we were being delayed by 40 minutes due to "terminal" and "security" congestion. I read that code for a few people did not plan ahead, were late, and the rest of us were waiting for them. Had this been LAX, we would have been out of there.

So, now to the subject of the story -- we arrived into Delhi in all a little over an hour late after a short runway delay. After picking up the bag and heading out the door -- Jonathan and I could not locate our driver ANYWHERE. There was supposed to be a placard with our names on it so our driver could take us to our hotel. Nothing. We searched through the crowd a few times before starting to get nervous.

Remembering a couple of bad stories from friends, as well as the fact that there was a prepaid taxi window in the airport, I was able to negotiate our way back into the terminal past the machine-gun carrying guard. After several minutes in line we placed our order for a taxi ride to Gurgaon -- to the Hilton Trident there. Then the fun began.

Getting into a cab was like a bad game of Frogger. Dodging departing taxis and negotiating with each of the drivers. All the while some locals are trying to "find" a taxi for you in order to collect a "finders" fee. Enough of that, Jonathan and I ran towards a cab with no one in it or near it and jumped in. The taxi was like a VW bus, but smaller and every metal part must have been thinner.

When checking in with the pre-paid taxi person the driver was not happy -- maybe because of our hotel's location and the proximity to the airport. After a minute of arguing about something, the pre-paid administrator person took his taxi license, wrote it down, and gave him a look like -- you're taking them there. Great, just what we need, a disgruntled driver.

However, the trip was quick and we were at the hotel within 10 minutes. I gave the driver a couple hundred rupees to hopefully easy his pain. From the outside at night -- the Hilton Trident Gurgaon was beautiful -- especially for the price on $225 USD a night when compared to where we were staying in Bangalore. Trip Advisor had shown some reports of folks feeling like it was over priced -- not sure what they paid or who booked them. However, at $225 USD a night, it is a bargain.

Unfortuantely, it looks like there will not be much time to enjoy it -- we head out to Agra and the Taj Mahal in just over 90 minutes!

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Bangalore's Paparazzi - One of the World's 82 Best?

Good question. As we drove through Central Bangalore tonight on our way to the Royal Orchid Central hotel, we ran into an interesting signs, "One of the World's Best 82 restaurants." Seeing that sign and such acclaim, we were looking forward to meeting some family and co-workers at the Paparazzi restaurant located on the 10th floor with an expansive view of the night Bangalore skyline.

In fact, The Hindu had this to say about it:

`Paparazzi' among world's elite restaurants

CHENNAI : `Paparazzi', the global cuisine restaurant owned by the Royal Orchid group, has been selected amongst an elite group of restaurants worldwide by travel magazine Conde Naste Traveller, in recognition of its "great food, outstanding service and sophisticated style." Royal Orchid Hotels is the largest hotel chain in Bangalore. The group plans to add three hotels in Pune.

The sophisticated style of the Paparazzi restaurant is apparent when you walk in. A smallish dining area set with modern furnishing and tableware. However, on this night this is where the good impressions would end.

Our first bad experience was when it was time to order drinks. In terms of Gin, there were 5 different types on there starting with Bombay Sapphire. When someone in our party requested it, we were told they were out. Then the second item on the list, out. Then the third item on the list, out. Finally when it got down to Gordon's Dry Gin, that was available. They passed.

Then it came time for the beer list. I started with a request for Amstel Light, and another person requested Karlsberg. Both were unavailable. Given the experience with the Gin we asked what was available. Kingfisher. Corona. Heineken, but only two of them left. Not a good start for any restaurant, especially one that was supposedly one of the 82 best in the world.

The night went pretty much like the drink order. Fortunately we got by the appetizers without anythings that they were out of, but several things on the dinner menu were out or unavailable. At least we were all able to order.

The food itself was not bad, actually pretty decent but nothing to really rave about. The service was slow, which ended up leading to us being asked to leave shortly after we finished dinner -- at 11:30pm. (For those of you not aware of Bangalore, everything closes at about 11:30pm due to law. That is a little difficult to get used to when you have been living in the Los Angeles area for awhile and most places do not close before 2:00am.)

If you are planning to visit Paparazzi, do not let this discourage you, especially if you do not care about the drinks or food. The view and atmosphere was very pleasant and the food that we did get was prepared as expected.

Have you been to Paparazzi? Was your experience any different?

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Bangalore - The Journey and Arrival

Well, we made it here to Bangalore late on Saturday evening -- India time. The journey was long, but without issues so that was pretty nice. I am all checked in at my hotel here in Bangalore, The Chancery Pavilion.

The first segment to Frankfurt was relatively uneventful. It seems that Lufthansa in the last year have upgraded the majority of their airplanes of the Boeing 747-400 nature be the long haul planes. That's great because you get close to lie-flat seating in Business class, although it is at a slight angle. And, it is great to know where your seats will be, so I always check out Seat Guru. Basically this flight was really about eating and sleeping and that was pretty much it. I also caught the movie "Shooter" with Mark Wahlberg. Entertaining at least.

Our transfer time in Frankfurt was fairly short, so I missed out on my favorite attractions in Germany, a nice weissbier. Sad as that may sound, the 3 hour layover on the way back will provide ample opportunity for that. The terminal transfer went fine and we arrived at our gate just 5 minutes before boarding. My co-worker's brother Brian also happened to be on the same flight as us from Frankfurt to Bangalore. They were scolded for greeting each other through the gate before Jonathan and I check in. Oh, well.

The flight to Bangalore was a little more interesting this time. While last time our path took us a little ways north through Iran, this time we hit parts of Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. The mountains out my window to the right near Kirkuk were pretty impressive and we had a nice fighter-jet escort off our wing for about 3 hours of the journey. Hmmmm, both exciting and interesting - makes you feel really safe.

They feed you way too much on these flights. The first leg had dinner & breakfast on it and now after having a heavy lunch earlier, the dinner is coming around. I am passing on this one. Eating 4 large meals in 20 hours is just a little much for me. I decided to pass on the second dinner of the night and took a little nap.

Arrival in Bangalore was nothing too special or out of the ordinary. Actually, it was fairly similar to my arrival in Mumbai last year. I quickly changed $100 to rupees in the airport (38 per $1 USD, down from 46 per $1 USD my last trip), picked up the luggage and cleared customs. Walking outside was just as entertaining as it was my first time to Mumbai with hundreds of drivers lining the walkway holding signs with names. It takes us a couple minutes of searching then we locate our names and grab our drivers.

We arrived at the hotel, the Chancery Pavilion shortly later - only about a 15 minute journey from the airport. The hotel bills itself as a 5-star business hotel, although I am not entirely convinced based on previous stays in India. Definitely not a dive, but also definitely not 5-star in my opinion. More on that to come. I am tired, so I am going to get some sleep.

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Flight to Bangalore Leaves in 1 Hour

I am sitting here in the Business Class lounge at Los Angeles International (LAX) airport almost sure that I left something behind for this trip. I am heading to Bangalore (Bengaluru), India for a buisness trip and my flight thru Frankfurt, Germany on Lufthansa Airlines leaves in just about an hour. While it is too late to get anything I forgot, I have this nagging fear that I left something major behind. However, while at home I double and triple checked everything. Ashley even quizzed me. Oh well, I am sure if I left something behind -- I can live without it for a week.

The trip to the airport today was pretty uneventful. I picked up Jonathan, my co-worker on the way to LAX and traffic was not too much to complain of.

The biggest surprise is that my coveted 2A seat on the Boeing 747-400 airplane was somehow changed by Lufthansa and I ended up with an isle seat some rows further back in the middle section of three. I complained just a little, but apparently there was nothing Lufthansa could -- or wanted to do.

From there, the baggage line was the longest I had seen in the Tom Bradley International Terminal. In fact, the north-most (right hand) side was backed all the way up to the door. We choose a slightly shorter line, but it still took awhile to get through the baggage drop-off -- almost 20 minutes. However, then the normal security line was pretty short and we zoomed right through.

Since my last International trip, the Tom Bradley International terminal at LAX has undergone some significant changes. Better to say that it is undergoing some changes. Apparently they are re-doing the lounge and now this Business lounge is off the main terminal -- meaning you have to jump in a bus, drive about a mile and half over the runways and go to some make-shift area where a bunch of portable structures are.

For the temporary nature of it, the Business lounge is pretty nice. And, its was actually fun driving across the runways, er jetways with planes and everything going around us.

Looks like it is time to head towards the gate to board the Lufthansa flight to Frankfurt, catch up with you once I get to Bangalore.

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