This post describes my experience on the 2010 McCombs Global Connections trip to India.
We packed our bags, grabbed a quick bite at the hotel, and continued to DEL’s domestic terminal. The domestic terminal was much more modern than the international terminal, but renovations on the new international terminal will be completed shortly. When it was finally time to board our flight, we went by bus to the tarmac and climbed the stairs to the plane.
We flew Kingfisher. The really remarkable part of the domestic flight experience was airport security–the process in India is much more thorough than what we have here in the US. Every piece of hand luggage is inspected, scanned, and tagged and every person is patted down (if you’re a woman, this takes place behind a curtain). There is no quibbling about the quantity of liquids carried in luggage. The in-flight experience was also a bit different from what I’ve come to expect at home. Kingfisher served a meal (no extra charge), which included a drink that is like limeade–but very salty! I also couldn’t help but notice that all of Kingfisher’s flight attendants are pretty, young, and slim women. You get the feeling that these qualities are a prerequisite for employment.
Once we arrived in Mumbai we were met by a new tour guide and a new bus. Our bus ride to the hotel confirmed that there would be just as much traffic in Mumbai as their had been in Delhi, but in Mumbai the vehicles actually stay in their respective lanes (most of the time). There were lots of stray dogs, plenty of poverty, but also wealth. On our way to the hotel, we stopped to see Dhobi Ghat (or Mumbai’s Laundry). Here is a photo that I snapped while we were there:
Dhobi Ghat – Mumbai’s Laundry
Our hotel had a beautiful ocean view, unfortunately obscured by polluted air. (The air pollution was not nearly as bad as what we saw in China last spring.) The mix of watercraft in the bay reflected the mix of people in the city: high-end yachts floated alongside fishing skiffs.
After dropping our belongings in the hotel, we toured the city with a young McCombs alum as our guide. This was a fun change of pace–we had been accompanied by professional tour guides up until that point. He was able to give us a young professional’s perspective of life in Mumbai, using Austin as a frame of reference. We drove by some sites and walked by others. At Gateway of India we were surrounded by hawkers and when we posed for a group photo, many onlookers jumped in to join us while their friends documented the spectacle:
From the Gateway of India we were able to see the Taj hotel that was the target of the 2008 terrorist attack. There is still scaffolding on the building. The coastline offered a view and, better yet, a breeze! (We had the warmest weather while we were in Mumbai.)
Gateway of India
Marine Drive
The evening ended with a very long bus ride back to the hotel. Some of the students in our group broke off for dinner and others attended a Bollywood dance class (rumor has it there will be a reenactment at Follies). Unfortunately, because the law school does not follow the business school’s tradition of a two week spring break, I had a paper due to a law school professor just a few hours after our city tour. I had to stay in and wrap up the paper, but I was also able to get some much needed rest.
Read the full article: India: Day 4 (March 11, 2010)