Exploring India Like a Local
The winter break of 2014, between my MBA classes, and taking advantage of my remaining vacation days at work, I went to India. Many things intrigued me about the 2nd most populous country in the world. How do so many people live in one place; is it overcrowded? In a country where 80% of people have arranged marriages, what are people like? Are their views more modern-western, or traditional-conservative? How do they live their daily lives? How seriously do people take the caste system? How do so many different religions coexist here? Why is the IT industry booming in this country? Are some of the negative things I hear about India (dirty, too much traffic, unhealthy, poor, lots of beggars, etc) indeed true, or just bigots making stuff up?
As I explored the country and talked to people, I found the answers to some of these questions. But the primary and deciding reason why I came to India was to see my friends from college. Sure, it’s nice to go on vacation, and explore another country, and learn about different cultures. But it’s even better to do this with your best buddies by your side. Friends you unfortunately no longer see much because they live in a different country. And throughout the good times and the bad in India, the highs and the lows, my friends were always there by my side, whether helping me bargain for better deals, showing me around their cities, or even helping me get back home when I was stranded due to flight issues. So Alok and Nikhil, from the bottom of my heart, thank you! This holiday season, many people received gifts for Christmas, Hanukkah, or New Year’s, expensive gifts from stores. But I received the best one of all, one you can’t put a price on, and one that is never found in stores. True hospitality and true friendship. I have found out who my real, true friends are, and I am so fortunate, lucky and blessed to know you two! Here’s to another reunion, soon!
Similarities Across India
The first thing I noticed about India is how friendly the locals are. As soon as I stepped out of the airport at Bangalore, when a local noticed that my friend hadn’t shown up to pick me up yet, he immediately offered me to use his phone. While I was waiting for my friend to come, another Indian guy asked if I was all set, or if I needed a ride somewhere. This Indian hospitality showcased itself later, when I actually needed it the most. When my flight back to Boston was cancelled, and my phone didn’t work (because someone dropped it in the pool), I needed to borrow cellphones to call my friends, and the locals would always not always let me do so, but even allow my friends to text their numbers! Indians are really friendly, too. They always went around offering to help me carry my luggage, or asking me questions about my home and how I was liking India, or telling me what to see and even offering to show me around! It’s so easy to make friends here, which I made many of. My friends’ families were so hospitable, too! They absolutely went above and beyond my expectations to making sure I was as comfortable as possible, even offering to do my laundry! Several times, I ate so much that I was literally about to puke, since I kept eating so much as not to hurt my hosts’ feelings about not eating the food they’ve cooked for me. Indian hospitality is one of the awesome things about that country. Contrast this to, say, New York, where not only would people refuse to let me borrow their cellphones, but forced me to buy crap just so they would give me change to use a payphone! Us Americans can learn a lot about how to treat friends and guests properly from the Indians!
Ironically, beyond all the friendliness, a more troubling pattern emerges, businesses taking advantage of tourists. When I visited the Taj Mahal, for example, our tour guide offered us to buy stuff from one of the stores….at a price over 5 times more expensive where we found a similar store, right nearby! Same with our driver from the Delhi airport to Agra, and back; he literally drove us to stores and told us where to buy things….except there was nothing good there, at a reasonable price! These guys do this because the stores give them commissions for every client they “refer”, who then makes a purchase. When I was flying out of Bangalore to Delhi, my friend already gave the luggage guy a tip, and told me so, yet after he brought all my luggage, and my friend left, he again demanded a tip from me! Although the lowest bill I had was 500 rupies (around $8), he refused to give me change, and took the whole bill! As a matter of fact, locals, and especially foreigners, need to be careful when shopping in India. So many people are ready to rip you off and take your money, and you need to be on your toes at all times and bargain effectively. This is why it is so important to go shopping with Indian friends, who have your best interests at heart, and know how to bargain properly.
Some of the top sights in India also practice price discrimination between locals and foreigners. Many places, including the Taj Mahal ,the Labagh Botannical Garden, Tipu Sultan’s Palace, and Mysore Palace, charge a cheap price for a ticket for locals and then over 5 times as much for foreigners! In the USA, this would probably be illegal and discrimination, but in India, I guess they just assume if you visit you have the money to spend, and try to take the most of it. The solution? When going shopping in India, ALWAYS go with an Indian, and allow him or her to negotiate a good price for you!
But you want to know what the saddest, most messed up thing about India is? The beggars, especially the freaking child beggars. Do you know why they are there? If the poor kids are lucky, they are merely “rented’ from their families for a while to give begging more “credibility”. But many of them are kidnapped from their homes at an early age. Around 60,000 children each year are literally stolen from their homes by the Mafia, and then forced to work as beggars. They are purposefully kept looking thin and sick, and criminals even go so far as to purposely disable them, cutting out the child’s eyes, throwing acid in his/her face, or/and cutting off limbs. Sometimes, the mafia even pays “doctors” to disfigure the children! To prevent kids from escaping, the kidnappers often keep them addicted to drugs, such as opium. I know it’s not just in India, but these beggars are one of the most disturbing, fucked up things about India, and if you think about it too much, it almost makes you cry. Just so disgusting and wrong on so many levels! Does no one care? Will the Indian government do nothing to help? But as much as you want to help these poor kids, don’t give them money, because all you are doing is enabling child trafficking, and filling the Mafia’s pockets. See, the kids never get this money, the Mafiosi reap the profits because they then take this money from the kids! So no matter how many kids get in your face as you walk the streets and touch your arm, no matter how many literally start banging on your car windows as you sit in the car, no matter how sick, or pitiful they look, just ignore them. It sounds heartless and sick, but at least your money isn’t going into mafia pockets! Tourists can’t help these kids, only the government can take measures to outlaw this shit, and arrest the criminal thugs child trafficking. Don’t believe me? See for yourself, and read this:
Anyways, if you think about child trafficking in India too much, literally modern day slaves, it might well ruin your vacation, so let’s put it in the back of our mind and try to move on, shall we? Let’s discuss something hectic and crazy, Indian traffic! Indian drivers are crazy! They somehow manage to turn a 2-lane road into 4 lanes of traffic. There is so much congestion, and yet Indians break the rules all the time. Running red lights, weaving in and out of traffic, cutting other cars off. Sometimes, when there is a traffic jam on one side of the highway, Indian drivers literally go to the other side of the road, and take up a lane, driving in the opposite direction, to beat the traffic! So imagine you are peacefully minding your own business, just driving on the highway when, bam, a whole row of cars are heading the other way on the lane right next to you….scary stuff!
And it’s not just cars! There are rickshaws (cheap taxis), motorcycles, cars, random pedestrians just jaywalking all over the roads, and even the occasional cow just minding its own business, wandering right in the middle of the roads (fun fact — it is a federal offense to hit a car with your vehicle; rubbing its head, however, supposedly brings good luck)! An Indian road is truly a side to behold! You got all kinds of cars, from expensive German and Japanese ones to $2,000 Tatas, Muslim women riding motorcycles in full burqas, Indian women sitting unsafely sideways in the back because they are wearing saris (a long, Indian dress), guys riding 3 at a time on motorcycles, and even motorcyclists holding random stuff like stoves or TVs, while someone else drives their bikes. The traffic is so hectic, you feel like any second someone will crash, but somehow the Indians make it work! Well, most times, at least, we did see some accidents, and heard about others. It’s truly a side to behold, and to believe it, one must see the roads with their own eyes!
As a matter of fact, driving in India is so hectic, that even the Indians themselves often don’t dare try! If you rent a car, it comes with its own driver. Even if you have your own car, and you want to travel to another city, you hire a driver. For example, my friend’s girlfriend and her friends have their own car. But to drive from Mumbai to Goa, they hired their own driver, who then drove us around in Goa! Besides driving, it is also scary to cross the road, because you have to jaywalkacross multiple lanes of traffic, and aggressively signal cars to stop, as you cross. It almost feels like you’re in a game of “Frogger”! The first couple of times I tried crossing the road in Bangalore, I am embarrassed to admit that my friend literally held my hand! Once, I even almost got hit by a bus, literally feeling the wind as it passed by. But, just like the locals, eventually I got used to the chaos. I even worked up the courage to drive in Mumbai, surviving a jaywalker, a car on the wrong side (coming toward me) of the road, and having no clue where the heck I was going!
One of the coolest things about India is the amount of diversity. The country has a Hindu majority, yet also hosts the 2nd largest Muslim population, at 120 million strong, only behind Indonesia, and is also the birthplace of Buddhism; there are also Christian and even Jewish minorities. I found myself exploring Hindi temples, as well as going inside mosques. Every morning at 4:30 AM and afternoon at 4:30 PM, the Islamic call to prayer, called an Adhan, is called out by the muezzin (an imam), which sounds out from the minarets. The first couple of nights, I was annoyed by this because it woke me up from my hangovers in the early morning, but I soon got used to the sound. Actually, the Adhan helped me know the time, as my phone did not show the correct time, I officially had no idea what time it is….except for 4:30 AM and 4:30 PM! Next to the temples and the mosques, there are a bunch of churches, decked out in Christmas lights and all. It’s pretty cool how in a world of extremism and cultural, racial, and religious conflicts, the Indians manage to coexist mostly in peace, something many other countries can learn from India!
So far, I’ve been discussing what is common all across India. But what is different about the 4 cities I’ve visited, Bangalore, Agra, Goa, and Mumbai? Quite a lot! It’s almost as if I was in 4 different countries!
Bangalore
Of all the cities I visited, I spent the longest, 6 days, in Alok’s hometown, Bangalore. Of all the Indian cities, this one has the narrowest streets and the most hectic traffic. Also known as Bengaluru, it was founded in 1537 by Kempe Gowda. Originally, the city was not supposed to exceed the limits past the La Bagh Botannical Gardens, but as it grew, it did. This in turn sometimes causes water shortages or flooding during the monsoon season.
The city is also the beer capital in India, with 12 independent breweries, which are basically pretty sweet bars. Large drink selections of good, local beers, excellent party music, and a fantastic opportunity to have a great time! One can get discounts for the bars, and other entertainment venues by purchasing a “Blue Book”, which has coupons on drinks and food, and saved me about 30% of my money. Definitely better than the bars in Boston! Unfortunately for the independent Indian brewers, they are only allowed to sell their beers on premises, not in stores. This is because the primary beer maker in India, Kingfisher, gives nice kickbacks to the politicians to ban competition. Despite the enormous amount of tax revenue selling more beers would generate, despite providing more quality choices of beer to Indians, many politicians are corrupt, and accept bribes and kickbacks in exchange for allowing Kingfisher to create a beer monopoly. Whether Indian or American, our politicians are really not much different, ehh? Just a bunch of egoists looking out for their own interests, instead of the people they serve…
Some of the best stuff to see in Bangalore include:
· The Bangaluru Palace -built by Reverend Garrett, the first principal of the Central High School (Central College as of 1862). It is modeled under the Windsor Castle in England. In 1952, it was renovated by Srikanta Wadiyar, a Prince form the Kingdom of Mysore. It’s pretty cool. Lots of sweet illustrations and photos, and a beautiful courtyard to relax outside, while enjoying the view. Kinda expensive, though, they even charge you $12 extra to take photos! But definitely worth seeing!
· Lal Bagh Botanical Gardens — 3/4th the size of New York’s Central Park, this is a serene place to explore and relax in. Lots of old trees (including the ones that you make pencils out of), plants, and a nice, peaceful lake. A main attraction is the Rose House, with its flower shows, but unfortunately those begin in February; apparently, while I am in India at the best time to enjoy the weather, flowers bloom at the beginning of monsoon season! There are all kinds of trees here, ranging from palm trees, to those you make pencils out of to, shockingly, even pine/Christmas trees! With a pond around the area and fountains, it is a serene, peaceful place, great for a walk or a date. The best part of the gardens, is the interactions with wildlife, though. There friendly macaque monkeys, stray dogs, and cows The macaques, in particular are awesome…just give them something to eat or drink, and they will climb on your head to eat and hang out!
· Hindi temples…Ganesha Temple (dedicated to Elephant God) and the Bull Temple (dedicated to Nandi Bull, the vehicle of Lord Shiva). I won’t go into lots of detail because I don’t know much about Hinduism, and shall not talk about things I do not really know much, out of respect, but it was interesting to see how the people worship. You take off your shoes, go to the altar, give money to the priests (in yellow-and red togas), who then give you sweets and even the Bindi (the Hindi red dot, a symbol representing wisdom, and said to help retain energy and improve concentration). There are cool statues idols to the gods.
· Tipu’s Summer Palace — a king of Mysore, which included Southern India, which Bangalore is a part of, was renowned for his intense hatred of the Brits, with whom he fought 4 wars (won the first 2, but lost the next 2). His summer residence in Bangalore is a sight to behold. Beautiful gardens outside, and a throne on a balcony inside. A fierce opponent of the Brits, he even built a harmonica where a tiger is eating a helpless British soldier (inspired by the death of the British soldier, son of a general, who was mauled by a Tiger in India).
· Mysore Palace — a couple of hours’ drive from Bangalore, but probably the best site to see! Located in the city of Mysore, it was the official residence and seat of the Wodeyars — the Maharajas of Mysore, the former royal family of Mysore, who ruled the Mysore from 1399 to 1950. After you manage to find parking and jaywalk across 4 streets full of oncoming traffic without dying, and after jostling with thousands of visitors to actually get a ticket and get into the building, you will find yourself facing beautiful courtyards, gardens, and meeting places to receive guests. The arching architecture is stunning, and a great example of how Indians build palaces. At night, it lights up, much like the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, and is just an amazing site to look at.
· The Vidhana Soudha — this is where the legislature of the Kernataka (the state that Bangalore belongs to) sits. There are 224 MPs. It’s a very fancy building from the outside….and unfortunately, this is the only place I’ve seen it from. This is because the politicians are on vacation…just like our American ones! See, I told you, that our politicians, wherever they are in the world, are not so different, after all!
· Karnataka High Court — this is Karnataka’s Supreme Court is the highest court outside of Delhi (which is the equivalent of the American Supreme Court). It is very big, and very red! Unfortuantely, just as with the Vidhana Soudha, I was unable to go inside. Is everyone on vacation right now, including me?
Agra
To get to Agra, we first had to drive there from the Delhi Airport, about a couple hours’hour drive that turns into a full 4 hours due to the intense fog. At first glance, the drive from Delhi to Agra looks almost like an American road. Wide roads, mostly cars on the street, and nice houses on the side of the road…but looks can be deceiving!
We arrived at our hotel around 9 PM. It was cold…about maybe the mid 40s, not much warmer than in Boston. (all other Indian cities I’ve visited were in the 70s-80s). Everything in Agra apparently closes after sunset, 7 PM, for some reason, and it seems like this extends to our hotel services! Despite asking for a heater, we never got one, and had to freeze in our rooms. It was too cold to take a shower, and we ended up sleeping in our sweatshirts, which must have been the only time I’ve ever actually did this indoors! Even the food was horrible…just a cold, miserable night!
But our misery was totally worth it. The next morning, we woke up nice and early to go see one of the must-see sights, in India, the Taj Mahal, one of the “new 7 Wonders of the World”, according to online voting. Built by the Muslim emperor Shah Jahan in 1648, as a tribute to his 3rd wife, after she died after the birth of their 14th child, it is a mausoleum made entirely of white marble, and is widely renowned as the “the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world’s heritage”. And what a stunningly beautiful site it is! You absolutely gotta go see the Taj at sunrise! When you do, admire the gleam from the rising sun, as it reflects on the white marble, making it gleam in gold. Check out the carefully hand-crafted decorations inside the Taj, too! But If you go on December, as I did, though, beware that especially in the morning, it might be foggy and cold, not the best circumstance to see beautiful architecture, but yet so worth it! By the middle of the day, you can just sit for hours, as Nikhil and I did, admiring the serenity and beauty of the site in peace, and just chill and relax, heck, even hoardes of monkeys, which we saw, do it! It’s just such a chill place; if you ever take your girlfriend travelling, take her there, it’s not exactly the same as building her a freaking Wonder of the World, but she will still be impressed!
Besides the Taj, there is a mosque (where Muslims still come and pray today), a large reflecting pool leading up to the Taj, and gardens filled with flowers. You can go inside the mosque and see for yourself. Outside the mosque, on the front steps, I was surprised to find the floor decorated with Stars of Davids! What is this, a tribute to Jews? As much as I’d like to think so, perhaps it’s just a tribute to the Jewish Egyptian philosopher Philo, whose two superimposed triangles, pointing both up and down, “symbolized the flow of energy between action and reception, male and female, God and humanity, and the upper and lower worlds.”
Besides the Taj Mahal site , the only other site worth checking out in Agra is the Agra Fort. A UNESCO heritage site(which means it’s historically protected), it is basically a walled city, complete with rooms for guests, pools, and even a small mosque. It is fun to walk around this fort with a self-guided audio tour, checking out the sites and listening to the fort’s history. One of the fort’s gate, the Delhi Gate, is still used by India’s military today, so tourists unfortunately cannot enter it, but we can see everything else! Shah Jahan’s son, Aurangzeb, imprisoned his father in this fort, where he sadly watched the Taj Mahal that he built, never getting out until his death. No matter what father-son drama going on there, what kind of son locks his dad up? Pretty messed up! The fort was also the site of the site of the battle of the Indian Rebellion of 1867, which caused direct British rule imposed on India until their, and Pakistan’s, independence in 1947.
Nikhil and I stayed in Agra for 1 day and 2 nights…..you don’t wanna stay more than that, really, unless you are OK with going bored out of your mind at night. Fortunately, the 2nd night finally got our heater, which we had to tip for. Yes, we actually had to pay for a service that should have already been included! Crazy, eh? After finally sleeping warmly, we woke up early morning again to begin the drive back to Delhi. And DAMN! Everything was covered in fog! You literally could not see more than a foot in front of you! The ride was basically like some highway to hell, barely seeing the road in front of you, while to the side all you see is gray, no buildings, no people, nothing, it’s as if everything to the sides, behind, and even before you has no life. Not sure how people even drive in such heavy fog, but somehow, in just 4 hours, we safely made it to the airport, and onward to Goa!
Goa
Up until Goa, the purpose of this trip, besides hanging out with friends, for me, was checking out the sites, familiarizing myself with the culture and just talking to the locals and see how they lived. Goa, though, was party time! As in Vegas, let’s just say whatever happens in Goa stays in Goa, thus why I have so few pictures from there. But I’ll divulge what I can.
On the plane to Goa, I came with some Hangover-themed rules, ‘Gorny’s Goa Commandments’….”Thou shalt not get arrested”; “Thou shalt not have missing limbs or people”; “Thou shalt not have a face tattoo”; “Thou shalt not get roofied”; “With these exceptions, thou shalt party like you’re in the Hangover!” And you know what? Other than briefly missing a couple of people (no worries, they made it home safe, though their cabbie did ask the 2 males if they “like big bananas”….awkward!), we had a grand old time.
In Goa, a former Portuguese colony, and the smallest Indian state, we enjoyed the beautiful beaches….while drinking, and swimming, and paragliding, of course. This despite the fact that the Indian government has recently declared the water at Goa as “unfit for swimming”! Oops, oh well….YOLO, right? We worked on our tan, while destroying our livers. Some of us learned to drive mopeds, which we crashed in 5 minutes. There were lots of international people in Goa, Germans, French, Brits, Japanese, but especially lots of Russians! I made friends with a Russian couple, as well as with this cute chick who is one of only 4% of Russians who either dislike Putting or think that he is a “despot” (Putin has a 96% approval rating in Russia, apparently.)
So, what did we do on New Year’s? Throw down over a grand for a nice, relaxing beachside party at Goa’s posh Club Chronicle, on Vagator Beach. Just mixing drinks and popping champagne bottles and dancing and having a jolly good time. But this cost us. Some of us started New Year’s just barely surviving dying from alcohol poisoning. Others brought in the first night of 2015 puking all over the villa’s restroom. Those of us who were lucky had diarrhea for a day. Others nearly got arrested for playing catch with fake candles. In other words, a New Year’s to remember, and a very fun night! What’s better than bringing in the New Year with some of your best friends, going swimming in the pool, getting drunk by the beach, and dancing the old year away?
Even when sober, we still had our share of issues. The girls stayed in one room of the villa, only to get locked in the next morning! It took us over 3 hours to get them out, and they decided to stay in the other villa for the remainder of the trip. Then, that same day, one of the mopeds locked out, causing delays. The one incident I was involved in was the weirdest and happened the next day. Our car just popped a tire, the driver was unable to get it fixed himself, so he ended calling for help. Meanwhile, the nice old lady whose house was next to our broken-down car, with Christmas lights, a friendly dog, and “Merry Christmas and Happy New Year” banners, received a sad call…someone in her family was just involved in a horrible car accident and was rushed the hospital! We couldn’t drive the poor sobbing lady to the hospital, so we did give her money for the taxi. I wonder what happened to her, hopefully her family member will make a full recovery! The whole situation was just kinda creepy. It’s as if your bad luck got transferred onto her, or something. We were glad to get out of there as soon as our car was fixed!
Mumbai
My trip ended at my final destination, Nikhil’s hometown, Mumbai. Right as we took a taxi to his house things got…interesting. Our cabbie almost hit a rickshaw, and despite there being no accident, the 2 guys started arguing, almost got into a fight, and actually had to be restrained by the cops! Thankfully, nothing happened and we made it to our destination just fine. Speaking of taxis, in Mumbai they actually put the luggage on the roofs of the cars, because the trunks have gas tanks inside! Interesting but OK…
Mumbai, the most populous city, with a population of over 20 million people (!!) is renowned for its long traffic jams and people just hanging off trains and buses. Thankfully, though, I did not participate in these traffic jams because Nikhil knows his city well enough to know when to avoid traffic and which roads to take, so huge kudos to him! He says that Mumbai is dirty and polluted, and this is probably true, but honestly, I didn’t notice much of this. Mumbai is by far the most modern, Western-style city from all the ones I’ve visited in India. While in Bangalore, the girls at the bars mostly wore jeans (and there were lots of women walking around in saris and hijabs, and burqas), the girls in Mumbai wear mini-dresses or mini skirts, dance provocatively, and actively use Tinder. Basically, a bar in Bombay (Mumbai’s old name) is pretty much indistinguishable from one in Boston!
I heard stories of people literally hanging of the sides of trains or buses. I didn’t get the chance to see the trains, but I did see a bus! And dang, it’s crazy! People literally grab on to anything they can and just hold on for real life! Buses packed to the brim, with people just hanging out! Do these people not fear falling off and dying! Crazy, crazy, crazy!
What are some sites worth checking out in Mumbai? The Grand Central Train Station is, well, grand, as in very large, and very beautiful. Just an impressively huge building. The Gateway to India, right on the Arabian Sea is so colorful and pretty at night, as is the Haji Ali Dajah, a mosque filled with stories of doomed lovers, and even a tomb! The Taj Mahal Hotel (nowhere near the actual Taj Mahal) is a gorgeous 5-star hotel, and even affordable in January, at “just” $300 a night. It was one of 3 targets in the 2008 terror attacks, where Pakistanis terrorists shipped themselves from Pakistan to Mumbai via the Arabian Sea and killed 167 people at this hotel, mostly foreigners. Never forget, and RIP! Finally, there are the Elephanta Caves, which despite their names actually have no elephants, though they do have cows, ox, and many monkeys! The caves are Hindu shrines, filled with all types of idols, statues of gods and goddesses. To get to the island, you take a one-hour ferry ride, where you enjoy looking at downtown Mumbai from the waterfront, as well as spot Indian warships, oil tankers, and your average Indian fishermen.
Getting Home — -a Flying Nightmare
I had a great time in India. Alas, all good things must come to an end….or do they? On Sunday at 4 AM Indian time, I was supposed to fly out of Mumbai to Abu Dhabi via Etihad Airlines, then on to New York, and finally, to Boston. Except, the flight got fogged out! They would seat anyone who had their final destination at Abu Dhabi, but no one else! My flight was outright cancelled!
It is after this that I learned what a horrible airline Etihad truly is. Don’t be fooled by their good food and wide movie selection! While trying to find a way to get home, we were told to call a number, except no one picked up the phone. I tried to ask Etihad to rebook me with a different airline, and they straight up lied to me, saying that there were no seats available. Despite that the next morning I found seats going for over $3,500 ONE WAY!….a grand more than I laid ROUND TRIP! Etihad also put us up in a hotel and told us that they would tell the hotel at 6:30 AM what we should do next. Except they didn’t. Or next day at 6:30 AM. Or next day at 2 PM.
Seeing that I would clearly be getting nowhere with Etihad, I took an alternative flight….huge kudos to Nikhil for helping me get one for under $2,000! First I flew from Mumbai to Delhi, where my bag came in on a different flight from Mumbai. Apparently, when you fly domestically with Air India, it doesn’t matter what flight your bags are on…they can be on any plane going to the same destinations! Then, my flight from Delhi to New York got delayed by 3 hours. The first 2, there was a duplicate seat issues, they booked the same seats forn different people! Then, our route was made longer by an hour because Pakistan and Afghanistan closed down their airspace…not that I’m complaining not flying over those countries!
Long story short, I was supposed to arrive in Boston at 9:30 PM on a Sunday, get a good night’s sleep, and then go to work. What happened is I got into Boston at 2:30 PM on a Tuesday, and jetlagged and exhausted, went straight to work, luggage and all! For my commitment, I was allowed to only burn one, instead of 1.5 vacation days!
What happened with Etihad? They said they’ll reimburse me for the return flight I booked with them originally, $1,260. Hours of phone calls by my Indian friends of no results, and Indian friend of us, a lawyer, told me to tweet about it, and utilize social media. As soon as I started doing that, boom! Not only was my money fully refunded, but they messed up, and accidentally gave me TWICE the money! Plus vouchers! Great success!
