Team Three:

I would like to tell you we took a bus tour of Delhi today, but we didn’t. Instead we received a real life lesson on international travel. We experienced some unpleasant aspects of what can occur when doing business overseas.

Our plane was scheduled to land at 2:30 am on June 28th in Delhi, India. Unfortunately, our connecting flight to Hong Kong was delayed due to bad weather. This led us to miss our flight out of Hong Kong to Delhi. Often times the airline company can get you onto another flight fairly quickly, but since we are in a group of 46 this proved to be a difficult task. Luckily, we had a team of people who could not only speak the language, but were also persistent. Eventually, after a night in the Hong Kong airport, we were able to get 41 people onto a flight into Delhi, leaving five group members in Hong Kong to catch a later flight. Even with the long layover times, the group stayed happy, trying to create methods of entertaining themselves. These methods included playing cards, video games, and watching movies. For a select few a more immediate and uncomfortable problem had arisen.

It seems that a week of Chinese food, ranging from fried scorpions to pigeon brains, can cause a few problems for those not accustomed to consuming such delicacies. One student, let’s just call him J.D., frequented the restroom with such intensity that the attendants knew him by name. While others worried about the flight and their next card move, in the forefront of J.D.’s mind was the locating of the nearest restroom. After 24 hours, everything was back to normal and back on schedule, but the lesson here is that it is important to choose meals cautiously because if J.D. was required to conduct business, he would not have left a very professional impression.

It is also important to allow for a little extra time between landing and a business event, that way if the plane is delayed and you miss a flight you can still make it to the event on time. Along the same lines, if you fall ill for any other reasons, you can hopefully recover in time. It should also be noted that proper medication should always be included in your pre-trip planning.

Upon arrival, the first group noticed a stark difference in India from China. The Delhi Airport was not nearly as extravagant as that of Beijing or Shanghai. In every corner there was something still in construction and most of the completed sections did not seem to have the same cleanliness. The differences did not just occur in the airports. On the bus ride to the hotel, we saw cows in the roads, garbage strewn streets, dirt mound sidewalks, and a general lack of infrastructure. We also saw a barbershop in the center divider, non-candid bodily-fluid relieving, and under overpass farms. It appeared as if Delhi had blown up overnight from a farming community to an industrial power as we noticed fancy company buildings, such as IBM, rising out of the dirt right alongside small rickety shanties. Motorcyclists weaved carelessly amongst the thick traffic, and nearly every eye within one hundred yards was fixed curiously on our fancy bus full of American students.

Upon arrival to the hotel, the group was surprised to find a four star rating on something that deserved far less. The rooms reeked of a delousing agent used to rid them of mosquitoes, and many lacked the 4 star amenities we had become accustomed to in China: water pressure, hot water, new fluffy bedding, painted wall, but ironically, the three quarter acre plot of land on which the hotel was located is easily worth two and a half million USD. Despite the downtrodden atmosphere of the neighborhood, homes are very pricey, and half of them are used only as vacation homes for the wealthy.

Across the road from our hotel, a four story shopping mall towered above the shanties. Many were afraid to leave their rooms for the market, because they feared being struck by a moving moped, motorcycle, car, or bus. Crossing the street resembled a game of Frogger, but with more dire consequences. One member of the group, the troubled one aforementioned, received a checkup at the local health clinic. The service fell far short of the cleanliness standards set by American institutes.  At 6:30 pm the group traveled into the center of Delhi to eat dinner. Again jaws dropped as we stared out their window at the scenery of Delhi. As we arrived at the restaurant, however, we were surprised to find ourselves treated as royalty. We entered the elegant courtyard and were escorted to three large Hookahs sitting on large tables surrounded by soft cushioned seats. We gathered around and sipped beers recapping the day and unwinding from the long chain of events. The meal was deliciously prepared by the best chef in all of India and it is one of the most expensive in India. Our meal was graced by the presence of the late Prime Minister Ghandi’s grandson, who sat at a table near ours.  After our meal, we were treated to a belly dancer.

On the bus ride home we drove through a neighborhood where homes are in the eight million dollar range. They definitely would not sell for that much in the US, but it is the location that has the value, not the homes. These homes were still not far from the shanties that we saw everywhere else and were still surrounded by the dirty roads. Many wondered what types of people lived in these houses. Were they the owners of the companies we saw posted on the fancy buildings?

As we headed back to the hotel, many were quickly fading. After a quick stop for beer, we arrived back at the hotel and most were happy to finally sleep in a bed, even if it wasn’t 4 star quality. We knew we had a big day ahead of us the next day since we will leave the hotel at 8 am and head to the Taj Mahal!

Team 8:

Brief Summary of the Day

Day 11 was started in the Hong Kong airport, literally. All of our flights were delayed due to the hurricane and flight delays in Hong Kong. We arrived at approximately 1:30 am to the international terminal, ready for news of an extended layover. After much delay we arrived in New Delhi, India around 12 pm. At that time we were bussed to a hotel in Gurgaon, a suburb of Delhi. Between hotel check-in and dinner time some of us found our way to a near by mall to investigate the shopping scene. For dinner we were bussed to a Lebanese restaurant where we were fed buffet style Lebanese cuisine followed by a live entertainment. Dinner consisted of various vegetable dishes as well as some chicken wraps. After dinner we were bussed back to the hotel and most crashed immediately.

Discussion

The Hong Kong airport was much larger and cleaner than the air port we flew into in India. The airport in India had nets hanging from the ceiling to protect people from falling debris and “Under Construction” signs everywhere. The long trip to India was then compact into an even better situation when we learned that about twenty people’s luggage did not make the flight with us. After accepting the fate of lost luggage, we left the airport and loaded onto our bus. Driving from the airport to the hotel consisted of going down dirt roads, honking the horn (air and electric) and trying to dodge people, cows, motorcycles, rickshaws, and other vehicles. There are many more pedestrians, bicycles, scooters and motorcycles here than in China and a lot less cars.

The scenery from the bus was interesting in that there would be a large new looking building surrounded by mud, trash, cows and other street vendors. There weren’t too many places where there was a big group of building, the single building style was common here. Another contrast would be the street vendors on the side of the road. Typically in China there were vendors with beer, water, ice cream and things on sticks. However, in India, mangos and fruit vendors were the most predominate. The context of this contrast of cities is Gurgaon versus China. At this time we have not really been through nearby Delhi.

Hotels in India are much different than China or the United States. A four star hotel here means that you may have clean sheets/towels, you should have running water and air conditioning, but no other amenities (little shampoos, lotion etc.) are provided. The mall had a little store in it with bathroom goods, food and basic household items. There were also several clothing stores and a few restaurants varied from Mexican food to ice cream.

Showing us a different side of India was dinner. The restaurant is located in a very prestigious five star hotel in Delhi. To give a scale, people without connections at this restaurant have to pay substantially more for a cover, and food and drinks.  According to our Indian contact the Chef at this restaurant is rated #1 in India and #2 in the world, not sure what the rating scale represents but either way those numbers are impressive. The buffet style dinner (more like choose your own five course meal) contained several vegetable dishes. Some were in salad form and a few other dishes had grilled vegetables, seasoning and maybe some pasta. Towards the end of the buffet there were chicken wraps. To conclude dinner was some live entertainment provide especially for our group as a cultural experience. This live entertainment came in the from of a beautiful woman displaying traditional belly dancing techniques for our educational and cultural pleasure.

After dinner the group dispersed, most of us went back to the hotel and got some much needed sleep, consisting of a bed and pillows, not dirty airport carpet.