Day 15, one of the longest days of the trip, started off with a great breakfast buffet at the Intercontinental Eros Hotel where we had been staying for the last two nights in Delhi. The Intercontinental was probably the nicest hotel we experienced to this point, the polar opposite of the first hotel at which we stayed outside of Delhi. Following the breakfast, we checked out of the hotel and proceeded to our sole company visit of the day.

For our final visit in the Delhi area, we met with several upper management members of Nokia India. Nokia, as most of us know, is the world’s top cellular phone manufacturer. Though its market penetration seems to have slowed in the States due to the recent introduction of Apple’s iPhone and the popularity of countless other brands including BlackBerry, LG, Sony Ericcson, and Motorolla, Nokia actually sells more phones in India than all of the other makes combined.

Our visit with Nokia took place at the Trident Hotel, by far one of the nicest hotels in the Delhi area. The hotel boasts seven stars, its beauty augmented by crystal-clear water sculptures, soaring ceilings, and deep green landscaping. The hotel, however, was a stunning oasis in the poverty stricken areas that surround it. No more was the oft-mentioned contradiction of Indian poverty and wealth evident than at the Trident. Nokia rolled out the red carpet for us, complete with snacks, coffee, tea, and mango milkshakes before the meeting. We were honored to receive such special treatment and are deeply indebted to the generosity of this market leader Firms in China and India are teaching us a great deal about attention on the client and the customer — they take it to another level from the US.

During the meeting, we learned how Nokia has earned its top status by taking care of its customers, developing the top brand trust in the nation, and taking care to bring cellular penetration into rural areas through strategic partnerships with cellular service providers. Their team graced us with an excellent and informative speech, and together answered all of our difficult questions with poise and honesty. It was amazing to see how a technology company is bringing communication to the masses and showing many Indians the possibilities that had up to this point not been available.

After some rest at the hotel we packed our bags and headed out to experience railway travel in India. Upon arrival, we immediately compared the infrastructure to that of China. Conditions seemed poorer, but only slightly. The temperature was unbearable, especially considering the poor design of the station which required travelers to lug their heavy baggage up a long stairway. As in China, our large group of foreigners was definitely the focus of all other people at the station. Some looked on in pure curiosity, though we couldn’t help being suspicious about the intentions of a few, causing us all to grip our bags tighter.

The train itself had poorer accommodations than China. This was mainly due to the lack of privacy, requiring travelers to use a curtain rather than a locking door for their respective beds. About half of the group occupied the majority of one car, and the other half were more dispersed among the Indian travelers in other cars. This was an interesting situation, which seemed to identify some students who may have been more “sheltered” in their upbringing. Some requested to be moved after being uncomfortable by their surroundings. I even heard one student refer to her situation as being surrounded by “nasty Indians,” a term that I felt was disrespectful considering it was stated out loud and in the presence of other Indian people. Some people are just so out of their comfort zone here that they can hardly handle it. But better to learn that lesson about themselves now and where their flexibility threshold is located, perhaps, rather than make that discovery for the very first time when their firm may send them to one of these markets and countries to do business.

I took the opportunity to look out the window every once and a while during our 18 hr adventure. I was expecting some beautiful countryside but could not see past the incredible amount of trash that littered every mile of railway. After eating our sandwiches, a group of us collected our trash in a bag and handed it to one of the stewards to dispose in what we assumed would be larger storage bin. We were astounded when he took the bag, opened the rail car door, and tossed it out of the train. He did it casually as if it was common practice. After lifting my jaw back into place, I couldn’t help but feel saddened by this. I have traveled in many other countries with heavily impoverished areas, primarily in Latin America and the Caribbean. In those travels I have often known people to make the most of what they have. For instance, if someone lives in a hut, they typically keep it very clean since it is all they have. More often than not, this is not the case here. I know Indians are a very proud people, but there are times where that is hard to believe when observing how they maintain their dwellings.

I often see people shut the curtain or occupy themselves on the bus or train so that they may not be bothered by the sometimes horrible sights, but I feel that is when we should all keep the shutters wide open. Despite the conditions that surround us here every day, those sights serve to help us better appreciate how fortunate we are, and how easy our lives are. It also serves to show the potential for vast improvement India can enjoy if they can just grapple with a few infrastructure problems.