India – First Impressions

I am now tucked away in a lounge in the Delhi Airport. I have already had a few interesting encounters, from each end of the spectrum. 

The flight from Newark was wonderful. I originally had a middle seat in the way back. A woman who was traveling with her family asked me if I would trade my seat for her mother’s window seat up front. Not only was this an upgraded seat, but the middle seat of this new row was empty. I had a very friendly neighbor from Oregon who was traveling with her husband seated behind her. We exchanged stories and snacks and were very happy to have the extra breathing room. Behind me was a woman also from Colorado, who also had an empty middle seat next to her. All four of us smiled together and had a good karma moment. 

After 13 hours of watching several movies and squeezing in a few cat naps, it was time to land. The flight really wasn’t that bad. 

The first bit of surprised happened when I went to the restroom. I forgot about the hole in the ground…so there’s that. 

Next, the customs line, which was fairly easy. The airport is like most major international hubs. Cool wall art. 

One the other side, I found a currency exchange center, where I was told that I would have to cash in a minimum of $100…because all of the banks would be closed for several days due to the upcoming holiday (Diwali). This seemed like a strange rule to me…but maybe it was because m I only gave them $40. I remembered the advice about negotiating and being prepared to walk away (apparently this even applies at the currency exchange!), so I said never mind and prepared to walk away…and not surprisingly they agreeed to exchange the $40. I realized they didn’t give me a receipt. After walking back over to ask for one, they said I would have to show my passport, which I didn’t have to show the first time. Maybe I was just tired of carrying my bags or and/or just jet lagged, but either way I was getting annoyed looks and not getting a straight answer so I just left. 

I went in search of our meeting spot, the Plaza Lounge. I didn’t see any signs and ended up at several sets of sliding glass doors that seemed to connect to an outside space. I thought maybe I would see signs near this entrance/exit so I walked out. The air was thick and loud and filled with billboards and lights. The streets were packed with people and vehicles of all types. No signs here either so I turned around to go back inside, only to get stopped by a menacing looking guard with a machine gun. “You cannot go in.”

“I’m just looking for the Plaza with the showers. I guess I passed them?”

“You can’t go in. There is no Plaza here.”

“Um…I literally just walked out here for 2 seconds and realized I’m going the wrong way. I’m just trying to find the Plaza with the room and showers. I’m meeting my friends there.”

“No. you can’t go in. There is no Plaza here.”

“Seriously. I just got off the plane and this is my first time here. I’m just lost. I need to go back in to meet my friends.”

“Where are your friends? What flights? Just call them now. You can’t go in.”

At this point, I started to panic inside and had a flash of me waiting outside an airport by myself for 5 hours in the middle of the night. I had to keep telling myself, “That is not going to happen. I’m getting back inside.”

“…I can’t call them now. My friends are flying in and we are all meeting inside. I am just lost and need to go back in to find my friends.”

“How long were you outside?”

“Like 2 seconds.”

“…Go…” he finally stepped aside and motioned towards the door with his gun. 

Another less threatening guard inside gave me directions to the Plaza. Ok, so the Plaza IS here and I’m not losing my mind. Finally in sight, the Plaza is essentially like an airline club room open to the public (for a fee). With comfortable chairs in their private lounge area, you can pay to basically just sit down and get wifi access. Or you can get a private room with a toilet and shower. I chose the later for 3 hours and it was just under $50. 

A few hours here and then I’ll meet up with my group and we’ll head to the train. 

The wifi is too slow for posting pictures so that will come later.