Sunday, November 3, 2013

First Day in India

Woke up to a very hazy day after getting about 5 hours of sleep.  The haze is actually  smoke and the air smells like burning wood.  I would guess the smoke is so thick that visibility is less than one mile.

After a nice buffet breakfast at the hotel, I arrange to have a car take me back to the airport. Today is Diwali, a major festival celebrated throughout India.  All of the hotel staff wished me a "Happy Diwali".

Just getting the airport is an ordeal.  There are multiple security checks and speed bumps on the approach to the terminal.  To get into the terminal, passengers must show their passport and boarding pass to soldiers standing outside the entrance. Although the line to get a boarding pass was only 8 or 9 people, it took about 1 hour just to get to the counter.  Not sure why it takes so long.  The Delhi airport is only about 3 years old and very large.   A good pair of shoes comes in handy for the hike from security to departure gates.

Same for security.  The line was very short, but it took a long time to get through the scanner.  Not only do passengers walk through an x-ray machine, they are also subject to a pat down and hand-carried metal detector.  My carry on backpack also went through extra screening:  although I had already removed my computer from my backpack, security had me take out my camera and all of the cords in the pack.  It was not too much trouble but a little unusual. 

At least I got to keep my shoes on.

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