Will you be cancelling your coming holidays to India?

Redmarsy

I just can't believe the policemen all ran away and were hiding! I mean hiding is something different than taking cover! Obviously they felt that they could not deal with them (no bulletproof vests and adequate guns)...and as I heard from many Indians, many of them are more puppets than policemen.
I just makes me respect those that risked their lives (unnecessarily, because of a lack of adequate protection) even more...

Redmarsy

Btw, my comment revers to the attack at the train station..

The Wanderer

Just saw on the news that the Taj Tower will be open soon. Certainly a good sign and should be encouraging to any of us traveling to Mumbai in the near future.

"2:30 pm IST, December 13, 2008
The Taj Mahal Palace and Tower to Shine Again Re-opening Date Confirmed as December 21, 2008
On December 21st, the enduring symbol of the indomitable spirit of our city, The Taj Mahal Palace and Tower, will play host to the world again, with the reopening of the rooms in The Taj Mahal Tower.

Acknowledging the massive efforts devoted to the Hotel’s swift re-opening, Mr. Raymond Bickson, Managing Director and CEO, The Indian Hotels Company Limited, said, “We dedicate our reopening to the city of Mumbai as affirmation of the values of courage, resilience and dignity.”

“To reopen the Taj with such speed but with no loss of attention to details, shows our resolve to commemorate all the innocent and brave people who lost their lives during the terrorist attacks. In their honour, the Taj will shine again in all its brilliance,” Mr. Bickson added.

“Everyone who works at the Taj stands in awe of the bravery and sacrifice shown by their colleagues. They have set a standard of selfless service that all of us can only aspire to.”

The Hotel will reopen its doors at 7:00 p.m. on December 21, 2008."

machadinha

There was early footage of them saving people who had been shot actually. As the event unfolded and no one knew or could have known what was going on even.

This has been mentioned here quite a lot. There exist no "bullet-proof" vests, the effect is said to be something like being hit with a baseball bat, and you will get stunned. With any luck you just won't get killed.

These bullet-proof vests are something of bad television series.

The guns have been amply talked about too. Maybe regular constables don't walk around with state-of-the-art equipment, but other divisions certainly do. People shouldn't be so easily fooled by what they see on the news.

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Haylo

Thanks for posting this Wanderer, even this partial reopening is very good news, both for the hotel and its staff, but more importantly for everyone who does not want to see terrorists gain the upper hand - and of course for Mumbai as a destination. If they Taj is doing good enough deals that I can afford it, I may go down there for a few days during my next trip.

To those* who agreed with the initial estimates of six months, you were absolutely WRONG! As they say, in India, anything is possible.

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The Wanderer

I hate to admit it (as I felt a bit like a circling buzzard) but that was one of my first thoughts when I saw the news myself. The Taj web reservation system quickly dissuaded me of that notion with a best price of 13,600 rupees (280 usd) in mid January, about twice my max accommodation budget for Mumbai. At the same time, I feel the price is a good sign both for the hotel and the city in that they feel they have the demand to charge that rate.

"Bullet proof" vests and all other forms of body armor are difficult to discuss in such a general way. There certainly are ballistic vests that are bullet proof (as in they prevent major internal injury and penetration) but they are limited as to what rounds they are effective against. They are very important in a situation such as the one encountered in Mumbai for many reasons not the least of which is the confidence factor. As far as firearms are concerned, "state of the art" weapons are not nearly as important as training. Shot placement and tactics are far more important in urban settings.

holikarang

If there will be such a reaction it would meant that the terrorists got what they wanted... I'm also very sceptical about my trip to India, anyway no one's going to stop me either, anyway if that could be of any help..I always trust my guts, I was terribly anxious before the 26th November but now -I don't know how- I feel much less tension. There is no logic, that's what I feel.

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holikarang

dipydoo

Does it have something to do with the Defense Minister of India stating emphatically that India has no intention of going to war??

holikarang

no, I said it's just my guts, there isn't any logic in it. I wasn't relating that to a possible war.

Paleface

That's right no logic just karma perhaps. You have that pic of Krishna, you remember how testing it was for Shiva to join the ras in lila land.

Redmarsy

Mmmm...well-fellow Dutchie, I do not live in fantasy-world, and I do not get my information from CSI and Derrick (may he rest in peace), nor do I buy everything that is said in the media.

I guess you're trying to put things in perspective, which is definitely not a bad habit, but I know many people in India who share my opinion on the serious mal-equipment of the Indian Police Force, lack of training (as has been mentioned before), next to the problems that coincide with a high level of corruption, etc, etc, etc

I really respect those policemen that have risked their lives (and some of them died), like I said before, but they deserve more than this. If not only for their own confidence, proper guns, etc and proper training are at least a minimum requirement.

We would all feel safer when traveling in India, if those improvements are made.

holikarang

by the way... coming back to the original topic, I was in touch with some people who were organizing an exhibition of Italian jewelry designers in Delhi for january and they cancelled everything because of the Mumbai facts...

Paleface

Yes but that's other people. It intrigues me as to why you have Krishna as an avatar image, and would still then be concerned as to what may or may not happen on any journey, to buy gelati at the shops (lucky you) or coming to the Himalayas.

holikarang

haha... I was just reporting a fact I knew about just today so I thought I'd add it to the opinions here, but it does not affect me or my decisions much...

the funny thing is that if it was for my courage or adventure spirit I wouldn't have gone anywhere in my life... the only thing that keeps me moving is the attraction I feel towards knowledge (nothing spiritual, probably). That has proven to be stronger than fear for terrorism long before now. Despite myself.

Krishna is not probably there just as a god (I might be wrong) but as the personal interpretation I have given myself of him...

Paleface

This is true for all of us, Worrying about how a thing may or may not happen, and then doing that thing and afterward realizing, Oh that was OK, what was I so concerned about, is a personal knowledge, can be used to grow and overcome fears of all types, one gradually becomes fearless. Sure one has to work at it, but the fears do dissolve. It is spiritual, if we loosely agree that spiritualism is about becoming a better behaved person, which automatically affects society and the world around us. Dying of course is the big fear, and no one knows their time, so Yes, caution is necessary, not jumping into the fire or into conclusions, many travellers die because of stupidity, being where they should not be.

Aaah but this is a little confusing to me, at first I thought you may be an Iskcon member, and there's nothing wrong with that, it was my mistake jumping to conclusions. But what is this personal interpretation then, as Krishna also teaches fearlessness, e.g. what is there to fear in losing the body?