Delhi Airport

haji

Its true that Delhi and the Indian people never ever stop to surprise me. From the first time, more or less 20 years ago, when I arrived to the Indira Gandhi Int. Airport , many things have changed , mostly into a better way, but one important service became really absurd if not to say : ridiculous ! Until last year , leaving the international terminal, you had to "fight" your way trough the taxi drivers witch tried to pick you up, denying the existence of a different kind of transfer. Leaving them behind , turning to your left, and around the corner you found the shuttle for the domestic terminal , it wasn't a perfect service but at least it worked, you only had to get over the bus driver and his nagging request for a tip , but at least the service functioned. This year I was very pleased to find the waiting lounge completely new and even nice furnished . So I waited in a comfortable chair for the moment to get on to the bus , but first to reach it, we had to stand up in line " it's a way of saying so"(because Indian people like the application of English rules, but don't like to follow them at all) keeping pushing and spinning to be the first ones !) So, after you reached the desk , the man behind it registered you in a big book: name, flight -number and destination , for witch reason?? You will never know ! And then the big adventure starts : there it was, a new airport bus, but it had no sign of any kind of support under or on top for the suitcases or bags (witch everyone has got plenty of by arriving on an intercontinental flight ) ! So everybody starts running and trying to get inside to catch a seat and find a spot to put the luggage .In a few minutes the inside of the bus looks like a big anthill ! The bus is still standing, AIR CONDITION is not working , but because of the air condition the windows are sealed and so it's getting really hot inside, mainly because you are tired and you are coming from a non tropical country. People come in and get out, moving suitcases and bags, a group of German travellers witch tried to do theyr best not to loose there " nature instinct " of behaviour ,organisation and calmness are starting to get nervous, trying hopelessly to behave like the rest of the indian passengers witch seemed not to be worried at all . I love the way Indians live there life and many times I' m enviously to see how they manage it , but now time was really running out and I began to realise, that if I had walked the way to the domestic airport with my luggage on a trolley (i did it sometimes), I would have been there twice by now ! But now it’s nightime, I ‘m quite tired ‘cause I had a lot of problem with an international flight cancelled by Austrian Airlines, turned on a Turkish flight via Istanbul. I can't tell you for how long this confusion went on , but I know for sure that there was no logical behaviour at all in this kind of directing a transfer for only a few km. At least the bus started and after more or less 10 minutes we arrived at the domestic, yes but the domestic terminal ONE ! Everything repeats like before: people trying to find there luggage, climbing over bags and suitcases to get out of the bus, what a confusion ! Then we start again and by that time I realy had reached the domestic terminal TWO ! Here we go...standing up in line, checking in for my flight to Leh, but before you could step on to the plane and this is the part I like most of the indian mentality…we where asked to answer a questionnaire to give our opinion about the transfer service .
Meanwhile the nice German people were filling up the paper with a lot of useful advices, I just marked the voice :
 EXCELLENT

I hope they won’t change.

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