We normally fly economy or premium economy if we get an upgrade. But this time, because I had an Air Canada discount coupon that they gave me because of a mixup on a previous flight, and because the flight is about 14 hours, we decided to fly business.
This exclusive lounge's main feature is the cooked to order restaurant, where business class passengers can enjoy a complimentary three course meal before they depart. As well, there are concierges and waiters galore who will prepare the tea of coffee of your choice, cocktails of many types etc.; In short, you just sit there and they shower you with attention.
Now all of this is great if you do not keep kosher, but for those of us who do, there is really no reason to go to this Lounge.
We like the Maple Leaf Lounge as it is and while this place was luxurious, we do not see ourselves returning there.
On the way to the lounge, which was a good hour before the posted boarding time, we noticed many people lining up for our flight. We asked the Air Canada people in the lounge whether we should also be boarding, and they told us that this is quite common for the two nightly flights to India.
It was good we did not line up, because the flight was delayed by about 30 minutes and so we headed down about 9:15 PM. While standing in line we struck up a conversation with a few fellow travelers, who were originally from India and who were returning home to visit family or to attend family celebrations. They were very pleasant and shared a few things with us about India.
First, people of Indian origin tend to be a little pushy and would not hesitate to butt in front of you in a line, but you should not take this personally. It is part of the culture and one should learn not to sweat it. Because of the number of people in India, you were brought up with the understanding that if you want to get ahead, you have to show aggressiveness and what we would call Chutzpah! Sort of reminds me of our experiences in another place that we visit a few times a year😀.
Second, they were all pleased that we had chosen their country to visit and while they would normally push ahead of us in line, because we were guests, they insisted that we go first in line...This is the way you treat guests to your country or to your home.
Third, one of them was headed to a family wedding which he described as a week long affair....they have the seven day sheva brachot celebration as part of the actual wedding! As he (an Indian born cardiologist from Chicago) put it, people from India sometimes think that "their weddings last longer than many American marriages"!!!!
Fourth, they taught us a word...."chalta hai chalta hai"...which is loosely translated as "carry on...carry on" or don't get stressed...Everything will be OK. It is an Indian mantra which allows one to make it thru many crises in life. Everything will work out in the end....Do not allow life's many challenges to distract you from living life to the fullest!
When I subsequently looked it up on Google, I found the following picture which was captioned “what an architect says when he sees the constructed staircase that he designed ...”Chalta hai”:
The flight was good but very long. Both Fran and I slept well and we arrived in New Delhi just before 10 PM.
On these long flights I often look at the flight map on the screen and could not help but notice that the "over the North Pole" route that we were taking took us directly across Vilna (Vilnius), Lithuania, not far from where my Mother's family was from and where I would one day wish to visit; and then as we neared New Delhi, we were flying right on top of Kabul and Qandahar, places that are definitely not on our "bucket list" of places to visit.
I had been in touch with Moshe from India Kosher Travel and he supplied me with the name and phone number of the fellow who would be meeting us at the airport, holding an India Kosher Travel sign.
I immediately WhatsApp'ed him from Toronto and sent him a picture of us so he would know who to look for and he returned the favour with his selfie picture. This technology is amazing and makes travel that much easier.
When we deplaned, we went thru the customs and immigration process which was quite efficient and adorning the wall of the immigration hall were these yoga hand motions:
We then picked up our luggage and exited to the arrivals hall. Standing right in front of us with the India Kosher Travel sign was Mr. Nitesh.
We had this vision from what we had read, of an arrivals hall that was teeming with people, each jostling for a bit of space and of being accosted by many "touts" who were there to give you a ride, change money, etc. Surprisingly, it was rather the opposite. Everyone who was waiting stood in a row with their identifying signs, and then we noticed that the airport was quite empty and very modern. It, the new terminal, was built in 2010, and was immaculately clean.
Mr. Nitesh walked us to the parking area, and then told us that our driver, Vikram, would soon be there with our car. He explained that Vikram would be our driver for the entire three week period that we would be visiting. He also told us that they were there at our disposal for whatever we needed. On Friday afternoon before Shabbat, they would drive us to Chabad and then after the meal would actually walk us back to our hotel. On Shabbat morning, they would again be at the hotel to walk us to and from Chabad. The hotel had already been informed that we would need assistance in terms of key entry etc. At this point, it certainly appears that every detail is being attended to.
He walked us to the parking area, and the first thing that we noticed was the incessant beeping of horns. For an airport with few people in the terminal, the access roads to and from the airport were packed with cars and everyone was on their horns.
The cacophony of loud honking of horns was so widespread throughout our first couple of days....you cannot escape it. It can give you a major headache...one of our guides said jokingly that when buying a car, it matters not to the purchaser whether the car has brakes, but he will definitely check to see that it has a loud and working horn.
We had a 30 minute drive to our hotel, the Metropolitan, near Connaught Place, one of the largest financial and commercial Centres of New Delhi. On the way, we passed by embassy row, a long street with embassy after embassy on large estates with obviously a lot of security surrounding each building.
When we arrived in the hotel, we were really surprised by the security to get into the hotel. The car approached a gate, where the hood and trunk of the car were opened to ensure that we were not carrying anything threatening. Then we were told that before our luggage would be allowed to enter the building, the hotel security staff would put our luggage thru a scanner as is done in every airport in the world.
These measures had been enacted after the terrible attacks at the Taj Hotel and the Chabad House in Mumbai in November 2008, when Chabad Shlichim Rabbi and Mrs. Holzberg were murdered. From that point on, Indian authorities take no chances and wish to ensure that visitors are safe.
We will see if these measures are taken in the other cities that we visit along the way.
The hotel is clean and rated highly, the room is pleasant and so, after a long journey here, we unpacked and slept for most of the night.
Next post will be our full day tour on Friday of Delhi and Shabbat at Chabad of Delhi.
All the best
Fran and David
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