Welcome to Kolkata, India

Finally made it! After missing my flight, I spent hours on the phone trying to work out a way to get to Kolkata by Sunday night. Unfortunately, at this late time, many of the options involved flying into India and then buying a paper ticket to get here (most airlines within India don’t do e-tickets, so paper tickets are required). I really wanted to avoid that since I was uncomfortable about flying into Mumbai and facing the possibility of not being able to get a ticket out. Although assured by the travel agent that this would not happen, it did. Fortunately is didn’t turn out to be a problem. And I made it here with only a slight (further) delay.

I had a long layover in Mumbai, but unfortunately didn’t see anything but the airport, and the shanty towns that have grown up around it. I spent half the time waiting for a shuttle to the other airport (oh yeah; something else the travel agent didn’t tell me about), but it was a short ride once the shuttle came. It was my first glimpse into the service industry here. People who work in services seem to get abused verbally quite a bit. For example, there was a man who had been waiting some time for the shuttle. He had missed his breakfast because of the timing of his flights so he was getting pretty hungry. It turned into a big hullabaloo involving a poor baggage attendant, his superior, his superior, and numerous phone calls. Fortunately, the shuttle arrived before it got violent.

It seems like everywhere you go, there are people there to do everything for you. Maybe it’s just because I’m a westerner. People will carry your tray for you, bring you your bag, and pour tea for you in the corporate breakroom. I’m a little afraid to go to the washroom (I think I’ll sneak in).