I recall the day I received the phone call from one of my superiors. Asked me whether I'd be available on so-and-so dates. Unsure of how to reply mainly 'cos I was intending to submit my leave application, I ended up saying "nothing planned". Now technically that wasn't true since the so-and-so dates happened to fall during the week of my brother's wedding and I was intending to take time off to help my folks out with the preparations..but theoretically becos I had yet to submit my application, one could argue my reply was valid. Anyway turned out I was nominated by my boss to attend some workshop in New Delhi, India on those so-and-so dates. Shocked and speechless I was on a fence. How could my boss do this to me?? And of all places, India??!!??
Now I've heard stories about India from friends so I wasn't sure what to expect out of this trip. Armed with plenty of bottled water, Indo Mees and the likes and other snacks which I thought might come in handy in the event I got tired of the local food, I was sorta all set to go. Travelling with a colleague via Malaysia, the flight took almost half a day, not forgetting to mention completely full of Indian nationals (it's amazing how these group of 3-4 year old kids managed to stay awake for the duration of the 6-hour flight by yakking away like nobody's business!), that we only arrived sometime around 9 pm (India time..we're 2 hrs 30 minutes ahead so go figure that one out..). As we arrived at night, there wasn't much to see as we made our way to the hotel aside from the occasional locals walking along the pavements (or lack thereof) although I was hoping to see people sleeping on the streets/pavements, which there were none much to my disappointment.
Now usually prior to my travel, I'd go to the 'net to check out the hotel and its surrounding area..like, say whether there were any nearby shops or famous tourist attractions. This trip was one of those exceptions. All I knew, from my itinerary sent by the organiser of the workshop, was that we'd be staying at the Inter-Continental. With a well-known name as that, I figured we'd at least be staying at some four-star hotel so my concerns about hygiene, food, water and safety weren't that grave in the first place. So imagine my surprise (completely!) when this was how our rooms looked like. This was definitely not a four-star hotel!
Yes, that is the toilet..
Look at that big flat-screen tv!
The nice toilet sink
And check out the universal sockets which could be found within 1m of each other - my last count was 4 - how smart is that? To think my colleague and I were worried about the hotel not having any universal adaptors *hahaha*
Aren't they cool?
Currently undergoing renovation, our only gripe about the hotel was the slowness of the elevators coupled with the absence of any indicators which meant that if you missed a lift, you'd have to wait another 5 minutes til the next one comes along! Other than that, with facilities such as the 24-hour business centre and gym, salon and spa, restaurants and bar, and delightful shops selling jewellery and other local items most notably sarees and pashminas, it would be a shame not to make use of at least some of the facilities..let's just say, I woke up all fresh and energetic after a good Indian massage the day before.
TBC
Now I've heard stories about India from friends so I wasn't sure what to expect out of this trip. Armed with plenty of bottled water, Indo Mees and the likes and other snacks which I thought might come in handy in the event I got tired of the local food, I was sorta all set to go. Travelling with a colleague via Malaysia, the flight took almost half a day, not forgetting to mention completely full of Indian nationals (it's amazing how these group of 3-4 year old kids managed to stay awake for the duration of the 6-hour flight by yakking away like nobody's business!), that we only arrived sometime around 9 pm (India time..we're 2 hrs 30 minutes ahead so go figure that one out..). As we arrived at night, there wasn't much to see as we made our way to the hotel aside from the occasional locals walking along the pavements (or lack thereof) although I was hoping to see people sleeping on the streets/pavements, which there were none much to my disappointment.
Now usually prior to my travel, I'd go to the 'net to check out the hotel and its surrounding area..like, say whether there were any nearby shops or famous tourist attractions. This trip was one of those exceptions. All I knew, from my itinerary sent by the organiser of the workshop, was that we'd be staying at the Inter-Continental. With a well-known name as that, I figured we'd at least be staying at some four-star hotel so my concerns about hygiene, food, water and safety weren't that grave in the first place. So imagine my surprise (completely!) when this was how our rooms looked like. This was definitely not a four-star hotel!
Yes, that is the toilet..
Look at that big flat-screen tv!
The nice toilet sinkAnd check out the universal sockets which could be found within 1m of each other - my last count was 4 - how smart is that? To think my colleague and I were worried about the hotel not having any universal adaptors *hahaha*
Aren't they cool?Currently undergoing renovation, our only gripe about the hotel was the slowness of the elevators coupled with the absence of any indicators which meant that if you missed a lift, you'd have to wait another 5 minutes til the next one comes along! Other than that, with facilities such as the 24-hour business centre and gym, salon and spa, restaurants and bar, and delightful shops selling jewellery and other local items most notably sarees and pashminas, it would be a shame not to make use of at least some of the facilities..let's just say, I woke up all fresh and energetic after a good Indian massage the day before.
TBC
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