India Oh India

16 May 08 (Day 1) - Dark Day In Dark Cities
We started our journey from KLIA when my brother sent us to the airport with another car (remember the car that got stalled the other night) from Seremban around 6am. Me and Neo kinda excited to start our long journey ahead. At the airport, suddenly I got called from my brother that the car got stalled AGAIN!!! Thank God it was after he sent us to the airport but still I kesian him have to wait for my dad in the highway.

We touched down Delhi around 11am (Delhi time) and I felt that I wanna go back to KL straight away. I hate India so much, from the people (very rude and full of scam), the city, the weather and the environment. It's really a DARK country. At that time, I kinda regret my decision to fly to Delhi just for the Taj Mahal. First, for a big capital city like Delhi, the airport really SUCK!!! and SMELLY as well. Even though now the airport under construction for being upgraded, I don't think it'll be even close as good as KLIA. Since we went there during summer, so there's nothing much we can do with a very hot (40 C) and arid weather. Indian people are VERY EXTREMELY RUDE and even at the immigration, they just THROW back our passport to us. If I wanna tell the bad attitude of the Indian, I think I can write a dedicated post just for that. So, I'll just summarize my first hand encounter here.

RUDE encounter (after immigration) - Since we decided to go to Agra straight away from Delhi, we try to buy a taxi at the airport to Sarai Kale Bus Terminal coz there's no more train leaving to Agra until the next morning. The Indian at the taxi counter scolded me for giving him the wrong Rupee note and shooed me away. It was a total shock coz I don't even understand what he wants in the first place. DAMN Indian!!!!

SCAM encounter - After we got the taxi, I asked them to go to Sarai Kale Bus Terminal coz I knew there's a lot of bus leaving to Agra there BUT the taxi driver have ANOTHER idea. He told us that we can't buy bus ticket at the Bus Terminal (contrary from what I read) and FORCED us to go to the 'Travel Agency' to get the bus ticket. Since we kinda trapped in the taxi, so we just go along with his suggestion. At the Travel Agency, they try to sell us their package to Agra that'll cost us Rs14,000 (RM1,100). I said NO WAY. Then he tried to persuade me to believe that all the bus ticket was sold out. He even ask me to talk on the phone from 'konon-konon nye' the person from the bus counter that told me all bus ticket to Agra was sold out for the next FOUR days. I just couldn't believe it and you STUPID INDIANS can't fool me that easily. In the end we refused to take whatever they offered us even my heart kinda racing a bit coz we're being outnumbered by the STUPID INDIANS. I just remain cool and ASK our taxi driver to send us to the Bus Terminal no matter what. On the way to the bus terminal, our taxi driver suddenly stop and REFUSED to send us there and he asked a tricycle to send us instead (which we have to pay again). Since it's doesn't cost that much and we just wanna get out from the taxi, so we decided to take the tricycle and get to the Bus Terminal as soon as possible. STUPID INDIANS!! I HATE THEM!! No wonder they're sooo dirty and smelly.

At last, we arrived at Sarai Kale Bus Terminal after more than two hours drama on the road (which actually just 20 minutes from the airport). At the bus terminal we observed that Indian are extremely poor. The condition of bus terminal is REALLY bad. It's like we're in a pig farm or something. It was dusty, unimaginably dirty and smelly coz Indian will urinate everywhere there. We're quite surprise even as dirty place like that we saw a women wash her kids cloth on the dirty tarmac of the bus terminal. How can it be hygienic coz it's like you do your washing in a pond of urine BUT that's INDIA. My decision was right coz there were a lot of bus leaving to Agra and we can just easily buy the ticket in the bus itself. So, we decided to wait for an air-conditioned bus coz the one without look so bad. Once the AC bus arrived, it look just about the same as the one without except with semi functional AC. It's still quite hot inside during the 5 hours journey to Agra. It was so uncomfortable but at least we're on the way to our destination. We arrived Agra around 7pm and we have to take a tricycle to our much anticipated hotel coz I already booked a room at Sheraton 'The Mughal' Agra. It's one of the luxirious hotel 5 star hotel in Agra. I just can't wait to get there and rest coz it has been a long and torturous journey so far. Still, the tricycle driver had ANOTHER idea. I asked him to send me directly to the hotel BUT he went and picked up his friend in turn tried to sell another tour package to us. I refused everything and he went and picked up another friend of his to sell another tour package again but this time I told them that I'm not interested and I just wanna stay at the hotel the whole day on the next day.

At last we arrived at arrived at the luxurious Sheraton Mugal and we felt relieved after all the unexpected incident along the journey. From today experience, my expectation was very low regarding the hotel service (even it's 5 star) BUT we been treated like a KING. Since I'm a Platinum card member of Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG), they automatically upgrade us to a suite room. It was expected coz I always been upgraded to a suite room for all SPG group of hotel BUT they sent us to have a check in at the room itself. They don't even ask for my credit card for deposit. The room was really nice and they even have a full body massage chair. The decor and furnishing was very amazing and it's even better that suite room that we stayed in Le Meridien in Bangkok, KL or KK. They even have a complimentary wine and snack bar for us. All of sudden, we felt relieved and don't even want to get out from the hotel. It's like an oasis in the middle of the dessert. I'll tell you more about the hotel in my next post coz we stayed two nights there. You can check out the website at http://www.starwoodhotels.com/sheraton/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=422
to have an idea how we felt during our stay there.

Indeed we didn't go out that night coz I can never imagine eating at a very dirty place outside the hotel. So we had dinner at one of their restaurant i.e Peshawri. The ambiance of the restaurant was amazing and the Indian food served was very nice and clean. I don't mind that it costs more rather than I'll have a diarrhea for the whole week by eating outside.

Since the next day we planned to go to Taj Mahal, Agra Fort, Fatehpur Sikri etc so we decided to hire a car and a driver for one whole day from the hotel to bring us around. I had enough of Indian public transport and scam that'll pop up along the way. I rather pay one time more rather than being conned from one after another. After I did all the car booking with the hotel, we just spend the night on the massage chair in the room and sleep like a baby coz it has been a really long journey and we're extremely tired by now. By the way, we need to wake up early tomorrow coz we hired the car from 7am to bring us around. I'll tell you what happen on Day 2 of our journey in my next post. ciao....