I spent Monday-Thursday in Gurgaon, which is about 30 minutes-1 hour from Delhi depending on the traffic. I didn't do much other than work and eat in the hotel, so I don't have great updates for you :) I did manage to go shopping with my coworker one night, which was really fun. Gurgaon's landscape is vastly different then Delhi's and Hyderabad's; it has huge buildings and everything lights up in the evening. There is also significantly more traffic. Delhi on the other hand felt like you were in a tropical forest with all the greenery and trees that lined the streets...not to mention the monkeys!
Gurgaon in the evening from my cab
The horrible traffic
And here's my terrible airport story......I was scheduled to leave at 4:15am on Thursday, May 24th out of Delhi, India. I arrived at the airport at 1:45am and proceeded to check-in. While at the check-in desk, I was asked to provide the credit card used to purchase my ticket. I handed the representative my credit card and they informed me that the credit card number didn't match the one used to purchase the ticket. I informed the agent that my credit card company had issued me a new credit card and while the number was different it was the exact same account. The agent refused to listen and informed me that I needed to purchase a new flight and wouldn't help me despite having a passport, driver's license, and four credit cards in my name!
I called Emirates and attempted to purchase a second ticket and the agent said that my credit card was declined. I tried all 4 of my credit cards all of which were declined; however, I know they were valid because I had just used one of them to pay for my hotel bill in Gurgaon. Just to be sure, I called all of my credit card companies and they said everything was fine as well.
I called Emirates back (3rd time) and attempted to purchase the flight again...This time I was informed the flight was oversold and therefore wouldn't be able to purchase a seat unless I upgraded to business class, which is absolutely ridiculous as I had a seat in economy. The phone representative then asked for the gate agent to try charging my credit card at the airport. They attempted to charge all 4 of my cards and they were still declined. At this point the agent refused to help me and said I needed to find another flight, which is totally unacceptable. I was a female traveling in a foreign country and it was the middle of the night!
I didn't know what else to do so I headed over to the information booth to see if they could find someone from another airline who could help me. While they were looking up who to contact, I called Tyler to see if he could purchase a ticket on Lufhansa using my credit card. Thankfully, he was able to purchase a ticket on the 8:50am flight to Munich using my credit card, which further proved it was the Emirates system that was the problem!
The only good thing that came from waiting in the airport for 7 hours is I made a nice friend at the information booth. He let me sit behind the counter since there wasn't really any place for me to go. After about 1 hour of sitting there, I was able to help him answer some of the questions he got from other passengers :) It was pretty hysterical!
After 7 hours in the Delhi airport, I finally made it out and arrived safely in California at 7pm last night!
The only good thing that came from waiting in the airport for 7 hours is I made a nice friend at the information booth. He let me sit behind the counter since there wasn't really any place for me to go. After about 1 hour of sitting there, I was able to help him answer some of the questions he got from other passengers :) It was pretty hysterical!
My buddy at the info desk!
After 7 hours in the Delhi airport, I finally made it out and arrived safely in California at 7pm last night!
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