I’m currently writing this story from Frankfurt Germany where I will be on the ground for 27 hours to do some work for a client. That’s not going give me the time to see the sights, but I will be able to show you some things in and around my hotel. But before I do that, I want to detail how I got here from India. I went to Indira Gandhi Airport at midnight for my 3:30 AM flight. While I was there, I noted some things that I’d like to share with you. For example:
Traffic here is insane. People are parking anywhere they can to drop people off at the Arrivals level.
To get into the airport, you need to present this Indian solider your passport and either your travel literary or preferably your boarding pass to get in. You can’t see it, but he’s carrying a machine gun. Thus you don’t want to mess with him. The day that I was there, there was extra security in the form of x-raying anything you’re carrying and extra checks in security. It likely had to do something to do with the fact that the next day was Republic Day.
While walking through the airport, I noticed this sign which reminds people that because the 500 and 1000 rupee notes have been taken out of circulation so that the government can fight corruption, taking these notes out of the country can get you into deep trouble. Related to that, I had great trouble trying to get rupees to use while I was here. That’s a problem as India is a tipping culture.
I flew to Germany via Lufthansa on a Airbus A380-800 which is a massive jet. It was an 8 hour flight and I snapped a picture of the plane after I landed at Frankfurt Airport:
I was able to get off the jet, through passport control, and retrieve my luggage in under an hour. From there, my client picked me up and took me to the hotel which will be the Sheraton Congress Hotel which is 15 minutes away from the airport. However even though I had requested an early check in, my room was not ready. So I instead got driven to the client’s location and got to work for a few hours. Around 11 AM I was able to check in. It’s a functional room with decent WiFi that was free. Here’s what it looks like:
Here’s the view from my room:
Here’s where I am typing this story from:
As soon as I am done writing this story, I will be heading downstairs to the various establishments that are in the hotel to have dinner and drinks.
Now the area that I am in is a business area. Here’s a look at it:
There’s a tram line that runs just outside the hotel. The tram that you see is made by Canada’s Bombardier.
There’s a number of medium sized office buildings in the area. Most of which are very modern looking.
Two other things that I should note. The weather in Gurgaon India was in the mid-20 degree celsius range. Here in Frankfurt, it is 1 degree. Quite the change. The other thing, Rogers Roam Like Home seems to be working as I type this as I got a text message saying that I was good to go on that front.
I plan to leave early tomorrow morning for my flight back to Canada. Unfortunately on Air Canada which because of this experience is far from being my favorite airline. But before I go, I have some loose ends. I got an e-mail from a reader who wanted to see the front gate of the hotel that I stayed at in India:
You can see the two guards as well as four metal pillars with red lights on them. Once the guards search your vehicle inside and out for explosives, those pillars drop into the ground and you can drive into the property. The reason for this level of security? The Mumbai attacks from a few years ago which killed scores of tourists. That forced India to step up their game when it comes to security.
The final part of this travelouge will appear late tommorow after I land in Toronto. Stay tuned for it!
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This entry was posted on January 26, 2017 at 11:51 am and is filed under Commentary with tags Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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My Trip To India & Germany – Part 5
I’m currently writing this story from Frankfurt Germany where I will be on the ground for 27 hours to do some work for a client. That’s not going give me the time to see the sights, but I will be able to show you some things in and around my hotel. But before I do that, I want to detail how I got here from India. I went to Indira Gandhi Airport at midnight for my 3:30 AM flight. While I was there, I noted some things that I’d like to share with you. For example:
Traffic here is insane. People are parking anywhere they can to drop people off at the Arrivals level.
To get into the airport, you need to present this Indian solider your passport and either your travel literary or preferably your boarding pass to get in. You can’t see it, but he’s carrying a machine gun. Thus you don’t want to mess with him. The day that I was there, there was extra security in the form of x-raying anything you’re carrying and extra checks in security. It likely had to do something to do with the fact that the next day was Republic Day.
While walking through the airport, I noticed this sign which reminds people that because the 500 and 1000 rupee notes have been taken out of circulation so that the government can fight corruption, taking these notes out of the country can get you into deep trouble. Related to that, I had great trouble trying to get rupees to use while I was here. That’s a problem as India is a tipping culture.
I flew to Germany via Lufthansa on a Airbus A380-800 which is a massive jet. It was an 8 hour flight and I snapped a picture of the plane after I landed at Frankfurt Airport:
I was able to get off the jet, through passport control, and retrieve my luggage in under an hour. From there, my client picked me up and took me to the hotel which will be the Sheraton Congress Hotel which is 15 minutes away from the airport. However even though I had requested an early check in, my room was not ready. So I instead got driven to the client’s location and got to work for a few hours. Around 11 AM I was able to check in. It’s a functional room with decent WiFi that was free. Here’s what it looks like:
Here’s the view from my room:
Here’s where I am typing this story from:
As soon as I am done writing this story, I will be heading downstairs to the various establishments that are in the hotel to have dinner and drinks.
Now the area that I am in is a business area. Here’s a look at it:
There’s a tram line that runs just outside the hotel. The tram that you see is made by Canada’s Bombardier.
There’s a number of medium sized office buildings in the area. Most of which are very modern looking.
Two other things that I should note. The weather in Gurgaon India was in the mid-20 degree celsius range. Here in Frankfurt, it is 1 degree. Quite the change. The other thing, Rogers Roam Like Home seems to be working as I type this as I got a text message saying that I was good to go on that front.
I plan to leave early tomorrow morning for my flight back to Canada. Unfortunately on Air Canada which because of this experience is far from being my favorite airline. But before I go, I have some loose ends. I got an e-mail from a reader who wanted to see the front gate of the hotel that I stayed at in India:
You can see the two guards as well as four metal pillars with red lights on them. Once the guards search your vehicle inside and out for explosives, those pillars drop into the ground and you can drive into the property. The reason for this level of security? The Mumbai attacks from a few years ago which killed scores of tourists. That forced India to step up their game when it comes to security.
The final part of this travelouge will appear late tommorow after I land in Toronto. Stay tuned for it!
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This entry was posted on January 26, 2017 at 11:51 am and is filed under Commentary with tags Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.