Experience in Bangladesh

I went to Dhaka for 5 days in the last week of August. It was an official trip, and I did not have an option but to agree to go. This was to be my first international trip and I must admit that I was little excited too. But then, I never wanted my first international experience to be in Bangladesh!

Anyways, I had to fly from the international airport and I was to spend in foreign currency, so I was somewhat contend. I had a Jet Airways flight and the service was good.

The feeling changed quite a lot when I landed in Dhaka. The international airport was OK. The hotel cab was there, so I was happy. Finally, I was on foreign soil!

The first thing I noticed was the number of Toyotas on the road... so many Corollas. There were other models also, Yari, Noah, Ace, RAV4 apart from Camry and Prado. Nissan was also present in a big way. It was a Saturday and weekend there. So the traffic was not much.

As were were driving down, what seemed to be the main road of the city, I could see many familiar brands' hoardings. I even crossed the Radisson. Globalization has definitely led to familiarization.

I was happy when we crossed a KFC. I could definitely do with a Zinger. It was the holy month of Ramadan starting the next day, and people were gearing up for that. The hotel room was comfortable, and I did not venture out. I am a vegetarian, by choice and not compulsion, when I travel. And this was a challenge for me. Well, I thought of playing safe and ordered the plain dal-roti.

The next foor days were going to be hectic in office. I had meetings lined up from morning till evening.

Next day while coming back from office, it was iftar time. The markets were buzzing with vendors selling sweets and pakoras and other delicacies. It was a very different experience. I was advised by friends back home to venture out alone. And, since it was Ramadan, all colleagues were busy with family gatherings.

Four days spent in office, hotel room and in the cab transiting between the two.

Finally, on the day of return, I reached Airport early morning. I had an 8.30am flight for Kolkata. The sight at the International Airport was very different from our IGI in Delhi. It was more like the domestic airport in a Tier-II city in India. Un-hygienic environment, dingy place. I was waiting for my flight after checking in, and it was about 7.45am and there was no announcement for boarding or moving to boarding gate area. After another half an hour I came to know that the flight has been delayed, till when no idea! The airlines staff were all communicating in Bengali and I was feeling so helpless. I had to ask the co-passengers for the update. After another 1 hour, we came to know that the flight has been delayed till 6.30pm as there was some 'technical snag' in the aircraft. They could not make any other aircraft available for the international flight though they had aircraft for the domestic flight. They were unable to transfer us to another carrier. Another 1 hour of arguement with the staff. The airline manager and the airport manager were unavailable. The airlines staff plainly refused to help. They said that we will have to buy tickets for another flight on our own and they will issue a credit note from their airline as the flight has been delayed. We had just 30 minutes left for the flight to depart for India as the next flight was at 4pm. I just ran to the ticketing counter and to my horror they were not accepting International Credit Cards and Indian Currency. They only wanted USD or Takas. I ran to the bank counter, but they refused to exchange INR. Finally a Scottish lady, Barbara, who was also travelling on the same flight, offered me USD to buy the ticket. I was so grateful to her and finally managed to board the flight. I was so gald to land back in India.

I was so amazed at the casual attitude of the people at the airport. There was a critically ill person who had to be admitted to a hospital in India. The mother was begging the airline staff for help as every moment was precious for them. But her pleas were falling on deaf ears. Till then I had thought that Indian sarkari babus were the worst one could find. But after that encounter, they also seem far superior.

Musings: Goa- 4th to 6th May

This week I was on a business trip to Goa for a couple days. Though this is not the best season to visit the beautiful coastal state, nonetheless I was excited. I will post a detailed travelogue over the weekend, in few parts. Here is the first in the series- this one not exactly a travelogue, more of musings.

We reached on 4th evening at 7pm through SpiceJet flight. The very first night we were to stay at Martin's Comfort, a small hotel in South Goa's Betalbatlim village. This is about 30 minutes away from Airport.


It has an adjacent restaurant, Martin's Corner, which seemed to be a local favourite, going by the number of cars with Goa number plates, parked outside. Another interesting thing is that there is a private villa on a stretch of land separating the hotel and the restaurant.The hotel manager informed us that a sumptuous buffet awaited us at 9pm at Martin's Comfort.




We stepped in and were amazed to see the crowd, phirang as well as desi. Live band. Lively crowd. Dancing couples. Wow! I was impressed.

But the story was pretty different when we asked about our seats and 'the buffet'. The stewards had no clue. We were a group of 30 persons, and they seemed to be unequipped for handling such a large group. After arguing with the restaurant manager, we were given a corner in the restaurant, tables were laid, but no sign of food. It was already 9.30pm and we were informed that we will not be served any buffet. The menu for us was pre-decided and would be served on the tables, but only when all the 30 members were present. I some how convinced the manager that already 20 of us were there, and people will keep coming and going, and he should start serving.

Even then the food took another 30 minutes to be served. The stewards were not proactively serving. They did not keep an eye, if any item needed to be replenished. We had to remind them continuously, and the entire group was hugely dissatisfied. When the remaining 10 members came, they had to wait another 30 minutes to be served, and that too with the condition that all be seated on only one table, together.

Well, first night, at a well-reviewed restaurant, did not go down well with most of us. All of us being from service industry, and from the organization which lays immense emphasis on customer service, this was a huge disappointment.

We were scheduled for lunch at the same place day after the next day. This time we were a 120 strong group. The promised buffet was there, but only one set. It seemed that they did take the learning, but did not have the farsightedness. Only one set of serving bowls for buffet for such big group was not adequate. The queue stretched till the entrance of restaurant. And by the time our turn came, the first set was ready to replenish. The stewards were again unable to manage the drinks orders.

Though the ambience was good, the food must be good (if served hot), going by the waiting crowd, but the place sure needs lessons in customer service.

My recommendation: Visit the place if you are a small group. Variety of drinks and sea food. For vegetarians, less options and not good on the taste buds.