November 19th -- Dubai

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November 19th - Dubai
Well we finally arrived in Dubai, I say finally since Indian beauracry did its best to delay us. The airport in Agra has 2 classifications for non-military aircraft, charter and commercial. Indian charter flights fly based on visibility while commercial flights have superior instruments and trained crews. Our plane a 757, a 200 seat plane and is the largest commercial plane to fly into Agra in the past year, but because it was chartered by Travel Guild it was classified as a chartered plane and therefore subjected to visibility restrictions. There is smog 24 hours a day in Agra and reduced visibility, so naturally they were unable to see beyond the regulations, fortunately they only held us up for just over 2 hours on the tarmac. India has produced a tremendous number of very bright people, however my brief visit would indicate that they have more than their share of people who are incapable of thinking beyond whatever the book says. The overall impression of India, within our group was a negative experience with the exception of one couple the likelihood is that none of the other passengers will return to India.

Talk about contrasts we leave one of the poorest dirtiest countries and in a few hours we are in one of the wealthiest and cleanest; Dubai. Our hotel is the Hyatt Regency Dubai. Tonight we had a dinner cruise on Dubai Creek, the food and beverages were great. When we left Agra 2 of our group had to be taken to the aircraft in wheelchairs and a number of other people were sick. It was great to be somewhere where you didn’t have to worry about what you drank or ate.

The pictures I have added are some of our flight crew dressed in Indian clothing.

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Photos

Agra
In the streets you will see numerous cows, some elephants, camels, donkeys, horses, goats. The cows are frequently seen eating the garbage that is everywhere.

Taj Mahal
The carvings on the wall beside Mare are beutiful, it is remarkable that they have retained their beauty over the centuries.