Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Trip to Chennai

Here are some quick notes on my one day trip to Chennai. I went back to Chennai after several years. I lived in the city when it was still called Madras and even had my marriage reception in the city.

  1. Meru Cab which came to pick me up at home in Delhi was good, the driver was perfect in all respects. One of my best Taxi experience (anywhere in the world)
  2. Terminal 1 D is more like an extended up-market food-court  running into a shopping mall.
  3. Security at Delhi Airport 1D is a pain, too few counters, too long queues
  4. Jet Airways – online boarding is a breeze
  5. All economy Jet (Yes, Jet and not JetLite) with pay for food – looks and behaves like – going to a five star hotel and being asked to pay for cloth napkin usage
  6. Jet In-flight – Great grooming, poor training – especially when it comes to new role they are expected to play
  7. Pay for food in Jet is hopeless, probably the worst amongst all airlines in India
  8. Chennai Airport Arrival – Neat, clean and efficient
  9. Sat for the first time in Suzuki SX4 – Good car, comfortable rear seat – better than Honda City, Civic and Ford Fiesta at par with Fiat Linea and Toyota Corolla Altis
  10. Madras Club is excellent for small board meetings
  11. Awesome food at Madras Club. Had great Fish Curry and rice and perfect Dosa, good curd and great veggies
  12. My host Mrs. Nirmal Mirza – the Founder of SitaGita.com Limited – an achiever, amazing personality, great host and an outstanding  thought leader
  13. Had evening coffee at Lemon Tree, Sardar Patel Road Chennai – somewhere between complete let down and just about OK. Also had Chilli Paneer – if I take it once again would stop eating Chilli and Paneer separately or together
  14. My friend K Ramesh, CTO of one of the leading testing firms in India is too good – the sweet box from Sree Krishna Sweets he brought for my daughter Mishti competes with him in sweetness
  15. Radio Taxi in Chennai – primitive – Delhi is about few light years ahead
  16. Traffic in Chennai – is worse than Delhi on all accounts
  17. Departure Terminal in Chennai is extremely efficient and happening
  18. Spice Jet is Punctual
  19. Save fuel, let people sweat out inside the aircraft is an extremely inhuman policy adopted by the airline, I almost choked due to suffocation
  20. Arrival at Delhi is best in its class

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