July 5-6: The Taj

Entering the Taj Majal Hotel was entering a world of extreme hospitality. After 14+ hours on a plane, well, let’s just say I wasn’t the freshest looking I’ve ever been and my mind was a bit mushy but that

didn’t seem to faze them one bit. I stepped out of the car and was immediately greeted with Welcome Madame by the several staff people who surrounded my car. My bags were whisked away before I could utter a word and perhaps noticing my less than alert mental state, I was gently guided to the security desk where I had to step through a metal detector and have my handbag scanned (a common occurrence in India). When I asked about my luggage, I was assured they would be following me shortly and at that moment, the 14 other ETAs arrived from a Delhi excursion so I was now greeted with a chorus of Hello Pamela’s and questions about how my flight went. Before I could answer, I was asked to follow a staff person to the check-in desk, a journey of 10 feet during which at

least 15 Welcome Madame’s, Hello Madame’s, and Good Morning Madame’s were uttered. As I was going through the usual check-in procedures, my program manager, Sumanta, magically appeared by my side, asking how I was, helping me check-in, and answering my questions about the day’s schedule. I was then guided to my room by a woman in a beautiful sari, the uniform for female Taj employees, and my luggage, as promised, soon followed. I had about an hour before our first session of the day and so I took what became the best shower of my entire life, played around with the room remote on the nightstand (see photo at left), and took in the gorgeous view.