New Delhi City Guide Part 3



Many passengers on the plane were still sleeping when the lights came
on and the captain gave the word to have the cabin sanitized.
Immediately, two attendants walked the aisles with what looked like bug
bomb cans. They held the cans above their heads, as the cans spewed a
wet mist on all the passengers. Looking out the window, I noticed
that the problem in Minneapolis was not going to be an issue here.
Dozens of airport staff; many appearing not a day over 15 years old,
began unloading the plane, occasionally pausing to look through
important looking
papers. As we queued up to have our papers inspected so we could enter the
country, two cameras attached to large screens scanned the line. Jay
told us that they were thermal imaging cameras and if someone in the
line had a higher than normal internal temperature, they would be
taken aside and inspected for illness. All the attendants and
paramilitary personal were wearing medical face masks. Preventing
foreign illnesses from entering the country was paramount. Since the
United States was one of the main countries dealing with the H1N1 flu
virus, special forms were given which asked about our current physical
issues. My medical sheet was examined and signed, my visa was double
checked and stamped, and I was cleared for entrance into the great
country of India!

After the rest of my group collected all their checked packages, Jay
called his friend Rod, to tell him that we were ready to be picked up.
We walked to a fairly deserted part of the airport. The only major
sound emanated from a very large split-flap display board. I had
never seen a flap display this large.
Unfortunately, the airport-wide photography ban prevented me from
recording a small video clip of the board in operation.
There are only a few of these large scale flap boards left in the world.

As we neared the door, Jay was stopped by three security officers.
They were worried about the contents of the over sized box Jay was
handling. One security guard whipped out a large knife and was intent
on making sure the contents of this box were benign. Jay was able to
persuade security that the the box was harmless by assertively telling
them that it was a gift for children. We decided it was time to leave.
Jay gave us one warning as we exited into the hot night : " Don't get
lost in the crowds of people, just keep going and follow me!".

Continued in Part 4