The Great INSEAD Indian Tour

(short version, written very quickly. I may add to it later, but I must study for the Spanish exam on Wednesday so no time for all the details)

The main purpose of the tour is to introduce international students to India, its economy and its culture. It is organised entirely by Indian INSEAD students. The first day was all about transportation. After a 6 hour flight from Singapore, our group of 32 participants landed in Delhi to board a bus for a 6 hour long, 200km ride to Agra. Needless to say, both traffic and road conditions were terrible, explaining the 35km/hr average speed. We reached the Agra Holiday Inn around 10pm, just in time for buffet dinner and a few drinks with my new colleagues.

The next morning, we visited Taj Mahal, perhaps the world’s largest tomb. (second great Wonder of the World in 7 days!) Its size and architecture are very impressive. A must-see. We then visited Agra fort, of which parts are still occupied by the Indian army. After a chicken Tandoori, we boarded our beloved bus for the 6-7 hour ride to Jaipur. After dinner, 8 of us decided to head out for drinks since the hotel bar closed at 11. Unfortunately, it turned out that every bar in town closed at 11, which is contrary to what the hotel receptionist had told us. At one point, we were all 8 of us plus the driver in a single rickshaw. (little three-wheelers, touk-touks in Thailand) very intimate…

In the morning, we visited different sites in Jaipur. We went up the hill on an elephant at Amber palace. When we boarded the bus to have lunch, two people discovered that their mobiles had disappeared. We started calling them and one was found in another student’s bag. It was obvious that this particular student had nothing to do with the theft since he was with everyone else while it happened. We got off for lunch and when we returned, the other missing phone was returned in the seat pocket… It is obvious that the bus driver was responsible for this mystery adventure, which is still somewhat strange and unexplained to this day… Had he not been greedy and only took one phone, he would have most likely gotten away with it. We then began the 8 hour drive to Delhi. My roommate was not feeling well during the afternoon, and his condition worsened. By the time we reached Delhi, he was in and out of consciousness. It was decided that we would drop him off at the hospital. We carried him inside and sat him in a wheelchair. This particular hospital was government-run, and it was a horrible sight. There were animals inside, and attendants rolled a dead patient right by us. A doctor told us that we should definitely take him to a private hospital, and offered to drive him there in his personal vehicle. I left my friend with the Hindi-speaking tour organisers and headed to the Park Hotel, a five-star hotel with one-star service. His problem turned out to be dehydration. I think our transportation strategy was the main cause, since we planned to stop only once every 3 to 4 hours, so everyone including myself limited their fluid intake to avoid having to stop the bus.

On Monday morning, we met with the High Commissioner of Singapore in India, then had a quick BUS tour of the city, and met the Minister of Science and Technology in the afternoon. In the evening, we were invited to a reception at the Taj Palace, a seven-star hotel near the Park. (I’m not sure how many stars they count to in India) The reception was sponsored by the India Brand Equity Foundation.

We received our wake-up call at 4am on Tuesday to board a plane to Mumbai (Bombay) Our first stop was Johnson & Johnson, and the presentation was fairly bland. We then met with the Tata Group, India’s largest industrial conglomerate. They generate 3% of India’s GDP. A very arrogant British HBS-educated executive answered our questions.

On Tuesday, we received our pleasant wake-up call at 3:30am to catch a flight for Bangalore. Pretty much everyone on the tour was sick at some point or another, or throughout. The pinnacle of this digestion epidemic was when a student vomited on the floor right in the queue at the airport, and then again in a paper bin. For my part, I did not vomit but was glad I had brought Immodium.

After checking into the hotel, we visited Infosys, India’s leading firm in the IT sector. Their facilities were breath-taking. They could compete with any company in Silicon Valley. (Someone told me they are trying to copy Microsoft every way they can) In the afternoon, we visited Biocon, a biotech firm.We returned to the hotel for a quick buffet meal, a few beers and some much needed rest.

A few minutes after going to sleep on Wednesday morning, the phone rang at 4:00am for our final wake-up call. We caught the 7:30am flight back to Delhi and visited Hero Honda’s manufacturing plant. They produce around 6000 motorcycles per day, 95% of which are for the domestic market. After dropping by a thousand-seat call center, we headed to airport for the night flight back to Singapore. I was particularly amused by the hand drier at Delhi airport, which plays the lambada song when it activates. Perhaps the purpose it to dance while drying your hands?

In conclusion, the tour was extremely hectic and exhausting. Every single presentation included a comparison of India with China. In my personal opinion, it felt as if the persons we met had an inferiority complex towards China’s amazing development over the past few years. All agreed that India has much catching up to do in terms of infrastructure and wealth distribution. While many Indians are extremely well educated and live a comfortable life, many more are sleeping on the street and can barely afford to eat. I only had a few opportunities to venture out of the five-star hotels or ministerial compounds to experience the real India. I will definitely need to return to discover this incredibly different and contrasting nation.