So it turns out that Indians take security very seriously. When I made it to the jet bridge, a sign with my name on it was waiting. Apparently I was the only non-Indian on board the plane because the staff identified me pretty quickly.
Two airport staff wearing Cathay Pacific lanyards wanted to see my onward ticket because they said the number they were given by someone in Hong Kong was invalid. I'm not sure who was in Hong Kong, but Cathay Pacific is based there, so maybe they meant someone at corporate. I showed them my most recent ticket and they called it in to someone. The Indian system rejected it too.
Then the Cathay Pacific people led me to a holding area with lots of military-uniformed guards and told me to make myself at home. (Huh? I don't have armed guards, metal chairs, and all white decor in my home.) After 30 minutes of explaining my situation, one of my babysitters decided he wanted to be my friend and started asking about Mount Rushmore. (He saw a picture of it in my passport and was really excited.) After explaining what South Dakota was, we talked about other things and he decided he was going to try to get me a visa so I could see India. I wasn't really given a choice in the matter.
As expected, that idea was shot down and some sort of supervisor was made aware of my presence. As a suspicious person with no ticket (according to them) I went to a security screening. It was just like normal airport screenings and I went through easily. On the other side the guard asked for my passport and ticket. I gave him what I had and he gave them to my babysitter and told him to keep them until my flight. I figured at least I would have someone to talk to for the next 24 hours.
We started trying different lounges. The only real Oneworld lounge is the BA lounge and they are only open before BA flights. Since it was 5am India time, they were closed. We went to the third party lounges for Cathay Pacific and Royal Jordanian, but they both rejected me for not having a boarding pass. How was I supposed to get one? And why did my babysitter not help me out by speaking in Hindi?
After being rejected from everywhere, we went to a closed restaurant and sat in a booth. The babysitter told me that no ticketing staff from CX or RJ would be on-site until 10am, so I should just wait here until it can be worked out. Then he left with my passport and itinerary and said he would be back. The problem is he never came back.
The restaurant kicked me out shortly after because I tried to sleep at one of the tables. When I went outside, a security guard asked me where I was going. With no passport, he sent me to what I call India airport jail. Airport jail is a room full of people that aren't supposed to be in the airport. That meant it was me and a bunch of Africans and Middle Easterners. Officially jail is a "transit lounge" but I'm not sure it qualifies. There is no free food or drink. You can buy some from an attached store, but I have no Indian money.
So I spent some time on the floor in Indian jail trying to sleep. By 10am, I decided I didn't like airport jail and wanted to leave. I used the classic trick of looking very confident. As I marched out with a random piece of paper in my hand, no one said anything. Success! I walked straight to a bathroom to make the story look better. Then I headed for the BA lounge using my same confident style. I was stopped three times on the way, but a quick "I'm going to the British Airways Lounge" solved the issue. I like this trick!
Once I got to BA, I explained the entire story and asked them to help me. They seemed very concerned that a random airport worker had my passport and said they would make some calls. I enjoyed some food in the lounge and connected to the wireless. Then the power went out at the airport.
After sitting in the dark and talking to British people for a while, the lights came back on. I tried to go to the airport website to understand the normal transit procedures, but had no luck finding anything in English.
The lounge closes at 1:30pm when the BA flight takes off to London and doesn't reopen until 10pm when the second flight opens for check-in. My adventures in CSIA will continue after 1:30pm I suppose. I'll have to find my passport, get a boarding pass, and try to get access to another lounge so I can eat dinner.
More adventure in CSIA to come!
Two airport staff wearing Cathay Pacific lanyards wanted to see my onward ticket because they said the number they were given by someone in Hong Kong was invalid. I'm not sure who was in Hong Kong, but Cathay Pacific is based there, so maybe they meant someone at corporate. I showed them my most recent ticket and they called it in to someone. The Indian system rejected it too.
Then the Cathay Pacific people led me to a holding area with lots of military-uniformed guards and told me to make myself at home. (Huh? I don't have armed guards, metal chairs, and all white decor in my home.) After 30 minutes of explaining my situation, one of my babysitters decided he wanted to be my friend and started asking about Mount Rushmore. (He saw a picture of it in my passport and was really excited.) After explaining what South Dakota was, we talked about other things and he decided he was going to try to get me a visa so I could see India. I wasn't really given a choice in the matter.
As expected, that idea was shot down and some sort of supervisor was made aware of my presence. As a suspicious person with no ticket (according to them) I went to a security screening. It was just like normal airport screenings and I went through easily. On the other side the guard asked for my passport and ticket. I gave him what I had and he gave them to my babysitter and told him to keep them until my flight. I figured at least I would have someone to talk to for the next 24 hours.
We started trying different lounges. The only real Oneworld lounge is the BA lounge and they are only open before BA flights. Since it was 5am India time, they were closed. We went to the third party lounges for Cathay Pacific and Royal Jordanian, but they both rejected me for not having a boarding pass. How was I supposed to get one? And why did my babysitter not help me out by speaking in Hindi?
After being rejected from everywhere, we went to a closed restaurant and sat in a booth. The babysitter told me that no ticketing staff from CX or RJ would be on-site until 10am, so I should just wait here until it can be worked out. Then he left with my passport and itinerary and said he would be back. The problem is he never came back.
The restaurant kicked me out shortly after because I tried to sleep at one of the tables. When I went outside, a security guard asked me where I was going. With no passport, he sent me to what I call India airport jail. Airport jail is a room full of people that aren't supposed to be in the airport. That meant it was me and a bunch of Africans and Middle Easterners. Officially jail is a "transit lounge" but I'm not sure it qualifies. There is no free food or drink. You can buy some from an attached store, but I have no Indian money.
So I spent some time on the floor in Indian jail trying to sleep. By 10am, I decided I didn't like airport jail and wanted to leave. I used the classic trick of looking very confident. As I marched out with a random piece of paper in my hand, no one said anything. Success! I walked straight to a bathroom to make the story look better. Then I headed for the BA lounge using my same confident style. I was stopped three times on the way, but a quick "I'm going to the British Airways Lounge" solved the issue. I like this trick!
Once I got to BA, I explained the entire story and asked them to help me. They seemed very concerned that a random airport worker had my passport and said they would make some calls. I enjoyed some food in the lounge and connected to the wireless. Then the power went out at the airport.
After sitting in the dark and talking to British people for a while, the lights came back on. I tried to go to the airport website to understand the normal transit procedures, but had no luck finding anything in English.
The lounge closes at 1:30pm when the BA flight takes off to London and doesn't reopen until 10pm when the second flight opens for check-in. My adventures in CSIA will continue after 1:30pm I suppose. I'll have to find my passport, get a boarding pass, and try to get access to another lounge so I can eat dinner.
More adventure in CSIA to come!
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