Photo © Robert Polidori
I was filled with dread when the giant Airbus 380, which looks like a flying Baby Beluga, dropped me and the other 524 passengers at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport. Welcome to India, the land of dreams and utter dysfunction. Get ready for a one-hour shuffle through customs, I thought. Followed by car confusion and a two-hour drive to the Taj Mahal Palace hotel.
Except it didn’t happen. We passed through customs in a breeze. Getting into the car, I looked over my shoulder at the stunning Terminal 2, possibly the most advanced and certainly the most beautiful airport building in the world. The ride to the Taj took 40 minutes.