Which is the most corrupt airport in India?

One of the headaches most of us have experienced at least once when flying to India is dealing with our corrupt custom officers at the airport. Dealing with them can be quite frustrating.

I have heard all sort of horror stories from custom officer tearing pages from the passport to gettting arrested after arguments.

I want to know which airport in your experience has the most corrupt officers. I vote for Amchi Mumbai airport. They have some very shameless chain of officers with hawaldar to the top manager involved in taking bribe and violating every possible rule they can. Their attitude is like they own the airport and we are at their mercy at least for an hour or so till we get out of the airport.

I am interested in hearing about your vote and reason behind nominating it for the most corrupt airport.

Make My Trip is just awesome

Yesterday, my friend Pritam got a family emergency and had to fly to India from US right away. He started frantically calling all the Airlines to reserve next day flight. Most of the airlines were quoting prices over $5,000 or couldn't offer anything till all the way to Mumbai.

He finally called "Make My Trip" guys and they offered an awesome deal and overall experience making last-moment reservations through them was simply awesome. You get hold of them right away and they are quite courteous.

They were able to get a deal for something like $2,000 which is great, considering booking one day prior to the travel and that too during peak time (end-of-Nov).

They are available 24/7 and have great customer service. I would definitely recommend "Make My Trip" for both last minute or advanced flight reservations to India. Forget about searching for a good travel agent, locally. You won't be disappointed with Make My Trip guys.

Check it out - http://us.makemytrip.com

Top Places to Visit in US for Indians Visiting US

Recently, my parents completed their 3 months vacation in US. They had a great time visiting various places in the United States. I would like to share some of the places they visited and activities/tips/highlights for each location.

You will notice below that most of these locations you already know from your own travel experience in the past and from friends. There is also tons of information guides on the Internet but wanted to summarize it here especially for folks whose parents are visiting to US from India and are in process for planning their travel within US.

Top Places to Visit in West Coast

These are ordered based on my parent's ranking of likeness.

1. Seattle, Washington

- Mount Rainier
- Washington Ferry Ride from Bainbridge Island to Seattle Downtown
- Alki Beach
- Space Needle
- University of Washington

2. Oregon

- Crater Lake
- Diamond Lake
- Rose Garden

3. California

- San Francisco
- Santa Cruz
- Monterey Beach
- 17 Mile Drive
- Los Angeles
- San Diego

4. Nevada

- Las Vegas

EAST COAST

1. New York

Niagara Falls
- Maid of the Mist
- Cave of the Winds

Time Square, WTC site, Rockfeller Center, Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, Gray Line, Subway,

2. New Jersey

Edison, Atlantic City

3. Pennsylvania

Vraj Mandir

4. Washington DC
White House, The U.S. Capitol, Supreme Court, Washington Monument,

Flying via Air India from Mumbai - Drop your Baggages at AI Head Office

Recently, we found out that Air India allows passengers dropping their baggages one day in advance at their Head Office in Marine Lines, Mumbai.

This is a great service offerring for passengers flying to International locations, especially during odd late night hours. Air India personnels can check-in your bags at Marine Lines Office and they will take care of transporting the baggages to the airport and then tranferring them into the right flight. You just have to pick them up at the final destination or port of entry.

This is very helpful for folks residing in and around Marine Lines area. No more last minute surprises or delays due to large number or heavy baggages. Please note that this is only applicable for check-in baggages and not carry-ons.

Jai Air India:-)

Cheap Domestic Air Ticket Options for US Visitors

Today, I came to know from my friend a service called VUSA (Visit USA) for air tickets within USA. I don't think many people visiting US know about this service. It offers domestic tickets at a very reasonable price and is much lower as compared to tickets booked from US.

This is of great savings especially for parents visiting from India. They can book the tickets while in India at approximately $399 for 3 coupons which is valid for 3 round-trips anywhere within US.

You can find more information about VUSA at http://www.murthy.com/resource/iavusa.html

Inviting Parents to United States

Following are two very useful resources for information on documentation, procedure and experience on visitor visas.

http://path2usa.com
http://www.immihelp.com

Check them out.