The older I get the more I dislike redeyes. But I have found a silver lining for them. Many of the hotels in India on this trip were outrageous. Sleeping on the plane at 11c a mile is a much better option.
I have bitched before about the Leela Hotel rates in Bangalore (I hear they are now $ 500 a night). But most other hotels in that city are just as bad. And at those rates, the government adds a 12% luxury tax. Of course, everything is dearer. The wireless prepaid card you can buy on the street is 4X at the hotel and uses the same hotspot network. And in a borderline unethical move, the hotel converts your dollar rate in to rupees at almost a 5% premium. As a foreigner you cannot pay the rupee rate. You have to pay the dollar rate converted at an unfavorable rate.
On one of the flight magazines I saw an interview with the Indian minister of tourism. She talked about authorizing home owners to convert extra rooms in to bed and breakfasts and other ways to increase room capacity. Lady, don't just focus on tourists. Businesspeople are coming to India for the economics...these pricey hotels negate all your marketing efforts. Encourage, subsidize, beg mid sized hotel chains to move in to the country. Clean bed. Hot shower. Workout facility. Hot spot. Reasonable, healthy restaurant. Mint on pillow optional.
But why just blame India? My stay at the London hotel at the $ 2 exchange rate gave me heart burn. At those rates, give me a beach or ski resort - not a city block with noise and other pollution.
Never thought I would sing praises of an emergency exit row seat on a redeye.
