Delhi / Guragon

Our arrival at the Chamber of Commerce, only 10km from my hotel is delayed by almost an hour due to bad traffic. Apparently this is not unusual, though it hardly seems practical for a place that is looking to make so much progress. Plus, I hate being late. This meeting kicks off a week of discussions with local business operators and entrepreneurs. The presentation about the grown and opportunity in the country is compelling, but its interruption by a 'standard' blackout is sufficiently distracting that I begin to wonder about the challenges this place will face as its modernization accelerates. 


Several more days of meetings provide more food for thought, including the site visit to the Hero Honda factory. Hero Honda is one of the county's most successful motorcycle manufacturers and probably the most advanced. They have some pretty cool bikes, including (my personal favourite) "The Hunk". 

On the walls you can see signs that this, at some point, lived up to western standards for safety; however, a walking tour of the facility in operation revealed that standards can slip, even in the face of facilities that are designed to the highest standard. If this is cutting edge in safety in this part of the world, I dread to see what conditions are like in the more 'regulatory laid back' places like China. 

Meanwhile, our classmate Duane continues to be an endless source of amusement as he attempts to fit in to a world made for a different kind of people.