By Erwin Oliva
INQUIRER.net

BANGALORE, India–It rained hard.

Just a few hours before my scheduled flight to Singapore, on our way to Bangalore, a freaky rain shower kept planes scheduled to land in Ninoy Aquino International Airport hovering over Manila. Our plane got delayed by almost two hours. By the time we took off, I was tense. I was constantly looking at my watch to find out if we still had time to catch our connecting flight to Bangalore, India’s version of Silicon Valley.

But just a quick rewind. It was unusual for Singapore Airlines to be late. But our plane was just that — very, very late. Some passengers started crowding the table near our gate, asking if they could still make it on time for their connecting flights. The airline announced the flight had been redirected to Clark airport (huh?) so it was expected to arrive an hour late. I made a quick calculation. Since we had a three-hour window to catch our connecting flight, I didn’t panic.

I was wrong.

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By Thelma Sioson San Juan
Inquirer

MANY people’s idea of a leisure trip today is going on a wellness pilgrimage.

In the ’80s, futurists predicted that going back to nature and cultivating spirituality and well-being would be the rage in the next decades. While we believed that prediction, we didn’t foresee the paradigm shift such a trend would create in today’s lifestyle.

Today, spas and wellness centers are the new mecca, akin to the shopping mall was in the ’90s. They provide the lifestyle business boom everywhere. Baby boomers — the biggest economic force worldwide — are moving heaven and earth to keep their body and mind fit. Their example is being emulated by generations X and Y.

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By Alex Vergara
Inquirer

WHILE there are still many parts of booming India that remain woefully underdeveloped, New Delhi, especially its tony five-star hotels and restaurants, is more the exception than the rule.

Nokia, the Finnish cell phone giant, recently launched its seven new phones in India’s bustling capital of nearly 15 million people.

It’s quite seldom one sees an airport that’s worse than the NAIA. But apart from the seeming chaos at the old Indira Gandhi International Airport, the rest of New Delhi is like one big garden consisting of wide, tree-lined boulevards and long stretches of embassies and government buildings.

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