Stephentao

Given the news today about the terrorism in Mumbai, I'm rethinking my New Year's trip to Delhi and the Agra triangle. My friend and I have bought our plane tickets, but are concerned about safety once we get there. I lived in Manhattan during 9/11, visited Bali after the bombings there, Madrid after the bombings there, London after the subway bombings, and have never felt unsafe. But for the first time, I'm genuinely concerned about going to India. I'd love to know what others would do.

Paulchili

I am not sure how this incident is any different from all the others you mentioned (however tragic it is to those involved).
There was a fatal accident on the freeway today in our area (I am not sure it is all that unique) - the point being, bad things can happen anytime, anywhere....
You can't just stay home because of these things (that would be a victory for the "bad guys").
Usually after these incidents the security is heightened and the places are safer than ever before (it's all the other places in the world you have to worry about now).
Just my 2 cents worth.

gemac

80 dead, around 250 injured, out of 1.1 billion people.

Better odds than you will get in Los Angeles.

I would go.

mclejc

Me too - in a heartbeat. And will do so again in '09 to Bengalaru - overnite stop in Delhi - always. Ain't gonna let my friends there down - ain't gonna let them .......s win.

J...

spurg

it will be safer now. more security. i would go.

Gandhi90s

I'm going next week.

mysteryman2007

OP - are you wondering if there will be a travel waiver? I doubt it, since AA has no flights on its own metal to BOM. Had there been a bombing in Delhi, maybe, but I doubt there will be any waiver.

Stephentao

Not looking for a waiver -- just concerned about safety -- especially since reports say the gunmen were seeking out Americans, which I am. S

passinginterest

New York hasn't had an attack since. Neither has bali. Neither has Madrid. Nor London. No shoe bombers since. Etc., etc.

chanp

I agree. You never know, but doubt anything else will happen in the near future.

Mr.Ushooz

That's actually incorrect. Bali was bombed twice, in 2002 and 2005.

However, I would go to India as you planned. I'm going to Mumbai in March (was in Northern India last year for two weeks), and this does not give me pause at all.

grahampros

Yeah, it can be a bit scarey after an attack, but it's still true you are FAR more likely to get killed in the LA area than India from a criminal act.

Decompress a bit from the headlines and then focus on the actual probabilites and likelyhood of crime. You'll be pleasently suprised to find that India (and frankly most countires in the world) are far safer for you.

That said, there are things you can do to reduce your risk in India. Avoid the obvious hotel targets, and you'll be fine...of course as long as you don't get killed trying to cross the street in the crazy traffic

SDF_Traveler

misposting - but DL does have a waiver to BOM and its been reported both DL and NW crews are safe (apparently they were in the area, but will not mention hotel names).

c_stanley

It always amazes me that there's a almost a total loss of memory about the anthrax attacks, it's like a collective American amnesia.

dbuckho

My last trip to India I had dinner at the Oberoi hotel that was attacked tonight. If that night had been last night, would have been in the middle of it. But it was a different day, and I will be heading back to Mumbai and other cities in the spring.

I could say a similar thing about my trip to Phuket which was scheduled for a week after the Tsunami. I picked one week over the other because of frequent flier availability - if Cathay had open flights the week before I could have easily been on that beach. We canceled back then as the week after was no time to go, but have been trying to reschedule/fit that vacation in every year since.

Bad stuff can happen anywhere these days - the odds of you being one of the relatively few out of the billions on the planet in the middle of a terrorist attack, natural disaster, or other situation on a given day are extremely low. Probably a toss-up between you being caught in another India attack on your trip vs. being in the middle of a major earthquake if you canceled and stayed here in LA.

I think the biggest lesson for your trip is that the government response to an incident in India can be a little disorganized (you see this when a traffic accident happens - and are seeing it on the news now). So think about what would be useful if you were caught in the middle of something like today? For example, make sure you have a working cellphone and make sure you can text from it. Have the numbers for the US Embassy - and perhaps touch base when you arrive. Make sure to keep a small first aid kit close by. Also do a little more planning on the hotels (secure, but perhaps less prime locations) and consider hiring drivers/guides to get you around. And really think about how American you look and try to minimize obvious appearances - maybe even have something that would let you pass for something else if you ever had to.

Definitely go on your trip.