Hi ngupta27 - we'll jump in and try to answer, though note that this is probably not the best forum for this question - you may want to browse The MBA Application Process or others instead for these types of queries.

To address the international experience thing: It depends. Yes, even going to similar countries as your own would count for something, but you're right in the underlying statement in your question that those places aren't all that different from your home country. The adcoms care about diversity of experience first and foremost - even someone who's never left their own country, but has traveled far and wide within it and had various experiences with different types of people can oftentimes write about those in a way that is compelling. It really comes down to you, what you've done, how you've been exposed to other types of thinking and cultures, etc. So this is a fair question.

International experience is not technically required for any top program, but it always helps - and if you're applying to a Western school (US/Europe) then they may want to know why you feel it's important to go elsewhere for your education.

It's very possible that your interactions with your UK client could serve as material for an essay question - it really depends on what you've learned from those experiences. Much of this comes down to brainstorming the right stories to tell and executing your telling of those stories effectively in the essays (not a simple thing, we know!).

Hopefully this adds some clarity. These are very good questions to be grappling with! It sounds like you're coming at it the right way.

EssaySnark