Adventures in India (and Malaysia too!)

Back in Bangalore

2011-09-18T07:07:00.003-04:00

I'm back! Four more weeks in Bangalore, this time staying at the beautiful Taj West End. This is one of the oldest hotels in Bangalore, dating back to its days as a guest house during the British Occupation.

The trip was long but relatively painless. The travel gods were smiling at me since I had an empty seat next to me on both flights -- that little bit of extra space makes all the difference!

We all are settling in -- unpacking, napping, grabbing brunch. Of course, I've already managed to get some shopping in. The Belaku Trust had a shopping booth set up outside the hotel lobby -- they sell handicrafts made by women. They had beautiful rolled paper bead necklaces, recycled paper notecards, block printed scarves... and the best part is that it continues to support their education and empowerment programs.

No pictures today but I'll try to get some nice ones of the hotel grounds -- trees and flowers everywhere! It's sort of like being at a resort; you don't even realize you are in the middle of busy Bangalore!

T-minus 5 days

2009-05-13T05:41:00.003-04:00

Yes, I know I have been a neglectful blogger yet again... but I'm on my way back to the US in only five days!

For those of you with the patience to continue checking the blog, here's a shot we took when we went exploring the KLCC (KL City Centre) area by the Petronas Towers....

Gloria (China), Cristina and Jon (Australia), Eric (China) and me

Low Key Weekend

2009-04-27T09:32:00.007-04:00

This past weekend was more relaxing than the past few - we didn't have any major adventures planned, and I think all of us were in desperate need of a rest.

The absolutely lovely people that we work with decided that we should spend the day being less like tourists and more like real Malaysians, so they planned our Saturday for us... and we had an absolute blast!

We started the morning at Hong Kee Tim Sum for a dim sum breakfast. Dim sum is a Chinese cuisine with a variety of steamed dishes - definitely not the typical American style of breakfast but completely delicious. I managed to successfully eat my breakfast with chopsticks BEFORE my coffee. I couldn't resist a typical Malaysian coffee to finish the meal though. Yes, my coffee is in a bag with a straw. "Coffee in a packet" may be my next favorite Malaysian treat besides "Corn in a cup." Perhaps everything just tastes better when served in a unique container?

After breakfast, we headed over to The Curve for some shopping and karaoke. Yes, I said karaoke. It was actually surprisingly fun. You don't have to embarass yourself in front of a bunch of strangers - only people you know :) Karaoke Box, as it's called, allows you to rent a room for a group of friends to sing karaoke. Put 10 of us in a room after a breakfast and hefty dose of coffee in a packet and you get three hours of crazy karaoke fun. The highlight of the day was the performance of Gangsta's Paradise by Robin and me. However, I won't be posting proof of that one on the web - my limits of embarassment only extend to the walls of that karaoke room.

After karaoke, we headed outside to the street market that is held at The Curve every weekend. It's sort of become my unofficial mission to shop at as many locations as possible in KL. The rest of the day was very relaxed - we crossed the street to another mall, 1 Utama, and had some pampering girl time with manis and pedis. The bargain of the day ended up being the five pairs of adorable shoes that only cost me $51 US total. What better way to end the day than with a great deal on shoes?

Suji, me, Robin, and Annette with our new sunglasses from the street market

More stairs than I care to count...

2009-04-21T09:12:00.010-04:00

On Sunday, we booked a tour through the hotel concierge. The main objective of our tour was to visit the Batu Caves, where visitors climb 272 steps up a mountain to visit a Hindu shrine inside a 400 million year old cave. However, we ended up getting a package deal with multiple stops throughout the day. And you all know that I love a good deal :)

Our first stop was the Forest Research Institute of Malaysia (FRIM). We didn't really anticipate this stop on our trip, so no one had any bug spray with them -- which would have been a necessity if we wanted to go on the canopy tour. However, we did go for a short (uphill!) hike to one of the waterfalls on the property. It seems like everyone comes to FRIM to enjoy the outdoors - people were playing tennis, having a picnic, and splashing in the water. It was so hot outside, I was tempted to jump in the water myself!

After relaxing in the very powerful air-conditioning in our little tour van (thank god for a/c!), we headed over to the Batu Caves. Everyone that I have spoken to said that a visit to the caves is an absolute must if you are in KL. While I was not blown away by the temples and shrines inside the caves, the setting was definitely unforgettable! Devotees, and crazy tourists like us, must climb 272 very steep steps to get to the caves. Great exercise, but not the most enjoyable activity on a very hot day. However, the caves were beautiful and the view of the surrounding area was a great reward for the climb!

We made it!

The Batu Caves are also known for the very aggressive monkeys that live there. Thankfully, we did not have any monkeys try to grab our belongings, but we did see one grab at another visitor's bag. I couldn't resist a picture of this cute little guy!
As in India, no tour is complete without some mandatory stops at various shops. Tour bus drivers must love people like me, because of course, I always have to buy something. We stopped at a batik shop and I picked up several scarves as gifts and a beautiful sarong for myself. Who wants one as a Christmas gift?

We ended the day with a stop at the Royal Selangor Pewter Factory, which has been producing hand-crafted and hand-finished pewter in KL since 1885. We got to take a tour of the factory and see how the various pewter products are made. I was really impressed with the woman who makes the hammered pewter by hand - we got to try it and it is impossible to get the hammer indentations in a line and as close together as she manages to. We also stumped upon the School of Hard Knocks, where visitors can make their own pewter bowl. Of course, I had to sign up for that - I've been craftier here in KL than I have ever been in Raleigh! We learned how to hammer a pewter disc into a bowl, and got our very own graduation certificates - plus a great souvenir!

John, April, Gloria and I with our bowls and certificates

I'm Praying for Snow

2009-04-19T07:14:00.017-04:00

On Saturday, we headed back to downtown KL. I'm sure you're noticing a theme here - we head to downtown KL every weekend, since there really isn't anything to do in Putrajaya, where we're staying. It's a lovely hotel, but the main selling point is that it is very close (15 minutes) to all the tech companies in Cyberjaya. There is really nothing out here to entertain us. Thank goodness for the free shuttle from the hotel!

We decided to go to the top of KL Tower to get some pictures of the city. KL Tower is about the same height as the Petronas Twin Towers, but you can get up much higher in the building, so you get a much better panoramic view of the city. The (insane) heat made it a little hazy, but we still got some pretty neat pictures. It's amazing how much construction is taking place in this city - there are new skyscrapers being built all over the place!

KL Tower also has activities and exhibits around the base of the tower. We walked around the animal park, where the majority of the animals on display were snakes. They also had a caged raccoon, since it's apparently an exotic animal here. They also had a winter wonderland display (which was not air-conditioned!). I got a huge kick out of seeing the snowmen and penguins on display, since the average temperature has been around 90F every day. It's insanely hot here, especially when you're out walking around the city. I have my A/C in my hotel room turned up as high as it will go!

We decided we needed a little history, so we went to the National Museum. The building is part of a large complex including the planetarium and lake gardens, so we spent some time in the A/C wandering around the museum and learning about the history of Malaysia while deciding what to do next. By the time we were done with the museum, we were starving. Outside the museum, we discovered my new favorite thing - Corn in a Cup. OMG. It's just hot corn, butter, and salt -- all in a cute little cup, and it only costs $1.00! Yum.

We hiked from the museum over the gardens, and got a little lost somewhere near the planetarium. After what seemed like a mile of all up-hill climbing, we managed to find the lake. It is a beautiful oasis in the middle of the city -- and strangely empty for such a great park area. You can go boating on the lake, stop by the deer park, or do what we did - vist the orchid garden.

It started to rain, so we grabbed a taxi and headed to Low Yat Plaza. Yes, we went to another shopping mall - but this one was six stories of technology goods! Jon picked up a great camera for a very reasonable price, and we wandered around for a while playing with all the laptops and cool gadgets. Before we headed back to Putrajaya for the night, we stopped off for dessert. Cinnabon is alive and well in Malaysia :)

Up next - we visit the the Forest Research Institute of Malaysia (FRIM), the Batu Caves, and the Royal Selangor Pewter Factory.

Downtown KL, Shopping, and Batik

2009-04-12T05:26:00.014-04:00

On Saturday morning, we decided to take the shuttle from our hotel to downtown KL. The shuttle dropped us at the base of the Petronas Towers. One of the things on our to-do list is to go up into the Towers, but we need to get downtown very early in the morning, since they only give out a limited number of tickets. Unfortunately, you can't go any higher than the sky-bridge, so you really don't get to go very far up in the towers.

We took a (very very long) walk through downtown KL to the Central Market, which is located in an old Art Deco building just on the edge of Chinatown. I was able to get a lot of very unique gifts (both for me and for others!), so I had a great time shopping there. All of the guidebooks had said that no one walks in KL -- and I can understand why! It was a several kilometer walk from the Towers to the Market, and it was so hot and humid that the walk just seemed to take forever! We did wander over to Chinatown after we left the Market. It was very similar to Chinatown in NYC -- lots of street vendors and imitation designer goods.

We had to duck back inside Central Market in mid-afternoon to avoid the daily downpour, but once the rain stopped, Robin and I headed over to the Sunway Pyramid Mall. The malls in KL are nothing like the malls in the US. Most of them are more like the Mall of America, not the typical mall most of us head to on the weekend. Hundreds of stores, bowling alleys, ice rinks... there is truly a mall culture here in KL.

This morning, we headed back downtown to walk around and explore some more. We had been referred to the Jadi Batek Center by another IBMer, and we had a great time. For a small fee, you can actually make your own batik! You draw on the cotton with a wax pen, and then paint it using a very thin water based paint. The colors spread on the material very quickly and the wax keeps the colors from spreading outside the pre-defined areas. Once the fabric is washed, the wax comes off, and the white fabric shows through. It took me a while to get used to the proper way of coloring the fabric, but I think the result is pretty good!

We also stopped off at the Pavilion Mall for lunch. I couldn't resist adding another mall picture - they are just so large and overwhelming, and seem to be on just about every corner!

Tomorrow, we head back to work -- but we're planning already for next weekend, so I'll have more to blog about then!

A Very Random Post

2009-04-09T01:02:00.003-04:00

I don't really have much new news to share, but since I promised everyone that I would blog more during this trip, I figured I'd at least post this to say hi to everyone!

Work has been going well. The ride from the hotel to the office is about 15 minutes away, so it's a nice commute. There really is not much traffic here, and the roads are all very new and smooth. KL is really a beautifully kept city - there is all sorts of landscaping and gardens planted along all the roads and medians, and even the lightposts are decorative.

We have new trainers arriving tonight - two from China and two from Australia, so it will be nice to meet new people and learn more about the different countries and their processes. I think we are also going to try to do some shopping this weekend. I planned ahead while packing and saved plenty of room in my luggage for all my purchases! We're planning on going to a batik store where you can make your own batik, so that will make a neat souvenir to bring home. And since it's Easter on Sunday, we're also going to try to find a place to have a nice brunch.

I promise I'll get the camera out and start to take pictures this weekend - especially if we venture outside the hotel and the office!

I made it to Kuala Lumpur!

2009-04-07T05:19:00.002-04:00

So I was a bad blogger and neglected to tell you all about the last few weeks I spent in India. Perhaps I'll post some pictures if I get some time... but for now, I'm in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia!

I just arrived early this morning after 28 hours of traveling - including 21+ in the air! The high point of the whole trip was when I got detained at Heathrow because apparently my hand luggage contained traces of explosives. I'm still not quite sure how that happened, since everything I packed made it to India without an issue (I honestly think their little explosive-detecting machine was malfunctioning), but since three consecutive screens continued to show explosive residue, I got to have a lovely little chat with the Metropolitan Police - 4 of them, armed with what appeared to be machine guns. All of this took place in full view of every other Heathrow passenger trying to get through Terminal 3 security, and perhaps it's a bit more common in the UK, since people did not seem to be staring at our little group as much as I would have expected them to.

Apparently, I'm not too much of a threat, since they decided to let me on the plane to KL, but I now have an official incident report to keep as a memento of the great experience :)

On the plus side, KL is beautiful - everything is so green and leafy! It was drizzling this morning when we landed, but the weather has cleared and it ended up being a beautiful day!

Agra Fort

2009-02-02T10:48:00.007-05:00

I honestly don't know where the time has gone. I have the best intentions of posting about our journeys, but the days seem to fly by!
The weekend we went to the Taj Mahal, we also stopped by to see the Agra Fort. The fort is known as Lal Qila, Fort Rouge and Red Fort of Agra. I wasn't quite sure what to expect from an Indian fort, but it definitely suprised me and surpassed my expectations!
The Agra Fort is the most important fort in India. Several great Mughal rulers lived here and the country was governed from here. It also contained the largest state treasury and mint. While the fort itself is a World Heritage site, 50,000 Indian Army troops are still in residence there. We didn't see any troops on our tour, so that should give you a good idea of how large this fort is!

The main area of the fort was built over an 8 year period, ending in 1573. The main part of the fort is made of red sandstone. However, as the fort passed from ruling father to ruling son, changes were made. When Shah Jahan took up residence at the fort, he did not like the red sandstone and knocked down several buildings so that he could build new ones of white marble. Shah Jahan was quite a fan of white marble, as he was the ruler who built the Taj Mahal in memory of his wife.

We spent a good amount of time walking around the fort, and by the time we left, the heavy fog that covers Agra each morning in the "winter" had lifted, and we were able to truly enjoy the sites.

Native Dress

2009-01-30T10:15:00.003-05:00

Today we wore our traditional Indian clothing to work. We went shopping this past weekend and each bought a salwar kameez. It was a great deal - the blouse, pants, and the dupatta (scarf) all for less than $20 USD! Everyone seemed to love it, and we got great reactions, especially from all the guys! Here is a quick shot of all the great women that we are working with.

I also tried on the saree that I bought in Mysore a few weeks ago. I got the "Western Saree," which means that the skirt came pre-stitched so that I don't have to worry about trying to pleat it and pin it myself. I'm not sure how frequently I'll get a chance to wear it, but it's so beautiful!

I know I've been negligent in blogging lately, but I promise I'll catch up soon. I'm off to Goa in the morning for a short weekend of relaxing by the ocean!

The Taj Mahal - Part 2

2009-01-24T11:07:00.023-05:00

Our tour guide, Daniyel, was very patient with our crazy picture-taking. We later determined that between the three of us, we took about 700 pictures in the 24 hours that we were in Agra.

As we got closer to the monument itself, the beautiful inlay appeared more evident. From far away, the monument looks like it is made entirely of white marble. When you get closer however, you can see the intricate details and patterns in the inlay work. The overall pattern of the carving and inlay is a floral one, but around all the doors and archways, the inlay is of various verses of the Qur’an in an elaborate calligraphy script. The Qur’an verse inlay appears to be consistent in size, but the marble-workers had a very clear understanding of perception and the inlay that is farther away near the top of the monument is actually of a much larger size, so as to appear the same size when viewed.

The detail of all the work was really stunning. As I had mentioned in the previous posting, the building itself only took 8 years to construct, but it was all the embellishment and detail work that took the additional 14 years. The inlay is still in wonderful condition in many places; in some places, visitors have chipped out pieces of the semi-precious stones to take home as souvenirs. The British were actually blamed several times for removing items of value from the Taj Mahal and also the Agra Fort, which we visited on Sunday. I’m not sure how accurate that claim is, or if it is just leftover resentment from so many years of British occupation. There is a wide variety of the semi-precious gemstones that were used in the inlay work; among them are jasper, lapis, and carnelian.

The construction and overall layout was very symmetrical; even the interior of the monument had a symmetrical floorplan. When facing the monument, there is a mosque to the left, and a mirror image to the right. The mosque needed to face Mecca, but since there needed to be balance, an empty building was constructed to balance it out. The photo on the left shows the mosque; the one on the right shows the “mirror” building peeking out from behind the trees.

The trip to Agra went by far too quickly, but we definitely have some memories to last us a lifetime!

Up next – our trip to the Agra Fort!

The Taj Mahal - Part 1

2009-01-22T12:19:00.019-05:00

By the time we arrived in Agra early Saturday afternoon, the haze and fogginess we had been experiencing since Delhi had finally lifted. We had been undecided about whether or not to go to the Taj Mahal on Saturday or Sunday morning, but since the sun had come out, we decided to visit the Taj Mahal then. We were definitely glad we had made that decision when we woke up on Sunday morning – the fog was so thick you couldn’t see things that were three feet away!

Our driver told us we had a complimentary tour guide (we still have no idea how or why), and he met us at the hotel and rode over to the Taj Mahal with us. Because of the delicate nature of the marble, cars are not allowed within 1 kilometer of the monument. Visitors must park and can get to the Taj Mahal by walking, taking an electric car, a horse and buggy, or our choice – a camel cart. After climbing down from the camel cart, we approached the gate, bought our tickets and entered. You’d never guess that this unassuming wall was hiding something so magnificent.

All the buildings that surround the Taj Mahal are made of red sandstone, and are pretty stunning in their own right. You’ll notice that there are 11 minarets on top of the Great Gate, which signifies that it took 22 years to complete the building. They added one minaret every two years until construction was complete. There were touches of marble inlay on the Great Gate – but they were nothing compared to the amount of inlay on the Taj Mahal itself. In fact, the inlay is why construction took so long. The building itself only took 8 years – all the decorative touches took another 14!

And when you walk through the archway in the Great Gate …

There are roving photographers all around the monument. They take your photo in a variety of poses and develop the pictures while you are touring. You can buy the photos you like for 100 rupees ($2) each. Of course, we eagerly participated in this slightly crazy photoshoot, and bought full albums from the photographer. I’m sure they count on the American tourists to meet their daily quotas – we’re a little souvenir crazy sometimes.

Below are the “action shots” as taken from our cameras – the professional pictures look much better, but I think these are too funny to not share!

Trains, Planes, and Automobiles

2009-01-20T12:18:00.011-05:00

There actually weren't any trains involved in our trip to Agra this past weekend, but it took significant effort to get there - a 2.5 hour flight and 5 hour car trip!

As mentioned, we got up very early on Saturday morning to catch our 6:45am flight. The Bangalore airport is a good 45 minutes outside town, so we wanted to make sure we got there with plenty of time to spare. The airport is brand new (it opened within the past year), and we actually had a lot of time to kill once we arrived, since check-in and security were super efficient. Security seems tighter here than at US airports, but there are also things that they are more lax about. For example, just to get into the airport to get to security, we had to check in outside and have our passports validated, and then a military guy with a gun was checking passports and boarding passports at the door into the airport. Once we passed that check, security seemed to be a breeze. They don't require you to get out your little baggie of liquids or even take off your shoes! However, they stamp all your hand baggage to show that it was screened, and then the stamp is checked at the gate before you can get on the plane.

We flew on Kingfisher Airlines because it had a reasonable price and the best flight times. It ended up being a great choice! Kingfisher is an Indian airline run by the Indian equivalent of Richard Branson. The service was great - for less than I pay for a round trip from RDU to Buffalo, we travelled 2200 miles round trip and were served free beverages and full meals -- with real silverware! I would have taken some pictures of everything, but I didn't want to appear too suspicious.

We met our Hertz driver at the Delhi airport and set off for Agra - 200km to the southeast. You'd think you could drive 200km is 3 hours or so -- but not in India. There are random stops along the side of the road where the driver needs to purchase tourist permits, autorickshaws with 12 passengers hanging off all sides, cows strolling along the side of the road, and construction in the middle of the road that you have to drive on top of to pass. While the drive from Delhi to Agra (and back!) is not one that I would probably want to do again, I'm glad that we did it, since it was definitely eye-opening. We're pretty sheltered here in Bangalore. It's a diverse city with a lot of professionals, and while I'm sure there is plenty of poverty here, it's not amazingly evident. It was so very different on the drive - we were passing through small towns and villages and getting a glimpse of what I would consider the "real" side of India. People were living in shacks, the water supply is stagnant, and the children look malnourished. Yet - people looked happy. Perhaps it's because they don't know what else is out there, but the children were playing, and the women sitting together in the fields chatting, and it looked like all was well with the world. It really made me think a lot about how blessed I am, and how thankful I am for all the things that I have been given.

So that's a lot of story without a lot of pictures. Unfortunately, the pictures don't come out too well when you're speeding down the road at 100km/hour! However, I do have a few to share.

Yes - this very overloaded trailer is being pulled down the highway by a camel! Just another day in India....

Sneak Peak of our Agra Trip

2009-01-19T05:22:00.004-05:00

We had a very quick weekend trip to Delhi and Agra that went by way too quickly! Unfortunately, we didn't end up getting into Bangalore until almost 2:00am Monday morning, so I haven't had time to pull together my post(s) on our trip. Yes, you read that correctly -- there will be multiple posts on Agra and the Taj Mahal for all you blog-addicts out there!

However, we have so many beautiful pictures from this weekend that I wanted to give you a quick sneak peak! Keep checking back for all the details and even more pictures!

By Special Request

2009-01-16T03:40:00.003-05:00

I've been told that I haven't been blogging enough lately, and I apologize. Unfortunately, this past week has really just been about work and the hotel, so I didn't have much new to share. Since there is nothing new, I thought I'd share some of the other pictures I've taken since we arrived in Bangalore. But don't worry - we leave for Agra at the crack of dawn (actually, before that - our driver is picking us up at 3:45am!), and by the time we return very late on Sunday night, I fully expect to have plenty of pictures and videos of the Taj Mahal to share with everyone! If today's post doesn't excite you, hopefully the posts recapping our Agra visit definitely will!

Because we're travelling for such an extended period of time, IBM reimburses the cost of laundry service at the hotel. They've been great so far - which has impressed me, since I have a strange need to line dry practically every item that I own. It gets picked up in the morning and returned to me around 7:00pm at night -- everything beautifully folded and packaged in a wicker basket.

We've also noticed that we tend to attract a lot of attention everywhere we go. We expected it when we were in the smaller towns, since American tourists are probably not all that common. But we even get it on the streets of Bangalore - which is probably the most diverse city in India! And trust me - the attention is NOT subtle. It's charming when it comes from the cute little schoolchildren in their uniforms, who say Hi, and ask us our names to practice their English. It's a little weird when it's a group of 30-something year old men that want to take their picture with you!

I've learned that skin as fair as mine is quite a fascination here in India. A lot of the ads you see on TV are for lightening creams, so that you can lighten the tone of your skin. I obviously have no need for anything like that, since I'm already white as a sheet. When we were shopping in Mysore, an older gentleman and younger woman both told me that I had skin like Nicole Kidman, and wanted to touch my face (so I let them). After that, the woman returned with sparkly bindis for all of us. You'll also notice the red mark on my forehead. We received those at the temple on Chamundi Hill, and I believe it's called a Tilaka.

Finally, we did have a day off here on Wednesday, January 14. It was the start of a Pongal, which is a regional harvest holiday. Here in Karnataka, it was in honor of the sugarcane harvest. Everyone gets dressed up in their finest clothes to visit friends and share homemade sweets. On Thursday, many of the girls in our class wore their beautiful sarees to celebrate, and we couldn't resist getting a picture!

Mysore - Monkeys and Elephants, oh my!

2009-01-12T12:06:00.004-05:00

On Saturday we took a day trip about 150 km south of Bangalore to the city of Mysore. Mysore used to be the capital of the state of Mysore, which is now the state of Karnataka. The former royal family used to live in the palaces in Mysore, and their descendents still do – however, since India is now a democracy, the maharaja seems to be really more of a figurehead.

We left early in the morning (around 7:00am) and arrived in Mysore around 10:00am. On the way into Mysore, we stopped at Dariya Daulat Bagh, the summer palace of Tipu Sultan. This palace was built in 1784 and is full of teak carvings. Nearly every surface is covered in colorful paintings, which were in remarkably good condition. Tipu Sultan and his father deposed the previous rulers of Mysore, and united with the French to battle the British invaders. Their cooperation with the French led to two victories against the British Army, but he was ultimately defeated in 1799 and his kingdom was annexed and partially returned to the previous ruling family.

After touring the palace, we walked around the beautiful grounds for a short time before getting back in the car and setting off for Chamundi Hill. Chamundi Hill is a great place for a panoramic view of Mysore, and is also the location of the Sri Chamundeswari Temple, home of the goddess Chamundi. On the way up the hill, we had to pull over to take pictures when we saw all the monkeys! They were very cute and a lot of fun to watch.

After lunch and some shopping, we headed off to Mysore Palace. This palace was built to replace one lost to fire in 1897, and was completed in 1912. The maharaja at the time was quite worldly, and commissioned a palace that combined the three religions of Christianity, Hinduism, and Islam in its architectural style. The exterior of the palace is permanently affixed with 96,000 light bulbs which are turned on during times of celebration. I’m sad we missed that occasion – it would have been amazing to see! The maharaja who built this palace was also instrumental in bringing electricity to the region as early as 1902, as he utilized the hydroelectric power that had been recently been developed in Niagara Falls. How amazing to travel so far from home and hear about something that is so familiar!

As we were leaving, we saw what may have been the highlight of the day – an elephant! Of course we had to get our picture taken with him before heading home.

We had a great but exhausting day :)

Friday Fun

2009-01-09T08:50:00.003-05:00

We made it through our first week in India and it's been a pretty good one. We've been spoiled by the hotel staff, eaten a lot of really good food, and have been working with a great team in training.

We're headed off to Mysore early in the morning (no sleeping in here!) and I'm looking forward to both the sights and the shopping! We were a little concerned that we might not be able to make the trip, since there is a strike happening right now. The officials in the oil companies (which are state-run) are on strike in search of higher pay hikes. Additionally, the lorry (truck) drivers that deliver the petrol in Bangalore are on strike, so there are no new deliveries. However, Shankar has assured us that our snazzy little Toyota Innova can go 600km on a single tank, and since he filled up yesterday, we should be able to get to Mysore and back without an issue. For the eco-conscious amongst you, our Toyota actually runs on bio-diesel, so we're doing what we can to be green, even all the way over here in Bangalore!

Here is a shot that I took on the ride home from work today, showing everyone in line at the petrol station. You'll notice that the men standing there are holding containers of every shape and size to fill up. There is no requirement that you fill an official petrol can. In fact, we saw some men walking away with soda bottles full of petrol!

And for a laugh, I noticed this sign painted on a wall today. You'd be surprised how many men we see on our daily drives that have just stopped by the side of the road to relieve themselves -- right out in the open! It appears that the owners of whatever building was behind this wall did not want to experience that view on a regular basis!

Hope you all have a great Friday -- keep an eye out for a recap of our Mysore trip by Monday morning!

Mehendi

2009-01-08T03:37:00.001-05:00

Last night, we went to the Indian buffet offered at one of the hotel restaurants. We ate outside next to the pool, and the weather was actually turning a little chilly since the wind had picked up. For the buffet, the hotel brings in a mehendi artist, a caricature artist, and a magician -- all to entertain the guests.

After we ate dinner, we had mehendi applied on our hands. Mehendi is an art form that uses an herbal mixture containing mainly henna, eucalyptus oil and lime (no water) to decorate the body. It is most commonly seen as a decoration on Indian brides. The whole process was very quick - the artist was drawing free-hand, and the mehendi looks a lot like puffy paint when applied. It takes about 10 minutes to dry, and then it starts to flake off to reveal the color underneath. It should last for about 3 weeks as long as I don't apply detergents or scrub at the skin.

During application:

The "puffy" stage:

What it looked like after it flaked off:

After dinner, we met with a friend of Robin's at a very cool lounge called The 13th Floor. As I'm sure you'll guess, it's up on the 13th floor of a building in downtown Bangalore. We sat outside and enjoyed the beautiful evening, and made some new friends with the Budweiser sales staff that was there to celebrate their outstanding sales numbers for Karnataka state. They ended up buying us -- what else, Budweiser - and we learned that light beer is not manufactured in India because Indians like strong beer!

From left to right - Karey, Kelli, Maria, Robin, Sayanee

Traffic

2009-01-07T08:22:00.000-05:00

I don't have much new information to share, since we haven't really done much except work, eat, and sleep since we arrived on Sunday. We do have some fun things planned for this weekend. On Saturday, we will be driving down to Mysore (or rather, will be driven to Mysore by the awsome Shankar, our driver), to do some sight-seeing and shopping. Mysore is called the City of Palaces, so it sounds like we will have plenty of photo opportunities! On Sunday, we're planning on doing a walk around the city to learn about Victorian Bangalore - it leaves from the church right across the street from our hotel, and only costs 495 rupees (about $10), which includes breakfast!

I did take a video from my balcony after we got home from work today to try to show everyone the traffic and the noise. I'm going to try to get some video from inside the car on the way to work one day so that you all can experience it first-hand :)

Bathroom Etiquette

2009-01-06T01:11:00.000-05:00

The restroom facilities at the building we are currently working at are very well maintained. However, water shortages must occasionally occur. There are signs posted all over advising that in times of water conservation, a "half-flush" is acceptable. However, my favorite is the large blue bucket on the floor with the label "Water for Emergency Use." When you open the bucket, it is full of water, and there is a small plastic pitcher floating in it. Apparently, if the water stops running, there is a back-up in case you need to flush :)

Sleep Deprivation

2009-01-05T19:44:00.000-05:00

So I'm hoping that my body clock will adjust to the time change in the next day or so, because it's really crazy right now. This morning I woke up at 4:30am local time and could not go back to sleep. I did a little bit of work (hooray for wireless internet!) and then watched a little bit of TV. The majority of the channels that we receive in the hotel broadcast in Hindi, so I get my choice of about 6 channels - none of which have US news. They broadcast the strangest things - the 4:00 hour had a rerun of Cold Case, and now at 6:00am, I'm watching Office Space.

The first day of training went really well, and we're actually already ahead of schedule. The team is really enthusiastic, so it's a fun experience so far. Last night we ate at one of the hotel restaurants - Memories of China. I had the sweet and sour chicken and steamed vegetable dumplings, and they were both outstanding. I'll have to exercise my willpower to not order them off the room service menu many times in the future.

The Taj Residency

2009-01-04T10:21:00.000-05:00

We're staying at the Taj Residency in Bangalore, which is a gorgeous hotel that is probably way outside my personal price range. The staff here is going way out of their way to ensure that our stay is comfortable, and we are being very well taken care of. Every time we leave our rooms, someone comes in to tidy up and straighten the room.

This afternoon, we went to the Jiva Spa in the hotel for a Vishram massage, which is an aromatherapy relaxation massage. The custom oils that they use are scented with Sandalwood, Sesame and Frankincense. Prior to the massage, we used the steamroom, and then afterwards, we were treated to hot chai tea in the relaxation room. We also each received a necklace of Mysore Mallige flowers, which is a type of jasmine. The scent is beautifully light and exotic, and I'm going to see if I can try to find it in a perfume.

We're meeting at 7:30am for breakfast, and are leaving the hotel around 8:00am. Training starts at 10:00am. Can't wait!

And now for some pictures of the hotel:

The view from my balcony

The bathroom - the shower is amazing!

The very comfortable bed

Lessons on India

2009-01-03T23:02:00.000-05:00

We arrived in Bangalore this morning at 4:30am local time. We've been traveling for about 24 hours, and have managed about 4 hours total sleep during that time. The Bangalore airport is brand new and very nice. Customs and Immigration were both very quick and easy, despite the fact there were several flights arriving at that hour. All of our luggage arrived (thankfully!), and we were able to quickly change some dollars to rupees and exit the airport to find Shankar, our driver.

The Bangalore airport is about 45 minutes away from downtown, and I'm sure the ride is quite harrowing when the roads are packed. The roads are not lit, and there are random speed bumps on what appears to be a highway, which requires the drivers to slow down to a crawl.

Some of the lessons we have learned so far:

The driver of the car sits on the right-hand side, and traffic is on the wrong side of the road.
The lines painted on the road are optional. There should be three lanes of traffic, but it's common to straddle the lines and have only two lanes of traffic moving.
Horns are not used in anger or aggression - horns are honked very regularly as a notification that we're approaching on your right and will be passing you.
Cows and dogs roaming the street is standard practice.
Superior service is highly valued. We walked into the lobby, and had four employees asking us if we needed help. Our luggage has been carried everywhere for us. Rooms are cleaned and tidied immediately upon your departure, so that everything is spotless upon your return.

If you're worried about our security, things are definitely safe here. There are guards outside with rifles, all visitors must go through a metal detector, and the luggage is hand screened by security. The hotel also has a manned gate, so we're in our own little fortress.

I'll try to post some pictures from our hotel room later today... but for now, I'm going to nap :)