Well that should get your attention....keep reading for the full story
I've been getting some flak for not posting all week. I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I've been working so much that I haven't had time for many interesting activities. Although I did have a conference call with a SAM and HSBC in Hong Kong in my pajamas at 8am today (long story, don't ask).
So why has it been such a busy week. Well...we got the lab fully installed. I have to say that I'm pretty proud of myself for working out how to install and configure Oracle. I did have one issue I had to escalate but found out it was due to the lack of a patch. Which in turn I screwed up and had to start from scratch all over again. So I've managed to install Oracle 6 times, on 3 VMs, and got it right once (hey, that's all that matters right). I've had a team of developers randomly descend upon my desk to install an RTA server for them and help them test an integration to ECS that they are customizing for a customer. On top of planning how to cram 6 weeks worth of information into a 5 day training. Oh, yeah and the HSBC installation which kept me on the phone with one of our Consultants for at least an hour each day troubleshooting (we told them at the beginning it was permissions...and guess what....yup, permissions).
So now for the fun. After work today, Friday, at about 8:30pm Vineet and I went out to grab some dinner and take a spin around Bangalore. The place he wanted to take me was closed so we found this really neat outside food stand. The first thing we had was....crap...now I can't remember the name...oh well I'll just describe it. It was a fried, break like, hollow sphere that they put something solid in along with some spices. Then they put it in mint/spiced water to fill the rest of the sphere. They then hand it to you and you eat it right there at the counter. So yummy and nothing like I've ever had before. It was a nice change from the usual Indian food I've been eating. Wow, so I say usual and yet it's nothing like Indian food in the US. When we were walking back to Vineet's bike we got harassed by this child begging...he decided to attach himself to my leg...so he was firmly removed. We hopped on the bike and started going around Bangalore...this is when the fun began. Bangalore has more road blocks that I've ever seen, looking for drunk drivers and the such...so I thought. Actually they just pull over anyone and everyone driving down the street they happen to be on. Needless to say we got pulled over. Unfortunately Vineet did not have his License, Registration, Insurance, etc. on him. One cop told him to walk over to another cop and as he was doing so took the keys from the bike and handed them to yet another Cop. Vineet came back and I let him know where his keys were. Off vineet goes to start talking to the cop with his keys. While this is going on another guy is pulled over right behind us and the same thing happens. They take his keys and give them to the same cop Vineet is talking to. Now this cop has both Vineet and this random guy tugging on him to get their keys back...and this cop just keep walking away from them. Vineet comes back over to make sure I'm cool and says that he probably wants a bribe but doesn't want it to be obvious with me standing there. So off they go again to keep bugging this cop for their Keys, or a ticket, or something to actually happen. Well after about 15 minutes of this the cop comes over and appears to be writing a ticket...I say appears because when I watch the interaction they are actually haggling. Now during this 15 minutes some random guy sitting on the side of the street comes up and stands right next to me, in my personal space bubble if you will. I see him kind of eyeing me and I figure he's probably trying to work out where my wallet is so him or his friends can grab it while everyone is haggling with the cops. I shoot him a pretty mean glare (bet you didn't think I could do that did you) and he walked away. So Vineet comes back with his keys and off we go. No ticket, but it did cost a 200 rs. bribe to get out of there. Now I've had my fair share of less than stellar interactions with our oh-so-fine public servants, I did have long hair after all, but in the US we would have been most likely in Jail, or with a hefty ticket and a court date. Here it was 20 minutes of frustration and cost $5, off the record. Now yes, Vineet didn't have his paperwork with him, but this other guy did and there was no chance of speeding down this road so I've decided this is the best scam ever. They set up an official road block....pull everyone over just for the heck of it...then grab your keys until you can reach a mutually agreed upon price to get them back. With no recourse because they're cops...and they're all in it together.
Well after we got out of there we kept cruising around Bangalore and ended up lost. This is when I had an interesting revelation. We stopped to ask for directions and I found that I was pretty much understanding where he was telling us to go. I also realized that I'm starting to hear the same or similar "sound" combinations. I say sound because I have no idea if it's one, two, or more words together. I asked Vineet what one of them meant and it was "have you done that" or something to that effect and that it was about 3 words together. So we got a little lost and asked again. This time armed with some knowledge I was able to understand these directions much more and think he was saying "after you do that" based on some of the words he was saying. I could be completely wrong, but it makes sense to me and I thought it was pretty darn cool.
Well, it's about 12:15am and I'm tired so it's time to watch a movie and fall asleep. oooo...the HBO movie is about vampires...and has Parker Posey...gotta go :)
Friday, March 30, 2007
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Sightseeing in Bangalore
I decided today would be a good day to go sightseeing...I so hate being a tourist though!
I made a plan to go visit Tipu Sultan's palace...and never made it...but I had a much better experience. When I walked out of the hotel I talked with an Auto-rickshaw driver named Babu and said that I was planning on going to Tipu Sultan's palace. He asked if I wanted to see other sight too...which I did...so he took me on a tour of Bangalore for about 3 hours. We started off driving by the Government headquarters and the High Court. You can't go in but we stopped to take some pictures. We then went by this amazing crafts store and I bought a few gifts. After that we headed out to Bangalore Palace. I must have an out-of-date book on India because it said people couldn't go in because a family was still living there...apparently that's changed. The palace is a replica of Windsor castle over in the UK and there are some very obvious European influences on the inside. After a tour of the palace we went by a beautiful temple. The carving and statues there are unbelievable. I know now why I've never felt drawn to "western" religions...there's no feeling too them. Cathedrals are beautiful and all but are always cold, and dreary. The colors and images on the temple made you want to actually celebrate something.
After the temple I was getting tired so we went back to the hotel. When I asked how much for the tour Babu said "as you like". Wow, how to work out how much that was worth....he was showing me the history of Bangalore, describing things in the Palace, taking my picture with some of the sights. I gave him what would be a pretty good price in the US hoping that it would translate well and figured that was the safe thing to do so as not to offend him for the time and effort. If I had planned on getting a guided tour I would have done a little research to find out what the going rate was, but that's the fun about travelling, you never know how things are going to turn out. It was also nice that my original plan of getting dropped off somewhere and walking around didn't happen because when I saw the surrounding areas it probably wouldn't have been too safe to be by myself there...well maybe safe isn't the right word....more like hassle free.
One thing I've noticed being here is that everyone I've met from co-workers, to the hotel staff, to the office drivers, to the auto drivers are very happy to help show you around, make sure you enjoy yourself, and make sure that you are safe. I could never imagine a New York cab driver doing the same thing.
Now for some pictures from the day in the next postings....
I made a plan to go visit Tipu Sultan's palace...and never made it...but I had a much better experience. When I walked out of the hotel I talked with an Auto-rickshaw driver named Babu and said that I was planning on going to Tipu Sultan's palace. He asked if I wanted to see other sight too...which I did...so he took me on a tour of Bangalore for about 3 hours. We started off driving by the Government headquarters and the High Court. You can't go in but we stopped to take some pictures. We then went by this amazing crafts store and I bought a few gifts. After that we headed out to Bangalore Palace. I must have an out-of-date book on India because it said people couldn't go in because a family was still living there...apparently that's changed. The palace is a replica of Windsor castle over in the UK and there are some very obvious European influences on the inside. After a tour of the palace we went by a beautiful temple. The carving and statues there are unbelievable. I know now why I've never felt drawn to "western" religions...there's no feeling too them. Cathedrals are beautiful and all but are always cold, and dreary. The colors and images on the temple made you want to actually celebrate something.
After the temple I was getting tired so we went back to the hotel. When I asked how much for the tour Babu said "as you like". Wow, how to work out how much that was worth....he was showing me the history of Bangalore, describing things in the Palace, taking my picture with some of the sights. I gave him what would be a pretty good price in the US hoping that it would translate well and figured that was the safe thing to do so as not to offend him for the time and effort. If I had planned on getting a guided tour I would have done a little research to find out what the going rate was, but that's the fun about travelling, you never know how things are going to turn out. It was also nice that my original plan of getting dropped off somewhere and walking around didn't happen because when I saw the surrounding areas it probably wouldn't have been too safe to be by myself there...well maybe safe isn't the right word....more like hassle free.
One thing I've noticed being here is that everyone I've met from co-workers, to the hotel staff, to the office drivers, to the auto drivers are very happy to help show you around, make sure you enjoy yourself, and make sure that you are safe. I could never imagine a New York cab driver doing the same thing.
Now for some pictures from the day in the next postings....
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Bangalore night life..part 2
So let's ignore the fact that I went into the office on a Saturday and talk some more about Bangalore nightlife.....
By the way....I just got in and I'm a little drunk...and very sweaty but I wanted to try and capture this feeling before it fades :)
So Vineet picked me up on his 2-wheeler (motorcycle) and we went to the other side of Bangalore to this place called Leela Palace. This has to be one of the largest and most beautiful hotels that I've ever seen (ignoring Opry Land). His cousin is a cook there...so the 2 of us plus his 3 roommates were on the guest list (the only way 5 single guys would ever get in). After walking into a lobby area we talked with the bouncer and he let us through...we took the elevator down to 2 floors below ground and stepped out into some crazy house music. There weren't many people around when we got there but within 30 minutes the place was PACKED! The positive energy coming from everyone there was unbelievable. They played a really cool mix of music from american hip-hop remixes, to house, some reggaeton, and more house. People were screaming, jumping and just plain going crazy. There were some of the most beautiful women I have ever seen (there's just something about dark hair and dark eyes that gets me every time) and a very diverse mix of people all having a great time. I was happy that they had my favorite club drink (red bull and vodka) and I had quite a few of those to keep going. I can't tell you the last time I danced that much or was in a club that was so much fun. It had to be when I was in London 4-5 years ago and I totally felt like I was back in my raver days (don't ask....I was young).
Vineets roommates are a great group of guys and I think everyone had a fun time...they were pretty much wasted by the end of the night. Speaking of end of the night...they closed at midnight...I was so unhappy. Usually it takes at least until midnight for the energy in a club to get to the level this one was at by 10. I guess when you know somewhere closes at 12 you learn not to hold back waiting around.
Have I said yet how alive this city makes me feel...I actually have to talk myself into going to bed every night
alright...my legs and feet hurt so it's time to try and go to bed.
By the way....I just got in and I'm a little drunk...and very sweaty but I wanted to try and capture this feeling before it fades :)
So Vineet picked me up on his 2-wheeler (motorcycle) and we went to the other side of Bangalore to this place called Leela Palace. This has to be one of the largest and most beautiful hotels that I've ever seen (ignoring Opry Land). His cousin is a cook there...so the 2 of us plus his 3 roommates were on the guest list (the only way 5 single guys would ever get in). After walking into a lobby area we talked with the bouncer and he let us through...we took the elevator down to 2 floors below ground and stepped out into some crazy house music. There weren't many people around when we got there but within 30 minutes the place was PACKED! The positive energy coming from everyone there was unbelievable. They played a really cool mix of music from american hip-hop remixes, to house, some reggaeton, and more house. People were screaming, jumping and just plain going crazy. There were some of the most beautiful women I have ever seen (there's just something about dark hair and dark eyes that gets me every time) and a very diverse mix of people all having a great time. I was happy that they had my favorite club drink (red bull and vodka) and I had quite a few of those to keep going. I can't tell you the last time I danced that much or was in a club that was so much fun. It had to be when I was in London 4-5 years ago and I totally felt like I was back in my raver days (don't ask....I was young).
Vineets roommates are a great group of guys and I think everyone had a fun time...they were pretty much wasted by the end of the night. Speaking of end of the night...they closed at midnight...I was so unhappy. Usually it takes at least until midnight for the energy in a club to get to the level this one was at by 10. I guess when you know somewhere closes at 12 you learn not to hold back waiting around.
Have I said yet how alive this city makes me feel...I actually have to talk myself into going to bed every night
alright...my legs and feet hurt so it's time to try and go to bed.
Friday, March 23, 2007
New friends and Bangalore at night
So it's been a busy few days at work and after work so I haven't had the energy to write much.
Vineet made it into the office on Thursday and we spent most of the day installing the lab. We decided to go out for lunch so I hopped on the back of his motorcycle (2-wheeler as they call them here) and off we went through the craziness of Bangalore roads. We ate at this pretty small local joint and I had some Paneer Kofta and something else that I can't remember the name of...it was really good though.
Shortly after we got back Tijo (one of the consultants) and Sachin (one of the Project Managers) came down to my desk because of an installation issue at HSBC and wanted to see if I had any input. I helped them out for a while. At the end of the day they invited me out for drinks and dinner. We walked down about 1/4 mile from the office (past another cow in the street) to a small local place called the Windsor Pub. It was pretty much like any neighborhood bar...Son of a Preacher Man was playing on the stereo. They dropped me off at the hotel after that and after checking some e-mail I went to bed.
I really have to stop checking e-mail when I get back to the hotel at night, it makes for really long days. It just happens to be the time when everyone in Nashville gets to work.
Neither Shrujal or Vineet were in the office today so I spent the entire day getting working on the lab installation. For those of you at Aspect I finally got APO installed and almost working....damn dataloads! Tijo and Sachin invited me out after work and we went to a roof top lounge on the other side of the city. I can't remember the name of it but it was on the 6th floor and had some velvet couches, and dance floor, and really bad music (Bryan Adams anyone?) We had some rum and cokes and some baby corn chili and watched some of the India vs. Sri Lanka World cup Cricket match. That reminds me...how many people in the US actually know the Cricket world cup is going on?? Also, you know what the biggest news story since I've been here is...the Pakistani Cricket coach being murdered right after they lost...has that even made the news, even once over there?
Anyway, after that we decided to try going to a club. We got over to MG road and Bangalore Central and walked up to this place called Hilt...this is where I found out the most interesting thing about Bangalore night life. The clubs won't let "stags" (single men) in on weekend nights, unless you know someone or pay an insane cover. By insane cover I mean 800 rs. a person. Instead of translating that into dollars let me just say that dinner and drinks for the 3 of us cost under 400 rs.
Not willing to pay the cover we headed out to dinner at a southern indian restaurant and had "meals". It's an all you can eat mixture of Rice with 5 different dishes. Honestly, this is the first meal that I didn't really enjoy, I think it was due to being so tired (it was about 10:30pm when we sat down) and trying to eat with my hands. I have no problems when there's bread to help grab things, but I wasn't getting the hang of balling up the rice and getting to to my mouth...most of it ended up back on the plate each time.
Well, tomorrow is Saturday and I know Vineet was talking about going out when he was done with work. I also got offers from Tijo, Sachin, and Nirupesh (team lead for ePro) to hang out so I doubt I'll be bored. Hopefully I'll get some good pictures to share tomorrow!
Time to go to bed....I'm really tired...
Vineet made it into the office on Thursday and we spent most of the day installing the lab. We decided to go out for lunch so I hopped on the back of his motorcycle (2-wheeler as they call them here) and off we went through the craziness of Bangalore roads. We ate at this pretty small local joint and I had some Paneer Kofta and something else that I can't remember the name of...it was really good though.
Shortly after we got back Tijo (one of the consultants) and Sachin (one of the Project Managers) came down to my desk because of an installation issue at HSBC and wanted to see if I had any input. I helped them out for a while. At the end of the day they invited me out for drinks and dinner. We walked down about 1/4 mile from the office (past another cow in the street) to a small local place called the Windsor Pub. It was pretty much like any neighborhood bar...Son of a Preacher Man was playing on the stereo. They dropped me off at the hotel after that and after checking some e-mail I went to bed.
I really have to stop checking e-mail when I get back to the hotel at night, it makes for really long days. It just happens to be the time when everyone in Nashville gets to work.
Neither Shrujal or Vineet were in the office today so I spent the entire day getting working on the lab installation. For those of you at Aspect I finally got APO installed and almost working....damn dataloads! Tijo and Sachin invited me out after work and we went to a roof top lounge on the other side of the city. I can't remember the name of it but it was on the 6th floor and had some velvet couches, and dance floor, and really bad music (Bryan Adams anyone?) We had some rum and cokes and some baby corn chili and watched some of the India vs. Sri Lanka World cup Cricket match. That reminds me...how many people in the US actually know the Cricket world cup is going on?? Also, you know what the biggest news story since I've been here is...the Pakistani Cricket coach being murdered right after they lost...has that even made the news, even once over there?
Anyway, after that we decided to try going to a club. We got over to MG road and Bangalore Central and walked up to this place called Hilt...this is where I found out the most interesting thing about Bangalore night life. The clubs won't let "stags" (single men) in on weekend nights, unless you know someone or pay an insane cover. By insane cover I mean 800 rs. a person. Instead of translating that into dollars let me just say that dinner and drinks for the 3 of us cost under 400 rs.
Not willing to pay the cover we headed out to dinner at a southern indian restaurant and had "meals". It's an all you can eat mixture of Rice with 5 different dishes. Honestly, this is the first meal that I didn't really enjoy, I think it was due to being so tired (it was about 10:30pm when we sat down) and trying to eat with my hands. I have no problems when there's bread to help grab things, but I wasn't getting the hang of balling up the rice and getting to to my mouth...most of it ended up back on the plate each time.
Well, tomorrow is Saturday and I know Vineet was talking about going out when he was done with work. I also got offers from Tijo, Sachin, and Nirupesh (team lead for ePro) to hang out so I doubt I'll be bored. Hopefully I'll get some good pictures to share tomorrow!
Time to go to bed....I'm really tired...
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Time for some pictures
OK, so here's a few pictures from the Office...not too exciting, but it's a start...and I'm going to try and upload some video of my ride home. Hopefully that will work but it might be time for a youtube account as well.1-2) A few from one of the balconies...check out all the coconut trees...and yes..it was that hazy today.
3) The welcome sign...I feel so special :)
So it's about 2 hours later and I can't get youtube to upload the files...I'll try again later.
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
first day at the office
So today was a really full day...I work up at 4:30am...darn jetlag...and watched Sernity on HBO. I don't even know the last time I was that awake that early.
The hotel provides free breakfast every day which is really cool...most of it is pretty normal fare but I did have these really good frien spinich and cheese thingamy-bobs...and some not so good papya juice...something about it just seemed off.
Sareen, one of the Managers at the ATC picked me up and we headed into the office. I didn't really see the outside of the building because before I knew it we were in the undergroud garage. They found a work area for me and introduced me around. the best thing...Free espresso...a caffinated Drew is a happy drew ;) It's kinda interesting because to bring laptops (or any electrinics into or out of the building) you have to sign them in.
We got the server for the lab unpacked and I spend the day setting it up as it's own domain, getting all the VMs setup and configured. BTW...I HATE DNS...and windows firewall. I worked a lot with Siddartha, one of the ePro CTAS guys (who also runs their lab), getting all the DNS domain stuff worked out. By the time I left the server is ready for the app to be installed when Shrujal and Vineet make it back. Quick note on them...due to the horrible weather in the north east they were still not in Bangalore by 6pm tonight. I feel really bad for those guys...and I thougt I had a long trip.
Like the Nashville office they have food there...and yes it's Indian. Sareen asked if I wanted Indian food or pizza...and india food all the say baby...I still have not hunted down western food...and there are no plans to still!!!!!!
I also talked with Mahendra quite a bit about our support model and eWFM in general. I think it would probably be beneficial...once the lab is up and running to show them the application so they have a frame of reference.
Overall everyone is really nice, eager to help and make sure I'm comfortable :)
After work I got back to the hotel and decided to go for a walk...if I thought it was crazy yesterday it was so much more so today. MG Road was PACKED and I got a little more adventurous and turned off MG Road onto Residency Rd (I think). And if I thought MG road was packed....guess what...even more crazyness. I'll have to get a little video clip of walking down the street because there really are no words to decribe it. I find it really energizing to walk around with tons of people and stuff going on..I wish nashville had just one street like this because it really makes you feel alive being surrouded by so many people, so much movement, and so many different colors and smells.
I'm also finding the little things that make India "indearing". My walk ended because what was a bright busy street all of a sudden turned into a pretty dark busy street...At first I thought it was just the way it was until I heard all the generators and saw vendors doing business by candle light or flashlight...actually it was a power outage...That's when I decided since I didn't really know where the road I was on went it might be wise to turn around. It did make for a really cool image of a guy counting $$ from customers by candelight in a tabacco stall. Back on MG road some of power there was also out...but not everywhere...good thing is there are so many cars, bikes, etc. providing light that it wasn't pitch black and it made for some really cool shadows when people were walking towards me. There have been a few of those...my room has probably lost power about 5 times by now...for about 30 seconds each time...and it happened once at the office for about a minute. The first 2 times I was a little concerned...but knowing that it comes right back makes it ok.
After 2 days here my best comparison would be the organized chaos of NYC meets the spirit of New Orleans...this will probably change the more I experience but that's how I feel for now :)
TTFN
The hotel provides free breakfast every day which is really cool...most of it is pretty normal fare but I did have these really good frien spinich and cheese thingamy-bobs...and some not so good papya juice...something about it just seemed off.
Sareen, one of the Managers at the ATC picked me up and we headed into the office. I didn't really see the outside of the building because before I knew it we were in the undergroud garage. They found a work area for me and introduced me around. the best thing...Free espresso...a caffinated Drew is a happy drew ;) It's kinda interesting because to bring laptops (or any electrinics into or out of the building) you have to sign them in.
We got the server for the lab unpacked and I spend the day setting it up as it's own domain, getting all the VMs setup and configured. BTW...I HATE DNS...and windows firewall. I worked a lot with Siddartha, one of the ePro CTAS guys (who also runs their lab), getting all the DNS domain stuff worked out. By the time I left the server is ready for the app to be installed when Shrujal and Vineet make it back. Quick note on them...due to the horrible weather in the north east they were still not in Bangalore by 6pm tonight. I feel really bad for those guys...and I thougt I had a long trip.
Like the Nashville office they have food there...and yes it's Indian. Sareen asked if I wanted Indian food or pizza...and india food all the say baby...I still have not hunted down western food...and there are no plans to still!!!!!!
I also talked with Mahendra quite a bit about our support model and eWFM in general. I think it would probably be beneficial...once the lab is up and running to show them the application so they have a frame of reference.
Overall everyone is really nice, eager to help and make sure I'm comfortable :)
After work I got back to the hotel and decided to go for a walk...if I thought it was crazy yesterday it was so much more so today. MG Road was PACKED and I got a little more adventurous and turned off MG Road onto Residency Rd (I think). And if I thought MG road was packed....guess what...even more crazyness. I'll have to get a little video clip of walking down the street because there really are no words to decribe it. I find it really energizing to walk around with tons of people and stuff going on..I wish nashville had just one street like this because it really makes you feel alive being surrouded by so many people, so much movement, and so many different colors and smells.
I'm also finding the little things that make India "indearing". My walk ended because what was a bright busy street all of a sudden turned into a pretty dark busy street...At first I thought it was just the way it was until I heard all the generators and saw vendors doing business by candle light or flashlight...actually it was a power outage...That's when I decided since I didn't really know where the road I was on went it might be wise to turn around. It did make for a really cool image of a guy counting $$ from customers by candelight in a tabacco stall. Back on MG road some of power there was also out...but not everywhere...good thing is there are so many cars, bikes, etc. providing light that it wasn't pitch black and it made for some really cool shadows when people were walking towards me. There have been a few of those...my room has probably lost power about 5 times by now...for about 30 seconds each time...and it happened once at the office for about a minute. The first 2 times I was a little concerned...but knowing that it comes right back makes it ok.
After 2 days here my best comparison would be the organized chaos of NYC meets the spirit of New Orleans...this will probably change the more I experience but that's how I feel for now :)
TTFN
Monday, March 19, 2007
First impressions part 2
So I just took a walk down part of MG Road, one of the major streets in Bangalore...mainly on the hunt for a bottle of Coke...which I found at this grocery/appliance store. Along this part of MG road there's all sorts of roadside food (so tempting...but not quite yet) including a stand selling whole coconuts...if only I had something to dismatle it with. There's a huge cricket stadium, TONS of shops selling silk and kashmire and some fun clothing stores. I stopped at an outside coffee shop, got a iced cafe mocha (the put all the chocloate syrup at the bottom..boo) and people watched for a little while. It's really neat seeing the combination of people dressed in traditional attire mixed with people dressed in some really hip clothes (I'll have to find some of those shops). I almost got killed walking accross the street because I was looking the wrong way for traffic (that'll take a few days to get used to). There's people selling all sorts of things on the street from Sunglasses, to tablas, to books and Jewelry. Some are pushier that others which makes me glad I lived in NYC and don't feel bad ignoring them.
I also get a kick at the amont of motercycles...no not Harleys..mostly vespas....who woulda thunk that you could fit a familly of 4 on a vespa. There's also a TON of yellow "Auto-Rickshaws"...they're like mini cars that can fit 2 people in the back and not much else....that also reminds me of NYC with all the yellow flying down the street.
Overall there's a really live positive energy in the city...I can't wait to see some of the nightlife.
Oh yeah...it's hot... and there is a funk...but not a terrible funk..kind of Bourbon St. at about 3am in September kinda funk...but every so often a whif of incense wafts past making it all better.
Time to unpack and relax a little before working out what to eat for dinner. Hopefully Shrujal and Vineet made it over ok!
I also get a kick at the amont of motercycles...no not Harleys..mostly vespas....who woulda thunk that you could fit a familly of 4 on a vespa. There's also a TON of yellow "Auto-Rickshaws"...they're like mini cars that can fit 2 people in the back and not much else....that also reminds me of NYC with all the yellow flying down the street.
Overall there's a really live positive energy in the city...I can't wait to see some of the nightlife.
Oh yeah...it's hot... and there is a funk...but not a terrible funk..kind of Bourbon St. at about 3am in September kinda funk...but every so often a whif of incense wafts past making it all better.
Time to unpack and relax a little before working out what to eat for dinner. Hopefully Shrujal and Vineet made it over ok!
Sunday, March 18, 2007
I made it..and first impressions
So I was hopeful that I'd have an uneventful trip here...and it almost happened...util we were about 45 minutes outside of paris and they realized that they couldn't pressurize the cabin. Not only that but they also had to burn off fuel before they could land back in paris....so we flew in circles for 4 hours until enough fuel was gone that they could land safely. Once we landed there was another hour and a half of sitting there until another plane was ready to take us. So instead of arriving at about 12:30am I arrived at 8am. The person I really feel sorry for was the driver who was picking me up from the Airport since he had been there waiting since midnight. They found him sleeping in his car.
So my first impressions...as I told my parents....it's F***ing CRAZY. I can see why they don't let out of towners drive here...we were driving on the wrong side of the road to pass people with other cars/bikes/etc. on-coming. If you've been in a NYC cab weavng through midtown traffic think of that....x10. And yes...in the drive from the airport to the hotel I actually saw at least 3 cows on the sidewalk just chillin'. I can totally understand how people are affected by the culture shock...I was pretty overwhelmed and speachless after the ride to the hotel...but I'm excited to get out and see what's out there. We drive by a few parks and according to the map my hotel is right on the edge of one of them.
Everyone has been so nice and helpful...well the porters at the airport are a little too helpful...they were actually asking for a $20 tip...and pushing for it...yeah right!
When I was flying in it looked like some scenes from the Jimmy Cliff movie the Harder the come...with Palm trees and faded but colorful 3 story houses bunched really close together. Driving through the city you can totally see how there is poverty mixed with high tech. There looks to be some really cool architechture and colorful buildings that I can't wait to find in more detail
I just picked up a little map from the hotel so I'm gonna go walkabout and see what fun I can find...then figure out how I'm getting to work tomorrow
Love and Hugs
So my first impressions...as I told my parents....it's F***ing CRAZY. I can see why they don't let out of towners drive here...we were driving on the wrong side of the road to pass people with other cars/bikes/etc. on-coming. If you've been in a NYC cab weavng through midtown traffic think of that....x10. And yes...in the drive from the airport to the hotel I actually saw at least 3 cows on the sidewalk just chillin'. I can totally understand how people are affected by the culture shock...I was pretty overwhelmed and speachless after the ride to the hotel...but I'm excited to get out and see what's out there. We drive by a few parks and according to the map my hotel is right on the edge of one of them.
Everyone has been so nice and helpful...well the porters at the airport are a little too helpful...they were actually asking for a $20 tip...and pushing for it...yeah right!
When I was flying in it looked like some scenes from the Jimmy Cliff movie the Harder the come...with Palm trees and faded but colorful 3 story houses bunched really close together. Driving through the city you can totally see how there is poverty mixed with high tech. There looks to be some really cool architechture and colorful buildings that I can't wait to find in more detail
I just picked up a little map from the hotel so I'm gonna go walkabout and see what fun I can find...then figure out how I'm getting to work tomorrow
Love and Hugs
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