Mike-Mck 的个人资料Mike's adventures照片日志列表更多  |  工具 帮助 |
|
|
9月2日 New friends from old placesThis morning as I was heading to breakfast, I ran into Divium in the elevator. She was busy on her mobile and there was another gentleman o the lift with us. Divium introduced us and it turns out he was from the Atlanta area. What an incredibly small world! Murali was originally from Hyderabad and still has family in the area. Over breakfast, he mentioned that having been in the US for the last 30 years, he was missing being there. Throughout the conversation, I found that I had a lot more in common with him than I would of expected. He also invited us out today to spend some time with his Nephew and himself. So the three of us took a ride with him and did a little shopping. He also took the opportunity to show us part of his town that he spent time in as a child. It was a facinating view into the the city I would not of gotten any other way.
The city we were in was Secunderbad, which was origianlly built by the British military as a base and has since merged with Hyderabad kind of like Minneapolis and St. Paul. The entire area was filled with little shops and some major named stores. It was a great time just getting out and getting a feeling of the place. It was also great watching people go about the normal lives and watching how that operates. The only down side to the day was that being Sunday, most of the shops were closed. Even with this limitation, there were still a number of fascinating shops selling things from jewelry to fabric to hand made sivlerware to musical instruments. The word bazaar surely described the place. It was also an interesting occurance to run into another gentleman from the office who is here on a 2 year ex-pat assignment who had brought his family down to see the shops as well. All in all, another great day in Hyderabad. I think that tomorrow, being a holiay, will be a day of hanging around the hotel or maybe heading to the book store at city center.
I belong in the ZooYesterday, Jason, Div and I decided to head to the Nehru Zoological Park. I have been to many, many zoos across the United States and was not really expecting much of this zoo. Driving to the zoo, I was beginning to wonder just where we were going. Driving past the Charminar and continuing to head south, we eventually came to the zoo. The entrane was not promising, but we went ahead and paid our 20 rupees to enter (.50 cents) and I paid another 20 rupees to take a camera into the park. Because of the recent incidents, security was extremely heavy and each of us had to go through a pat down prior to being granted entry (at which point I had to show my cell phone, but not the three spare camera batteries. Hmmm) Once inside, we hired a zoo van to take us around the park and describe the animals we were seeing. This was well worth the 175 rupees ($4.38) we paid. One side comment here is that in India there is no government agency that is there to prevent you from hurting yourself. If you want to ride holding the van doors open with your feet, well, it is your decision. And if that leads to and injury, you should of known better and it is your own fault.
After touring the zoo, one thing I can say, it is definately a world class zoo. I did not see an single animal that appeared to be mal nourished or in any sort of distress. Most of the animals are in a natural setting and not in cages (although the big cats, other than the lions, are in cages, I expect that is due to the nature of the animal) and for the most part the animals were active and easy to photograph. I very much enjoyed the visit, both for the drive there and for the visit to the park itself. I highly recommend it for any one visiting.
After we finished with the zoo, we still had most of the afternoon left. So we decided to go shopping. Now, I am not normally someone who can handle much of this, and today proved no different. I did find a backpack (college book bag) to use while while travelling in the country. I also found a number of different stores to take my wife to when she visits. That will empty my wallet quite a bit, but there are some outfits I would really like to see her in.
All in all, this was a really nice day and the camera got one heck of a workout. I think I took somewhere in the neighborhood of 300 shots. At this rate, I am going to have to buy more DVD's to do data backup! I am not looking forward to going through all of the shots at the end of the trip.
However, without further ado, here are some of the best shots from today...
9月1日 Gotta Dance!Last evening I had a chance to go to a social event with my new teammates. What a great time I had last evening. My new team mates are young (mostly in their 20’s) and reminded me of way back when I was that age. A night away from the office meant it was time to play hard. It was a cycle then Work hard, Play hard, and then work hard again. One of the things that came out very easily last night is the complete passion that my team mates have for all things. I had seen it at the office, the drive to succeed and to exceed all expectations. What I did not expect was to see that last evening as well. At the start of the evening, we were a group of strangers. After last night, we were a team. Each of these people has come from all over the country and had not worked together before. Most were strangers before the start of the evening and the early part was getting to know one another. However, when the music started, it was time to get on the dance floor and let go. I do not know that I have had that enjoyable of an evening for a while. By the end of the night, they even had me on the dance floor! I do have to admit that my 40 year old, arthritis ridden body was no match for the easy grace of this younger crowd. But it was FUN! I hope that in the upcoming months, we will continue to do this more. This group is the future of my industry and I believe it is in good hands! 8月29日 What is normal?Well, according to the press, life in Hyderabad is returning to normal. However, the malls and major gathering spots are still closed. In the newspaper yesterday, there was a story that India has had more terrorists attacks in the last year than any other place besides Iraq. It also had a major story that the intelligence groups think that several IT companies have been infiltrated by the same. Of course, how much of this is real and how much is yellow journalism? I am old enough now to recognize that some stories are in the paper simply to generate circulation. This was also followed by a story that Hyderabad has 14 bomb squads and 11 of them are assigned directly to VIP's!! It all makes you wonder. On another note, life has returned to normal for the three of us here on short term assignment. The short nights and long working days are apparently going to be the way of life for a period of time. When you see the same four walls for 10-12 hours a day and then come to hotel to work for a couple of more hours, it makes the weekend that much more precious. I am hoping that this weekend to be able to get back into the city and continue to see the sites (with some caution, of course). It also helps that this is a three day weekend as the company I am working for is going to follow the US labor day holiday. If I am sequestered in the hotel again, it will be a very long and lonely weekend. I also am looking forward to Friday evening when Jason and I will be going to dinner with my new team mates here. I am looking forward to getting to know them better! As it stands now, other than initial greetings and some small interaction during the day, I have not had the chance to spend any time with them. So, back to the initial question that started this post, "What is normal?" I guess I have figured out that normal is what you make it. I am not normally a person of routine and can easily react to most situations. However, I feel that I will need to establish some sort of routine to help make the time go more normally. Now that I am in a permanent housing situation, I expect that this will take very little time. In the meantime, I have never felt unsafe here. The sights and the color are more than enough stimulation to continue to make this assignment worthwhile! 8月26日 Bright and colorful hope for the future“Life is Color!” Gupreet This quote above was given to us by Gupreet when he met us to show us a new service apartment. Gulshan had commented on the bright color of his turban (It was a bright orange). I can think of no other quote that describes what I have seen of India better. Everywhere you look, you are assaulted by color. From the blacks of the burkas to the multi colored saris. Everywhere the eye rests; there is a rainbow of color. This was even truer this evening when there was a wedding going on at the hotel I am staying at. The ladies in their multi-colored dress and the men in their dark suits and bright shirts are a reminder that life goes on and joy cannot long be contained. I would of liked to have been down among the guests as the wedding was going on, but did not feel like intruding on the family celebration of a new life together. So, I got to vicariously attend by overlooking the pageantry from my second story window. So the pain and sorrow of yesterday gives way to the hope a new life together today and tomorrow. Anyway, for now, I hope you enjoy the color of the photos. 8月25日 Great Sorrow in HyderabadIt is with great sorrow and sadness that I pen these words this evening. As I was out enjoying the city after the afternoon rains, cowards decided to bomb two areas in Hyderabad. Both of these places were areas that would attract innocents. One was a city park that was conducting a laser show. As you can imagine, it was jam-packed with families and children to enjoy the festivities. The other was a restaurant, again an area frequented by families. I am certain that these places were targeted because of the world wide horror that it is going to spawn. There is no place in this world where these types of acts can ever be justified and only the cowardly take on those who have no way to protect themselves. So, an evening of fun and adventure with the family turns to tragedy. And because the cowards were afraid to show themselves and speak openly of their issues, 30 or more people lost their lives and over 50 have been injured. How many others are impacted because friends or family have been directly affected by this warrantless act? It is far easier to hide in the shadows to do these dastardly deeds than it is to come in the light and let all see and hear you. Truth be told, it could have easily been one of the four of us who are here hanging out together. We had just left the area in which the bombings occurred and were not aware of the tragedy until our hotel manager contacted us to suggest we return to the hotel. He had recommended that we visit the place where this had occurred and we only left because we were getting hungry. It is an amazing world in which we live that an act of this nature can be broadcast around the world in minutes. Within 20 minutes, all of our cell phones and blackberry’s were going off with family, friends and coworkers checking in to see if we were OK. My only prayer is that the cowards who committed this senseless act are caught and rapidly brought to justice. Although the damage and loss they caused to those innocents tonight can never be taken back. So I will end this entry in the same vein in which I started it. I pray for whatever comforts that can be found for those who are affected by the events of this night. I also pray for the children, who did not need to see the horror that man can inflict upon man, will not be scarred and additional hatred brewed. Endings and Beginnings“When God closes a door, somewhere he opens a window” Maria – The Sound of Music Today I said goodbye to the Novatel hotel which has been my home for the last two weeks. While it was an excellent western –style hotel, it had it issues. I will miss the people at the hotel that I got to know and those that looked forward to my visit every morning while hunting the rare caffeine beast called diet Pepsi. While I did not have the issues with the infrastructure that another of us had, the hotel was not centrally located enough for me, not did it offer any variety in the food offered. In order to get to anything resembling a decent meal or entertainment required a $20 cab ride to get too. So while I am sad to be leaving, I am excited about the new place we are going to. As an aside, as we were preparing to leave, there was a great amount of activity going on at the attached convention center. Apparently there was going to be a wedding this evening that would attract 3,500 guests! The place was being decorated in yellow taffeta and other interesting designs (photos below). It was an absolutely stunning example of a wedding gone overboard. I was told by one of the hotel staff that the wedding was going to cost in the neighborhood of $50,000 USD. What an amazing amount of money to be spent on a wedding. However, I do wish the happy couple Anu Leena and Sanjay all of the best as they start their new lives together. My new home will be the Taj Deccan Hotel. The Taj group of hotels was started when a local businessman travelled to London at the turn of the century and could not stay at a nice hotel because of his color. He started the hotel chain in India that is open to all. While it is definitely an Indian hotel, it offers the things that any travelling business man would look for (in fact, the literature all refers to itself as a “Taj Business Hotel”. Inside the walls of the hotel are a barber shop, three different restaurants, a gym and an area to receive massages! Upon arriving, we were met by the general manager of the hotel who welcomed us with extremely open arms. This included introductions to the chef and some of the senior staff and his promise that they will do whatever they can to make our stay enjoyable. This included free internet, free access to the business center and lastly, free laundry service. What more could a guy ask for? While the rooms are not a lush as those in the Novatel, they are quite comfortable. (See photo) The food here is incredible and I am within walking distance of a local mall and at least 20 restaurants. Also, in the vein of new beginnings, on Wednesday I had a chance to meet some “Freshers” that were joining the company. A fresher is someone who has just completed schooling and is starting their first job. What a pleasure to see the eagerness of these new associates and their great desire to contribute immediately. I wish each of them the best fortunes in their upcoming careers and hope that they spend their entire time with us! One of the most touching aspects was when one of these young ladies approached me on Friday and gave me a gift of a local sweet. It was really touching that she went out of her way to approach a westerner and offer this gift. Gulshan tells me that this used to be a great custom in India and that when he started his first job his father bought him a lot of sweets to give out. It is unfortunate that the custom is dying out because it is something I will always remember. The humorous side of the above story is that the young lady approached Gulshan and asked if she should give me one of the treats and did he think I would eat it. (I guess that my shape did not clue her in that I will try about anything!). He responded that it would be well received and that if I did not eat it, he would! By the way, it was a spiced cake that was absolutely delicious! (see photo) Lastly, I expect that we will not do much else today as far as site seeing as most of us are exhausted after a very long week that included many 12 hour plus days. Besides that, it is absolutely pouring right now and it does not look as if it is going to break anytime soon (although, I may join the group at a local night club for a little while) Tomorrow we are heading out to take a boat ride on one of the local lakes and then travelling to a bazaar to do some shopping. This ought to be a great evening. More pictures and stories tomorrow. 8月23日 Boom TodayA minute to explain the title of this post. One of my favorite Sci-Fi programs is Babylon 5. Before I left for the trip to India, I purchased the 5 seasons of the program and loaded them in my dvd jukebox so I could watch them while I was here (Thank you Slingbox!) In the episode "Grail", one of the characters is considered bad luck because everytime he leaves a place it gets destroyed. At the end of this episode, as this character departs, the following exchange takes place.... SINCLAIR: No boom. IVANOVA: No boom today. Boom tomorrow. There's always a boom tomorrow. Well now for the title. Next door to the office building I am working in there is a new building being constructed. A couple of times a day they do blasting to help prepare the ground for the foundation. The first time this happened, I was standing next to the window and was surprised by size of the blast. Well, several times a day now, the blasting goes off and you can feel and hear it regardless of where you are in the building. So, of course, boom today! On another note in the same vein as the Boom Today mode, I finally got registered with the FRRO locally, so there is no chance to fall into the bad graces of the local authorities. Whew, that is a relief! Other issues are also being resolved as the company is reacting as it always does, with professionalism and alarcity. It is a wonderful thing to work with a company like this. So, I now have a place to stay, I am legal, and health insurance and other issues are handled. I can start to establish my routines and concentrate on my work (which is what I came for!) More posting later...! WooHoo - Some success!Well, yesterday was a mixed bag for me. After waking up with a sore knee that I could hardly stand on that led to some moodiness on my part, the rest of the day went much better. After downing some ibuprofen, the swelling decreased and then the walking actually broke the knee free and by the end of the day things were almost back to normal. Thank goodness!
So our first stop yesterday was at one of the servic apartments locally. The layout of the apartment was quite nice with each room having a balcony that overlooked various parts of the city. However, some of the internal infrastructure lead us to decide not to reside there (bare wires and the like). After consulting with the other two folks I am working with, we decided to check out another hotel that is closer to the central part of town. We reviewed both the Taj Deccan and the Taj Banjara hotels. Both were very nice, but the Deccan is closer to the things we need access to. Because of our work day being somewhat unusual, it is not uncommon for us to try and find dinner at 9 or 9:30 and then head to the hotel. This gets us in most days around midnight. As I am much mored used to getting to bed by 10, this was starting to wear on me. The Deccan is centrally located to many resteraunts and shopping areas which will make the logistics of life much easier. We will be moving there on Saturday. So one issue down, a place to stay.... Woo Hoo!
The ride back to the office after doing this today was quite entertaining. We caught up with Gulshan who was having lunch with a friend and then took a Rick-shaw back to the office. It was more fun than any thrill ride at Disney. The driver was putting the vehicle places at 40 MPH that I would not try to walk through. And I must be getting used to this place and its traffic. Instead of being frighteed by what was going on around me, I was able to sit back and enjoy the ride and the open air.
Also, some of the issues we are dealing with regarding insurance and things were started to be resolved today. A couple of executives from HR in the US were in town and we had a chance to meet with them. Ths lead to some very informative discussion and promised to help us with the various issues.
Now that things are starting to be resolved, a lot of the pressure of the logistics is being removed and I can concentrate on the job I was sent here to do. I feel that great progress is being made and a lot of the issues between the two orginizations are being rapidly addressed and this will allow the working relationship to grow and succeed.
Lastly, I am plagirizing a photo that Jason took of the three of us at Ramaji film city. This is myself, Jason, Divium and Gulshan. Jason and Gulshan are coworkers from the states that are working on the same project I am and Divium is a friend we met prior to going to dinner one evening.
If you are enjoying reading this, please drop me a comment. Or if you want to know something specific about my stay here. I would love to hear from you all 8月21日 Homeless in HyderabadOk, well maybe not quite that bad. The apartment that we have been looking at for the last week was rented out from under us. Once we had the cable run to support high-speed internet, the landlord was able to rent it very quickly. So we are back in the market for another location. Either way, we are looking to leave the Novatel as one of us is having serious issues with a number of items in this location that has exceeded his tolerence level.
So today (08 /22) will be spent looking at various properties until noon time and then into the office to meet with personell and IOS on a number of different issues we have uncovered since arriving. None of our issues are show stoppers, just annoyances. And when you add them all up, it gets to be all consuming. The one that I am the most concerned about is the registration with the local police department to let them know a foreign national is here for an extended stay. This is due on Friday and we are still working the logistics to get it accomplished. If it is not accomplished by then, I will become and illegal alien here and the company will be subjected to fines.
Lastly, at some point during the night, I wrenched my left knee and it is severly swollen and sore this morning. Add this to the amount of walking I know I have to do today and I am a little moody.
I know this entry has been a downer, but one needs to vent sometimes. I am sure that once some of the smaller issues get resolved and we have a place to stay permanently so I can get into some sort of routine things will be a lot better. On a brighter note, I feel like I am actually contributing to the success of the project here. The people I work with on a daily basis are wonderfull and the support from stateside is incredible. If I can only get the personal side of things corrected, the 4 -6 months will fly by.
8月20日 Traffic, traffic and more trafficI have alluded to this many times in this blog, but the traffic here has to be seen to be believed. During my trip presentations, one of the things that was constantly driven into us was to be careful on the roads and that no westerner should attempt to drive in the cities. Although the flow seem chaotic to me, there does appear to be some sense of order to those that know the rules. It is just that it is so very different from the rules I learned. Gulshan says that when he was taught to drive here, his father told him that you needed to drive as if everyone else on the road was a fool and to lookout for them. You head has to be on a constant swivel because of the vast numbers around you all going different directions. And the mix of traffic is also very interesting, you have thousands of the little three wheel rickshaws, thousands of scooters and motor cycles. Mixed into this is a several hundred automobiles and heavy trucks and you get the video attached. It is quite an amazing sit Although we have a driver (Now), it is interesting to move around the city in one of the rickshaws as well. This gives you much more intense feeling of being part of what is going on rather than being encased in a steril vehicle with the A/C on. We have had as many as 4 of us westerners in one of these and have felt overloaded. That is until we saw one go by that reminded me of the old college telephone booth days. There had to of been closeto 12 poeple stuffed in it. As these are powered by little motorcycle engines, there is not a lot of power and at several hills I thought we were going to have to get out and push! It was also interesting that when we pulled up in front of the hotel, the hotel staff did not want the rickshaw here. They made us get out about 100 feet away. I suspect it is because they did not want the patrons of the hotl using one of these when the hotel has it's own fleet of cars. http://www.photodex.com/sharing/viewshow.html?fl=2863922&alb=0 8月19日 Ramiji Film CItySo yesterday I mentioned that we were going to go to film city today. The ads for this place say that it is the Indian version of Universal studios. This is a working film set and most of the sets are available for folks to walk around in if they are not being used for a current film. According to the pamphlets, this is the largest working film studio in the world at over 2000 acres. So, catching our cab at 8:30 this morning and hooking up with Divium (a friend we met and have dinner and outings with since we have been here), we headed off to the studio. This was about a 90 minute drive and fortunately did not have much traffic. Along the way we passed a number of stalls selling statues of the various Hindu gods and many, many places selling rough marble (the large uncut blocks as well as slabs). Once arriving at the studio, the 4 of us opted for the VIP tour which entitled us to a tour guide, a hat, a fan, lunch, drinks, snacks and VIP entrance into the various displays. This cost us 800 rupees or $20. (Which, by the way, was well worth the cost) So, driving into the park to get to the VIP lounge we met up with the tour bus as well as a couple of other folks to take the tour with. Our first stop was a new attraction that was being built that was labled "FILM CITY". This was a romanticized version of the old hollywood sets and had various U.S. based characters such as Charlie Chaplin and Marilyn Monroe scattered about. This was also an area that they took us through to show how to make a movie. On the way we were treated to the Indian version of "It's a small world after all" similar to the Disney ride. Thank goodness it did not also have the annoying theme song. Moving to the area where the film was going to be made, the announcer looked for three volunteers and three members of our party did so (I did not). The placed Divium into a Sari costume and Jason and Gulshan provided the "horse" power. This sequence was filmed on a green screen Divium was supposed to act as if she was being chased in a cart by bandits. Jason and Gulshan pushed and pulled on sticks attached to the cart to make it appear that it was moving. Once finished with the filming, we moved to another theater where the audience provided the sound effects. They brought three kids out of the group and showed them what to do with the items to match what was happening on the screen. After that we moved into the final theater where the showed the final product. Apparently, the sequence was quite famous here in India and the crowd loved it! When we finished filming our movie, we moved on to tour the various sets. Often, we were let out to take a look and to take photographs. I was mightily disappointed that we were not let out for the various gardens that were around and have a chance to take photos of the statuary and the flora. Oh well, can't have it all (Besides, as the guide said, most of it was plaster and cardboard!) After touring many of the sets, we were dropped off at one of the 5 star hotels on the property for lunch. This was very good food and was part of the tour package. Here I met one of my friends for the day. In one of the bushes, a lizard poked his head up to get some sun and a few of the flies that were hanging around. He was not afraid of me at all and let me get within a couple of feet to take his portrait. When lunch was completed, we took a tour of a couple more of the sets that have been built and then were dropped off in the main plaza area to partake of some of the thrill rides and shows. Gulshan, Jason and Divium took in one show and I just wasn't interested (apparently I did not miss much). This allowed me to stroll the park alone for a while and take several unique photos. When I was finished, I sat down near where the exit to the theater was to await my companions. During this time, I was approached several time to ask if folks could take their photo with me. This was all sorts of folks from older men, to students to a little girl whose father wanted the photo. (I almost became an attraction! I should mention that part of this is because I am very much larger than most of the folks here and I was wearing an Australian bush hat along with a fairly large western belt buckle. I must of stood out or something!) Although this was enjoyable, it did lead to one thing that really disappointed me. When I was walking to another of the theaters, I was approached by several children who wanted to shake my hands and say hello (how sweet) and one young man who wanted to wear my hat (to which I obliged). His dad took a photo of him as did I. When the young man gave me the hat back he asked for a dollar in payment and this destroyed the moment. A little side trip at this point and Jason saw a trampoline. He was saying how he had one in his back yard that he missed playing on with his kids. So he paid the 10 rupees to have a go at it. So, he climbs aboard, gets strapped in and we have takeoff! After the second jump he attempts a back-flip and things go pear shaped. After the first rotation of his flip, the bungee cord on the left side let go with a very loud snap sending him to the canvas on his back. Fortunately he was ok, but it was quite a thrill. (I will post video later of the event) Our next stop was a theater that was going to be a salute to the history of the film studio. We expected traditional dance and what we got was old 1940's Hollywood music numbers for the first 30 minutes. The show then moved into acrobats and a lady that did amazing things with hula-hoops (how she was able to keep 8-30 of them going is beyond me!) After that, they eventually got to the pseudo-native dance from several of the regions in India. Although I thoroughly enjoyed the show, it did remind me of a high-school music cast that had only practiced for a week or two. Gulshan says that it is because most of the Bollywood casts travel to the US to do their shows because they can make a whole lot more money in New York than in India. After the musical number, we made our way over to the "Wild West" show. This was interesting as I do not recall disco-balls in the old west! I also do not remember cowboys not carry guns, or wearing bandana's East LA style, nor do I recall the cowboys I remember from my youth fighting kung-fu style! Although entertaining, it certainly was not what I expected. Finally, were were ready to go back home. Now, I have not written of traffic in Hyderabad much. I would recommend that you search youtube for "hyderabad traffic" to get an idea of what it is like here. Although I am not bothered by it much (other than the rickshaw ride the other night where the side mirror came in the cab with us), I saw something this evening that will be with me for a while. During part of the trip we had a person in front of us do a rapid lane change (not unusual), however at the same time and older gentleman was attempting to cross the street. He jumped out of the way of the vehicle making the lane change and got hit by the car in the next lane. The impact threw him several feet in the air and he landed face down on the pavement. I do not know what happened to him because we did not stop (nor did anyone else other than the driver who hit him). I am not placing blame here because the way things work, both the driver and the pedestrian has to pay attention and the pedestrian does not have the right of way. Lastly, we stopped for dinner at that great Indian restaurant on the way home..... Pizza Hut!!! I had a very nice vegetable stroganoff (Russian in India??)) that was quite tasty and a diet pepsi. And that brought us to the hotel at about 8:30. This was a great weekend for sight seeing and I will post more photos and videos later. For now, you will just have to enjoy these. 8月18日 Charminar and Qutb Shahi Tombs 19 AugustToday was a most enlightening day. Our plans this morning were to head to a local bazaar to take in the people and the culture. Unfortunately, our cab driver did not arrive on time (or so we thought). So we spent time with the travel desk in the hotel to discuss the things we should see and do. He recommended Charminar, Golkonda fort and Qutb Shahi Tombs.
This sounded like a good idea and we started to call around trying to figure out where the cab was. It turned out that he was here early but did not checkin to let them know he was here. So, that lead to about a 1 hour delay in our getting started.
Since it was closing in on lunch time, we stopped at the City Center Mall to grab a quick lunch at a fine eating establishment..... McDonalds! Below is a photo of the menu item I ordered. A farily inexpensive lunch at 110 Rupees (about $2.50)
Leaving here, it was on to Charminar. This is a 400 year old structure that was built by Quli Qutb Shah for his wife and it is close to 200 feet tall. There is a small mosque located on the top floor that is was used by the queen. All around this area is a wonderfull bazaar selling about anything you can imagine, but mostly pearls. Apparently, Hyderabad is known as the city of pearls and most of the world trade in this item is done here. This area is also surronded by 4 archways that are about 1km from the palace. Each of these are placed on the points of the compass and are as magnificant as the palace itself.
Because of the sheer number of people in this area and the number of westerners also that come here, there are possees of 10-15 youth attached to 1 adult that scour the area looking for the easy mark. These kids know fairly quickly what country you are from and how to play you. Jason and I took to telling them that we were from Greenland and watching the look of confusion on the faces. They "Knew" we were from the US and had hard time accepting what we were telling them.
I also did some shopping in this area and bought Ruth a nice necklace and earring set. Although the vendor insisted these were real pearls, it is pretty obvious that they are costume jewelrey. Not that I am complaining, because at 600 Rupees, it was about $15. There is a picture below for this as well.
Our next stop is at the Qutb Shahi Tombs. This is an area of limestone and marble tombs for the Qutab Shahi dynasty and 7 of the 8 sultans are buried here (along with their wives, doctors, military commanders, etc). It is an impressive area that must of been stunning in it's day. As it is, the area is crumbling and not being maintained. As we arrived and paid our entrance fee (5 rupees for Gulshan as he is Indian and 50 Rupees for Jason and I as we are foreigners.) we were approached by a young man wanting to guide us. He wanted 250 rupees to do the job and we turned him down. After visiting the first tomb, we were approached by another gentleman who was with the tourism police who guided us through for a tip (we gave 200 rupees). The tour was facinating. This entire area used to be awash with color and gardens. The architecture was also very impressive. Below you will find a couple of photos of this area. I took close to 100 photos here alone! There is also a photo in front of the royal tomb of myself, Gulshan and Jason! This area by far has been the most enjoyable place I have seen!
After finishing the tombs, we decided to head back to the city center mall for dinner and to find an ATM (spent too much money, you know!) and then to an early bed as we are getting upo early tomorrow to head to film city.
8月17日 End of the first work weekWell, today was the end of an event filled week. A couple of interesting items still outstanding in that we do not have a place to live or a way to generate expense reimbursements. On the plus side, we do now have a driver assigned to us for our use. That will make traveling around the town much easier. Today was a mostly worked filled day. Spending time with the local partners here in Hyderabad and a little bit of time with my managers on the east coast. This included a cell phone call while navigating local traffic. (some interesting comments on the call about that one!) Tonight we went to the city center for dinner. We ate a fine restaurant that caters to many different palates. On the menu was items from Mexican to Cajun to Italian. Each of us ordered something completely different. After dinner, we dodged traffic to go across the street to the Taj Krishna hotel. This hotel occupies a refurbished palace and is opulent in every sense of the word. We wound our way down stairs to a bar and dance club. This place caters to the local 20's crowd and when I entered, I immediately became the oldest person there (by about double). The music was an interesting mix of Jazz, Classic Rock, and local bands set to a techno beat. One observation is that it reminded me very much of when I was in my 20's with too much money and time on my hands and looking for a place to spend time and money with friends. As Hyderabad's economy is booming, there are literally thousands of middle income 20ers running around. On this evening, they packed about 300 people into this little bar. On a side note. It is very usual here for men to dance with men and women to dance with women. They do not intermingle much unless it is on the dance floor. Even then, it tends to be group dancing rather than the 1 on 1 I am used to. All in all, a great end to a great week. As it is after midnight here, I will be going to bed and trying to regain my hearing. Tomorrow we have plans to use our driver and hit the town. First full day at work 08/16Today was rather uneventfull. A full day at the office trying to work with the local staff at the same time waiting until after 7pm so I can deal with the US folks. A lot accomplished today as I am starting to understand what it is that is expected of me here. Lunch today was at the cafeteria (provided free for associates. Good Indian Food!)
Gulshan and I left about 8:30 and went to dinner. It was a Malaysian and Chinese joint that was very good. We ordered a shared meal of spicy noodles and chicken skewers with peant sauce. Very tasty.
Another late night, but well worth it.
I should mention that I am still a little jet lagged. Going to bed about 1am local most nights and getting up due to my internal clock at 6:30... Hopefully, by the end of the weekend, I will be over it.
I should also mention that Ruth and I are talking twice a day! The 9.5 hour difference is rather interesting. I call here when I get up in the morning, just as she is ready to go to bed. Then I call her early in the evening, just as she is getting up. Timezones are really interesting.
I should also provide a photo of the hotel itself....
India Independance day 08/15Today is a celebration of Indias 60th birthday and as such is a national holdiay. As we discussed over breakfast this morning, it is a very young country but a very old culture. The hotel had a flag celebration where all of the employees and their families were invited to participate. The hotel employees also give of their time and finances to support a number of local charities that deal with children infected with the HIV virus. These childres were bussed in today for this celebration as well. The hotel provided a Charlie Chan movie for the kids and provded lunch and other entertainment. It was quite the shinding! I really enjoyed participating in this.
As it was a national holdiay, we had planned on heading to town to observe the parades and be with people. However, it was suggested that we might want to hang around the hotel due to safety concerns. Although disappointing, it was made up for in the evening when we went out to dinner. As a side note, as Gulshan and I were waiting for Jason, we met up with a couple of other folks that were here on short term assignments here. We decided to try an Italian resaraunt in Jubilee hills. What a pleasant surpise. I had vegetarian Pasta Bolognase that was superb!!
After dinner, we got 4 of us into a little three wheel motorized rickshaw to head to a local mall. The mall was huge!! Anything that you might find in a mall at the US was located here. As a side note, there was a McDonalds at the mall that delivered! Anyway, while we were there, a local radio staion was doing a remote broadcast. It was fun to watch the contests and the dancing that was going on.
Another late night, but it was quite a bit of fun. 8月16日 House hunting and other surprises 08/14After a fairly restless night and an really early morning (up at 5 am), It was down to a really nice breakfast bar provided by the hotel. Now, as much as I like the Novatel, I do not want to spend the entire 4-6 months here. So, this morning Gulshan, Jason and I took a quick trip to view a couple of other housing options. First, we stopped at an area close to the offic and the Novatel called BA homes. This is a secured sub-division that many x-pats are living in. The bank has several bungalows in this area and if we choose, the three of us can share one that will have 4 bedrooms and separate living areas. While it was very nice, it did not have broadband access (A real necessity for us). So, we headed to another location in the Jubilee hills area. This was a single floor apartment with 4 separate bedroom. And though it might be nice for a single family, it is not an option for 3 guys (even with the broadband access).
Oh well, I guess we will keep looking. One thing I should mention at this point is that if we move out of the hotel, the bank will provide a cook and a housekeeper to keep us three fed and clothed. Oh the sacrifices we make.
On the way back from the house hunting trip, we decided to stop for lunch. First we tried for a Mexican lunch. Once arriving we were pointed to an area by the folks on the street. However, it wound up being a bar. The resturaunt was downstairs and did not open for more than an hour. So, on the road again, we stopped at a Pizza Hut for lunch. I had a very nice vegetarian personal pan pizza and a diet pepsi. A little slice of home while being 10,000 miles away.
This trip also led to the first heartbreak of the trip. One the way out of the pizza joint, I was approached by a young mother with a babe in her arms an one on her skirt looking for a hand out. We had been briefed that we should not give hand outs as we would soon be mobbed by a crowd and it could compromise our safety. Even when told no, she was really persistent and constantly hooked my arm and wanted me to see her plight. I saw it all too well. As much as it hurt, I finally walked away.
In an earlier post, I mentioned about the city appearing to be under construction. Every where we went today continued to reinforce that opinion. The city continues to amaze me with the contradictions that are all around me. Today was all of the new glass and steel construction while in the field next door is a tarp city. And the high end shopping and the abject poverty on the same road. It is definately an eye-opening experience.
At the office today, I actually felt like I accomplished something. We worked untila bout 9:30 tonight and headed back to the hotel for a late evening.
By the By, I am attaching a photo of the room I am staying in. First day at work 08/13 Today was the big step into the ofice for the first time. This started with a driver meeting me at the hotel to take me to the office park. THis was my first real view of the city and all I can say is WOW. The entire city (at least in this location) appears to be under construction. New buildings and road work are everywhere. The other thing is the traffic. I am sure there is a system to it, but I certainly cannot figure it out. The horn seems to be part of the dance, but it seems to be used in a different way than it is used in the states.
After about a 15 minute drive, I was dropped off at the office and was greeted with a large sign that read "BACS welcomes Michael McKennon" That at least told me that it was the right building. Arriving at the security desk I was required to turn over my laptop case and my blackberry. These were checked for bank standard issue as well as looking for cameras or any other off line storage device. These items are not permitted in the park. You can check them with secuirty and pick them up at the end of the day.
I arrived at the office fairly late for me, about 10 am. Much to my surprise, no one was in yet. Security had to unlock an office for me so I could get to work. About 11:15, the rest of the staff arrived and I was given the tour. I also had a chance to catch up with Jason and Gulshan who are both also here on the short term assignment. Gulshan had arrived two weeks ago and Jason has been here roughly a week. This helped greatly as they were able to show me the ropes.
For lunch, we headed over to the other building and also applied for t permanent security card. This card is used every time you enter or exit a door. Very different than what I am used to. The other thing that stuck out was the work spaces. The cubes are set up in about a 10x10 area and there will be 6 people sharing this space. It sounds bad, but it really seems to work for them. The three of us will be sharing one of these spaces during the time we are here.
Tonight was an early evening as i am still suffering jet lag and a migraine headache. So back to the hotel and an early nights sleep, Hyderabad day 2 08/12Today is Sunday and I got to the hotel really early this morning. So, after sleeping most of the day, there is not much to tell. I will say that the technology I brought with me is working well and Ruth and I were able to video conference during the day. The slingbox that we purchased prior to my leaving is working as well. This allows me to view my AV equipment in Georgia and watch the DVD jukebox and the DVR. That makes life really easy. Again, not much to blog about today becuase of jet lag and sleeping most of the day. 8月15日 Arriving in Hyderabad 08/11Today was an extremely long day that took me from London to Hyderabad via Frankfurt. A long day to be sure and an additional 4.5 timezones to get here. The Frankfurt airport where I had to change airplanes was rather interesting. According to my passport, I was in Germany for a grand total of 25 minutes. This was due to my having to change terminals and leave the one to get into the other. Hence and entry and exit stamp in the airport. Arriving in Hyderbad at 11:30pm was also a challenge. By the time I got my bags and exited the airport, it was well after midnight.
I was supposed to meet up with a security guard and driver to take me to the hotel, but I somehow missed them in the crowd of people at the airport. Fortunately, I must of looked lost becuase the guar found me. An 30 minute ride later and I was at the hotel. A very nice place and an late or early bed time tongiht. Only comment on today was that upon exiting the airport, there must of been 40-50 people sleeping just outside the airport in any cover that could be found. Quite a bit different than I am used to here in the states. As it was too dark, I really do not have any impressions of the city as of yet (other than the streets were still busy at 1am) |
|
|
