Chronicles of Johnson

Part one done. Now another 12 hours to go.

michaelandshellysbigadventure — Sat, 21 May 2011 07:22:48 +0000

22 hours of travel time to go from Bangalore to San Francisco. Part one to Frankfurt complete. I think I got 6 hours of sleep on an 8 hour flight. Now 12 more to go.

Until next time, India

michaelandshellysbigadventure — Fri, 20 May 2011 21:03:06 +0000

I am now leaving India. I am looking forward to the next trip where I can go past the hotel and office. I think I captured a sense of the chaos and harmony within India but I need to see more to fully understand. I found the people to be extremely friendly and pleasant. I did my best to experience all of the food here. My co-workers commented each day how impressed they were of what I tried to eat. I ate Indian breakfast with a rice pudding, flatbreads and fried breads with spicy chickpeas. For lunch, I had rice bread with lentils (Dahl) and spicy sauces with flat bread and a very sugary dessert. For dinners, the kebabs and curries with flatbreads and rice. I think they were more impressed that I dug right in and ate with my hands!

Below are some pictures I took on the drive into the office today but it really doesn’t show what I experienced. Maybe next time in traffic, I can get out of the car and take a nap next to the cow lying in the road!

Goat and chickens and cows, oh my

michaelandshellysbigadventure — Thu, 19 May 2011 15:37:31 +0000

I drove one hour to the office today and I was going to take some pictures. However, it is so hard to capture what I will describe:

The air is humid and about 90 degrees. Fortunately, I am riding in an air conditioned honda civic with a driver. We leave the beautiful hotel compound with lush gardens out the gate and into a very different world…I look to my right and see 5 types of oncoming traffic – foot traffic, bicycles, scooters, motorized rickshaws and cars. There are not any lanes on this road which is burnt orange concrete from the sand. There is unfinished construction on the road with trenches and road work but without any workers.

As we continue on the road, there is constant car honking. And then the random part of the journey actually begins with a large goat walking on side of road in front of food stands and pay toilets but many men using the side of the road. More random cows in the road including one deciding to lay down in the middle of the road for a rest. More fun cow incidents later with a cow knocking down potted tree and eating it and a man herding 10 cattle across major 3 lane road.

The traffic takes a toll on the people with a motorcycle and motorized rickshaw accident. 20 people hovered around and carried a woman to a motorized rickshaw.

So, that was my hour to the price today!

Bangalore and Mumbai not the same

michaelandshellysbigadventure — Thu, 19 May 2011 08:34:53 +0000

Bangalore seems to be much nicer. The airport and drive in was cleaner and nicer. I don’t quite understand the people randomly standing on the side of the road. They tell me it is an informal bus stop.

Drive to Mumbai airport

michaelandshellysbigadventure — Wed, 18 May 2011 09:59:52 +0000

As i mentioned in my last post, I really only saw 1/2 mile of Mumbai so I am not really sure my view is a fair assessment. But my drive to the airport was filled with motorized rickshaws everywhere, unfinished construction on building and roads, 1/2 torn down buildings, shacks on sides of the roads, families rummaging through rubble, people walking and biking. I can’t really say what % of the city is like what I saw. I wish I was able to go out and about past the hotel area. On to Bangalore now.

Mumbai in the hotel

michaelandshellysbigadventure — Wed, 18 May 2011 09:46:00 +0000

I arrived at midnight and he drive to the hotel was short so I wasn’t able to see much. The hotel was extremely nice in the middle of a very interesting 1/2 mile. More on that in the next posting.

My first impressions of India is that the service is very good. In fact, too good. Or maybe I should say too much. My laundry was returned in 2 hours. Someone came into the conference area at least every hour to see if we needed tea. One funny story for breakfast in the conference room was that we asked for some eggs with our pastries and the service man replied “the room is too small for eggs”. Interesting.

The food at the hotel was excellent. I had excellent lentil dish and chicken
Biryani for lunch. For dinner, excellent kebabs.

On to incredible India

michaelandshellysbigadventure — Mon, 16 May 2011 12:04:00 +0000

The first leg of the trip in Singapore is done. It was a very nice 36 hours. Now to Mumbai. According to the India arrival card, it will be incredible. And I am looking forward to it very much!

I have some new headwear for India

michaelandshellysbigadventure — Sun, 15 May 2011 23:47:51 +0000

At my dinner last night, Ali and Roop prepared me for my trip to Mumbai with my very own turban. Ok, it’s actually some photo trickery but how do I look?

Spicy dinner with my work team

michaelandshellysbigadventure — Sun, 15 May 2011 12:55:48 +0000

Tonight I had dinner outside with Ali (left) and Roop (right). We ate some spicy crab, scallops and veggies. It was a great dinner.

Nice lunch with plenty of views

michaelandshellysbigadventure — Sun, 15 May 2011 07:19:43 +0000

I had lunch overlooking the small bay and looking at the new Sands hotel. After lunch, I went to the top and was able to get all of the views. And I saw at least 60 cargo ships. Supposedly, this pool is one of the highest rooftop pools.