Was a long week, but got to spend a lot of time with my team & some other teams in Bangalore. Good trip all-in-all…here are some pics of the fun times.
At amusement park in Bangalore - “Wonder-la”
Wonder-la … most people there didn’t wear shoes
DeWars - the oldest Pub in Bangalore (opened in the 1930s)
Me driving an auto-rickshaw again
The “yard” at Irish Pub in Bangalore hotel
Yes, it’s true! Some new news upon arriving in Bangalore. Apparently, about 3 months ago, dancing was officially banned across Bangalore. If you want to dance, you must do it in the private of your own home. Again, yes, it’s true.
Why? From what I’ve heard, because the men here have been getting a little too “heated” with the ladies.
However, in the office today, I heard there are some “underground” places popping up for dancing. Prohibition, anyone? Footloose, maybe?
People in Bangalore who are really into the party scene are now ditching Bangalore for the weekend and heading elsewhere…like Chennai for party time. Bars here stop serving at 11:30pm anyway.
I could see this happening in China, but would have never thought something like this would happen in India … especially when dancing is such a huge part of the culture here.
Haven’t made a trip to Bangalore in about 5 months…long overdue. Weather seems to be nice there, typically always a breeze which helps a lot. The most dreadful part of the trip is the Bangalore airport (one terminal, one gate, one baggage belt … one hell of a good time).
Going to an amusement park on Sunday … no clue what to expect, but I’ll bring the video camera with me to capture some of the “excitement.”
Back in Beijing at the beginning of March.
Well, I experienced a major cricket match in India (the match was played in South Africa, so obviously watched on TV). I’m happy to say, there will be no houses of team India cricket players destroyed tonight…they won! It was a close one. India won by 5 runs. I learned some of the rules, which I will likely forget tomorrow.
It was cool to watch from the roof top of a hotel in Bangalore. Looking over the city, seeing fireworks set off as soon as the match was won. I think the partying will go on into the night (although, alcohol sales stop at 11:30pm). Late start tomorrow for most people? I think so.
It turns out that I’m in Bangalore at a crazy time. Today, in about 30 minutes, the two biggest rivals face off in the 20/20 Cricket World Cup Championship…India vs. Pakistan.
The afternoon has consisted of me listening to everyone in the office talk about it. People are hyper, no other way to describe it. I’m not in to cricket…don’t think I have a desire to get in to it either.
The guys on my team have told me that it’s probably best to stay in my hotel room tonight and not venture out. Because, regardless of who wins, it could be crazy out there.
Now, if India loses, they told me the players houses will be “gone.” I didn’t really understand what they meant at first…then they explained. People here will literally go to the players’ houses and destroy them. The players’ families have surely already left for their safe havens by now. This will only happen with a loss to Pakistan. What a crazy sport!
Back in Bangalore again and the lights went out much sooner into the trip than last time. It’s typical for a quick outage every hour. Today was a bit different. As the plane was going in for the landing, they throttled up very quickly and heading back into the air. The runway lights went out. Infrastructure here seems worse & worse every trip.
I’m on my third trip to India (Bangalore) and have spent about nine months in China (Beijing) so far. I think it’s about time I start providing my view of a comparison between the these two massive countries.
What I’ll cover (if anyone would like any other areas covered, let me know and I’ll try my best):
1. Ease of travel to & from (Visas, Airlines, Routes, Airports, etc…)
2. Transportation in country (Driving services, taxis, etc…)
3. Infrastructure (Roads, Power, Water, Internet, etc…)
4. Hotels/Apartments
5. Population/Poverty
6. Skill/Capabilities/Cost
7. Foreign enterprises and investment
8. Stock Market
9. Culture
10. Language/Communication
11. What people think (about their own country and others).
12. Manners
13. Corruption/Government
I think that’ll be a good start.
