Pictures from Bangalore....

Final Impressions...

Bangalore...."the silicon valley of India"...When computer jobs move to India - its because the work can be done for less. Not only can it be done for less, the People working in Bangalore - are just as capable as computer software people in the US. And to make matters worse...the number of scientists and engineers graduating in the US will continue to decline. So if the US is losing jobs to India and China - its our own fault - we don't have enough qualified people to get the work done.

Wake-up and smell the curry! It's the dawn of a new era. Bill gates recently stated in a speech to the US Senate Committee on Education:

"America cannot maintain its innovation leadership if it does not educate world-class innovators and train its workforce to use innovations effectively. Unfortunately, available data suggest that we are failing to do so—in our math and science programs, in our job training programs, and especially in our high schools."

Innovation is the last thing we have -- we are still kings of innovation in the US -- and we have to maintain that edge - it's something our culture breeds....that and creativity.

Thankfully, Bangalore is a 16 hour flight away, and the cost of a round-trip business ticket is over $4K. Because if it wasn't - the flight of jobs would be even faster.

Bangalore Airport at 2am

Ever wondered what the Bangalore airport looks like on a Friday at 3am? Well wonder no more...here's a few more photographs of my trip before leaving Bangalore...



Considering the time-of-day, there were an awful lot of people outside....




Note! Even though Lufthansa allows 1 personal bag, and 1 carry-on...security checkpoints at Bangalore do not. So if you travel through Bangalore -- only take 1 carry-on bag (and that includes your laptop)

Once inside - we just sat around and waited - the place looked very much like a greyhound bus terminal in the US.



And that's how it all ended in Bangalore -- the flight took off on schedule....

9 hours 55 minutes to Fankfurt
And 9 hours 35 minutes to Washington DC

Total travel time from my Bangalore Hotel to Home: 26 hours

I really did do some work too....

Here's a photo of my Ajax students....you can just see them sponging knowledge out of the air...we squeezed 20 students in the space we'd normally have 12 students in the US. It was tight - but it worked!




And back at the hotel - Jeff and I delivered two all-day seminars. We were asked to pose for some group photos --- try to find the Americans! (Hint: We are the two that never left our seats....)

Rooftop cafeteria....

Our office in Bangalore serves free lunches at a rooftop cafeteria. The weather's been beautiful every day I've been here. Which made eating outside that much more enjoyable.





The food was excellent....

Haves and Have-Nots

Here is a photo chronicle of my 12 minute daily walk from the Royal Orchid hotel to the office.




And now we are leaving the Hotel's Property

Random Observations in Bangalore...

After spending 4 days here - I've made a few observations...

• Everybody I've met (other than the security guard and the police that shouted at me) are friendly, polite, and generous. GREAT people


• On average, people's cubicles are much more sparse than their US counter-parts


• Most activites are shifted 1-2 hours compared to the US -- people arrive a little later, people eat a little later, people work later


• Almost nobody plays Video Game Consoles! WTF! Playstation, XBox and Nintendo are very rare here. As you may or may not know, the game manufacturers generally lose money on each console they sell in the US - the profit is in the licensing of games that you buy. In India - pirating is such a problem that companies like Microsoft and Nintendo don't heavily promote their consoles due to the availability of pirated games.


• Our Bangalore development office is just as modern as businesses in Virginia (except for the men's bathroom -- the toilets seem to be using tainted gray water...).


• Cigarette smoking is much more common here. It's similar to the way the US was 25 years ago. Luckily smoking isn't allowed in the work-area. And most western restaurants have smoking and non-smoking areas.


• Packs of cigarettes are expensive relatively speaking, about $2.25 per pack


• I've noticed that if you ask a yes-or-no question, some people respond with a head gesture that we don't use in the US for "yes". They will bob their head left-and-right. Only some of people do this...never saw that before. It means "sure, no problem"


• At the company cafeteria -- there were no forks or knives...only spoons. So you eat your food with just your right-hand or a spoon...nothing served needed a fork or knife.


• I was told by a colleague who spent a lot of time in India that its not good manners to eat with your left hand. I observed that when I sat down with the local programmers and ate lunch, all of them ate exclusively using their right hand. And that includes breaking bread or tearing off pieces of Nann -- just the right hand.


• Waiters/Waitresses in Restaurants are not very pro-active about filling drinks or bringing the check. We seem to spend a lot of time getting their attention. At first I thought it was a one-time phenomenon...but now I've observed that the majority of restaurants show this trait.


• Locals will talk down to Waiters/Waitresses...and they don't seem to mind it. In the US - we don't do that because we're worried that they'll spit in our food. To be on the safe side - I'm just nice to everybody.


• Housekeeping staff in the Hotel doesn't like to move my stuff. Which is a good thing! When I get back at the end of the day -- the room is spotless -- but my random items are still right where I left them.


• Did I tell you there's no Nintendo Wii here?!?!??!!


• iPods and any imported name-brand electronics are very expensive relatively speaking. PCs are not as expensive because they are generic and can be hand-built.


• nobody follows the painted lines on the roads when driving cars or riding a scooter. Traffic is like water in a river...if there's a opening just big enough for a auto-rickshaw or motor-scooter -- somebody will fill it almost immediately. In an area that might hold 1 car in moving traffic in the US, Bangalore will squeeze 4 auto-rickshaws and 5 motorcycles AND a car in the same space.


• when driving - everybody beeps their horn all the time and at all hours...just to let other drivers know you're there...but nobody seems to get mad. Everybody tail-gates. But as nutty as the driving is here -- I haven't seen any road rage...facinating...somehow it all just flows.


• Hotel restaurants overcharge for food just like they do in the US!I had a Chinese dinner today at the hotel's chinese restaurant -- and the price came to $21 per person. (the food was just average considering the price). Royal Orchid's dinner buffet at the hotel's restaurant Limelight was also about $20 per person. If I had more time - I'd do more local eating.


• When I ate at a diner outside the hotel with the locals...I had my favorite Indian dish, Chicken Tiki Masala, and it was only 150 rupees ($3.50).


• Traditional wedding ceremonies last 3 days


• There's a national park a couple hours outside the the city. And you can ride an elephant there!


• There are some animals wandering the streets in Bangalore - but not nearly to the as many as I was hoping to see. And I still haven't seen a wild monkey! But people tell me outside Bangalore - the animals are everywhere. However -- there are a LOT of stray dogs though. I might encounter about 5 of them on a 10 minute walk to the office


• laundry in the hotel is CHEAP. I had them wash 2 pairs of my jeans -- 75 rupees ($1.70) for same day service...and they are efficient. So if I ever come back - I would pack less and use hotel laundry more.


• for me, jetlag kicked in on day#4. I just can't sleep.


• No wild monkeys in Bangalore - I'm so bummed.

Silk...

I visited a silk factory. India is supposed to be known for its silk -- and they seem to sell it everywhere. This one particular shop was tucked deep into one of the neighborhoods and it had a lot of local shoppers -- which should be a good sign. In the US, the good chinese restaurants are the ones with lots of chinese people in it.



But the shop-keeper pulled the same corny lines that I heard 15 years ago in a jewelry store in St. Thomas. "Come sit down and make yourself at home - you are like my friend - can I get you a coke?" The lady in St. Thomas said something like "Come sit down - here is a coke - now we are friends, yes?"

Another cool temple...

Near Tipu's Palace is another temple. Out of all the buildings I've seen in Bangalore - I've liked the temples the most. I wish I had more time to leave the city and visit the larger temples outside the city...but unfortunately - I have work do.







I forgot about the no-shoe rule by accident - and had to run out to remove my shoes. Oops -- I didn't mean to show disrepect.

...about that river....

Everybody wants to see what the stinky river looks like - so I held my breath and snapped this picture. It actually looks tranquil in a photograph....

We were joking with people at dinner - if somebody fell into the water. Nobody would be dumb enough to go and save the person...something ain't right with the water.

Oh great...Now what did I do??

I was walking around another part of town and snapped this picture of a muslim temple.



After taking the picture, all these police officers started yelling and running up to me. 3, 4, then more. Maybe they thought I was a terrorist? They were blowing whistles and shouting to get away from the building. This scenario was looking like that Bangalore Palace incident from Saturday. Great -- now, what did I do wrong?? Then more police cars started flying up to block me. Uh-oh. These guys really take that picture thing seriously.

So I started to walk away....FAST -- Then a new problem -- Driver's gone, car's gone. hmmmm...not good.

I saw him 2 blocks away -- and he was being given a hard-time by the police. So I ran to the car and jumped in - and we took off.

Turns out -- the Chief Minister was coming through there - and the police were just clearing the area and yelling at us to get out quickly. And the driver was getting harrassed because he was trying to explain that he couldn't leave or else I wouldn't be able to find him. So no worries -- the situation just wasn't as it seemed.

Lal Bagh Gardens

We passed by a large garden called Lal Bagh Gardens...so I asked the driver if we could stop and take a look. Fear came over his face -- no no no -- you do not want to go in there. Apparently - I'll get mobbed by people who want to be my guide...So we kept on driving...

I take his advice because he's paid by the hour - so its in his best interest to keep me outside sight-seeing for as long as possible. So when he says we shouldn't stop -- it's gotta be good advice.

Tipu Sultan's Palace...

I'm finding that Bangalore doesn't really have many tourist sites to see. It just has small pockets of little temples and "palaces" sprinkled around.

But interestingly enough, this was the first destination that I visited which had a real ticket booth. Maybe this was going to be something a few notches above other sites I visited. My driver told me not to spend 100 rupees on it - there wasn't much to see...but I figured -- that's only $2 - I can live with that.





"The Fort and Tipu Sultan's Palace was the summer residence of Tipu Sultan. It is a two-storied carved wooden structure, eminent for its gorgeous carved arches, pillars, and balcony haunches by gardens on either side, an ideal specimen of Islamic style of architecture. The fort also houses a well-preserved Ganapati temple. It was initially constructed in 1537 by Kempe Gowda later on it was further extended and fortified by Tipu Sultan."








But even more facinating than the palace, is this smoldering fire burning in front of the palace. What's up with that?

The Bull Temple

Time to head out for another adventure. Jeff passed on this trip, so I'm flying solo on this one.


(man - I look big in those jeans, I think I gained 5 pounds from that buffet)

I started out at the hotel where this finely dressed doorman hailed a driver for me. Rather than take the auto-rickshaw, I opted for a car this time. After 2.5 hours of driving, the cost came to 780 rupees...that's just $7 an hour for a personal driver/tour-guide who will take you around Bangalore in air-conditioned comfort. Gotta love that.



His name was Amjen - born in Bangalore. Never left India. And like Noor the day before, Amjen was a great person to have around. Having a good driver is the key to enjoying the sites around Bangalore.

Our first stop was the Bull Temple...outside the temple, there appeared to be some type of wedding ceremony (that's just a guess).


This man seemed to be the groom.


And this was probably India's version of Kenny G.


Here we can see all the ladies in the wedding party passing these small statues and placing flowers and incense on them. I believe these stones (you can't see them) are lesser gods.





The surrounding area of the Bull Temple itself is a little messy with lots of chain link fences. But the temple itself is really cool and something you won't find in America (except for the Asian Continent in Animal Kingdom at Disney World --- I knew I'd seen these things before!)





Entrance to the Bull Temple. Lucky Amjen coached me before I arrived. Apparently, you must remove your shoes before entering the temple, so I dropped my shoes outside the temple and entered it in my socks.

When I entered the temple, a monk described the story to me and helped explain what the temple was for.

"This is one of the oldest temples in Bangalore situated in basavanagudi dedicated to Nandi, the mount of Lord Shiva. Kempe Gowda built this temple in the 16th century. The magnificent Nandi, 15 feet tall and over 20 feet long has been carved out of single granite rock. "



"The Nandi bull is revered for being the vahana (vehicle) of Shiva. The popular story is that the temple was built to appease a vagrant bull, which persisted in devouring all the groundnuts grown in the surrounding fields despite the villagers' best efforts to keep it at bay. Hence, this handsome Bull Temple was built and the bull apparently took the hint and stayed away from the groundnuts. The thankful farmers continue to hold a Groundnut Fair (kadalekayi parishe) near the temple premises every year, to show their gratitude."

The monk told me to touch the bull's leg for good luck -- so I did. And then he said a small blessing and told me I touched the foot of god! Cool, eh?



Then he put a small dot on my forehead before leaving the temple...he didn't explain that part - maybe it was because I was blessed????





On the way in-and-out of the temple, there were several kids begging. "Please sir" "Please sir" -- and they followed me. I don't think I've never seen children begging in the US, so this really breaks my heart. Upon leaving the temple - I couldn't resist - I must have been filled with good Bull Kharma -- so I gave each of them something.