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.