So this weekend started off with a bang, literally. After sleeping 15 hrs, I woke up to the final minutes if the ICC world cup cricket match, which India ended up winning. All night long you could hear fireworks going off like mad. Lots of sleep and a festive atmosphere were bound to make for a great weekend.A get together…So Ravi, our site lead, IMed me early Sunday morning and asked if I’d be up for a little get together. After spending 36 hrs strait on the hotel grounds I was really ready to get out and explore the city. Ravi and Poonam came to the hotel to pick me up and we met up with a few people form the team at a local mall. We all caught up over coffee and then it was off to some bowling before a delicious dinner in Hyderabad proper. This was the first time I had been into the city and it was quite an experience.Most of you know I love daredevil things so when I was offered a ride on the back of a Yamaha FZ I jumped at the chance. 153cc may not sound like much in the US, but it’s a rather large bike here. For the next 45 min we were zipping along at speeds up to 65km/hr on our way to dinner. I’ve thought long and hard about how to describe the feeling of riding on the back of a bike in the chaos of India traffic and it can only be described as a video game where your life is ultimately at stake. Granted, most of the time we were only going around 30mph but clipping a bus at that speed would likely not be much fun. The adrenaline is intense and yet there is a strange sense of calm and order to the whole process. You have to really trust the guy driving the bike however. I ended up riding back to the hotel on the bike as well and it was even better than the first time as there was no traffic. A bike is definitely the best way to get around this city.
Leaving for India this time was anticlimactic. There was little of the trepidation of the first trip and there was comfort knowing that I knew where the site, the hotel, food, etc. would all be located. I think this knowledge lured me into not preparing adequately for the trip. Instead of having printouts of all my travel information, I only had digital copies (on multiple devices). Instead of getting to the airport hours early, I got there an hr before the flight. Instead of arranging a car in advance, I decided to just get one at the airport. This last choice turned out to be an interesting decision, but we will get to that later.
We got in earlier than expected and sat on the tarmac for 20 minutes. After being on a plane for ~20 hrs, this last delay was not a pleasant one. Finally we got to the gate and I prepared for the mad dash to exit the plain (lines here are interesting as personal space is not the same concept we know). I was surprisingly happy given the little sleep I got on the flights (the lady next to me on the first trip had to get up every hour to stretch). I missed the rental car desks (think limousine service) that are inside of the airport and ended up outside. Oops, time to hit the ATM as the Radio Taxis don’t take AmEx. In the process of getting to the cab I was approached by at least 6 people telling me they could get me a better deal on a cab. No thanks…
So ultimately I got my pre-paid voucher for a cab ride from the Airport to my hotel and met a sketchy driver who took me to an even sketchier looking car. This was going to be fun. I told him the name of the hotel and showed him the address. He said ok and started driving. It wasn’t until we got to Gachibowli (where all the IT companies are) that I realized I would have been in real trouble if I hadn’t been here before. The driver pulled over to the side and asked me for directions. Luckily I was staying at was the same hotel some of my team stayed at last time I was here and I knew my way around enough to be able to get there.
After that bit of excitement I settled in to my hotel room. As I drifted off to sleep I couldn’t help but thinking that if this is how the next three weeks were starting, this was going to be an interesting trip…
Ah Europe. It's amazing how there is a feel to European cities. Driving to my friend Marty's place from the airport I was struck by a feeling of familiarity, despite never having been to Portugal. I think half of this is mental, knowing I've been to Europe several times before and knowing how things operate here. I think the other aspects are real. European cars like Renault and Peugeot cover the streets in trendy looking hatchbacks, narrow alleys cut between buildings that were erected before the US was a country and the whole city has a living, breathing feeling about it. If India was new and exciting, Portugal (so far) feels familiar and comforting.Part of this comfort is due to my gracious host. Marty picked me up from the airport and we came back to his amazing flat in the heart of the city which is a beautiful 2 bedroom with a real European feel about it. We then proceeded to enjoy a glass of Portuguese wine before heading to a restaurant down the street for a late (early by Portuguese standards) dinner. The first steak I have had in 3 weeks and it was outstanding!Yesterday I had the pleasure of visiting and working from the Lisbon MS office. It still amazes me that no matter where I am in the world I can walk into one of our buildings and immediately know it's an MS building. Sure there are differences by location but overwhelmingly they feel the same. Portugal had one exception however, and it's the coffee/cocoa machine. This thing was amazing. I'm not really a coffee drinker but Café Latte has won me over as the only consistent way to get caffeine and beat jetlag on this trip. You literally select what you want to drink and it robotically selects a cup, places a stir stick in it and fills it with a yummy beverage. And here I was thinking the Starbucks machines on main campus were fancy!The Lisbon Office:Last night we had one of the best meals of the trip. We went to an Argentine steak house in Cascais. I have Bife de Lombo, which is basically a tenderloin cut of meat and one that I had loved in Buenos Aries. Being right on the water with a marina full of boats out front brought back fond memories of the last meal we had in Argentina. I think it's time to plan an international guys trip again. Hey, I did realize while I was in India that I only have 3 continents left to visit. The question is, which should be first?'
Bife de Lombo:
11/19/2010:
Some of my favorite pics...
This last week has been a complete whirlwind and I’ve had almost no time for anything other than work. I wanted to get some of the pictures I liked from last weekend posted so y’all could see what I’ve been seeing. None of these have been edited/retouched yet so they are a bit rough. Enjoy!
My Next Car...
It's hard to believe ¼ of my trip and nearly half of my time in India is already done. It's been a whirlwind of activity so far and today is the first day in 8 days that we aren't working/going in to the office. To start, let me tell you a bit about what's been going on the last few days. Technology of travel : One of the things that has really stuck me on this trip is how technology has changed the way we travel and keep in touch. If I was doing this trip even 5 years ago it would have been a completely different experience. I have no less than two cameras, two laptops, and iPad, two android devices and a Zune with me on this trip and each has served a specific purpose. I know it's overkill but when I was packing for a month on the road I really didn't know what I would need and what I wouldn't.
I don't have a web cam built into my work laptop and it doesn't have very good battery life so I decided to also bring a personal laptop on the trip. It's an older Sony ultraportable that I've had for a few years and which weighs less than 3lbs so it wasn't an inconvenience to bring it. A couple nights ago I used it to have a video call with some friends from home (yes I'm talking about y'all girls of 5031 + the Farn). It totally made my day to get to tell some friends stories about my trip and best of all I could see their facial reactions as they laughed with (at?) me : ) It's not the only time I've used technology to stay in touch this trip either. I've used Microsoft Lync as my one and only phone this trip for both work and personal needs. Having a phone number that travels with me everywhere I am globally as long as I have wifi is a mind blowing experience. I was able to call my Mom/Dad and let them know I had arrived safely and later let my mom know I had survived riding a motorcycle in India traffic (more on this in a bit). I've been able to catch up with other friends, hear about new job offers, IM colleagues from work and through Google Voice even text message people back home.
The iPad and android tablet have entertained me on the trip. With 22+ hrs of flying already and an additional 30+ to go on this trip, having Season 1 of Modern Family, several movies, access to NetFlix and games etc. It's amazing me that I have nearly 0 use for an iPad/tablet at home but it's been a great travel companion and having a device with 8-10hrs of battery life has been huge.
I also brought two cameras with me as I am not so mildly addicted to Photography. I brought my current DSLR, a Canon T2I , and my point and shoot, a Canon S90. Both have been awesome so far. The T2i lets me capture the best possible images and shoots hi-def video so I didn't need to lug an extra device with me to shoot video. The S90 fits in my pocket and lets me capture shots when I wouldn't normally have a camera (like the fore mentioned bike ride). All in all they are a great way to capture moments.
Potluck: Yesterday our team here in Hyderabad each made a food item and we had a team potluck dinner. I'd like to think we could handle the spice but I'm pretty sure they may have made the food a bit tamer than they normally would have. It was awesome to have traditional food prepared by locals and it was a great time for us to just socialize and get to know some of the agents better on a personal level. Here's picture of part of the spread they prepared for us:
On the road again: This gets us to what will surely be one of the highlights of my trip so far. We needed to run an errand during the training and one of our Agents let me have the keys to his Hero Honda Passion motorcycle. Many of y'all know I have had the crazy idea that I wanted to drive a motorcycle or scooter in Indian traffic. I've greatly enjoyed zipping in and out of traffic in taxi's so far this trip and this would be my first chance to get into the action myself. Vinay and I hopped on the bike and headed to a local market. We probably only went 4-5k total but it was an amazingly exhilarating experience. Driving where there are essentially no traffic laws is an adrenaline rush in and of itself but add to that the fact that we were on a 110cc motorcycle with maybe 15hp and you can get the picture that this was not your average commute. It was definitely one of the experiences I'll cherish the most from this trip.
Weekend Plans: As I've mentioned we have been working almost non-stop for the last 8 days with no time to take a break or relax. Today is our first day off and we're going to go explore Hyderabad. We are planning on renting a rickshaw and going to see an historic fort. Some of the team members have invited us to play cricket and there is a test match (India vs. New Zealand) here this weekend as well. I'm not sure what else the weekend will bring but I can't wait to find out!!!
11/11/2010:
The Castes of Commuting...
I'm sure most people know what a Caste is and that Indian culture has long had this kind of stratification. What I'm not sure most people know is how richly stratified the transportation industry is within the country. Over the first few days in India, a fairly distinct picture of the stratification has emerged and left some interesting impressions on me. Needless to say, getting around has been an eye opening experience.
The motorbike: By an order of magnitude we have seen more motorcycles clogging every city street and filling the parking lot of every tea stand we have seen during our travels. It feels like the motorbike to this country is like what the SUV is to Americans or the pickup is to Texans. It's a vehicle that defines a lot about how people travel and I've seen it used in some interesting ways. So far I have seen no more than three people riding on a bike at a time but I have seen a few interesting approaches worth mentioning. The first is people riding sideways. Women often sit on the back of the bike with their legs both off to one side or the other. You just wouldn't see this back home. The second (and more amazing) approach was as we rode home in the rain. We saw two people riding a bike and the back passenger was actually holding an umbrella. I can't imagine that this was very effective but it was an awe inspiring sight to say the least. These aren't the only differences though, the type of bikes a are different too. They are much smaller than those in the US and designed for the bumpy road conditions here. I have to admit it looks like a blast (and a death wish) to watch hundreds of bikes zip in an out of traffic. An example of a common bike is the Honda CB Twister:
The rickshaw: This should come as no surprise to anyone but the city streets are clogged with yellow and black. The rickshaw might be the most adaptable of all transportation methods here. They used as miniature busses ferrying tens of people at a time and as small pickup trucks hauling supplies about town. I still can't quite figure out who thought a trike with no doors or windows was a brilliant idea but obviously it has caught on! Jordan has come up with a great business idea which is the “stretch” rickshaw. I'm not sure how you would navigate the streets here in a limmo length three wheeled motorbike but the sheer concept is amazing!
The Toyota: A good friend of mine, Brian, posted an article about how influential the Toyota Helix has been in various countries and war zones. I couldn't help but think of this story (available here) as we were chauffeured back and forth from the Hotel in Bangalore in the nicest Toyota Camry I have ever seen. Toyota does not import their luxury brand (Lexus) in India so the Camry, and similarly the Honda Accord, are luxury sedans. Ours had a plush leather interior, wood trim and a chauffeur in pressed dress whites with and a crisp white cap. We felt like ultimate big shots while we were shuffled around the city getting the occasional stare from the casual onlookers. I'm not sure if they were admiring the car or were simply wondering what we were up to so far from home.
Air Travel: There isn't really anything particularly unique about air travel in India other than the cost being quite low by US standards. We flew from Bangalore to Hyderabad on a small commuter turbo prop just like we would have if we were hopping from Seattle to Portland. It was a beautiful day and the view was outstanding:
The more interesting reason of my mentioning air travel is that one of our leads, Vinay, had never flown on a plane until this week. He had not been away from his family for more than three days ever before in his life and he has joined us in Hyderabad to help deliver training. Here is a picture Vinay and I doing our best (read: cheesy) Pepsi add for the “My Can” product:
On a separate note I wanted to post one last picture which is of the key team members on this leg of the trip. On the left is Shine, our onsite manager in Bangalore. In the middle is Vinay, one of our leads at the Bangalore site and on the right is my team member from Redmond one of our supportability PMs, Jordan. Now all y'all back home will have faces to place with the names of each of the people I'm working with for next 12 days here in Hyderabad:
11/9/2010:
Let the work begin...
It's a strange feeling to work the night shift, mostly because we aren't tired like you expect. While we are literally half way around the world we have experienced no jet lag and it's been surprisingly easy to be up overnight. Because of the limited time we have here, we've settled into a schedule of working 14hrs + and sleeping rest of the time. It still seems like we don't have enough hrs. in the day. Already the value of the visit has been apparent and we almost have too many ideas of things we can improve at this point. The only downside is that this doesn't leave much time to see the city but Hyderabad should be better and we've been told there is more to see there.
Culture shock is something that I expected coming to such a foreign country but it's been a bit overwhelming none the less. The disconnect between our hotel (arguable one of the nicest I have ever stayed at), the office which feels like it could be in Redmond, and the poverty and dilapidation we see on a daily basis on the 30 min cab ride two and from campus is hard to comprehend. It's almost like the cab ride is something out of a movie. It's surreal to say the least and really causes you to have a reality check over what you take for granted at home.
The culture and people here have been amazing. Incredibly polite and overwhelmingly welcoming we have felt like people are genuinely happy to have us here, which is not always the case for an American traveling outside of the states. I don't think we have seen a single person who isn't smiling while doing their job (no matter what it may be) and there is an infectious feeling of satisfaction that you can't help but get caught up in. It seems like we are going to be here forever (2.5 weeks) but I can already tell I'm not going to be ready to leave when the time comes.
The work ethic and passion of our team here is invigorating and exciting. They genuinely care about our customers and are excited to work for our company. Every year the company meeting causes me to “drink the Kool-Aid“ and reinvigorates my love for what I do but this might actually be better. There is nothing like someone else's passion to re-awaken one's own. We've been working nearly around the clock and yet we go home each day excited about what the next will bring.
Tomorrow we fly to Hyderabad to begin training a new team and we'll have to see if this changes things at all. The hrs will likely get longer and the work will get harder but I'm looking forward to the second part of this trip with a feeling of great anticipation. I'll be driving the technical training over the next several weeks and building out a technical roadmap for the global team. This is going to be interesting...
11/7/2010:
One Night in Bengalooru...
The first night in Bangalore (Bengalooru in the local dialect version of the city name, as it sounds less “Western”) was an interesting experience to say the least. We landed at 4:30 A.M. local time and were picked up at the airport by two of our team members what work at the MS GTSC site here in Bangalore. We crammed in with our bags into a tiny hatchback and proceeded into the Bangalore.
To say traffic laws don't apply in India is like saying American's like fast-food or non-Americans like football. It's about the understatement of the century. Jordan (the teammate who is joining me on this leg of the trip) asked the obvious question. “Why waste the paint putting lines on the roads?“ Within the first 15 min we had run 5+ red lights, passed countless cars, bikes, rickshaws, dogs and even a few cows on the road before we hit that “city“.
Speaking of a “city“, Bangalore is not what I had expected. It feels like a mix between a South American city and a European city but we have yet to see a building over 4-5 stories tall. It's hard to tell where the city ends and neighborhoods begin. In relatively recent history Bangalore was largely a British military post and as we reached our hotel this influence became apparent. We are located among what seems like an endless number of barracks which used to house British soldiers.
Once getting settled at our hotel (The Oberi), we crashed for a few hrs in preporation for our first night shift Sunday evening. It would be my chance to meet the first of three teams I'll be meeting with on this trip. As I drifted off to sleep I wasn't sure what I had gotten myself into...
Last night we had one of the best meals of the trip. We went to an Argentine steak house in Cascais. I have Bife de Lombo, which is basically a tenderloin cut of meat and one that I had loved in Buenos Aries. Being right on the water with a marina full of boats out front brought back fond memories of the last meal we had in Argentina. I think it's time to plan an international guys trip again. Hey, I did realize while I was in India that I only have 3 continents left to visit. The question is, which should be first?'
Bife de Lombo:
