I'm definitely not a planner. When I travel, I've always liked to wing it. Flying by the seat of my pants is arising as a definitive theme of this trip.
Let's break down the rough itinerary: fly into Lima with my friend Kathleen, travel with her for a week, travel by myself for three, fly home. You may notice I left out from where I'm flying home. I have a ticket out of La Paz, but only recently discovered that I need a Visa to get into Bolivia. I'm going to try to obtain one while in Peru, but I may end up having to figure out another way home.
I met up with Kathleen in Miami Sunday afternoon. We had a six hour layover there in which we finally decided to plan our week together. We decided that best option was to spend it in Cuzco. So, we looked for tickets from Lima to Cuzco for Monday after we arrived in Lima. No luck either online or at the airline agencies' ticketing booths. So, we waited until getting to Lima.
Upon arriving, we found out that there are no tickets because everyone is heading there for the holiday. We bought tickets for tomorrow, but were told that we could wait in standby as there would be a "mountain of people" who canceled last minute. After waiting for a few hours, a more straight talker informed us we had no chance and should just come back in the morning.
Making the best of the day, we grabbed a taxi, found a hotel in Lima, and have been exploring the city. Retrospectively, I couldn't be happier. Having only visited one other Latin American city (San Jose, CR) and having just spent a month in Hyderabad, I had low expectations for Lima, especially considering most travelers skip it. It's actually a very nice city, with little traffic or pollution for a city its size. Kathleen and I spent the day just meandering through Miraflores, one of the nicer districts of the city where our hotel is also located.
So, I'm safe and sound in Peru. I've had an awesome afternoon bumming around Lima. And I'm headed to Cuzco tomorrow. From there? Well, if you´re curious, you´ll have to stay tuned...
Monday, December 29, 2008
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Sign of the Times
I went to the mall yesterday to do some last minute shopping with my dad. There was no traffic on the way there; no fight for a parking space; no crowds to elbow your way through in the store; no lines at the checkout counter. It felt like any normal day at the mall... except it was Christmas Eve. Really shows you how hard this country is being hit by the problems in our economy.
Monday, December 22, 2008
The Good Ol' US of A
I made it back to Philly yesterday afternoon after another ~20 hour flight. Again, I somehow avoided any serious jet lag.
It's kinda strange to be back home, though. It's certainly nice to see my family. But, I miss Hyderabad. People drive so orderly here. There's no honking. I'm forced to use my knife because of "etiquette." I understand what people are saying to me. They don't understand me when I nod my head from side to side. It's all a bit boring.
It's kinda strange to be back home, though. It's certainly nice to see my family. But, I miss Hyderabad. People drive so orderly here. There's no honking. I'm forced to use my knife because of "etiquette." I understand what people are saying to me. They don't understand me when I nod my head from side to side. It's all a bit boring.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Final Thoughts
Well, my four week trip is just about over. I leave for the airport in about fifteen minutes.
It's been an amazing experience to come out here. Though Hyderabad wasn't the most pleasant place to stay, it was a very thought provoking city. I learned a lot about Indian economics, politics, and society staying here.
I also learned a ton by being in the Hyderabad office. There are a lot of challenges here that you don't necessarily realize being in the Seattle office. I think I was able to make a pretty good contribution here and certainly feel like I've taken some important things away that can help our Seattle team work better with people out here.
The best part of the trip was the people here. Everyone at Amazon was so warm and welcoming, reaching out to me and making sure I got the most out of my trip. Being on a business trip, one thing I didn't expect was to forge the relationships that I did. But, after spending four weeks laughing over cafeteria food, having thought provoking conversations over delicious kebabs, and dancing in completely empty discotechs, I feel like I'm walking away with new friends.
It's been an amazing experience to come out here. Though Hyderabad wasn't the most pleasant place to stay, it was a very thought provoking city. I learned a lot about Indian economics, politics, and society staying here.
I also learned a ton by being in the Hyderabad office. There are a lot of challenges here that you don't necessarily realize being in the Seattle office. I think I was able to make a pretty good contribution here and certainly feel like I've taken some important things away that can help our Seattle team work better with people out here.
The best part of the trip was the people here. Everyone at Amazon was so warm and welcoming, reaching out to me and making sure I got the most out of my trip. Being on a business trip, one thing I didn't expect was to forge the relationships that I did. But, after spending four weeks laughing over cafeteria food, having thought provoking conversations over delicious kebabs, and dancing in completely empty discotechs, I feel like I'm walking away with new friends.
That Guy
I've been meaning to post about this guy for a while. There are posters plastered all over Hyderabad of Brother Anil Kumar, advertising his Jesus Christ Blessing Festivals. Though about two percent of the country is Christian, it's always a bit surprising to see anything Christian in India. But, the scale at which Anil Kumar is being promoted is bizarre.
So, who is this guy? Well, it turns out that he travels all over the world giving talks about his experience with his faith. It also turns out that he's the son in law of Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy, the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh. There are two reasons why this is significant.
For one, the elections for the state are coming up in early 2009. An article I read suggested that Anil Kumar is actually being used as a tool by Reddy to appeal to the Christian vote.
Additionally, there has been wide speculation that the funding for this promotional campaign has not been legitimate, pulling from state money in some way.
There's probably some truth to both of them. Regardless, this guy has sort of become the face of Hyderabad to me... for better or worse.
So, who is this guy? Well, it turns out that he travels all over the world giving talks about his experience with his faith. It also turns out that he's the son in law of Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy, the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh. There are two reasons why this is significant.
For one, the elections for the state are coming up in early 2009. An article I read suggested that Anil Kumar is actually being used as a tool by Reddy to appeal to the Christian vote.
Additionally, there has been wide speculation that the funding for this promotional campaign has not been legitimate, pulling from state money in some way.
There's probably some truth to both of them. Regardless, this guy has sort of become the face of Hyderabad to me... for better or worse.
 |
| From Q4 In Hyderabad |
Friday, December 19, 2008
Street Crossing 101
Here's a little demonstration of how to cross a street in Hyderabad. Lesson 1: Just go for it.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
One and Done
I've been trying to get in on a cricket match my entire time here. This morning, I finally got my chance. I had to wake up at 6:00am to head out with some people from work.
We played in this barren field that had pitches consisting of a few stones and a well worn path. When we arrived, fog covered the field giving it this otherworldly aura. Eventually, it lifted and we were able to play.
After a few warm-ups, I felt confident that I could compete in this game. After making some decent plays in the field, I eventually got called in for as the batsman.
I ran to the crease, excited to show off what I could do. I settled in, running over all of the tips I was given. The first pitch came in and, as it approached me, I could tell the pitcher took a little bit off of it to give me an easier time. With this perfect pitch coming right into my wheelhouse, I took a big cut. But, the ball was popped straight up and it was over. With my head down and a bunch of the players chuckling, I walked back out to my post in the field.
I guess cricket's not my game.
We played in this barren field that had pitches consisting of a few stones and a well worn path. When we arrived, fog covered the field giving it this otherworldly aura. Eventually, it lifted and we were able to play.
After a few warm-ups, I felt confident that I could compete in this game. After making some decent plays in the field, I eventually got called in for as the batsman.
I ran to the crease, excited to show off what I could do. I settled in, running over all of the tips I was given. The first pitch came in and, as it approached me, I could tell the pitcher took a little bit off of it to give me an easier time. With this perfect pitch coming right into my wheelhouse, I took a big cut. But, the ball was popped straight up and it was over. With my head down and a bunch of the players chuckling, I walked back out to my post in the field.
I guess cricket's not my game.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Rock the Vote
Delhi recently voted for its members of parliament. This sparked a conversation at lunch about elections in India. Apparently people approach elections much differently here. What struck me most is that just about everyone at my table said that they don't vote.
Many of the educated youth in India are leaving their home states, which is a dramatic departure from how the country has historically operated. Getting back home is a hassle, a hassle that seems to be worth it to visit family, but not to vote. Especially, when you consider that voting means you'll have to wait at least two hours in a queue.
This seems the reverse of how it works in America. The educated tend to be in wealthier districts and thus have well funded voting stations. As a result, waiting times are dramatically lower. I know I spent about five minutes at the voting booth this year. But, those in poorer districts end up spending much more time waiting in queues. And they're exactly the ones who can't afford to take that time off. In India, where you have so many uneducated people with not much to do, waiting in line for a few hours seems irrelevant. It's the more privileged who can't afford to take time off of work to go wait in a line.
I asked them why they didn't vote absentee or change where they were registered. While both are possible, they're apparently very long and complicated processes. This seems to be mostly because the government doesn't track people well in India -- for example, there is no SSN -- so there are all of these extra hoops to ensure that if you change your voting information, you're not doing so fraudulently. I think it's also a reflection of the disorganization in their government.
But, people tended to lament the fact that they don't vote. It's just too difficult and not worth it. They just don't think it'll make a difference. A big part of this that there's a general perception that all politicians are corrupt here. They shared a bunch of stories. For example, there was this one education minister for the hometown of one co-worker. He bought all of this land and then encouraged these colleges to set up shop there. Once they did that and the value of the area sky rocketed, he sold the land and made a ton of money.
They also talked about this one good leader from Bihar. Bihar seems to be widely agreed upon as the worst state in India. This happens to be where most Indian politicians come from. Anyway, this lone non-corrupt leader had emerged from there. But, he was shot. Few other decent politicians have emerged.
In section 49.0-0 of the Indian constitution, there's a clause that gives citizens the right to not vote. There is a movement here that is advocating a policy change that counts these non votes as an objection to all candidates. If there are sufficient non votes, they want all candidates currently on the ballot to be removed and a new election be executed with a new set of choices. People seem to want this as it would provide an option to block corrupt leaders from getting elected. The problem is that no politicians want it so there's no way it'll get passed.
I think that America has got a lot of problems. Our electoral system is far from perfect in picking the best leader. But, I think we take for granted how well it actually works. Listening to my peers here in India talk about how they don't vote because they don't think it'll make a difference and it's not worth the hassle puts it into perspective. Especially this year.
Many of the educated youth in India are leaving their home states, which is a dramatic departure from how the country has historically operated. Getting back home is a hassle, a hassle that seems to be worth it to visit family, but not to vote. Especially, when you consider that voting means you'll have to wait at least two hours in a queue.
This seems the reverse of how it works in America. The educated tend to be in wealthier districts and thus have well funded voting stations. As a result, waiting times are dramatically lower. I know I spent about five minutes at the voting booth this year. But, those in poorer districts end up spending much more time waiting in queues. And they're exactly the ones who can't afford to take that time off. In India, where you have so many uneducated people with not much to do, waiting in line for a few hours seems irrelevant. It's the more privileged who can't afford to take time off of work to go wait in a line.
I asked them why they didn't vote absentee or change where they were registered. While both are possible, they're apparently very long and complicated processes. This seems to be mostly because the government doesn't track people well in India -- for example, there is no SSN -- so there are all of these extra hoops to ensure that if you change your voting information, you're not doing so fraudulently. I think it's also a reflection of the disorganization in their government.
But, people tended to lament the fact that they don't vote. It's just too difficult and not worth it. They just don't think it'll make a difference. A big part of this that there's a general perception that all politicians are corrupt here. They shared a bunch of stories. For example, there was this one education minister for the hometown of one co-worker. He bought all of this land and then encouraged these colleges to set up shop there. Once they did that and the value of the area sky rocketed, he sold the land and made a ton of money.
They also talked about this one good leader from Bihar. Bihar seems to be widely agreed upon as the worst state in India. This happens to be where most Indian politicians come from. Anyway, this lone non-corrupt leader had emerged from there. But, he was shot. Few other decent politicians have emerged.
In section 49.0-0 of the Indian constitution, there's a clause that gives citizens the right to not vote. There is a movement here that is advocating a policy change that counts these non votes as an objection to all candidates. If there are sufficient non votes, they want all candidates currently on the ballot to be removed and a new election be executed with a new set of choices. People seem to want this as it would provide an option to block corrupt leaders from getting elected. The problem is that no politicians want it so there's no way it'll get passed.
I think that America has got a lot of problems. Our electoral system is far from perfect in picking the best leader. But, I think we take for granted how well it actually works. Listening to my peers here in India talk about how they don't vote because they don't think it'll make a difference and it's not worth the hassle puts it into perspective. Especially this year.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Word to the Wise
This is a Dhaba.
On our way to Chennai from Pondicherry to catch our flight on Sunday, our taxi driver unexpectedly pulled off in the middle of the highway proclaiming, "I need tea." This was my first time to a Dhaba.
Here's what my travel guide has to say about them:
"Dhabas (snack bars; literally 'wayside eateries') are oases to millions of truck drivers, bus passengers and sundry travelers going anywhere by road. The original dhabas dot the North Indian landscape, but you'll find versions of them throughout the country. The rough-and-ready but lip-smacking food served in these happy-go-lucky shacks has become a genre on its own known as 'dhaba food.'"
As we drove down this idyllic highway, on our way back from a wonderful weekend in Pondicherry, and pulled over for our driver's tea, I think the delusion of a roadside oasis was a bit too much for this carefree traveler. I hopped out of the car, skipped up to the dhaba, and ordered a cup of chai and some snacks that looked and tasted much like hush puppies.
I think I'm feeling the effects today, sporting an upset stomach, no appetite, and a pained look on my face. All of my co-workers respond with some variation of, "Oh, I wouldn't touch that food myself."
 |
| From Q4 In Hyderabad |
On our way to Chennai from Pondicherry to catch our flight on Sunday, our taxi driver unexpectedly pulled off in the middle of the highway proclaiming, "I need tea." This was my first time to a Dhaba.
Here's what my travel guide has to say about them:
"Dhabas (snack bars; literally 'wayside eateries') are oases to millions of truck drivers, bus passengers and sundry travelers going anywhere by road. The original dhabas dot the North Indian landscape, but you'll find versions of them throughout the country. The rough-and-ready but lip-smacking food served in these happy-go-lucky shacks has become a genre on its own known as 'dhaba food.'"
As we drove down this idyllic highway, on our way back from a wonderful weekend in Pondicherry, and pulled over for our driver's tea, I think the delusion of a roadside oasis was a bit too much for this carefree traveler. I hopped out of the car, skipped up to the dhaba, and ordered a cup of chai and some snacks that looked and tasted much like hush puppies.
I think I'm feeling the effects today, sporting an upset stomach, no appetite, and a pained look on my face. All of my co-workers respond with some variation of, "Oh, I wouldn't touch that food myself."
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Goa a No Go
So, we didn't make it to Goa. Turns out that the only flights into and out of Goa are in the middle of the day, meaning I could be there for under 24 hours or miss a day of work. Neither was appealing. I think it was a good move not to go.
Under the recommendation of some people in the office, Lorne (a co-worker and friend) and I went to Pondicherry. Amazing.
Located on the Bay of Bengal, Pondicherry is this former French colony, now beach town that's one of the most unique places I've ever been. Most of the city is decidedly Indian, with busy streets, auto-rickshaws, trash, and everything else I've come to expect.
But, there is a 5x20 block area that has wide cobblestone boulevards, French architecture, and crepes. What makes it especially surreal, is that there is barely anyone on most of the streets, which is quite the contrast from the rest of India. Walking around, it really feels as though you're in this abandoned French town that a few Indians stumbled upon and thought, "hey, this would be a nice place to live."
On the very eastern end of the city, there's this promenade that runs along the water. All day, there are just people parading up and down. It's especially cool around dusk when what feels like half the city is just hanging out there. People of all different age groups take evening strolls, stopping at various street vendors to get snacks. We got a hotel that had a private balcony overlooking it. Amazing.
The city also has a huge emphasis on yoga. There's this Ashram, founded by Sri Aurobindo and this French woman referred to as "The Mother." People come from all over the world to study yoga at this place, resulting in a fairly large non-Indian population in town. The Ashram has people streaming into it by the dozens all day, coming to pray on the tomb of Sri and The Mother, meditate right next to the tomb, and then move on to buy stuff in the gift shop. I don't quite understand how you can find inner peace in such commotion, but I guess some do.
On Saturday, Lorne and I decided to rent scooters for the day. May be the best investment I've ever made. For about 3 USD, we got to fly around town, go out to a bunch of beaches, stop and grab coconuts on the side of the road, and just enjoy the tropical weather. It was so much fun. Being mobile like that really helps you see more of the area in a way that you can't on foot or in taxi. Oh, and driving in India is out of control.
I'm really glad I didn't go to Goa. While it would have been nice to relax in tropical paradise on a beautiful day and then party all night, I don't think it's quite my scene. And I would have missed out on the amazing city of Pondicherry.
Under the recommendation of some people in the office, Lorne (a co-worker and friend) and I went to Pondicherry. Amazing.
Located on the Bay of Bengal, Pondicherry is this former French colony, now beach town that's one of the most unique places I've ever been. Most of the city is decidedly Indian, with busy streets, auto-rickshaws, trash, and everything else I've come to expect.
But, there is a 5x20 block area that has wide cobblestone boulevards, French architecture, and crepes. What makes it especially surreal, is that there is barely anyone on most of the streets, which is quite the contrast from the rest of India. Walking around, it really feels as though you're in this abandoned French town that a few Indians stumbled upon and thought, "hey, this would be a nice place to live."
On the very eastern end of the city, there's this promenade that runs along the water. All day, there are just people parading up and down. It's especially cool around dusk when what feels like half the city is just hanging out there. People of all different age groups take evening strolls, stopping at various street vendors to get snacks. We got a hotel that had a private balcony overlooking it. Amazing.
The city also has a huge emphasis on yoga. There's this Ashram, founded by Sri Aurobindo and this French woman referred to as "The Mother." People come from all over the world to study yoga at this place, resulting in a fairly large non-Indian population in town. The Ashram has people streaming into it by the dozens all day, coming to pray on the tomb of Sri and The Mother, meditate right next to the tomb, and then move on to buy stuff in the gift shop. I don't quite understand how you can find inner peace in such commotion, but I guess some do.
On Saturday, Lorne and I decided to rent scooters for the day. May be the best investment I've ever made. For about 3 USD, we got to fly around town, go out to a bunch of beaches, stop and grab coconuts on the side of the road, and just enjoy the tropical weather. It was so much fun. Being mobile like that really helps you see more of the area in a way that you can't on foot or in taxi. Oh, and driving in India is out of control.
I'm really glad I didn't go to Goa. While it would have been nice to relax in tropical paradise on a beautiful day and then party all night, I don't think it's quite my scene. And I would have missed out on the amazing city of Pondicherry.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Pictures
I finally figured out how to get Picasa's desktop application on my work laptop so that I can upload pictures in bulk. All of my pictures are now online, though without any real explanation for what they are.
http://picasaweb.google.com/goldberm/Q4InHyderabad
http://picasaweb.google.com/goldberm/Q4InHyderabad
Trust
On Saturday morning, Brian and I got up and went out for breakfast. My travel guide recommended a spot around the corner that had delicious dosa, a South Indian specialty. About half way through our meal, a guy who had sat down at the table beside us leaned over and asked where we were from. This launched into a lengthy conversation where we covered our thoughts on India so far, what cities we were planning on visiting, his love life, the differences between India and American marriages, what he did for a living, and more topics I can't even remember now. It was really nice to sit down and talk with someone, especially having a conversation with more depth than just "welcome to India."
As we were finishing up breakfast, this guy mentioned that there was a travel agency next door that could help us get to Agra, a reference to the fact we were considering visiting the Taj Mahal. We decided to take his advice and go check it out. He followed us in, helping us initiate the conversation with the agent. After we heard the price and the time it would take to get there, Brian and I decided to opt out of Agra and just spend time exploring the city of Delhi. We told the travel agent that we'd think about it and come back if we wanted to go.
Outside, our new friend mentioned that he wanted to take us by his store (he had told us at breakfast that he sold carpets, scarves, and other fabrics to people in the US), which was a few metro stops away. Eager to get on our way and a little annoyed now, Brian and I politely declined. He asked us where we were going and, as it turned out, he was headed in the same direction. At this point, Brian and I were starting to get the point and asked him to just leave us alone.
In Delhi, it seemed like everyone was trying to take advantage of us. In Hyderabad, you've got auto-rickshaw drivers and merchants trying to jack up prices. But, in Delhi, everyone seemed to be steering us towards some shop so that they could make a commission off us.
On Saturday night, we asked our auto-rickshaw driver to take us to this restaurant "Spirit." He must have stopped in front of about a dozen restaurants on the way, telling us how nice they were and that we should go there instead of the one we had picked. We ended up liking ours just fine.
One auto-rickshaw driver who we asked to take us to India Gate, told us we couldn't go there because there was a big parade and it was closed. We took the auto-rickshaw behind him. Turned out there was no parade.
We asked another drive to take us to the National Museum. Despite his warnings that it was closed because the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, was using it for special meetings, Brian and I asked that he take us there anyway so we could see the building. I guess there was some confusion as it was actually a different Singh who was giving a speech about art there.
There were also plenty of people on the street who approached us, trying to steer us towards this shop or that.
Most of these were pretty overt. I can take that. I had a lot of fun with it, giving them various comical (at least to me) responses.
But, some of them were much more subtle. For example, one rickshaw driver picked us up at Gandhi Smriti, a beautiful memorial to Gandhi at the location of his assassination, and took us to the Lotus Temple, a marvelous Bahai temple. On the way, we got into some conversations, much more interesting than those that we usually have with our drivers. He pointed out things around town and provided us background for a bunch of the monuments or areas of town. When we got to the temple, he offered to wait so he could drive us back. Having just forged this relationship, we took him up on it.
When we got out of the temple, we were a little pressed for time as we had to grab dinner before catching our flight back to Hyderabad. Our driver told us that he wanted to take us to a few monuments on the way back, but we politely declined. He took us anyway. In particular, he took us to this crafts shop and insisted we just look around for a minute.
I find forging relationships with people, however small or insignificant, to be a very rewarding experience. But, there's an element of trust that goes along with that process. You have to trust that the feelings that person is conveying are real. When that trust breaks down, it's very easy to detach from others and remain very guarded. The way people, especially the guy from breakfast and the driver who took us to the temple, constantly tried to take advantage of us left me feeling that way. I found it to be a very embittering experience.
As we were finishing up breakfast, this guy mentioned that there was a travel agency next door that could help us get to Agra, a reference to the fact we were considering visiting the Taj Mahal. We decided to take his advice and go check it out. He followed us in, helping us initiate the conversation with the agent. After we heard the price and the time it would take to get there, Brian and I decided to opt out of Agra and just spend time exploring the city of Delhi. We told the travel agent that we'd think about it and come back if we wanted to go.
Outside, our new friend mentioned that he wanted to take us by his store (he had told us at breakfast that he sold carpets, scarves, and other fabrics to people in the US), which was a few metro stops away. Eager to get on our way and a little annoyed now, Brian and I politely declined. He asked us where we were going and, as it turned out, he was headed in the same direction. At this point, Brian and I were starting to get the point and asked him to just leave us alone.
In Delhi, it seemed like everyone was trying to take advantage of us. In Hyderabad, you've got auto-rickshaw drivers and merchants trying to jack up prices. But, in Delhi, everyone seemed to be steering us towards some shop so that they could make a commission off us.
On Saturday night, we asked our auto-rickshaw driver to take us to this restaurant "Spirit." He must have stopped in front of about a dozen restaurants on the way, telling us how nice they were and that we should go there instead of the one we had picked. We ended up liking ours just fine.
One auto-rickshaw driver who we asked to take us to India Gate, told us we couldn't go there because there was a big parade and it was closed. We took the auto-rickshaw behind him. Turned out there was no parade.
We asked another drive to take us to the National Museum. Despite his warnings that it was closed because the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, was using it for special meetings, Brian and I asked that he take us there anyway so we could see the building. I guess there was some confusion as it was actually a different Singh who was giving a speech about art there.
There were also plenty of people on the street who approached us, trying to steer us towards this shop or that.
Most of these were pretty overt. I can take that. I had a lot of fun with it, giving them various comical (at least to me) responses.
But, some of them were much more subtle. For example, one rickshaw driver picked us up at Gandhi Smriti, a beautiful memorial to Gandhi at the location of his assassination, and took us to the Lotus Temple, a marvelous Bahai temple. On the way, we got into some conversations, much more interesting than those that we usually have with our drivers. He pointed out things around town and provided us background for a bunch of the monuments or areas of town. When we got to the temple, he offered to wait so he could drive us back. Having just forged this relationship, we took him up on it.
When we got out of the temple, we were a little pressed for time as we had to grab dinner before catching our flight back to Hyderabad. Our driver told us that he wanted to take us to a few monuments on the way back, but we politely declined. He took us anyway. In particular, he took us to this crafts shop and insisted we just look around for a minute.
I find forging relationships with people, however small or insignificant, to be a very rewarding experience. But, there's an element of trust that goes along with that process. You have to trust that the feelings that person is conveying are real. When that trust breaks down, it's very easy to detach from others and remain very guarded. The way people, especially the guy from breakfast and the driver who took us to the temple, constantly tried to take advantage of us left me feeling that way. I found it to be a very embittering experience.
Monday, December 8, 2008
A Little Bit the Same. A Little Bit Different.
Having been in Hyderabad for two weeks, it was refreshing to go to Delhi. There are a lot of similarities, but a lot of difference.
The first obvious difference is the way the city is built up. The infrastructure is dramatically better. You still get loads of congestion and crazy driving, but not nearly at the level in Hyderabad, which I think is in large part due to better roads.
Delhi is also set up very differently than Hyderabad. Other than Old City, Hyderabad is essentially a big corporate office park and a downtown that's so polluted I couldn't breath. Not really a place for city life.
Delhi is basically split into two sections: Old Delhi and Central Delhi. The former is not too unlike Old City in Hyderabad, though a little less market focuses -- people seemed to just be going on about their days. I found it a little more manageable because of that.
Central Delhi, however, is unlike anything in Hyderabad. The area has chic bars, coffee shops and green space scattered about. People walk around in very stylish clothes (by Western standards). The area is the center of the national government. A long walkway between India Gate and the President's Estate has the feel of the Mall in Washington (except people play cricket instead of softball).
Hyderabad is not a pleasant city. It's dirty. There's trash everywhere. You can't breath well in downtown because of the pollution. And it's a town that's very much divided. There are the unbelievably rich, who section themselves off in Banjara Hills, and the tech industry, who protect their office buildings by putting up gates with guards and not even allowing restaurants to be built inside.
There's something different about Delhi. Sure, there were still vendors and auto-rickshaw drivers trying to overcharge us. And the sound of horns was at times annoying. And the poverty level was unbearably high.
But, it's got an ecosystem, much like what I've been saying could be built up around Hitech City. To be clear, there are obvious divisions in the city. But, it functions as an entity in a way that Hyderabad can't.
The first obvious difference is the way the city is built up. The infrastructure is dramatically better. You still get loads of congestion and crazy driving, but not nearly at the level in Hyderabad, which I think is in large part due to better roads.
Delhi is also set up very differently than Hyderabad. Other than Old City, Hyderabad is essentially a big corporate office park and a downtown that's so polluted I couldn't breath. Not really a place for city life.
Delhi is basically split into two sections: Old Delhi and Central Delhi. The former is not too unlike Old City in Hyderabad, though a little less market focuses -- people seemed to just be going on about their days. I found it a little more manageable because of that.
Central Delhi, however, is unlike anything in Hyderabad. The area has chic bars, coffee shops and green space scattered about. People walk around in very stylish clothes (by Western standards). The area is the center of the national government. A long walkway between India Gate and the President's Estate has the feel of the Mall in Washington (except people play cricket instead of softball).
Hyderabad is not a pleasant city. It's dirty. There's trash everywhere. You can't breath well in downtown because of the pollution. And it's a town that's very much divided. There are the unbelievably rich, who section themselves off in Banjara Hills, and the tech industry, who protect their office buildings by putting up gates with guards and not even allowing restaurants to be built inside.
There's something different about Delhi. Sure, there were still vendors and auto-rickshaw drivers trying to overcharge us. And the sound of horns was at times annoying. And the poverty level was unbearably high.
But, it's got an ecosystem, much like what I've been saying could be built up around Hitech City. To be clear, there are obvious divisions in the city. But, it functions as an entity in a way that Hyderabad can't.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Despite The News
Imaging waking up in the morning, in a country that just had a terrible bombing, having a flight that evening to Delhi, and reading headlines like "Airports turn into fortresses" and "All steps taken to ensure air passenger safety."
Brian and I were scheduled to head to Delhi and all of the papers were talking about attacks at airports. They mentioned Delhi among three airports for which the Indian intelligence had information about a potential attack. And this is all happening a week and a half after Mumbai and on the 16 year anniversary of the bombings at Babri Masjid. Needless to say, I was a bit freaked out on Friday morning.
I got into the office on Friday and started asking around, getting my co-workers' opinions. Uniformly, everyone said we should go anyway. There's a lot of hype, but you need to go on living your life. I agreed, but was still a bit anxious about the whole thing.
Security at the airports was pretty crazy. There were guards walking around with rifles and semi-automatic weapons. In Delhi, on the way home, there was a guard sitting in a truck with a gun pointed at the crowd of people walking into and out of the airport. I was probably more scared of him accidentally slipping and pulling the trigger than I was about terrorists at that point. As I walked in front of his truck and in front of his gun, I couldn't help but take a deep breath.
Delhi itself had pretty tight security, too. I obviously haven't been there during other times to make a comparison, but every place we went had armed guards who frisked us and searched our bags.
On Saturday, we went to Jama Masjid, India's largest mosque. There was a group of people standing in front of the mosque rallying passerby. Behind them, news clippings and photos from the bombing at Babri Masjid covered the fence. The mosque was beautiful, but it was hard not to feel like it was a potential target as I walked through it.
In general, I felt really safe on the trip. The chances of anything happening are so slim. And most of Delhi just seems to be moving on as if there's nothing to worry about. But, the level of security in Delhi certainly makes you think twice.
Anyway, I guess my co-workers were right.
Brian and I were scheduled to head to Delhi and all of the papers were talking about attacks at airports. They mentioned Delhi among three airports for which the Indian intelligence had information about a potential attack. And this is all happening a week and a half after Mumbai and on the 16 year anniversary of the bombings at Babri Masjid. Needless to say, I was a bit freaked out on Friday morning.
I got into the office on Friday and started asking around, getting my co-workers' opinions. Uniformly, everyone said we should go anyway. There's a lot of hype, but you need to go on living your life. I agreed, but was still a bit anxious about the whole thing.
Security at the airports was pretty crazy. There were guards walking around with rifles and semi-automatic weapons. In Delhi, on the way home, there was a guard sitting in a truck with a gun pointed at the crowd of people walking into and out of the airport. I was probably more scared of him accidentally slipping and pulling the trigger than I was about terrorists at that point. As I walked in front of his truck and in front of his gun, I couldn't help but take a deep breath.
Delhi itself had pretty tight security, too. I obviously haven't been there during other times to make a comparison, but every place we went had armed guards who frisked us and searched our bags.
On Saturday, we went to Jama Masjid, India's largest mosque. There was a group of people standing in front of the mosque rallying passerby. Behind them, news clippings and photos from the bombing at Babri Masjid covered the fence. The mosque was beautiful, but it was hard not to feel like it was a potential target as I walked through it.
In general, I felt really safe on the trip. The chances of anything happening are so slim. And most of Delhi just seems to be moving on as if there's nothing to worry about. But, the level of security in Delhi certainly makes you think twice.
Anyway, I guess my co-workers were right.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Novotel
I had dinner with Brian and a co-worker from the Hyderabad office, Naresh, with whom I've gone out a few times now. We were being very indecisive about where to go, but ended up at Novotel, the 5-star hotel that I was originally taken to, at the recommendation of another co-worker. Novotel is situated right next to the HICC (Hyderabad International Convention Center), which is hosting the Internet Governance Conference. The conference is being put on to determine how to take the next steps in developing the Internet. For example, how do we get it to people who don't have it. There are hundreds of people from all of the world meeting to figure this out.
On the drive up, there was a lot of security, presumably due to the events in Mumbai. There's security on the drive into Amazon, but it wasn't at the level we found entering Novotel. Both places search the cars as they drive up as well as your bags as you enter the building, but Novotel's was significantly more thorough. Additionally, there were guards walking around with rifles. It was a bit surreal.
Naresh, Brian and I went inside to eat at this Mexican restaurant in the hotel. The restaurant was this outdoor, tropical-looking poolside paradise with palm trees and all. The food was alright (I reluctantly agreed to get guacamole despite knowing that avocados don't grow anywhere near India). After being in Hyderabad, a busy, noisy, dirty city, for two weeks, it was very weird eating at this restaurant. The scene was very tranquil, though you could still hear cars honking and fireworks from a wedding in the distance.
At the end of the meal, our server brought us a survey to provide feedback of our experience. Brian started asking the questions aloud as he filled it out. As comment cards are a total joke in the States, we were laughing about a few of the questions. In response to one question about the service, Brian ended up writing that it was merely satisfactory because they had taken my plate away and didn't bring me a new one promptly. Though most of the card had "excellent" filled in, the server very anxiously asked us why we had filled the card in so poorly when he returned. Brian started changing some answers; I offered to take the card with me and not turn it in.
After we walked away, Naresh explained to us a bit about these servers. Many of them come from small villages and are working to provide for their families back there. They're treated very poorly by their managers, a vestige of the caste system. The concern about our comment was interpreted by Naresh as genuine fear by the server. He's really working for his livlihood. I wanted to go back, but Naresh told me not to worry about it; that this guy wasn't going to lose his job over it or anything.
Though I'm much happier in my hotel than I would have been at Novotel, tonight was a surprisingly deep experience. It's funny how people are connected and how they rely on each other. You've got this group of people from around the world coming together, trying to bring the Internet to those less fortunate. At the same time, you've got these less fortunate people at the hotel itself waiting on the every need of the guests -- including those here for the conference -- completely dependent on their satisfaction. Presumably, these are the same types of people trying to be helped by the conference. You've also got these local, armed guards protecting the conference-goers so that they can do their job (or at least standing around so that they can feel safe doing their job).
At dinner, Brian, Naresh and I got into this conversation about spirituality. Brian talked a lot about his idea that everything in this world is just an entity made up of smaller pieces. You've got molecules that work together to form your brain; the brain, and your other organs work together to make a person; people work together to make a society; etc... Everything has some purpose, some contribution to the system. Togther, the entity moves forward. Tonight kinda makes me wonder where to.
On the drive up, there was a lot of security, presumably due to the events in Mumbai. There's security on the drive into Amazon, but it wasn't at the level we found entering Novotel. Both places search the cars as they drive up as well as your bags as you enter the building, but Novotel's was significantly more thorough. Additionally, there were guards walking around with rifles. It was a bit surreal.
Naresh, Brian and I went inside to eat at this Mexican restaurant in the hotel. The restaurant was this outdoor, tropical-looking poolside paradise with palm trees and all. The food was alright (I reluctantly agreed to get guacamole despite knowing that avocados don't grow anywhere near India). After being in Hyderabad, a busy, noisy, dirty city, for two weeks, it was very weird eating at this restaurant. The scene was very tranquil, though you could still hear cars honking and fireworks from a wedding in the distance.
At the end of the meal, our server brought us a survey to provide feedback of our experience. Brian started asking the questions aloud as he filled it out. As comment cards are a total joke in the States, we were laughing about a few of the questions. In response to one question about the service, Brian ended up writing that it was merely satisfactory because they had taken my plate away and didn't bring me a new one promptly. Though most of the card had "excellent" filled in, the server very anxiously asked us why we had filled the card in so poorly when he returned. Brian started changing some answers; I offered to take the card with me and not turn it in.
After we walked away, Naresh explained to us a bit about these servers. Many of them come from small villages and are working to provide for their families back there. They're treated very poorly by their managers, a vestige of the caste system. The concern about our comment was interpreted by Naresh as genuine fear by the server. He's really working for his livlihood. I wanted to go back, but Naresh told me not to worry about it; that this guy wasn't going to lose his job over it or anything.
Though I'm much happier in my hotel than I would have been at Novotel, tonight was a surprisingly deep experience. It's funny how people are connected and how they rely on each other. You've got this group of people from around the world coming together, trying to bring the Internet to those less fortunate. At the same time, you've got these less fortunate people at the hotel itself waiting on the every need of the guests -- including those here for the conference -- completely dependent on their satisfaction. Presumably, these are the same types of people trying to be helped by the conference. You've also got these local, armed guards protecting the conference-goers so that they can do their job (or at least standing around so that they can feel safe doing their job).
At dinner, Brian, Naresh and I got into this conversation about spirituality. Brian talked a lot about his idea that everything in this world is just an entity made up of smaller pieces. You've got molecules that work together to form your brain; the brain, and your other organs work together to make a person; people work together to make a society; etc... Everything has some purpose, some contribution to the system. Togther, the entity moves forward. Tonight kinda makes me wonder where to.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Cost Analysis
Getting around Hyderabad typically involves rickshaws. Technically, they're supposed to use their meters. But, they often trick tourists into settling on rates upfront. I was fortunate enough to have my first rickshaw driver actually use the meter, giving me a baseline to compare other fares. I'm still probably overpaying, but at least not exorbitantly so.
On Sunday, Brian and I were trying to get a taxi back from Old City after lunch. Based on earlier rides, we figured it should cost about 250 Rs to get home. After bargaining one taxi driver down to 300, we hopped in his rickshaw ready to go. As we did this, a few police officers who had been standing at the corner approached the vehicle. They told the driver to turn the meter on. Despite some initial resistance, the driver agreed. We thanked them and drove off.
After turning the corner, the driver pulls the rickshaw over, wheels around, and turns the meter off. I reached up and tried to stop him, but he started shouting at me in another language. I can't imagine he actually thought that I could understand what he was saying. After a few seconds of him yelling and us looking confused, he took off and we were on our way home.
When we arrived at our hotel, I asked the guy at the front desk how much it should have cost for our ride. He said we were lucky to get 300 Rs. Some co-workers told me on Monday I shouldn't have paid more than 150. In Seattle, I'm sure the cab ride would cost at least the equivalent of 1,500 Rs.
On Sunday, Brian and I were trying to get a taxi back from Old City after lunch. Based on earlier rides, we figured it should cost about 250 Rs to get home. After bargaining one taxi driver down to 300, we hopped in his rickshaw ready to go. As we did this, a few police officers who had been standing at the corner approached the vehicle. They told the driver to turn the meter on. Despite some initial resistance, the driver agreed. We thanked them and drove off.
After turning the corner, the driver pulls the rickshaw over, wheels around, and turns the meter off. I reached up and tried to stop him, but he started shouting at me in another language. I can't imagine he actually thought that I could understand what he was saying. After a few seconds of him yelling and us looking confused, he took off and we were on our way home.
When we arrived at our hotel, I asked the guy at the front desk how much it should have cost for our ride. He said we were lucky to get 300 Rs. Some co-workers told me on Monday I shouldn't have paid more than 150. In Seattle, I'm sure the cab ride would cost at least the equivalent of 1,500 Rs.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Pizza Hut
Worked on a sev-1 pretty much the entire day. Joined the issue at 9AM; signed off around 11:45PM (though it was still ongoing). There were a bunch of people in the office and we all ordered dinner. They chose Pizza Hut. Didn't really taste like pizza to me. It was more like Indian food... just served on pizza dough.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Extra Spicy or Original Recipe?
One interaction of particular note from the market today. After turning a corner, we ended up in the meat district. As I was snapping pictures, a guy skinning chickens half-jokingly asked if I wanted to buy one. He and I both chuckled a bit before he asked me to take a photo of him.
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| From Q4 In Hyderabad |
An Overnight Celebrity
Brian and I went to the Golconda Fort today. It's a massive place -- 7km around (roughly 4 sq km for the non-geeks out there who didn't do the math themselves). Between a partial tour and walking to the top of the hill, we probably spent a bit over 2 hours there. In that time, I think we had five different groups come up and take pictures with us and at least another dozen ask us our names and where we're from, welcome us to India, and shake our hands.
We then headed back to the Old City to walk around and explore the shops again. This time, we got off the beaten path a bit more. The same thing continued with random people coming up and introducing themselves. Brian and I were both pretty engaging. We posed for everyone's pictures, talked with people, asked them questions. It feels strange to stand out so much. Though, the attention is all positive, which is nice.
At the end of our shopping in Old City, we sought out this place called Hotel Shabad, a restaurant recommended by my guide book and some co-workers at Amazon. It was phenomenal... definitely the best meal I've had in India.
As we finished up, a group of three students visiting Hyderabad sat down at the table next to us. They stared at us for a while before one came over and introduced himself. We said hello and exchanged names before he went back to his table. Brian, who's been very anxiously seeking out a "talk with the locals," suggested that we go over and sit down with them. Wanting him to enjoy his time in India, I hesitantly followed him to their table.
After a bit of commotion, we sat down and the five of us talked... sort of. They didn't speak very good English. We figured out they were students from some place towards Mumbai, that they were enjoying Hyderabad, and that they wanted to visit America. That was about the extent of our five minute conversation. They also took pictures of us.
I get the whole "wanting to interact with locals" thing. But, forcing the interaction seems a bit strange and disrespectful to me. I guess Brian got something out of it: a "real" conversation. And I think the students got something out of it: a photo with a bunch of Americans. But, I definitely felt like we could have left the interaction at the initial hellos before we made a scene switching tables, moving chairs around, etc... I can't help but fear that others in the restaurant might have been turned off by the behavior.
I feel like there's a fine line to walk here, a line I've certainly crossed myself at times. It's important to treat people as people. Part of that is being open, engaging, and friendly. There's a lot of misunderstanding in this world, much of which I believe can be solved with things as simple as a smile or the word "hello."
The other part is realizing that they're not attractions on your sightseeing tour. It's one thing to engage with someone because of some shared moment. It's another to do it because you're trying to gain some experience for yourself.
We then headed back to the Old City to walk around and explore the shops again. This time, we got off the beaten path a bit more. The same thing continued with random people coming up and introducing themselves. Brian and I were both pretty engaging. We posed for everyone's pictures, talked with people, asked them questions. It feels strange to stand out so much. Though, the attention is all positive, which is nice.
At the end of our shopping in Old City, we sought out this place called Hotel Shabad, a restaurant recommended by my guide book and some co-workers at Amazon. It was phenomenal... definitely the best meal I've had in India.
As we finished up, a group of three students visiting Hyderabad sat down at the table next to us. They stared at us for a while before one came over and introduced himself. We said hello and exchanged names before he went back to his table. Brian, who's been very anxiously seeking out a "talk with the locals," suggested that we go over and sit down with them. Wanting him to enjoy his time in India, I hesitantly followed him to their table.
After a bit of commotion, we sat down and the five of us talked... sort of. They didn't speak very good English. We figured out they were students from some place towards Mumbai, that they were enjoying Hyderabad, and that they wanted to visit America. That was about the extent of our five minute conversation. They also took pictures of us.
I get the whole "wanting to interact with locals" thing. But, forcing the interaction seems a bit strange and disrespectful to me. I guess Brian got something out of it: a "real" conversation. And I think the students got something out of it: a photo with a bunch of Americans. But, I definitely felt like we could have left the interaction at the initial hellos before we made a scene switching tables, moving chairs around, etc... I can't help but fear that others in the restaurant might have been turned off by the behavior.
I feel like there's a fine line to walk here, a line I've certainly crossed myself at times. It's important to treat people as people. Part of that is being open, engaging, and friendly. There's a lot of misunderstanding in this world, much of which I believe can be solved with things as simple as a smile or the word "hello."
The other part is realizing that they're not attractions on your sightseeing tour. It's one thing to engage with someone because of some shared moment. It's another to do it because you're trying to gain some experience for yourself.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Charminar, Laad Bazaar, and Emissions from Car
My Saturday got off to a bit of a disappointing start. A bunch of people at work invited me to play in a cricket match, which I was really excited about. After I went to bed relatively early last night and woke up at 6:15 this morning, the match got canceled due to rain.
After heading back to sleep for a while, Brian, another Seattleite, and I headed down to the Charminar, the iconic landmark of Hyderabad. The Charminar is located in the "Old City," where Hyderabad was originally founded, now the predominantly Muslim area of town.
Getting out of our auto-rickshaw in front of the monument, we were immediately surrounded by dozens of children, half of whom were shouting things like, "hello," "bonjour," and "como estas" in an attempt to figure out where we were from, half of whom were grabbing our arms and pointing to their mouths indicating they wanted us to give them money for food. I quickly realized my mistake in engaging them and started walking straight to the monument; poor Brian was left behind.
It costs 5 Rs to see the monument, 100 Rs if you're not from India. We paid for that and a tour guide which, although I was initially skeptical of, turned out to be a wise investment. I learned things like (feel free to skip over these :-)
The most noteworthy story was trying to shop (or not shop) for bangles. Quick summary, bangles are these inflexible bracelets, typically worn by women of India. Their most common use, I think, is to symbolize matrimony. Anyway, I had no idea as to the worth of bangles so I dragged Brian into a shop to just see what it would cost.
First, imagine a shop that's about 5ft x 12ft. The walls are covered with bangles of every color. The salesman, who speaks only a little English, starts frantically grabbing bangles and handing them to Brian and me. Within about 30 seconds, Brian and I probably have about 80 of these in ours hands. The salesman is showing us bangle combination after bangle combination. We can't make sense of what's going on.
We start trying to hand our bangles back; nobody will take them. We set them down on a chair; some guy comes over and yells at us. We try handing them to him; he won't take them. We start forcing them into his hands; he gives us a funny look. Brian and I start trying to leave, but the salesman puts his hand into my chest, asking us to give him a chance on a price. We're cornered at this point, so we figure why not.
He offers us 12 of them (people tend to wear multiple ones) for like 1200 Rs (~$24). Having no real interest in these bangles, we both say no. The salesman starts slashing the price until he gets to like 600 Rs, at which point he asks me to make him an offer. Again, not really interested in them, I said I'd give him 50 Rs. He looked flabbergasted, saying that's an unreasonable offer. We eventually compromised on 120 Rs. It's pretty easy to bargain when you don't actually want what he's offering.
I wanted to keep walking around the shops, but Brian was getting hungry. So, we went in search of food. We ended up getting an auto-rickshaw to take us to Lumbini Park, situated at the southern end of the lake in the middle of the city. After lunch, we walked around the city for a few hours.
Big mistake. We were downtown and traffic there is unbelievably bad. So, bad that I was actually having trouble breathing from all of the pollution. We wandered around for a while before both of us got really grumpy and decided to take a cab home. But, now I'm home, showered, in my bed, and happy :-)
So, after today, I've decided that (1) the Charminar market area is the highlight of the city (2) I need to go back and (3) other than that area, there isn't really a good place to just "hang out" and get lost in.
Here are some pictures from today:
After heading back to sleep for a while, Brian, another Seattleite, and I headed down to the Charminar, the iconic landmark of Hyderabad. The Charminar is located in the "Old City," where Hyderabad was originally founded, now the predominantly Muslim area of town.
Getting out of our auto-rickshaw in front of the monument, we were immediately surrounded by dozens of children, half of whom were shouting things like, "hello," "bonjour," and "como estas" in an attempt to figure out where we were from, half of whom were grabbing our arms and pointing to their mouths indicating they wanted us to give them money for food. I quickly realized my mistake in engaging them and started walking straight to the monument; poor Brian was left behind.
It costs 5 Rs to see the monument, 100 Rs if you're not from India. We paid for that and a tour guide which, although I was initially skeptical of, turned out to be a wise investment. I learned things like (feel free to skip over these :-)
- Charminar means four towers. Char is the Hindi word meaning four; minar is the Arabic word for tower (think minaret).
- It was built to commemorate the "defeat" of the black plague.
- There are four entrances to the Charminar, one of which has no steps. This was the King's entrance as he would arrive in a chariot of some sort.
- There's a fountain in the middle of the Charminar. But, it used to actually lead into a tunnel that served as the escape route from a nearby fort.
- The Charminar has a mosque on the third level, but it's now closed down because people would jump off of it in suicide attempts.
- Just north of the Charminar, there is a plaza. From each direction, a road with an archway leads in. The one from the east was the royal entrance; the one from the west was the peasants' entrance; the one from the north was the fish entrance (where merchantsbrought in fresh fish to sell); the one from the south was the fruit entrance (where merchants brought in their fruit).
- Just south of the Charminar is the second largest mosque in India.
The most noteworthy story was trying to shop (or not shop) for bangles. Quick summary, bangles are these inflexible bracelets, typically worn by women of India. Their most common use, I think, is to symbolize matrimony. Anyway, I had no idea as to the worth of bangles so I dragged Brian into a shop to just see what it would cost.
First, imagine a shop that's about 5ft x 12ft. The walls are covered with bangles of every color. The salesman, who speaks only a little English, starts frantically grabbing bangles and handing them to Brian and me. Within about 30 seconds, Brian and I probably have about 80 of these in ours hands. The salesman is showing us bangle combination after bangle combination. We can't make sense of what's going on.
We start trying to hand our bangles back; nobody will take them. We set them down on a chair; some guy comes over and yells at us. We try handing them to him; he won't take them. We start forcing them into his hands; he gives us a funny look. Brian and I start trying to leave, but the salesman puts his hand into my chest, asking us to give him a chance on a price. We're cornered at this point, so we figure why not.
He offers us 12 of them (people tend to wear multiple ones) for like 1200 Rs (~$24). Having no real interest in these bangles, we both say no. The salesman starts slashing the price until he gets to like 600 Rs, at which point he asks me to make him an offer. Again, not really interested in them, I said I'd give him 50 Rs. He looked flabbergasted, saying that's an unreasonable offer. We eventually compromised on 120 Rs. It's pretty easy to bargain when you don't actually want what he's offering.
I wanted to keep walking around the shops, but Brian was getting hungry. So, we went in search of food. We ended up getting an auto-rickshaw to take us to Lumbini Park, situated at the southern end of the lake in the middle of the city. After lunch, we walked around the city for a few hours.
Big mistake. We were downtown and traffic there is unbelievably bad. So, bad that I was actually having trouble breathing from all of the pollution. We wandered around for a while before both of us got really grumpy and decided to take a cab home. But, now I'm home, showered, in my bed, and happy :-)
So, after today, I've decided that (1) the Charminar market area is the highlight of the city (2) I need to go back and (3) other than that area, there isn't really a good place to just "hang out" and get lost in.
Here are some pictures from today:
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| The Charminar |
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| Looking out on the fruit archway. |
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| Looking out on the Mecca Masjid |
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| The Laad Bazaar |
Friday, November 28, 2008
This Land Is My Land
Land usage in Hitech City is pretty interesting. As I've talked about earlier, you've got this area of very modern looking buildings. These were created because the government gave the land away very cheaply, allowing international corporations to develop. Here are a few snapshots to give you a feel for the area (the one below is Amazon's building).
In the area surrounding and at points in between these buildings, the land is surprisingly undeveloped. There are two main reasons for this. Both stem from the time of Nizam rule, the era after the Mughals gave autonomy to the city in 1724. For a little over two hundred years, Hyderabad enjoyed a lot of prosperity. During this time period, various individuals came into possession of plots of land around the city.
Fast forward to modern day. With the emergence of Hitech City, the land surrounding the offices of all of these corporations has skyrocketed. The owners of this land realize the value of their property, but aren't giving it up. I'm not entirely sure why, but I'm guessing it's because they're being given unreasonably low offers. Regardless, you end up getting areas like the ones below, both looking out a window in Amazon's office.
In the image above, you can see some Hitech office buildings in the distance, including Motorola's. But, in the area in between, you see tons of sectioned off little areas. These are the little plots of land that have been passed down for hundreds of years that nobody wants to give up. The image below is a close up of one of these plots. This is a pretty small one compared to some of the others, but in each one you'll basically see this one room shelter that was constructed out of metal or brick and then a mostly unused yard.
Most of the people who live in these areas work for the Hitech companies. Either in the kitchen or as a taxi driver. Apparently, some of them will be personal chauffeurs for employees of the companies. For the equivalent of $10 a week, you can hire someone to pick you up in the morning, hang out outside your office all day, and take you home in the evening.
Oh, and don't miss the little Where's Waldo gem in the bottom picture. If you look closely in the rocks, you'll see a satellite dish. Many of these plots of land have them. Only the bare necessities...
In the picture above, you'll also see some areas that have no plots of land, but also aren't developed. They basically look like rock quarries (see the middle left of the photo). In 1948, a year after Indian independence, the Nazim signed over control of the city to Hyderabad. Around this time, disputes arose over the ownership of much of this land. I doubt people generally cared back then. But, with the value of this property so high now, people are making a bigger fuss. So, this isn't being used because they're trying to figure out who even has control of it.
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Fast forward to modern day. With the emergence of Hitech City, the land surrounding the offices of all of these corporations has skyrocketed. The owners of this land realize the value of their property, but aren't giving it up. I'm not entirely sure why, but I'm guessing it's because they're being given unreasonably low offers. Regardless, you end up getting areas like the ones below, both looking out a window in Amazon's office.
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In the image above, you can see some Hitech office buildings in the distance, including Motorola's. But, in the area in between, you see tons of sectioned off little areas. These are the little plots of land that have been passed down for hundreds of years that nobody wants to give up. The image below is a close up of one of these plots. This is a pretty small one compared to some of the others, but in each one you'll basically see this one room shelter that was constructed out of metal or brick and then a mostly unused yard.
Most of the people who live in these areas work for the Hitech companies. Either in the kitchen or as a taxi driver. Apparently, some of them will be personal chauffeurs for employees of the companies. For the equivalent of $10 a week, you can hire someone to pick you up in the morning, hang out outside your office all day, and take you home in the evening.
Oh, and don't miss the little Where's Waldo gem in the bottom picture. If you look closely in the rocks, you'll see a satellite dish. Many of these plots of land have them. Only the bare necessities...
In the picture above, you'll also see some areas that have no plots of land, but also aren't developed. They basically look like rock quarries (see the middle left of the photo). In 1948, a year after Indian independence, the Nazim signed over control of the city to Hyderabad. Around this time, disputes arose over the ownership of much of this land. I doubt people generally cared back then. But, with the value of this property so high now, people are making a bigger fuss. So, this isn't being used because they're trying to figure out who even has control of it.
Thanksgiving, Indian Style
Celebrated Thanksgiving last night. My co-worker and former mentor, Anand and I decided to grab dinner after work. Two of his directs also joined us.
Anand had me pick up a bottle of Glenfiddich for him at the duty free shop on my way to India. Apparently liquor is absurdly expensive in India. So, we swung by a restaurant on the way home, grabbed tons of takeout, and went back to his flat for a night of Indian-Chinese food and scotch.
A traditional Indian experience? Hardly. But, I gained two new friends and had a pretty authentic Thursday night in Hyderabad. I'd say I'm pretty thankful for that.
Hope everyone else had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Anand had me pick up a bottle of Glenfiddich for him at the duty free shop on my way to India. Apparently liquor is absurdly expensive in India. So, we swung by a restaurant on the way home, grabbed tons of takeout, and went back to his flat for a night of Indian-Chinese food and scotch.
A traditional Indian experience? Hardly. But, I gained two new friends and had a pretty authentic Thursday night in Hyderabad. I'd say I'm pretty thankful for that.
Hope everyone else had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Office Reaction to Mumbai
"The stock market's gonna go down today," quipped one of my co-workers.
"Actually, the stock market's closed today," responded another.
The reaction to the bombings in Mumbai by my office-mates was a bit surprising. There's sort of a "eh, another bombing" tone by most. People seem more concerned they can't trade stock than with the bombing itself.
Since the government changed over about four years ago, bombings have not been terribly uncommon. Most of them seem to be centered in Mumbai and Delhi, but there have been several around the country. There was one attack in Hyderabad about a year ago that struck Lumbini Park, an amusement park at the south end of the lake that sits in the middle of Hyderabad.
The general consensus is that India is just not prepared to deal with these problems. About two or three days after most of these attacks, it comes out that the government actually knew about them in advance. They're just not in a position to do much.
A few years ago, a plane was hijacked in Mumbai in an effort to get a Pakistani held prisoner by the Indian government released. India tried to mobilize the NSG to go after the plane, but were unable to do so effectively because the NSG wasn't anywhere near Mumbai. They've since stationed members of the NSG near every major city, which I guess explains why they were able to respond to yesterday's attack as quickly as they did.
But, people seem to doubt the government's ability to do much about it. Someone told me that the Hyderabad government actually staged a mock bombing at a train station earlier this week to see how people would react. I'm not sure if they were aware of what was going to happen in Mumbai, but this highlights how the Indian government is more reactionary and takes less preventative measures.
"Actually, the stock market's closed today," responded another.
The reaction to the bombings in Mumbai by my office-mates was a bit surprising. There's sort of a "eh, another bombing" tone by most. People seem more concerned they can't trade stock than with the bombing itself.
Since the government changed over about four years ago, bombings have not been terribly uncommon. Most of them seem to be centered in Mumbai and Delhi, but there have been several around the country. There was one attack in Hyderabad about a year ago that struck Lumbini Park, an amusement park at the south end of the lake that sits in the middle of Hyderabad.
The general consensus is that India is just not prepared to deal with these problems. About two or three days after most of these attacks, it comes out that the government actually knew about them in advance. They're just not in a position to do much.
A few years ago, a plane was hijacked in Mumbai in an effort to get a Pakistani held prisoner by the Indian government released. India tried to mobilize the NSG to go after the plane, but were unable to do so effectively because the NSG wasn't anywhere near Mumbai. They've since stationed members of the NSG near every major city, which I guess explains why they were able to respond to yesterday's attack as quickly as they did.
But, people seem to doubt the government's ability to do much about it. Someone told me that the Hyderabad government actually staged a mock bombing at a train station earlier this week to see how people would react. I'm not sure if they were aware of what was going to happen in Mumbai, but this highlights how the Indian government is more reactionary and takes less preventative measures.
Mumbai
Mumbai was attacked last night, India time. A group of terrorists targeted 8 different locations -- hotels, hospitals, and transportation centers. Over 80 are currently reported dead with another 900 injured. The Army and NSG have been brought in to help the police.
The media is linking the attacks to Lashkar-e-Toiba, an Islamist organization based in Pakistan. Apparently, this group has attacked India before in an attempt to free Kashmir from Indian rule.
Not to say that this group isn't responsible. But, I haven't seen the papers give any actual evidence that would show that this group is to blame. It kind of reminds me of being in Spain when Madrid was attacked. The initial reaction was to blame ETA, mostly because of historical precedence. It turned out to be a Moroccan national who carried out that attack. There was a lot of speculation then that ETA was blamed because it would be more favorable to the PP getting reelected -- the attacks happened 3 days before elections -- while an Islamist attack would be perceived as due to Spain's association with America following 9/11. There are some elections going on in India right now, but I'm not necessarily sure how this would tie into it.
People are starting to come into the office now. Hopefully I'll get some interesting perspectives from them. Will report back later...
The media is linking the attacks to Lashkar-e-Toiba, an Islamist organization based in Pakistan. Apparently, this group has attacked India before in an attempt to free Kashmir from Indian rule.
Not to say that this group isn't responsible. But, I haven't seen the papers give any actual evidence that would show that this group is to blame. It kind of reminds me of being in Spain when Madrid was attacked. The initial reaction was to blame ETA, mostly because of historical precedence. It turned out to be a Moroccan national who carried out that attack. There was a lot of speculation then that ETA was blamed because it would be more favorable to the PP getting reelected -- the attacks happened 3 days before elections -- while an Islamist attack would be perceived as due to Spain's association with America following 9/11. There are some elections going on in India right now, but I'm not necessarily sure how this would tie into it.
People are starting to come into the office now. Hopefully I'll get some interesting perspectives from them. Will report back later...
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Musical Chairs
On Sunday, I randomly came across this bazaar on my 15km trek through Hyderabad. When I first walked in, there was this open grassy area where some kind of a party seemed to be going on. A group of women were playing musical chairs to 2 Unlimited's "No Limits." Makes you appreciate how similar people really are...
Development of Hyderabad
Amazon's offices take up the top two floors of a nine story office building. Our cafeteria is on the top floor and looks out over a portion of Hitech City. As I walked up to lunch today with a few co-workers, we were discussing the food options in the area. It turns out that there are two: the cafeteria (which bores everyone) and a little sandwich place in the office building next door (which is overpriced and barely a step above the cafeteria -- note I still like the food in the cafeteria).
Looking out of the window of the cafeteria, you see several square blocks of these very modern buildings; the rest of the land is made up of either rock fields or little shanty towns I asked some of my lunchmates how Hitech city has been developed. It turns out that the government basically gives the land away very, very cheaply to these big corporations. The corporations in turn spend their own money developing these offices.
The corporations get cheap, educated labor. Hyderabad gets tons of job creation and a place on the map. Everybody wins.
But, I can't help but feel like there's a real opportunity missed here. You've got all of this money pouring into this area with tons of educated, middle class workers congregating together. Yet, they have nothing to spend their money on (at least while at work). Listening to the stories of my co-workers, I've got to believe that if a nice restaurant opened up right next door, it would make a killing. Yet, there's no ecosystem being developed here -- just tons of office buildings.
A large part of that is that while the government is giving these huge breaks to encourage companies to come in, they won't bend at all for other businesses. And few people in Hyderabad have the capital to just come in and open a restaurant.
The Indian government has apparently made many efforts to move the country forward. But, a lot of them end of failing. With the amount of poverty in India -- about 1/3 of the population subsists on less than $1 per day -- initiatives that might have long term benefits have huge short term implications for many.
The Indian government is then caught in this situation where they're trying to change the country without actually disrupting people's lives. Hitech city has worked out so well because it was funded entirely by the outside. The government just provided the land and the international corporations took care of the rest. There was no need to siphon funds from anything else. And the new corporations didn't disrupt an already existing market, but rather created a new one. It was possibly the least intrusive way to bolster the economy.
The local government has done a great job of advancing Hyderabad by promoting Hitech city over the past 10 years. And I know it's a complex situation that I'm only begining to understand. But, there seems to be an untapped opportunity here to transform this area from a bunch of office buildings into a very integrated economy.
Looking out of the window of the cafeteria, you see several square blocks of these very modern buildings; the rest of the land is made up of either rock fields or little shanty towns I asked some of my lunchmates how Hitech city has been developed. It turns out that the government basically gives the land away very, very cheaply to these big corporations. The corporations in turn spend their own money developing these offices.
The corporations get cheap, educated labor. Hyderabad gets tons of job creation and a place on the map. Everybody wins.
But, I can't help but feel like there's a real opportunity missed here. You've got all of this money pouring into this area with tons of educated, middle class workers congregating together. Yet, they have nothing to spend their money on (at least while at work). Listening to the stories of my co-workers, I've got to believe that if a nice restaurant opened up right next door, it would make a killing. Yet, there's no ecosystem being developed here -- just tons of office buildings.
A large part of that is that while the government is giving these huge breaks to encourage companies to come in, they won't bend at all for other businesses. And few people in Hyderabad have the capital to just come in and open a restaurant.
The Indian government has apparently made many efforts to move the country forward. But, a lot of them end of failing. With the amount of poverty in India -- about 1/3 of the population subsists on less than $1 per day -- initiatives that might have long term benefits have huge short term implications for many.
The Indian government is then caught in this situation where they're trying to change the country without actually disrupting people's lives. Hitech city has worked out so well because it was funded entirely by the outside. The government just provided the land and the international corporations took care of the rest. There was no need to siphon funds from anything else. And the new corporations didn't disrupt an already existing market, but rather created a new one. It was possibly the least intrusive way to bolster the economy.
The local government has done a great job of advancing Hyderabad by promoting Hitech city over the past 10 years. And I know it's a complex situation that I'm only begining to understand. But, there seems to be an untapped opportunity here to transform this area from a bunch of office buildings into a very integrated economy.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Day 1 in Office
The differences between the Hyderabad office and mine in Seattle were quite remarkable.
First, there's the general layout. Whereas my office is made up of these windy hallways, with very high cubicle walls that you can barely see over, the Hyderabad office is basically one gigantic room with cubicles that come up to about my waist. The result is this very open feel. Instead of communicating over email (which is by far the preferred mode of communication in Seattle), people in Hyderabad seem to opt for face to face conversations. It provides a very communal atmosphere.
There was a bit of debate before I arrived as to where I was going to sit. People went back and forth over email trying to decide whether I'd be by the support team or the gifting team or whatever. Ultimately, all of these desks are within a few feet of each other and with the open feel of the room, the whole discussion seemed kind of silly.
I felt like a celebrity at the office today. I arrived at 8pm and sat around doing email related tasks for about an hour. Once everybody in the office started arriving, they come straight to me and introduce themselves. Many of them referenced issues I had worked with them on. I barely recognized everyone. A little embarrassing, but I guess that's the life of a celebrity...
Everybody had questions for me. Most were related to stuff that I work on. Some were just random questions about stuff that they were working on. Didn't have context for some of it, but it was kinda cool that everyone wanted to get my thoughts on it.
At one point, somebody asked me about these icons I had on my phone tool regarding some "broomball" championships. Oh yeah! I explained the game to a crowd of about half a dozen people, showing them pictures online and stuff. One guy suggested that we organize a game over the weekend. They normally play cricket on Saturday mornings, but he doesn't think he can get enough people given the operational load during the holidays. So, broomball would be a cool alternative. I'd personally rather learn cricket, but who am I to turn away my adoring fans, right?
Ok, ok, I'm definitely getting a bit of an ego, I know. There were plenty of humbling moments throughout the day. For example, I went to lunch at the cafeteria and was so impressed with the quality of their food. The India delicacies were truly delicious. Everyone around me laughed, saying how sick they were of the cafeteria food. Makes you wonder what foreigners think of the hamburgers at the Seattle office...
But, seriously the atmosphere in the Hyderabad office was truly refreshing. I absolutely love working for Amazon. It's a great company and I work with great people. But, I don't think my office is nearly as warm as the office here. Maybe those are just the novelties of the first day. But, I do think there's something to be said for the smaller teams and the open physical structure.
Some other random, non-work related thoughts...
It's been interesting dealing with the language barrier here. I went to grab some food tonight and couldn't communicate with the waiter beyond one word sentences, hand gestures, and smiles. There's something simple and beautiful about responding "yes spice" to his question "no spice?"
I'm amazed at the attitude of people in serving positions here (waiters, doormen, taxi drivers). Their level of service is unbelievable. My waiter tonight transfered my food from a serving bowl to my plate, and then did it again when I was half done what was on my plate. You don't get that in the States unless you're paying $80 a plate (I paid about ~$3 for dinner). I'm not entirely sure what to attribute it to, but I can't help but ponder the sense of entitlement that many Americans feel.
I mentioned in an earlier post the conflict between forces trying to move the city forward and the pressures preventing that. Today, I read an article in the local paper that said smoking has been banned in the city of Hyderabad in all public places. The article also pointed out that a polling of people seen smoking in public indicated that nobody actually knew this was a law. There's obviously no enforcement of the law either.
Last point I wanted to make. I got some responses from people indicating that some of my posts made them worry about my safety. Don't. I feel completely safe here. I think the mention of all of the security check points in Hitech city made some anxious. None of these security guards were armed. I think it's more to keep out the poor to give the campuses a sense of prosperity.
The only fear I have is the stray dogs seen wandering all over the city. My travel guide made some mention of 30K people dying of Rabies in India annually. I've been walking as far away from these dogs as possible.
First, there's the general layout. Whereas my office is made up of these windy hallways, with very high cubicle walls that you can barely see over, the Hyderabad office is basically one gigantic room with cubicles that come up to about my waist. The result is this very open feel. Instead of communicating over email (which is by far the preferred mode of communication in Seattle), people in Hyderabad seem to opt for face to face conversations. It provides a very communal atmosphere.
There was a bit of debate before I arrived as to where I was going to sit. People went back and forth over email trying to decide whether I'd be by the support team or the gifting team or whatever. Ultimately, all of these desks are within a few feet of each other and with the open feel of the room, the whole discussion seemed kind of silly.
I felt like a celebrity at the office today. I arrived at 8pm and sat around doing email related tasks for about an hour. Once everybody in the office started arriving, they come straight to me and introduce themselves. Many of them referenced issues I had worked with them on. I barely recognized everyone. A little embarrassing, but I guess that's the life of a celebrity...
Everybody had questions for me. Most were related to stuff that I work on. Some were just random questions about stuff that they were working on. Didn't have context for some of it, but it was kinda cool that everyone wanted to get my thoughts on it.
At one point, somebody asked me about these icons I had on my phone tool regarding some "broomball" championships. Oh yeah! I explained the game to a crowd of about half a dozen people, showing them pictures online and stuff. One guy suggested that we organize a game over the weekend. They normally play cricket on Saturday mornings, but he doesn't think he can get enough people given the operational load during the holidays. So, broomball would be a cool alternative. I'd personally rather learn cricket, but who am I to turn away my adoring fans, right?
Ok, ok, I'm definitely getting a bit of an ego, I know. There were plenty of humbling moments throughout the day. For example, I went to lunch at the cafeteria and was so impressed with the quality of their food. The India delicacies were truly delicious. Everyone around me laughed, saying how sick they were of the cafeteria food. Makes you wonder what foreigners think of the hamburgers at the Seattle office...
But, seriously the atmosphere in the Hyderabad office was truly refreshing. I absolutely love working for Amazon. It's a great company and I work with great people. But, I don't think my office is nearly as warm as the office here. Maybe those are just the novelties of the first day. But, I do think there's something to be said for the smaller teams and the open physical structure.
Some other random, non-work related thoughts...
It's been interesting dealing with the language barrier here. I went to grab some food tonight and couldn't communicate with the waiter beyond one word sentences, hand gestures, and smiles. There's something simple and beautiful about responding "yes spice" to his question "no spice?"
I'm amazed at the attitude of people in serving positions here (waiters, doormen, taxi drivers). Their level of service is unbelievable. My waiter tonight transfered my food from a serving bowl to my plate, and then did it again when I was half done what was on my plate. You don't get that in the States unless you're paying $80 a plate (I paid about ~$3 for dinner). I'm not entirely sure what to attribute it to, but I can't help but ponder the sense of entitlement that many Americans feel.
I mentioned in an earlier post the conflict between forces trying to move the city forward and the pressures preventing that. Today, I read an article in the local paper that said smoking has been banned in the city of Hyderabad in all public places. The article also pointed out that a polling of people seen smoking in public indicated that nobody actually knew this was a law. There's obviously no enforcement of the law either.
Last point I wanted to make. I got some responses from people indicating that some of my posts made them worry about my safety. Don't. I feel completely safe here. I think the mention of all of the security check points in Hitech city made some anxious. None of these security guards were armed. I think it's more to keep out the poor to give the campuses a sense of prosperity.
The only fear I have is the stray dogs seen wandering all over the city. My travel guide made some mention of 30K people dying of Rabies in India annually. I've been walking as far away from these dogs as possible.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
First 15 Minutes At Office
Two random thoughts from my first 15 minutes in the office.
First, I talked in my last post about how astonishing the difference between Hitech City and the rest of Hyderabad was. Those thoughts were based completely on a 3AM visit to that posh hotel. Driving around in the day makes the difference even more unbelievable. There is an entire campus here with some of the most biggest names in technology (I noticed IBM, Oracle, Accenture, among others). The architecture of the buildings is very modern, but doesn't look generic. Rather, it appears that some thought went into personalizing many of the office buildings. Each building has multiple security checkpoints. With the amount of moeny being poured into here, this is clearly the future of Hyderabad.
Second, I'm astonished at how difficult it was for me to get into Amazon's office. Part of the problem was that I showed up at 8am and nobody was in the office besides the night shift for frontline support. My badge doesn't work here. The security guards, despite me showing a badge, naming 3 people I was here to visit, and showing my business cards, did not let me in until they got in touch with an employee who works here who could vouch for me. The employee told me to set up shop at his desk until he gets in, but finding his desk was pretty difficult as well. They clearly don't have a system down yet. No big deal, but highlights at least one small challenge of have decentralized campuses.
First, I talked in my last post about how astonishing the difference between Hitech City and the rest of Hyderabad was. Those thoughts were based completely on a 3AM visit to that posh hotel. Driving around in the day makes the difference even more unbelievable. There is an entire campus here with some of the most biggest names in technology (I noticed IBM, Oracle, Accenture, among others). The architecture of the buildings is very modern, but doesn't look generic. Rather, it appears that some thought went into personalizing many of the office buildings. Each building has multiple security checkpoints. With the amount of moeny being poured into here, this is clearly the future of Hyderabad.
Second, I'm astonished at how difficult it was for me to get into Amazon's office. Part of the problem was that I showed up at 8am and nobody was in the office besides the night shift for frontline support. My badge doesn't work here. The security guards, despite me showing a badge, naming 3 people I was here to visit, and showing my business cards, did not let me in until they got in touch with an employee who works here who could vouch for me. The employee told me to set up shop at his desk until he gets in, but finding his desk was pretty difficult as well. They clearly don't have a system down yet. No big deal, but highlights at least one small challenge of have decentralized campuses.
Hyderabad: Day 1
Well, I've been in Hyderabad for about 18 hours now and it's been quite the whirlwind adventure already.
I landed in Hyderabad's new fancy, schmancy airport (just opened in March) at around 3AM local time, after almost 24 hours on a plane or in an airport. The trip went by fairly uneventful, mostly because I slept through almost the entire two flights. The 18 hours since landing have been quite the opposite.
After picking up my baggage, I walked outside and, despite it being well into the wee hours of the morning, the area just beyond the airport entrance was mobbed with people. Hordes of them were clinging to the fences that protect the open-air walkway that extends from the airport doors. Everyone is yelling: many for their family members; taxi drivers for their fares. I don't think I would have known what to do if it weren't for the fact that some guy was holding up a sign with my name on it.
I pointed at him, visibly disappointing a large contingent of taxi drivers hoping I'd pick them. He runs around to the exit of this walkway where I meet him. I started talking to him about how busy the airport was before I realized he didn't speak a word of English. I resigned myself to just follow him to the cab. When we reached the parking lot, a group of young men approached us and started saying something to the taxi driver. The taxi driver seemed to get uncomfortable as he scurried away. I really wish I knew what they were talking about :-(
As we headed out of the airport, we approached a sign that indicated we should stay straight to go to Hyderabad or turn left to go to Bangalore. As perhaps you should have expected, we went left. Before long, the driver turned down a straight with a handmade sign that read, "Way to Hyderabad." The road was mostly dirt, with blockades every few kilometers. The driver, naturally went through each blockade. Eventually, we navigated our way to Hyderabad.
The driver approached what looked like a 5-star hotel with a gated entrance around the compound. Now, I was originally booked at this hotel, but someone at Amazon decided I should be moved to lower cost housing because of my length of stay (I think most people only stay for like 2 weeks). Of course, I couldn't communicate any of this to him. So, we waited until we pulled up to the hotel itself before I could ask someone at the hotel to sort it out. The person there was very helpful, calling up my actual housing (luckily I had printed out all of the information). We got back in the cab and drove to the new housing which was located down a dark alley. Quite the opposite of the posh experience most Amazonians get... I don't think I would change it for the world though.
I finally got to bed around 4:30 AM. I woke up this morning with no real signs of jet lag (don't quite understand that one) and decided to tackle the day. I asked the person at the front desk what to do, but he wasn't terribly helpful. So, with no real idea of what to do, I just started walking. I ended up walking about 15km (I know because I cabbed it back and saw their meter) into town (yeah, I'm way out in the middle of nowhere).
The walk was a very interesting experience. Hyderabad is a very confused town in a lot of ways. It seems like there are forces trying to make it a modern day city, but real pressures that make that difficult. Signs everywhere encourage people to keep the city looking nice: "Hyderabad is a beautifyul place; let us keep it clean." Yet, I didn't see a trash can to throw out my empty soda bottle until I reached a shopping mall. Other signs indicate the police want to reduce the madness on the roads: "Ensure safety on roads. Follow rules." Yet, nobody does. There are high-end clothing stores springing up everywhere. Yet, you see children lying on the streets right next to them. There seem to be many jobs pouring into the city, especially with the rise of the hitech city (aka Cyberbad). Yet, that seems like an ivory tower with its gated community (the hotel was just one of many buildings in that gated area) and there is extreme poverty all over the city.
Speaking of the madness on the roads... I've never experienced anything quite like the roads in Hyderabad. I pretty much spent my entire walk on this relatively major road. And what you typically find is two lanes going in each direction and then whatever is left is shared by cars, motorcycles, auto-rickshaws, pedestrians, bicycles, stray dogs (any of which could be going in either direction at any time). You also have people crossing back and forth through this madness as if they were playing a game of Frogger (I followed one guy who crossed this madness three different times with a camel!!!!). I was pretty timid at first, but within minutes, found myself just walking wherever I felt like it. There's this pretty interesting system where every car seems to constantly be honking. I think they're mostly honking to indicate to cars or pedestrians that they're approaching from behind or passing. But, this happens so frequently, that it pretty much becomes white noise; I found myself desensitized to horns pretty quickly.
Then there are these auto-rickshaws. They're kinda like taxis, except they're 3-wheeled, struggle to make it up hills, have no doors, and probably make up 40% of the traffic on the road (another 40% is probably made up of motorcycles). A bit prideful and determined to do my walk, I must have turned down at least 50 of them today.
I eventually gave into the auto-rickshaws because I wasn't about to ride the 15km back to my hotel. After some confusion, he and I eventually sought a translator who helped me explain where I needed to get to (apparently the map wasn't good enough). You wonder briefly about your safety while walking through the street through this traffic; you get in one of these auto-rickshaws and it's a whole need ballgame. My driver was weaving through traffic, blew through every red light, and almost hit about a dozen cyclists. I paid about $3.00 for the 15km taxi ride and the thrill of being in that rickshaw was well worth at least 10x that.
I also stumbled across a bazaar today. The 20RS (~$0.50) charge to get in was enough to keep out the poor (I didn't necessarily realize this until a group of beggars jumped me the moment I left). Inside, kids played cricket, families had picnics, people rode around on paddle boats. I walked through a bunch of the stands where vendors sold scarves, pottery, jewelry, etc... I sat down with a number of them and was probably duped into spending way more than I should have. But, I found myself getting into some real conversations with these people (though I wouldn't be surprised if some of what they told me was fabricated). I found it hard to bargain too hard when you know these people are working for their livelihood.
Anyway, enough with my boring stories. I need to get to bed so that I'll be ready for my first day in the office tomorrow... though, I can't imagine 9 hours at a desk will compare with today.
I landed in Hyderabad's new fancy, schmancy airport (just opened in March) at around 3AM local time, after almost 24 hours on a plane or in an airport. The trip went by fairly uneventful, mostly because I slept through almost the entire two flights. The 18 hours since landing have been quite the opposite.
After picking up my baggage, I walked outside and, despite it being well into the wee hours of the morning, the area just beyond the airport entrance was mobbed with people. Hordes of them were clinging to the fences that protect the open-air walkway that extends from the airport doors. Everyone is yelling: many for their family members; taxi drivers for their fares. I don't think I would have known what to do if it weren't for the fact that some guy was holding up a sign with my name on it.
I pointed at him, visibly disappointing a large contingent of taxi drivers hoping I'd pick them. He runs around to the exit of this walkway where I meet him. I started talking to him about how busy the airport was before I realized he didn't speak a word of English. I resigned myself to just follow him to the cab. When we reached the parking lot, a group of young men approached us and started saying something to the taxi driver. The taxi driver seemed to get uncomfortable as he scurried away. I really wish I knew what they were talking about :-(
As we headed out of the airport, we approached a sign that indicated we should stay straight to go to Hyderabad or turn left to go to Bangalore. As perhaps you should have expected, we went left. Before long, the driver turned down a straight with a handmade sign that read, "Way to Hyderabad." The road was mostly dirt, with blockades every few kilometers. The driver, naturally went through each blockade. Eventually, we navigated our way to Hyderabad.
The driver approached what looked like a 5-star hotel with a gated entrance around the compound. Now, I was originally booked at this hotel, but someone at Amazon decided I should be moved to lower cost housing because of my length of stay (I think most people only stay for like 2 weeks). Of course, I couldn't communicate any of this to him. So, we waited until we pulled up to the hotel itself before I could ask someone at the hotel to sort it out. The person there was very helpful, calling up my actual housing (luckily I had printed out all of the information). We got back in the cab and drove to the new housing which was located down a dark alley. Quite the opposite of the posh experience most Amazonians get... I don't think I would change it for the world though.
I finally got to bed around 4:30 AM. I woke up this morning with no real signs of jet lag (don't quite understand that one) and decided to tackle the day. I asked the person at the front desk what to do, but he wasn't terribly helpful. So, with no real idea of what to do, I just started walking. I ended up walking about 15km (I know because I cabbed it back and saw their meter) into town (yeah, I'm way out in the middle of nowhere).
The walk was a very interesting experience. Hyderabad is a very confused town in a lot of ways. It seems like there are forces trying to make it a modern day city, but real pressures that make that difficult. Signs everywhere encourage people to keep the city looking nice: "Hyderabad is a beautifyul place; let us keep it clean." Yet, I didn't see a trash can to throw out my empty soda bottle until I reached a shopping mall. Other signs indicate the police want to reduce the madness on the roads: "Ensure safety on roads. Follow rules." Yet, nobody does. There are high-end clothing stores springing up everywhere. Yet, you see children lying on the streets right next to them. There seem to be many jobs pouring into the city, especially with the rise of the hitech city (aka Cyberbad). Yet, that seems like an ivory tower with its gated community (the hotel was just one of many buildings in that gated area) and there is extreme poverty all over the city.
Speaking of the madness on the roads... I've never experienced anything quite like the roads in Hyderabad. I pretty much spent my entire walk on this relatively major road. And what you typically find is two lanes going in each direction and then whatever is left is shared by cars, motorcycles, auto-rickshaws, pedestrians, bicycles, stray dogs (any of which could be going in either direction at any time). You also have people crossing back and forth through this madness as if they were playing a game of Frogger (I followed one guy who crossed this madness three different times with a camel!!!!). I was pretty timid at first, but within minutes, found myself just walking wherever I felt like it. There's this pretty interesting system where every car seems to constantly be honking. I think they're mostly honking to indicate to cars or pedestrians that they're approaching from behind or passing. But, this happens so frequently, that it pretty much becomes white noise; I found myself desensitized to horns pretty quickly.
Then there are these auto-rickshaws. They're kinda like taxis, except they're 3-wheeled, struggle to make it up hills, have no doors, and probably make up 40% of the traffic on the road (another 40% is probably made up of motorcycles). A bit prideful and determined to do my walk, I must have turned down at least 50 of them today.
I eventually gave into the auto-rickshaws because I wasn't about to ride the 15km back to my hotel. After some confusion, he and I eventually sought a translator who helped me explain where I needed to get to (apparently the map wasn't good enough). You wonder briefly about your safety while walking through the street through this traffic; you get in one of these auto-rickshaws and it's a whole need ballgame. My driver was weaving through traffic, blew through every red light, and almost hit about a dozen cyclists. I paid about $3.00 for the 15km taxi ride and the thrill of being in that rickshaw was well worth at least 10x that.
I also stumbled across a bazaar today. The 20RS (~$0.50) charge to get in was enough to keep out the poor (I didn't necessarily realize this until a group of beggars jumped me the moment I left). Inside, kids played cricket, families had picnics, people rode around on paddle boats. I walked through a bunch of the stands where vendors sold scarves, pottery, jewelry, etc... I sat down with a number of them and was probably duped into spending way more than I should have. But, I found myself getting into some real conversations with these people (though I wouldn't be surprised if some of what they told me was fabricated). I found it hard to bargain too hard when you know these people are working for their livelihood.
Anyway, enough with my boring stories. I need to get to bed so that I'll be ready for my first day in the office tomorrow... though, I can't imagine 9 hours at a desk will compare with today.
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