Time to cross another country off of the list. To be honest, India was never in my top 100 places to visit (or maybe even top 1,000), but after spending this past week there, I can truthfully say I am so glad I had the opportunity to go. I went for work (with my colleague from London, Barry), so what we were able to see was kind of limited. We're talking hotel, the office, and car ride from hotel to the office (we didn't even make it into the actual downtown of Hyderabad). But I brought my trusty camera/blackberry/iphone trio everywhere in an effort to capture everything I possibly could.
This is how I spent each morning. We have them work on London time, so we went to the office around 2pm each day, which left from 9am - 1pm for me to get a tan for Katie's wedding! I cannot tell you how good the 90 degree sun felt after the past three months of rainy winter in London.
Another shot from the pool area - the hotel was so pretty.
These next pictures are from our car rides to and from the office. Pardon the blur and un-centered-ness of it all... did the best I could given the conditions (crazy jerky taxi driver).
The "welcome to the city" sign.
This is where the metro will eventually be, so here are the workers that are clearing the path and making the platform. In case you can't see, the guys are sitting there breaking rocks with their own two hands. We asked why they don't just use machinery to cut the rocks as this method can't possibly be efficient, they told us that they don't care about efficiency and this is the cheapest way to do it (these people make less than 1 pound a day).
I love this! A little family on their way somewhere... what you can't tell from the picture is that we're going like 50 miles per hour. She's riding side saddle and they have no helmets!!!
Hahaha look how people arrive to work!!! Little did I know when I took this picture a rickshaw ride was in my future :)
Notice the metal detector at the left. You wouldn't believe the security measures over there. Between the car check (mirrors underneath, patting down the taxi driver TSA style, trunk inspection etc.), metal detector fun, registering at the front desk, getting our computers' serial numbers checked at every single door we went through... it took us 30-45 minutes to enter the building each day (efficiency comment above proven true at every turn).
Our first day they took us to an authentic Indian restaurant for lunch at the Red Bean. This place took "hole-in-the-wall" to a whole new level.
This is us walking into the building.
Barry and some team members from India.
After a horrific experience trying to go to a local market with a corrupt taxi driver (who drove us around for over an hour to get somewhere 2 minutes away), our team members from India decided to take us themselves. It was the highlight of the trip! Here's the entrance to the outdoor market...
Barry, ever the professional, keeping his suit jacket on even in the 90 degree heat!
Me, ever the unprofessional, shed the jacket before even leaving the hotel.
Bartering for a scarf... here he's holding what I got for my roommate. It all went down in a foreign language, but the girls told me I got a great deal!
After the market we headed to a nearby food court for lunch... since it was only 5 minutes away we agreed to try out the rickshaw... LOL!! So much fun!!!
On our layover in Dubai on the way home...
... I found heaven!! I can't remember the last time I've been so happy... my first pinkberry since leaving CA in August. Such an unexpected taste of home :)
Just had to take a picture of our plane - the Airbus A380 (the whole plane is a double decker). It was the biggest thing I've ever seen.
Barry in his seat... I'm lame I know, taking pictures in an airplane. But this plane was so stinking cool I couldn't resist!
In addition to the stand up bar at the back of the top level (like you see in pictures), each seat had its own minibar!
So there you have it! It was a great trip, but so thankful to be home!!
This is how I spent each morning. We have them work on London time, so we went to the office around 2pm each day, which left from 9am - 1pm for me to get a tan for Katie's wedding! I cannot tell you how good the 90 degree sun felt after the past three months of rainy winter in London.
Another shot from the pool area - the hotel was so pretty.
The view from my hotel room.
These next pictures are from our car rides to and from the office. Pardon the blur and un-centered-ness of it all... did the best I could given the conditions (crazy jerky taxi driver).
The "welcome to the city" sign.
This is where the metro will eventually be, so here are the workers that are clearing the path and making the platform. In case you can't see, the guys are sitting there breaking rocks with their own two hands. We asked why they don't just use machinery to cut the rocks as this method can't possibly be efficient, they told us that they don't care about efficiency and this is the cheapest way to do it (these people make less than 1 pound a day).
I love this! A little family on their way somewhere... what you can't tell from the picture is that we're going like 50 miles per hour. She's riding side saddle and they have no helmets!!!
Here are some shots from the office...
Hahaha look how people arrive to work!!! Little did I know when I took this picture a rickshaw ride was in my future :)
Notice the metal detector at the left. You wouldn't believe the security measures over there. Between the car check (mirrors underneath, patting down the taxi driver TSA style, trunk inspection etc.), metal detector fun, registering at the front desk, getting our computers' serial numbers checked at every single door we went through... it took us 30-45 minutes to enter the building each day (efficiency comment above proven true at every turn).
Our first day they took us to an authentic Indian restaurant for lunch at the Red Bean. This place took "hole-in-the-wall" to a whole new level.
This is us walking into the building.
Barry and some team members from India.
After a horrific experience trying to go to a local market with a corrupt taxi driver (who drove us around for over an hour to get somewhere 2 minutes away), our team members from India decided to take us themselves. It was the highlight of the trip! Here's the entrance to the outdoor market...
Barry, ever the professional, keeping his suit jacket on even in the 90 degree heat!
Me, ever the unprofessional, shed the jacket before even leaving the hotel.
Bartering for a scarf... here he's holding what I got for my roommate. It all went down in a foreign language, but the girls told me I got a great deal!
After the market we headed to a nearby food court for lunch... since it was only 5 minutes away we agreed to try out the rickshaw... LOL!! So much fun!!!
On our layover in Dubai on the way home...
... I found heaven!! I can't remember the last time I've been so happy... my first pinkberry since leaving CA in August. Such an unexpected taste of home :)
Just had to take a picture of our plane - the Airbus A380 (the whole plane is a double decker). It was the biggest thing I've ever seen.
In addition to the stand up bar at the back of the top level (like you see in pictures), each seat had its own minibar!
So there you have it! It was a great trip, but so thankful to be home!!
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