Land of the Tiger

In December, John made a business trip to Bangalore India to visit a customer there.

Departing on a Saturday night, the first stop was Sunday morning at London’s Heathrow Airport. John was here just long enough to catch a nap and a pint.

From there, it was on to the city of Bangalore and the Blue Petal hotel.

After a nap and a trip to the local mall to do a little Christmas shopping, we had the first of many Indian meals and settled into a routine of working with the folks back in the USA as their day began in our evening.

Work occupied the next days. We did have an exciting trip to a cell tower…

Of course, every trip in Bangalore is exciting because of the notorious traffic. It’s not just the cars, it’s the plethora of motorbikes, auto-rickshaws, trucks, buses, and even cows that make the roads really exciting! Here’s John’s video excuse for being late for an evening conference call – pretty typical in Bangalore.

There is an amazing range of culture here – from the poorest to the richest. We tried to see the full spectrum!

On our last night in Bangalore, our hosts treated us to an outstanding dinner at the absolutely gorgeous ITC Windsor Hotel. The building had served as a British government headquarters until India’s independence in 1947. Today, it’s a magnificent hotel with restaurants including the Royal Afghan where we dined in luxury by the pool. What a treat!

It was up early the next morning for the marathon trip home. Up at 3:30 AM for a 4:30 departure from the hotel, a 7:50 AM 11 hour flight from Bangalore, a quick beer at Heathrow, and another 7-1/2 hour flight before arriving in Boston, 26 hours after waking, at 7:15 PM.  Talk about a long day!

It was an exciting trip but it’s good to be home.  Give me Massachusetts any day!

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