Well now things are starting to come together nicely. The beds have arrived (minus the correct ribs for one of them), coach and chairs are in place, very large dining table installed with small Danish flag in place at the end. The air conditioning units have arrived this evening and will be fitted tomorrow.
The lack of A/C has actually been fine as it cools at night and there are no mosquitoes. The only problem with sleeping with the window open is that even on a small, quiet, dead-dead road people insist on using their car horns early in the morning! Generally the horn is used entirely too much (I just heard one in the background as I typed that). I am not really sure if it is a lack of patients because all things seem to take so long in India that one would have assumed that people very INCREDIBLY patient or if it just derives from the fact that one needs to make oneself noticed to great ahead in this chaos.
Since I have written last, I have had the pleasure of meeting some very nice people here in Hyderabad. A friend of a friend who has studied in the UK has been so nice to show me around. It has also been so nice to speak to someone who bridges the gap between east and west. Last Friday I also went to the local expatriate society and meet some people who are in a similar position to my own, albeit with families and kids. I can already sense that what I have heard before: that expats take care of each other. Being around Indians constantly one sometimes feels as the “outsider”. Now as I am a social constructionist I do not adhere to the stance my native ways are better than the Indian native ways, but it is nice to be around people who can relate to having all these experiences with western eyes.
Now other interesting things that have happened… Haircut in India at a nice salon style place with a wash and the whole spiel: 40 kr. This was in what is probably the fanciest mall in Hyderabad. However if you want 500 ml of Mövenpick ice cream in a supermarket that’ll set you back about 75 kr. Hence Andrew and I could get out hair cut or we could share a tub of ice cream. The fact is I know we’d do both! I think in general I haven’t really gotten used to the money thing. I look at Rs. 100 note and think, oh that is like 100 Kr., but it just isn’t and I need to really get that into my head. Same thing that I get so angry when the rickshaw drivers try to rip me off for Rs. 30 and I should just LET IT GO. I can also feel that I need to start learning just absolute survival Hindi. I have gotten a couple of cool links that I will check out, but I just need internet at home first, which is something that should also fall into place soon too.
So yes, in general things are going well but I can feel that I still sometimes need to get a bit of perspective. I need to pick my battles and really sit back and smell the roses (or curry) and just enjoy the ride. Speaking of food, I can say that real Hyderabadi Biryani is amazing. At my local Biryani restaurant you get a portion big enough for 2 for Rs. 180 and it’s divine.
Now this is where I leave you for now. No pictures this time I’m afraid. I also need to get better at taking the camera with me.
Tuesday 23 February 2010
Monday 15 February 2010
Practical things in India
Now everything seems to be coming together!
I spent most of this Sunday sightseeing and furniture shopping. I have seen the old city, including the Charminar, the palace of the Nizams, a large museum and a number of Mosques. There is a lot of history here and no doubt there was been, and still is, a tremendous amount of wealth. The palace definitely offered a lovely respite from the hectic city. An interesting thing about India is that there is different entrance fees for Indians and non-Indians. It is 20 times more expensive for a non-Indian to go inside the Charminar (5 rs vs. 100 rs). I was tempted to ask if it didn't count as discrimination but I thought best to just leave it.
I have also had my encounter with haggling at its finest. With my colleagues help I have managed to acquire some relatively tasteful rattan furniture: 3 person couch, 2 chairs, coffee table, dining table and 6 dining chairs for 31,000 rs (3700 kr). The tables are with glass, so I think it's an OK deal. we managed to talk them down 25 % in price. In order to show is the quality 3 employees (one rather tubby) were standing on the chair. I wish I had taken a snap of it. Three grown men standing on a rattan lounge chair yelling “good quality good quality”.
For a bed I decided to go the high street route and have gotten 2 queen-sized beds with nice mattresses. The mattresses are filled with some kind of natural material, so we will see how my back reacts to that in the long run. It felt firm but comfortable. After bitching for a good hour we managed to get a little discount of 10 %. We shopped at a store call Hometown. I have now been there a number of times and they are absolutely impossible. In an attempt to buy office furniture today we spend over 2 hours! Everytime you ask for something they have to go off and check, they come back 15 min later and tell you they don't have it in stock. Frustration to the absolute limit, but it is all sorted now.
Otherwise all is well. People at the office and very kind and there is a good chance that I might get to paint my apartment white instead of the nasty caffe mocha colour it is now. I have also ordered the fridge and it'll be delivered tomorrow. Horra. I have also located the local nicer supermarket, so I know where i can get all the western stables such a Betty Crocker and Hershey's chocolate syrup.
So basically things are going good. I will update soon.
Saturday 13 February 2010
Hyderabad reveals herself
I have now finally arrived in Hyderabad and am starting to get my bearings. This is a very big city and incredibly crowded. I know it doesn’t rival Mumbai but this place is still crowded and congested by any European standards.
I have seen my flat a number of times and the more time I spend there the more certain I am that I can make something good out of it. It will no doubt become my escape from the hustle and bustle of the city. The apartment is large but in western eyes rather primitive. I have now come to know that I am living in something that is rather upscale for India. There are 4 guards on patrol at night at the little complex! There is also a nice roof top with a pool. Before you conjure up images of MTV Cribs with bikini clad lovelies walking around with trays of cocktails, it ain’t like that. However it looks clean and I think it’ll provide a great way of cooling off when the temperature starts to rise.
Tomorrow I am off with a colleague to try to acquire some furniture. As I am going local market style for interior decoration of my apartment, I think there will be an unbelievable amount of haggling involves. Sigh. I realise I will end up with things a lot cheaper than Europe but I am not used to the means of getting there yet. I can already feel that when people see a white man walking around in shorts they just see huge dollar signs. I looked at some furniture at a stall and their asking price was similar to Europe and they had a guy making it out back. I just need to know learn how to drive a hard bargain. It is as J says “You haven’t succeeded until you see them cry”... we shall see.
But for the moment I am doing OK. There are a lot of impressions all the time and I can feel that I just need to go with the flow and let things happen here. Know where my boundaries and wallet lies and then take it from there. I have spent today walking around a national park grabbing a bit to eat and drink at one of the many small shopping centres that seem to litter Banjara Hills. I also took a motor rickshaw down to the Hussain Sagar, which is the large artificial lake in the middle of Hyderabad. I have to learn to be more persistent and insist that the meter is used. I paid 100 (12 kr.) rs to go there and 50 rs (6 kr) to go back and I probably got ripped off both times. The distance is about 3 km. Also on the way back the driver insisted on taking me to buy pearls and only buckled when I firmly insisted that the ONLY place I wanted to go was my hotel.
I feel that I am developing some kind of internalised conflict between wanting to shelter myself from the realities of this place and at the same time wanting and needing to understanding and experience this culture. I am trying to find the balance and trying to tell myself to be patient and not feeling bad for feeling overwhelmed at times.
That more or less brings us up to the here and now but I would also like to reflect at little on what I saw in Northern India. We left the town of Chandigarh at 05:30 and moved out of the city on 3 lane wide roads, however as we move north the roads are being rebuilt, which entails that you switch from what will at some point be the northbound track to what will be the sound bound track every km. This means dissecting oncoming traffic and generally driving in what mind remind most of a total construction site. The apparent chaos had also lead to an accident between a car and a motorcycle. I believe the accident may have been fatal as the motorcycle driver was lying very still in the road.
We move up into the mountains along very winding roads. There are large limestone quarries and cement production, meaning that almost every vehicle on the road is a truck. They are covered in colourful pictures, symbols and writing; all with the purpose to bringing good luck to the truck and its chauffer. Now driving up a mountain in a car with a local driver is not for the faint-hearted. Vehicles pass each other constantly irrespective of blind turns and the horn is in constant use to either tell people that you are coming through or that they should get out of the way. After 4 hours of driving we have reached our Destination 175 km away: The town of Sundernagar (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sundernagar). Here a friend of a colleague took us around showing us the various sites, including a site that is referred to in one of the great Hindu epics. From Sundernagar one can get a great view of the snow clad mountains and it is a testament to the diversity of this country.
After a meeting we start on the long journey back first to Chandigarh and then onto Delhi. We leave at around 17 and with a 2 hour stop for dinner; we are in Delhi by 03:00.
That more or less brings us up to speed. I will try to fill my next blog with more details, but I am a little tired at the moment and also want to gather my thoughts and impressions.
I have seen my flat a number of times and the more time I spend there the more certain I am that I can make something good out of it. It will no doubt become my escape from the hustle and bustle of the city. The apartment is large but in western eyes rather primitive. I have now come to know that I am living in something that is rather upscale for India. There are 4 guards on patrol at night at the little complex! There is also a nice roof top with a pool. Before you conjure up images of MTV Cribs with bikini clad lovelies walking around with trays of cocktails, it ain’t like that. However it looks clean and I think it’ll provide a great way of cooling off when the temperature starts to rise.
Tomorrow I am off with a colleague to try to acquire some furniture. As I am going local market style for interior decoration of my apartment, I think there will be an unbelievable amount of haggling involves. Sigh. I realise I will end up with things a lot cheaper than Europe but I am not used to the means of getting there yet. I can already feel that when people see a white man walking around in shorts they just see huge dollar signs. I looked at some furniture at a stall and their asking price was similar to Europe and they had a guy making it out back. I just need to know learn how to drive a hard bargain. It is as J says “You haven’t succeeded until you see them cry”... we shall see.
But for the moment I am doing OK. There are a lot of impressions all the time and I can feel that I just need to go with the flow and let things happen here. Know where my boundaries and wallet lies and then take it from there. I have spent today walking around a national park grabbing a bit to eat and drink at one of the many small shopping centres that seem to litter Banjara Hills. I also took a motor rickshaw down to the Hussain Sagar, which is the large artificial lake in the middle of Hyderabad. I have to learn to be more persistent and insist that the meter is used. I paid 100 (12 kr.) rs to go there and 50 rs (6 kr) to go back and I probably got ripped off both times. The distance is about 3 km. Also on the way back the driver insisted on taking me to buy pearls and only buckled when I firmly insisted that the ONLY place I wanted to go was my hotel.
I feel that I am developing some kind of internalised conflict between wanting to shelter myself from the realities of this place and at the same time wanting and needing to understanding and experience this culture. I am trying to find the balance and trying to tell myself to be patient and not feeling bad for feeling overwhelmed at times.
That more or less brings us up to the here and now but I would also like to reflect at little on what I saw in Northern India. We left the town of Chandigarh at 05:30 and moved out of the city on 3 lane wide roads, however as we move north the roads are being rebuilt, which entails that you switch from what will at some point be the northbound track to what will be the sound bound track every km. This means dissecting oncoming traffic and generally driving in what mind remind most of a total construction site. The apparent chaos had also lead to an accident between a car and a motorcycle. I believe the accident may have been fatal as the motorcycle driver was lying very still in the road.
We move up into the mountains along very winding roads. There are large limestone quarries and cement production, meaning that almost every vehicle on the road is a truck. They are covered in colourful pictures, symbols and writing; all with the purpose to bringing good luck to the truck and its chauffer. Now driving up a mountain in a car with a local driver is not for the faint-hearted. Vehicles pass each other constantly irrespective of blind turns and the horn is in constant use to either tell people that you are coming through or that they should get out of the way. After 4 hours of driving we have reached our Destination 175 km away: The town of Sundernagar (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sundernagar). Here a friend of a colleague took us around showing us the various sites, including a site that is referred to in one of the great Hindu epics. From Sundernagar one can get a great view of the snow clad mountains and it is a testament to the diversity of this country.
After a meeting we start on the long journey back first to Chandigarh and then onto Delhi. We leave at around 17 and with a 2 hour stop for dinner; we are in Delhi by 03:00.
That more or less brings us up to speed. I will try to fill my next blog with more details, but I am a little tired at the moment and also want to gather my thoughts and impressions.
Tuesday 9 February 2010
Greetings from Sector 17
I have now arrived in the city of Chandigarh in Northern India. We are approximately 250 km from the Pakistani border. I am sitting in a very large hotel room on the 5th floor and through the large gaps in the door out on the concrete balcony I can here the sounds of this 114 square km city with over 1 million people. I am residing that is called sector 17. This city is the first purpose-built city after India's independence. There was mostly jungle then but now it is a place of wide streets and avenues. It is amazing how something that is only 60 years old can seem so run down but that seems to be the way of India.
There is a very large military presence here due to the close proximity to Pakistan. The airport is joint with a military base and you are instructed not to use cameras while taxiing in. There are stray dogs on the runway, one of them casually sniffing at the decaying body of a former companion and the whole place looks tired. The terminal building is surrounded by construction because they are building an international airport. The building site is blocked off by gaping metal plates.
I think I see someone go off with my suitcase but it was a false alarm. I think I was a little high strung after heavy turbulence and the feeling that this is not a place you might instinctively trust people. As we walk out to the parking area one walks besides a guard. There is nothing abnormal in that, but the point is that he is standing in a reinforcement with sandbags at the top. From a opening in the handbags there is protruding a machine gun. He is standing behind pretty much ready to get mid-evil on anyone: Machine gun on shoulder = I feel safe, Machine gun pointed out of a mini-bunker = I have just stepped into a war zone.
When we get out to the parking area I see approximately 15 soldiers and their are using mirrors to check for bombs under cars. Same procedure when we arrive at the hotel, which after a 30 min drive is the nicest building I have seen.
Tomorrow morning at 05:00 we set off for a 6 hour car journey north. I have been assured we aren't going to Kashmir, so genereally all is well.
The section below was written on the plane, just to account for any changes in writing style.
Since i wrote last I have gotten by first encounter with the Indian bureaucracy. On Monday I visited a public office in India and it was one of the most derelict thing I have ever seen. This place was probably built in the 50's and hasn't been renovated since. Things seem to work in ranks here and the top guy is the only one who talks. Everyone just listens. Phones ring and are answered during the meeting and papers come in that need to be signed. I am very happy that I read up a little on this and it totally rings true. The top guy was very no-nonsense and to the point and I rather enjoyed that.
The next meeting was with a consultancy firm and this was located in a beautiful office building with green lawns and a lake outside (obviously within a walled off area). Also a little warn down but the building and office could easily have passed for the US or the UK. Meet very kind people and they seemed genuinely interested in our proposal.
Now, these two meeting took up most of the day. Now what I mean is that we spent in total for the day 30 min waiting (very very good by Indian standards apparently), 1.5 hours in meetings, 45 minutes for lunch and the approx. 5 getting to and from where we needed to go. The distances are big and the traffic is appalling. Luckily we have always been driving in cars with very effective A/C. The temperature has thus far not been a problem at all, which has been a very pleasant surprise. The area where I'm traveling to now has current highs around 10 degrees, so I finally have a use for the down jacket I have been lugging with me.
The traffic has amazed me and how I hadn't seen an accident: monday changed all that. I also wondered how people manage to stay calm in such a hectic environment: That has also changed. I motorised rigshaw had crashed into the front end of a car. As we drove by I would tell the conversation was heated. As I look back the car driver i continuiously beating on the rigshaw driver. As far as I could tell the driver was down on the ground before anyone decided to interviene.
I have more encounters with poverty as inevitable. I have seen children sitting in the middle of the road picking fleas and lice out of each others hair: Filthy dirty and malnourished. I have seen begging cross dressers or what might have been unichs. I have seen begger with his forearm destroyed: half way down the forearm he must have had an accident because it ended in a stub and the hand was point 180 degrees, hence resting up the forearm with the fingers pointing in the direction of the elbow. I have seen a woman holding a small childwho was entire made up with eyeliner: I don't know what that was about but I fear the worst. I have seen mothers trying to beat the filth and dust out of their children s clothing, the children standing naked waiting because that one garment is the only thing they have to wear.
I have also seen the lifestyle of the haves. I have seen many Mercedes S-classes, a Lamborghini, a number of Porsche Chayenne, Jaguars, Range Rovers as well as the local Rolls Royce dealer.
There is a very large military presence here due to the close proximity to Pakistan. The airport is joint with a military base and you are instructed not to use cameras while taxiing in. There are stray dogs on the runway, one of them casually sniffing at the decaying body of a former companion and the whole place looks tired. The terminal building is surrounded by construction because they are building an international airport. The building site is blocked off by gaping metal plates.
I think I see someone go off with my suitcase but it was a false alarm. I think I was a little high strung after heavy turbulence and the feeling that this is not a place you might instinctively trust people. As we walk out to the parking area one walks besides a guard. There is nothing abnormal in that, but the point is that he is standing in a reinforcement with sandbags at the top. From a opening in the handbags there is protruding a machine gun. He is standing behind pretty much ready to get mid-evil on anyone: Machine gun on shoulder = I feel safe, Machine gun pointed out of a mini-bunker = I have just stepped into a war zone.
When we get out to the parking area I see approximately 15 soldiers and their are using mirrors to check for bombs under cars. Same procedure when we arrive at the hotel, which after a 30 min drive is the nicest building I have seen.
Tomorrow morning at 05:00 we set off for a 6 hour car journey north. I have been assured we aren't going to Kashmir, so genereally all is well.
The section below was written on the plane, just to account for any changes in writing style.
Since i wrote last I have gotten by first encounter with the Indian bureaucracy. On Monday I visited a public office in India and it was one of the most derelict thing I have ever seen. This place was probably built in the 50's and hasn't been renovated since. Things seem to work in ranks here and the top guy is the only one who talks. Everyone just listens. Phones ring and are answered during the meeting and papers come in that need to be signed. I am very happy that I read up a little on this and it totally rings true. The top guy was very no-nonsense and to the point and I rather enjoyed that.
The next meeting was with a consultancy firm and this was located in a beautiful office building with green lawns and a lake outside (obviously within a walled off area). Also a little warn down but the building and office could easily have passed for the US or the UK. Meet very kind people and they seemed genuinely interested in our proposal.
Now, these two meeting took up most of the day. Now what I mean is that we spent in total for the day 30 min waiting (very very good by Indian standards apparently), 1.5 hours in meetings, 45 minutes for lunch and the approx. 5 getting to and from where we needed to go. The distances are big and the traffic is appalling. Luckily we have always been driving in cars with very effective A/C. The temperature has thus far not been a problem at all, which has been a very pleasant surprise. The area where I'm traveling to now has current highs around 10 degrees, so I finally have a use for the down jacket I have been lugging with me.
The traffic has amazed me and how I hadn't seen an accident: monday changed all that. I also wondered how people manage to stay calm in such a hectic environment: That has also changed. I motorised rigshaw had crashed into the front end of a car. As we drove by I would tell the conversation was heated. As I look back the car driver i continuiously beating on the rigshaw driver. As far as I could tell the driver was down on the ground before anyone decided to interviene.
I have more encounters with poverty as inevitable. I have seen children sitting in the middle of the road picking fleas and lice out of each others hair: Filthy dirty and malnourished. I have seen begging cross dressers or what might have been unichs. I have seen begger with his forearm destroyed: half way down the forearm he must have had an accident because it ended in a stub and the hand was point 180 degrees, hence resting up the forearm with the fingers pointing in the direction of the elbow. I have seen a woman holding a small childwho was entire made up with eyeliner: I don't know what that was about but I fear the worst. I have seen mothers trying to beat the filth and dust out of their children s clothing, the children standing naked waiting because that one garment is the only thing they have to wear.
I have also seen the lifestyle of the haves. I have seen many Mercedes S-classes, a Lamborghini, a number of Porsche Chayenne, Jaguars, Range Rovers as well as the local Rolls Royce dealer.
Sunday 7 February 2010
First impressions of India
Hi Folks,
Ok, so here I am in Mumbai. I have been in India for about 28 hours and I have already been absolutely bombarded with impression. This place is intense. I will try to document my time here thus far.
I land in Hyderabad Saturday morning at 08:30 after a 3 hour journey with only about 1 hour of sleep. Hyderabad airport is clean and modern. There is somewhat loud and dramatic mood music at customs, which is pretty cool. No problem getting into India, even with a somewhat generic address written onto my entry slip (Adress: Banjara Hills). I am tight on time and my bags arrive amongst the last and need to be scanned. They scanning man asks me to come around and explain what it is he is seeing on the monitor. I look somewhat puzzled as I don't know much about looking at X-rays and generally leave that to my brother. Eventually when he mentioned the word lenses I realise we are looking at my camera and I assure him that I will be taking it with me when I leave. I meet my new colleague in arrivals and after a hasty intro we dash off to catch our flight. We show our passport to get into the departures area, but no ID to get boarding pass, get through security check or to get on the plane: good thing because they misspelled my name. :-)
So 10:00 and we are on the plane and 10:15 we are taking off to Mumbai. Flying over the hills each of Mumbai was stunning but flying in over Mumbai has to be one of the most stunning things I have ever seen. You come in over a body of water and then green marches/forests. As the plane lets lower and lower you come in over the settlements. Packed together on all the land available, right to the edge of steep drop-off slopes, with roofs in various intersecting hights it was visually stunning and soul-wrenching at the same time. The areas are huge and numerous.
We touch down and the warm, wet air quickly envelopes you. Outside the terminal I meet another 2 colleagues and we get into the car and set off into Mumbai traffic. I am not sure words can really explain what this is like. Through my entire time here I have not seen anyone use the indicator. I mean I believe they are under the impression that one of the stalks on the steering column is for ornamentation. People shooting in and out lanes, constant honking. There are traffic signals but there are just used as xmas lights because they are WHOLE and ENTIRELY ignored. The city just continues and continues and continues. Eventually we get to the expressway in our Toyota minubus that plays the “Lombarda” when you put the car in reverse: I mean, screw the beep from the parking sensor, play the song with which the forbidden dance belongs.
We curve our way up the mountains towards the city of Pune. We stop for food at a local freeway-side establishment for a bit of Dahl. yum yum yum. After asking for directions several times we eventually find our hotel where we will be holding a seminar. We talk and prep and I have a shower to freshen up after too many hours awake. I have a shirt ironed, dress up and get ready. After 4 hours of seminar, with dinner we are ready to head back to the big city. At this point I am beyond tired. I mean really beyond tired. I manage to nodge off in the car and wake up as we stop at another roadside establishment. It was so incredibly surreal. It's dark and warm and the whole place is lit up with fluorescent lights. People hanging out of cars, stray dogs, various stands selling food, loud Indian music and the whole thing run down. I could imagine this place on an acid trip and it would put Fear and Loathing to shame.
In advance I was told that Mumbai traffic at night is no problem: This is a LIE. Mumbai traffic at 01:30 is something similar to the worst Copenhagen traffic imaginable, except with total disregard for traffic rules. I shed a little tear when we arrive at the hotel. We check in and I catch my breath. What a day.
Today I went for a short walk. I walk into a nicer clothing shop and 7 attendants jump to attention willing to help. The people of India generally are incredibly kind and sweet but the service is almost too much. I have my first contact with begging children. It's pretty scary and frightening, but it is real and I have no desire to shy away from this very real fact about India. I think I will now go exploring a bit and perhaps meet up with my colleagues for dinner.
I leave you here for now
Ok, so here I am in Mumbai. I have been in India for about 28 hours and I have already been absolutely bombarded with impression. This place is intense. I will try to document my time here thus far.
I land in Hyderabad Saturday morning at 08:30 after a 3 hour journey with only about 1 hour of sleep. Hyderabad airport is clean and modern. There is somewhat loud and dramatic mood music at customs, which is pretty cool. No problem getting into India, even with a somewhat generic address written onto my entry slip (Adress: Banjara Hills). I am tight on time and my bags arrive amongst the last and need to be scanned. They scanning man asks me to come around and explain what it is he is seeing on the monitor. I look somewhat puzzled as I don't know much about looking at X-rays and generally leave that to my brother. Eventually when he mentioned the word lenses I realise we are looking at my camera and I assure him that I will be taking it with me when I leave. I meet my new colleague in arrivals and after a hasty intro we dash off to catch our flight. We show our passport to get into the departures area, but no ID to get boarding pass, get through security check or to get on the plane: good thing because they misspelled my name. :-)
So 10:00 and we are on the plane and 10:15 we are taking off to Mumbai. Flying over the hills each of Mumbai was stunning but flying in over Mumbai has to be one of the most stunning things I have ever seen. You come in over a body of water and then green marches/forests. As the plane lets lower and lower you come in over the settlements. Packed together on all the land available, right to the edge of steep drop-off slopes, with roofs in various intersecting hights it was visually stunning and soul-wrenching at the same time. The areas are huge and numerous.
We touch down and the warm, wet air quickly envelopes you. Outside the terminal I meet another 2 colleagues and we get into the car and set off into Mumbai traffic. I am not sure words can really explain what this is like. Through my entire time here I have not seen anyone use the indicator. I mean I believe they are under the impression that one of the stalks on the steering column is for ornamentation. People shooting in and out lanes, constant honking. There are traffic signals but there are just used as xmas lights because they are WHOLE and ENTIRELY ignored. The city just continues and continues and continues. Eventually we get to the expressway in our Toyota minubus that plays the “Lombarda” when you put the car in reverse: I mean, screw the beep from the parking sensor, play the song with which the forbidden dance belongs.
We curve our way up the mountains towards the city of Pune. We stop for food at a local freeway-side establishment for a bit of Dahl. yum yum yum. After asking for directions several times we eventually find our hotel where we will be holding a seminar. We talk and prep and I have a shower to freshen up after too many hours awake. I have a shirt ironed, dress up and get ready. After 4 hours of seminar, with dinner we are ready to head back to the big city. At this point I am beyond tired. I mean really beyond tired. I manage to nodge off in the car and wake up as we stop at another roadside establishment. It was so incredibly surreal. It's dark and warm and the whole place is lit up with fluorescent lights. People hanging out of cars, stray dogs, various stands selling food, loud Indian music and the whole thing run down. I could imagine this place on an acid trip and it would put Fear and Loathing to shame.
In advance I was told that Mumbai traffic at night is no problem: This is a LIE. Mumbai traffic at 01:30 is something similar to the worst Copenhagen traffic imaginable, except with total disregard for traffic rules. I shed a little tear when we arrive at the hotel. We check in and I catch my breath. What a day.
Today I went for a short walk. I walk into a nicer clothing shop and 7 attendants jump to attention willing to help. The people of India generally are incredibly kind and sweet but the service is almost too much. I have my first contact with begging children. It's pretty scary and frightening, but it is real and I have no desire to shy away from this very real fact about India. I think I will now go exploring a bit and perhaps meet up with my colleagues for dinner.
I leave you here for now
Friday 5 February 2010
The journey has begun
I promised I would write again once I was in Scotland. I have not been able to keep this and am currently somewhere over Poland, jetting towards Dubai with Feeder: The Singles playing on the Ipod (Thanks dad). I have the entire exit row to myself, so it's ALMOST like first class. This is a bit of the consolation for the £225 I paid for excess luggage: ouch. Basically it is a 30 kg luggage allowance but only 7 kg hand luggage, so I had to check my hand luggage. The Emirates ladies were so nice to offer me a free rollie bag to carry onboard, but I just opted for a canvas bag. So yeah, 9 kg x £25 per kg = £225. All of a sudden all my belongs have added value in a manner of sorts :-). I can't really be upset because they were so sweet and helpful and I have thought of my belongs in terms of kgs and they are all worth £25 a kg to me. Anyways enough about that.
I am now well and truly on my way after very interesting week. I spent Monday and Tuesday at head quarters in Denmark for training. I have meet a lot a lovely people but it was difficult getting used to calling my former colleagues just that. It's strange in the beginning because you are surrounded by people who you don't know and you have to basically start all over again. However everyone was very nice and showed me the production facilities and introduced me to all the must-know people. Tuesday evening I had dinner with my parent and weathered a snowstorm to get to Billund Airport around 21:00. I went to the Sixt counter and shot the breeze with Allan and eventually had to pull myself away to try to get a bit of shuteye before my 06:00 am flight til Amsterdam.
I managed 3-4 hours of nervous sleep and floated to Schipol in a somewhat zombiefied state. My spirits and consciousness lifted only by the announcements in Dutch: pure linguistic humour. I arrive in Glasgow around am met by a representative from the company and we drive to Kilmarnock. The day progressed with a factory tour, product introduction, introduction to applicable personal. This was also the activity of day 2 (Thursday). A colleague from Denmark was staying at the same hotel, so I had his good company on Wednesday night.
Both of my evenings and also this morning I have explored a bit of Kilmarnock. All I can say is that Scotland is a dark, drab and somewhat ugly place but with such lovely warm-hearted people. Everyone here seems to be pretty content, happy and helpful. But Kilmarnock is degrading. One of the largest shops still open on the high street is called “Cash for Gold”. The slogan is “Sell your unwanted gold for cash”. Unwanted gold? I am sure that is why people are selling it. The other big businesses on the high street are the bookies, the gambling halls and the pubs. You have this interlaced with gutted out remains of closed down stores with signs proclaiming that this store in closing and everything costs £1.
Thursday evening I dined in a chip shop and had what is called Fish Tea. Now before you gag reflex kicks in let me explain: Tea = dinner. For for £5.20 I got 2 fillets of fish, chips (fries), white sandwich bread and butter and a cup of tea. The girl serving me answer every question with “isnobother”. I dined in the company of a very old and unwell man. I believe he was living rough and not at all well. He was quite drink and very dirty but he was served and treated with respect like everyone else. The Scottish people know hardship.
This morning I walked up to the Johnnie Walker distillery. Johnnie Walker was born and raised in Kilmarnock and the distillery has always been there. The distillery is now owned by Diageo, which is a very large company that owns several spirits and beverage companies. They have announced that in 2011 they will move Johnnie Walker away from Kilmarnock alng with approximately 800 jobs. In a town of 30,000 people that is going to tear into a local town that seems to already be on the slide. As I walk along the factory taking pictures a couple of employees call to me and pose for the picture. Again, there just seems to be such warmth in Scotland. I think I can call myself a fan of the people, the nature...and that's it.
So that brings you more or less up to speed. I am now over The Ukraine. I will add a little to this before I post, with an update from Dubai.
I am now well and truly on my way after very interesting week. I spent Monday and Tuesday at head quarters in Denmark for training. I have meet a lot a lovely people but it was difficult getting used to calling my former colleagues just that. It's strange in the beginning because you are surrounded by people who you don't know and you have to basically start all over again. However everyone was very nice and showed me the production facilities and introduced me to all the must-know people. Tuesday evening I had dinner with my parent and weathered a snowstorm to get to Billund Airport around 21:00. I went to the Sixt counter and shot the breeze with Allan and eventually had to pull myself away to try to get a bit of shuteye before my 06:00 am flight til Amsterdam.
I managed 3-4 hours of nervous sleep and floated to Schipol in a somewhat zombiefied state. My spirits and consciousness lifted only by the announcements in Dutch: pure linguistic humour. I arrive in Glasgow around am met by a representative from the company and we drive to Kilmarnock. The day progressed with a factory tour, product introduction, introduction to applicable personal. This was also the activity of day 2 (Thursday). A colleague from Denmark was staying at the same hotel, so I had his good company on Wednesday night.
Both of my evenings and also this morning I have explored a bit of Kilmarnock. All I can say is that Scotland is a dark, drab and somewhat ugly place but with such lovely warm-hearted people. Everyone here seems to be pretty content, happy and helpful. But Kilmarnock is degrading. One of the largest shops still open on the high street is called “Cash for Gold”. The slogan is “Sell your unwanted gold for cash”. Unwanted gold? I am sure that is why people are selling it. The other big businesses on the high street are the bookies, the gambling halls and the pubs. You have this interlaced with gutted out remains of closed down stores with signs proclaiming that this store in closing and everything costs £1.
Thursday evening I dined in a chip shop and had what is called Fish Tea. Now before you gag reflex kicks in let me explain: Tea = dinner. For for £5.20 I got 2 fillets of fish, chips (fries), white sandwich bread and butter and a cup of tea. The girl serving me answer every question with “isnobother”. I dined in the company of a very old and unwell man. I believe he was living rough and not at all well. He was quite drink and very dirty but he was served and treated with respect like everyone else. The Scottish people know hardship.
This morning I walked up to the Johnnie Walker distillery. Johnnie Walker was born and raised in Kilmarnock and the distillery has always been there. The distillery is now owned by Diageo, which is a very large company that owns several spirits and beverage companies. They have announced that in 2011 they will move Johnnie Walker away from Kilmarnock alng with approximately 800 jobs. In a town of 30,000 people that is going to tear into a local town that seems to already be on the slide. As I walk along the factory taking pictures a couple of employees call to me and pose for the picture. Again, there just seems to be such warmth in Scotland. I think I can call myself a fan of the people, the nature...and that's it.
So that brings you more or less up to speed. I am now over The Ukraine. I will add a little to this before I post, with an update from Dubai.
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