Josef Goes to India

2007-04-26T09:36:00.000-07:00

AOL India finally launches!

2006-10-19T15:24:00.000-07:00

Two more pictures from my last day in Bangalore.

There's the cow and the dog...

I wanted to bring one of these cars home with me.

2006-10-18T10:59:00.000-07:00

Konichiwa -
Domo arigato Tokyo!

The udon with the tempora shrimp at the airport could not have been any better.
Given that Tokyo is 13 hours ahead, and it was a 13 hour flight, I basiclly landed when I took off.
Sayonara さよなら - until the next adventure...

2006-10-16T07:24:00.000-07:00

Here is a quick run down of the day I’ve just had. I’m sure to fill in with some good stories next time I see you, as I am basically giving reference points on the pictures but very little color.

I woke up early, got lost and ended up finding the Tsujiki fish market to have sushi for breakfast. Tsujiki is said to have the freshest sushi in the world. It was great.

I got lost on my way to the Imperial Palace, so I took a cab. This is as close as you can get. No tours, no gift shops.

Luckily this time, I found Harajuku pretty easily. I did some shopping, and wondered around. Even though I didn’t know where I was going, I wasn’t lost.

On my destination to the Park Hyatt, I got lost in Shinjuku.

Made it to the Park Hyatt to get one of Tokyo’s best views. This is the bar that was used as inspiration for Lost in Translation. (See a theme?)

I got back to find that my smaller bag was delivered. I’m having United hold the other bag at the airport because its heavy and I head back tomorrow anyway. It’s the one with all of the souvenirs, so if I come home empty handed, I’m sorry!

I’ll leave you with this video I took of some Japanese TV.

2006-10-15T06:28:00.000-07:00

I've made it to Tokyo in one piece. Given that I don’t read or understand the language, I'm surprised I made it here so easily.
My plane out of India was delayed, so it was a close call on making my connection in Singapore. Needless to say, I don't have my luggage for the second time on this journey.
There is nothing I need (for the time being), besides cash, and this computer, so all will be ok.

Video of me rushing through the airport at 6 am.

I took a bus to Shinjuku station, and then a cab to the inn I am staying at. Video footage from the cab ride.

A picture of the inn's sign.

Here's what $45 gets you in Tokyo. The room is clean, has free wireless and my laptop plug works with their outlet, all of my needs have been met.

I am staying 3 blocks from the Takadanobaba station, one stop from the Shinjuku stop, so I decided to go check things out based on what I saw upon my arrival.
Inside the train (which is different than the subway...) I took to Shinjuku.

Shinjuku is like Times Square, Vegas and any red light district all rolled into one HUGE area. I didn't really know what I was getting myself into, so I high tailed it out of the seedier parts pretty quickly.

I only really have tomorrow to do most of my exploring, so I am planning on checking out the Tsukiji fish market for breakfast, as they serve the freshest sushi in the world. I hope to then see the Imperial Palace and the Harajuki district. I've already seen a handful of the Harajuki 'fruits' in Shinjuki...and they are a sight to see.

2006-10-14T09:36:00.000-07:00

Namaste

I am sitting at the airport waiting for the flight to Singapore and with a connection to Tokyo. I got all the shopping done today, went to some great places, got to walk around and see some really cool things. We then had a send off at the TGIFriday's (I had to go...) before going back to the apt to shower and pack. Thankfully everything fit.

I've also taken off most of the beard, but have left a handle bar mustache to ride into Tokyo on. Hopefully it will make an appearance in the Japanese pictures.

I am going to miss this country, and the people I've met. I hope to come back someday and visit Goa. Wanna goa to Goa.

2006-10-13T08:20:00.000-07:00

Of all of the unique foods I've eaten here in Bangalore, I think I will miss the nice simple sandwiches we get in the office for what amounts to 50 cents. They are so tasty, yet so simple. This is a picture of a smooshed somosa on two pieces of grilled white bread. Other days I would have a vegetable sandwich (something that tasted like cucumber and cabbage) with cheese (more like a cream cheese.)

Part of the reason I will miss this sandwich is I don't think I can find something like this in NYC, whereas most of the other Indian food I've eaten, I can find just a few blocks from my house (even though it won't be as spicy).

Here is another health poster from the office.

I went back to the palace across the street for lunch with a colleague. This gate is at the back of the gardens. How can you not have your picture taken with a HUGE elephant gate?

I head to Tokyo tomorrow night for a few days of sight seeing. I got a lot of souvenirs last night, but need to spend most of tomorrow finding a few last minute items. I’ve been here long enough to know where to go with out a ride.

It’s been kind of difficult to find stuff to bring back for a couple of reasons.
#1 – I don’t have a lot of room in the luggage! Also, giving a “I <3 NY” shirt kind of gives off the vibe of New York and allows people not in NYC to wear the shirt and have a pseudo shared experience about NYC. Also, there are no Bangalore shot glasses (even though you could come up with some cool slogans for them….) to bring home and say “Hey I went to India!” This is a place to be experienced, and no memento will ever be able to give off the energy of this place. So this blog…that’s the goodie I have for you.

I am really going to miss this place, and would love to come back to explore other parts of the country. The people here are so sweet and engaging. (As opposed to my fellow jaded NewYorkers – you know who you are!!!!!!!)
As you can probably tell, I’ve either been in doors, or gone to places that cater to westerners here on business  (for the most part – that night driving through the ghetto, I will never forget seeing camel being smoked).

2006-10-13T01:01:00.000-07:00

This has been our favorite clip in the office.

2006-10-12T04:59:00.000-07:00

I am welcome here.

We had a meeting in another building whose cafeteria is on top of the building. Even though the building is only 6 floors, that's still enough to get a view of the city.
Here are two video clips and 3 pictures.

On our walk back I had to snap this picture. Matching!

2006-10-11T23:37:00.000-07:00

Yep, it seems official...the iPod is officially lost. I think I left it on the plane from Germany to Bangalore. I had so much media going on (iPod,computer, dvd, airplane tv, food) that it was an oversight when I departed the plane. I hope who ever has it is rocking out to Band of Horses and the Spoon Interface I enjoyed on the flight over here.

2006-10-11T05:50:00.000-07:00

Aw yeah...I'm search engine optimizted!
Google "josef india" and this blog comes in #1 and 2.
Kewl.

2006-10-11T02:24:00.000-07:00

You can use this bunny.

I've seen penguin and monkey garbage cans here too.
But it's much too hot for a penguin!
I took this picture for Susie. Sorry they "USE ME" and put garbage in him.

2006-10-10T02:01:00.000-07:00

Not too much news to report, as we’ve been cranking away in the office. The one thing to mention is that I had the most amazing Tandoori food last night. Tandoori style is food baked in a clay oven and originates from Northern India. Bangalore is in Southern India, but I’ve been told by a local that all Indian food has now mostly blended together.

We went to one of the best Tandoori resturants in Southern India, called Tandoor.
The place was old school, with ornately painted walls. The place looked like a throwback to the 50s. Given the intimate nature of the place, I didn’t take pictures, as I felt it would be rude.

In all, we had the most amazing Tandoori Chicken I’ve ever tasted, lamb sausage, a cauliflower dish and an egg plant dish, along with some Naan. Roti tends to be more popular here. Roti is more like a tortilla, while Naan is fried. I love me some fried bread!

This may be the best $30 for 2 I’ve ever spent on a meal. The food here is defiantly hotter (even for a Texan who grew up eating spicy Mexican food) than I am used to, but it’s dealable. It’s the post meal sweats where I know how much heat I’ve consumed.

2006-10-08T22:07:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of the weekend.

The team here in India wanted to take us out and show us the nightlife of Bangalore. There has been so much new young money poured into this town, and the night life caters to that. Luckily bars here close to 11:30, so nothing too wild happened.
We went to the Blue Bar, kind of like a nice hut that is very tropical and cosmopolitan.

My main man here, Preetesh

Woke up Saturday morning, and hit Dim Sum at the palace (hotel, really) across the street.
Street behind my hotel

A picture of the street we cross:

A picture of the Dim Sum:

There was way too much to eat.

We went down MG road to attempt souvenir shopping. Pretty much came up unsuccessful.

Before we left the area, we went to the coconut stand.

Along the way, I took pictures of a few colorful signs in Bangalore.

One more week here, tons of work to do, but having a great time.

2006-10-06T05:11:00.000-07:00

It’s been a great first week working here in India. Things are coming together, but this is a large project and there is always more to be done.
I've mostly been holed up in an office this week, so I hope to get out and really experience what this town has to show this weekend. I should have some good pictures to post for Monday.

2006-10-05T21:54:00.000-07:00

I had heard about all the cows in the road prior to comming, but not about the pack of dogs everywhere. The one thing I failed to mention about the drive around Bangalore 2 nights ago was about all of the rabid dogs we saw. At one point in the evening, our car slowed, and a dog came right up to the headlight and started to growl and block the car. Last night, we had dinner outside on the edge of a golf course (not connected to my hotel, but the nicer one, behind my building), and there were two dogs who kept running around us. They weren't as rabid as the dog who attacked the car, but they weren't fun loving playthings either.
Oh yeah - I saw my first set of bats flying around my hotel and dinner last night as well.

2006-10-04T14:03:00.000-07:00

Ahh, I wish I had my camera just now (I left it in the office) – we just had the most amazing experience!

First of all – there was a protest today. Not a riot. I was mistaken. You can read about it by clicking here.
Bangalore is a very peaceful place. People are very nice here. Coming from New York, one might think too nice! As soon as the protest ended, people actually started going to work. At 6 PM.

Since I hadn’t really seen much of the city (the office and the hotel are on the same lot) I was excited to hear that we were going to dinner. A few colleagues and I went to an amazing hotel that felt like it could have been in NY or LA for dinner. The roads of Bangalore are insane, and that’s about as scary as it gets here.
After dinner, we took a drive through the city, seeing the State Supreme Court, the State Legislature a few major shopping areas and a few residential areas.
Since I don’t any pictures to share, I’ve nic’d a pic of the Supreme Court building from the net.

We drove about 8 miles total, and the streets were mostly empty. If this were rush hour (basically all day light hours), this trip would have taken close to 1 1/2 hours.

The most amazing part of the tour was the drive through the ‘Muslim ghetto’ where we saw camels being smoked and sold. (As opposed to people smoking Camels).
Another late night, but well worth it.

2006-10-03T10:57:00.000-07:00

I don't have anything to blog about today. There may be a riot tomorrow, but we should be fine.
I have been craving Thai food.

2006-10-02T14:49:00.000-07:00

yeah...in the middle of my arrested development season 2 on dvd watching marathon (thanks susie!), my luggage just showed up!!!!!!! I have clean clothes to wear here!
better at 3 am than never.

2006-10-02T10:38:00.000-07:00

First day at work has been great. Alot to learn. Alot to do.

Here is a picture of the offices.

There are three plants in every cubicle. Even if no one is sitting there.

Here's a poster from the kitchen in the office.

A view from the 7th floor of the street down below. There is a TGIFriday's where the bright lights are. Umm, potato skins!!!!!!!!!

Here's a video of the traffic down below. We can hear the honking in the offices all day as well.

It's 11 here now, and the team has just ordered in dinner.

That was a great meal...

2006-10-02T07:41:00.000-07:00

We're 9 and a half hours ahead of NYC. So it's 8:05 PM here and 10:35 am in NYC.
That half an hour really screwed me up this morning, and its taken all day to grasp the concept. I think its something political to do with Pakistan (thanks Amy for the clue).

2006-10-01T15:25:00.000-07:00

OMG, I'm in India right now. Took me a bit to make a call home to Susie, and to figure out electricity and Wi Fi, but I'm here, and the TV slays. All American/Brittish programming, phew.

Customs embargo'd my luggage. I brought someone else's sipro. Hopefully, it will turn up? Let's hope?

First reaction to being here...SO AMAZING. I keep wanting to wash my hands, brush my teeth. That will make me sick. I don't want to get sick.

Here's a video of me going from the airport to the apartment I will live for the next two weeks. Cell phone works too (how much is a call, and will I have it on?).

Pictures of the apt.
Bathroom (will I shower while I am here?)

Bedroom (there are 3 here. This place is like a $5K/month in NYC)

Dining room (I love to cook - but dont think its gonna happen here!)

Living room (American TV!!)

OK, it's 4 am here...I gotta hit the sack.

Josef In(dia)

2006-10-01T09:38:00.000-07:00

I've finally been able to pick up the internet, now that we are 2 hours from landing in Bangalore. Flying over the Middle East, I couldn't catch a signal (imagine that). They are serving us the 2nd meal for this leg of the flight. I feel I have been eating and eating for 18 hours now. All really interesting flavors....things I've never tasted before. It's really cool to be on a plane, and IM with Susuie. Having the Internet on a plane rules.

We landed at the Frankfurt Airport.

I had some type of custard for breakfast at the lounge and then took a shower.

I haven't switched my watch yet. It was bizare to be roaming around a German airport, and looking at my watch saying 3 am.

The Frankfurt airport is kind of inefficient, and it took forever to get my transfer ticket.

Here is the cabin I am currently writing from.

Here's where I've spent the last 7 hours. You can see my brown hair and feet.

The food has been amazing. I had the caviar as a starter (not really my thing I've found out)

and had the vinison for the main course.

Off for dinner, and then a smooth landing. I feel like I am in a room that's getting shaken every time we hit a turbulance bump, having my feet up in the air, with hot food in front of me.

2006-09-30T18:25:00.000-07:00

And we're off...

Security was redicullous. They took my toothpaste and fancy cream. Whatevs.

I am blogging from over the Atlantic ocean right now. Luftansa has Internet! Being online while on a plane is certainly a first for me. As was taking off in a huge plane while reclined. It really felt like I was floating in air.

We just had dinner, and most of the plane is falling asleep. The flight crew keeps talking to me in German. I had the 'shrimps' with scallops.

Off to watch some TV on DVD, and put together my presentation materials.

2006-09-30T12:12:00.000-07:00

Heading out to the airport in a minute...but just came from a nice walk thru Union Square with Ms. Susie. She told me that there is a statue of Mr. Ghandi in the park, something I haven't seen in the almost 2 years of living so close. So we stopped to take a picture.
I land in Bangalore 10 minutes before his birthday, a national holiday in India.

2006-09-27T12:46:00.000-07:00

I can not wait to go to India.
It's down to the wire. Still need another shot, grab a few things and pack.
I take off at 6 PM on Saturday, and land in India at midnight Sunday after a 6 hour layover in Germany.

Check out this video from Indian TV. Hilarious.

2006-09-20T11:45:00.000-07:00

This blog will document my travels to India for work, and hopefully a trip to Japan. I just had the passport photos for the visa done, and am getting shots on Friday. I leave for India on October 1, and just found out about this exciting trip this morning.

Oh, what an adventure.