Good Bye Dubai

I am in the business centre of the Business Class lounge for Emirates at the Dubai airport that is absolutely immense and teeming with travelers.  Our flight boards in about 25 minutes.  Last night my laptop battery died, so I had to make it a short post.

It has been enjoyable blogging each day, and I am certain that when I read it again in the future, I will be able to fondly recall my experiences here.  My niece said that she enjoyed reading about my adventures and asked if I could blog again on my next journey.  We will see where the paths ahead may take me.  My sincere appreciation to everyone for the powers of your prayers for me!

Our journey is ending but the memories will always remain... Thank you, Bangalore & Dubai.

Dubai Tour

Mosque

Boat Ride on Dubai Creek

This afternoon, the tour company picked us up from our hotel for a guided tour called "The City of Merchants."  I know that sounds like a shopping trip, but it was actually a tour of some of the historic and cultural places of Dubai.  It was conducted in both English and German.  We learned that there are no taxes  for the 8 million residents of Dubai because everything is government-owned.  Water is more expensive than petroleum which makes sense.  Dubai was also voted as one of the safest cities to live because the laws are extremely strict, so the crime rate is very low.  A conviction for causing an accident while drunk will lead to eviction from the country.  Stealing may cost you 3-15 years in prison.  Among several stops during our 5 hour tour, we visited the outside of a mosque, the Dubai Museum showing what the city looked like in the 1800's, the spice market and the gold market, but my favorite was a short boat ride across Dubai Creek.  It was beautiful being on the water.  The weather was very hot and dry.  After the tour, we went to the Dubai Mall, the largest shopping mall in the world.  It was massive and it looked like what you would expect from a massive shopping mall in Dubai.  Every store imaginable was represented and then some along with many American restaurants such as CPK, TGI Friday's and Dean & Delucca's.  There was an Indian restaurant, but of course, we didn't eat there.  40% of the population is actually from India which is interesting.  Every 30 minutes, they have a fountain show set to music and it was very impressive, especially since its backdrop is the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world.  Every show is different.  Dubai gets my vote as the city with consistently the cleanest restrooms.  There is no trash on the ground and the city overall is very clean.

We have enjoyed our stay in Dubai and I am thankful for this unique opportunity.  We leave tomorrow at 8:55am for our flight home. 

Burj Khalifa - tallest building in the world

Dubai Mall Fountain Show

Greetings from Dubai

Hello from Dubai!  With much sadness, we said good-bye to the HSC team as our van departed the office for the final time late Friday night. 4 Mercedes-Benz vehicles arrived at the hotel to take us to the airport, even though we had only booked two cars through Emirates Airlines (complimentary chauffeur service since we are flying business class). We had never seen a Benz in Bangalore until then. Compared to our frightening first experience of driving in India, my driver did not use his horn but instead, he high-beamed people (which is apparently more courteous here) as he quickly weaved his way around cars. For the next hour, I sat in silence as I gazed upon the sights of the city we had come to know well and reflected again upon the past 2 weeks.  There are many things that are inconvenient about travelling to India - remembering to take daily malaria pills, brushing your teeth with bottled water, remembering not to accidentally get any water in your mouth when showering, worrying about whether the food may make you ill, not being able to eat fresh uncooked fruit and vegetables, navigating spicy Indian food, remembering to ask for no ice when ordering a drink, dealing with the hot weather, always spraying mosquito repellent before going outside, dealing with the noise and scary driving, and having to mentally calculate the exchange rate of rupees to USD when purchasing something.  Yet every one of these minor inconveniences was well worth the experience I had in return, and I am glad I came.

HR Shared Services - HR Administration Team, Me & Lisa

Here is a photo of the HSC HR Administration team I worked with.  On the far left is the Team Leader, and my co-worker, who was a great help, is on the far right.

My suitcase and backpack are both much lighter without all of the office supplies, snacks and gifts I brought.  I slept for a couple hours on the 4+ hour flight from Bangalore to Dubai.  The plane landed amidst hazy skies in Dubai at 6:30a.m., and we are currently resting at the hotel.  The disparity strikes you immediately between India where many people live in extreme poverty, and Dubai, some 4 hours away by plane, where many people live in extreme excess. I felt sadness for both. Why you might wonder? Although great wealth may seem to be the answer and panacea to life's problems, we know that stories of former celebrities and some lottery winners prove otherwise.  You can surround yourself with riches & the most expensive of everything and still feel a longing within that cannot be fulfilled through material possessions.  The people here have spent their riches on the tallest building in the world, visually stunning hotels, underwater restaurants, and shopping malls beyond imagination; however, when I think about the impact of what even one-tenth of 1% of the wealth in this country could do elsewhere to help children, widows, orphans, and those in need, I am sad beyond words.

I will share photos following our city tour this afternoon.  Until then...

Reflections Upon India

As I was reflecting upon my 2 weeks here, I thought to myself that this trip represents "the joy of travelling", meaning that, to me, whenever you visit another city or country and you do not return unchanged, it means that the journey was worthwhile.  I believe that one of the most powerful gifts that travel can offer us is a change in perspective of how we view the world and the framework of our daily lives... but only if we allow the experience to transform us.  It is interesting how two people can visit the same place at the same time, and one person can walk away with very little except some nice photos & a few trinkets, while the other person leaves feeling changed from within.  I guess the difference in the two experiences is that we have to be open to looking outside of ourselves and our circumstances.  In simply trying to keep up with our jam-packed schedules, we often get wrapped up in the busyness of our daily lives. This experience made me realize that I have a long way to go in being able to truly see others the way God sees them.  It took a journey 9,034 miles away to the other side of the world for me to realize this.

Semiya Bhath & Dosa

Since it was my final day, I went to breakfast because I knew my favorite waiter, Siva, would be looking for me.  I decided to try some Semiya Bhath that looked like plain verimicelli with some julienned vegetables.  It appeared harmless, but looks can be deceiving - it turned out to be the spiciest thing I have ever tasted! My mouth was on fire the moment I ate it, and it lingered for a long while, even after drinking some orange juice.  The waiter said, "It is cooked with chilies, but it is not very spicy." Maybe not for him. :) He then asked if I wanted to try dosa which is a rice pancake that he would have specially made from the kitchen since it is not a part of the breakfast buffet.  When it arrived, it didn't look anything like I was expecting (see below left).  It was huge and reminded me of a crepe. You tear off a piece and eat it with chutney.  It was quite good but it was just so much, and I wanted to make sure the plate looked like I ate it.  Too bad my co-workers were not around.  I was so stuffed. 

Before and...

After

No Tissue Thursdays

It's Thursday, which means it is "No Tissue Thursday" at the office.  When the team warned us about it last week, I asked, "Does that include toilet paper?"  They laughed and said, "No, there will be toilet tissue but no paper towels to wipe your hands."  Every Thursday, the paper towels are removed from the restrooms to encourage employees to use the air dryer instead.

Last week , the Team Lead taught me a few phrases in an Indian dialect, including "Hello", "Have you eaten?", "Yes" and "No."  Last night, after the 9:00 meal break, as the Team Lead was walking into the conference room, I bravely attempted the "Have you eaten?" phrase.  It phonetically sounds something like "Con-na-kaya?" She immediately smiled and replied something that I, of course, did not understand.

Methi Paneer

There is still much to do, but our time here is coming to a close soon. We will need to pack our belongings tomorrow morning (Friday) and check out of the hotel before leaving for work. We booked a driver via Emirates Airlines who will pick us up from the hotel for our 4:15am flight to Dubai, where we will be staying just one night to take a quick tour of the city. I know that the irony between the two countries will be very striking. We return home Sunday afternoon.

I think the waiters at the restaurant will miss me, and I will miss them too.  I was not very hungry this morning so I skipped breakfast and opted for an early lunch.  When I arrived at the dining room, one of the waiters immediately came up to me and said, "Ma'am, you did not come to breakfast."  The waiters have all been very kind and courteous, and they know that when I order Methi Paneer, which is now my favorite Indian dish, they ensure the chef does not make it too spicy.

I think the one thing I regret not bringing is medicine to put on a mosquito bite. Although I don't like using repellent with DEET, I am grateful that I have only had 1 mosquito bite. Oddly, it was on my left palm but it did not itch and healed after a few days. One of my co-workers has had a lot of mosquito bites since we arrived and her arm was red and swollen, but none of us brought medicine to put on the bite.

Blogging

A couple months ago, when I decided to write my first blog, I figured that India was the perfect opportunity... and it was. Whenever I travel, I always carry a journal to document my experiences because I enjoy reading it later and recalling fond memories. One of the advantages of a blog is being able to easily share photos alongside descriptions to make the experience come alive. Each day, I have tried to share something unique and interesting about India, although I have always known that my view of "interesting and unique" can be very different from others! :) Those who have been following my blog may never have the opportunity to visit India (or may never want to!), but I hope that through the thoughts and pictures I have shared, you now feel a little closer to the culture of India and its people. 

My niece Maddie has been regularly following my blog, and after she read about the cows wandering in the road, she asked, "If the cows roam around, what if it goes into one of the stores?"  That was so wonderfully funny.  It also reminded me of my co-worker who visited India a few years back.  He tells the story that he was checking his Blackberry in the back seat of the car, when he looked up and suddenly noticed that a cow was looking into the window.  He said, "Holy cow!" His driver replied, "Yes, the cows here are very holy."

After I sign-on to my blog account using Google Blogger, I can view statistics of not only how many times my blog was viewed (517 total views), but it also shows me the countries where they can identify that someone viewed my blog.  I was surprised to see that there are 20 pageviews in Russia and 1 in Germany.  It is both fascinating and scary what type of information they can collect.

Additional Photos of India

Heliconia Flowers at Palm Meadows

3 People on Motorbike including Young Boy

"Use Me" Rubbish Can

A Cow Outside Mysore Palace

Boy Still Trying to Sell Us Things as our Van Exits Parking Lot

Tent Coverings Where Some People Live

No Horn

Our Driver Getting a Ticket for Cell Phone Use

Pictures from left to right:
1) There are many pretty flowers at Palm Meadows which my Mom would love since they also grow in Hawaii.
2) It is common to see 3-4 people on a motorbike or moped including small children either sitting or standing at the front or an infant being held in their mother's arms.  Typically the man driving will be wearing a helmet since there is a helmet law, although the man in this photo is not, and the usually passenger (often a woman) will not be.
3) Some of the rubbish cans here - if you can find one - have the words "Use Me" on them; however, given the amount of litter everywhere, many people are not following this directive.  Maybe if it said, "Please Use Me"??
4) Cows are sacred in India because they are considered a god, so most people do not eat beef.  Ironically, this cow was eating the trash outside of Mysore Palace.  This proves my point above about the usage of rubbish cans.
5) A boy persistently trying to sell us sandalwood fans through the window as our van was exiting the parking lot of Mysore Palace.
6) A photo of some tents where people live.  We also saw an entire field of "homes" constructed out of corrugated aluminum sheets.
7) There are signs that indicate "No Horn" but no one notices them nor complies.
8) Photo taken out the back window of our driver getting a ticket for cell phone use from a motorcycle cop (see my April 29 post for more details).

May Day Holiday

Stuck in Traffic

Tuesday, May 1 is a day off for the HSC team.  I learned that it is also called International Worker's Day or May Day, and it is a national holiday in over 80 countries as a celebration of the international labor movement. (Hmm.) In other countries, workers and their labor unions take part in marches. In Bangalore, there were no people marching, only people sitting in traffic.  We had plans to meet some former members of the Recruiting team for lunch, and the roads were absolutely packed with cars, motor rickshaws, bicycles, buses, mopeds, motorcycles, horse-drawn carts and pedestrians.  We had lunch at an Indian restaurant called Samarkand, and the food was as good as the company.  Traditionally, you eat only with your hands, so I did, even though they offered us, as the foreigners, spoons.  We ate paneer (cheese), kebabs, biryani and chicken makhani - everything was very tasty and not extremely spicy.

The ants are hard to see but they are there

Speaking of traffic, while I was waiting for the attendant to clean my room after breakfast, I sat in the shade near the pool.  Small black moving figures caught my eye on a nearby tree so I looked closely and saw a trail of ants carrying food from the ground all the way up a palm tree.  One line of ants was going up and one was coming down.  There were many near misses as ants quickly scurried in a weaving erratic path without a real sense of order.  Upon observing this, I immediately thought, "This is exactly how traffic is in Bangalore!"

At 10:00pm, it started pouring extremely hard with strong thunderstorms for over an hour.  I quickly saved the documents on my laptop because even in good weather, power outages are common in Bangalore due to the power grid. At the office, suddenly all the power will go off for several seconds, and although we have only experienced it one time so far in the evening, we've been told that it occurs several times per day. The HSC team is so used to it that when the lights go off, they will briefly pause and then continue talking even while still in the dark.  When the power came back on, my colleague and I looked up at the ceiling because it sounded like an airplane engine when it is about to take off.