Coming Home

We went to the Mysore Palace two days ago. It was at least a four hour drive. I got to see the beautiful architecture and learn about the palace’s history. It really is an amazing place. Actually the palace we saw was the second one. The original was made of wood and it burned down because of a kitchen accident in preparation for someone’s wedding. That must have been a ceremony to remember, both for the couple and the cooks. The rebuilt palace uses a long-lasting fire-resistant material, not a bad idea. No photos were allowed inside, but there is a website for the palace. Inside were relics of royalty such as chairs, small boxes called caskets, portraits of royal family members and even an elaborate door made entirely of silver. Regardless of whether or not the nation was in poverty, you could still walk through your silver door every morning. It’s good to be king. Later we stopped by a Hindu temple and saw three large statues of various gods. It was also a beautiful sight. The state of India Bangalore is in turned out to definitely be my favorite stop on this journey, Goa coming in second.

The Mysore Palace

Actually I am typing this after 3am. I am going home today and right now I am quite tired. I have been going since 8AM yesterday morning. It has been a memorable journey. Coming from the perspective of someone who has lived in the same U.S. state since they were born, to becoming an international traveler was a large step in my life and I am glad to have taken it. I now feel more prepared for if and when the opportunity to travel arises again. For now though, I am going to savor being home.

Bangalore Day 3

We went to an ashram today. Before this trip, I had never heard of such a place. First things first, an ashram is basically a spiritual center for promoting a positive way of life using meditation and yoga. The one we went to was founded by a man named Ravi Shankar. His Art of Living centers have branches in over 150 countries. I was a bit nervous at first because I knew next to nothing about yoga or meditation, aside from yoga being a popular stretching exercise that has been made part of pop culture. The meditation actually came at the right time for me. This trip has been stressing me out. This is my first time not sleeping in my own bed for this long, and I am give or take 7500 miles away from home. Maybe I should have focused on that in my first post. The experience actually had a calming effect on me. Anyways, the ashram is a beautiful place with trees, flowers, and a lake in the shape of a foot. The main meditation hall is quite impressive. Each floor of the building looks like a lotus flower. Also, there are no central pillars in the building, All of the weight rests on the outer edge.

The main meditation hall

A relaxing foot-shaped pond

What is even more amazing than the ashram itself is the contrast between it and the city nearby. The ashram is a calm and relaxing place, while Bangalore is a bustling city and technology hub. Tomorrow we go to the Palace in Mysore.

Bangalore Day 2

Infosys

Yesterday our group visited an area with a high concentration of tech companies. I believe it is called Electronic City, the Indian version of Silicon Valley. There we toured Infosys, an India-based IT and consulting company. Apple is one of their major clients. Being able to visit such a beautiful "campus" owned by one of the largest technology companies in India was an honor. The campus feels like a small city unto itself. Infosys is equipped with multiple cafeterias, guards in military uniforms carrying assault weapons, gardens maintained by 300 landscapers, swimming pools, basketball courts and very modern buildings fit for, well, a large technology company. It fascinates me that a company founded with about $200 can turn into something this spectacular. Dreams do come true for some, I hope mine can too. I wonder if any of their high-profile clients such as Bill Gates are as impressed as I was with the facility.

A pyramid building at Infosys

The weather was quite pleasant, if not a little too sunny and warm. Being a business management major, and somewhat interested in technology, this visit was an amazing experience for me. In fact, if I had the opportunity to work at a place like Infosys if I switched my major to computer science, I would consider doing so. It really does seem like an amazing company. Unfortunately we did not get to see any of their operations or go inside many of the buildings for security reasons. After the tour, I also appreciated stopping at one of the cafeterias for lunch. That part of the tour was very enjoyable as well.
 

Bangalore Day 1

I landed in Bangalore today. Immediately I had the sense that it was a nicer city than Mumbai. The city seemed greener and brighter. Mumbai felt like one giant construction site with buildings being built, and others in need of being rebuilt. At least so far, Bangalore luckily doesn't feel the same. Coming out of the airport we got on a section of highway that had about 5 lanes running in each direction. I am used to roads with three or maybe four.


Bangalore

Getting to the management university where we are staying was tiresome. Car, bus, motorcycle and scooter traffic was completely covering the road. On the plus side I got to see a sample of the city on our drive. I knew India was a popular country for technology companies, but seeing buildings occupied by Oracle and Adobe reinforced this knowledge. I hope to see more names I have heard before throughout the city. We also drove past a hypermarket. I had heard about them in my marketing class but they are uncommon in the U.S. The building was cavernous, completely dwarfing Ikea, the largest retail store I have been inside. I was told to dress up for tomorrow. I hope that means we are going to visit additional interesting sites.

The university where we stayed

 

Goa

 

After Mumbai, Goa was a much needed change. Being in Mumbai provided a great experience of what life is like in a continuously developing industrial city. There are people going every which way, laundry hangs from balconies, the smell of industry is everywhere, there are a lot of shanty towns and cranes top many of the high-rises. When we landed in Goa, it was a new experience all over again.

Goa was actually a Portuguese-controlled area for over 400 years. They lost control only in the 1960s. They had plenty of time to leave their mark. Many buildings are of the Portuguese style and are painted bright colors including blue, green and white. Some of the windows on the older buildings in town are made of translucent shells instead of glass. A creative way to use local resources. Goa would be an even more pleasant place to live if the locals picked up their trash. There is an old fort nearby, Fort Aguada, built to ensure Goa remained under Portuguese control. I like learning about military history. At the fort, the oldest lighthouse in Asia still stands overlooking the water.

The fort

The fort lighthouse

We also visited two Portuguese churches across the street from each other. One, the Basilica of Bom Jesus, houses the body of St. Francis. Incredibly, over 400 years after he passed, without preservation, his face is still recognizable through the glass windows on the sides of his coffin. His remains are exhibited every 10 years.

The coffin of St. Francis Xavier

We also visited the Se Cathedral. On the outside, the white building appears to be rather plain. Inside, the church is actually quite elaborate. It even used to be covered in frescos, but the humidity caused peeling, so they were unfortunately painted over. This church I was told is the largest in Asia. The surviving bell tower, the other collapsed, holds the “Golden Bell,” which sounds beautiful when rung. I didn’t hear it myself.

Se Cathedral exterior

Se Cathedral interior

 While the Portuguese heavily influenced the area of Goa, there are other influences as well. The town we are staying in has a very tourist-oriented economy. This started with the original hippies. Now lots of people come here to vacation. It is a popular area for Russians. Other native Indians from other states come here too, as it is a different experience. Sunglass and sandal shops are common, and the beaches are lined with restaurant shacks blasting Western dance music. At night the clubs can get pretty wild. I haven’t gone to a club yet, but I have tried other new things here. I drank water from a coconut and tried the white paste inside. I prefer the water to the paste. Someone bought coconut cookies from a bakery, which were good, I learned about bodysurfing, and I got to ride an elephant at a spice farm. Tomorrow we leave for Bangalore.

1/6/15

1/6/15

Today was the first day we visited a company. We woke up early so we could drive about 2 hours through the city to a pharmaceutical company called Sharon Bio-Medicine. This company was in New Bombay, a more recent part of the city. Two men in charge of different operations gave us a presentation on their business and its requirements. We then toured the facility seeing the various parts of the process used to create the medicine that will get turned into pills and tablets. It is a very exacting process where there are high standards in the training of employees, the filtering of water and materials and in quality control. It was a new experience for me. We then went to a separate facility that performs pre-clinical live animal testing.

A sign for Sharon Bio-medicine

This organization graciously served us lunch and then gave us a briefing of their operations as well as a tour. The testing of live animals is done in a very controlled way from start to finish. Mice, rabbits, and guinea pigs are bred in controlled environments. All of the animals are tested in various ways to help determine if a certain medicine will have a negative impact on humans. It was an experience to see what goes into making the chemicals and medicine our society uses safe, and I appreciate the effort that goes into this process. I hope tomorrow is thought provoking as well.

1/5/15

Yesterday was a good day. The morning was spent walking around while we waited for our tour later in the day. We visited a few art museums and saw various types of artwork by local artists. One of the museums had on display a poem represented in pictures from around the area. It was interesting to see a different perspective of life here. Another museum featured images of the monkey god Hanuman, basically a man with the head of a monkey. We also stopped by an area called an esplanade and watched a cricket match between teams of locals. I didn't know what cricket was before today, only that the British play it instead of baseball. Now I know that it is distinctly different. The game was being played on an open lawn called an esplanade.  There is also one in Boston, another British previous British colony.

We stopped by to watch cricket

Speaking of Boston, even though it has only been a few days, I am starting to feel blessed with what I have back home. Many of the local city people have very difficult lives. We also stopped by art museums and saw various works by local artists. The two that stood out to me were a poem represented in photos showing what life is like for locals people, and a museum featuring art showing the monkey god Hanuman, basically a money-headed man.

When the official tour began, we saw many more sites. We saw Victoria Terminal, one of the two major train stations for the city named after Queen Victoria. Our tour guide told us that the ending scene to the movie Slumdog Millionaire was filmed inside. It was an ornate building, at least as ornate as Grand Central.

Victoria Station

We also stopped by a garden that was converted from a green space. We learned a lot there. It is against the religion Zoroastrian to cremate, as fire is an important part of their religion. A nearby building is used to dispose of the deceased in other ways. There were concerns about contamination of the water supply, hence this garden was built from the green space. From this American's perspective, it was creepy and interesting at the same time.


The Hanging Gardens (they don't really hang)


A building in the back corner of the garden

Soon after we drive by one of the most expensive private residences in the world. It would be an amazing place to live. It even has a multi-level parking garage underneath the penthouse! It cost a billion dollars to build.


The penthouse

 We also stopped by commercial laundry facilities while we were touring. The local residents who work here built a shanty town. It seems like the polar opposite of the building in the photo above, as well as the backdrop of the buildings behind the facility. 

The washing center