Hyderabbey is drawing to a close. There will be lingering memories for years. 'Twas up early today and off to the office for the last hurrah. We ended up ordering in for lunch with many thanks to the Hyderabad office (Raju, Chandra, Aditya, Naresh, Vasu) for footing the bill. I went with Chandra this morning to look for kurta, one of many traditional India clothing for men. The 44 was the biggest that we could find after going to three stores. That is my size in Canada and naturally the sizing here is different.
After work Aditya and I went to Mainland China for a bite. Aditya said he was not very hungry so only ate almost everything on the plates we ordered. Wow can that man eat :). I am back at Katriya doing a bit of work then off to the port at 1:00am. The bill assembly at the front desk when I returned from dinner was a site to behold. There were some very high-level discussions between Raju and no less than four attendants and VPs while the details of the charges were sorted out. Raju was supposed to get some shampoo for me to take back to Jennifer at the office, but he was unable to get what she was looking for.
The goodbyes where heart felt and I thanked all in the office for everything and making my stay here so warm and enjoyable. I leave HYD at 3:44am for a 4h40m flight to Doha. I do not remember the layover there, but next is the 14h journey to Montreal. I have a layover there of over four hours, then home by 6:10pm eastern.
Good night Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are ... well maybe; depends how much of a debacle the flights home turn out to be. If nothing to report, then the good night will stand. If a debacle on the second degree or higher, there will be more for your reading pleasure ...
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Monday, January 30, 2012
edosipE sdrawkcaB eht fo stluseR
Will I see a short bald man in a suit wearing construction boots? Not really but I did see one bald stocky guy who reminded me of George ordering wedding invitations from the back of the binder.
Will said man not have "gone" for days, actually the whole time abroad? I was thinking of imitiating this ridiculous behaviour but was under a lot of pressure.
Will I run into a wedding where the bride is a buxom female who does not actually get along with her maid of honour? No, but I did get invited to a wedding, unfortunately having to decline as it was the day after I left for home.
Will there be confusion as to the groom's real name, Pinter or Peter? The only confusion was on my part as I had a terrible time remembering everyone's name.
Will that same short-bald guy be accompanied by a woman whose name starts with an "N" and is 4-letters long? Not exactly, but I did meet and work with a man whose name starts with an "N" but has 5 letters.
So, the "edosipE sdrawkcaB eht fo stluseR" ... you decide.
Will said man not have "gone" for days, actually the whole time abroad? I was thinking of imitiating this ridiculous behaviour but was under a lot of pressure.
Will I run into a wedding where the bride is a buxom female who does not actually get along with her maid of honour? No, but I did get invited to a wedding, unfortunately having to decline as it was the day after I left for home.
Will there be confusion as to the groom's real name, Pinter or Peter? The only confusion was on my part as I had a terrible time remembering everyone's name.
Will that same short-bald guy be accompanied by a woman whose name starts with an "N" and is 4-letters long? Not exactly, but I did meet and work with a man whose name starts with an "N" but has 5 letters.
So, the "edosipE sdrawkcaB eht fo stluseR" ... you decide.
Another envelope please
For those who have been with me all along, I made some predictions of what I may see in Hyderabad before I got here. The results ... drum roll:
1-streets crowded with people and more people
Was not dissapointed; there were seas of people wherever I went.
2-streets that are very narrow with coarse gravel shoulders
I was sort of right. There where far more paved shoulders than I expected.
3-vehicles of every possible shape and size from as far back as the 1940's
Again, no let down here. The neatest vehicle I saw was a 4-door Ambassador that looked so British. I saw lots of cars but nothing as old as the 1952 Lada I saw in Ethiopia.
4- roadside stands packed to the rafters with just about every commodity one could ever think of wanting to buy
An understatement ... I am sure some of the stuff I saw in these shops had not been invented yet! Some were very quirky and a delight to behold.
5-a nice assortment of local brew that will please even the least discriminating (yes me Jake!) aficionados of beer
I only tasted Kingfisher as far as local beer goes. It was so boring (not for me) that Jakov would have cringed when he saw me drinking one.
6-colourful garb on the female units, a sight to behold
Every possible colour and then some. There was a wide assortment of native garb on the ladies and it was all so colourful and a sight to behold.
7-clouds of dust wafting throughout the city, reminiscent of the cumulonimbus variety ever-present my 9 months in Addis Ababa
Cough, cough, need I say more. Not as much dust in the air as Africa but still there.
8-a sea of little (and big hands) looking for as many rupee as ferenge (what foreigners are called in many countries in Africa) can possibly part with
Not as much street people as Africa, but they still beg at the traffic lights. One rickshaw driver opened the glass case in the roof of his unit, handed me Rs. 4 and motioned me to give to a lady beside the vehicle. The beggars do not have that look with the head slightly tilted to re-inforce the need for coin as they did in Addis.
9-an assortment of public transport vehicles of every possible shape and size, carting around anything and everything that breathe
Ah yes, the buses. Every shape, size and packed or next to empty, nothing in between.
10-a dichotomy of hopelessly poor inhabitants and quite well off neighbouring individuals
Nothing like finding one of Addis' worst shanty towns in the shadow of the Sheraton Addis where rooms started at $250 USD. Still the obvious separation of wealth between the poorest and the richest.
1-streets crowded with people and more people
Was not dissapointed; there were seas of people wherever I went.
2-streets that are very narrow with coarse gravel shoulders
I was sort of right. There where far more paved shoulders than I expected.
3-vehicles of every possible shape and size from as far back as the 1940's
Again, no let down here. The neatest vehicle I saw was a 4-door Ambassador that looked so British. I saw lots of cars but nothing as old as the 1952 Lada I saw in Ethiopia.
4- roadside stands packed to the rafters with just about every commodity one could ever think of wanting to buy
An understatement ... I am sure some of the stuff I saw in these shops had not been invented yet! Some were very quirky and a delight to behold.
5-a nice assortment of local brew that will please even the least discriminating (yes me Jake!) aficionados of beer
I only tasted Kingfisher as far as local beer goes. It was so boring (not for me) that Jakov would have cringed when he saw me drinking one.
6-colourful garb on the female units, a sight to behold
Every possible colour and then some. There was a wide assortment of native garb on the ladies and it was all so colourful and a sight to behold.
7-clouds of dust wafting throughout the city, reminiscent of the cumulonimbus variety ever-present my 9 months in Addis Ababa
Cough, cough, need I say more. Not as much dust in the air as Africa but still there.
8-a sea of little (and big hands) looking for as many rupee as ferenge (what foreigners are called in many countries in Africa) can possibly part with
Not as much street people as Africa, but they still beg at the traffic lights. One rickshaw driver opened the glass case in the roof of his unit, handed me Rs. 4 and motioned me to give to a lady beside the vehicle. The beggars do not have that look with the head slightly tilted to re-inforce the need for coin as they did in Addis.
9-an assortment of public transport vehicles of every possible shape and size, carting around anything and everything that breathe
Ah yes, the buses. Every shape, size and packed or next to empty, nothing in between.
10-a dichotomy of hopelessly poor inhabitants and quite well off neighbouring individuals
Nothing like finding one of Addis' worst shanty towns in the shadow of the Sheraton Addis where rooms started at $250 USD. Still the obvious separation of wealth between the poorest and the richest.
Ruth Cris Hyderabad
After such a bold statement, would not the next exclamation be something like "not quite!". I returned to Chef Inam's steak house near Golkonda hotel for dinner tonight and had 3-course meal served elegantly. I started with a mais-salade which was lovely. Then the lamb chops with potatoes, beans, carrots, and garlic bread arrived and they were very spicy, just like I ordered them. The 3rd course was two bottles of Fanta. A whopping Rs. 530 with a tip and the owner was there tonight. The two guys that served me were more like boys. Check out the pix that I will upload after this post.
Work was work today and I was in by 8:45. I went with Chandra to Ohri's for lunch about 2pm, then back to the office. I got a lot further at Ohri's today than last time when I went alone. That time they treated me like an alien and let me stand there looking stupid while they gladly served others. The internet was out for quite some time today and I could not figure out how to set up my Mac with the redundant internet we have here. Vasu dropped in to catch up with the gang. I had met him when I first started at Pythian last February. He has been living in Calgary, southwest quadrant for some time while his wife worked on SAP somewhere in the city. I remembered his smiling face the second I saw him.
I left work before 5pm, with plans to do two calls from Katriya. After that, I headed out to the main event for dinner. As I left the steak house, I walked up to two rickshaw drivers; one looked at me and exclaimed "Katriya". Wow. I thought I had arrived a while back when I was giving them directions. Now I am such a fixture I am recognized :).
Work was work today and I was in by 8:45. I went with Chandra to Ohri's for lunch about 2pm, then back to the office. I got a lot further at Ohri's today than last time when I went alone. That time they treated me like an alien and let me stand there looking stupid while they gladly served others. The internet was out for quite some time today and I could not figure out how to set up my Mac with the redundant internet we have here. Vasu dropped in to catch up with the gang. I had met him when I first started at Pythian last February. He has been living in Calgary, southwest quadrant for some time while his wife worked on SAP somewhere in the city. I remembered his smiling face the second I saw him.
I left work before 5pm, with plans to do two calls from Katriya. After that, I headed out to the main event for dinner. As I left the steak house, I walked up to two rickshaw drivers; one looked at me and exclaimed "Katriya". Wow. I thought I had arrived a while back when I was giving them directions. Now I am such a fixture I am recognized :).
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Goa your own way
No doubt reminiscent of that familiar Fleetwood Mac tune? I decided to kill some time on the beach before heading to GOI (Goa international I would presume). I checked out and hit the sand around 9:30am. I am not sure what the fascination is with waves hitting the beach then hitting the beach then ... There were a lot of people in the water today, not surprised since I got wet yesterday and the water was wonderful. The trip to the airport was an event as they always are from my recent experiences in India. At one point I think the paint molecules from my vehicle were bonding with those of a bus in front of use we were so close. I have as yet to see an accident here ...
The airport ... oy-yoy-yoy, madhouse. You first go through a carrier-dependent x-ray machine for your checked luggage. The SpiceJet line was long but moved well. I think the India carriers could teach the North American ones something about speedy check-in. They put a plastic tie on my knapsack as they thought I was going to check it. Those plastic ties, you know the ones that tighten and will not loosen without cutting with a chainsaw? I then go into line #2, queuing for 1072 bound for Hyderabad in 90 minutes. I am told to go upstairs and point to a flight of stairs and the uniformed SpiceJet person says no and points to the other side of the room. Ok, time to clear security in gate 1 ... now is that 1-A or 1-B. Nobody seems to know so I ask again and get two different answers from two airline personnel. Another oy-yoy-yoy. I then see a sign with letters the size of a pea telling me I am supposed to be at 1-A.
Security is quick and I lounge around the waiting room until the flight is called. It was a recent offering from Bombardier in their Q-series. I watch out the window for most of the flight, amazed that I did not doze off ... until I fall asleep. I cab it back to Katriya for Rs. 600 and get to the hotel where the doorman gladly takes my luggage. I have decided to let people assist as they are there to work and, if the customer is so inclined [which I always am], need the tip. I approach the elevator, expecting a Katriya person to be closely following me but no luggage. I go back outside and the doorman motions with a few fingers ... I take this to mean the bags will be along in a few. I go upstairs and wait ... and wait ... and wait. No bags. I go down to the lobby and you will never guess what is sitting by the bell stand?
I stop at the front desk and ask if they have a chainsaw to cut said orange plastic tie off my knapsack. I am then reminded of the hotel's offer to upgrade me upon my return from Goa. Room 604 is the chosen lot, and a guy and me stop in 427, I pack, and then off to 604. I unpack and then have a brilliant idea.
I have probably missed a lot of the Nadal/Djokovic men's final from Australia, so why not check the Slingbox and see when on in Ottawa ... 2:30pm eastern! That's 4am here. That's no good so I get it on the Mac and it's the ________ set and the score is ___ set(s) for ____________ and ___ set(s) for ___________. I watch until the match ends, and am pleased that _____________ comes out on top. This match does not air in North America for another 6.5 hours. Needless to say, it was on live on TSN when the match was played at about 8pm in Melbourne which would have been 4am in the eastern time zone.
I head out for KFC and am now waiting for a beer I ordered 20 minutes ago. There are seven people working the restaurant, five customers (four of whom are at one table), and me ... three of the servers, as well as the maitre'd just came over to tell me they have no cold Kingfisher so I order a Tuborg. When entering the restaurant I notice Aussie tennis on Star Sports ... hmmmm, I should have known that it may be on in the Orchid and not struggled with my online viewing which did not go very well. That reminds me of a funny story ...
This geriatric Canuck gets to his hotel, could be anywhere, but let's say is is in Goa. He tries to find tennis on his room TV and that channel is scrambled. Said senior is proud of himself and decides to give up tennis in the room, and go to the hotel bar where maybe Star Sports is on and lo and behold, it is. The next day when he wakes up, he decides to check the TV in his room and guess what he finds ... Star Sports. A similar experience is found when this person returns to Hyderabad and Katriya; no tennis in his room TV either. After finding it in the Orchid cafe, he has a pretty good idea what he will find in his room after all. You got it, Star Sports. Glad something like that never happened to me :). It gets better; guess what arrives at my table a few minutes later? A cold Kingfisher.
The airport ... oy-yoy-yoy, madhouse. You first go through a carrier-dependent x-ray machine for your checked luggage. The SpiceJet line was long but moved well. I think the India carriers could teach the North American ones something about speedy check-in. They put a plastic tie on my knapsack as they thought I was going to check it. Those plastic ties, you know the ones that tighten and will not loosen without cutting with a chainsaw? I then go into line #2, queuing for 1072 bound for Hyderabad in 90 minutes. I am told to go upstairs and point to a flight of stairs and the uniformed SpiceJet person says no and points to the other side of the room. Ok, time to clear security in gate 1 ... now is that 1-A or 1-B. Nobody seems to know so I ask again and get two different answers from two airline personnel. Another oy-yoy-yoy. I then see a sign with letters the size of a pea telling me I am supposed to be at 1-A.
Security is quick and I lounge around the waiting room until the flight is called. It was a recent offering from Bombardier in their Q-series. I watch out the window for most of the flight, amazed that I did not doze off ... until I fall asleep. I cab it back to Katriya for Rs. 600 and get to the hotel where the doorman gladly takes my luggage. I have decided to let people assist as they are there to work and, if the customer is so inclined [which I always am], need the tip. I approach the elevator, expecting a Katriya person to be closely following me but no luggage. I go back outside and the doorman motions with a few fingers ... I take this to mean the bags will be along in a few. I go upstairs and wait ... and wait ... and wait. No bags. I go down to the lobby and you will never guess what is sitting by the bell stand?
I stop at the front desk and ask if they have a chainsaw to cut said orange plastic tie off my knapsack. I am then reminded of the hotel's offer to upgrade me upon my return from Goa. Room 604 is the chosen lot, and a guy and me stop in 427, I pack, and then off to 604. I unpack and then have a brilliant idea.
I have probably missed a lot of the Nadal/Djokovic men's final from Australia, so why not check the Slingbox and see when on in Ottawa ... 2:30pm eastern! That's 4am here. That's no good so I get it on the Mac and it's the ________ set and the score is ___ set(s) for ____________ and ___ set(s) for ___________. I watch until the match ends, and am pleased that _____________ comes out on top. This match does not air in North America for another 6.5 hours. Needless to say, it was on live on TSN when the match was played at about 8pm in Melbourne which would have been 4am in the eastern time zone.
I head out for KFC and am now waiting for a beer I ordered 20 minutes ago. There are seven people working the restaurant, five customers (four of whom are at one table), and me ... three of the servers, as well as the maitre'd just came over to tell me they have no cold Kingfisher so I order a Tuborg. When entering the restaurant I notice Aussie tennis on Star Sports ... hmmmm, I should have known that it may be on in the Orchid and not struggled with my online viewing which did not go very well. That reminds me of a funny story ...
This geriatric Canuck gets to his hotel, could be anywhere, but let's say is is in Goa. He tries to find tennis on his room TV and that channel is scrambled. Said senior is proud of himself and decides to give up tennis in the room, and go to the hotel bar where maybe Star Sports is on and lo and behold, it is. The next day when he wakes up, he decides to check the TV in his room and guess what he finds ... Star Sports. A similar experience is found when this person returns to Hyderabad and Katriya; no tennis in his room TV either. After finding it in the Orchid cafe, he has a pretty good idea what he will find in his room after all. You got it, Star Sports. Glad something like that never happened to me :). It gets better; guess what arrives at my table a few minutes later? A cold Kingfisher.
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Winding down
I had garlic chicken with a fried rice menagerie for lunch which hit the
spot. I just had to test out the ocean and it did not disappoint. I
asked the front desk to keep my valuables and that was no problem. I
asked for a towel and at first that was a problem. The manager was
willing to work something out even though "we don't normally do that". I
kind of thought he would. The waves were peaking at ~4 feet, high
enough to throw even the BFG into the sand if not careful. I caught a
few good ones.
I estimated the water temperature at about 75 degrees, still under some persons' standards (a.k.a., Sweet Thing) but well within mine. I showered and dressed, then went to ... oh ya ... Deva's beach shack to write this note, read Michael Connelly's the Reversal, and wait in anticipation for sundown. I was surprised that the sun is so bright and cheerful each day since I would have thought the dunk in the ocean daily about 6:45pm would extinguish its glow in a short time. Salty ratings follow ...
Atlantic ... very
Pacific ... quite but not as much as Atlantic
Indian ... between Atlantic and Pacific
My experience with the east coast version is mainly southern Florida, west coast southern California, and Indian, well here I am in Goa. Plans for the rest of the day?
Sunset today was not as spectacular as Thursday. The cloudier it is I think the better the show. It dipped into the water today a 60% circle as the bottom was masked by a haze of some sorts. The mercury drops steadily as the sun starts to disappear then gets down to a shocking 15 degrees overnight. Some locals from England said this was a lot cooler than most winters and the breeze this strong is not common. Sweet Thing suggested the water temperature here is probably similar to Zanzibar on the other side of this fine ocean. Life is good as long as I live for today and not fress about what has not happened yet and may not even occur.
I have one less thing to get on my last-minute shopping list. I should remember his name but my ADD got the better of me. I received the buddha keychain from one of the gentlemen who has been very kind to me at Casablanca.
I estimated the water temperature at about 75 degrees, still under some persons' standards (a.k.a., Sweet Thing) but well within mine. I showered and dressed, then went to ... oh ya ... Deva's beach shack to write this note, read Michael Connelly's the Reversal, and wait in anticipation for sundown. I was surprised that the sun is so bright and cheerful each day since I would have thought the dunk in the ocean daily about 6:45pm would extinguish its glow in a short time. Salty ratings follow ...
Atlantic ... very
Pacific ... quite but not as much as Atlantic
Indian ... between Atlantic and Pacific
My experience with the east coast version is mainly southern Florida, west coast southern California, and Indian, well here I am in Goa. Plans for the rest of the day?
- sit on the beach
- sit on the beach AND
- sit on the beach
Sunset today was not as spectacular as Thursday. The cloudier it is I think the better the show. It dipped into the water today a 60% circle as the bottom was masked by a haze of some sorts. The mercury drops steadily as the sun starts to disappear then gets down to a shocking 15 degrees overnight. Some locals from England said this was a lot cooler than most winters and the breeze this strong is not common. Sweet Thing suggested the water temperature here is probably similar to Zanzibar on the other side of this fine ocean. Life is good as long as I live for today and not fress about what has not happened yet and may not even occur.
I have one less thing to get on my last-minute shopping list. I should remember his name but my ADD got the better of me. I received the buddha keychain from one of the gentlemen who has been very kind to me at Casablanca.
Aussie open
Interesting being in a time zone where the open in Australia broadcasts 5.5 hours behind the games (Goa India) rather than 16 hours behind (Ottawa Canada). Thus the women's final, scheduled for 7pm in Melbourne was on at 1:30pm here or 3am in Ottawa. For the sake of anyone in North America who would be on the internet and has not yet stumbled onto the results, I really did not expect ______________ to win so one-sided. She looked weak at the beginning but stormed back to a very impressive win over _______________. Is it youth and inexperience of _____________ or ______________ or the age advantage and experience of _____________ that led to the ____________'s victory?
Substitute "Sharapova" or "Azarenka" as you see fit above in all the blanks except the last ("former" or "latter" goes there :)). Enjoy the match when it is first on in your time zone. I hope I did not spoil it for you. Once when Venus and Serena were playing a slam final, my sister-in-law JJ could not watch the match live so made me promise not to tell her so she could experience it on a replay. I did tell her that Williams won and she exclaimed "Michael!!!" then realized I had told her nothing.
Substitute "Sharapova" or "Azarenka" as you see fit above in all the blanks except the last ("former" or "latter" goes there :)). Enjoy the match when it is first on in your time zone. I hope I did not spoil it for you. Once when Venus and Serena were playing a slam final, my sister-in-law JJ could not watch the match live so made me promise not to tell her so she could experience it on a replay. I did tell her that Williams won and she exclaimed "Michael!!!" then realized I had told her nothing.
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