India – First Impressions

I don’t have the patience or time to finish up the other “interim” posts I had planned to describe travels through Western WA and Nicaragua. Those might come later, but for now I want to write about India while I’m here.

Background: Since October 2009 I’ve been working as delivery manager at a small software company called Avalara, headquartered on Bainbridge Island (near Seattle).  The majority of our software development team is in India, and I’ve finally managed to wrangle a trip out to visit the team. I’ll be in India for nearly 4 weeks, from 12 Feb 2011 to 8 Mar 2011. 

Arrival: After 30+ hours in transit I finally arrived in Pune. I recommend Korean Airlines for a level of service much higher than anything I’ve seen with a US or European airline. I arrived in Mumbai (via Seoul) with Avalara colleague Rahul and his family. Rahul is from Mumbai; Sonya and their daughter Anushka will stay with family in Mumbai while Rahul and I are working in Pune. I arrived by shuttle in Pune around 7 AM Saturday and then slept until nearly 2 PM. After that I figured I needed to stay up as late as possible to get back onto a normal sleep schedule by Monday. Pune is 13 ½ hours ahead of Seattle (yes, and a half!) so it’s rather like travelling into the future. Weird.

Accommodations: I'll be staying all month at Seasons Service Apartments (hotel) in the neighborhood called Aundh.  I have a furnished apartment, probably ~1000sq ft with a full kitchen, living room/office, large bedroom and big bathroom. The hotel has three restaurants: a traditional upscale Indian sit-down outdoor dinner place with live music, a “world cuisine” dinner place on the roof near the swimming pool, and an extensive three-meals-a-day multi-ethnic buffet. There’s also room service, and a sports bar. My first Indian meal was an big buffet, but I was still a bit too tired to appreciate the experience -- which is saying quite a lot coming from this foodie.  In spite of all the restaurant options, I’m planning to prepare lunch for myself like I do back home – and fortunately there’s a big grocery store a few blocks away.

The most remarkable things so far:

1) Smog. The acrid stench was nearly unbearable from the first step out of the Mumbai airport along most of the 3 hour shuttle ride to Pune. The polluted haze made it difficult to see cars on the road, and the smell... yeech! My eyes sting and this nasty black goo comes out when I blow my nose. The other shuttle passengers said that's just the way it is. Pune is cleaner than Mumbai, but still stinks from time to time. It looks like folks burn their trash on the sidewalk every morning.

2) Contrasts. I'm staying in a fancy-schmancy hotel with what seems like a 1:1 ratio of staff to guest. It's not 5-star, but it's very comfortable.  From my 4th (5^th) floor window, I see down on the yard of my nearest neighbor across the alley, living in a little compound of corrugated tin roofs and dirt floors, and a wood fire in the yard for cooking, and a hand-filled basin outdoors for washing.  It's a different world less than 100 feet away.

3) Traffic. The roads are like rivers and streams. Cars, scooters, motorbikes, bicycles, pedestrians, buses, cargo trucks, rickshaw taxis, men pushing handcarts filled with produce... all share the roads continuously through the days with seemingly no rules. The most important thing, is seems, it to keep the flow moving. Everyone appears to be supremely aware of their immediate space, and continuously signaling their presence to others around them. Traffic swells and fills all open spaces to keep moving. At any given moment, the drivers may decide to fill three lanes in one direction and only leave one lane in the other. Bicycles and scooters fill in the open spaces between the cars and trucks. It all just keeps moving and swirling and everyone just gets to where they’re going, without any outward expression of road rage or even anxiety. Miraculously I haven’t seen any dented vehicles.  As a pedestrian, crossing the street is a bit of an adventure; like live-action “Frogger.”

3) Clothing. Ohmigod the women dress so beautifully here!! Shalwar kameez, sari, all the beautiful colors and shapes, every one of them flattering to each body type. I’ll be shopping. I’ve already picked up a tunic and Punjabi shalwar and expect to find a few more items to bring back home. 

(Link to web album)

A tale of two islands: Bainbridge WA to Victoria BC

Twice in the past 18 months I’ve visited Victoria BC with Keith and Sarah, to celebrate Keith’s birthday at the end of January. I arranged overnight packages through Clipper Vacations, including transport on the high-speed passenger ferry from downtown Seattle plus vouchers to nearby hotels and Victoria attractions bundled into the same ticket price. It’s a great way to go; with about the same prices you’d get shopping for individual parts separately (though not any better). 

In the winter, the Victoria Clipper has only one daily 8 AM departure from Seattle (boarding at 7:30 AM).  This means a Bainbridge Islander will have some time to kill after the 5:20 AM Bainbridge ferry drops off in town. Thank goodness for the Night Kitchen on Stuart between 2^nd & 3^rd Ave, available for breakfast from 4 – 9 AM.  It’s more or less on the way from the WSDOT ferry terminal to the Clipper dock, and well worth the detour. The coffee is well made and I especially like the steel cut oats, with candied pecans and vanilla syrup.  And it’s the only game in town on a Saturday morning before 7 AM.

The Clipper journey is fairly painless. Remember to bring your passport since this is an international journey. Read a book, play some Scrabble, or (in Sarah’s case) do your homework during the 2-3 hour journey, and you’ll be there before you know it. If you’re lucky you’ll see whales (they say).  I’ve never been that lucky.

Victoria has a wide range of hotels within walking distance of both the Clipper landing port and the historic downtown district. We’ve stayed at both the Oswego Hotel and the Royal Scot Hotel & Suites, and in prior trips I’ve also stayed at the Fairmont Empress (on the fancy side of the spectrum)and at the Best Western Carleton Plaza. My preference for location and value is the Royal Scot – but unless you plan to spend a bunch of time in your room, pick a place that centrally located and within your budget. You’ll very likely get what you pay for.

What to see and do:

• Start with a visit to the Royal BC Museum, with permanent exhibits about the region’s ancient and current natural history, an extensive gallery of the nation’s first peoples, and a fun interactive display covering the modern history of BC over the past 250 years (from the arrival of Europeans to the Vancouver Island.) C$15 tickets are available through Clipper Vacations or at the door. There’s also an IMAX theatre is the weather is poor or you just need a theatrical diversion.
• Afternoon tea at the Empress Hotel.  It’s a spendy option for tea (C$50/ea) but you really have to experience it at least once.  You’ll wander through the majestic lobby of this historic hotel and then enjoy service fit for royalty, with all the fine china and white-tablecloth fanciness you could possibly hope for. The meal is substantial, including fruit salad, fresh scones, and a wide assortment of finger sandwiches and fussy pastries piled high on a three-tiered tray. And of course the tea is exactly perfect.
• After tea, walk around to the back side of the Empress hotel to enter Miniature World, “The Greatest Little Show on Earth.” If you have any interest in model trains, circuses, toy soldiers, doll houses, or otherwise like to learn through dioramas, this is the place for you. My personal favorite is a fully-functioning miniature lumber mill. The circus display is also memorable, with exceptional detail of animals, side shows, trapeze artists and all the little dramas played out in hidden corners of the display.  C$12.
• Before heading back to the hotel to change for dinner, stop in for a shopping visit at some local classic shops: Murchie’s Teas for a bag of Keemun or Lapsang Souchong; Munro’s Bookstore just to browse; and Roger’s Chocolates for an oh-so-sweet Victoria cream chocolate.
• Dine at Il Terrazzo for a superb traditional northern Italian meal. It’s a bit hard to locate and poorly marked, down Waddington Alley, behind Willie’s Bakery on Johnson Street. It’s a popular place so make reservations if you don’t want a bad table or a long wait. In my experience, everything on the menu is beautiful presented and tasty. The portions are large enough that I think it’s sufficient (and fun) for two people to split one or two starters, one entrée and a dessert.  You won’t leave hungry.
• If the weather is nice, an after-dinner stroll along the waterfront is a great time to check out all the houseboats and life on the pier.
• In the morning, get up early and grab a cab or walk briskly to The Blue Fox Café (919 Fort Street).  It’s a little out of the way, and if you don’t arrive when they open you’ll have to wait in long lines. The décor is fun and funky and the food is really good, and the location gets you well positioned for an after-breakfast walk up Fort Street hill to...
• Craigdarroch Castle.  I’m always delighted to peek into the daily life of those who lived long ago. In this case, you’ll get to tour a lovingly restored mansion built by Victorian-era industrialist Robert Dunsmiur. The wood paneling, stained glass and period decor on the “family” side of the house are all majestic, and it’s equally interesting to explore the narrow stairways and plain rooms in the servants’ quarters. The tour also provides glimpses into the region’s history through the displays about the military hospital and Victoria College that were once housed in the castle.
• Order a cab or take a leisurely stroll down into town for a different view into the town’s history in Chinatown. According to Wikipedia, the Victoria’s Chinatown is the oldest in Canada and second in age only to San Francisco's in North America. Wind your way through the tiny shops in Fan Tan Alley, explore the colorful arches, and if you want you’ll certainly find someplace promising to grab dim sum for a late lunch.
• You’ll need to check in at the Clipper terminal about half hour before departure. Depending on your endurance with the other events of the day, you might have time for an ice cream stop someplace along Government Street, such as The Soda Shoppe, near Humboldt. It’ll revive you, really.  

Expect the Clipper’s return trip to take longer than you could possibly imagine. Don’t make plans for the evening. In the half-dozen or so trips I’ve made, the return boat was cancelled or significantly delayed half the time. Even if all goes as planned, you will BARELY make it to the 9 PM ferry back to Bainbridge Island.   But you will make it back home. And then you’ll start to plan your next visit.

On the future of this blog

At long last I’ve decided to resurrect this blog. After some [not too deep] thought, I've come to realize that I think of this as my travel journal; a forum to record the places I’ve been so that I can share them with friends and family, and to serve as a reference for returning to (or avoiding) specific sites or people or events that I’ve witnessed.

I recently landed in India for the first time, where I’ll be working for the next four weeks. I’d like to share some observations about my temporary home in Pune, near Mumbai. FIRST, however, I feel compelled to write about a few of the trips I’ve taken in the past 18 months that never made it into this travelogue. Look for back-dated posts about my favorite spots in western Washington, options for weekend visits to Victoria BC, and a recent two week adventure in Nicaragua. And THEN I’ll move on to my current trip.