so I'm finally in India...Bangalore, the Silicon Valley of India, bored to death (as my boss predicted, unless I know many people here, which I don't). I'm staying at a big hotel suite with all the amenities including a jacuzzi and steam sauna, but the moment I step out of it, there is mess and chaos everywhere. This place is like Shanghai 20 years ago.

Yesterday I arrived in the morning, about 6 hours late (btw I was impressed with the Emirates' on-flight equipment, and the Dubai airport in general). A company car and driver picked me up and even gave me a 3 hour city tour, which culminated in a shopping session at the "central government run pashmere and silk store" that basically cost me some dollars that will hopefully please my wife and mom. Btw this has Suzhou's Silk Research Institute written all over it...

Knowing that people shouldn't have to work on Sunday, I told the driver to leave me alone for today, Sunday (he's a Christian and goes to church on Sundays, one of the minorities in India, about a quarter of the population). After breakfast in my room (again some spicy Southern Indian food, partly neutralized by plain yogurt and freshly squeezed fruit drinks), I decided to venture out on foot. The result is, in a nutshell, that after 30 minutes in total, I've exhausted all 4 directions from the street intersection, walking no more than 100 meters in each. I saw stray dogs, a well maintained park, a KFC with a Pizzahut upstairs, metro train track construction, and a bull wandering around, slowly. To bad I didn't bring my camera cable with me, or I would have uploaded the photos here. Now I have to wait till I get home.

More to come later...