tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30497067049164306302024-03-20T18:11:00.481-07:00HyderabadRankine-Filehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02300130357063504686noreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3049706704916430630.post-9190381079326481302009-04-14T15:49:00.000-07:002009-04-14T16:02:27.727-07:00Goa Part 3 - Anjuna Day 1After an 'exciting' cab ride we finally arrived at our hotel in Anjuna - the Anjuna Villa. It turned out to be a sweet little hotel with a nice pool and great location set back from the beach. Jed used the Internet cafe to finally get in touch with someone who could get in touch with his friend Ben.<br /><br />NOTE - much less photos and events today as I mainly chilled on the beach and relaxed. :P<br /><br />After that we wandered down, most places were semi-permanent structures, we were on the main street perpendicular to the beach, by there was a rocky cliff, we wondered where the beach was so we walked along the water front passing lots of shops selling mainly clothes that would be gold for a dead concert<br /><br />Found a great place for lunch right on the water just before the beach started with a little rocky cliff- had a little CTM rice and Nan.<br /><br />Jed ordered a walnut alcohol drink - which I sampled - god awful.<br /><br />Jed's friend Ben arrived - really cool guy who is a professional poker player, afraid of Indian food though so he got rice and ketchup!?!?<br /><br />Walked down to the beach finally and found where the main area was where people swim etc.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVw_fTqm_EHFK3nGA6USj2pdJHrYoUFDuwTfLXoSBoEBXdt8oX4zQBj9maZW1hJy0avIbY-iVF2mhgtZTZOW_SeM593FVtHCF88MTk6rp0CJL6jPl20h8hcCU2ODiAjZ4AAdXJhPS3GXpw/s1600-h/DSC_0142a.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVw_fTqm_EHFK3nGA6USj2pdJHrYoUFDuwTfLXoSBoEBXdt8oX4zQBj9maZW1hJy0avIbY-iVF2mhgtZTZOW_SeM593FVtHCF88MTk6rp0CJL6jPl20h8hcCU2ODiAjZ4AAdXJhPS3GXpw/s320/DSC_0142a.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5324684436379472322" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Nice beach, very chill not too busy at all. Many women trying to sell stuff, I can't remember how many times I heard:<br /><br />"My friend, how are you" and "come see my shop" the sellers were all woman and ranged from about 12 years to 35.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_GlYG9Y57xo2A1wmxyQlj8gq5x8k9lgO0_rzZLJL6ET7NnOG36EF024hT47fOlTCUopCqp2c_P8x39NMmeeX8svABZ8ac-1pVngsyhpzh63BrnzjtcHjD6QZpzgzH5fl2Yk6qNIdcugxd/s1600-h/DSC_0137a.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_GlYG9Y57xo2A1wmxyQlj8gq5x8k9lgO0_rzZLJL6ET7NnOG36EF024hT47fOlTCUopCqp2c_P8x39NMmeeX8svABZ8ac-1pVngsyhpzh63BrnzjtcHjD6QZpzgzH5fl2Yk6qNIdcugxd/s320/DSC_0137a.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5324684445415086674" border="0" /></a><br />(Ben trying to ignore the shop sellers)<br /><br />The weirdest thing on the beach though were the cows. Yes cows on the beach.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhklAw5ZqlAMAp3sTR51hAYU6GuV8IeOhfztm-MXKxs6kGjlCi0DISSljiMqLCIRli1hsRBgwNRMHpgPM9X2880zKSnBgOqdZECWT3QmqIJ7PTxGnxCmPsndaetOdDPrz_1kZfqJX4iQw5h/s1600-h/DSC_0136a.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhklAw5ZqlAMAp3sTR51hAYU6GuV8IeOhfztm-MXKxs6kGjlCi0DISSljiMqLCIRli1hsRBgwNRMHpgPM9X2880zKSnBgOqdZECWT3QmqIJ7PTxGnxCmPsndaetOdDPrz_1kZfqJX4iQw5h/s320/DSC_0136a.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5324684431761159090" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Had a few drinks and just chilled out on the beach all afternoon and had some Kingfishers.<br /><br />Went for a swim - the water was the perfect temperature, but a little salty.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4m4xqCb6ct91qd_dyVJ8h9wJdLt7FaGJJVkTb3nEGlIShyphenhyphenTSw5vUFJs0CA7eVX9y4acjdHUpjbF5RsPfMJx94BcZQJ9lEfqTKnt7CR74HQZtdHqE9aQWGhlqp86_QkiW74Zb3-BdDfc7I/s1600-h/DSC_0134a.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4m4xqCb6ct91qd_dyVJ8h9wJdLt7FaGJJVkTb3nEGlIShyphenhyphenTSw5vUFJs0CA7eVX9y4acjdHUpjbF5RsPfMJx94BcZQJ9lEfqTKnt7CR74HQZtdHqE9aQWGhlqp86_QkiW74Zb3-BdDfc7I/s320/DSC_0134a.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5324685647943601410" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Tried to go to a recommended restaurant dinner , but it was closed so we went to another recommendation which turned out to be the wrong place. It looked awesome from the outside but as we walked down the steps towards a gorgeous outside patio we were redirected to a dingy cafeteria inside, we all decided to bail and instead grabbed another taxi and went to the end of the beach strip. We ate at this nice place near where we drank during the day right on the beach with candles on our tables facing the water. The menu had EVERYTHING and there were too many options, I figured Indian was the safest so I went with butter chicken and it was the best meal I had on the trip - who woulda thunk?<br /><br />After dinner and drinks we went looking for a nightlife and walked along the beach in pretty much the dark, trying to avoid getting our feet wet. It seemed like NOTHING was going on and we went by this little restaurant on the cliff to have another drink. Scott got a god-awful Indian whiskey and I got another Kingfisher. There most interesting thing about the restaurant were the mangy wild dogs just sitting around. One looked like he was going to die any minute and another was a huge black one that was seriously scary. Finally there was a little shizoue like guy with totally cloudy eyes that I thought looked like the devil - this one scared Ben the most. :P<br /><br />We decided to call it a night and make the next night the big one.Rankine-Filehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02300130357063504686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3049706704916430630.post-27524452235302473022009-04-06T06:16:00.000-07:002009-04-06T07:27:36.961-07:00Goa Part 2 - Old GoaWhile the others wanted to go to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Goa">old goa</a>, I just wanted to just get to the beach but I acquiesced, I was very glad I did.<br /><br />After we found our cab and we were on our way. The cabbie himself was a riot - we weren't sure if he was insane, tipsy or slightly handicapped. On the way to Old Goa he kept trying to get us to go see various museums etc. that he was obviously getting kickbacks from, it was frustrating because we kept having to struggle to understand what he was asking, only to realize it was ANOTHER museum or thing we didn't care about.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnoxzQ8HdV41vrO1TtiUnOtgKpGJE51tFpNiolB2BT8rHLTAlxrEPqms9OAoIBi44AUydFDyvYdHaThPI3KYcNRbzvDh1skR4G19OMJHCg6nDnGAhR2aUXCt_99riX-r9JRyP1IvGi2Bp7/s1600-h/DSC_0060a.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnoxzQ8HdV41vrO1TtiUnOtgKpGJE51tFpNiolB2BT8rHLTAlxrEPqms9OAoIBi44AUydFDyvYdHaThPI3KYcNRbzvDh1skR4G19OMJHCg6nDnGAhR2aUXCt_99riX-r9JRyP1IvGi2Bp7/s320/DSC_0060a.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5321582923047967490" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Once we got to old Goa I was pleasantly shocked.<br /><br />Since the lonely planet guide said it is hard to believe that Old Goa was once bigger than London and Lisbon, I was expecting a Panjim-sized city only a little more run down. In fact there is really nothing left AT ALL - it is essentialy a ghost town except a tiny litle strip and some old churches.<br /><br />To start we walked up the hill from the main strip up to the ruins of St. Augustine Church. On the way, since it was Sunday, we heard some nice choir music coming from the elderly infirmary/church across the street.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPg0Li5xJTvXZ0FNI9qjHjhiCCn23pFUl0fAn006UurSnuYNyVHwfJU4JhhEo08HRpIdRpVGsiStfpAQOyUfhheJ5do0oQf5a7jFb5ki75vD4Hxm3kZJDzY3PE8WDWsjEr_-9vqvLFw7sC/s1600-h/DSC_0068a.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPg0Li5xJTvXZ0FNI9qjHjhiCCn23pFUl0fAn006UurSnuYNyVHwfJU4JhhEo08HRpIdRpVGsiStfpAQOyUfhheJ5do0oQf5a7jFb5ki75vD4Hxm3kZJDzY3PE8WDWsjEr_-9vqvLFw7sC/s320/DSC_0068a.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5321571517868971074" border="0" /></a><br /><br />St. Augustine Church, which despite being abandoned only 150 years ago is now almost completely in ruins. It reminded me of the forum in Italy, which was abandoned over a 1,000 years earlier (double check).<br /><br />It was pretty neat to walk around 'inside' the church<br /><br />It was also DAMN hot.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVmnOdJ3a9soO1X3TTUb-4_A00UP3n-c9mLtzdN99jWxkm0_dh1X0Hkhfbqk-lCJ8jCBJWEja-Dp7cfvG9tt3nB5r0CduznRIFxn8bwxEwU9WtW_ayz96k-5wYW6j7OZeZd8F0WUCEMNcI/s1600-h/DSC_0072a.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVmnOdJ3a9soO1X3TTUb-4_A00UP3n-c9mLtzdN99jWxkm0_dh1X0Hkhfbqk-lCJ8jCBJWEja-Dp7cfvG9tt3nB5r0CduznRIFxn8bwxEwU9WtW_ayz96k-5wYW6j7OZeZd8F0WUCEMNcI/s320/DSC_0072a.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5321571530399828818" border="0" /> </a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj89V20XwDnlJMr2PtggkNxa6_Hh13XBX-hAueu-87SwhPM6maPxmu7cW1lJkpxTmmWPsK_qCbb5pFzzRM1MyJ1239Jun_XotOQwO6VKLqlniNUH5YaNePZn4_9HzJuEByFZ4M8k80GeVoW/s1600-h/DSC_0075a.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj89V20XwDnlJMr2PtggkNxa6_Hh13XBX-hAueu-87SwhPM6maPxmu7cW1lJkpxTmmWPsK_qCbb5pFzzRM1MyJ1239Jun_XotOQwO6VKLqlniNUH5YaNePZn4_9HzJuEByFZ4M8k80GeVoW/s320/DSC_0075a.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5321573088105785170" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvuqLc6J5cpNdjGujQwKPKHeXqzMrheFocNPjj5aMFH2mKuwroQYjLcWRmYI4ZKFkSwb6h8TozKXO0Zvxd7G48p9ym1bduHMDmFiQUuhWtrDc0YsobVRM_wwfBmQaoPsRmBLnsuFZ0ZuHj/s1600-h/DSC_0083a.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvuqLc6J5cpNdjGujQwKPKHeXqzMrheFocNPjj5aMFH2mKuwroQYjLcWRmYI4ZKFkSwb6h8TozKXO0Zvxd7G48p9ym1bduHMDmFiQUuhWtrDc0YsobVRM_wwfBmQaoPsRmBLnsuFZ0ZuHj/s320/DSC_0083a.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5321571537599187538" border="0" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie3pGhrcw5ULZgIisrCplYR1pLOnOoic_gGQosk9bJu2hy40QbAibTAUEcbcHTfHsL-tDTWuNQVgnULVsbTysUMbY-oK925C5IKmeqLjkm31hP9yl8Gn9eWxs8zYY1sljJtPRxy8Awk4ja/s1600-h/DSC_0080a.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie3pGhrcw5ULZgIisrCplYR1pLOnOoic_gGQosk9bJu2hy40QbAibTAUEcbcHTfHsL-tDTWuNQVgnULVsbTysUMbY-oK925C5IKmeqLjkm31hP9yl8Gn9eWxs8zYY1sljJtPRxy8Awk4ja/s320/DSC_0080a.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5321574655002284674" border="0" /></a><br /><br />We went across the street to check out ANOTHER church, this one had a famous weeping cross. It was incredible how OLD everything looked and how unkept it was (mold on the walls etc). Despite it being Sunday there was NO ONE there, and you could see how in a hundred years it will end up like its sister church across the street.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUxVwffN5KoLNlSmbwcTezS83ro9UgYKzj7Y2-gKpPTqg1kMByjJdGqnqeWVEW0NxZwV4ZRWX-5QsE8ZMFvDfqUPPkWwzd1ZEVcl5Ho5hTA5kNFgjrcVBZj-OdMERlwk3_CYkxz5oMyj83/s1600-h/DSC_0069a.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUxVwffN5KoLNlSmbwcTezS83ro9UgYKzj7Y2-gKpPTqg1kMByjJdGqnqeWVEW0NxZwV4ZRWX-5QsE8ZMFvDfqUPPkWwzd1ZEVcl5Ho5hTA5kNFgjrcVBZj-OdMERlwk3_CYkxz5oMyj83/s320/DSC_0069a.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5321571525197474226" border="0" /> </a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtqV8dwvta6FXNQdoGjb6_D2cm_zzdGSF5WIgXgCwdN0tkHVW01hMOW7wd8y-fOVX-nxAm_buFq8RQbvXweSBjRcmo8bLPdsojjMgfCHfhHixWhqG26vLRvU8yXjs_pN_txa02JWL7X3Fx/s1600-h/DSC_0090a.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtqV8dwvta6FXNQdoGjb6_D2cm_zzdGSF5WIgXgCwdN0tkHVW01hMOW7wd8y-fOVX-nxAm_buFq8RQbvXweSBjRcmo8bLPdsojjMgfCHfhHixWhqG26vLRvU8yXjs_pN_txa02JWL7X3Fx/s320/DSC_0090a.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5321571541128976434" border="0" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR6LeK9ZTrRldkL_ZyFMhifIcsQngNHgavGdjBOWR4H5bVjPj1BFQzcIQoshz96sEczc5pGeBNvKKaABwFvCLm9JrtaRUQ1SDglmwPtIOhA60LDFJBCPilC4grfREWYeBLjSLHPbO4ooA_/s1600-h/DSC_0093a.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR6LeK9ZTrRldkL_ZyFMhifIcsQngNHgavGdjBOWR4H5bVjPj1BFQzcIQoshz96sEczc5pGeBNvKKaABwFvCLm9JrtaRUQ1SDglmwPtIOhA60LDFJBCPilC4grfREWYeBLjSLHPbO4ooA_/s320/DSC_0093a.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5321573086037428946" border="0" /></a><br /><br />We walked down to the main area for a couple waters/pepsis and Jed to try and call his friend Ben who was on his way from the United States and had no idea where to meet us, not even which beach or city in Goa!. The only phone we could find took rupee coins and Jed was going through them like mad as it only gave 15 seconds. After about 40 rupees and a lot of frustration he gave up.<br /><br />We then entered the main ground of the active churches, a man tried to get us to pay to enter, but we just walked past. Still not sure if he was trying to rip us off or if we were breaking the law, I like think the former. ;)<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN-uJ3SvSdpOhjyUimr-8n4PpKCSmoT3h9_9X4gAU-YDXi1uMILsJzaAYysksSiqVuChug7vjEeVzHE6VZRikpUmFaLRMO7oa3Z-c3_qS2td5-QyHghO53ubnMCnAhphCMGNHy1kZA8awp/s1600-h/DSC_0106a.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN-uJ3SvSdpOhjyUimr-8n4PpKCSmoT3h9_9X4gAU-YDXi1uMILsJzaAYysksSiqVuChug7vjEeVzHE6VZRikpUmFaLRMO7oa3Z-c3_qS2td5-QyHghO53ubnMCnAhphCMGNHy1kZA8awp/s320/DSC_0106a.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5321576420061664002" border="0" /></a><br />(AmberScotty and Fitch)<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiG8X7QkB-SvrwSl0ymIuDVCF2knsjXaPtfqKEAbigfH9oZZ0a11B_PzyMHpKDo5LWj8_QuHxLIyXMdaEaZK0sZzx4R3eloEegn_7wrzv0f9rFjuM_jfaD49plbjoYosGdgn6w-5_s8bcv/s1600-h/DSC_0099a.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiG8X7QkB-SvrwSl0ymIuDVCF2knsjXaPtfqKEAbigfH9oZZ0a11B_PzyMHpKDo5LWj8_QuHxLIyXMdaEaZK0sZzx4R3eloEegn_7wrzv0f9rFjuM_jfaD49plbjoYosGdgn6w-5_s8bcv/s320/DSC_0099a.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5321576402291600354" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLp4WkAcsx3yqDMacw0qZ0fdqwHJV9XckpAhzaOQzuZFlf6tKqq2HLtzC6A_-5AdAEKbAkB3-1rCckzPkezf5CQ7_ITQPXxE7uVM6lmTqSVPexhoJv4wOSD3JWHASGdBQ4Y5tKhWWxitVq/s1600-h/DSC_0109a.JPG"> <img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLp4WkAcsx3yqDMacw0qZ0fdqwHJV9XckpAhzaOQzuZFlf6tKqq2HLtzC6A_-5AdAEKbAkB3-1rCckzPkezf5CQ7_ITQPXxE7uVM6lmTqSVPexhoJv4wOSD3JWHASGdBQ4Y5tKhWWxitVq/s320/DSC_0109a.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5321576418307701874" border="0" /> </a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9vgUu2eyo2ZjfF1Q06p077Y-kUti4Vk7zQpNxt74Ge17kQ6kH1Y-XC3u2MYPw92zl-Is_0Z_ivl-_ePoDrfcKVgBCAnPg0Q5U4z38SoV35EBRYjws2ncpzyZE0DXyB5tkXpLRcnIcnPr9/s1600-h/DSC_0101a.JPG"> <img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9vgUu2eyo2ZjfF1Q06p077Y-kUti4Vk7zQpNxt74Ge17kQ6kH1Y-XC3u2MYPw92zl-Is_0Z_ivl-_ePoDrfcKVgBCAnPg0Q5U4z38SoV35EBRYjws2ncpzyZE0DXyB5tkXpLRcnIcnPr9/s320/DSC_0101a.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5321576409042497810" border="0" /> </a><br /><br />(This is the only photo from the entire ttip of just me and Scott :P)<br /><br />There was some pretty aggressive souvenir selling, but there were very few foreign tourists other than us. One item they were trying to sell were flowers and these candle looking things, we saw later these were offering to St. Francis.<br /><br />We first checked out the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bom_Jesus_Basilica">Bom Jesus Basilica</a> which was a nice old church with many parishiners and tourists and contains the remains of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Francis_Xavier">St. Francis</a> who was a signifant missionary for the area. His body remained incorruptible for decades after his death which was declared a miracle by the pope. Today they bring it out every 7 years (next time is 2014).<br /><br /><br /><br />Then walked over to the very pretty <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Se_Cathedral">Se Cathedral</a>. As we approached we heard some awesome children's choir music and a string quartet.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8r9Nn5iUXvkZrxYtQlJ4gFRi11nmKev8-acl3ECTtbEQQsHbLFMFfmDq9Oe7lcwAG3AUbBmI7cXFD5f7Jcb6eQlFm1q17i_KDW19d_QtnH5JSCT0MyvrBTkjlXGGsaa05i_RZ4d00IhfS/s1600-h/DSC_0116a.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8r9Nn5iUXvkZrxYtQlJ4gFRi11nmKev8-acl3ECTtbEQQsHbLFMFfmDq9Oe7lcwAG3AUbBmI7cXFD5f7Jcb6eQlFm1q17i_KDW19d_QtnH5JSCT0MyvrBTkjlXGGsaa05i_RZ4d00IhfS/s320/DSC_0116a.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5321582946458605282" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY5ewlGXkw1o4L_tqt6v_QTmHSDPpkgOYs0VrxCll9ZkeuzwOnX8_MTud0SRIvCKnfchiHrhfpvmQPW2NSwjJo-6pr9r9mwsW82Cz3lie9zFQ4bQZlu8zAU7vfQwbz2hRAlLmqy81-ozE7/s1600-h/DSC_0110a.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY5ewlGXkw1o4L_tqt6v_QTmHSDPpkgOYs0VrxCll9ZkeuzwOnX8_MTud0SRIvCKnfchiHrhfpvmQPW2NSwjJo-6pr9r9mwsW82Cz3lie9zFQ4bQZlu8zAU7vfQwbz2hRAlLmqy81-ozE7/s320/DSC_0110a.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5321576427297171426" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Tourists are not allowed in though during service, but thankfully it ended a few moments after we got there. Went in and checked it out, again not kept up nearly as well as European contemporaries, but much better than the others.<br /><br />Interesting to see Christianity so dutifully followed in India, it seemed kinda incongruent.<br /><br />We wandered down to the old gate of the city and the water front.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd32fP-hMq0Tj4BchebyirFYib3zYEjPT13lkOt_jxfD7-EjmYLFmxIKblCXE8HYJSo1n5HCgjPsVJI1fntNhk6Wq8aEbOBC72E9sj0FegT3XZkZPDRZLhRYSTdyTUINq3my9v6JvVyuNg/s1600-h/DSC_0117a.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd32fP-hMq0Tj4BchebyirFYib3zYEjPT13lkOt_jxfD7-EjmYLFmxIKblCXE8HYJSo1n5HCgjPsVJI1fntNhk6Wq8aEbOBC72E9sj0FegT3XZkZPDRZLhRYSTdyTUINq3my9v6JvVyuNg/s320/DSC_0117a.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5321582926705095298" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU6nHGJoEN_x3VfIjp7gm-_PoccR5Uv8WdeATe1OvaVqMyTjHj7cy7bI_E8YcJIFC0SALI4ou2m93k3oAzD1OZW-h_4BBuoEnRIIQdcqtlC0GuPLeBtJpdgkLucRcGYoezC0bEWkC1lt7f/s1600-h/DSC_0120a.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU6nHGJoEN_x3VfIjp7gm-_PoccR5Uv8WdeATe1OvaVqMyTjHj7cy7bI_E8YcJIFC0SALI4ou2m93k3oAzD1OZW-h_4BBuoEnRIIQdcqtlC0GuPLeBtJpdgkLucRcGYoezC0bEWkC1lt7f/s320/DSC_0120a.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5321582932657996178" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />After that we went to - wait for it - a church!<br /><br />This one was notable for its complete lack of patrons on a Sunday and the rabid bats that lived behind the main altar that would fly out occassionally and we could here chirping.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF1V0OO7PKiUufnS57ijG0gnCYkFn5hFYE4bK5dZv8Clu3I3ql4bfSK75dyovfYnRk3MP4KczwoKHkLe3MxSM-F_d8LmX3qeceyOzfUV5O5nX7qYNuUzK6N7Acu21nT9HbPV2b11pPIKl5/s1600-h/DSC_0124a.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF1V0OO7PKiUufnS57ijG0gnCYkFn5hFYE4bK5dZv8Clu3I3ql4bfSK75dyovfYnRk3MP4KczwoKHkLe3MxSM-F_d8LmX3qeceyOzfUV5O5nX7qYNuUzK6N7Acu21nT9HbPV2b11pPIKl5/s320/DSC_0124a.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5321582939577024690" border="0" /></a><br /><br />After the last church we then slowly made out way back to our car. We were happy to find the car which meant the driver had not taken off with our stuff and after finally finding him to we left for Anjuna. On the way there (about 40 minutes) he was playing his music WAY too loud and singing along sometimes.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4pnHBTCVpxvWwUHALe2g0vK1NIibf9pgK7QjDQyCDF_UqMvsHReQquduwdNJfZ-eeXO_fmMszY6G-6OU4j-NTmjtetRPfDUKrboljtCMD7B20lBiAmu5M26RkawW1kExPjDCUNuKun1Ds/s1600-h/DSC_0126a.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4pnHBTCVpxvWwUHALe2g0vK1NIibf9pgK7QjDQyCDF_UqMvsHReQquduwdNJfZ-eeXO_fmMszY6G-6OU4j-NTmjtetRPfDUKrboljtCMD7B20lBiAmu5M26RkawW1kExPjDCUNuKun1Ds/s320/DSC_0126a.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5321584712288693858" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3AymCxoEzwACNXYLZKy9xKi5chTqg5CBxFwEpcC8WPfPdbLaU9koHTqXQBx6yG34ZWMbeq0DPY2StkUHlmASr4K4D_am315teK_vReO8DSVhSUfgcNie2grjwNsCkP7jtAuVzg7Qg71sP/s1600-h/DSC_0131a.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3AymCxoEzwACNXYLZKy9xKi5chTqg5CBxFwEpcC8WPfPdbLaU9koHTqXQBx6yG34ZWMbeq0DPY2StkUHlmASr4K4D_am315teK_vReO8DSVhSUfgcNie2grjwNsCkP7jtAuVzg7Qg71sP/s320/DSC_0131a.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5321584719682451746" border="0" /></a><br /><br />We almost crashed a couple times, it was weird that I didn't even feel scared at all. I was getting pretty desensitized this point.Rankine-Filehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02300130357063504686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3049706704916430630.post-26011853497791863782009-04-03T15:36:00.000-07:002009-04-03T16:51:39.385-07:00Goa Part 1 - PanjimWith my SIMT assignment in Sunil's capable hands Scott and I were off to Goa with another exchange student Jed (the Wharton guy :P).<br /><br />We flew out on Kingfisher airlines which is renowned for the following:<br />- Insanely hot stewardesses<br />- Insanely awesome service<br />- Attention to detail<br />- Free portering<br />- Friendly workers<br />- GREAT food<br />- AND Low prices<br /><br />How does a company offer the lowest costs AND the best service? It loses money. But until it does I suggest EVERYONE fly on this airline, it just rocks.<br /><br />At the Hyderabad airport we introduced Jed to McDonald's India. A cute little dog kept creeping up to us looking for food, Jed finally took pity on it and gave him his McChicken.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwYiF3U_Ac4D3sjZjgN9RVtMd53IDOETOGV3wJq6ReDaKBrO1qMmPMf273XsPzbe1ivZZB1_8hMY3aep07inUutbw0Ewksc1Tsei3Q83RLBPqdC7D2G3GgXvtFETsiqdY19CuS-L12ffs9/s1600-h/DSC_0003a.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwYiF3U_Ac4D3sjZjgN9RVtMd53IDOETOGV3wJq6ReDaKBrO1qMmPMf273XsPzbe1ivZZB1_8hMY3aep07inUutbw0Ewksc1Tsei3Q83RLBPqdC7D2G3GgXvtFETsiqdY19CuS-L12ffs9/s320/DSC_0003a.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320601684599661282" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Anyways after extracting some producer surplus and using the WORST toilet ever in the Goa airport we decided to go to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panjim">Panjim</a>. Now like my approach to projects, I usually like my trips mainly planned out, but I have to say it was really refreshing to land somewhere and not know where I was going or staying or what, just that I had a return ticket in 3 days.<br /><br />We decided to get a hotel as a base of operations and went to one that was recommended in lonely planet. She was sold out but told us an AC room for one night would be 1200-1500 rupees. Jed is a born negotiator, and I can't wait to see him in the workplace when a deal is going down, but here it didn't serve him (or us well) :P. He told the woman he was quoted 400 rupees as fair price, his intention was to anchor himself but unfortunately the woman behind the counter suggested places that we could get for 500 rupees WITHOUT bartering - arghh.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPnLia5j7Ot4c7PDe32RzpEqHsWDft9gV8MgHTZ3KvljLPLkZSrRD1Sk_fP4DMCHVeetySOUSztnXipyNGN-1aSSWf2ea7ESzvSijBEq4IectaSW9Ucud0bukTuX7O_hWTOvc_PIm4s7UK/s1600-h/DSC_0005a.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPnLia5j7Ot4c7PDe32RzpEqHsWDft9gV8MgHTZ3KvljLPLkZSrRD1Sk_fP4DMCHVeetySOUSztnXipyNGN-1aSSWf2ea7ESzvSijBEq4IectaSW9Ucud0bukTuX7O_hWTOvc_PIm4s7UK/s320/DSC_0005a.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320601689377496338" border="0" /></a><br /><br />--As an aside I need to do some conversions here 1200 rupees is $30, 400 is about $10 these are for a double and there is no extra tax or anything this is the FINAL price.--<br /><br />So anyways she recommended the quality hotel (not to be confused AT ALL with Quality Inn, and really the biggest misnomer EVER)which was 450 RS a bigger misnomer than any before it. We had a huge bolt on our door and four beds in our rooms, with no AC a hole in the roof, and, shall we say 'rustic' shower and toilet. The beds were like bricks and mine had no blanket, but it did the job.<br /><br />In seriousness we decided to take the room because:<br />A) It would be an adventure<br />B) They sold kingfisher (750 ml) out of their fridge for 40 RS (1$)<br />C) We had heavy suitcases and wanted to drop them off and explore<br />D) We all pledged to go much more upscale on Anjuna beach the next two nights<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcCY2dDeTWri7fsb9RFnN37sxnGDoysBg8i7Il2e1X7QO0z4ZiZ7maNbvmHBJpTaIj_6AxYhFgynyqrljyE3v54O2xNaF5xSB49m-gfHbsQVyRbyl-kG0LMFfhzn21RCYO5gxodaFpFCAs/s1600-h/DSC_0048a.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcCY2dDeTWri7fsb9RFnN37sxnGDoysBg8i7Il2e1X7QO0z4ZiZ7maNbvmHBJpTaIj_6AxYhFgynyqrljyE3v54O2xNaF5xSB49m-gfHbsQVyRbyl-kG0LMFfhzn21RCYO5gxodaFpFCAs/s320/DSC_0048a.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320605246003079234" border="0" /></a><br />(Scott looks really happy with our choice :P)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT1u6T-FYVZWt3oQJjrcn2CvlL08x6fJiLuiRQBXOsED_FiLwlcsi7LlWs6q2W0UZs7H97jH_10rx2SdDvy9tfPXYdKC1s-DNXOdgSS3FEYPsDR4tqC-V_PaMl7WbLIdHu-bIov0q17UCf/s1600-h/DSC_0050a.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT1u6T-FYVZWt3oQJjrcn2CvlL08x6fJiLuiRQBXOsED_FiLwlcsi7LlWs6q2W0UZs7H97jH_10rx2SdDvy9tfPXYdKC1s-DNXOdgSS3FEYPsDR4tqC-V_PaMl7WbLIdHu-bIov0q17UCf/s320/DSC_0050a.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320605250645037266" border="0" /></a><br /><br />After dumping our stuff we sought out to explore the city, we walked around the city and saw some of the sights. We took a lonely planet walking tour around our vicinity, the highlight of which was a really neat Hindu temple for Haruman the Moneky God. It was painted a really striking orange and had great views of the surroundings. We took a path different than the one recommended by walking tour (which basically just backtracked, which turned out much more pleasant).<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJY8DnDjEGr5lh8FoqYkkuJcd2iopRdcqiHOqQ7x7DrxNV465y3fL6UAcKL_pBjy5-mJqTo7fEKjDYnJFDiqifi7lndcZ_iOju9q_dt5i4JIXfSworr9d8Ys8P1_ly3VMW52XszacTyvJi/s1600-h/DSC_0010a.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJY8DnDjEGr5lh8FoqYkkuJcd2iopRdcqiHOqQ7x7DrxNV465y3fL6UAcKL_pBjy5-mJqTo7fEKjDYnJFDiqifi7lndcZ_iOju9q_dt5i4JIXfSworr9d8Ys8P1_ly3VMW52XszacTyvJi/s320/DSC_0010a.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320601695278604834" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtEcWenMbUW53MG20bEr5bDrmHbKmxV29S3anPD37lm5W4OFsCM1JbD9eqSqSLIKv-kxAIYRlOCw1TjUosMXXL5YpoVVDPpJ729Tz2KLDTx5Z4zflUEm2v1URNcQ_cJcguUpzo6DuHkrRf/s1600-h/DSC_0011a.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtEcWenMbUW53MG20bEr5bDrmHbKmxV29S3anPD37lm5W4OFsCM1JbD9eqSqSLIKv-kxAIYRlOCw1TjUosMXXL5YpoVVDPpJ729Tz2KLDTx5Z4zflUEm2v1URNcQ_cJcguUpzo6DuHkrRf/s320/DSC_0011a.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320608885133101618" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHHqsI_pQj4i_4oBP2djwuvgdgktzInkMzilWtqUjXdj6RFv_LEA0ufsmg7ht5qE7n32H2Kxo8jvKkSNTQZ4V-m6pkNVcwOYrkj94Nto_y5xdJ5gD2J11o4K6swJikRWJnWzaIzYYvW7cl/s1600-h/DSC_0020b.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHHqsI_pQj4i_4oBP2djwuvgdgktzInkMzilWtqUjXdj6RFv_LEA0ufsmg7ht5qE7n32H2Kxo8jvKkSNTQZ4V-m6pkNVcwOYrkj94Nto_y5xdJ5gD2J11o4K6swJikRWJnWzaIzYYvW7cl/s320/DSC_0020b.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320601690943996018" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihYWBadA3rPNgLihRFpbmK-tr0mUp1lzFKX0qN07aRqpxeMh2fzlhtYN-7_6WeDQGy1h3elvzo69_AcOlYu5t4zmSjCZiExEHdQU_8lWK45YOvDasHVUthjV_PT8ZGdZs74YzPtLgp-69h/s1600-h/DSC_0025a.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihYWBadA3rPNgLihRFpbmK-tr0mUp1lzFKX0qN07aRqpxeMh2fzlhtYN-7_6WeDQGy1h3elvzo69_AcOlYu5t4zmSjCZiExEHdQU_8lWK45YOvDasHVUthjV_PT8ZGdZs74YzPtLgp-69h/s320/DSC_0025a.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320601700562152978" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlkeQy68sqNNNvlHghwxMUAqiLdo3vzoZZfgOs9vzrESZW4oC5s7w7Qi4O0kZ19i-xeAN-rwvREqweezX4Qrl9gtuvoF9RnCpCCOFb_HA0cZYBE8EUZwqZDwzIAwQPqAa3JQuHa-Oncz7x/s1600-h/DSC_0023a.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlkeQy68sqNNNvlHghwxMUAqiLdo3vzoZZfgOs9vzrESZW4oC5s7w7Qi4O0kZ19i-xeAN-rwvREqweezX4Qrl9gtuvoF9RnCpCCOFb_HA0cZYBE8EUZwqZDwzIAwQPqAa3JQuHa-Oncz7x/s320/DSC_0023a.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320611705226084226" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKKM__nKdolGZdj741w3ANm3-G0f085Cm2Nf14pwR-kr8apCqJppGe8AGjYb218u0W-kuvlviZEqzezSqJ_9RW8afIAYvgBkpu0rb2EDbx3EA2sxXy-n00Ulmc1bkZIIDQEz2rJN5turLb/s1600-h/DSC_0026a.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKKM__nKdolGZdj741w3ANm3-G0f085Cm2Nf14pwR-kr8apCqJppGe8AGjYb218u0W-kuvlviZEqzezSqJ_9RW8afIAYvgBkpu0rb2EDbx3EA2sxXy-n00Ulmc1bkZIIDQEz2rJN5turLb/s320/DSC_0026a.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320611706904947522" border="0" /></a><br /><br />After the tour we went to the waterfront to see if we could get a sunset cruise, but we had just missed it. The other cruises were dark cruises which would have been pretty lame we thought. We had a good laugh at a car rental named Joey's that had a picture of a Lambourgini Diablo on the sign and offering tata's and toyota's in front of it. There was also a place offering dolpin cruises, with a guarantee to see dolphin's. This is when we started saying everything came with a "Joey guarantee" using terrible Italian accidents - this lasted the entire trip.<br /><br />The city itself was pretty similar to Cochi all around, but not as big, but with a much more developed waterfront for tourism (relatively speaking). While walking along we began to get solicitations from men for massages which are very popular here. Unfortunately they are only performed by men, Jed had got one in Kerala and said it was the gayest experience of his life.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD5tUAmf0EuNAzcBaLlFroSwmxth7yrL_xfJISPtobuxd-oEXZKOrPe14Q5C4jCoo2zc0uJa_rl4zaHANr2ZnF02kBYl5ONernZsVjWQCFscr8whdwpjHuCSDeUy1XNpXfU4gzbMUQL_fl/s1600-h/DSC_0040a.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD5tUAmf0EuNAzcBaLlFroSwmxth7yrL_xfJISPtobuxd-oEXZKOrPe14Q5C4jCoo2zc0uJa_rl4zaHANr2ZnF02kBYl5ONernZsVjWQCFscr8whdwpjHuCSDeUy1XNpXfU4gzbMUQL_fl/s320/DSC_0040a.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320611688151688434" border="0" /></a><br />(Latest in technology :P)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh18EIk5rxT0TNLgAOeKaLxRY41BsuREPluGhlSC55ik_4HJy8loS05QMEqR-p0ZTjsFmtc41cHEQcZfo0L8XAdj3NNEl0a84HGKBuqmxYnicmlDfBbGEgr9TlX1ChjwY5lSh5kYpAnWJI-/s1600-h/DSC_0038a.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh18EIk5rxT0TNLgAOeKaLxRY41BsuREPluGhlSC55ik_4HJy8loS05QMEqR-p0ZTjsFmtc41cHEQcZfo0L8XAdj3NNEl0a84HGKBuqmxYnicmlDfBbGEgr9TlX1ChjwY5lSh5kYpAnWJI-/s320/DSC_0038a.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320608880109671986" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6DCxgnWdPpYONMwpyLBJjZ5ZFdiiKm28_h91W4jUWMSdmUNn3rkXziAVXeUN2nCUlkakA7rYSlu_VsJqr8k1eKqBw5OWmtpveLWY5jxldWYVOaVJJjjnJbo1wDkAJZco_DobYOOGXWtPg/s1600-h/DSC_0035a.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6DCxgnWdPpYONMwpyLBJjZ5ZFdiiKm28_h91W4jUWMSdmUNn3rkXziAVXeUN2nCUlkakA7rYSlu_VsJqr8k1eKqBw5OWmtpveLWY5jxldWYVOaVJJjjnJbo1wDkAJZco_DobYOOGXWtPg/s320/DSC_0035a.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320608890211954546" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe4lmaChgAM6z-yPknj91yogPr2l10Y2EiBYzqdOlBm5RthD9QzkhKcVNAW1qdBBH41rWWCd1VjvRM74865JV1_jRHC6wLhHeJ8qRx3QE4SB3QJJlktkIUyllA_zrtYblP6nZVG5ZUf1AI/s1600-h/DSC_0033a.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe4lmaChgAM6z-yPknj91yogPr2l10Y2EiBYzqdOlBm5RthD9QzkhKcVNAW1qdBBH41rWWCd1VjvRM74865JV1_jRHC6wLhHeJ8qRx3QE4SB3QJJlktkIUyllA_zrtYblP6nZVG5ZUf1AI/s320/DSC_0033a.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320608875720530450" border="0" /></a><br /><br />After walking along the water we meandered through the city as the sun set, coming across the church again at night which was cooly lit with some neon.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXw1NmUJcvgd-i0_uI-rM9bSgrIW4wFVYrm0fCsY9IG2u7-B5RLO_u3m7fINkTA1rU9sacMoK1bKPtJ8C9gRi7vVWsThXo-1Nc3ZwJPQNv-r2bcJjUhO8vtKwrjF9MAeGsvmsbqjfKdc4s/s1600-h/DSC_0043a.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXw1NmUJcvgd-i0_uI-rM9bSgrIW4wFVYrm0fCsY9IG2u7-B5RLO_u3m7fINkTA1rU9sacMoK1bKPtJ8C9gRi7vVWsThXo-1Nc3ZwJPQNv-r2bcJjUhO8vtKwrjF9MAeGsvmsbqjfKdc4s/s320/DSC_0043a.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320605270530182370" border="0" /></a><br /><br />We chose an authenitc Goan Portugese restaurant for dinner that came highly recommended to grab some dinner. The food was very good - Jed and I shared a fish dish and a chicken dish, but we went with a cheap Indian wine to go with it which was just god-awfully the worst I had ever had (Grape Juice + Grain Alcohol + Liberal Serving of Sugar).<br /><br />After dinner we went to a little bar down near the big church. We initially sat downstairs, but were told there was an AC section upstairs which turned out to be both gloriously cold and empty. After a few rounds of Kingfishers we stumbled back to our hotel ahead of our curfew of 11:00 and drank a bit more in our room, we had planned to play some cards but we were too drunk to get our crap together and we passed out sometime around 12:00.<br /><br />After a quick hair wash in the shower (while someone else went to the bathroom just over the stall). We got our crap together and wandered the city to grab some breakfast and find a taxi to Old Goa and Anjuna. Wandering the streets at 8:30 we found nothing was opened but we did walk through a bollywood movie scene.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyZDDWKhfTHVGjmLojF5cYAETClC3SzDCH9Z4e8UbHRmSOZdkB2s1pCEhHsGjAoFVD3YY4hXiQqcYG0gdvdBbqXL5nkt2T_lXm39akVodv0eo_gtDQVCSmvjdHhG6elZXQm5XxmQ3MOXcZ/s1600-h/DSC_0056a.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyZDDWKhfTHVGjmLojF5cYAETClC3SzDCH9Z4e8UbHRmSOZdkB2s1pCEhHsGjAoFVD3YY4hXiQqcYG0gdvdBbqXL5nkt2T_lXm39akVodv0eo_gtDQVCSmvjdHhG6elZXQm5XxmQ3MOXcZ/s320/DSC_0056a.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320608878107396098" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtWT08BjEcYNpyMS0eJzhtNCL0CBhpBQ57UOB3ybAHYGG2H9HENJekKCh8x0hKxyjq6wjNdofQiCd69XCM5RuhRb0nKX7yEcX4DNpfc0KQsWgEkdc3C1KLyVzz8lmJgj25j2EPxZ4jijZt/s1600-h/DSC_0058a.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtWT08BjEcYNpyMS0eJzhtNCL0CBhpBQ57UOB3ybAHYGG2H9HENJekKCh8x0hKxyjq6wjNdofQiCd69XCM5RuhRb0nKX7yEcX4DNpfc0KQsWgEkdc3C1KLyVzz8lmJgj25j2EPxZ4jijZt/s320/DSC_0058a.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320605263826936930" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEGwQVS-X9rD3O89erDD8ATvQPUJ-0UOF0gJxAIoG6K8PBunXKIN8Eo2yYzYiOD5xVNNDSdCbr8oFtZVOs0IqFfWZhV1wnhRUu1ExcXMr5akh8uWFnXm0mPb3OQe9dy1L-GdwudrVDB9mC/s1600-h/DSC_0053a.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEGwQVS-X9rD3O89erDD8ATvQPUJ-0UOF0gJxAIoG6K8PBunXKIN8Eo2yYzYiOD5xVNNDSdCbr8oFtZVOs0IqFfWZhV1wnhRUu1ExcXMr5akh8uWFnXm0mPb3OQe9dy1L-GdwudrVDB9mC/s320/DSC_0053a.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320611693013452834" border="0" /></a><br /><br />We also started negotiating with taxi drivers and we let Jed work his magic, working the price down from 1100 RS to 600 RS for a drive to old goa, a 2 hour wait (!) and THEN a drive to Anjuna beach. Oh and he would wait while we ate breakfast at Cafe Coffee Day. The CCD guys let us in befire official open and were pretty cool about getting us whatever we wanted even if they hadn't put it out yet. After two chocolate fudge muffins, a water and a lemon iced-tea I was good to go.<br /><br />We said goodbye to Panjim and left with our driver to Old Goa.Rankine-Filehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02300130357063504686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3049706704916430630.post-90187353646706879612009-04-03T15:28:00.001-07:002009-04-03T15:32:54.550-07:00Last WeekAfter getting back from Kerala Scott and I were right back in the think of things at ISB as we had a ton of assignments to do. Our biggest concern though was the not the amount of work, but rather the fact that we had all these team assignments due throughout the week. Thus far the teamwork at ISB it just not in the same league at all in terms of effectiveness as Queens, mainly a factor of the fact that there is no lead/second structure. After sufferring through this week I got a great appreciation for how good the Queen's program is in the respect, and what a differentiator this will be in the workplace.<br /><br />Without the lead the decisions are made very ad hoc with little or no planning. Research is done individually as is writing and people don't necessarily come to the same conclusion. For our international marketing final assignment Scott and I had to basically become lead and second on it for the thing to not be an all-nighter session the day before it was due (which is apparently the normal thing here).<br /><br />As far as the other team member's contributions, grammar wasn't as big a problem as I would suspect, while the actual content was somewhat lacking, another symptom of people just not caring at this point too much. Scott and I for instance were the only ones who really did any in-depth research and had references for our points and pulled in course concepts and readings, while others tended to just write some pretty straight-forward filler material or describe marketing concepts. We were able to get the thing into pretty decent shape through a last night team meeting and ended up getting an above average mark. Managing strategic partnerships was a similar deal, except we were better organized at first. The thing went off the with the content and the consolidation. Again, people did not point out links to the readings, or to course concepts (except for me and Scott :P), the consolidation turned into a disaster when the lead consolidator left campus the day it was due after doing a consolidation that consisted of cutting and pasting everything into one big document twice as long as the professor said was the maximum, and her backup went into town until 11:30PM (due at 11:59PM). Again I had to do a little intervention despite having another assignment due the next day and consolidated the whole thing properly, spiffed it up, added a few minor things etc. we ended up getting over an 80 but we were just behind the class average. My final assignment for greent technology and sustainable enterprise was with two other exchange students (from Wharton and Thunderbird) and this went MUCH more smoothly. We all did research, we all added points relevant to the class etc. and we got the highest mark in the class. I had done the final consolidation and spiffed it up a little - while traveling with Jed, the Wharton student, he asked who did the formatting since it looked totally professional. :P<br /><br />My last assignment/exam was just a two person assignment with my fried Sunil. After laying out the expectations we were able to work really effective together and got a great score.<br /><br />With regards to some of the team dynamics I learned later from a colleague there that a lot of what I witnessed is not indicative of the program during the peak time before recruiting. At this point everyone is burned out and grades don't really matter so there is less incentive. While true, I think the lack of an effective structure of lead/second makes a complete collapse<br /><br />And with that the academics were done and we were off to Goa!Rankine-Filehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02300130357063504686noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3049706704916430630.post-24759958461935495432009-04-01T08:44:00.000-07:002009-04-03T15:26:06.960-07:00Kerala Part 2Better late than never here is part two of our Kerala trip (the remaining entries are mostly written, I just need to add photos and polish them over the next two days).<br /><br />I woke up in my luxurious room the sound of the engines starting up as we began our travel back, apparently both Scott and I slept in past the 8:00AM breakfast time we had told them and they didn't want to disturb us.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh25RcifmQbNeq2NAUGEfjKlFm4lhzQ2jrqjhnIio4LqnGg-cmMJiPE14P3lKphdbRbRdNAk12U4oTyHajey3EGUSvl_rRpf_vXRRAo9DeucYjX6CnFppghXd0QNxeIGT1wJVnHrBbxH7UY/s1600-h/DSC_0466.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh25RcifmQbNeq2NAUGEfjKlFm4lhzQ2jrqjhnIio4LqnGg-cmMJiPE14P3lKphdbRbRdNAk12U4oTyHajey3EGUSvl_rRpf_vXRRAo9DeucYjX6CnFppghXd0QNxeIGT1wJVnHrBbxH7UY/s320/DSC_0466.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320090472846265890" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The ride back was leisurely and we had another great meal for breakfast as the world past by. They almost had to drag me kicking and screaming when we got to port, but I decided not to make a scene. I will be doing this again though - soon.<br /><br />We arranged a cab through the booking place, and while we waited I went back to that same house along the water where I hadn't been able to give the girl the pen the first day at first I thought I wouldn't see, but on my way back to the dock I saw here with her mother as she walked past, almost not even making eye - she snatched it right out of my hand as if to say "you should have given me one in the first place." :P<span style="font-style: italic;"></span><br /><br />We decided it made the most sense to go back to the same hotel we were in on the Thursday, no problem again doing points and cash. We looked at what to do that day and the next and realized it was a little too late to do a full day tour of Cochin, so we decided to instead just drive in with a taxi later that afternoon and do a big trip the next day. The specific trip we chose was day trip for Sunday feeding the elephants: "After a lesson explaining the nature of the these beautiful creatures you will get to bathe and feed them" more on that later. :P<br /><br />With the afternoon to just chill out we decided to do a little pool and swim up bar action. We had the whole things to ourselves, then met a cool guy Anthony from England who was there on business.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU3mlWtBlrNVjXKmkW-V5s14A3Ax8VyeYtW0Xr5FdiNSDFPXkgOeOWcI9TD9NsMy2ODhI6R1uyhiO0V7R-us93pofNrwVxW_LBnMfKf-tvEZb7yDt235Z3d_LDMjdxmx1jrE9uz8fjyp8Q/s1600-h/DSC_0476.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU3mlWtBlrNVjXKmkW-V5s14A3Ax8VyeYtW0Xr5FdiNSDFPXkgOeOWcI9TD9NsMy2ODhI6R1uyhiO0V7R-us93pofNrwVxW_LBnMfKf-tvEZb7yDt235Z3d_LDMjdxmx1jrE9uz8fjyp8Q/s320/DSC_0476.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320090477776709250" border="0" /> </a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWu0cepG_hIOcPxPz7R5in37fS_4T6ORNO72qixvWc9TLisAn-ZPXlupgxTEoPB9dPOBhOwr17ZDFTUkofJIyRdSrELi_aWR4FcfIg_AidNldzgXjDH9thZCZS1HlFiERI70Pf1Lful0_f/s1600-h/DSC_0478.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWu0cepG_hIOcPxPz7R5in37fS_4T6ORNO72qixvWc9TLisAn-ZPXlupgxTEoPB9dPOBhOwr17ZDFTUkofJIyRdSrELi_aWR4FcfIg_AidNldzgXjDH9thZCZS1HlFiERI70Pf1Lful0_f/s320/DSC_0478.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320090482704173858" border="0" /></a><br /><br />We invited him with us to go see Cochin, so after a little chilling out upstairs we went into the city to check out some of the sights, unfortunately most things were closed so it was a little bit of a write off. The Chinese nets were neat, as was the beach,, but nothing was happening, the Fish is sold literally 15 feet from where they catch it which is crazy.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhTkExbUHt5clZ3K2rDbt4PNKHg9TCb0xl28a7RQVQ4xHaLL65gbn1v8v7p70RbbVGb4NG9nOH5ZYaYgZByikXEm2heXUeJmLGWUnUL2l4JJ17tLBC-pqDJJS3NuhdNKbu44mBUrE-KdR0/s1600-h/DSC_0492.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhTkExbUHt5clZ3K2rDbt4PNKHg9TCb0xl28a7RQVQ4xHaLL65gbn1v8v7p70RbbVGb4NG9nOH5ZYaYgZByikXEm2heXUeJmLGWUnUL2l4JJ17tLBC-pqDJJS3NuhdNKbu44mBUrE-KdR0/s320/DSC_0492.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320091681908665506" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsGgsbiqaSX3AdhBdwY29pzE9gc0aPfYelIUPiJJjRn9CwC6-Id0vZHEOX3xW61WgJiz1NjMdjQYF4BjQsfg_RonHmz1Z4FYE8rA9Th3csjUHy8nwzKJybvq1ArSVexaK1SyAdrpIf4mGM/s1600-h/DSC_0496.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsGgsbiqaSX3AdhBdwY29pzE9gc0aPfYelIUPiJJjRn9CwC6-Id0vZHEOX3xW61WgJiz1NjMdjQYF4BjQsfg_RonHmz1Z4FYE8rA9Th3csjUHy8nwzKJybvq1ArSVexaK1SyAdrpIf4mGM/s320/DSC_0496.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320091698474851826" border="0" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX-09XYoeTPRvnmoaYVFJ8RX9dttIyv-Qb2XzyeGy-gdO7HRWl4hmRK0fDTD-z3bgI_wGKBbaUfQ_v-x5p8C_YFkcaA01bVD1aYlb13niiyeXW2SYfdpEwMs8okXK98bAHyd6N8VOuRDYL/s1600-h/DSC_0498.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX-09XYoeTPRvnmoaYVFJ8RX9dttIyv-Qb2XzyeGy-gdO7HRWl4hmRK0fDTD-z3bgI_wGKBbaUfQ_v-x5p8C_YFkcaA01bVD1aYlb13niiyeXW2SYfdpEwMs8okXK98bAHyd6N8VOuRDYL/s320/DSC_0498.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320091691608549074" border="0" /></a><br /><br />When we asked out taxi driver if there was anything else that was good to see our guide/taxi guy wasn't too helpful since he didn't speak English very well, then he brought over another guy who also didn't speak English to translate so that didn't work out to well. :P<br /><br />We decided to head back to the hotel and have a few drinks and dinner. On the way back though we saw some of the REALLY back streets of Cochin including "Jew Street" (that is literally its name), and some crazy patchwork illegal electricity wires going EVERYWHERE.<br /><br />After a few drinks in the bar we had dinner at the hotel was a very solid gourmet buffet. Although a disco option was floated we called it a pretty early night and since we had the elephants the next day.<br /><br />The trip out to the elephants was pretty uneventful, except our guide / taxi driver didn't have a F*ing clue where to go or what was going on (he also had pretty poor English skills which is weird because the whole hotel caters to western tourists).<br /><br />We stopped for a little mango drink in a country house which was nice, but no one explained was was going on or happening next. Then we left and headed towards we assumed, the Elephants.<br /><br /><br /><br />The Elephants thing was pretty kick ass (with some caveats). We were led down this steep-ish path to a pretty cool ravine that was pretty rocky with sporatic water. Never really seen terrain like it before - you could walk anywhere without getting wet pretty much if you were strategic, but there was tons of running water.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSUKXHBou7qYPijVadG3JBMJ2-TJXyln2Oxmn7FfrWkkC9jQ5Wjl3Mzj3SWGTyjtJ1sRt0EP8kZrBjyz1e6ljGTWTEApMOrvpH836BgwrGYJMuZvS8R2IbD0y3p6gozUgFkKges3LHmmOf/s1600-h/DSC_0538.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSUKXHBou7qYPijVadG3JBMJ2-TJXyln2Oxmn7FfrWkkC9jQ5Wjl3Mzj3SWGTyjtJ1sRt0EP8kZrBjyz1e6ljGTWTEApMOrvpH836BgwrGYJMuZvS8R2IbD0y3p6gozUgFkKges3LHmmOf/s320/DSC_0538.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320587021290396050" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />Scott and I sat around as these dudes cleaned all the elephants and no one is telling us anything about the elephants and what they are about etc. in fact NO ONE is talking at all, and what little talking is happening is among the cleaners in Malayalam I think.<br /><br />We saw other guides encouraging their people to clean the elephants (The elephants get scrubbed with the husk of a coconut) and some of them where cleaning this HUGE bull.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrWym07e8BmAQRjQftyM6kpo4HLsxR43dILHC2sDnDUU4YfqtYdaTqpBHfdfm564nZzA20FqI2fPVX2vD6vQC3EQSSzi-uit2nedM-vDsE0hGBl_kkyTe4eM4HiTRVa46Zf6lVTjoOtZbw/s1600-h/DSC_0514.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrWym07e8BmAQRjQftyM6kpo4HLsxR43dILHC2sDnDUU4YfqtYdaTqpBHfdfm564nZzA20FqI2fPVX2vD6vQC3EQSSzi-uit2nedM-vDsE0hGBl_kkyTe4eM4HiTRVa46Zf6lVTjoOtZbw/s320/DSC_0514.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320589799210591858" border="0" /></a><br /><br />There were also these guys in front of us cleaning a medium-sized dude, and two more cleaning a baby. The guys cleaning the elephant were trying to get it to lie down in the water, but he kept refusing so they started whipping its legs. They also used this crazy hook stick that applies pressure - FYI this a NATURE RESERVE. I felt REALLY uncomfortable and could just imagine what Claire Smith would have done. We decided to over to the baby who was proving to be less troublesome.<br /><br />The big bull made a call and it was so loud it shook the whole valley, then the baby answered - crazy!!<br /><br />After carefully making our way over to the baby we got in close and I asked if I could help clean it, they gave me a rhind and I started helping. The skin is SUPER tough and there are these sparse very course hairs on the elephants head and back, kinda like Jeff Goldblum gets in the fly. While the baby was on its side in the water it used its trunk as a snorkel . :P<br /><br />He also tickled Scott's feet with it when it was his turn.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS1DOPt0AidhD-7ydQHwc82-RGETbS3nMbrqTqzDVw3yEjXH3Fb3xcHQQhE1IBMAL2c7f2mgOtHBlSfVn2pGRzKqnAMgStfmEpaZP9K23OTAjVgRGJbQx04HPijUeMNiQbjAViFnHIzVke/s1600-h/DSC_0547.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS1DOPt0AidhD-7ydQHwc82-RGETbS3nMbrqTqzDVw3yEjXH3Fb3xcHQQhE1IBMAL2c7f2mgOtHBlSfVn2pGRzKqnAMgStfmEpaZP9K23OTAjVgRGJbQx04HPijUeMNiQbjAViFnHIzVke/s320/DSC_0547.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320589822195541650" border="0" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDmwu0AWXN0K3GcRgSs70AK7qD3iZ43tfBKJqnmCDjI0KID8-GeyUalAUYprh1MLvTxi5gODd2AKPDdufM4ymwMb2SeR0r-An66N44Nx04TAnLU6onN_ivTCt3RlldcKVM4TszVWn0h5wY/s1600-h/DSC_0522.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDmwu0AWXN0K3GcRgSs70AK7qD3iZ43tfBKJqnmCDjI0KID8-GeyUalAUYprh1MLvTxi5gODd2AKPDdufM4ymwMb2SeR0r-An66N44Nx04TAnLU6onN_ivTCt3RlldcKVM4TszVWn0h5wY/s320/DSC_0522.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320589814132330770" border="0" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLw4TQUUUt6-wu9jLPyxBU_vz0QnzG84sBLPNq01CQpvO_JmS0Np1pDKG7XokSStGgoiuGjlvDg3u3YulUHPIwsNSu0RwflR6iLIGkfcC9iSVnHPqUfu4vO3PAnsEE13dUa_DpvQbPUKe3/s1600-h/DSC_0550.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLw4TQUUUt6-wu9jLPyxBU_vz0QnzG84sBLPNq01CQpvO_JmS0Np1pDKG7XokSStGgoiuGjlvDg3u3YulUHPIwsNSu0RwflR6iLIGkfcC9iSVnHPqUfu4vO3PAnsEE13dUa_DpvQbPUKe3/s320/DSC_0550.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320589813450685666" border="0" /> </a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYkeCohEGgw23tylFCusQMs5bTTrA2aexus2qYJVzo_aCDJnCgPAJQcp2ryt2oqpQkOoXAk2zgcyYzt0VX73WLkuuvqXtmO7Q5e3QTEOCl4NdpDvS9_Bck6SB6yREz9FYaYgpSCNYUE4af/s1600-h/DSC_0517.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYkeCohEGgw23tylFCusQMs5bTTrA2aexus2qYJVzo_aCDJnCgPAJQcp2ryt2oqpQkOoXAk2zgcyYzt0VX73WLkuuvqXtmO7Q5e3QTEOCl4NdpDvS9_Bck6SB6yREz9FYaYgpSCNYUE4af/s320/DSC_0517.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320589801518229458" border="0" /></a><br /><br />At one point the baby took a poop in the water and the guy picked it up and threw it - it was the size and colour of a whole cabbage. :O<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfF9YuxypyDDcfrUKqrnbZMUlqxeAouqnd9T-DJf8UOfrIWlaWf-4-Mjn7i0rHczNRPACVg2eG_cFGcQOOf810bvT4qzzLHYLZz77Ef7Wih_YYOeC9xioO8L9IHRHL_674uQtjufVcSCKF/s1600-h/DSC_0541.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfF9YuxypyDDcfrUKqrnbZMUlqxeAouqnd9T-DJf8UOfrIWlaWf-4-Mjn7i0rHczNRPACVg2eG_cFGcQOOf810bvT4qzzLHYLZz77Ef7Wih_YYOeC9xioO8L9IHRHL_674uQtjufVcSCKF/s320/DSC_0541.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320594584394810434" border="0" /></a><br /><br />We made our way over to the big bull who was now getting up and spraying himself etc. We were able to pose with it for photos and touch it. Soon after the elephants all started getting collected and we went up the hill again. Halfway up we were given the chance to feed them bananas - almost entire bunches (but the bananas were about 1/2 size of 'normal' bananas).<br /><br />(The rest that follows was only captured on video which I still need to edit and upload)<br /><br />They grabbed them out of your hand or they would open their HUGE mouths and you could kina put it right in - their mouths serioulsy look like the Squid in the Watchmen comic. :P When they take it from your hand you can feel the power of their trunks as they wrap around your hand - very cool.<br /><br />Once we were done with the elephants we went for breakfast in a local country house, the food was pretty much off the reservation, and what I tried I liked, but I was pretty wary especially with the water which had tape over the cap. Our very cordial host tried to get us to eat boiled bananas since it was good for our stomach - both Scott and I were skeptical, but I gave it a dry.<br /><br />After our lunch/brunch we were taken to what was supposed to be a museum, but is really a zoo, and the saddest most horrible zoo I have ever seen in my life. All the cages were the same size pretty much no matter what animal: monkey, eagle, or wild cat, and there were WAY too many animals in each cage for the most part. On top of it they were living in their own faeces in a lot of cases. It was just really not good at all. Besides the cages they also had some deer, and for maybe a 100 foot by 40 foot pad they had a good 25 of them, so strange compared to what I am used to.<br /><br />There was one little monkey baby we nicknamed gollum because he looked EXACTLY like gollum that was so small and tiny that he could fit through the cage bars, the only thing keeping him in was the firm grip him mom had on him and his own fear presumably.<br /><br />Neither Scott nor I felt wanted to stick around too long so we left after maybe 10 mins. We then had some confusion with our driver whether that was it for the elephants, I though maybe we were supposed to get a ride, what followed was a comedy of misunderstanding with our driver who couldn't understand us. When he wanted us to pay him to do it I think he was trying to just be helpful since he asked for the same price as was posted on the board, but because we are not familiar or comfortable with middle-men deals (and wary of rip-offs) we decided to just get out of there.<br /><br />We went back to the room and decided to watch 15 mins of the battlestar gallactica finale we had gotten, which turned into 2 1/2 hours of course. Scotty had a nap while I chilled and then we flew back to Hyderabad for the last week of school.Rankine-Filehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02300130357063504686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3049706704916430630.post-86307741557263191232009-03-31T22:30:00.000-07:002009-03-31T22:33:53.873-07:00¡ʎɐp sןooɟ ןıɹdɐ ʎddɐɥ<span style="font-family: arial;">˙sǝʇɐpdn ƃuıpuǝd ʎɯ ןןɐ ǝʇıɹʍ puɐ uʍop ʇıs oʇ ǝɯıʇ ǝɯos ʇǝƃ ןןıʍ ı ʎןןnɟǝdoɥ 's,ı ƃuıʇʇop puɐ s,ʇ ƃuıssoɹɔ 'pɐqɐɹǝpʎɥ uı ʎɐp ʇsɐן ʎɯ sı ʎɐpoʇ</span>Rankine-Filehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02300130357063504686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3049706704916430630.post-5600606915048166842009-03-30T06:32:00.000-07:002009-03-30T06:36:02.973-07:00Goa by motorcycleScott and I are in agreement that riding motorcycles through the hills, the towns and the beaches of Goa is probably the most kickass thing either of us has done.<br /><br />Tonight, riding back home full throttle past paddy fields with the sunsetting was too cool. :)Rankine-Filehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02300130357063504686noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3049706704916430630.post-35742564888793800782009-03-29T11:15:00.000-07:002009-03-29T11:23:38.131-07:00Quick UpdateSo I am done with classes at ISB (and probably my MBA since the Sales and Marketing class at Queen's looks like more work than I feel like taking on right now). :D<br /><br />The last week was a bit of a blur with 5 assignments and exams in 5 days. Things were a little hectic but I got through it. The toughest thing was adjusting to the team working style here which is quite different - this was also compliciated by the fact that most people here are relatively checked out mentally regarding clases since it is their last term, and people are frustrated and worried about the recruiting process.<br /><br />Yesterday after I submitted my final exam in Strategic Innovation I went to Goa with Scott and another exchange student named Jed who is from Wharton. We stayed in a hotel in Panjim that cost us $3 each so you can imagine how shitty it was. :P<br /><br />today we moved to Anjuna beach, where we stay for three days, which is pretty sweet thus far.<br /><br />I'll give a more full update on the last two weeks, including pics, once I am back at ISB Wednesday before I fly back.<br /><br />Can't wait to get home (but enjoying a well-earned vacation). :)Rankine-Filehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02300130357063504686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3049706704916430630.post-63096331808827532552009-03-22T10:57:00.000-07:002009-03-23T20:16:31.518-07:00Kerala Part 1 of 2So I am going to do a quick post about Kerala that I partly wrote on Thursday and Friday. The second part will probably come later in the week since I am about to enter the week of DOOM. I have 4 assignments due in 4 days and then an exam on Friday. :O FYI I have much better videos than stills of everything but I seriously don't have time to do any video editing right now.<br /><br />So without further ado, Kerala:<br /><br />Scott and I planned out a trip to Kerala this weekend, the plan was a little thrown together but we knew we wanted to do the backwaters and see a little bit around Cochin. The trip to Cochin was pretty uneventful, security was a little tighter than back home, but nothing ridiculous, like most places if you are from North America and you look like you know what you are doing you can get away with anything. One strange thing is that you can't enter the airport without a boarding pass - in the era of e-tickets its kind of a pain, you need to go to a little bulet proof-glass window and semi check-in.<br /><br />Since security was easier than expected we chilled out in an airport bar and had a few Kingfishers - nice and frosty and a great way to start the weekend.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIa4Z-IfLSvYleLeqveQnhvAExosPayQr8PGPqn5ZBGiiZfRnaeD_iXLfmI9PJOZ-eURWZ5R2SXd3pBbobSQxfefbR22R27h2Ln_BSEcI2bvQvGHZKYs225W-J6Cu0eMyLsySwok6QPEkI/s1600-h/DSC_0329.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIa4Z-IfLSvYleLeqveQnhvAExosPayQr8PGPqn5ZBGiiZfRnaeD_iXLfmI9PJOZ-eURWZ5R2SXd3pBbobSQxfefbR22R27h2Ln_BSEcI2bvQvGHZKYs225W-J6Cu0eMyLsySwok6QPEkI/s320/DSC_0329.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316428690502332498" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The flight was quick - just over an hour and we were there. Only item of note on the flight is that there were a few Caucasian toddlers on the plane which made me miss Daniel. :(<br /><br />Using my left-over starwood points from consulting we booked a room for Le Meridian in Cochin for Friday night. We had a boat booked for the backwaters on Friday and we were going to figure out the rest of the weekend ad hoc.<br /><br />The service at the hotel was amazing (except for the travel desk as outlined below) and the room was nice<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG73RBySkBo84ASGAuL5LLsxRV21knUfoQrOmKOp7PiDAXooC-Z23TcdcDjxOwMpwpLdyruIXAXTOSOdLKEaSBhkMhtWO8rgp3lCuao9GdxGLgqvG2e6q_UQMSWGcXIrBOVr6K7Dpoj-Rt/s1600-h/DSC_0484.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG73RBySkBo84ASGAuL5LLsxRV21knUfoQrOmKOp7PiDAXooC-Z23TcdcDjxOwMpwpLdyruIXAXTOSOdLKEaSBhkMhtWO8rgp3lCuao9GdxGLgqvG2e6q_UQMSWGcXIrBOVr6K7Dpoj-Rt/s320/DSC_0484.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316429584523671170" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeMjgJb2eKnirCF_XjLKscegIiw1EKF8Xcr7nSX7z5EfVLqOJjb6MByDIJJPZJx3-4ul17M6bbkvcNzMv7tqxUIdWEnTtzEl4QTfC2OmHNw4R0zKqwBE_I0aKZ_LnM2I_mqIuVgNDadLll/s1600-h/DSC_0479.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeMjgJb2eKnirCF_XjLKscegIiw1EKF8Xcr7nSX7z5EfVLqOJjb6MByDIJJPZJx3-4ul17M6bbkvcNzMv7tqxUIdWEnTtzEl4QTfC2OmHNw4R0zKqwBE_I0aKZ_LnM2I_mqIuVgNDadLll/s320/DSC_0479.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316429596614920066" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">The view from our room - Scotty and I hit the swim up bar on the Sunday.</span><br /><br />After checking in and sorting out some troubles with the reservation we went for some food; Scott hot the lobster bisque and a palliata pasta with crab meat. I got a tasty thai specialty of fried fish in a brown sauce with rice. The s was impeccable - the guy actual would spoon more on to my plate every few minutes unprompted.<br /><br />We needed to book a taxi for the next day to the back water boat cruise we were going to take. The setup itself was sketchy, it was through an acquaintance at ISB. We had the contact person Eve's email address and phone number, she gave us directions that we were supposed to go to Aleppi and then call a phone number and then this dude would pick us up and drive us to the boat cruise 8km away, Scott and I though for sure we would be killed. :P<br /><br />Anyways we needed to figure out HOW to get Aleppi so we talked to the travel desk which books all the hotel taxis. Essentially they tried to screw us over with a quote of 3500 rupees which is the equivalent of nearly $100, so we told him that was ridiculous and that it was only 1 1/2 hours away and that the cab from the airport (which is 1/2 an hour away) was only 600 rupees. When we complained he said he would give us a 10% discount, which we said wasn't nearly enough. We then asked what other options there were. Apparently there is a bus that goes directly to Aleppi and it leaves from right outside the hotel, we asked how much: 35 rupees (!). "So the bus is 100 times less expensive than a cab?" "Yes". It turned out though that the bus is not air condtioned and the thought of being in the Kerala humidity stacked to the rafters for 90 minutes did not seem appealing. That compounded with the fact that we needed a phone to call our mystery contact made that choice more difficult. After some chatting with another dude the guy came back and said they could get us a 'small' car with AC for 2100 rupees. Scott thought it was a lot but it works out to $50. I told him that we were going for 90 minutes and that I pay that much for taxi from downtown to my house at yonge/sheppard so with that perspective and the ability to use the cabbies phone we were golden. Aside: our return cab from the cruise was only 1000 rupees - this was not the last time the travel desk would screw us either - and this is in the hotel I am staying in and am a Platinum guest of. :O This was also the first of MANY times we had to barter for stuff over the course ofthe weekend - by the end I was mentally exhausted.<br /><br />After enjoying the very nice continental breakfast of the hotel complete with donuts and chocolate croissants and exquisite Indian service we took the cab the next morning to Allepi without incident - the cabbie ended up driving us right to the docks after getting directions from our contact. The actual docks are in a weird nondescript place under a bridge that you would never think to look for. When we saw the boats though we were quite excited, they were AMAZING. While waiting for our boat we walked along the built up area between the water and the rice patties. Two children walked up to us and began asking for something. I couldn't quite make it out at first, but then realized they were asking for PENS. Kerala is a VERY progressive state with a near 100% literacy rate. All the children rather than asking for money will ask foreigners for pens. We said sorrry, but then I realized that just coincidently I DID have a pen in my pocket and gave it to the boy, the girl looked very dissappointed. We had been told about the pen thing a few days before we left but we TOTALLY forgot and we both felt like total D0bags for not bringing a box of them.<br /><br />Scott and I kept on thinking that these were just showboats and we would have some clunker in the back that was rat infested or something. Instead we got THE BEST AND BIGGEST BOAT THERE.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG7ph9X_50o_KpPuQsOyKuZbCQPbnfOBez79atztwKvUnmdnKP92Qa32euVsRZKj0g0BL_L5Xr3A2cdLb_oCG0F6Hj2F88eeVPWMRjRsl6ohZr0Mpy_Pp5a7gBLwtLt6SS2n282a2ejqMf/s1600-h/DSC_0425.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG7ph9X_50o_KpPuQsOyKuZbCQPbnfOBez79atztwKvUnmdnKP92Qa32euVsRZKj0g0BL_L5Xr3A2cdLb_oCG0F6Hj2F88eeVPWMRjRsl6ohZr0Mpy_Pp5a7gBLwtLt6SS2n282a2ejqMf/s320/DSC_0425.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316430838327993170" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Ours is the one in the middle. :)</span><br /><br /><br />This thing was FANTASTIC. Two bedrooms, air conditioning in the rooms, private bathrooms EACH. A dining room and an upstairs lounge. Just SICK.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3GjbOOAU5a_nV2ey30Kzy5gXUmDDpByQmLk3kFyx0dD-5P5l3GJiHH5EoPLNRU8mCmVIadOB422KDWAQnNbSJOs6iw-P-bI3CIKEINPCleSUfrOP7inRioqefmuX4hTN5WitdYmpyuZcw/s1600-h/DSC_0428.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3GjbOOAU5a_nV2ey30Kzy5gXUmDDpByQmLk3kFyx0dD-5P5l3GJiHH5EoPLNRU8mCmVIadOB422KDWAQnNbSJOs6iw-P-bI3CIKEINPCleSUfrOP7inRioqefmuX4hTN5WitdYmpyuZcw/s320/DSC_0428.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316430857753888722" border="0" /></a><br /><br />To top it off we have a staff of four at our beck and call bringing us drinks, cooking out food, it is an opulence that I have never had before. I can get use to it. After sitting upstairs and knocking back a few Kingfishers (brought to us by one of the four staff we had serving us) we had a nice Kerala style lunch with fried fish (The WHOLE fish) with Kerala rice (which are HUGE) and a vegetable curry.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFU8P5fW4poEChPlE-_yX-4NIRTxq5QsCjYrgtRe28ynNctlgbVEYie-66Z9p58VQawBwtq905y__sysqlUmY2q36uV4OXN6UgfRgSmSl2fwlpDoQqE6hG3XMHFBKSue6Iylpt0QcGtvVS/s1600-h/DSC_0354.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFU8P5fW4poEChPlE-_yX-4NIRTxq5QsCjYrgtRe28ynNctlgbVEYie-66Z9p58VQawBwtq905y__sysqlUmY2q36uV4OXN6UgfRgSmSl2fwlpDoQqE6hG3XMHFBKSue6Iylpt0QcGtvVS/s320/DSC_0354.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316431796287664450" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKczlxWIJvJ6C0KLPlpK5aXEo-wWEcEOUgHuisKvrFZQbfYF_gLUdRViPohbaT2i0UDGuTeiaDiJtMf2MKAYt1zmU2rgmAJGZAsqufat6NejcEQxh-KAB_V4LGCIZvDpniG8A1WmlhbAmF/s1600-h/DSC_0358.JPG"> <img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKczlxWIJvJ6C0KLPlpK5aXEo-wWEcEOUgHuisKvrFZQbfYF_gLUdRViPohbaT2i0UDGuTeiaDiJtMf2MKAYt1zmU2rgmAJGZAsqufat6NejcEQxh-KAB_V4LGCIZvDpniG8A1WmlhbAmF/s320/DSC_0358.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316431810356499298" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Life is tough.</span><br /><br />After lunch we just laid back upstairs and let the world pass by, extremely relaxing and awesome.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRoTbYQ3HgW-zyw2rcfL0Yuf9x-hih_ALBv8g4QCV_5cPf6UbfhL8UE3Bi1Jg1n6zaTeEKcVzQSmn4F5C8r2TmOMfXILqz1JgKLmhl1sm4emb7Iz_8GpPjK9JwwnCn7QMd27apNH91yyvb/s1600-h/DSC_0372.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRoTbYQ3HgW-zyw2rcfL0Yuf9x-hih_ALBv8g4QCV_5cPf6UbfhL8UE3Bi1Jg1n6zaTeEKcVzQSmn4F5C8r2TmOMfXILqz1JgKLmhl1sm4emb7Iz_8GpPjK9JwwnCn7QMd27apNH91yyvb/s320/DSC_0372.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316435903221984306" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheYYQD_iYnvi0oViVnhMZt8mFAcMc7HvBS1v8mcfJ5tsDb_7aV7hxa0gLS378SX-08MMzYbLt1FEOv3aF1L-FZf0MyEi0cBct00TMrfLocoFC8Ctq8p1xxWZZj0zMPVd0VMUFJA323ctXp/s1600-h/DSC_0364.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheYYQD_iYnvi0oViVnhMZt8mFAcMc7HvBS1v8mcfJ5tsDb_7aV7hxa0gLS378SX-08MMzYbLt1FEOv3aF1L-FZf0MyEi0cBct00TMrfLocoFC8Ctq8p1xxWZZj0zMPVd0VMUFJA323ctXp/s320/DSC_0364.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316435884673267282" border="0" /></a><br /><br />After chilling upstairs we went for a backwater small boat tour. It was really surreal on the small boat, you are basically driving right past people homes and backyeards and both Scott and I felt unfcomfortable taking pictures of people like they were in a zoo, a reservation not shared by many of the other foreigners in our boat. It was really cool<br />though because you are REALLY off the reservation and you get to see some rural life in Kerala.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjPMo-dl6sY_rkf3vdjY1LrfWNGLYznGj9rGSCg55YEIfNRIPR8wy9BBgY4g5s7srIPOxMWIGTcF86dnuupruQGbVW_NSmwPM63SdX8ROQMwz_wnQnX-OzFGncaJFnAn-1MzfRZAesUUFW/s1600-h/DSC_0388.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjPMo-dl6sY_rkf3vdjY1LrfWNGLYznGj9rGSCg55YEIfNRIPR8wy9BBgY4g5s7srIPOxMWIGTcF86dnuupruQGbVW_NSmwPM63SdX8ROQMwz_wnQnX-OzFGncaJFnAn-1MzfRZAesUUFW/s320/DSC_0388.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316434287760893858" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy5XrVbCey6Jt_iN43Dd4x_Mq70BW9k3y5d8087v27N6L_U8guoqpSdAvykS5c8JFQDB6qYgSffi3nIVIufdt6HmhaJqUynrC-dB_vnxfisiajTVmQcuK2d2z6GI4zbZTHOjnJDL8tXJ6e/s1600-h/DSC_0383.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy5XrVbCey6Jt_iN43Dd4x_Mq70BW9k3y5d8087v27N6L_U8guoqpSdAvykS5c8JFQDB6qYgSffi3nIVIufdt6HmhaJqUynrC-dB_vnxfisiajTVmQcuK2d2z6GI4zbZTHOjnJDL8tXJ6e/s320/DSC_0383.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316434284690104226" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAs5eFnNLIatsHkF74vab4aLyi2v8UOxPYu76TOgNN_gruS4MznpYZMVbmtypNab9Qqu9urybmhVcmnbK-SVaDG_L0lgHjGeGCj3DM7eiviHrPiL7DdQyx4Z5wPxPfIXacI4hjC_H-v5jn/s1600-h/DSC_0396.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAs5eFnNLIatsHkF74vab4aLyi2v8UOxPYu76TOgNN_gruS4MznpYZMVbmtypNab9Qqu9urybmhVcmnbK-SVaDG_L0lgHjGeGCj3DM7eiviHrPiL7DdQyx4Z5wPxPfIXacI4hjC_H-v5jn/s320/DSC_0396.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316434282148376642" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">(The communist party is huge in Kerala and one of the reasons the literacy rate is so high)</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGce1HPxC_slBdVFGdHcXnimedc8oGxey5usyjPxeT-TFkfRvbGiGBt336V5NMNOP9ShisOc4AB1YV9-8WsWqjy6bJOJSpr2BuBIFLlhjR9WNAdjI6m52cDtpvCd0RI9gpCpT0wAP9oD65/s1600-h/DSC_0380.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGce1HPxC_slBdVFGdHcXnimedc8oGxey5usyjPxeT-TFkfRvbGiGBt336V5NMNOP9ShisOc4AB1YV9-8WsWqjy6bJOJSpr2BuBIFLlhjR9WNAdjI6m52cDtpvCd0RI9gpCpT0wAP9oD65/s320/DSC_0380.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316434263363170098" border="0" /></a><br /><br />More children were asking for pens and Scott and I tried to shut out their pleading little voices. :(<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD6LiQ-BRJlKQ3jKOF-2JGfpjsZMUECPmA8Yro2oLJQSXJeJTy8CFz2mqfS2GXhj0ybXQOy-E3Zj2sgK8nxYVMVYxFBHZ0IhxY_VGmY02qPIN8fC0RyEJ_VUmMoldaZ4aybjLwBQDCZG9B/s1600-h/DSC_0400.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD6LiQ-BRJlKQ3jKOF-2JGfpjsZMUECPmA8Yro2oLJQSXJeJTy8CFz2mqfS2GXhj0ybXQOy-E3Zj2sgK8nxYVMVYxFBHZ0IhxY_VGmY02qPIN8fC0RyEJ_VUmMoldaZ4aybjLwBQDCZG9B/s320/DSC_0400.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316432341011001410" border="0" /></a><br /><br />One little girl kept following our boat dressed in a school uniform and the woman in front of us was wanting to throw here a pen, the driver of the boat though didn't understand when we told him to stop so the girl had to keep running to follow us. Finally the woman through the pen but it landed it this kind of mucky peat that people build up beside the river. The girl got the pen but her shoe got stuck getting it - I felt so bad for her. She got out though and seemed very happy with her pen. (I have video of this, but again I will do those probably when I get back from India since I have no time right now)<br /><br />Back at the boat Scott and I continued to chill, the boat then drove for about 1/2 an hour and then docked for the night at the side of the biggest lake in Kerala, a stiff breeze meant the boat was rocking strongly, but it died down with sunset. After docking a bunch of the staff from the different boats had a big volleyball game.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK0xl_77PVH30CIGPEUZbwUTtiP96RNk77QHM_BUhSAPA6r3aNh_M-b858mVEXsxQ2dnI-6R85b2wBYYz6_F7R_v3tqRA1gDw79l1kNB9vOWqa21NZ8XOAf6PB9ZOjKn2P2kfCoWbpJynN/s1600-h/DSC_0440.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK0xl_77PVH30CIGPEUZbwUTtiP96RNk77QHM_BUhSAPA6r3aNh_M-b858mVEXsxQ2dnI-6R85b2wBYYz6_F7R_v3tqRA1gDw79l1kNB9vOWqa21NZ8XOAf6PB9ZOjKn2P2kfCoWbpJynN/s320/DSC_0440.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316436606185779794" border="0" /></a><br /><br />We were invited to join by one of the staff on our boat but Scott and I were going to join but it was overcrowded as it was so we went for a walk along the shore. After checking out some other boats and walking threw a rice paddy we came back as the sun was setting to chill out upstairs and watch the stars. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicwyQSu4TjKJo0OwvAjEKASkXIH246q9vx-yfmq0RffdTRsX7ecyz5HbT7br4dG1DvCLOyxfDpPP8qvQ6aXOdO8eQbHTtq0p-OPsqDrPc3-bBAccfKaohHmLj3h8Ehs2-b2cR4hACAExZ5/s1600-h/DSC_0438.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicwyQSu4TjKJo0OwvAjEKASkXIH246q9vx-yfmq0RffdTRsX7ecyz5HbT7br4dG1DvCLOyxfDpPP8qvQ6aXOdO8eQbHTtq0p-OPsqDrPc3-bBAccfKaohHmLj3h8Ehs2-b2cR4hACAExZ5/s320/DSC_0438.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316436600902649026" border="0" /></a><br /><br />We then had another great meal consisting of an AWESOME cream of chicken soup rice, potatoes and caulliflower, curried chicken and lentils we called it an evening and went to bed - at 9:00PM!!!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJAJD4jBrO0t8Xj5twpg0fkNchzUWnW36YTn9Elrq2dTd_YXO449eWrwbyVV1-ds-nNBOjt-zhP2CdXtizPAbly98qDfxS797FIdsGODjvHnxXDoEvHJ1DR7oqi1ldFsQr-9gti2x_mzvc/s1600-h/DSC_0464.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJAJD4jBrO0t8Xj5twpg0fkNchzUWnW36YTn9Elrq2dTd_YXO449eWrwbyVV1-ds-nNBOjt-zhP2CdXtizPAbly98qDfxS797FIdsGODjvHnxXDoEvHJ1DR7oqi1ldFsQr-9gti2x_mzvc/s320/DSC_0464.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316435076971350978" border="0" /></a>Rankine-Filehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02300130357063504686noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3049706704916430630.post-83026508194034111562009-03-18T02:47:00.000-07:002009-03-22T10:57:13.181-07:00Grades at ISBSo besides all the traveling and blog writing I am actually do a lot of school work. By popular request here is a school-centric blog entry.<br /><br />So the grading at ISB turns out to be a little weird. For my Green Technology and Sustainable Enterprise or GTSE (which I pronouce goatse - DO NOT GOOGLE THAT - you have been warned.) Anyways, I got my mark for class participation and it was knda low at 8.6 out of 12.5, now considering I talk more than anyone else (surprise!) and make lots of good points (I think anyways) that seemed on the low end of things. It turns out the class average is 4.8 out of 12.5 and he just going to bell everything at the end- wtf? On my two assignments I have done much better with the last one I got 11/12, but the class average was 7. So right now the class average is pretty much failing but I have an 80, which seems kinda dumb.<br /><br />Class participation or CP as they call it here, makes up a sizable portion of the grades here - usually about 25% of you grade. Scott and I have both figured out though that it is simply a game - you make a point in class and the Academic Assistant (like a TA) checks your name, make two or more and you are in the upper third of the class. The problem with this system is that a LOT of people make points that are irrelevant or non-value added and it eats into precious lecture time. It does encourage otherwise quiet people to contribute though so I am not sure how I feel about it overall. I find for myself that if I do the readings and the case (and even if I don't do the readings really) then I have some points to make.<br /><br />It turns out that I have gained a reputation around school for my class participation here at ISB (good as it turns out). When another student complained about their mark apparently they were told to be more like me. :P I was also given feedback from a friend here that everyone appreciates the work I am putting into the readings etc., but I don't really feel like I am doing too much (compared to the last couple months at Queens when I was loaded).<br /><br />Turning to marketing Scott and I got our marks back on our papers which we both felt were pretty substandard work for us. Regardless we both got clear As, well ahead of the class average, with Scotty edging me out by a nose. The other courses I have no idea where I stand right now, but I think I am doing ok.Rankine-Filehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02300130357063504686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3049706704916430630.post-78112022322900660992009-03-16T06:09:00.000-07:002009-03-16T06:39:33.863-07:00Weekend happeningsThis past week has been a blur and time seems to be accelerating towards our trip back.<br /><br />Saturday was a SECOND Holid Day. This was the official one sanctioned by the school so less Bhang but a HELL of a lot more paint - this t time they were in buckets and people were flinging. I felt that I had already done it Wednesday so I went with Scott just to check it out, but next thing I know I am covered in paint again. :P<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRvgTSey1a4gvrDgJO7y8zXdzoC7Na2DgUV5hvPCzUTgYwCQph8mM8U2uyMyONJaOPv8tNMUGE_nT6-ku3lOvZKDXorxCZlnWhglJfRPDpamyMCc7lx5HbxMjiFLrPGQQYmLh8j7L146bt/s1600-h/Holi+008+-+Copy.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRvgTSey1a4gvrDgJO7y8zXdzoC7Na2DgUV5hvPCzUTgYwCQph8mM8U2uyMyONJaOPv8tNMUGE_nT6-ku3lOvZKDXorxCZlnWhglJfRPDpamyMCc7lx5HbxMjiFLrPGQQYmLh8j7L146bt/s320/Holi+008+-+Copy.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313773524579567042" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Even though it was 1 1/2 hours after it was supposed to start there weren't nearly as many people as last time, and the people that were there I didn't know well. Scott and I decided to leave after a bit to grab some lunch, he went back but I went home to watch some TV and nap (after showering of course - this time things came out a lot easier). Apparently the scene picked up afterwards because when I saw Scott again he looked like this:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF8bMkvWxzyvB9ZXgJdCwTGMC99U40ei8QjyhzyJtFT2EAO2p4_hpf2Qldu5lVTBz_ab-bPP3yV5he5lqVqjUtlfO6VY9NPqJnR0hCq5sSsITz48UnX4ntf8Kxe_BbLdWWoHC_EAsG1Jrg/s1600-h/DSC_0327.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF8bMkvWxzyvB9ZXgJdCwTGMC99U40ei8QjyhzyJtFT2EAO2p4_hpf2Qldu5lVTBz_ab-bPP3yV5he5lqVqjUtlfO6VY9NPqJnR0hCq5sSsITz48UnX4ntf8Kxe_BbLdWWoHC_EAsG1Jrg/s320/DSC_0327.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313778056943314722" border="0" /></a><br /><br />That night we went out to a club called Touch around 10:30 - the cover was 3,000 Rupees, which is about $75(!). Luckly one of the other exchange students Erika, had got us on the guest list. Still the drinks were EXPENSIVE - I paid more than I want to admit for Scott and I to have a Red Bull and Vodka each. The club itself was interesting; pretty small by club standards, but well put together. It had an all-white theme, with some interesting things in it. For example people were smoking Hookah a lot more than they were drinking. There was also a pointless ice bar with a security guard standing outside.<br /><br />We all danced, but the music was a little too techno for my liking (the bass was so strong that my shirt was moving). Crazily the club closed at 12:30 - only 1 1/2 hours after we got there. :O can't get used to these early nights out even though I am thankful the next morning. ;)<br /><br />Sunday night we went to the infamous <a href="http://www.barbeque-nation.com/">Barbeque Nation</a>, which is a haven for most of the exchange students here. It's an all-you-eat meat restaurant not unlike Fogo De Chao. with table with slots in them for little barbeque modules with coals. The waiters then keep bringing you skewers of meat, or veggies that you warm up over the heat until you lower your flag.<br /><br />I skipped lunch in preparation and had hunger pains on the way to the restaurant. I ate more meat than I ever have in my life and felt like my stomach was going to explode at the end. As Scott said looking at my distended belly - "I didn't know you and Trish were having a second" :P<br /><br />The price was right too - only 450 rupees for EVERYTHING. That is about $11. AWESOME. We may make it a once a week deal - at the very least we are going to hit it again before we leave.<br /><br />Today I got back to the grindstone with classes. I now have only 3 classes left for most of my courses - I really can't believe it. Still I have 6 assignments left (4 group ones) that I need to get done over the next 10 days, with a trip to Kerala this weekend it's going to be tough.Rankine-Filehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02300130357063504686noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3049706704916430630.post-58376386773830758552009-03-14T03:03:00.001-07:002009-03-14T04:56:33.188-07:00Nagarjuna Sagar Part II - Monkey Attack!Alright I am probably overselling the monkey attack angle a little. :P<br /><br />So after we left the dam we went to the Ettipotala waterfalls which are about 15 miles away. The waterfalls were pretty nice, there was also a full moon above them and a blood red sun to the west very neat.<br /><br />Little video <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0HNvGABZWg">here</a>.<br /><br />The wildest thing (no pun intended) were the awesome little monkeys that were begging for food around the lookout point of the waterfall. Not shy at all. They looked so cute and friendly - what little did we know! ;)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjixOXBK17OJR2zaHfJ_QuZVey895Dqlorr-AikYXmOZCVmSvoWH-Xf7OsO-AE-JJdP5LGGlPIT-E5TwBl_cDrfhiBIajd1u_WUCuRT1wEh0ZLmDTxCIUOM7CzvRbDYZPKMbOxnM3eRT42-/s1600-h/DSC_0121.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjixOXBK17OJR2zaHfJ_QuZVey895Dqlorr-AikYXmOZCVmSvoWH-Xf7OsO-AE-JJdP5LGGlPIT-E5TwBl_cDrfhiBIajd1u_WUCuRT1wEh0ZLmDTxCIUOM7CzvRbDYZPKMbOxnM3eRT42-/s320/DSC_0121.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312984068228713010" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6aYzbT3E0yQKWt3k2KKs87lrAnA6bWVW2NnMNej1GawI025_7hT8JrmgZFcTxmIM5MVnmvg65ib6tW_wy2_e2DGW68co07PG5tK9ImpPZ35dgRDQOjGwQhsY2s4UHYZY_TRNE2kgNnl81/s1600-h/DSC_0118.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6aYzbT3E0yQKWt3k2KKs87lrAnA6bWVW2NnMNej1GawI025_7hT8JrmgZFcTxmIM5MVnmvg65ib6tW_wy2_e2DGW68co07PG5tK9ImpPZ35dgRDQOjGwQhsY2s4UHYZY_TRNE2kgNnl81/s320/DSC_0118.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312986576299407170" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIW7CoASnE_-OXwRhlXyETnLmiW6h5G7vjfyCBTqLlBp8iOIaONZycL-fzyHEX8UegXIQvquqgyh5zNCTGlqZs_V2LytqVv6c7ywDLB7Aszv3MXgeTOamx0TUKNHJ0CGACRPmKI2yMcJgr/s1600-h/DSC_0106.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIW7CoASnE_-OXwRhlXyETnLmiW6h5G7vjfyCBTqLlBp8iOIaONZycL-fzyHEX8UegXIQvquqgyh5zNCTGlqZs_V2LytqVv6c7ywDLB7Aszv3MXgeTOamx0TUKNHJ0CGACRPmKI2yMcJgr/s320/DSC_0106.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312986586885290626" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikh80VpMWWQ-rVizPDFGz_Zrfpv8gAo25Aiu8mQbg0JgUjPHWlQedfnlYxdiG5RaTpOcRmJXskKCtdnjpsFXIEaRfqUZr3487RLG-0RoqA8b16IQNL2DY1xkqSSGokUZI8cI1Fxr4GqnnX/s1600-h/DSC_0112.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikh80VpMWWQ-rVizPDFGz_Zrfpv8gAo25Aiu8mQbg0JgUjPHWlQedfnlYxdiG5RaTpOcRmJXskKCtdnjpsFXIEaRfqUZr3487RLG-0RoqA8b16IQNL2DY1xkqSSGokUZI8cI1Fxr4GqnnX/s320/DSC_0112.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312986569120613506" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlgGwOcoA1G0Vu6zi6FLVx8dlnDp4ux8A-ph4mibAb4Xk1s4pzkbUp-f91qhoJp6i9hOBSVE4QA8eGa9FjTommA_k9G4bmvV_u8GxAPiksQw1hMqcGkXRresdYtVhGESEfznx75QwEUXxs/s1600-h/DSC00075.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlgGwOcoA1G0Vu6zi6FLVx8dlnDp4ux8A-ph4mibAb4Xk1s4pzkbUp-f91qhoJp6i9hOBSVE4QA8eGa9FjTommA_k9G4bmvV_u8GxAPiksQw1hMqcGkXRresdYtVhGESEfznx75QwEUXxs/s320/DSC00075.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312987018480959890" border="0" /></a><br /><br />We walked around the grounds a little bit and took in the sights, which included some awesome <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtKodv0ocvw">music being played </a>, and a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqBNk0HDGBQ">little street cricket</a>.<br /><br />As the sun starting going down we wanted to take the stairs down to the base of the waterfall. As we started our decent into madness we had to enter through this foreboding arch which should have scared us away.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYNLqR3X_vK5LX_ir3GdaoKglSvfoO7e7EtqsL-cuBlxtNKoFBVXNJ_DusxYU9zimShEPJMPSuqP4ZiOm20J3kRsIIJWxc1fKurT7r2-ndPT_S9ZA7FfbBXpYcGXjzqlD85v-8u8GtFBBO/s1600-h/DSC_0169.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYNLqR3X_vK5LX_ir3GdaoKglSvfoO7e7EtqsL-cuBlxtNKoFBVXNJ_DusxYU9zimShEPJMPSuqP4ZiOm20J3kRsIIJWxc1fKurT7r2-ndPT_S9ZA7FfbBXpYcGXjzqlD85v-8u8GtFBBO/s320/DSC_0169.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312987377128215410" border="0" /></a><br /><br />As we continued to throw caution to the wind a final stark warning was given:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3rGA_0a8W-Scp37lWUatw5VXsabp129QGAX6mlCzItgHoVXieEHG9f_LHnKF3brAl1AfR6ioKTRCMvhgwTsQ82Ps0naJudpGsznz44GPXcGYIBoblkArcB8RfV3MY-E7WEtCI2_tO5L0Q/s1600-h/DSC_0171.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3rGA_0a8W-Scp37lWUatw5VXsabp129QGAX6mlCzItgHoVXieEHG9f_LHnKF3brAl1AfR6ioKTRCMvhgwTsQ82Ps0naJudpGsznz44GPXcGYIBoblkArcB8RfV3MY-E7WEtCI2_tO5L0Q/s320/DSC_0171.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312987575599908674" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I can only assume this sign means beware of rabid monkeys who will eat your brains, abandon all hope ye who enter here. If anyone has an actual translation that would be very cool.<br /><br />Then we saw the fearsome guardian of the path:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilQjXYXg3pT7Kb3Q4HU77tMtbm2M2Y-RPqj9mvqP3vM7D-nhCUH2__IvJgv6y9cLtPZCkTawgRESu1AyDW43thq9yOFqGQz0AS2Oiq7h_xxnKhEqEUA2O7m0iExZ4DgZRcefYDH3yGm8cE/s1600-h/DSC_0172.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilQjXYXg3pT7Kb3Q4HU77tMtbm2M2Y-RPqj9mvqP3vM7D-nhCUH2__IvJgv6y9cLtPZCkTawgRESu1AyDW43thq9yOFqGQz0AS2Oiq7h_xxnKhEqEUA2O7m0iExZ4DgZRcefYDH3yGm8cE/s320/DSC_0172.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312989194554587922" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />We felt that though imposing we could perhaps pass by relatively undetected, that is until he brought some friends.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbIPMWRyWUdHX85bu0Oe1Fecy9NAggA3kmLV9dlGT9qRy1ZXRLLlEKHGe4HO4rCftqRxKodAEFPLvIt4MDrQeEszICNFNxjZ8W_6CGaaAMNA5XSqrILgZtZ43YyAEZ0orguX9OINBpxiIi/s1600-h/DSC_0174.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbIPMWRyWUdHX85bu0Oe1Fecy9NAggA3kmLV9dlGT9qRy1ZXRLLlEKHGe4HO4rCftqRxKodAEFPLvIt4MDrQeEszICNFNxjZ8W_6CGaaAMNA5XSqrILgZtZ43YyAEZ0orguX9OINBpxiIi/s320/DSC_0174.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312989198522566754" border="0" /></a><br /><br />And some more friends<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQV5AwySkDMRtqUZBD0Bh2i5CuW1Yhn-2Q40Ua_EljNn6crAmf4UqBeI-LMc8HHUf3fAbvFhJGAKOXzcMsZsyqfTegGhNapo1omLbJJC35fi-AMw1Fr8JOS92Jh6a7qtqXAX0nPHYGQihU/s1600-h/DSC_0175.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQV5AwySkDMRtqUZBD0Bh2i5CuW1Yhn-2Q40Ua_EljNn6crAmf4UqBeI-LMc8HHUf3fAbvFhJGAKOXzcMsZsyqfTegGhNapo1omLbJJC35fi-AMw1Fr8JOS92Jh6a7qtqXAX0nPHYGQihU/s320/DSC_0175.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312989200144272690" border="0" /></a><br /><br />and some more friends<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixXgUcle6yUFPbclbyANLvm0fdgQ8LsGzTV4QO8cYfy44DFvnbUi_stxJWUTajrZmFM6yW1uzElzC8lHOxpUodudThwyOOzlbQ8afREdMCztS4TSmqSwtdigrXoP-Rtp6hwjHQJX0_oiG5/s1600-h/DSC_0176.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixXgUcle6yUFPbclbyANLvm0fdgQ8LsGzTV4QO8cYfy44DFvnbUi_stxJWUTajrZmFM6yW1uzElzC8lHOxpUodudThwyOOzlbQ8afREdMCztS4TSmqSwtdigrXoP-Rtp6hwjHQJX0_oiG5/s320/DSC_0176.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312990061016397586" border="0" /></a><br /><br />and then they started to walk towards us<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtvfFSvPzJutVq3InurOC-Fy9TT6SG8N8bJov8ozLPT-bFOumo4EqAlJHCEELCANBkLotSUkM5hBkixUcVatQ1w5WIKQeG2R0QI8_wubNNhNxr6YWgn9bEhGs_c5iA9MSPgkzKAssTe9L8/s1600-h/DSC_0178.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtvfFSvPzJutVq3InurOC-Fy9TT6SG8N8bJov8ozLPT-bFOumo4EqAlJHCEELCANBkLotSUkM5hBkixUcVatQ1w5WIKQeG2R0QI8_wubNNhNxr6YWgn9bEhGs_c5iA9MSPgkzKAssTe9L8/s320/DSC_0178.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312989203761456386" border="0" /></a><br /><br />and get closer<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUJh_tXBMudFGp4-d-1yorGPUfC3V9o9na3SbP3wWSlQftYbowGsVC-p7tli4La3-j6bSqtOkUBieX9QsUJ6c2pMdhvw1hrf9zhEgkZzjMvLdYlpA6uTWdO6RCwaa9WZ2Sat-R04tqpmXb/s1600-h/DSC_0179.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUJh_tXBMudFGp4-d-1yorGPUfC3V9o9na3SbP3wWSlQftYbowGsVC-p7tli4La3-j6bSqtOkUBieX9QsUJ6c2pMdhvw1hrf9zhEgkZzjMvLdYlpA6uTWdO6RCwaa9WZ2Sat-R04tqpmXb/s320/DSC_0179.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312989210628544466" border="0" /></a><br /><br />and closer<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS_WhIbtQ0ATMVbMjrU49xaEuNTMzTO_o71Gqb4kXhRGFuYywOpdwRO1FGaS3KlTbI3U9UqaufQQJBV-Q0YqxV8hdqgOYcUGOripkcC4qLZMtcEcwigTsHmJRGYw6v-DkgegeLI64pVcIB/s1600-h/DSC_0180.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS_WhIbtQ0ATMVbMjrU49xaEuNTMzTO_o71Gqb4kXhRGFuYywOpdwRO1FGaS3KlTbI3U9UqaufQQJBV-Q0YqxV8hdqgOYcUGOripkcC4qLZMtcEcwigTsHmJRGYw6v-DkgegeLI64pVcIB/s320/DSC_0180.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312990065573981442" border="0" /></a><br /><br />run!!!<br /><br />Watch the fearsome video <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCrpp40OEaQ">here</a>.<br /><br />When we escaped the monkeys we headed back to the bus to wait for the others, after a few more close monkey calls, and avoiding a scary old <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hag">woman</a>, we were finally able to make it back to the bus for our 4+ hour bus ride home. <br /><br />Back in Hyderbad we sought to end Scotty's fast with a well deserved McChicken™ Sandwich (or two) but were denied when we found it closed. Deserted by our rickshaw driver outside a scary-after-sunset Hyderabad Center Mall (complete with a five year old boy and girl trying to sell us mint candies at midnight -wtf?) an awesome good Samaritan kid who just wanted to get a job at Infosys helped us get a cab back to ISB.<br /><br />After eating a Chicken Tikka Super Sandwich from Coffee Day I was asleep before my head hit the pillow.Rankine-Filehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02300130357063504686noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3049706704916430630.post-52440012451264736912009-03-14T00:36:00.000-07:002009-03-14T01:37:29.149-07:00Nagarjuna Sagar Part I of IIOkay as promised here is my update of our Nagarjuna Sagar day. Only 6 days late. :P<br /><br />FYI you can find all the photos of this day <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/jrankine/NagarjunaSagar#">here</a>.<br /><br />So last weekend Scott and I were looking for a day trip on Sunday off campus, we had wanted a full weekend trip but the police station shennigans killed that idea. :(<br /><br />We looked at what was within reach of day that seemed pretty interesting and found Nagarjuna Sagar which is a large dam and reservoir with a collection of ancient Buddhist relics.<br /><br />We called up the <a href="http://www.tourisminap.com/specials/index.php">APTDC</a> - Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation - to buy tickets for the day tour, which was only about $15 including bus to and from the area and entrance to a waterfall site nearby. They told us we couldn't bur or reserve over the phone and that there were only two tickets left so we couldn't just show up the next day and expect seats. We therefore had to get an autorickshaw and head into town and they were closing in an hour.<br /><br />:(<br /><br />The driver couldn't understand where we wanted to go and he couldn't read the map of the city. We did get him to agree to 600 rupees both ways - or so we thought (see later). He took us on a nice tour of the city COMPLETELY the wrong way, when we finally got to APDTC it was 15 minutes after closing, but because India time works a little differently - things start later than scheduled and end later ;) - they were still open.<br /><br />We got our tickets and the rickshaw driver took us a more direct route home thankfully. Unfortunately when we finally got back he wanted more than the 600 we had agreed - awkward. Scott and I finally just had to walk away after paying him - but he followed us until we went to the ISB front desk.<br /><br />So the next day we hired a real taxi who got us there in only 25 minutes versus the one hour the night before. When we finally got on the bus, which of course left 45 minutes late, the bus was half empty (!). Arghhhhh.<br /><br />So the bus ride was fine, there was no AC but there were thick sheets covering the windows. One annoyance was that the seats reclined WAAAAYYYY back so the person in front was like on your lap. :( I slept most of the way there so I didn't really care. About halfway to Nagarjuna Sugar we stopped in a little town for what I guess was a late brunch. The only discernable restaurant was pretty sketchy so I decided to just eat some cookies I brought. Scott decided to begin a fast that would last the whole day. ;) The town itself was pretty tiny and probably the most destitute I have ever been to: there was garbage on the side of the road and goats just walking around or taking naps. Pretty interesting for sure.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOlpnQY5v5nTgC-CxVWWvLaSo51XR4EW4n2ikrezunsIHrP2ye4yzu7HPy865TWbd1rtMhBZZ8WOhSVHpZ5ki1m6qsttoKhYuM7Dc6shumOhbxzcyrjXCwvFkbKTFGtw5Ol0S9xq8_Wfig/s1600-h/DSC_0001.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOlpnQY5v5nTgC-CxVWWvLaSo51XR4EW4n2ikrezunsIHrP2ye4yzu7HPy865TWbd1rtMhBZZ8WOhSVHpZ5ki1m6qsttoKhYuM7Dc6shumOhbxzcyrjXCwvFkbKTFGtw5Ol0S9xq8_Wfig/s320/DSC_0001.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312948129736674658" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Scott and I ventured back and discovered everyone from the tour was waiting for us - whoops! - and we were on our way again. Think I feel asleep again after doing some of my readings for school. We finally got to the dam and stopped at a little hotel that had some amazing views for lunch.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMMIaR3qyKpC2Kn014RH_Ew28QiFBgdGplO-BxGgr_HKIkaf0QMe1_9j7n54MZeFlpX9ukJ2glzNlZc0dFSzBpJdYuFzeXvgzHBWi0bdHd6mOh_IlCOtnV9i0-kPTspMxDHdQkuWU8h9Ji/s1600-h/DSC_0003.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMMIaR3qyKpC2Kn014RH_Ew28QiFBgdGplO-BxGgr_HKIkaf0QMe1_9j7n54MZeFlpX9ukJ2glzNlZc0dFSzBpJdYuFzeXvgzHBWi0bdHd6mOh_IlCOtnV9i0-kPTspMxDHdQkuWU8h9Ji/s320/DSC_0003.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312949514648403090" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I decided to brave the buffet but Scotty continued his hunger strike, now more determined than ever. The food was tasty but I suspected I was pushing my luck (luckily I wasn't). Scott and I bought bottled pepsis that looked like they were from the 70's - Scotty didn't recognize the bottle opener on the machine which made me realize our age difference. :P<br /><br />The vista from the hotel was great - the scale of the reservoir was hard to make out due to the haze - until I realized the tiny little dots on the water were boats. There was also some interesting wildlife just walking around the grounds including a boar and a MONKEY (if I only knew - see later).<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfqdDUyBL2gAmuWtgedD5kEtAZckvd5v5haLMoZGom85YQpFgxQgRa5zWddxh-l3wppvGoDHFbrqP3uMMzTR13QQvZLcr6PjvODjx7eTWRpi9EB0_rO5SyN4aDeLyg27v8Edds5bMy5OUr/s1600-h/DSC_0007.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfqdDUyBL2gAmuWtgedD5kEtAZckvd5v5haLMoZGom85YQpFgxQgRa5zWddxh-l3wppvGoDHFbrqP3uMMzTR13QQvZLcr6PjvODjx7eTWRpi9EB0_rO5SyN4aDeLyg27v8Edds5bMy5OUr/s320/DSC_0007.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312950719495933474" border="0" /></a><br /><br />After lunch we went by the dam to the ferry station to get on the boat to go to the island with the Buddhist museum and artifacts. The ferry launch area was really cool - there was a beach where hundreds of people were washing clothes by lashing them across the rocks and various ceremonies involving water - no idea what they meant but they looked cool).<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie97FL-tZZ6qSWXB3z3tHrvApBT9NnLZyj8GGvAIE-kWHmyGla26yUxzJsmY2DtLBISBS4HLnx7Qm6KzqTiOP77CCF44kvBOiyWvrNaygJkkKoEVJ9sx25UCOmLUisP_YJwVBCxG1HB9qn/s1600-h/DSC_0012.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie97FL-tZZ6qSWXB3z3tHrvApBT9NnLZyj8GGvAIE-kWHmyGla26yUxzJsmY2DtLBISBS4HLnx7Qm6KzqTiOP77CCF44kvBOiyWvrNaygJkkKoEVJ9sx25UCOmLUisP_YJwVBCxG1HB9qn/s320/DSC_0012.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312958026574218338" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKzCZ8KvcaB8ST9mezQfWkURUivrfgESE5kIePR_SJmeFRbqJpgHl-rZXrgRgwv-F8-_WFlc468YwMowa7PZzl7br7ydwravdE8VOMHtQJ0UgORdIBOol9DI9P9OyW3TNd53sf5AXGA5Fi/s1600-h/DSC_0016.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKzCZ8KvcaB8ST9mezQfWkURUivrfgESE5kIePR_SJmeFRbqJpgHl-rZXrgRgwv-F8-_WFlc468YwMowa7PZzl7br7ydwravdE8VOMHtQJ0UgORdIBOol9DI9P9OyW3TNd53sf5AXGA5Fi/s320/DSC_0016.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312954302979066370" border="0" /></a><br /><br />On the boat w spoke with a nice older Indian couple from London who gave us a pretty thorough history of Hindu spiritualism, pretty interesting and insightful. The boat ride was probablt another 1/2 hour and when we finally got to the Island Scott and I began to realize how remote we really were. At this point we had been traveling for about 4+ hours and it was already near to 3:00PM (!).<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPOa5BPzeruEPFoEA22B74IuLD2mmts0u9OazLxhqJ1xWjdi_EqxHmBLOd7FmdhXQ3ILa_F4sNVAYei09ezgO_Xyx7Ij4WHKtBCfWscKDn6L4VlYm4Qv0252_6GM7wfOrIdPScHdbLI_uQ/s1600-h/DSC_0020.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPOa5BPzeruEPFoEA22B74IuLD2mmts0u9OazLxhqJ1xWjdi_EqxHmBLOd7FmdhXQ3ILa_F4sNVAYei09ezgO_Xyx7Ij4WHKtBCfWscKDn6L4VlYm4Qv0252_6GM7wfOrIdPScHdbLI_uQ/s320/DSC_0020.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312951948894054690" border="0" /></a><br /><br />We also were the only non-Desi people within 20 miles. People who stare at us or try to say hello in very broken English, it was really cool actually. There were a bunch of school children on a class trip of some sort who seemed very facinated with us. I really started to get the impression that they hadn't seen very many (if any) white people before. Scott and I decided to ditch our tour guide, whom we couldn't understand, and explore the island on our own. The one major bummer was that we only had an hour (!) to see the whole island and the museum - not nearly enough time. :( The island was like a little oasis, with lots of flowers, grass, plants etc. Essentially the island used to be a large hill in the valley that was flooded by the dam, before the flooding occurred they relocated and recreated most of the many Buddhist ruins up onto the hill/island. Very cool stuff.<br /><br />We checked out the museum, which was interesting but less so then the actual island itself so we blitzed it and went back out. I then braved the bathroom and we were off again.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWNXTdFq3Yu2umhFuLuWOZLIfQCrEG6wf5B8KtCX3ofwHQtB4u8AGjdKEApp8yn-oJF9iirUUf-m02av2-Rtr64kyfcMbrErtDEfLCA4g7uvWg5fgItpEO2XoK2I6MwApDlegSDcz_X6FV/s1600-h/DSC_0048.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWNXTdFq3Yu2umhFuLuWOZLIfQCrEG6wf5B8KtCX3ofwHQtB4u8AGjdKEApp8yn-oJF9iirUUf-m02av2-Rtr64kyfcMbrErtDEfLCA4g7uvWg5fgItpEO2XoK2I6MwApDlegSDcz_X6FV/s320/DSC_0048.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312953999779259922" border="0" /></a><br /><br />We ventured to the west end of the island and were approached by a group of young guys who were fascinated with us. One asked to have his picture taken with us and his friend pulled out this awesome 1980s looking manual advance camera that was HUGE. Then about 4 more guys each came in, one at a time. I felt like a celebrity it was hilarious. Once everyone was done we moved on to see some more ruins, pretty cool but I wish I had more time. :(<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDdbzXQolI2bSuDR8POaePOW7AYNucRO2JHVQ-SbzK2rr5dnMI0-NT57cu9_yetAp3bZwsqM4GWhbqKLa9OXCj9aGThiRjbipdGbfJppLcWY4ILwDea_V8dhFsa54-NKsLGyk3fI1Cb-3G/s1600-h/DSC_0061.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDdbzXQolI2bSuDR8POaePOW7AYNucRO2JHVQ-SbzK2rr5dnMI0-NT57cu9_yetAp3bZwsqM4GWhbqKLa9OXCj9aGThiRjbipdGbfJppLcWY4ILwDea_V8dhFsa54-NKsLGyk3fI1Cb-3G/s320/DSC_0061.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312955765168218690" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaPixOtpLwX-dUl2iHFu4ol6ap1T0FU-7sbePnky6IsDzWm5Zc_FH9tRB_sXd8yIvgSwbpNRk8S4L5gPpLjFC8QoweozsHn6nFpwFUn0uLxjuVYPZuzEpK4679HW6A94PoABjocePsSCJn/s1600-h/DSC_0053.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaPixOtpLwX-dUl2iHFu4ol6ap1T0FU-7sbePnky6IsDzWm5Zc_FH9tRB_sXd8yIvgSwbpNRk8S4L5gPpLjFC8QoweozsHn6nFpwFUn0uLxjuVYPZuzEpK4679HW6A94PoABjocePsSCJn/s320/DSC_0053.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312955756856670130" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ5HoRS56gJAbkBpwHcUwiSaZ8J073iHkkLTYtpTwQa7bidfzVlQyn4VDc76JRAgfCLawa_rzdlDIAtJBlo0VlW1EKLK-tv28Tsg_piCEtSaZuAKCs6kQgSUWhvWTdphihSiYqiYtFarle/s1600-h/DSC_0075.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ5HoRS56gJAbkBpwHcUwiSaZ8J073iHkkLTYtpTwQa7bidfzVlQyn4VDc76JRAgfCLawa_rzdlDIAtJBlo0VlW1EKLK-tv28Tsg_piCEtSaZuAKCs6kQgSUWhvWTdphihSiYqiYtFarle/s320/DSC_0075.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312955772402694338" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />It was time to go so we headed back to the boat, not nearly enough time to see everything which was a real disappointment. :(<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE-e1ni0Pu7PUy9s5btYti9cC3BXBLof7DgyasMZyKCARIqxavS9AtLtQsJqUJn5VqCC8c950nbJiAJo3ZAJ2nXFDZ4sC2AqcxTCKt6wbQT60ro0WDzVSQ-GpiBKT8puyfvDIqUEzEQvN0/s1600-h/DSC_0085.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE-e1ni0Pu7PUy9s5btYti9cC3BXBLof7DgyasMZyKCARIqxavS9AtLtQsJqUJn5VqCC8c950nbJiAJo3ZAJ2nXFDZ4sC2AqcxTCKt6wbQT60ro0WDzVSQ-GpiBKT8puyfvDIqUEzEQvN0/s320/DSC_0085.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312955778819685026" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Hilariously our boat pulled away from the dock when they realized they had left some of the school children behind. :O We redocked to pick them up and we were on our way.<br /><br />Even though it was pretty bright when we left the island the sun sets REALLY fast here so there was an awesome sunset back at the ferry landing when we got back. Most of the laundry washing was done at this point and people were mainly there for leisure, diving off the rocks into the water etc. it was a very cool visual:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9AXr_WXLfh5y_ybHQ8Jnm7rJb0mbhFpm-SNqc_22kOFGWMPdmRD4VElZkJXPffcoSn4BNyAQCKti7stDSuoBWwNs0IRqCj7dbOURiekSkBDGGW0U-5Cpv1n_QDpgUTeaESUMgkvlR835o/s1600-h/DSC_0104.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9AXr_WXLfh5y_ybHQ8Jnm7rJb0mbhFpm-SNqc_22kOFGWMPdmRD4VElZkJXPffcoSn4BNyAQCKti7stDSuoBWwNs0IRqCj7dbOURiekSkBDGGW0U-5Cpv1n_QDpgUTeaESUMgkvlR835o/s320/DSC_0104.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312958803566585890" border="0" /></a><br /><br />With that we were done with the dam, but we were still going to go to the waterfall - hopefully the sun would last.<br /><br />Next chapter: When Monkeys Attack!Rankine-Filehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02300130357063504686noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3049706704916430630.post-5458852387056681712009-03-11T03:24:00.001-07:002009-03-11T12:29:10.023-07:00Holi(I was going to call this post "Holy Holi Batman", but I am a little gun-shy about names now. :P )<br /><br />Today we celebrated the Indian festival of Spring - Holi, where you paint friends and strangers in different colours, get wet, wish everyone happy Holi, hug, dance, drink Bhang (google it - I am not going to post a link - you will understand once you do), and have essentially an awesome time. :)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWwhX0feQtrEULoD5mSNNUaDsolDnCMnPr5MsIYhOV-7WyIR5aenkrsO_aDbRk3-faHKGNh7Ku2NFx7RisHvZXEubwrUqEOsCj64JMTnhohppQmeXfOhgxGB-t2FnckuDFVZAWPcD086pa/s1600-h/DSC_0246.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWwhX0feQtrEULoD5mSNNUaDsolDnCMnPr5MsIYhOV-7WyIR5aenkrsO_aDbRk3-faHKGNh7Ku2NFx7RisHvZXEubwrUqEOsCj64JMTnhohppQmeXfOhgxGB-t2FnckuDFVZAWPcD086pa/s320/DSC_0246.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5311875480729087218" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB3kiuwP6lk9Ojvz1v07x3uO6wCgCUtMda_Hhdk3zfGm4rbmKC8RpfYwi3OQLH-BxWPmcUJone3ttmIr_EWRyyfLaYLsgbMxxl4HdBp6xEdY4S5P5xOfGJxqJOzoRSXTXpIiEoUSlnqCHj/s1600-h/DSC_0231.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB3kiuwP6lk9Ojvz1v07x3uO6wCgCUtMda_Hhdk3zfGm4rbmKC8RpfYwi3OQLH-BxWPmcUJone3ttmIr_EWRyyfLaYLsgbMxxl4HdBp6xEdY4S5P5xOfGJxqJOzoRSXTXpIiEoUSlnqCHj/s320/DSC_0231.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5311875476398225010" /></a><br /><br />I have uploaded some pics <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/jrankine/Holi#">here</a><br /><br />We are supposed to 'officially' do it again on Saturday. This celebration occurred during class and was not sanctioned by the school (had to skip a class to go but it was totally worth it.)<br /><br />Update: fixed a spelling error.Rankine-Filehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02300130357063504686noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3049706704916430630.post-44477016213756706202009-03-10T07:32:00.000-07:002009-03-10T07:34:22.033-07:00Blog DelayHey everyone.<br /><br />Just wanted to let you know that things will probably a little quiet on the blog for a couple days. I want to do justice to our day trip on Sunday, but I have a mid-term report and exam this Thursday and Friday and a couple team things to do.<br /><br />So I probably will give a big update Friday night and then another on Sunday after we celebrate Holi. :)Rankine-Filehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02300130357063504686noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3049706704916430630.post-41583617387554429892009-03-08T12:21:00.000-07:002009-03-08T12:38:34.627-07:00Quick UpdateSo I don't have time for a full post, but just a quickie on what we did today.<br /><br />Scott and I were bored of campus so we went to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nagarjuna_Sagar_Dam">Nagarjuna Sagar</a> to check out the dam, some ancient Buddhist relics and a waterfall.<br /><br />The sites were okay but the trip there was LOOOOOOOOOOOOONG. It took 4+ hours there and 4+ back, even though it was only 150KM away. The bus also left45 mins late so we only had an hour at the Nagarjuna island to check out the museum and the sites. Again it was really cool, but there is no way we would have done it if we knew the time cost. Incidentally the monetary cost was rediculously cheap. All told it was something like $500 rupees (about $13) each for transportation to and from the dam, a ferry to the island, admittance to the museum and lunch.<br /><br />There is a LOT more to the story that I will hopefull update tomorrow or the next day with photos and video. Including one where we were almost killed by wild Monkeys - or at least feared that we would be.Rankine-Filehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02300130357063504686noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3049706704916430630.post-45039255573936033672009-03-07T00:45:00.000-08:002009-03-07T01:03:45.056-08:00Bureaucracy Part III am at a point now where things are really the new normal. Flying around in traffic almost getting side-swiped, byranni and dosa for breakfast, peacocks outside my door, these are daily events that leave me calm.<br /><br />I am _beginning_ to approach the bureacracy here the same way. Yesterday Scott and I had to get our residency slips and register with the local police. Now we need to do this only because the person that filled out or visa's in Canada screwed it up and added a SINGLE extra say so we are at 181 days vs. 180. We didn't want this or ask for it. We are leaving the country WELL before the 180 days would be up, and both us, the school and the police know this, but I digress.<br /><br />So anyways we have to deal with it, and that's fine. We go to the station - via my first autorickshaw which makes driving even more exhiliration, but as I said - it's the new normal. It was however interesting when the driver decided to take a short-cut to the police station by DRIVING ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE ROAD for about 1/2 a mile. <br /><br />At the station we are shuffled from waiting area to waiting area. Finally we meet the police chief who berates the ISB chaperon that many students fail to de-register (oh yeah did I mention we have to go back and do this again :P). I got a little crap for having a passport that expires before my visa would be up but I told him I was leaving April 4 anyways so he was totally cool with that. All in all the chief seemed like a pretty cool guy.<br /><br />Then we wait for the next step which is the processing of our docs etc. Scott and I just get started through this process - they took our pictures and were beginning to enter our data when there is a power failure - arghhh.<br /><br />After 1 hour we are finally told it will be 4 more hours before power is returned so we decided to go back to school, but we stopped at Subway for a little snack first.<br /><br />The day thus becomes a 'Time Vampire' as Scott refered to it. IT killed any chance we really had of going anywhere this weekend, and the whole thing is utterly pointless since neither of us wants or needs this residency thing.<br /><br />So we go back again at 4:00 and are processed for another 45 mins or so. Again we would get shuffled from this seat to another seat for seemingly no reason, but Scott and I both approached it from the point of view of just tell me where to go and what to do. <br /><br />The amount of paperwork and duplication we saw was also mind numbing. As Scott said it felt like the DMV - except, I pointed, out that everyone is speaking Hindi so you don't know what people are debating or checking or discussing which just makes it more confusing.<br /><br />Finally the main guy takes this form we filled out and tears the bottom off - this is a form I printed off the net and not officially looking at all really - and hands it to me. I am done. <br /><br />What the form is for or what I can do with it I have no idea.Rankine-Filehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02300130357063504686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3049706704916430630.post-64037363717733032642009-03-07T00:32:00.000-08:002009-03-07T00:45:34.049-08:00Globalization at it's best: Karaoke in a British Style Pub in IndiaOkay so Thursday night was my first venture into Hyderabad's night life and it was a blast.<br /><br />Scott and I were going to do an Italian dinner but were having some difficulty finding the location and calling a cab. While trying to do both of these we ran into some other students who were heading in for some Karaoke and I suggested to Scott a tag along and we agreed to crash the party.<br /><br />8 of us piled in clown-car style into a taxi van and headed in to the city. The traffic is actually WORSE at night than during the day so it took a long time to get there. As apparently the norm here we paid the cabby to wait for us THE ENTIRE TIME WE WERE IN THE BAR to then drive us home or the next location. It still worked out to something like $5 each. God I love India.<br /><br />Anyways the bar itself was a pretty interesting, it was called 10 Downing Street and looked like a British Pub, only more loungey with a slightly 70s feel. Not as much of a tourist trap than I thought it would be, probably partly attributable to the fact that it is pretty impossible to find. We order a few pitchers of Kingfishers and were off to the races. The group was an interesting mix of people: 2 Dutch, 2 Canadian, 4 Indians, 1 American and a Taiwanese. The food was fun-house miror American as well as Indian. The 'American Style' fried chicken was unlike any style I have seen - thinly sliced and breaded with a hot pickle sauce on the side - tasty as hell but too small a portion.<br /><br />Karaoke was a blast - I totally sold up Scotty as a wringer and he he came through on his performance of I think Matchbox 20 or Rob Thomas. My sad contribution was a duet with a nice girl name Teena singing Annie's Song by John Denver. The DJ mercifully turned our mics down and pumped the supporting vocals. :)<br /><br />Near the end of the night we did a big group sing of "Summer of 69" by Bryan Adams and I had one of those where the f--- am I moments?<br /><br />Singing Karaoke of a Canadian Song in a British-Style Pub in the south of India.<br /><br />Welcome to the future.Rankine-Filehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02300130357063504686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3049706704916430630.post-27331920484946166872009-03-04T04:56:00.000-08:002009-03-06T04:41:32.636-08:00Hyderpad Tour Part V - The Final BattleAlright if you get the title of the blog you rock - can't believe they are remaking that thing. :P<br /><br />So while we were daunted by Golconda Fort it was totally amazing and of course beautiful. The fort had been the original power centre of Hyderabad before a drought forced the then ruler to relocate to the banks of the river near Hyderabad. FYI the Charminar and market were meant to lure people there.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcD1rTloiB21XTPjRpE9i_oKjPPaNTjqtlcfhcae_DQuiZqdLlejuc9CWHc-0CO3KBj-pfMeE-MYm2R4FkpE5vISv53r311OyP7GjXQqh2djigTeq3l74eStUI1dZ8tf5LkTh70xO9FCR5/s1600-h/Hyderbad+093.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcD1rTloiB21XTPjRpE9i_oKjPPaNTjqtlcfhcae_DQuiZqdLlejuc9CWHc-0CO3KBj-pfMeE-MYm2R4FkpE5vISv53r311OyP7GjXQqh2djigTeq3l74eStUI1dZ8tf5LkTh70xO9FCR5/s320/Hyderbad+093.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5309316529046794818" /></a><br /><br />For the most part the pictures of the fort speak for themselves but I will give a little background.<br /><br />Initially I felt that we would just do a little quick tour of the fort and then motor back to ISB, but Scott was gung ho to go to the top. I played it by ear but the hill looked pretty high from the bottom. :P<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5kn_7juA2l_JCGkwdSHyBDzKN3CTEziPHz17hBWxP0FDEQEOtpu3E9AnWd5CApuaCwrOOWD8QrnZh_4jhyphenhyphenErSmKaSu58o4dhpQ37aT6YcfvEYiA0Tjen7hG0B57BaWmUvbDn6UUcihnkz/s1600-h/Hyderbad+094.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5kn_7juA2l_JCGkwdSHyBDzKN3CTEziPHz17hBWxP0FDEQEOtpu3E9AnWd5CApuaCwrOOWD8QrnZh_4jhyphenhyphenErSmKaSu58o4dhpQ37aT6YcfvEYiA0Tjen7hG0B57BaWmUvbDn6UUcihnkz/s320/Hyderbad+094.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5309316989150935314" /></a><br /><br />As we made out way through the fort we went into an interior portion of the fort, you could a hundred little squeaks of bats in the darkness that would periodically catch in the light. I could never time the photo right to get an image of this unfortunately. :( I also opted to not pay the extra money to bring my video camera - which was the right cal ultimately considering the stills I got.<br /><br /><br />So the dark corridors opened up into a neat pavilion, as in a lot of places in India there was a metal detector that was totally unused here. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB3qKDxtLnEOlYfpy1BIQXYPdT0aqn4DtXNsLLiYT30zVaJ0eLIHVp1Fmf5KTSWZzCg26AuqFuqY-3xLDFgwgSt17sf6ecjdq-qfqv6rYnxYnmBWuW_gVFz0Pg76BDwYvt45SS5LO1JDC9/s1600-h/Hyderbad+132.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB3qKDxtLnEOlYfpy1BIQXYPdT0aqn4DtXNsLLiYT30zVaJ0eLIHVp1Fmf5KTSWZzCg26AuqFuqY-3xLDFgwgSt17sf6ecjdq-qfqv6rYnxYnmBWuW_gVFz0Pg76BDwYvt45SS5LO1JDC9/s320/Hyderbad+132.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5309318782948724914" /></a><br /><br /><br /> This was the make or break point when Scott convinced me to do the climb and we left Marcel and his ankle behind. We told our guide we weren't going to be stopping until we reached the top.<br /><br />The climb wasn't too bad, but it was a little rocky. It was also REALLY dry and hot I had a parched mouth. I saw water on the way up, but it was more of a tease as I did not trust it at all:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzja-zMWRQjRvKCI0JXn7PNo-0Gs254Cs0L9RAQYRnA42qoh8cslUTbpESTy59C5ANuO4c4ncwN6U8Utl15jRqoiKWsrNO14EY2r7A69S2gWY8GFMxZuzra2fKNXXI-Q1e1QMl3DrZD3X3/s1600-h/Hyderbad+147.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzja-zMWRQjRvKCI0JXn7PNo-0Gs254Cs0L9RAQYRnA42qoh8cslUTbpESTy59C5ANuO4c4ncwN6U8Utl15jRqoiKWsrNO14EY2r7A69S2gWY8GFMxZuzra2fKNXXI-Q1e1QMl3DrZD3X3/s320/Hyderbad+147.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5309790316979838610" /></a><br /><br />The view on the way up was great and the one from the top was pretty spectacular, of the fort and also the city. There was also a nice breeze here which was welcomed in the heat.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAY_tO81mTyfjIzNMWTT9-9AYVe2ZrkHJgcHGkTQ7U9JfmsVY8NTaLd7b2va77NXOUZ2M-vHiWH7TZkIUDsmZnd7KTdHwPg0O2iAbACdKHmtVTdjSTUOKs-N1sNClvR1Qx5Zg0W6uHW4u8/s1600-h/Hyderbad+173.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAY_tO81mTyfjIzNMWTT9-9AYVe2ZrkHJgcHGkTQ7U9JfmsVY8NTaLd7b2va77NXOUZ2M-vHiWH7TZkIUDsmZnd7KTdHwPg0O2iAbACdKHmtVTdjSTUOKs-N1sNClvR1Qx5Zg0W6uHW4u8/s320/Hyderbad+173.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5310050743014289394" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglFfpLKExyWS36hLQUdqoGrICRAMBr37Wpo5M6wAZ5tbhxq7rYEEKkS7YZw9X6-pxGT92Rrp_4-OGN3qREVrMWW7-2jBKK0fFQocOPLPH-zEbhMnSQfWJ0WPcOWGjpJbzGiiJoB59KYJgs/s1600-h/Hyderbad+169.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglFfpLKExyWS36hLQUdqoGrICRAMBr37Wpo5M6wAZ5tbhxq7rYEEKkS7YZw9X6-pxGT92Rrp_4-OGN3qREVrMWW7-2jBKK0fFQocOPLPH-zEbhMnSQfWJ0WPcOWGjpJbzGiiJoB59KYJgs/s320/Hyderbad+169.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5310050738633592802" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj8R67p9nRuGJzwvqFKZVacqun68JjGL6g4qsrLHtk5-X8gfJkde96QZUVCDBUc6veb-aCUQsFCzq_jruWmFRJ7dQWPoZT_JBDIphMVvav2yr7YHhEgpmoR5-fUUDQwhMZE2G8lAxBsyOz/s1600-h/Hyderbad+167.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj8R67p9nRuGJzwvqFKZVacqun68JjGL6g4qsrLHtk5-X8gfJkde96QZUVCDBUc6veb-aCUQsFCzq_jruWmFRJ7dQWPoZT_JBDIphMVvav2yr7YHhEgpmoR5-fUUDQwhMZE2G8lAxBsyOz/s320/Hyderbad+167.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5310050731770862962" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFkXWtXeVjHzFD5FzVAnf9yGck9K-1eKH_3jMCYN0thpuTmsBucNsz1TZrEwBLxMKWn4UcYbB4s5tkb_wvS-AL1CHB7clC4kj-ZHrEFuneqGCiu9rZDQvaoMjh_AirE0069e5cF261mKPI/s1600-h/Hyderbad+190.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFkXWtXeVjHzFD5FzVAnf9yGck9K-1eKH_3jMCYN0thpuTmsBucNsz1TZrEwBLxMKWn4UcYbB4s5tkb_wvS-AL1CHB7clC4kj-ZHrEFuneqGCiu9rZDQvaoMjh_AirE0069e5cF261mKPI/s320/Hyderbad+190.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5309320633010237330" /></a><br /><br />The water again however was a tease:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhay_uqyufOWSPUU32kToSCF2tAwWbYpv3QIfoNmO-NFWDhMejoShpg0i6yNxGVfCzCF-sJn-vFaXur2_z1VdbCshtWpjLnqPTHmsCDWWI3X0uUStF39Bkyoyj3Qoh_f8erlCs6Fj-Y-QMx/s1600-h/Hyderbad+160.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhay_uqyufOWSPUU32kToSCF2tAwWbYpv3QIfoNmO-NFWDhMejoShpg0i6yNxGVfCzCF-sJn-vFaXur2_z1VdbCshtWpjLnqPTHmsCDWWI3X0uUStF39Bkyoyj3Qoh_f8erlCs6Fj-Y-QMx/s320/Hyderbad+160.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5309790992750863074" /></a><br /><br />There were also these cute little chipmunk-y things at the top - very cute and very fast.<br /><br />After taking a rest at the top we went down the second set of stairs which are pretty scary. Not only are they slippery but over the years the rocks have shiften so they are tilted downwards away from you as you decend. I almost fell once and then took my time.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin-FiNS5Poa-TzYaEYv5Z8yrLjv_rfK2rtkm649kRyFfESx8pB5IBBPaP5pdVVfI2o4MjI5v-VPr7d3pektZWA0UR9WwAb6fu9zaWkrGJTp53sR7iTdGLoaU31PV0l8KcUvj7mOnvA9oU0/s1600-h/Hyderbad+186.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin-FiNS5Poa-TzYaEYv5Z8yrLjv_rfK2rtkm649kRyFfESx8pB5IBBPaP5pdVVfI2o4MjI5v-VPr7d3pektZWA0UR9WwAb6fu9zaWkrGJTp53sR7iTdGLoaU31PV0l8KcUvj7mOnvA9oU0/s320/Hyderbad+186.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5310052075387753314" /></a><br /><br />Once we got down we did a little more touring of the fort, I was on pretty shaky legs by then, and our guide gave us some interesting tidbits of the fort, including a portcullis that was designed to make it impossible to throw a dagger at the king while he rendered judgement.<br /><br />We were all ready to go and were waiting for our cab when I saw this thing on the other side of the road. Goat? Dog? <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH917BWos-liFn4FJBGkBkLIDLp3WhAt-u9H-O_mrx7Wkv33XYhHPl0a_KoRLmLqBMUYiNIPG3BuE-06Z8OMnZPIjFoMXdaOediMQibC2QpRfOduKzouBEYc9CEKhVj-XFGjMsWgN9pxx8/s1600-h/Hyderbad+215.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH917BWos-liFn4FJBGkBkLIDLp3WhAt-u9H-O_mrx7Wkv33XYhHPl0a_KoRLmLqBMUYiNIPG3BuE-06Z8OMnZPIjFoMXdaOediMQibC2QpRfOduKzouBEYc9CEKhVj-XFGjMsWgN9pxx8/s320/Hyderbad+215.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5310053500799039954" /></a><br /><br />So ends of one of the busiest and funnest days of my life. :)Rankine-Filehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02300130357063504686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3049706704916430630.post-17796487966042415142009-03-04T04:31:00.000-08:002009-03-05T11:33:36.650-08:00Hyderabad Tour Part IV - Kingdom of the Crystal SkullOkay so here is the second-to-last chapter in my insane one-day whirlwind tour of Hyderabad.<br /><br />After we left Charminar and caught our breath a little we drove past the large lake by Hyderabad and saw the stone Buddha there. I originally thought we were going to actually stop there, but we just drove around beside the lake. Everywhere there were ads and banner for Maneka Ghandi, the daughter-in-law of Indira Ghandi who was in town for her a rally for her party. <br /><br />Driving around Marcel asked if we could stop off at a McDonald's so we went into the more modern part of the city to go find one. McDonald's had been on my list of places to visit as part of my global Quarter Pounder with Cheese quest. This quest was inspired by Pulp Fiction and it involves me trying the host country's Quarter Pounder with Cheese or nearest local equivalent. I then rank the countries according to awesomeness of taste and keep tabs on both best Quarter Pounder AND best local variant. The number one ranking for QP's is currently The Netherlands, while the best local variant is currently the Royale Deluxe in Italy. <br /><br />India with beef-less diet was obviously going to present an interesting challenge/opportunity.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyp_IqzZD-DPgY80AbyWtex9XWdnVHfLxYwlj38MfmKlAARU7bz2XtnTQdr5KdBy-Xc7Z2cDHfP4mlZzkphQDhbbpffv4V0lsS30OF4Q6_1Q9TubCSU8q0FXGvpDFqgDHQ-JXk7cqYOjIA/s1600-h/Hyderbad+072.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyp_IqzZD-DPgY80AbyWtex9XWdnVHfLxYwlj38MfmKlAARU7bz2XtnTQdr5KdBy-Xc7Z2cDHfP4mlZzkphQDhbbpffv4V0lsS30OF4Q6_1Q9TubCSU8q0FXGvpDFqgDHQ-JXk7cqYOjIA/s320/Hyderbad+072.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5309312425339558274" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfngIMCetbmW-YwHFysxx7m63Bi0CflSSvg_U7n5knF4-2qoRo89VxqkOUSxn6iL0xE012dU4_O_o7xb508uER68y2OJEfM3hymdiptu7uvLj9Vk1XtR4D64vh-WwAvG3CJSdVQCsr9naP/s1600-h/Hyderbad+069.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfngIMCetbmW-YwHFysxx7m63Bi0CflSSvg_U7n5knF4-2qoRo89VxqkOUSxn6iL0xE012dU4_O_o7xb508uER68y2OJEfM3hymdiptu7uvLj9Vk1XtR4D64vh-WwAvG3CJSdVQCsr9naP/s320/Hyderbad+069.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5309312423056103410" /></a><br /><br />The layout of the McDonald's itself and the look of everything is EXACTLY the same as every other country. The real difference, of course, was in the menu. <br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6k2GdDpdQ75pcieglGb0rjETbPfsqfW7-LGPqr5C8WZU4bQdpGbiWndL37yo_ABYRg7nSRQBWhTs2orLiITwE6D6f8pGnBtD78CcTpSzcDso3YTzF4LJ0JQz_i56sWSC3Iuuoh-MN-Bjr/s1600-h/Hyderbad+071.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6k2GdDpdQ75pcieglGb0rjETbPfsqfW7-LGPqr5C8WZU4bQdpGbiWndL37yo_ABYRg7nSRQBWhTs2orLiITwE6D6f8pGnBtD78CcTpSzcDso3YTzF4LJ0JQz_i56sWSC3Iuuoh-MN-Bjr/s320/Hyderbad+071.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5309312417886016610" /></a><br /><br />Everything looked similar but at the same time totally unfamiliar:<br /><br />Chatpata McAloo Tikki?<br />McAloo Tikki?<br />Chicken McGrill?<br />Salad Sandwich!?!<br /><br />Only the McChicken was the same (that's what Scott got ultimately)<br /><br />Knowing that I needed to pick the closest match to the QP I ultimately went with the Chicken McGrill which had a nice spicy curry in it. Not bad, but not great. I did love the Spiderman toy that came with my Happy Meal though. ;)<br /><br />After Donald's we decided to peak into the mall it was attached to. It was a little disorienting to be in such a western-feeling place. Is it wrong that I felt at home in a mall? :| Hey look other white people!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbeB0wAquzrDMQ9rLG7VXIv3-RVMOP-Ci-Ip1ZHtqd2-8mAbAs6627xdatzTIvqdy_gQLhc4C8mC1rU8zxVjmBW8-AI7hYonPCtq5Xxl_CzK8kMk93lJH5jZS3onfcsSEH8GyJ4YgZl99G/s1600-h/Hyderbad+077.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbeB0wAquzrDMQ9rLG7VXIv3-RVMOP-Ci-Ip1ZHtqd2-8mAbAs6627xdatzTIvqdy_gQLhc4C8mC1rU8zxVjmBW8-AI7hYonPCtq5Xxl_CzK8kMk93lJH5jZS3onfcsSEH8GyJ4YgZl99G/s320/Hyderbad+077.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5309314245312082386" /></a><br /><br />After the mall we were all good to go home, we were pretty wiped and ready to take a nap, as it had been a long day. As we were driving to what I thought was home I noticed a sign and saw the 'fort' and realized to my horror that we were not going home at all. We were going to Golkonda Fort and would then climb all its 389 steep and treacherous steps to the top of the highest hill in Hyderabad. :O<br /><br />To be concluded...Rankine-Filehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02300130357063504686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3049706704916430630.post-46937994083153939002009-03-03T19:28:00.000-08:002009-03-03T19:32:50.991-08:00Cooing outside my windowI still have one last Hyderabad chapter, but I am so busy with one of my courses I will need to do it tomorrow.<br /><br />In the meantime I had a funny little anecdote. Back in my old apartment in downtown Toronto on St. Patrick I used to get these annoying pigeons always cooing out outside my window and it would drive me crazy.<br /><br />Anyways yesterday I hate a similar cooing that, although prettier-sounding, was still waking me awake. When I finally got up and saw what was making the noise it turned out to be a family of peacocks. :) Hard to stay annoyed after that. :)Rankine-Filehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02300130357063504686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3049706704916430630.post-87174310617672056732009-03-02T01:50:00.000-08:002009-03-02T02:19:36.070-08:00Hyderabad Tour Part III - Return of the Charminar<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1ML6VynrM1-Hz84uaw5Ss5RIaT6k8Y8uihp1W-FgdaV1anGIr6rCjJhYEm5GEdMZmhwoDR9lgTtdsqfKPADoRTaFk_sDcSVqL4EOcmYhKw_kbknMZwBdvKpDgTrYNNWS22eS3R01akXxI/s1600-h/Hyderbad+054_50.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 180px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1ML6VynrM1-Hz84uaw5Ss5RIaT6k8Y8uihp1W-FgdaV1anGIr6rCjJhYEm5GEdMZmhwoDR9lgTtdsqfKPADoRTaFk_sDcSVqL4EOcmYhKw_kbknMZwBdvKpDgTrYNNWS22eS3R01akXxI/s320/Hyderbad+054_50.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308526923962137026" /></a><br /><br />Our next stop on our journey was <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charminar">Charminar</a>, a 400+ year old mosque that is the heart of the old city of Hyderabad. Surrounding the mosque is a huge sprawling market area that is probably 0% targeted to foreign tourists. In fact Scott and I were the only Caucasians I saw, but there were a TON of people.<br /><br />We were told by our guide to watch our wallets but neither Scott nor I had one. We were still a little on guard though because things are just so busy and noisy (and we had our cameras). Crossing the street was a little daunting, traffic is very busy here and there are so many different things to watch out for: auto-rickshaws, mopeds, cars, trucks, people.<br /><br />Nearby to Charminar there was another Mosque, the interesting thing here, besides the wandering goats, was the fact that there was a sign telling people to feed the pigeons(?!?). A man tried to persuade us to go in, but our guide said no - apparently once you get in you are pestered for tour guides who then try to charge you.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlwlMBLSNN_kMVfJ6hhpsnjvLVYLYB77AeafcA_pO_CRajsWueiL6wky_WBal5HeYpR_Z3hDx_Eah9bLvTFqBjaunfvy9YuB-Sy1_4hQvQm1-v_JiYbD6jovPb8ryeQeUq-W47ZO5kxYST/s1600-h/Hyderbad+054_41.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlwlMBLSNN_kMVfJ6hhpsnjvLVYLYB77AeafcA_pO_CRajsWueiL6wky_WBal5HeYpR_Z3hDx_Eah9bLvTFqBjaunfvy9YuB-Sy1_4hQvQm1-v_JiYbD6jovPb8ryeQeUq-W47ZO5kxYST/s320/Hyderbad+054_41.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308531875967030786" /></a><br /><br />Walking around the market was pretty neat. I have never seen so much STUFF. A lot of it looked like leftovers from the west that have slowly trickled down here, like old combs, toys etc., the plastic was fading and old. Amongst this though there were many beautiful dresses and bangles which is one of the things this area is known for. Scott and I were approached to buy sunglasses a few times but for the most part we were left alone. One funny thing happened when these two kids were kind of arguing/fighting with each other, as we passed by the one kid suddenly jumped back into his pitch and asked if we wanted to buy sunglasses and when we said no he went right back to fighting. Behind the main street there was a quieter market than was a nice change of pace. With each store selling essentially the same goods Scott reflected on how you differentiate and compete, like him I had no idea.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNfPadfZD2JFa9Qh4ti6RpHKJ6fbzMuo9bCkRZ3U13YVKPjwnIPUBYHzflrt5WnEhRyQU6ZYGZYdiqomC82u18_0_Pf2ska5KvuxO_Juc8re1SNSGD1tWXVx8xoEOKjNcPTUN9k9vock3h/s1600-h/Hyderbad+054_58.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNfPadfZD2JFa9Qh4ti6RpHKJ6fbzMuo9bCkRZ3U13YVKPjwnIPUBYHzflrt5WnEhRyQU6ZYGZYdiqomC82u18_0_Pf2ska5KvuxO_Juc8re1SNSGD1tWXVx8xoEOKjNcPTUN9k9vock3h/s320/Hyderbad+054_58.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308532895018284098" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNXMeFcY_H8">Click here</a> for my video of the Charminar area and market.<br /><br />When we were ready to leave we went back to the Charminar square and waited for the car. While we waited a little boy came up and tried to sell our guide one of 20 odd purses he was carrying on his two shoulders, which she declined. He then asked Scott where he was from and he told him and the boy said "Welcome to Charminar!" all excited. He then asked what Scott's name was and after he told him he said "Your name beautiful." Too awesome. As we waited for the car I looked over at the boy and saw he was obviously uncomfortable carrying so much weight on his shoulders. It reminded me a little of Slumdog Millionaire and I couldn't help but feel bad for him.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhic1nRkU0vidWbfO98SMY1oMhXD_Hk5aFETcbGBmicBUufsKOxr3SgqHxug1MyIRJwnpy1WkYgNmaVYgrgoEfThvV6O-6EkpIdzPy5ERE3cy-Zug2IeixXFtnDf9d10eZb8c7zmkHNtWhyphenhyphen/s1600-h/Hyderbad+055.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhic1nRkU0vidWbfO98SMY1oMhXD_Hk5aFETcbGBmicBUufsKOxr3SgqHxug1MyIRJwnpy1WkYgNmaVYgrgoEfThvV6O-6EkpIdzPy5ERE3cy-Zug2IeixXFtnDf9d10eZb8c7zmkHNtWhyphenhyphen/s320/Hyderbad+055.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308531570411645282" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzUbHrqEuUF_5TSFb1hNgZ6eEVzUcUwqh0NgPYtOxO5KBYieQ-aJRt-8b1pplOCer55_dCI9ln2XhwjTUon161nlQ5mmVLuPK7Lyf9iWHTcfP3YVqQNN4zBP-kv4l0gg4vfbL9EZIm58d_/s1600-h/Hyderbad+056.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzUbHrqEuUF_5TSFb1hNgZ6eEVzUcUwqh0NgPYtOxO5KBYieQ-aJRt-8b1pplOCer55_dCI9ln2XhwjTUon161nlQ5mmVLuPK7Lyf9iWHTcfP3YVqQNN4zBP-kv4l0gg4vfbL9EZIm58d_/s320/Hyderbad+056.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308531119470631090" /></a>Rankine-Filehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02300130357063504686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3049706704916430630.post-86327150747064481372009-03-01T08:49:00.000-08:002009-03-01T10:18:34.570-08:00Hyderabad Tour Part II - Salar Jung<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ4Vx9IVXY7JInuZSBn6D0c4Pj87B4-4YqMM_4hCFs_ZrL0piT5UGJQMEAGPyDv3ZunaYnbaVneAxp_HUOTsQt_ITQn_J7ZoW6qTDUvCffsPa92KalVAe579w3Gw3MPFX8c4UfCKACvRzO/s1600-h/Hyderbad+039.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ4Vx9IVXY7JInuZSBn6D0c4Pj87B4-4YqMM_4hCFs_ZrL0piT5UGJQMEAGPyDv3ZunaYnbaVneAxp_HUOTsQt_ITQn_J7ZoW6qTDUvCffsPa92KalVAe579w3Gw3MPFX8c4UfCKACvRzO/s320/Hyderbad+039.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308269833951611762" /></a><br /><br />So our next stop on the tour was the Salar Jung museum which is based on the private collection of Salar Jung III.<br /><br />You aren't allowed to bring photos inside but here is a little Photosynth of the outside if you are curious (the synth isn't perfect but it's kinda cool).<br /><br /><a href="http://photosynth.net/view.aspx?cid=D1178B05-C65F-4EAA-8A16-2A5BE89AC8CC">http://photosynth.net/view.aspx?cid=D1178B05-C65F-4EAA-8A16-2A5BE89AC8CC</a><br /><br /><br />The museum itself was an interesting mix of ornate, brocade and esoteric goods. The building on the inside had the feeling of an old hospital with wide hallways etc. Unlike the modern museums of Europe of North America that I have been to, things were a little bit less organized and often there were no plaques or guidance on what things were. Our guide came in very helpful in this respect in that she knew the museum well and gave us a detailed guided tour. When I read the descriptions that were present, however, I had a very funny realization. It sounded exactly like it was written by Sachin or Mudit. I suddenly realized that flowery prose and excessive use of the word 'itself' are the norm here rather than the exception and I had a newfound appreciation for my Queen's teammates. ;)<br /><br />Touring the museum, one of the best parts was the incredible collection of ivory sculptures. Honestly you cannot believe the incredible detail in many of these artifacts. Entire scenes carved out of a single tusk, essentially mesh in some cases that is so perfect it looks like it was carved by tiny lasers, just mind-blowing.<br /><br />There are two pieces in the museum though that stand out. The first is a marble statue called the Veiled Rebecca which is as good as any I have seen, including La Pieta, which is saying a lot. It is a woman with a veil covering and the detail is so incredible you cannot believe it.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3AToCuRdLIx7cyk91VcomQJPL9vpFhJAlPP2mRfA20m7c4fT-Ahtvhk986rwFjRv_6UoaM1DY5QWtL-rXlm8-o5raOjUuNK6WYKfbUaSTUlpdcqieUfk2Poaab0UwAjmB-IzCrRktU1M1/s1600-h/rebecca.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 262px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3AToCuRdLIx7cyk91VcomQJPL9vpFhJAlPP2mRfA20m7c4fT-Ahtvhk986rwFjRv_6UoaM1DY5QWtL-rXlm8-o5raOjUuNK6WYKfbUaSTUlpdcqieUfk2Poaab0UwAjmB-IzCrRktU1M1/s320/rebecca.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308265311016249810" /></a><br /><br />The second is a really cool two-sided wood statue of Mephistopheles and Margaretta. From the front it is a evil old man leaning back and from the back it is a good woman leaning forward. Very cool. Unfortunately I can't find a single photo of this online but believe me its wild.<br /><br />After about two hours the museum tired us out pretty badly so we took a break and ate our lunch which was a nice veggie pack of chips, a tasty Indian filled pasty and a cucumber and tomato sandwich - we each got two.<br /><br />Next stop, Charminar!Rankine-Filehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02300130357063504686noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3049706704916430630.post-88856225242509142262009-03-01T05:46:00.000-08:002009-03-01T06:20:26.576-08:00Hyderabad Tour Part 1Our adventure began at 10:00AM from ISB, we were given a private driver in an air-conditioned van, a guide, and some packed lunches and drinks. Scott and I were accompanied by another exchange student Marcel, who is a very nice guy from the Netherlands who was studying his MBA in South Africa. Unfortunately due to a severe tackle in a soccer game on campus he has a brace on his ankle and was somewhat limited in what he could take part in on the tour, but he was a trooper. The plan was an eight hour tour of all the top sites in Hyderabad - it would be a long day, but an awesome one.<br /><br />Note: all the photos of the entire day can be found at:<br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/jrankine/20090228Hyderabad">http://picasaweb.google.com/jrankine/20090228Hyderabad</a><br /><br />To get into town we took the same path from greater Hyderabad, where ISB and many of the new Tech campuses such as Microsoft are, to the old city. This was the first time I had experienced weekday traffic in India and it was an adventure. I made a small video but it doesn't really do the experience justice:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05-NVWVUEK8">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05-NVWVUEK8</a><br /><br />I also learned from our guide that the small tent shanty towns that I see at the side of the road are the construction workers for all the new buildings being built in the new area we are in. This made me look at them in a totally different way.<br /><br />Our first stop was a Hindu temple Birla Mandir, which is an amazing all-white marble temple sitting on a high hill overlooking Hyderabad. Unfortunately like many of the places we visited you were not allowed to bring cameras inside, but trust me it was incredible.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9aQIFHaf0UHpoKwob21ghjqUwtJuv67T7Quem1PikZzNM96eCDzICdwgQgO1cKU88jFqmOcKPP0ZInfDEp_s1lcMoHdqT7jlIpE_4Csc2vr2fFrwrG4oaJIoVZyrShGWcEejjzjYLOd1A/s1600-h/Hyderbad+032.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9aQIFHaf0UHpoKwob21ghjqUwtJuv67T7Quem1PikZzNM96eCDzICdwgQgO1cKU88jFqmOcKPP0ZInfDEp_s1lcMoHdqT7jlIpE_4Csc2vr2fFrwrG4oaJIoVZyrShGWcEejjzjYLOd1A/s320/Hyderbad+032.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308216347359649826" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Check out <a href ="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birla_Mandir_(Hyderabad,_Andhra_Pradesh)">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birla_Mandir_(Hyderabad,_Andhra_Pradesh)</a><br /><br />In order to get in you need to take off your shoes, and the heat was such that the marble and asphalt were like frying pans so I was either doing a little dance or strategically walking in the shade. :P<br /><br />Inside the temple were various altars to Hindu gods. Our guide was really knowledgeable aout them all and explained the histories of each god, their relations and nature. For instance I now know why Ganesh has an elephant head etc. The details in the temple were facinating, for instance each of the gods' statues is treated as a person and is dressed each day, is given time to rest for meals and sleep.<br /><br />The marble detailing was also incredible, the temple is only a few decades old but you could believe it is hundreds of years old because of the craftsmanship, I honestly didn't believe that this kind of ornate detailing was done any more, it was very cool to see.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijGlqaJMzyeWIAeSPI0r9PME-MobKOJUxat4GZNSAdS21cb0_myAW2sqa2PIJT9R-y27LXMOGh_vZUCAjKzwLdXr81r6QlmdlltbOsyPNS9Abu8BI3i76rU7N3w9fyqba8rm9ze-hTU0lr/s1600-h/Hyderbad+033.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijGlqaJMzyeWIAeSPI0r9PME-MobKOJUxat4GZNSAdS21cb0_myAW2sqa2PIJT9R-y27LXMOGh_vZUCAjKzwLdXr81r6QlmdlltbOsyPNS9Abu8BI3i76rU7N3w9fyqba8rm9ze-hTU0lr/s320/Hyderbad+033.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308220594252225698" border="0" /></a><br /><br />After leaving the temple our next stop was the Salar Jung museum, one of the largest in India and the one of, if not the the, biggest private collections in the world. I will cover that in the next chapter.Rankine-Filehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02300130357063504686noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3049706704916430630.post-48968472451467363652009-02-28T06:37:00.000-08:002009-02-28T07:12:28.468-08:00Hyderbad adventureWent on a guided tour of Hyderabad today thanks to the generosity of the ISB.<br /><br />It was a totally awesome and mind-blowing day. I am too tired to do any justice to everything I experienced today to do any justice to what I experienced in a post, but I will update with a TON of photos and video soon.<br /><br />Update: Here are the photos, these are pretty raw with few deletions, I will sort out the best ones later:<br /><br />http://picasaweb.google.com/jrankine/20090228HyderabadRankine-Filehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02300130357063504686noreply@blogger.com0