After nearly 2 days of traveling, I have finally settled into my new home at the WelcomHotel in Vadodara, India.
The hotel is lovely but the sheets are like sandpaper so my first night's sleep was not too restful. I awoke at 5 am on Monday morning - wide awake but craving more than the 3 hours of sleep I actually got. I made my way to the Fitness Center, to find a Stairmaster, recumbent bike and an old Nautilus-like machine. According to Mike, there used to be a couple of treadmills which is what I really wanted but no luck this morning. After a decent workout, the attendant told us that there are treadmills but they are on the other side of the hotel property - we'll find them tomorrow.
Like I said, the hotel is quite nice and I had done my research ahead of time to see what amenities they had to offer. On the website, there were pictures of a beautiful pool, all decked out with lounge chairs and umbrellas. I was really looking forward to a little R&R after our long days at the office. On my way back to my room, I went looking for said pool. I found it - or rather I found where it used to be. The location of the pool is now a huge gaping hole in the Earth with mounds of dry dirt all around. The pool is being reconstructed...of course, just like my first trip to London when Big Ben was covered by scaffolding and my first trip to Florence where the Duomo was covered in scaffolding and my first trip to Paris, yes, Notre Dame was covered in scaffolding. I'm detecting a trend and I don't like it. :(
Upon arriving back at my room, I received a message on my Blackberry from Mike - he was notifying me that he had to take his first shot of Kaopectate - it's day one and he's already hitting the meds. This may be a long trip.
The trip into the TCS office was an adventure. First the driver was MIA, then we had to survive the craziness that is driving/riding in a car in India. Once we arrived at the office, we proceeded through two security checkpoints, the second of which confiscated my camera and Mike's iPod. Once we were signed in and allowed to proceed to our floor, we were greeted by huge smiles and warm welcomes from our team leads. They presented me with pink roses (that one team lead noticed matched my "toe enamel" - nail polish) and Mike with yellow roses. This was the first time anyone had ever given Mike roses - although he looked awkward holding them, you could tell he was very touched by the gesture.
At the office, I reunited with my work 'little brother' - Mike Schickner, aka Schick. He is now a much slimer version of the Schick I know. In a previous blog, I mentioned some 'trouble' he had when he first came to India - the result is a slimed down version of the guy everyone loves!
The work day was uneventful and short since Mike (Pate) knew that we would be dragging and would need to rest a bit. We returned to the hotel to nap before dinner. Schick rode his scooter over to the hotel so we could all go to dinner together. Schick purchased a scooter after a near-kidnapping and after his driver was fired. This scooter has been a bit of a money trap but definitely the genesis of a lot of good stories (some of which I'll ask Schick to guest blog for you in the upcoming days). The scooter is a girls scooter according to the locals but that doesn't stop Schick from riding it with pride. I think it helps that his helmet says STUD above the visor. Turns out the high-end helmet maker here in India is STUDDS. Schick scratched of the last D and S to make sure that everyone that saw him coming knew exactly what he was. ;)
The hardest decision we had to make all day was what to have for dinner. After mulling over the options, we chose an Italian restaurant. Yes, you read that correctly - we were going to an Italian restaurant in the heart of Baroda, India. Schick escorted us down dark alleys, complete with 5 feet deep holes in the road, fluorescent lights hanging from the trees as street lamps and many stray, but not mangy, dogs. We had to cross the main road, which was probably more dangerous than anything I've ever done - and remember I've jumped out of an airplane.
When we arrived at the restaurant, you would have thought you were anywhere in Italy or the US. Little Italy was a quaint little restaurant with pictures of wine bottles and Italian landmarks on the walls.
There were three main differences from a restaurant you would go to in the US, but none were too noticeable. 1. The staff was entirely Indian. 2. There was no wine (only pictures of wine) because Baroda is a dry state. 3. The entire menu was vegetarian. The meal was delicious, the company (including our friend Kevin who joined us) was wonderful and the waiters were attentive. We had a wonderful time catching up.
Since there is no rest for the wicked, Schick had to join a work call at 9:30 pm local time so we all went with him back to his apartment. Taj MaSchick is a three bedroom, two bathroom apartment with a 50 inch flat screen television, marble floors and full service kitchen. It is a beautiful place. However, there is one small problem . . . the mattresses in his bedrooms are like futon mattresses - hard as rocks. Mike jumped on one only to nearly dislocate his elbow. Hey, you can't have everything!
On our way back to our hotel, we came upon a local favorite - Lucky the three legged dog. He was very sweet - I hope we see him again.
I have been asked to clarify all the participants in my adventures - probably because there are so many Mike's/Michael's in my life it's hard to keep track. So, for those of you that are interested....
Mike Pate - One of the Telecom Operations Managers at Nielsen and my travel companion
Mike Schickner (aka Schick) - My work 'little brother'; an Associate in the Nielsen Emerging Leaders Program living in Baroda for 5+ months.
Kevin Derrick - Another Associate in the Nielsen ELP living in Baroda for the last few weeks after visiting 7 other countries on his way to India. Kevin is also a fellow Michigander, although he went to the other Michigan school - we don't talk about it! :)
Nick Naber - Another ELP Associate, who has lived in Mumbai the last 4 months and is moving to Singapore for 4+ weeks this weekend. Also a fellow Michigander but his pedigree is acceptable as he attended Purdue University.
Hopefully there will be others characters that we meet along this great journey...adventures are always made better by the people that you take them with!!!!
Namaste
The hotel is lovely but the sheets are like sandpaper so my first night's sleep was not too restful. I awoke at 5 am on Monday morning - wide awake but craving more than the 3 hours of sleep I actually got. I made my way to the Fitness Center, to find a Stairmaster, recumbent bike and an old Nautilus-like machine. According to Mike, there used to be a couple of treadmills which is what I really wanted but no luck this morning. After a decent workout, the attendant told us that there are treadmills but they are on the other side of the hotel property - we'll find them tomorrow.
Like I said, the hotel is quite nice and I had done my research ahead of time to see what amenities they had to offer. On the website, there were pictures of a beautiful pool, all decked out with lounge chairs and umbrellas. I was really looking forward to a little R&R after our long days at the office. On my way back to my room, I went looking for said pool. I found it - or rather I found where it used to be. The location of the pool is now a huge gaping hole in the Earth with mounds of dry dirt all around. The pool is being reconstructed...of course, just like my first trip to London when Big Ben was covered by scaffolding and my first trip to Florence where the Duomo was covered in scaffolding and my first trip to Paris, yes, Notre Dame was covered in scaffolding. I'm detecting a trend and I don't like it. :(
Upon arriving back at my room, I received a message on my Blackberry from Mike - he was notifying me that he had to take his first shot of Kaopectate - it's day one and he's already hitting the meds. This may be a long trip.
The trip into the TCS office was an adventure. First the driver was MIA, then we had to survive the craziness that is driving/riding in a car in India. Once we arrived at the office, we proceeded through two security checkpoints, the second of which confiscated my camera and Mike's iPod. Once we were signed in and allowed to proceed to our floor, we were greeted by huge smiles and warm welcomes from our team leads. They presented me with pink roses (that one team lead noticed matched my "toe enamel" - nail polish) and Mike with yellow roses. This was the first time anyone had ever given Mike roses - although he looked awkward holding them, you could tell he was very touched by the gesture.
At the office, I reunited with my work 'little brother' - Mike Schickner, aka Schick. He is now a much slimer version of the Schick I know. In a previous blog, I mentioned some 'trouble' he had when he first came to India - the result is a slimed down version of the guy everyone loves!
The work day was uneventful and short since Mike (Pate) knew that we would be dragging and would need to rest a bit. We returned to the hotel to nap before dinner. Schick rode his scooter over to the hotel so we could all go to dinner together. Schick purchased a scooter after a near-kidnapping and after his driver was fired. This scooter has been a bit of a money trap but definitely the genesis of a lot of good stories (some of which I'll ask Schick to guest blog for you in the upcoming days). The scooter is a girls scooter according to the locals but that doesn't stop Schick from riding it with pride. I think it helps that his helmet says STUD above the visor. Turns out the high-end helmet maker here in India is STUDDS. Schick scratched of the last D and S to make sure that everyone that saw him coming knew exactly what he was. ;)
The hardest decision we had to make all day was what to have for dinner. After mulling over the options, we chose an Italian restaurant. Yes, you read that correctly - we were going to an Italian restaurant in the heart of Baroda, India. Schick escorted us down dark alleys, complete with 5 feet deep holes in the road, fluorescent lights hanging from the trees as street lamps and many stray, but not mangy, dogs. We had to cross the main road, which was probably more dangerous than anything I've ever done - and remember I've jumped out of an airplane.
When we arrived at the restaurant, you would have thought you were anywhere in Italy or the US. Little Italy was a quaint little restaurant with pictures of wine bottles and Italian landmarks on the walls.
There were three main differences from a restaurant you would go to in the US, but none were too noticeable. 1. The staff was entirely Indian. 2. There was no wine (only pictures of wine) because Baroda is a dry state. 3. The entire menu was vegetarian. The meal was delicious, the company (including our friend Kevin who joined us) was wonderful and the waiters were attentive. We had a wonderful time catching up.
Since there is no rest for the wicked, Schick had to join a work call at 9:30 pm local time so we all went with him back to his apartment. Taj MaSchick is a three bedroom, two bathroom apartment with a 50 inch flat screen television, marble floors and full service kitchen. It is a beautiful place. However, there is one small problem . . . the mattresses in his bedrooms are like futon mattresses - hard as rocks. Mike jumped on one only to nearly dislocate his elbow. Hey, you can't have everything!
On our way back to our hotel, we came upon a local favorite - Lucky the three legged dog. He was very sweet - I hope we see him again.
I have been asked to clarify all the participants in my adventures - probably because there are so many Mike's/Michael's in my life it's hard to keep track. So, for those of you that are interested....
Mike Pate - One of the Telecom Operations Managers at Nielsen and my travel companion
Mike Schickner (aka Schick) - My work 'little brother'; an Associate in the Nielsen Emerging Leaders Program living in Baroda for 5+ months.
Kevin Derrick - Another Associate in the Nielsen ELP living in Baroda for the last few weeks after visiting 7 other countries on his way to India. Kevin is also a fellow Michigander, although he went to the other Michigan school - we don't talk about it! :)
Nick Naber - Another ELP Associate, who has lived in Mumbai the last 4 months and is moving to Singapore for 4+ weeks this weekend. Also a fellow Michigander but his pedigree is acceptable as he attended Purdue University.
Hopefully there will be others characters that we meet along this great journey...adventures are always made better by the people that you take them with!!!!
Namaste
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