I’m wrapping up my trip and thinking about the things that I didn’t bring with me that I won’t forget next time. Here is my quick list of items that I won’t leave at home next time…
A mask (or something similar) to block the dust
Sinus medicine
Extra batteries
Advil
A pre-compiled list of medicine to get when I start having sinus issues.
Some things that I didn’t know before that I know now…
Pepsi products are cheaper than Coke products.
The prices on grocery items are printed by the expiration date, there aren’t any tags in the store.
When you give money to beggars, be prepared to be swamped by more beggars.
Prescription medicine is easy to get in India w/o a prescription (look for a Chemist store).
Your driver is your lifeline.
Be prepared to deal with the effects of the pollution and dust. There’s no way around it.
Most showers have a switch that you turn on to get hot water.
Someone needs to write a book from the standpoint of a westerner staying in India for a long time. This would be invaluable.
We went to the peths, browsed through the fruit and meat market, went to the mall, grabbed a few mojitos at Le Meridian, and stocked up on some more orange cream biscuits. I saw a camel, an elephant, and a few bulls.
Today was my most eventful day yet in India. I woke up pretty early and my driver took me from Thane to Pune. The drive was cool and I was able to see some pretty incredible sites along the way.
When I arrived in Pune I got settled in to the apartment and took off walking. It felt great to actually get out and walk around the city with some others that I met in Pune. We ended up ducking into a bar to get a few drinks and lose the beggars.
While we were in the bar we had an interesting conversation with a guy from Chile that lives in Bengal. Juan was a little strange, but we were able to listen for about 30 minutes as he told us his life story. Throughout the time that Juan sat at the table we listened as he laughed, joked, cried, and discussed his soul. Juan talked about growing up in Chile, his wife’s renunciation of money, his girlfriend in British Columbia, his children in the US, and his travels playing music. He talked for almost 30 minutes straight, pounded a full beer in a few gulps, and disappeared.
After the beers, we decided to go check out MG Road. I have to say that I really liked the area and it was interesting experimenting with various beggar-diversion tactics (none worked). After MG Road we went to Pune Central to pick up some odds and ends and then went and ate at a good Pizzeria.
In between everything else I saw a few monkeys, a few elephants, a few fellow westerners, picked up some camera supplies, ate some orange biscuits, had a child beggar pinch my stomach, and attempted to have a full-on conversation with a beggar (who had no idea what I was saying) about transportation methods in Pune.
Alright, I’m successfully back in business. I was able to find an SD card reader (for $4) and get some batteries for the camera. I’ve uploaded my pictures that I’ve taken so far on my flickr account and I can finally take some more pictures now that I have some fresh batteries.
I’ve been somewhat bummed out that I didn’t bring an SD card reader with me. I was looking forward to posting some images from the city.
It never gets old looking out the window of the car on my way to and from work everyday. There’s always something new and interesting to see. Everyday I see things that blow my mind.
Right now, my camera is dead and I haven’t been able to find any batteries that work for longer than a couple of minutes. So, while I’m waiting to get home and post some video, you can check out this video from YouTube.
This video is very similar to what I see every day on my drive to work.
I’ve been banging my head against the wall for the past couple of years trying to find a way to use index cards during the typical Release, Iteration, and Daily Planning cycles of various projects. The problem is that I’ve been working on distributed teams.
I find it hard to function without a Wall Gantt. Without a doubt, I think it’s the best way to plan for a sprint or iteration.
I’m glad to say that a couple of weeks ago we found an alternative that works for distributed Wall Gantt functionality. If you are in the same situation, check out CardMeeting. CardMeeting is my new favorite tool. I’m not sure how I functioned for so long without it.
I still prefer real cards, but the capabilities of CardMeeting are very good and the feel of the application is as close as you can get to the real thing.
I can honestly say that I never thought I would say that.
The flight wasn’t bad (although I wouldn’t recommend Delta/Air France for your flights) and I adjusted to the time change within a few days.
Although there were a few riots when I departed the US, everything has settled down and I never noticed anything out of the ordinary.
To say the least, Mumbai is an amazing city. I have been taking pictures all over the place, but I don’t have an SD card reader to upload everything to the flickr site yet. I’ll be posting pictures when I return or if I happen to make it to an electronics store while I’m here.
I’m staying at the Renaissance (map) and the hotel is amazing.
