Waterfalls

The state of Karnataka celebrated a festival for the Ganesha god today and the office was closed. Guys from the office picked me up early and we headed southwest to visit a state park by Sivasamudram. The highlight of the trip was a set of waterfalls cascading down a lush jungle setting. The waterfalls stretched across the horizon and had tiers of falls. This is one of the most pristine beautiful locations I have ever been and is a favorite for locals.

The local guides rent out circle-shaped canoes at the base of the falls and will take you right under them. So cool, I hope the video camera captured it without water damage.

More photos here.

Tipping

The tipping convention in India continues to baffle me. There seems to be no set custom, such as 10% or $1 per favor. I had no idea what to tip my driver that had been with me for 4 days driving me all over the country, sleeping in his car, and waiting attentively for my site seeing or meal to complete. He promptly started his car and drove to pick up if I had been gone 5 minutes or 5 hours. I decided to go with a $14 tip and tried to gauge his reaction. I am terrible at reading people (although I tend to be good at reading poker faces...) and felt that he expressed sadness. I found myself feeling cheap and unappreciative after he dropped me off on Saturday night. I arrived in the office Monday morning asked the office manager about an appropriate tip for the driver. He say $3 for the entire trip! I don't get it; a published cost for a one hour guide through one of the temple was $11 ("foreigner-rate"), yet the custom is to tip $3 for over 100 hours of dedication by my driver. Baffling.

My driver last night was a talkative sort with lots to say and ask. Unsolilited, he blurts out that his pay is 5100 rupees per month and casually asks what my salary is. Considering the exchange rate is 44 rupees to $1, how do I even start to answer him...

India charm

There is a certain charm about India that starts to grow on you. Yes, it could be staying at plush hotels with a driver to take you places, but I think it goes beyond that. No matter what conditions I am in, my hint of a smile always receives back a glowing, friendly response and an ear-to-ear smile. This shine comes from villagers in the "Magestic" back-country and the guy on a motorcyle stuck next to me in rush-hour traffic. I see the same friendliness and good nature shared among the locals themselves; I believe they are generally good-hearted and passionately contentful.

I have learned and seen some interesting things at the resort where I am staying. There are 500 villas on the property and 128 hotel rooms. The villas are primarily owned and lived in by full-time ex-pats living the good life in India; great food and servants on the cheap. I have seen a few cases of the good life going to peoples heads. For example, at dinner, two men sat at the table next to me and the staff promptly arrived at their table to attend to them. The one man went on a insane rant about the specifics on how he would like a Coca-Cola served to him, "Tall glass slightly chilled, 6 ice cubes, with the bottle... Ah, just tell the concierge that Mr. Laskmiti has arrived and would like his Coca-Cola served as he desires." Hilarous, I wanted to say to the guy, "Dude, its a soda, relax." Another guy has only ordered a steak, plain, no sauce, no sides at each of the meals I have seen him at the restaurant. To each their own, but there are some cases of abusing the system, yet it doesn't seem to bother the staff one bit. They will listen attentively and try their best to satisfy.

Office

Arrived at the office today. The campus competes in beauty and amenities with US campuses. Lots of trees, open space, contemporary architecture, and big name companies. The webMethods office features a strong color palette, large cubes and offices, and a nice cafeteria. I met many of the co-workers who I have worked with over the years and all were pleasant and welcoming. Indians tend to have long names and they say them very fast, so i will need to learn them from viewing the name plates ;). The first day included an afternoon of productive meetings with fluid conversation and many discussion points. The drive back to the hotel took 1.5 hours to go 4 kilometers, but it's no problem with a driver. (Note: The other commutes have gone smoothly so far, there was an accident causing this delay.)