Going to Bangalore

[bjarvis]

Early this morning, my boss surprised me during a discussion about distributing our team workload. Currently, my operations support team consists of six guys, four in the California headquarters, one (my boss) in Montana and me in DC. We collectively share 24x7 production support coverage, rotating the on-call duties weekly.

Our firm acquired another about a year ago which was mostly based in the same San Francisco region but has a significant number of developers in Bangalore, India. My boss in conjunction with his managers suggested we get some of their 24x7 support folks up to speed on our duties so we can provide better support coverage. You'll get no argument from me: anything that reduces the number of times my cell phone goes off at 4am is a big win in my books.

My boss then suggested that I go to Bangalore to get train the guys, say, 2-3 weeks in early January.

Eep.

At first, it seemed like a great opportunity. Sure, since I'm the sole sysadmin for the company's entire production facility, the firm's management clearly trusts me to work independently and consistently or they would have trashed me years ago. Still, being handed this opportunity struck me as an unexpected honor and statement of confidence. It's also an opportunity for personal & professional growth as I've only done one-on-one training previously and never been sent on business travel on a similar scale. My first instinct says yes, this is the right thing to do and the right time to do it.

But the more I think about the details, the more my inner control freak & detail-oriented perfectionism is screaming bloody murder.

Outside of an afternoon in Tijuana, I've never left the safe and culturally familiar confines of Canada and the continental US. I've never truly traveled internationally --largely because I've never had the funds to afford my dream vacation. Moving to the US 16 years ago was a trial but at least the US while alien was somewhat familiar and linguistically similar.

I've started the process of getting a business visa and trying to figure out what vaccinations I should have. I have no idea what kind of accommodations to expect. I have no clue what I should pack or not. Hell, as I write this, I have no idea what kind of electrical devices I should take: I have no clue what the specs are for common electricity or electrical outlets in India although I'm sure I can find that out with a few Internet searches. How will I get around the city? How much of a language barrier can I expect? How do I get appropriate currency? Will my credit cards work? Will I be able to navigate my way around the minor details of purchasing toiletries? Should I get a cell phone while there? What's the most effective way to communicate with the home office and family? How on earth will do I do something as simple as laundry?

My rational mind is reassuring me that the firm will place me in a comfortable and modern hotel with appropriately familiar conveniences and services. Bangalore isn't Mars: it will be very different but also very similar. I'm not the first westerner to buzz into town and I won't be the last: trust the local colleagues, ask questions when needed and all will be well. If I keep an open mind and be patient, all these worries will be shown for what they are: mere trivia. Still, I wish I was traveling with someone more experienced who could fill in the blanks and/or prevent any cultural or situational faux pas.

Yet another corner of my brain is asking if I'm even qualified to do the work required on this trip. I'm planning to have a conversation with my boss today to determine exactly what the goals and expectations are, but I'm already keenly aware of large gaps in my knowledge of how things are done around the company since I work in relative isolation from the rest of the firm. I know what I do in great detail, but do I know what needs to be communicated to these guys I'm traveling to meet? At the moment, my rational mind has no good answer for this.

Depending on the range of dates, I'm going to miss Mid-Alantic Leather and my own birthday. Several square dance gigs will have to be rescheduled. A caller clinic I was looking to organize will either have to be rescheduled or be assembled by someone else.

In summation, I'm both excited and terrified by the prospects. This will be a great adventure, although I wish I was more confident launching into it and had greater assurance that the final outcomes will meet expectations. I'm glad to go but also uneasy about the responsibilities and the uncertainties.

None of this makes for good sleeping right now.

Comments

[chrishansenhome.livejournal.com]

I was in somewhat the same situation as you are in 2005. I was asked to do two ISEB Foundation Courses in Software Testing in Bangalore and Pune. I had never been to India before (although I had been to other Asian destination). So here's the scoop (as I know it).

1) Make sure that your host company meets you at the airport and ferries you around. Do not use public transport or taxis. Be wary of people in the airport who want to "carry your luggage"--they will extort money from you to get it back.

2) Don't drink the water, and if bottled water is provided in your hotel room, make sure the cap seal is intact. Some hotels refill bottles and "sterilise" them.

3) Avoid eating meat if you can help it. There are lots of good Indian vegetarian options that will be very filling and good. I only had chicken once when I was there (it was OK).

4) Along with (2), don't eat salads or washed vegetables, and don't let them put ice in a drink. Brush your teeth with bottled water.

5) Kingfisher and Cobra Beer are good bets if you want to drink something that's stronger than water.

6) When training, expect people to drift in and out of the class (if it's a class). When you ask a yes/no question, people will nod "yes", shake their head "no", and move their heads from side to side in a kind of figure-8 shape. That also means "yes".

7) If you need something in the hotel, don't be afraid to tip. A R100 note will be enough to ensure that any hotel employee will be thrilled to help you out. There is often a concierge or travel manager available and if you want to sightsee s/he's the person to tip. Smaller tips for the waiters will also be appreciated.

8) Six years ago, the hotel in which I stayed in Bangalore had free WiFi (I wish I could remember the name of it). It worked well and when I was having trouble logging in the hotel IT manager came up and personally helped me log on. Make sure you get a hotel with free WiFi.

9) I had no time to sightsee, but if you can, build in some time to sightsee. Remember that you'll be majorly jetlagged (India is 9-1/2 hours ahead of EST) and make sure you don't have anything to do the first day except settle in. The hotel will be able to get you a driver and car for the sightseeing.

If they fly you into Mumbai first, sightsee there before flying to Bangalore, if you can swing it. But again, make sure you're accompanied by a responsible person.

Don't be surprised by the squalor you'll be passing through. In Bangalore, during the 3/4 hour drive from the hotel to the course venue, we were held up by cows in the road, a herd of pigs, lots of Vespa scooters, and people peeing and the like in the gutters. The venue was sumptuous, as was the hotel, but in between you got a real sense of what life in India was like for millions of people: hard, brutal, and poor.

10) As for outlets, the electricity (when you can get it-in some places it's intermittent but Bangalore ought to be OK) is 240V. Most US laptop power supply bricks and chargers will adapt to either 120/240 but it will be worth checking. The style of outlet varies depending on where you are. The hotel I was in had adapters "on tap" but some had UK-style plugs. I would consult with the people you'll be training before you get there and tell them what your needs are.

11) Don't worry about laundry. The hotel will do it for you. In fact, the hotel I was in was so assiduous that they did laundry for me that I didn't want laundered.

12) You can get currency at the hotel concierge desk. Don't try to get it in the US as India has currency controls. You may be able to get a "tip pack" but I'm not sure. Your credit cards should work but I would communicate with your credit card providers so that they know when and where you'll be as it's possible you may be denied just because they think a scammer has stolen your card number.

13) Bring your toiletries. I don't know how long you're going to be there but if it's, say, 2 weeks then you should be able to bring everything you need.

Finally, enjoy it! Be as careful there of your personal effects as you would in any major US city, enjoy the food, the ambiance, and be relaxed.

I hope this helps a bit. Good luck and please blog while you're there!

[jwg.livejournal.com]

What a great potential experience. It is so fascinating to be a completely different place - where everything you are used to is strange and different. And since this is company paid and organized lots of the details that you'd have to worry about will be taken care of. Chris's advice is really good.

Enjoy.

[pklexton.livejournal.com]

Talk to excessor.

[abqdan.livejournal.com]

I loved travel on the company's dime. I was fortunate to work throughout the middle and far east in my 30s. I'm not sure I'd look forward to it these days though.

Relax and enjoy the culture. (And don't kill any cows while you are there). Be prepared to overpay; get used to the fact that you are a foreigner, and therefore a sucker! Also be prepared for some stomach bugs - you can do some sensible things to avoid them, but there's a good chance your body is going to react to some bacteria you haven't ever been exposed to before. When taking taxis, negotiate the price BEFORE getting in (although they may have metered taxis in Bangalore...) Barter when you can.

One of the overwhelming things I found in India was the begging. I recall walking out of the airport at Delhi and being surrounded by dozens of kids, all with their hand out. Fortunately, my contact there had told me - don't even say 'no'. Pretend you don't see them. Any interaction is taken as the start of a negotiation. It turned out to be wise advice. Walking with eyes straight ahead, the crowd of beggars lost interest pretty quickly.

On water you have options: In hotels and respectable restaurants, take a chance. You'll get sick. But not very sick, and then you'll get over it and have some immunity. Or - don't drink any water without treating it first. My suggestion: Go to REI and buy two things before you travel: a 2 liter collapsible water bottle, and a supply of water treatment tablets. You can make 2 liters of clean, safe water in your hotel room from the hotel tap water in four hours. (Remember to brush teeth with clean water also!) Also take a regular water bottle with you, and fill it up from your supply of clean water each day. Take it with you to the office so you can drink that instead of whatever the office offers.

Generally, chai (tea) will be safe, as it is made with boiled water - though in India, thanks to the Raj, they often add milk (yuk). Beer is always safe (well, if it isn't, who cares? You'll be sick but drunk). Take alcohol wipes to clean soda cans/bottles before you drink from them - if you like soda.

On food - eat cooked things, and fruit you can peel yourself. Don't drink 'freshly squeezed' fruit juices, especially from street vendors. In fact, don't eat ANYTHING from street vendors. Don't eat salad, even in 'good' restaurants. There's no way you can be sure it's free from Hepatitis.

And on Hepatitis - if you haven't been vaccinated, see your doctor NOW. It takes weeks to get the injections and build immunity.

Don't be tempted to try Paan. Indians seem to love it.

Now - go have fun! (And maybe take a husband or two for company...)

[guiser1.livejournal.com]

Go and have fun and stop worrying.

I'll come down to keep the husbands happy.

[trawnapanda.livejournal.com]

obviously you have advisors - chrishansenhome and excessor who have been there and have good direct advice.

As for travel, hotels, currency, power requirements and the like -- that's what travel agents are for. Use one that is used to sending people to India.

the best way of cleaning water is boiling it. electric kettle? (when you get there - it's 240V which would fry a NAmerican device). Or tell the hotel you want to make tea in your room, so need boiling apparatus?

oh and abqdan - I'm not surprised that tea in India, post-Raj, adds milk to tea. That is the correct and civilised way to consume tea. India is one of the best places to get tea. ["yuk" indeed. heathen.]

[wescobear.livejournal.com]

One thing I was told when visiting Bangkok - shave with bottled water. Yes, rinse the razor with bottled water. Brush your teeth with bottled water. And when you shower, do not splash water in your eyes.

You should pack Immodium caplets as well anything you'll need for the duration of your stay. Assume that your normal toiletry brands will not be available.

Definitely have someone meet you at the airport (from the office, a car service or from your hotel); after eighteen hours in transit and numerous time zones, you'll be nearly incoherent stumbling off of the plane. And if you have the opportunity, consider flying Virgin Atlantic; their business class (Upper Class) rivals most airlines' first class and their full fare economy is as good as many business class flights.

[chrishansenhome.livejournal.com]

I did forget about the Immodium—that's a must, and you can't pack too much. If you can get prescription Lomotil from your doctor, that would even be better.

I got my shots a few weeks before going. I only needed boosters for Hep A and all the other stuff. I also got malaria tablets and took them according to instructions—unless you're not going out at all you should have them.

I wasn't tempted to try paan (I just looked it up and I am even less tempted). However, one thing that I did find useful in Bangalore in re food was this: most of the one-company buildings there have the canteen on the roof. There is a canopy to prevent being washed or blown away. If you like Indian food, don't let your hosts steer you to the area where Western food is dished out. Go to the Indian food area, preferably with someone local, and take things you think you might like. The South Indian food line is apt to be mostly vegetarian, and I gravitated towards that.

I like lime pickle, which is an acquired taste (I can't eat it now, because it's too salty). When I got to the end of the Indian food line there was a bowl of lime pickle and I took a spoonful. The Indian workers with me opened their eyes wide and said, "Do you know what that is?" I told them that I did, and that I enjoyed it. Your students will respect you if you eat Indian food just as they do.

At the end of the meal there will be a mandatory wash-up area where you are expected to wash your hands. Many of the Indian workers would also take water and swish it around their mouths and spit it out into the sink. I wouldn't do that, but do wash up afterwards.

The toilets will have water hoses like those on a kitchen sink next to them. This is for cleanup afterwards instead of paper. If the venue is frequented by Western workers, there will probably be paper too, but if there isn't, you'll know what the hose is for.

I was very lucky in that I didn't get Delhi belly while I was there. (June/July 2005). When I got back, two days later I had a case that lasted for a week. At the time I thought I knew what had caused it, a drink I unwisely consumed on the road from Pune to Mumbai. However, later on I discovered that it was probably an effect of my diabetic neuropathy rather than a food-induced problem. Delhi belly is NOT a foregone conclusion when visiting India.

I hope you will have lots of fun, and get the travel bug (rather than any other kind of bug) from it. South and Southeast Asia is a great place to visit and is surprisingly affordable and beautiful.