In order to preemptively answer some of the questions you may have about this trip and why I’m on it, I’ve prepared a brief FAQ.
You’re in India, what?
Yeah, I’m about a week into a month long visit to India. Mostly, I’m spending my time in and around Bangalore, but my last week here I will be traveling a bit more broadly around the country, and then stopping in Hong Kong for a few days before returning to San Francisco.
What’s the deal with a month long trip, don’t you work for a living?
I do, and I am. I’m in Bangalore helping to bring my company’s new office up.
Where is Bangalore?
Bangalore is the capital of the Southern Indian state of Karnataka. That’s it on the map of India up there. If you don’t know where India is, I can’t help you.
Is it beastly hot there?
Actually, I’ve been pleasently surprised by how hot it’s not. Bangalore is fairly well elevated, and gets some nice breezes in the evening. There have even been a couple occasions, usually while sitting in a roof top lounge in the evening (more on these later), when I’ve wished I had light jacket with me.
Why is your company opening an office in Bangalore? Isn’t Silicon Valley far enough from away Western Civilization?
Bangalore is a boom town. After the partition, the Indian government began concentrating defence and telecom in this area as it is relatively well defenseable. This led to an explosion of technical universites in the area, which in turn has led to a huge proliferation of talented engineers in the area. My company has joined in on the growing trend among American and multinational corporations of ‘off shoring’ part of our operations to Bangalore, where it is hoped we can develop a quality product at a fraction of the of the cost.
I will save my comparisons of Bangalore and the Bay Area for another post, but suffice to say that I’ve found Bangalore to be extremely cosmopolitan, and engaging in a way that San Francisco is not.
When are you getting back to the States?
I’ll be landing at SFO the evening of Sunday, the 23rd of July, two hours before I leave Hong Kong. Wrap your head around that.
Other questions? Let me know.