Four months into a new job I was invited to join my boss and a colleague on a trip to Mumbai in India to visit their offshore team. The trip would last just under two weeks and meant I would miss out on a friends major birthday celebration so I was a little reluctant but I rarely travel and recognised that it would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to visit somewhere where I would not likely go out of my way to visit myself, so I agreed.
This was the first time I had ever travelled with a manger overnight – let alone for nearly two weeks – so was an anxious time for me, even more so as I was still within my probationary period! What would happen if we got on each other’s nerves?!!
We started the trip on the first Saturday by being picked up in a Toyota Prius! Baring in mind there were three of us with luggage for a fortnight, this was a little cramped. Still, the geek inside me enjoyed learning all about the hybrid technology, and before we knew it were at Heathrow terminal 5.
We were soon boarding our British Airways flight east-bound. I tried to resist the urge to sleep and started watching the on-board films but caught myself dozing to Planet of the Apes! The flight seemed to take little time and before I realised we had arrived as was evident from the ocean of blue tarpaulins beneath the plane.
We quickly rushed through the usual airport pantomime of luggage collection, passport control, customs, etc. And were greeted by not one drive but two drivers! This meant that I had a car and suited’n’booted driver to myself. The drive to the hotel was quite pleasant.
Our hotel was amazing! It equalled what I had experienced at a Caribbean Sandals resort with its gated entrance, floor-to-ceiling marble, airport-spec security and traditionally-clad hospitality staff on hand to welcome you. This was five-star living at its very best and I was keep to explore more.
We quickly checked in and allowed ourselves just an hour to unpack, call home, etc., then we were immediately whisked away for some sightseeing, we were fortunate enough to have our very own experienced driver and well equipped people carrier for the duration of the stay. We met up with some of the team from India who became our tour guides for the day and visited some top tourist destinations including the Haji ali dargah, the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, the Gateway of India and the Taj Mahal Palace.
My first recollection of India was that of sensory overload; everything seemed to hit you at extremes, the volume of people, the sound, the smells, heat and the noises- I was well used to working in London but Mumbai seemed to take the volume of people up a notch by a factor of a hundred! I enjoyed the tour experience but was also glad to be back in the air conditioned tranquility of the car awaiting us!
We ended up for dinner at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel for drinks and curry. For a curry lover like myself, there is no finer claim to fame that to have your first ever curry in India (an accomplishment in itself) at the country’s most exclusive venue. Considering we had not slept for over 24 hours we were shattered and welcomed the opportunity for sleep that night.
We woke to a weekday regime that would become the norm for the duration of the stay; for me this entailed waking up to my phone alarm, an early start gym session overlooking a tropical vista, shower, meet the gang for buffet breakfast, a thrilling 20-50 minute car ride to office, more-often-that-not we sat in same office all day long, had lunch in the office canteen together, shared a car journey back, and either dinner at one of the hotels fine restaurant, or out with some of the Indian team. There were times we got back to the hotel after a long day, whipped out our laptops and continued working. With the gym workouts, long working days, heat, sensory overload I was emotionally drained!
The traffic was exception!!! I had heard lots of things about this before I signed up for the trip and after experiencing it first-hand believe it is one of these things you cannot do it justice by words alone; it is something you need to experience yourself. The first rule of Mumbai traffic; there are no rules of Mumbai traffic! Seriously. One of the local’s best described it as self-managing and I cannot argue with this. Like many cities, there is more traffic on the roads than there is capacity, however, unlike other cities there is little regard for human life or property…at least this is how it appears on the surface. Dig a little deeper and you begin to appreciate the skill of the drivers, who I now rate with greater skill than the elite F1 drivers I have worked with in the past. They use the car hooters like a cat uses its whiskers and have an awareness of everything on the road at a given moment. Total craziness and utmost respect.
There were a couple of nights when I was starkly awoken in the middle of the night by my lights coming on full AND the curtains opening by themselves. I cannot tell you how frightening it is to be woken from a deep sleep in this manner when you are alone in a strange land!! I turned out to be a fault with the rooms central control system which controlled these things.
We had one memorable night when my boss found us a micro-brewery to visit. Until this time things were very tame. We got our opportunity to team build this night after order many jugs of strong Belgium Wheat Beer and exchanging stories with each other (don’t worry what got said in Mumbai stays in Mumbai!).
The hospitality of the offshore team was second to none.
Besides getting to know each other and how we all work beast together, and some team building, we also met our objective of planning the technological road map for the upcoming year and documenting the technical; architecture for the platform we were working on.
Despite spending nearly two weeks with my boss and colleague 24 x 7 I was amazed that there were no issues as I have spent similar amount of time away with friends and family and it usually kicks off somehow!
I really enjoyed my time in India but am not sure I would hurry back anytime soon.
Proactive self-starter with a great breadth and depth of technical expertise. Extensive knowledge of cloud, Internet, and security technologies in addition to heterogeneous systems spanning Windows, *nix, virtualisation, application and systems management, networking, and automation. Evangelist of innovative technology, best practice, shrewd operational processes, and quality documentation. With an exceptional work ethic. Professional, diplomatic and approachable, always dependable and striving for customer satisfaction. Able to work well under pressure, independently or within a team, and use own initiative, with excellent communication skills and competence for designing and implementing creative solutions to quality, time and budget.
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