• Americans often go over to India with the viewpoint, how can India help my operation and its bottom line. How many of us ask ourselves, what can we learn from our hosts? In my case, a knowledge management expert, I learned plenty from individuals who focused upon creating centers of excellence.
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• Most Americans stay in fancy … western focused hotels. After confering with my hosts I stayed at a three star hotel used for their Asian guests. I was the only Caucasian in the hotel, and the neighborhood surrounding the hotel was typically Indian. During each evening's walk taken from my hotel I would encounter:
  • nice shops and hotels
  • one room shanties
  • cows, monekys and mongrel dogs in the streets
  • hearing prayers sung to Mecca at sunset
  • all kinds of humanity … from the poor, to very rich
  • scooters, ox pulled carts and cars

The list goes on, but the important fact is I experienced India. My final night in Bangalore was spent at a "Western" hotel near the airport. Given the hotel's location, walking to local sights was not an option; instead my entertainment / dinner options were a English pub, a discotheque, and a fancy restaurant. I'm glad I spent my other nights at the other hotel.

I could go on, but you should understand the theme of this post. If you get the opportunity to visit a country dramatically different than your own … insure you really do visit that country.

Finally … in Bangalore … stay at the Pai Viceroy!