Monday, November 10, 1997

For some reason, I woke around midnight and could not go back to sleep until about 2:00. I did sleep the remainder of the night and woke at 7:30. I was not hungry and skipped breakfast.

Our laundry was delivered by the driver and for some reason, I got it all in my room. It was individually packaged and nicely folded. The cost was 295 (about $8.25) for mine, and 1302 for all four people. We were all curious as to how the laundry would be identified so as to make sure that we got everything back and to the right people. Brian had assured us that this would not be a problem and that it is so well marked and tracked that criminals have been traced through laundry! Unwrapping the package, I discovered the secret.. each item had a tag hand-sewn to it. For shirts, it was attached to the tag. On pants, it was attached to the zipper tab. Socks were sewn together by the tag, and underwear was tagged through the elastic band. I now have no worries about having laundry done here.

I am sneezing a lot and my nose is running for some reason (probably the pollution). I took some Sudafed which seemed to help. We all agree that that the things we will enjoy the most when we get back home is A drink from a water fountain, ICE, and not having to worry about what we eat. I wasn't particularly hungry when lunchtime rolled around. I had a bit of sweet-corn soup. Brian is not eating at all as his stomach is upset.

Brian and I left early for the hotel, as he was feeling ill. He declined dinner. Linda and her mother had an invitation for dinner with family of an acquaintance back home (her dry-cleaner!) and wouldn't be joining us for dinner. Dave, Lisa, and I agreed to meet at 6:00 at the Chinese restaurant in the hotel. We met at the appointed hour to discover that the restaurant did not open until 7:30. We browsed through the shops a while and then decided to wait in the lounge with a cold Kingfisher. We discovered that the lounge offered snack-type foods so we opted for this as dinner as we were not real hungry. We ordered mini-pizzas and mini-tacos, both vegetarian and non. It was quite good. I have been pleasantly surprised at the availability of western-type foods, as I had pictured only rice cakes and other dishes too spicy to enjoy.

After dinner, I tried to connect back to work but was unsuccessful in three attempts. I could not get a connection that was good enough. I was able to check my voice mail, though. I watched TV for a while and went to bed around 10:30. My head hit the pillow and it was 'lights out' until 7:30 the next morning.

Tuesday, November 11, 1997.

I slept very well last night, the best since I've been here. That now makes two nights in a row, I figured that it would work this way… I would get adjusted just about the time it would be ready to return home and do it all over again! I ordered room service for breakfast. Mushroom omelet, toast, tea, hash browns, and chilled yogurt. I was not extremely hungry and it was not particularly good, and I ate only a little of it.

The ride in was not any different than previously, with the same cars and drivers. When the drivers arrive at the hotel in the morning, the doorman calls me to announce "Your car has come, sir!" It's quite amusing in a way. For some reason, I seem to be perceived as the leader of the group, as I get the calls in the morning about the cars, and also got the call and delivery of the laundry.

I check my mail today and find 67 messages for me. It appears that Teri got my message to sign on to my E-mail at work and forward everything to me here. Communications and contact with work and home are surprisingly more difficult that we had imagined. I'm ready to go home, but not quite as ready as I was two days after I got here. The people are absolutely wonderful and have helped to offset many of the negative aspects of the trip. Dinner tonight is scheduled to be with the group and some of the higher-level Patni managers and excutives.

The Gateway of India
The Holiday Inn at Juhu Beach
View at Juhu Beach
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Bombay, Days 9 and 10