Incredible India!

I had the incredible opportunity to travel to India last week on business. It was hectic, so I didn't keep a regular blog for each day. Instead, I kept a brief log of my travels which I'm posting below. I also posted pictures to: http://picasaweb.google.com/shudson310/India2009.

4:30a local time, 23 Aug 2009

I'm in India! As I've only seen the airport and darkened roads at night to the hotel, I have to say it reminds me a little of Mexico -- the people look different, and the roadside adverts are in a different foreign language, but there are some strong similarities. On the plus side, almost everyone speaks very good English (except my driver) and are very friendly.

Favorite trip moments (so far):

• Flying over Ireland when I was awake! It truly is the Emerald Isle!
• Lime Pickles on the flight from London to Chennai. No, it didn't taste like lime OR pickles, but it was still very tangy and tasty!

I basically stayed up for 24 hours straight, since I worked early on Friday and then stayed awakefor the Denver-London leg. Sleeping on a plane is never great, but did get some rest from London-Chennai!

I'm a little bushed still, so am going to take a cat nap. We are going to see the sights at 8am!

6:15p, 23 Aug 2009

Just got back from a day of sightseeing in Chennai.

Our host, Abel, was very gracious throughout the day. We tried tender coconut, saw Mamallapuram and the Shore Temple, and ate at a wonderful place on the beach called Fisherman's Cove.

Unfortunately, I thought I was also pickpocketed for $5USD and 500INR. I thought I had left it in my pocket when I wanted to get some change. When I went to use it, I couldn't find it and thought the worst as I searched my pockets. Thought a bunch of street vendors that were very persistent had taken it. My host felt very bad, as did I (although I thought it was a $15 lesson to me...).

Turns out I outsmarted my jet-lagged self and moved it to a hidden zipper pocket on my pants!

Didn't find it until I was going through all my pockets at bedtime. Will issue an apology to my host when I see him again!

There are motorcycles everywhere! Tons of them. It's the easiest way to get around. It's funny to see ladies in sarees riding sidesaddle behind a guy riding the motorbike.

We then went shopping for sarees. Got some very beautiful ones, that I hope the girls will like.

Also jet lagging very bad now. Almost fell asleep in my food at dinner! Time to go to bed, methinks!

24 Aug 2009

Met with a vendor today. Very nice office, and very smart people. They are most gracious hosts.

They took us shopping for saree tops at the famous Nalli and Porthy shops. Must be a million sarees in there as they each had about 5 floors worth! Then they took us to dinner at the Pergola restaurant atop the Accord Metropolitan hotel. Very modern, top-floor restaurant overlooking Chennai. I told them it was the Rainbow Room of Chennai!

25 Aug 2009

Met with a new vendor today. It was quite a bit further and we got stuck in traffic. We started a bit late. The working conditions seemed much more "rustic". They also work multiple shifts, so they are open round the clock. Training went OK. John and I had dinner at the hotel at the Peshawari restaurant. It was very good, Tandoori grill. They had amazing, different ice cream, too. I also tried "filter coffee" today. It apparently is slow brewed with chicory root. I liked it.

26 Aug 2009

Met with another vendor today. Nice facilities, and another sharp group. They were also kind enough to take us to see St. Thomas Mount on the way to the airport, where it is said that the Apostle Thomas was martyred, and a bone fragment has been retained as a relic. Interesting history, and nice view of the city from up there.

Our flight was delayed about 2 hours, so we didn't get to Delhi until 1am. Didn't get to the hotel until 2am, unpacked until 3am. Had to get up at 7am to get breakfast before going to the client site.

The hotel, BTW, is outstanding! I can see why several Presidents have stayed here! If my room is this nice, I wonder what the Presidential Suite looks like?!

27 Aug 2009

Traffic was really bad, so we still started an hour late! More smart folks, and a really nice facility! They have 5 floors, too.

Ate dinner at Buhkara. It's world famous and right in the ITC Maurya, New Delhi. Very good food!

The dessert was interesting. Tasted like rose water flavored noodles alongside pistachio ice cream. Yum!

28 Aug 2009

Great day. Wonderful folks, and very smart. On the way to take John to the airport, we stopped and saw Qutb Minar - built in 200-300 A.D.! Incredible detail and design. Quite beautiful. Traffic was a mess at 7pm. After getting John to the airport, we had dinner at an amazing restaurant at the Shangri-La hotel. Beautiful hotel lobby, and then great food! The palatte cleanser was served in this teapot-looking thing, that was spewing forth vapors. It looked like it would burn you, but was actually dry ice! it was a yummy tamarind ice cream. very good company, food and dessert.

29 Aug 2009

Saw all kinds of things today: Red Fort, Humayun's Tomb, lunch at the Monsoon restaurant at Le Meridien. The water wall was very cool, and the best ginger ale ever! After lunch, went shopping at Connaught Place, then Akshardham Temple, then sunset at India Gate. Got a flower chain made of Chameli (Jasmine) blossoms - the Indian girls wear them in their hair for the flower's potent perfume scent. I also learned "BHAJSA" - the sequence of the Mughal Emperors: Babur, Humayun, Akbar, Jahangir, Shah Jahan (builder of Taj Mahal), Aurangzeb Alamgir.

30 Aug 2009

Today is my birthday! We tried to get an early start at 6am, but it was raining, so traffic was horrible. They didn't get to the hotel until about 6:40am. Then it was about a 5 hour drive to Agra. It was worth it, because the rain cleared so the Taj Mahal was beautiful! Momentous occassion to see one of the 7 Wonders of the World on my birthday! After the Taj, we had lunch at the ITC Agra hotel. They had delicious Moong Dal Ka Halwa - a sweet pudding made from lentils.

Then we went to Agra Fort. It's amazing how much inlay was done in both Taj and Agra Fort! Then we made our way back to the Intercontinental Hotel for dinner - they had made a birthday cake for me and requested the live band sing Happy Birthday to me!

31 Aug 2009

Traveling home today. It was a great trip, but I miss my family and look forward to seeing them!

Got a surprise upgrade from Delhi to London, so I was able to rest on this leg. Need to stay awake from London to Denver to get back on Colorado time.

Overall, I had a wonderful first trip to India! The people, places and food were all absolutely incredible. I hope to return again soon.

Successful, but non-restful vacation

Whew! We just got back from a whirlwind tour of Washington, D.C. Since the kids will be studying American History next year (Exploration to 1850), we thought we would have a little hands-on field trip to help secure a tangible picture of where some of these events took place!

Here's what we saw:

• Union Station
• Mount Vernon
• George Washington's Grist Mill and Distillery
• US Capitol Tour with Sen. Wayne Allard's office (Dirksen Senate Building)
• Washington monuments (Washington, Lincoln, WWII, Korea, FDR, Jefferson, Iwo Jima)
• National Zoo
• National Gallery of Art (Forest of Fontainebleau exhibit, etc.)
• Smithsonian Air & Space museum
• Smithsonian Natural History museum
• Library of Congress
• Arlington National Cemetery
• Bureau of Engraving and Printing
• From afar: White House, National Archives, FBI, Ford's Theater

As I said, successful, but not restful. We walked our legs off, even with the DC Metro ferrying us! Our feet were killing us.

I did find a very cool tool to help with the planning and coordination of the trip. I had been using Dopplr, but a friend recommended TripIt. I would HIGHLY recommend TripIt. Setting up my itinerary was as easy as forwarding mail from my hotel, rental car, airlines and tours, and it tied it all up in one convenient location for me. Check it out!

Problems in the air with a new Airbus 320

My flight home last night from DC was on one of Frontier's brand new Airbus 320s. While they didn't have any onboard TV this week, that was not the problem I'm talking about! We had to make an emergency landing in St. Louis because of cabin pressurization problems.

We were wondering if the oxygen masks were going to deploy, or if our eardrums were going to burst! Apparently, the cabin pressure kept climbing after the pressurization controller failed. The captain said it got to 9000 feet of pressure, and the the masks wouldn't have deployed until it reached 14,000 feet. I don't know what the standard pressure is for a normal flight.

The pilot was very professional and got us information quickly and had the plane on the ground in 15 minutes. I can only imagine the coordination that had to happen to get us down that fast! After a 30 minute repair and an hour of paperwork, we safely finished the flight back to Denver.

I still don't really like takeoffs in this new plane. It feels like the plane is a little soft or shifty in the tail.

Red Bull Air Race in San Diego!

We happened to be on vacation in California the week of the Red Bull Air Race in San Diego. Thankfully, our itinerary already included 2 days in San Diego, and the entire family was interested in seeing the race instead of going to the Wild Animal Park.

We even got to see it for free! You could buy tickets to watch it from the Embarcadero, but we went to Seaport Village and found a spot near a fountain where we could see the entire course! It was absolutely incredible. These guys fly at 300+ MPH and have to do very tight maneuvering in a timed course.

We could only see the Pre-Qualifying runs, since we had to start driving back the next day, but it was one of the best, cheapest events of our vacation!

UPDATE: I've made a public album of race pics here.

My new favorite Martini

I had the BEST martini ever at the Trinity (http://www.hobokentrinity.com/index.html) tonight.

It's called the Key Lime Martini, and contained: Stoli Vanil vodka, Malibu rum and lime juice. It tastes just like a slice of key lime pie!

I really liked the Celtic theme of the restaurant, which was also on Sinatra Drive, and had a great view of the Hudson... inside and outside ;-)

Walking with Tollers and Jack

One of the highlights of my day today was Addison's Walk at Magdalen College in Oxford. It was incredibly beautiful and filled with the scent of spring blossoms. The small stream flowing along the path was mesmerizing.

It was inspiring to walk on the same path that Tollers (J.R.R. Tolkien) and Jack (C.S. Lewis) discussed spiritual matters. I could just imagine my personal "Inklings" (Don and Cam) alongside me as well. Later we would also need to head to the Eagle and Child for a pint!

After Addison's Walk, I stayed for the Evensong service at the Magdalen College chapel. It was absolutely amazing! The voices of the choir were simply angelic and brought tears to my eyes. The Magnificat and Nunc dimittis were in a much more pleasing format than the Evensong I attended at Christ Church yesterday. I would highly recommend attending here (every night at 6pm!).

I'll post photos from my walk and one of the beautiful stained glass walls in the chapel soon...

UPDATE: Here is a link to my pictures from Magdalen College and Addison's Walk:
http://picasaweb.google.com/shudson310/MagdalenCollege

C.S. Lewis Tour in Oxford

I had a personalized 4+ hour tour with Ron Brind, founder of the C.S. Lewis Tour in Oxford today. In a word: Spectacular! Ron is a wealth of information, and provided the best opportunities for photos and even took a few for me so I could be in them!

If you get a chance to come to Oxford, this is a MUST SEE tour! Information on the tour can be found at: www.cslewistours.com or www.cslewistours.co.uk

One of the most memorable moments of the tour was seeing The Kilns (the home of C.S. Lewis) and the C.S. Lewis Nature Reserve, with the woods that inspired Narnia!

Seeing the home where J.R.R. Tolkien wrote the Lord of the Rings trilogy was also very cool, and of course, eating at the Eagle and Child pub where the Inklings met!

I'll post a link to my photos when I get them uploaded, and write a bit more too. I'm a bit worn out from a full day of touring! :-)

UPDATE: Here's a link to my pictures from the C.S. Lewis Tour:
http://picasaweb.google.com/shudson310/CSLewis
If you're planning a trip to the UK, make sure you allocate a day trip to Oxford and take this tour! It's absolutely worth it, and guide Ron Brind is extremely friendly and knowledgeable!

Evensong Highlight!

I was absolutely right about my previous post. It's all uphill from here!

I spent some time trying to orient myself in Oxford this afternoon. While taking in some of the breathtaking architecture, including the Radcliffe Camera and St. Mary the Virgin Church across from my hotel, I decided to try to find the location to meet my tourguide for my C.S. Lewis tour for tomorrow.

I turned the wrong direction from Cornmarket Street, and was blessed to find Christ Church. It just so happened that they were having Evensong service at 6pm, so I made a note of how I got there, and continued to try to find the Randolph.

I stumbled upon the Oxford Museum, and got to see some very cool Roman artifacts. By this time I was also a little hungry and got a recommendation and directions to The Nosebag for a quick Cream Tea (yummy scones, jam and clotted cream with tea) on my way to the Randolph.

After finding the Randolph, I decided to time my way back to the hotel so I could change into something nicer for the service. I then made my way back to Christ Church.

Truth be told, I'm not a Catholic or Anglican, so some of the ceremonial parts I was not at all familiar with. The contents of the Evensong Service, however, seemed to follow along with my beliefs, so it was not all that awkward. The choir was absolutely amazing, though the Magnificat and Nunc dimittis, were a bit discordant for my taste. All of the other choral pieces, especially the anthem, were amazing!

Even more so, the day had been filled with rain, but after the service, the heavens opened up and I was treated to a beautiful few hours of sunshine to continue exploring.

I eventually wound up at The Crown, where I had bangers and mash and a Worthington's Cream Ale. The Crown's claim to fame is:

Yet another Oxford pub with a literary connection, and they don’t come much more impressive than the big Bard himself. Apparently Shakespeare was fond of breaking his journey between Stratford-on-Avon and London by staying at the Crown Inn.

I'm hoping to eat at The Eagle and Child tomorrow!

I've got pictures posted here: http://picasaweb.google.com/shudson310/Oxford

Overall, a much better ending to my rough-starting day!

The BA Vomit Comet

Well, traveling to London has to be one of the lowlights of my trip. When Dawn and I traveled to Scotland last summer, we had issues with security (2 days after the big liquid scare) and got to go on board with only our wallets, and everything else checked.

This time, there was a guy in the centre section (I had the far window, thank God!) who got sick pulling away from the Denver terminal. I keep hoping it was motion sickness and not something catching! I think we had been moving for a grand total of about 1 minute, when this guy puked all over the seatback in front of him. Unfortunately, I had a direct line of sight. Everyone in the immediate vicinity turned a shade of green and looked away.

This poor sod proceeded to lose it about every 200 miles on the trip. On a 4300 mile trip, you do the math. Not a pretty picture. He must have gone through half a dozen air sick bags, and the flight was completely booked so no one could move! Every little turbulent air pocket sent him flying.

It was hard for all of us in the vicinity to get our in-flight meals down. This guy even decided he wanted to try to eat! Big mistake. The flight attendants should have nipped that idea in the bud.

I resorted to 2 Tylenol PMs, earplugs underneath my Bose noise reduction headsets, eye blinders, and classical music cranked to make sure I couldn't hear him.

He was still going when we pulled into the gate at Heathrow too. Nothing like having a captive audience...

Not meaning to rant, but this was by far the worst of my business travel horror stories to date. And I travel about every 3 weeks! I still love British Air and being in the U.K. The rest of the trip should be all uphill from here!

Oxford bound!

I'm headed to Oxford Saturday night to work on a Content Architecture for Wiley Blackwell! I'm very excited, though I will be gone on Mother's Day.

Happy Mother's Day, Dawn! I'll bring back something nice to make up for it. I promise!

I'll be posting pictures, as I'll have about a day and a half to work through the jetlag before my meetings

Finding Love in New York

 

My wife and I celebrated our 11th anniversary in New York City this weekend! We still found love, too! :-)

This was her first time in the Big Apple, so I tried to take her to the top sights in two days: Madison Square Garden, Times Square, Broadway, The Disney Store, Trump Tower, Central Park, The Metropolitan Museum, Ground Zero at WTC, Battery Park, Staten Island and the Statue of Liberty, Rockefeller Center. There's still so much to see, but we did catch "Mary Poppins" and "The Lion King", so I think we did rather well!

Rain in New York

Okay, this week, it's actually been snow and biting, cold wind.

The Rain I'm talking about is a great restaurant we went to yesterday. Our VP of Publishing Solutions and resident New York expert, consistently provides us with excellent dining recommendations when we are in the Big City.

Rain was no exception. It's an Asian Fusion restaurant with a great atmosphere, and great food. Website is here: http://rainrestaurant.com[Orange Beef Spicy Fried Rice]

Check it out!

He's also taken us to a great Cuban restaurant (named, "Cuba"), though I don't remember the location...[Mojitos!]

Another great recommendation is Jerry's: http://www.jerrysnyc.com. [Brick Roasted Chicken]

Tonight, I went by myself to the Brooklyn Diner on West 43rd. [Chicken Soup]

My lovely wife is flying in tomorrow, since I have to stay over for meetings next week as well and it's our 11th Anniversary! Can't wait to show her the sites!

NYC Skyline from Liberty State Park

Dining at Concord's Colonial Inn

Ahh, another successful outing in the Boston area!

This evening, we found Concord's Colonial Inn, an establishment that's been around since 1716. I love exploring historical sites, and this one was a treat! Several Presidents and Hollywood stars have dined there, including John Wayne! They also had a Wanted poster for John Wilkes Booth for $100,000.

For dinner, I had a lovely McWilliams Shiraz from Australia, along with a very good Yankee Pot Roast.

Categories: General

Tales of a Wayside Inn

I'm in the Boston/Marlborough area this week on business, and found a really great place for dinner this evening: The Wayside Inn.

I didn't really know much about it, but stumbled across it on the web. It's a National Historic Landmark, and very interesting! In fact, there is a marker about George Washington passing through on his way to take command of the Colonial Army! It opened in 1716 as Howe's Tavern, along the old Boston Post Road. Later it became the Red Horse Tavern, and now Longfellow's Wayside Inn. It's named thusly because in 1862, poet Henry Longfellow visited the tavern and later published a book of poems entitled "Tales of a Wayside Inn." I need to take more time on my next visit to explore the extensive grounds. The working Grist Mill is quite picturesque.

For dinner, they have an excellent Bawstan Clam Chowda (NE accent added...). I also tried the London Broil and the Baked Indian Pudding for dessert.

Categories: General