A Banging time in Bangalore ;)

Well I've been in Bangalore for a couple of weeks now. 

Being in India consists of a whole heap of eating, going out to restaurants, socialising with my ThoughtWorks class, and visiting a place every now and then.

One of the places we visited was a temple that had a giant statue of a god. There was also a bunch of interesting statues and exhibition type things there, and music was blasting through speakers while people sat and worshipped the god(s).

There was also one guy that was the smallest non-dwarf person I've ever seen (see above).

Just this weekend we also went on a trip out into the country. It was a whole heap of fun with paintball, lots of swimming, and playing Mafia into the night. The country side is actually really nice, and they have huge bolders everywhere. The river was brown, but was clean and safe to swim in :)

As you can see the country side is quite nice and green. I kept thinking that without rubbish on the side of the streets, and a bit of maintenance here and there, India countryside could be mistaken for being a tropical paradise. 

Well that's all from me for now. I'll keep taking pictures (or take more pictures), and get some more up on the blog :)

In Bangalore, India

Well I arrived in India yesterday, to start my 6 weeks of training here at ThoughtWorks University (TWU). TWU is basically getting us ready before we start our job, letting us know what to expect, and giving us a project to fail at, so that we can get used to what it's like working in a team.

India is pretty amazing. The first impression was the drive from the airport. The taxi was swerving in and out of traffic, and it was going 120 in an 80 zone. There was a tire on the road, people were walking and biking down the side of the motorway, and cars continually tooted as they were passing one another. It's not quite chaos, but it's definitely not orderly!

As you can see the chaos can have different effects on people. I was quite enjoying the experience, while Tom was terrified out of his mind!!

Since being here I've tried Indian food at a few places. The food here can be very cheap. 30 rupees can buy you a good meal for breakfast - a pancake like thing with potatoes, and some sauces. This is equivalent to about 1NZD.

We also went out for a drink at a local pub. It costs around $2 for a beer, so as you can imagine, it's very relaxing to know that you're not spending a whole lot of money.

Of course not everything is so cheap, there are more expensive places, but on the whole you can get by very cheaply here.

All of the other 20 or so ThoughtWorks University students are really nice. A lot of them are from china and India, with a few from America, and then a guy from Brazil, and Tom from the UK (who I've been hanging out with quite a bit). At the moment we're sort of in orientation mode, so just getting settled into our apartments (we have a room each in a large apartment). Tomorrow we'll be heading into the town bit of Bangalore, so that should be interesting.

My apartment is a really good size; I have my own room with bathroom, there is a huge lounge, as well as a kitchen and dining area.

We also have people that come in everyday and make our beds, tidy up, and do the dishes. Yes, we are living a good life here! - Just check out the view from my balcony! (unfortunately the pool is closed because we're almost in winter).