Le Grand Tour D'Asia: Day 23 of 58

January 30th, 2010

Learning Moment: Fisherman's Cove, India

Tonight, we fly from India back to Singapore.

It's been a great stay here - training went well, we ate great food, and I'm bringing back some nice photos.

Since I won't have time to post an image from today, I'll present this image from last night.

We ate at a seaside barbecue, under a full moon, with a nice breeze coming up from the ocean.

Behind us, Cognizant was holding a dinner parter for some employees. Dancers were brought in to entertain, so I quietly slipped over for some pictures of the dancers.

This shot captures a brilliant smile: the kind of smile that I grew accustomed to during the past few weeks. Smiles like this might be India's greatest treasure.

Le Grand Tour D'Asia: Day 21 of 58

January 28th, 2010

Learning Moment: Fisherman's Cove, India

I woke up at 6:30 this morning to watch the sun rise over the Bay of Bengal at Kovalam Beach.

In America, we have this romantic notion of 'riding off into the sunset', but that seems strange to me. Isn't more romantic to ride off into a sunrise?

Sunrises are the proverbial 'dawn of a new day', full of possibility and hope. Don't get me wrong, I love sunsets, but they lead to what... darkness?

That's why when I ride off... I'm riding off into a sunrise...

Le Grand Tour D'Asia: Day 12 of 58

Tuesday, January 19th

Learning Moment: India

If I've learned one thing from Bollywood films, it's that a dance can break out anywhere, anytime.

Well, while dining at our restaurant at Fisherman's cove a dance broke out nearby. Of course, the dancers were hired to perform for an Accenture party, but that didn't make the surprise any less cool.

We got to eat our dinner under the stars, listen to the waves pounding the beach, and watch a classical Indian dance.

Obviously lesson: Carry a camera everywhere...

Le Grand Tour D'Asia: Day 11 of 58

Monday, January 18th

Learning Moment: India

We're enjoying our stay at the Taj Fisherman's Cove.

Nature is a good thing and we're seeing plenty of it here.

We've seen myna birds singing in the trees, crows pretending to be lords of their domain, kingfishers flitting about, geckos eating flies (we have a large resident gecko that barks about once an hour), lizards scampering about, crabs skittering across the beach, water buffalo lazing in rivers, bats swooping between dinner tables, sacred cows meandering, monkeys stalking the periphery of the hotel grounds, and a lot of frogs croaking and hopping across the lawns.

This big guy was still as a rock outside our room. He made an excellent model.

Le Grand Tour D'Asia: Day 10 of 58

Sunday, January 17th

Learning Moment: India

Great day in Fisherman's Cove.

I spent the morning at the pool - working on storyboards for a course I'm designing and swimming laps.

We then had an excellent outdoor Mediterranean buffet, with champagne, at the Upper Deck restaurant. Overlooking the Bay of Bengal, we enjoyed our food while spotting kingfishers, butterflies, and lizards.

We worked off lunch with a trek up and down the beach, where we encountered this happy gentleman. A small fishing boat had just come in from the bay and sold it's contents to the locals who crowd the beach.

This man is showing off the two fresh fish that he just bought. I love the vibrancy of life in India. I also love that people enjoy posing for photos.

"Namaste! Namaste! Hello!", we kept hearing.

Le Grand Tour D'Asia: Day 9 of 58

Saturday, January 16

Learning Moment: Chennai, India

On Saturday, we flew from Singapore to India.

The cover on the left is there only because I like it.

It caught my eye in the airport book store, so I snapped a picture of it. Su Tong is the author of "Raise the Red Lantern", which Zhang Yimou made into a stunning film, starring Gong Li. If you've never seen it, you must.

Anyway, we had a good flight to India and even cleared immigration quickly.

Then we reached baggage carousel hell. One carousel broke down, so two planes worth of baggage was sent to one carousel - 600 people crammed into a space built for about 100.

It felt like being in the front three rows of a rock concert, but without the music. Tight, sweaty, hot, uncomfortable. After getting our bags, we walked a mile or so to our taxi, dragging the bags through dirt, mud, and rocks while cars lined in single file honked their horns at each other just to see what they sound like.

Sixty minutes later, we were in Fisherman's Cove, at our hotel - our sanctuary.

It felt like we found our own redemption.