It was bittersweet – I was taking my time rolling in the covers that morning, as I knew it would be the last day that I’ll be hugging these ultra-soft linens. Even harder to swallow was that we were about to take our last breakfast buffet in the hotel (pun intended). How would breakfast be without the most perfect muffins I’ve ever tasted? As if by fate, a man approached me and asked how my meal was. He turned out to be the hotel chef and like a starstruck teen, I gushed about how divine every meal was. He promised to whip up something extra special if ever we came back for another visit. Of course, I couldn’t let him go without a picture. =) Continue reading “Day 5 – Kaladkarin Invades India”

You could tell our instructor was in a hurry — we finished our class by noon. Of course, Lorena & I didn’t let him go without bombarding him with questions — and taking some pics, of course. We also took pictures of the whole class. Afterwards, we swung by the HP Main Office and we got to see Ajith’s workstation at the River block. The … Continue reading Day 4 – Kaladkarin Invades India

“You have less fear of strangers than most people and today brings you even farther out into the world! It’s a great day to strike up random conversations with strangers and see where they lead.” — My horoscope for the day. it wasn’t kidding. It was Wednesday afternoon when they told me I was going to India for training. India. This coming Sunday. Eeep. My … Continue reading Kaladkarin in India – Prologue

This day in one-word: trigger-happy. On the way to the office, Lorena and I already had our cameras at hand, hungry to finally get some snapshots of India. The Parliament! Click. Rickshaws! Click. Temples! Click. Cows! Click. Click. Click. Lorena actually had to go to a meeting in the HP Main Office, so I was by myself at the training for the morning. Anirudha was … Continue reading Day 3 – Kaladkarin Invades India

Time for breakfast heaven again! After all the spicy stuff, I almost fell to my knees when I spotted some Chinese dumpling in the buffet table. God, I swear, it was the best chicken dumpling EVER. After a few minutes, we braced the traffic again to the Surya Park office. Erwin So would have fit right in with the drivers in India; the buses were … Continue reading Day 2 – Kaladkarin Invades India

This was it, there’s no turning back — we landed in Bangalore a few minutes after midnight. It still wasn’t sinking in; I still felt that a few minutes from now, they would eventually find out something wrong with my visa or ticket and they’ll have to send me back. But by some miracle, I got through and was allowed to roam Bangalore for the … Continue reading Day 1 – Kaladkarin Invades India

“You have less fear of strangers than most people and today brings you even farther out into the world! It’s a great day to strike up random conversations with strangers and see where they lead. ” — my horoscope for the day. it wasn’t kidding. It was Wednesday afternoon when they told me I was going to India for training. India. This coming Sunday. Eeep. … Continue reading Prologue – Kaladkarin Invades India