I arrived safely in Bangalore at about 12am Sunday the 8th. I left MSP at 5:30p.m. I have logged about 18 hours of flying and now know that Business class is where it is at for flying. Oh and I learned Charles de Gaulle(Paris, France) is a dump sack. There terminal/bus setup is a train wreck and I noticed a dead mouse laying on the floor in plain sight in the terminal. This of course aside from the general dumpy conditions of the building/equipment. Bangalore International on the other hand has very nice facilities and their staff seems fairly organized. -1 France, +1 India.
Business class on the Delta/NWA Boeing 767 was very nice. A little dated, but nice none the less. The staff was fantastic, and the food delicious. Air France and their Airbus 330 was less than impressive. The seat setup was poor compared to the Boeing. You do not even get a controllable air vent. The food on Air France was not that great. The Duck Foie Gras was nasty to say the least, the main course of chicken was dry and overcooked. At this point in my travel life I am done with Air France/Airbus.
I will hopefully post pictures later, the camera does not want to connect to the Macbook and it is about 4a.m. locally so I need to sleep even though I am not even tired.
~Nathan
So this past week I received confirmation that I would indeed be going to Bangalore, India on business. The team I am a lead of at work is getting a supporting team built in Bangalore. Since one of my direct(someone who reports to me) will be going over there to start training the new team, I will be joining for safety reasons. Plus since I am there I will assist the managers their in talent acquisition for other senior members of the secondary team that is being assembled. I will be in Bangalore for about a week. Our flight, direct’s and mine not Amy, on Air France will leave Minneapolis/St. Paul and fly to Paris, France. In Paris we will have a one and a half hour lay over and then from Paris to Bangalore.
In previous domestic traveling with the company cost has been king when it comes to flights and accommodations. Apparently when it comes to international, or at least India, cost is not a big concern. In fact higher cost is directly associated with more “safety” and necessary “comfort”. I will be getting to flight Business class, first time, and staying in what I am told is one of the most luxurious hotels in Bangalore, the Leela Palace. Honestly it looks way to rich for my blood, the kind of place where I am at a discomfort with the feeling of I do not belong.
So now it is time to get all my documents in order like a work visa, get inoculations, and all of that other fun stuff. I am hoping to get a decent amount of free time to tour the city and whatnot so we shall see.
~Nathan
