OK lets see if this works today!

So back to the begining. I had some time and hired a car to whisk me around Dehli. The taxis are old Ambassadors, and though every Indian colleague I talked to said I was ripped off, I think that 800 rupies for the day was pretty good (£9).
I went to the Red Fort, India gate, Quatab Minar, the lotus temple, The Akshar Dham Temple, and various bits and pieces in between. It was brutally hot (about 39 degrees celcius) and at times I felt I was melting. Traffic being what it is in Delhi, the taxi couldn't get too close to the Red Fort and as I mentioned in an earlier post, I hopped out and got a rickshaw. In many ways this was the most interesting part of the day as the route on the back of the bike took me through some winding alleys, crowded with shops and people going about their day. I attracted quite a bit of attention and felt at times like a circus animal, but I have to say the stares were universally friendly and people seemed quick to smile. The next few pictures are from my ride.

Well the pics have stopped loading. I'll try again later. I have soooooo many cool images to share. The culture here is intense and complex.

Business meetings are a real headtrip. There is the universal drive to make money, but also the inevitable delays and social niceties to be observed. Having VP in your title opens doors, but the smiles turn to frowns when they realise that the usual lines like "its different in India" don't steer discussions away from uncomfortable issues. I hear that every country I go. Things have a different spin, and there are different ways of approaching local realities, but the catch all phrase to avoid explaining obvious dancing away from difficult questions is tedious. The smiles soon return when you smirk your way back into favour. Being patient, polite and firm goes a long way here.

No one wants to deal with a fool. As soon as they realise you have a measure of understanding, t real work gets done. This can take hours or days. It can involve beer and grub, but the objective always swings into view. Indians can appear to be pretty relaxed about deadlines and timing, but make no mistake, when there's money to be made, and timeline is established, the gears shift into action smoothly. The trick is knowing when to say "enough" without annoying everyone around the table.

Corruption is a problem here. It really holds the country back. I'm happy to report that we're less affected than most, but it lurks in the background like an illness.

That's it for now.

Hope all is well with all of you!

T