Signing off from India -- on my way "down under"

Hi All,

Just one last note to conclude my two week trek through Incredible India -- and I'm happy to say I seem to be heading out with my health on the upswing. With any luck, I will be positively SWEARING by Zithromax as single most valuable key to success in India -- with thanks to my friend Steve Jast from ROI for the good drugs -- I seem to be really on the mend, at last! So, on this happy note I had a good, final day here in Mumbai. The weather has been absolutely perfect -- which I've particularly appreciated in light of all the notes I've had from home telling me about the super frosty temps. I got a few hours of work done in the middle of the day after my morning meeting, then two really productive meetings focused on specific plans for Governor Kaine's visit in April. Ultimately, I opted not to go to the big Nasscomm dinner as it was very far away from my hotel and I found the time better spent doing a bit of work, jotting a few postcards and having dinner -- such a great concept (the eating of food, that is). Just now I've finished the major repack and I'm ready to call it a night.

This has truly been a wonderful trip -- I've met SO MANY great, friendly, enthusiastic, kind and hospitable people; I've seen so much; and I've taken a gazillion photos which I'll put into a picasa web album to share through the blog when I get home -- for those of you with alot of time on your hands! While my first trip was entirely too short, it may be that 2 weeks is just a bit long -- or perhaps that's only true because I know I still have another week of hotel hopping to do.... but the challenge is there is so much to see & do here. The demand for the information I am here to provide is voracious -- there is SO MUCH interest in growth, particularly closer to the US market, that I can only hope that some of my efforts will turn into results (sooner rather than later).

OK -- enough boring stuff. I'm signing off and really looking forward to my nice long flight on Singapore Air tomorrow -- my flight path is Mumbai - Singapore, Singapore - Sydney, Sydney - Canberra. Arriving at my hotel about 10:30am Sunday, after leaving this hotel at 8:30am Saturday. Wish me luck -- I'll give y'all a holler once I'm settled in.

Today's photo is from Chennai -- I took a walk on the beach on Sunday afternoon (with about 2000 of my closest friends), the one day that everyone has off, and it was as much of a full, direct experience with the regular working people of India that I have had -- it was a multisensory experience: sights, sounds, feelings (sand), and oh the smells (I skipped the tastes, don't worry). I thought this shot pretty much captured the whole semi-overwhelming mixture of chaos, color, contradiction, culture and community that contributes to India's magic.

Happy Friday everyone.

Love,

K.