Saturday

An update on my bag: apparently, my bag missed my connecting flight at JFK and that's why it did not arrive. They believe it was placed on the flight that left last night and should be here tonight at 11:30pm. Once here, they'll deliver it to the hotel in the morning. Its a good thing I padded this trip with a few extra days.

I called the US 800 number for Delta's Baggage Services. The rep I spoke to welcomes me to India and then asks where I am. I tell him that I am in Pune. He says that he is also in Pune, about 15 kilometers away from me. It took about 40 minutes to find out my bags' status, possibly making this the most expensive call to someone only 9 miles away!

Since I am not working today, Akshay took me to see the Shaniwar Wada. This former palace of the Peshwa rulers was built in 1736 and burned down in 1827.

After that, Akshay drove me around the old part of the city. Very interesting architecture.

Also, I told Akshay about the Delta rep being in Pune. He had the driver take us to a part of the city the locals call 'Cyber City.' This is where all the call centers in India are. The campus has 25 fifteen story builds. According to Akshay, this did not exist 5 years ago.