The marathon trip – to be truthful it is not a marathon, more like a sprint – around Asia started on Sunday afternoon. We are now en route to Tokyo via Bangkok. While in Bangalore, amazingly, I stayed at The Leela Palace. This is probably the best hotel in Bangalore. Normally the price would be through the roof but we only paid US$ 360. That’s correct, ONLY. The hoteliers in Bangalore have been taking full advantage of the IT boom to charge outrageous prices. In the last six months the average price for a reliable hotel room has been around US$ 400 per night. So, the Leela was a deal this week. The Leela is also gorgeous as can be seen from the pictures below. I like this first picture because it captures the contrasts in India… the palatial luxury of life being touched up by a painter. On that note, I watched a various interesting program while battling jetlag this week. Either CNN or BBC interviewed an political activist in Mumbai, who reported that 60% of the Mumbai population still lives in slums, with no access to reliable drinking water or toilets. Yet, this same group is building Mumbai – what some might call the migrant, construction workforce. The interview took place on top of a low rise building. With different camera angles used throughout, one could see both slums and modern condos in the background. At one point the interviewee exclaimed, “Who do you think built that skyscraper over there? A condo there costs US$ 5 million and yet my people cant even get drinking water and toilets!” Certainly stops to make one think, “What’s wrong with this picture?” Meanwhile, at US$ 400 every time I stay in Bangalore, I wonder if I am enabling the problem.