They call Dubai the “biggest Indian city outside of India” for a reason and mostly because a majority of the population (over 33%) is Indian. However, if you’re a member of the EO Dubai chapter, you’d think it’s far more. 🙂 These are all warm, and welcoming people who have introduced me to new culture, holidays (like Diwali), food, traditions and habits.
This helped me prepare (somewhat) for a recent trip to Bangalore, India for an EO event called “RIE” which is a “Regional Integration Event” for South Asia that is a 3-day event for EO members with “world-class learning, networking opportunities and exclusive experiences.”
I’ve been to “EO Alchemy,” which is a Western United States 3-day conference that I’ve attended in Seattle, Washington; Portland, Oregon and Huntington Beach, California.
Here are some highlights from RIE 2025!
1. Bangalore is a wild and loud city, and is known as the “Silicon Valley of India”
In my first full day in the city, I got to roam the streets. Bangalore is known for many things, including being a tech hub for the country.
But the city streets are loud and crazy, with lots of traffic, honking and many, many people everywhere.
Bangalore has great weather, and in January it was mostly warm but got chilly in the evenings.
It’s famous for South Indian cuisine, like Dosas, which are like giant crispy pancakes with various fillings and served with a ton of sauces. They typically are made with a good amount ghee, but that’s just part of the experience.
You leave your diet in Dubai when you come to India. 🙂
The city is also known for its many parks and green areas, but I didn’t get a chance to see too much of that during my 5 day trip
2. The Bangalore Palace
Situated in its own oasis of calm within the city center is the Bangalore Palace. It has Victorian influences in its architecture and is full of rooms and courtyards with a very mustard-yellow palate. Royalty would come through these halls and I enjoyed a walking tour with a headset that provided historical notes about the palace.
3. Learning About Indian Culture
On the first night of RIE, I sat next to two outgoing EO Jaipur memories who shared a lot about India’s culture and economy.
Dressed in a traditional robe, we had an elaborate meal in a massive outdoor space where waiters came and offered large ladles of many types of meats, curries, veggies, rice dishes, lentil dishes and much more. I couldn’t keep track of it all, but I liked trying all of the various flavors and textures.
Here are a few unique facts I learned about India:
- It’s illegal to know the gender of your child until the child is born. This is because there was an issue in the past in which female babies would be killed before birth. The reason is because traditionally during an Indian marriage, the bride’s family would have to give a sizable dowry to the groom’s family, which was problematic for poor families. In 2025, female infanticide is almost non existent, but may happen in small rural towns. Still, it’s hard to imagine not knowing your child’s gender until the minute they come out to see the world.
- Taxes are HIGH. Just like my experience in California, corporate tax for businesses is around 25% and when you add in personal tax it can reach up to 45+% of your company’s profit. This is why a lot of EOers live in Dubai AND India, so they can save on taxes.
- Arranged marriages are commonplace. Imagine being 24 years old and having your family hand-select 5 potential future brides to meet. The divorce rate is pretty low in India (compared to 70%+ in the West) and it’s a unique way of getting hitched that is very foreign to my Western roots.
- The city is full of extreme poverty and wealth. As I took Ubers and shuttles throughout my stay, I saw very rural housing as well as massive villas outside the center. It’s a big city with 13 million people! The UAE has a mere 10 million and Dubai is about 3 million.
4. Indian Filter Coffee
If there’s one thing a lot of my friends were excited about, it’s filter coffee.
It’s difficult to describe because it’s not quite American drip coffee and not quite espresso. It’s not weak and not strong like an espresso…but somewhere in the middle.
It’s made of 50% strong coffee and 50% boiling hot milk. I liked it with a spoonful of sugar.
Sometimes you’ll get it in a metal cup with a larger metal cup below it. You’re supposed to pour the entire drink between each vessel to cool it down, unless you want to sip it straight away and most likely burn your tongue.
I consumed manyyyy filter coffees because we were up late most nights and started the day early because of …
5. The Epic EO Parties
Any EO event will feature lavish parties with plenty of food and fun.
On the second night, there was a huge almost rave-like setup in an outdoor venue with tons of giant pieces of artworks ranging from a huge leopard to a massive owl. Dancers roamed the premise and vendors were all over the place serving everything from sushi to tacos to pasta to gelato to nachos to lobster to curry
We got our faces painted and roamed the venue, catching up with the Dubai chapter and making new friends along the way.
6. The Speakers at the Conference
The conference itself was full of speakers, presentations and interesting discussions.
My favorite presenters had an engaging speech with a slide show full of pictures and videos.
These included conversations about:
- Space exploration and a new type of telescope to look deep into the galaxy
- Developing prosthetic arms for children who lost their arms in Africa from war
A memorable highlight was hearing Vir Das, Indian’s most famous standup comedian go on for a hilarious 40-minute set that was completely unfiltered.
He kept calling the audience of EO members: “CRP” meaning “Children of Rich People”
Even though about 25% of the jokes were specific to Indian culture and politics, I was laughing hard the entire time.
On the second day, the moderated conversations were far less engaging, because they were very specific to the region. A moderator would interview people such as Indian economists, Indian historians and Indian politicians and since I lacked the necessary background information, I found it unappealing. I realized that I prefer when there is a full presentation with visuals and stories to keep me interested in the presentation…versus one or two people being interviewed.
7. The Dubai Crew
I got to meet a ton of new people, and even made a friend based in Kenya, but the highlight was connecting with my EO Dubai chapter.
We had about 30 members attend, and it was a blast to travel, eat and experience RIE with this crew.
I’ve traveled a lot, and I’ve learned that it’s more about WHO you’re with then WHAT you do.
We’d see each other on the plane, waiting at the airport, at coffee breaks and we were constantly sharing experiences.
Everyone wanted to know what each other learned from the various workshops.
We laughed and learned together, and that’s the best feeling if you ever get the chance to go to India.
For More of My Travel Blogs:
Random Videos:
