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 My experience at Koenig …
After a couple of short contracts in the IT industry I decided to get some certs, I already had done A+ in the UK but pressure was to get MS certs so I took the plunge and decided to go for MCSE. I looked around and came across Koenig several times, out of all of the various sites Koenig came across as professional, honest and the price was a fraction of similar courses… but I would have to go to India for two months.. Even taking this into the equation it was still the least expensive as I wanted to learn, not just certify. I sent across my details and there was no hard sell (which I was expecting) just information on what to expect and what was included in the price. I booked and paid the deposit expecting to find out some hidden truths after but there was none, everything that was confirmed before was the same, no turning back now, got to do it!
I arrived in India 1 week early, I can be a bargain hunter and got a cheap flight for less than the extra nights stay in the hotel. I recommend that you don’t do this as I had two stops which is OK on the way out but when you come back?? Regular price from UK in Feb 2007 was about £400 direct. As I was a week early there was no one to meet me at the airport but I had sent a text just before to get the hotel organised, I phoned at arrival and confirmed which hotel I would be staying in. Again, all of this I don’t recommend as nothing prepared me for the journey to the hotel and it would have been far more reassuring if I had one of Koenig’s drivers pick me up which is what they normally do (the drivers are great guys by the way). Well, I’ve driven in SA, WI, and France etc. not to mention the east end of London… Delhi is something else, I’m not going to explain what the traffic is like, you will have to see for yourself, but despite the ‘rule1 : no rules’ of the road I never saw an accident in two months, which I cant say about London.
The hotel, I arrived in the evening, it was hard for the driver to find (wish I had got Koenig to pick me up) and from the outside it didn’t look good, this was the budget hotel Kingston but after walking through the door the exterior was a complete contrast. I was greeted by reception staff, booked in and shown to my room, all professional and despite the 2 ‘equivalent rating’ you would not get that service here in a 2 star hotel. This was the budget hotel; I went into my room which was en suite with cable TV, mini fridge, double bed, AC, clean, ceiling fans oh and a heater for the cold? AND most important free internet access!!! No it wasn’t perfect, I was on the ground floor and the noise could be a bit of a nuisance, the toilet leaked sometimes (clean water) and at one point we lost internet for nearly 1.5 days!! They sorted that quickly as there was nearly a riot! Not bad for a 2 star. Breakfast was included but I only took it a couple of times, my breakfast normally consists of a cup of coffee and coffee is not the same in India so bought a kettle for a few rupees and some Nescafe from the store.
OK a bit about the actual training, as you may be doing something other than MCSE I shall say that the training centre staff are great, they organise everything for you are genuinely nice people and are professional. I had two trainers while there and they both knew there stuff. I didn’t have a problem with accents as in IT we are virtually speaking the same language anyway, there was the odd weird pronunciation but that was just funny not difficult. I had two very good trainers and I can’t fault them. The equipment was fine, if we killed a hard drive (Virtual PC raid drive, does happen) then it was replaced in minutes not hours. The whole training experience was good. Lunch was included from either Subway, Dominoes, Mc D’s, and a couple of local outlets, I recommend the local food as Mc D’s etc is not the same as you get in the UK.
Food in India will depend on where you come from in the world, from London I thought I would have no problem living on Indian food for two months. Even the Indian food isn’t what you get here normally; The Clay Oven catered for our ‘Indian’ tastes but still not quite the same as you get here. I am a custom to traditional Indian food but I was too scared to eat from ‘street vendors’ as it was so important to not get sick. The hotel room service food was very good but all vegetarian. In short you could live on Pizza but I would suggest getting to know the suggested restaurants and eat the local delights, yes if you are there for two months or more you will miss your normal foods but will experience new ones.
All in all it was a great experience, I went to learn and I did, it wasn’t easy! You will study all day (6 days) a good few hours every night and Sunday as well. Most of the people I met were all in the same boat, doing different courses CCNA, CCNP, Redhat, etc. different countries and different ages, there wasn’t much time to socialise but when we did it was good because we all knew we were there for virtually the same reasons. It can be quite hard, hard study, in a different country, different food, different culture, living in a hotel but I’m going back to do my CCNA because its worth it (I will learn) and the people make it for you, trainers, centre staff, taxi drivers, hotel staff and 99% of the local people look after you, are kind, friendly and helpful. If you can prepare yourself for some hard work you couldn’t go anywhere better. If you are richer than me then treat yourself to the other places Shimla or Goa or maybe 5 star I’m sure they will meet your expectations and more.
And just finally a note to the editors, I hope to see you all when I come back later this year, will be in touch shortly. |
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