BANGALORE, INDIA

Plugged in: If you've called any customer service lines in the past few years, chances are you've spoken to someone in Bangalore, the epicenter of India's tech outsourcing industry. But the city is rapidly moving up the food chain: It's now home to a booming high-tech services industry, making it the so-called Silicon Valley of India. Locally, the big players include Wipro and Infosys, two tech-consulting firms idolized in India, and Biocon, a biotech company that made its founder India's richest woman.

Homeport: The Leela Palace sits within a half hour's drive of Whitefield and Electronics City, two of the city's major tech hubs—and as it says on its Web site, the rooms befit "a business hotel created for the emperors of the IT world." In deluxe rooms, that means a 42-inch plasma and an infrared locking mechanism—when no one's there, the room is locked down. (Doors that lock behind you are simply passé, you know). In the Maharaja Suite, guests scarfing truffles at the 16-seat dining table don't have to worry about snipers—the windows are bulletproof and the hallway outside has built-in metal detectors. The hotel's restaurants, including Jamavar and Zen, are some of India's most expensive eateries and are popular with the city's new millionaires.

Social networking: Where the tech scene stateside is a bit scruffy, in Bangalore it's corporate and very nouveau riche. Tech consultants and programmers preen at luxury lounges such as Opus, a nightclub featuring karaoke nights; the open-air Blue Bar, on the grounds of the luxurious Taj West End; and Kosmo, which could easily be transplanted to South Beach (Tel: 91-80-4170-2030). Signature dish: "Rich Man's Tapas," which includes foie gras, oysters, caviar, salmon, and quail.

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