Culture through Food

Since in Vietnam, we use chopstick and spoon, we face a big difficulty in the first time trying to eat Indian food. They use none of chopstick or spoon or fork, only hands. And remember this, only use right hand to eat !

The food was extremely spicy and sour. Most of them are vegetables, hardly to find non-veg dishes.India is really a country of extreme.I once asked my friend about it. He said "We love experiencing everything in an extreme way". That's true. One day I could be in the poorest city in India or even in Asia, I could saw beggars everywhere eating anything leftovers, and the next day finding myself covered by the most luxurious shopping malls, enjoy dining with the high class Indian. And while eating together with them, it's not unusual to see them put a whole chilly or a lice of lemon straight into their mouth.

I also found it interesting when noticing Indian men often drink lassi ( Indian yogurt) and chai (milk tea) instead of beer or alcohol like in my country.Maybe their religion requires them to do so or being a vegetarian can awake a good self in them. That should explain why I dont even see anyone playing gambling or lottery, or even pickpocketing.

There're many things I learned from India just by their food (the way they eat, which kind of food they can't eat,..). Although Indian food always upsets my stomach, it's such a great pity to me when I wasnt able to try all the dishes from my favorite restaurant there. Gotta go back some time. See you again, India

Which one do you like ?

I find it surprising when I asked some one in the village if they ever want to get out of this suburban life and move to the city, the answer was No. They told me they're already happy with what they have and they don't wanna risk it.
I think they got their point.

When you already feel satisfied and happy with the things around you, do we care what others are thinking ? Yes, we do ! The fact is we  always put other's judgement into our consideration. "You should have done better than that" , "It's not enough, work harder to make more money" , "No you'd better get a new job", "You should dump him/her. He/she's not good for you", etc .We care too much about what others think, that's how we often lose our existing happiness. Then, we will moan with our friends "I feel bored and tired with this life", "I haven't smiled and laughed for one month". Yeah, we're the creatures who love moaning - moaner !

I guess it's true that when we're in a real tough situation, all we can see is a glass half empty. But it's the other half that is the motivation for us to live on. Well, I'm not denying the fact that what we're lacking of is the reason for us to work hard and become more civilised. The world always needs civilising day by day. And those villagers said so because they're not able to change their lives. Yeah, that may be right.

However, the main purpose of this post is to help you see what you are holding. So each time you feel disappointed in this damn life, just take a look at those things. Your life has so many things in there that need to be treasured.

About those villagers, their conditions are worse than ours, but surely their lives are happier. So I don't think moving to a city is a good idea for them, city life will eventually take away their bright smiles like the way it has ever done to us.

Train travel in India

Because of our tight budget, we spent most of our time travelling on train, not on plane or even on the bus. The train expense is not cheap but surprisingly cheap, especially the Sleeper Class. It's the cheapest one and apparantly the most interesting way to see India.

First about the smell, you can really smell India there. Really typical. And you can never get used to it. I had to hold my breathe each time I wanted to pass any compartment.

Secondly, travelling on train helps you practice your tolerance a lot. You will notice that you will be less frustrated day by day when finding yourself covered by dirt all over but no water left to wash. You will be less angry when you find someone already lying in your own sleeper berth, to add up, he even pretends dead with the hope you will give up on him and let him unofficially invade your berth.

Thirdly, any Indian would like to talk to you. They're overfriendly. In case you choose not talking to them, your travelling ends up really boring.

Last but not least, "Chai, chai" cry from tea seller walking along the ailse is one important part of the whole "travelling-on-train-in-India" thing.


Well, it may be annoyingly interesting to some people, it depends on how people see things.
To me, it's worth spending many hours experiencing it after all.