Travel

The title says it all really, however, I haven’t been to any other major Indian cities so I could be wildly wrong but I’ve been informed except maybe in Delhi (or is it New Delhi now? Or was that before? The country is rather confusing), perhaps, Chennai (the former Madras) is rather crazy. Now I know and adore many Tamil people in Sri Lanka, but here they are on a different level. The rich are fine (100% like the rich Colombo equivalents), the very poor are moody and take begging to extents which I have never experienced before. They probably need to but it was a little intimidating to me. I ignored them and then felt guilty afterwards. BUT I had been warned by several people don’t give them money because there will be lots of them around you like flies around sh*t if you do. I took this advice, but still with a heavy heart. They are desperate – the sooner South Asian countries start implementing social security the better – but that’s for another blog. I have heard India is heading in that direction…I sincerely hope so and that Sri Lanka will follow.

What actually impressed the most was the general friendliness of folk in such a large city (except for the beggars, but they are exceptions). They don’t stare at white women like many still do in Colombo – I was treated equally in shops and so on without the preference that so often occurs in Sri Lanka (where you can be waved to the top of a queue just because you are white). This really impressed me. I always feel like a dick when they do it here…..inwardly pleased but super embarrassed 😉

Also the number of Tamil devotees walking around the filthy streets barefoot in their full devotion sarongs and other colourful clothing, most of them with dreadlocks, beards and their forehead in white and red stripes surprised me – having seen a number of Tamil movies in my time – I still didn’t expect these guys to be so numerous in public in Chennai (I was expecting the more mustached Kollywood type of guys that would jump into a song with 50 other dancers on my arrival haha). The devotees didn’t do anything strange there other than smile at you with such honesty that it I had to clench my teeth to stop a stray tear, but they are capable of exceptional stuff, like walking on fire and piercing their bodies without pain – seen all that in Kataragama here in the South East of Sri Lanka – not hugely impressed then, I think “majorly freaked out” was a better expression at the time (younger and more easily upset). No photo’s of that but this one may give you some insight into the beauty of the Tamils:

The food – well what can I say? Scrumptious. I have no recipes but I will get some for you soon.

The best things I ate were:

IDLY (the small white pancake things):

I actually didn’t eat the donut-shaped thing because it was too oily in the hotel breakfast buffet (they have a similar thing in Lanka – I ate it once and was on the toilet for 3 days after). But the idly was lovely, not dry, not squidgy, just perfect….but what really makes the dish is the accompaniments. My favourites were the tomato chutney (bottom left with the green leaf), the coconut chutney (next to the tomato chutney), the sambar (oh luscious – the curry on the right above) and the coriander chutney (not shown). JUST YUMMY. I didn’t miss my pol sambol at all. Instead of the donut-thing I went for boiled eggs and immersed them in the sauces too. Plus I had a cheeky portion of garam masala scrambled eggs on toast). Set me up for the day!

After that, I missed lunch and mainly had curry at night. Do not miss the Chettinad Chicken – incredible. Not being the greatest fan of rice I sadly missed out on a Buriyani but have since been told they are superb there too. Also note – Chennai is mainly vegetarian. This didn’t bother me. However, if your stomach is demanding beef, lamb or even chicken – head to the big hotels. Your average street shop will not have them…most do not even serve fish.

My only regret is that I went alone. I will return but with boyfriend or friends to hit the real sights and nightlife.

And why are all the tuk tuks yellow? Some metered, most not. Is paint illegal there? 😉

A gathering of 100,000 Theravada Buddhist Monks in Thailand

So, I’ve had my first (but certainly hopefully not my last) taste of Thailand, well the Bangkok suburbs to be exact. 3 nights and 2 days of a new country and culture hardly makes me an expert but as I mostly live in Sri Lanka these days, I thought it would be interesting to look at some similarities and differences in culture between the 2 mainly Buddhist countries. These are just my observations and I do not claim to know anything more, especially being a Suddhi (female) or Farang as foreigners are respectively called in Sri Lanka and Thailand.

5 Cultural Similarities

Religion – both countries mainly practice Theravada Buddhism ; “The core teaching of the Theravada Buddhism is to see oneself, not with love or hate, but for it is; or in other words, to not see ourselves subjectively but objectively as if it is merely elements or part of the great flow of nature which in combine lacks the existence of a separate or a permanent “self.” This is evident everywhere in both countries in the number of temples, Buddha statues and small shrines everywhere (outside houses, shops, street stalls etc.). The burning of incense at dawn and dusk unites both countries in those sweet smells.
Drinking culture amongst men – it seems no drinking session in either Sri Lanka or Thailand is complete without bites (an accompanying snack). The actual food is very different but the overall concept is so very familiar. The setting can be anywhere…by the side of the street or the river. All that is required is a bottle or two of spirits (arrack in Sri Lanka and Thai whisky in Bangkok), a bottle or two of mixers (usually coke), some food, some plastic cups, some plastic chairs and some good company!
Women rule the roost – in Thailand as well as in Sri Lanka women are NOT the weaker sex. They often work (whether in an office, as a tea plucker, rice paddy field worker, stall holder or a management position for the more educated), they run the household and look after their close (children and husbands) and sometimes wider families (parents, uncles, aunts, cousins).
Smiles are respected, rudeness is not – I suspect this is part of the Buddhist mentality. A smile will help you get what you want, any rudeness, anger and especially threats will hinder this. Both Thais and Sri Lankans find it enormously embarrassing to lose face in an argument thus they find it better to avoid the issue by being generally polite and kind to others. Even during my short trip to Bangkok I noticed that if I smiled whilst ordering food the service was better than when I simply ordered on my first night without even looking at the person who was serving me (I was tired but not an excuse not to smile!!)
Immigration staff are rude and crap in both countries – fact. See number 4. above for how to minimise your irritation whilst arriving in the country of your choice. Sri Lanka is marginally better now with the online visa application facility. In Bangkok I waited 45 mins to get into Thailand and over an hour (!!) to get out 3 days later.

5 Cultural Differences

Food – I can’t begin to explain how different the food is in Sri Lanka and Thailand. I love both but the tastes are wildly different. A green chicken curry in Bangkok will be nothing like a chicken curry in Colombo. Thai food has more subtle spices….some claim it is hot but I still find Sri Lankan food wins the chilli stakes hands down. This is not just about the tastes – also the type of food; PORK is everywhere in Thailand, on barbeques as satay, in sausage form, even in noodles (wontons). In Sri Lanka it is rare amongst Buddhists, Muslims and Tamils. Sri Lankan chefs can learn a lot from the Thai salads in particular.
Prices – I was lead to believe that Bangkok was one of the cheapest capital cities in the world. INCORRECT. Yes beer (alcohol in general), cigarettes and street food are cheap but transport is comparable to Sri Lanka and clothes about 25%-50% more expensive. I only went to Bangkok so I imagine it is even cheaper out of the cities but generally clothes, rent and land cost a lot more in Thailand than in Sri Lanka.
Religion – both countries mainly practice Theravada Buddhism ; see point 1. above. Although sharing the same beliefs, the two countries respect and pray to Buddha in different ways. In Sri Lanka strict Buddhists do not eat pork or beef. In Thailand they have no such qualms. The history of Buddhism is also quite different in both countries. The temples and Buddha statues are also different in the way they look and the rituals are different.
Kingdom vs. Presidency – In Thailand the King or Queen is revered in the same way as Buddha. People will not stand on a coin depicting the King’s face. They will stop whatever they are doing and stand to pay their respects when the national anthem is played (I heard a funny escalator story about this 😉 ). Sri Lanka has Mahinda Rajapaksa – the President. Many adore him, however I feel quite safe to say that many also loathe him and would be quite happy to bury a one rupee coin depicting his face into the dirt with their foot.
Tuk tuks – these three-wheelers are fast disappearing from the streets of Bangkok 😦 – in Colombo the numbers continue to grow, perhaps because we in Sri Lanka do not have an efficient public transport system like the Thais. The SkyTrain, buses, trains all run efficiently and to schedule. Add to that the fact that they are super clean and cheap. Who needs a tuk tuk?