by Sezgin | Dec 1, 2014 | SeedsonWheels |
In Chennai, where we took out first step to India, we had the chance of meeting one of the most important part of this culture; Indian Cuisine. India is a vegetarian friendly country due to the necessities of Hindu culture. On the package of every product, there is either a red or a green dot. The products with a green dot are vegetarian. They don’t contain meat or egg. In most of the restaurants, vegetarian foods are in majority. Pastries and fries are prevalent and the dishes are prepared on wood fire. Creppe like foods called Dosa, Uttapam, Idly are served with stews in small cups, and they are highly filling. Of course there is a lot of spice in almost everything. It’s needed to get used to eating spicy food and also to eat by your hands without using forks and spoons. And sometimes even without a plate. In southern India, food is served on banana leaves in some restaurants. Papaya and pineapple is widely available. We run into hawkers who prepare mixed fruit salad and fresh juice on streets. Another thing that you can drink is coconut! It is served with a straw. Walkşng around with a huge fruit is very enjoyable. The thing we got addicted and eat almost every day between meals is banana chips. It looks like thick potato chips. A salted and fried sweet fruit might sound weird, but it tastes amazing. After five days we spent in Chennai, trying to know Indian culture and its cuisine closer, we move towards the south, to Mahabalipuram. The town, also known as Maamalapuram or Mahabs...
by Sezgin | Nov 17, 2014 | SeedsonWheels |
“Incredible India” was only a slogan we saw in the consulate. After 3 days we spent in Chennai, we realized that maybe this is the most appropriate slogan to define India. We arrive Chennai before the sunrise after a 1,5 days of journey with 17 hours of waiting in Shrjah Airport. When we step outside, we hardly breathe because of the hot weather and moisture. Breath-taking in real terms… We reach Erik and Selcem’s house early in the morning. Thanks to Couchsurfing, we get into the a totally different culture slowly not to have a culture-shock. November and December is the monsoon season in Southern India. That’s why we always take our rain covers with us. But it’s not bad to get wet, as even the rain is warm. Everybody on streets walks either on their naked feet or with slippers… Chennai is the 4th biggest city of India, the traffic is too dense. In the beginning, we get crazy because of the sound of horns. For us, horn sounds aggressive. But nobody is angry and the flow of the traffic depends on this. In all the congestion drivers communicate by horn. A very developed language, that can be examined by linguists. Behind many vehicles, it’s written; “sound horn”. The thing we come across everywhere, after sound of horn, is the spice odor, of course. The whole city is like a huge spice bazaar. But this is a different language also. In the mess of sounds and colors, odor becomes an element of marketing. A smell you like, mostly takes you to a dish you like… To all languages...
