Preparing For Withdrawl

As I only have three full days left in India, I'm preparing for the inevitable: severe chai withdrawal.

Chai, or the common Indian form of tea, is sold everywhere on the streets for 5 rupees ($0.10) a cup. When I was in Manali at the height of my addiction, I drink probably 10-15 cups a day.

I'll take a picture of a chai stall today.

Many Indian elites I've met abhor chai because it's the common man's drink, but I can't get enough of it. This is the best stuff since Turkish tea.

Actually, India in general makes fantastic street drinks. The banana lassi (like a milkshake but made with curd) stand near New Delhi Railway Station is a small slice of heaven. But be sure to tell the vendor no ice, and then scream at him when he tries to put it in anyways. It's tough love.

And on the home front, one of my travel mates (Alex) just appeared on the radar in Cambodia. I'm jealous that he's reached East Asia before me (although of course I've traveled there extensively before), but I'll be in Thailand on Sunday.

Oh-- and an interesting observation on that note: I'm now in the eastern stretches of India, and there are significantly more people here that look East (or Southeast) Asian.

Most of the time the distinction is very subtle, but some people walking around look very Thai, or more accurately, Burmese (in my crude opinion, a sort of blend between Indian and Southeast Asian).

This is probably just because they are migrants from far eastern India (which cozies right up to Burma), and it makes sense that they would come to Kolkata, the nearest major city to them.

All the same, I find it fascinating to see how phenotypes change as I move further east.