Radical India!

Personally when I think of India I think of the basics. I think of things such as the amazing culture, breathtaking views, and mouth watering food. What I don’t think about, is all the weird ( but cool) things that go on there. Did you know there is a floating post office? I mean, it’s cool and all, but business probably isn’t the best. Another cool fact is that India has a whole spa for elephants. They get massages, food, and luxury bathing. Elephants are awesome but a whole spa for them seems a little irrELEPHANT. One final fact is that a village in India called Shani Shingnapur, doesn’t have doors in any of their shops or halls. They have also never kept any of their valuable possessions locked up because all of the locals are kind and have grown up not knowing crime.Although this seems crazy, they have never once had a theft or robbery happen. So after reading this phenomenal article the question is: do you think is cooler or weirder than America?

Unique Things About Pakistan

Some unique things I found out about Pakistan are that they have some of the highest mountain ranges in the world. They are the Himalayas and Hindu Kush range. They also have the deepest sea port in the world and it’s called Gwadar port. They have the first Islamic country to attain nuclear power and that happened May 28th, 1998. Another cool thing about Pakistan is that they make more 50% of the footballs (soccer balls). Around 60 million soccer balls are hand stitched in Pakistan because they are a trademark of their countries. I would like to visit Pakistan and other countries in South Asia like Bangladesh, Nepal and India.  What countries do you want to visit in South Asia leave a comment.

Hand-Stitched Footballs The Himalayas

Sri Lankan food

Sri Lanka has lots of food.  Most of the food sounds good. Roti is a Sri Lankan flat bread made from wheat flour. Kottu is a Sri Lankan stir fry made of Shredded roti bread and vegetables, eggs, meat and cheese. Kool, a soup with a seafood broth, and consists of crab, fish, prawns, crayfish and  scuttlefish. Kool also contains vegetables such as spinach, long beans, etc. Another dish is a sour fish curry (Fish Ambul Thiyal) Is made of a large firm fish, such as tuna and is cut up into little cubes.  Sri lanka sounds like it has good food. I wonder if the rest of Sri Lanka is interesting.

Dal Bhat Tarkari. Doesn't that sound delicious?

I am a not really a picky eater, but my younger brother and sister are. So, if you eat only hamburgers and fries, you would not like this blog. This blog includes foods from Nepal. One of the dishes looks like this:

This hot chicken chow mein looks pretty good. What do you think? Would you eat this? It is very spicy, judging by the jalepenos.  Nepal's national food is Dal Bhat Tarkari. Dal is a type of soup with lentils and a variety spices. It is served over some boiled grain, usually rice, which is called bhat. It is topped of with tarkari, a vegetable curry. Nepalese cuisine is mostly based on Thai and Indian dishes. Although, communication with Europeans and Americans has introduced new foods, like pizza. One of the recipes is Nepalese potato, tomato, and pea curry. The food in Nepal is what it is because of it's geographic location and ethnicity. 

 

Bhutan

Beautiful valleys, large mountains, a dragon on the flag, red rice, and no traffic lights in the capital city. Have you guessed where I’m talking about yet? It’s Bhutan! The national dish in Bhutan is ema datshi(chili cheese). It is mostly made up of either cow or yak milk cheese, and chili peppers. In fact, most dishes in Bhutan have chilies in them. Rice is also one of the main foods. Another dish is phaksha paa, which is dried pork with chilies, spices, and vegetables. Would you try this food? I probably would, because most of this looks good to me.

Something Smells Fishy: Ngapi

Ngapi. This food is popular in Lower Myanmar, either baked or roasted. It can be placed in salads, soups, with nay infinite combinations of fruits and vegetables. This Burmese staple (Burma and Myanmar are interchangeable) is arguably the national dish. What is this ngapi substance, you ask? Simple. Fermented fish or prawns, crushed into a paste and salted. The stuff is actually cheese-like insofar as it can be classified into various subcategories (i.e. Rakhine ngapi made from prawns, comparable to Coulommiers cheese.) Additionally, ngapi is high in protein and iodine, an element that is used in the production of thyroid hormones. Because iodine deficiency is highly damaging to the human body, ngapi is something of a godsend to inland Burmese, who lack the iodized salt that has been used to circumnavigate the issue in wealthier nations. I’d like to try ngapi sometime, although that is highly unlikely. I suppose I have to end with a question. Or do I? OR DID THAT ONE RIGHT THERE COUNT?!? You decide...or not.

Here's a semi-relevant picture.

People, Parades and Pray

Namaste… Hello… In the U.S. we celebrate 10 national holidays. In India, they celebrate only three national holidays.  India's three holidays are Independence Day, Gandhi Jayanti and Republican Day. August 15th is when they celebrate Independence Day. They celebrate by having parades, singing the national anthem and listening to speeches by the Prime Minister and President of India. They also display their national flag on flag poles and on there clothes. On October 2nd, they celebrate the birthday of the “Father of the Nation”, Gandhi Jayanti. He was a simple man, so in honor of him, they have simple celebrations. On this day they have prayer meetings and painting and essay competitions favoring the topics of peace, non-violence and freedom. Every January 26th in India is Republican Day. The most important celebration is the Republic Day Parade in New Delhi. The President of India is present and recognizes people that have shown courage. The military displays its arsenal. If I could celebrate  one of these holidays in India, I would like to see the Republican Day Parade because of all the military personnel. What holiday would you like to participate in?