India and the Philippines

I know that you are all dying to read my witty and erudite insights into the
differences and similarities between India and the Philippines, but that seems too much like hard work, so I’ll distill all our shared observations from three weeks into one word: moustache.

Man, they love their ’taches over there. Of the 3 million Keralan men we saw, I think five had a clean shaven upper lip. Yet I can go for weeks in Manila without seeing a moustache (and, given the ridicule I have been subjected for my own whispy efforts in that direction I ain’t ever gonna see one in the mirror).

There you have it: India, moustache; Philippines, unmoustache. What more can you possibly need to know?

Comments

[gonzo]

well, how about posting some more snaps? surely there were items of interest other than a 'handlebar-ed' keralan? And a short review on the local cuisine wouldn't go amiss.

[frayed]

Well, I'll speak on the food since I ate a lot more than Torn. It was great! Kerala is mostly vegetarian so a lot of that - curries but a lot of "dry-cooked" veg too which always came with papads & raita on the side. Also had dosas (like big crepes stuffed with potatoes, paneer etc).. and they are also known for fresh fish. I tried their fried fish Kerala-style (rubbed with spices before frying - yum!) Since Torn loves rotis, he was in roti-heaven. A lot of bottled water, Kingfisher beer & some Indian wine (yes, they make wine using French technical support which wasn't bad). Was a bit worried about the stomach, and even brushed my teeth w/bottled water (their tap water is really dirty) but fortunately, neither of us got sick.

So, we highly recommend Kerala - especially doing the backwaters on a houseboat for a couple of nights. That was the life...

[Jon Limjap]

So I guess it's as simple as Indians would like to be Mr. Suave, while Pinoys laugh at the idea. :p

Have a nice day, torn and frayed.

[christina nelson]

This is great! I was just in India (including Kerala), and one day a friend and I sat in a restaurant, looking out a window, and tried to count how many men didn't have moustaches.