Today I went to the bike shop to buy myself a new helmet. Spoke to the sale person for a while and as I was paying for the helmet, he asked, if I was South African! People beside me thought I was South African too! This is not the first time this has happened. Once before someone thought I was South African; one thought I was a New Zealand Maori(One of the native of New Zealand) and one of them thought I was Irish (Although she only heard me over the phone)! None of the people I have asked to guess got it right. I think of myself as very Indian though. Anyway after the bike shop I went to a super market and asked a sales women where I could find cable ties and she pointed me to Canberra Times I could not stop laughing.

Megan and I went on a month long trip to Thailand, Taiwan and Japan. Two weeks in Bangkok, a week or more in Taipei and a week in Japan. It was quite an experience traveling to all these places with vastly different cultures. Language did not make a difference to me since I did not understand any of the three.

Bangkok was good, Megan and I went to a few places, clicked a lot of pictures. I got to know her parents. I could not communicate with them since they could not speak English and I could not speak any Chinese. Megan’s parents where very kind and treated us very well. One of Megan’s parent’s neighbors was also very kind to drive us to the floating market. Food in Thailand was awesome. I’ve probably had better food in Bangkok and Taipei than I have had in Australia. Thai people seem to be extraordinarily nice. The traffic is a chaos but there hardly was any road rage. People use the road shoulder as the third lane! The king holds utmost respect by the people of Thailand. I can see why you-tube is banned in Thailand for mocking the king.

Taiwan was a different experience. We stayed with Megan’s sisters. Wan Chi: who fixed my tooth for free and Linkai: who talks to everyone like we are all her kids at school. People in Taiwan seem to have an identity crisis They seem to want to be Chinese but also want to differ from them and have this affection towards the Japanese. It’s a bit like Australians I guess. No Australian wants to be called English but, I have feeling that all Australians unknowingly love England, and also have a strange affection towards everything American, but don’t admit it. Taiwan’s food was good as well. One of Megan’s uncle and aunt took us out for lunch and it was the best beef that Megan and I ever tasted. We were told by the waitperson that it was Australian beef Restaurants are open and the streets are busy until late at night. Good food is cheap and easy to get at anytime. I started to acquire a taste for Chinese food. People stay out late and not once did I see a drunk on the street. I lived on dumplings for breakfast. There are hundred and one kinds of drinks to choose from in supermarkets. Coke and Pepsi do not stand out. I got my camera and Megan got her laptop in Taipei. Understandably Megan’s laptop was cheap since they are all made in Taiwan. I got my camera for a good price too. There was this whole street just for cameras. Our visit to Taipei was during the Chinese New Year so it was a lot of going out for dinner with family.  I did feel a lot more unique in Taipei than in Bangkok. It must have been my dark skin that attracted the local attention. Unlike Bangkok the locals here are not as used to too many travelers. People would give second looks but look away, but kids would just keep staring

Wan Chi, Linkai and Eric kept us entertained. Linkai was loud but kind. She helped me pack; come to think of it she did it all and told me what to wear on which day for the trip to Japan. She was like the family personal assistant. She would be first on the line to grab the keys for our hotel rooms. She was the one carrying all our passports, although I don’t really know what was the idea behind her having all our passports was.

Wan Chi was kind enough to do the whole family’s teeth for free. I’ve only been to a dentist once before when I was kid, so I don’t remember the experience. Wan Chi was exceptionally nice to me when she did my teeth. She cleaned them and fixed a chipped front tooth which looks like the real thing now. I think she sawed off and shortened one of my teeth. She also filled two of the teeth.

Eric was kind enough to let me use his room. Hopefully by the time I see him next, I will know Chinese and he speaks better English. Eric’s passion is to collect comic characters. He had few of these beautiful Japanese toy dolls that I would not mind having myself. His room has more space for the toys than for himself.

Japan was different again. We went on a guided tour to Hokkaido. The guide only spoke Chinese and I was the only one who could not understand Chinese in the group. The girls (Megan’s sisters) kept me entertained though. It was fun traveling with them. They had this routine: They would get on the bus, spend some time making themselves looking good and then go to sleep till we reached our next destination. They would then get out, pose for lots of pictures, go shopping, eat and get back on the bus. All the hotels in Japan had hot spring baths. On the first day I was a bit embarrassed to join the communal bath but later I started to enjoy it.  The food was not something I would crave to eat again but it was alright.

On the whole the trip went very well. I enjoyed every bit of it. Megan and I were a bit depressed when we got back. Everything seemed so quit back home in Albury. Now that it’s been a while, we have both got back to normal.

What in the world, are Jews doing in India? I was surprised to know about Jews in India. It seems they came in groups and settled in various places in India.

Another example of how, so many cultures co-exist in India.

Few years ago when I was in University a friend of mine had been to Melbourne to pick up his dad from the airport. On the way back to Albury it seems some young men threw an egg on their car and screamed out TERORIST. Obviously my friend did not want to confront the young men and just drove off and when asked by his dad he answered “it is because you are wearing a turban, and people here do not know that we are Indians”. I came across this site today which reminded me of this story

Almost a month ago I attended the Nagan Gira festival at Mungabareena.

“Ngan Girra means “gathering” and the event celebrates the heritage of Mungabareena reserve as a meeting place and the festival proomotes Indigenous culture.
Traditionally each year the Indigenous people of Southern New South Wales and Northern Victoria met at Mungabareena to perform ceremonies, exchange goods and discuss tribal lore. They would then traval to the high country to feast on the Bogong moth.
Today the festival is a living cultural show which explores the richness of traditional and contemporary Indigenous cultures. People who attend the festival are treated to cultural performances from singers and dancers, as well as boomerang and spear throwing, bush tucker and various indigenous stalls and displays.”

It was interesting to see how many young and old Australians attend the festival. They performed hunting (Kangaroo) dances. I got to click a few good pictures while trying not to get intimidated by the professionals with their mega zoom lenses on the tripod.

This was the second time I have attended the festival. This time I was in a hurry and had to leave after the hunting dance performance. Last time I got to taste kangaroo and crocodile meat!

It is believed that these native Australians came to Australia around 40,000 – 50,000 years ago. That is a long time ago compared to only 200 years of European settlement in Australia, but unfortunately the natives of the land are scarce.