Coming from Australia, knowing how to properly pour a beer is as integral as knowing how to cook dinner. Ending up with too much froth on the top is guaranteed to bring ridicule. Therefore, you can imagine how disbelieving I was to see this beer on the flight back to Mumbai, from Bangkok, recently. It was poured by an Indian shopkeeper who had gone there on a buying trip with three shop owners.
I found it hard to resist showing him how to pour the beer, and I probably would’ve given him a lesson if I was sitting next to him. However, I’d asked my husband to swap seats with me as soon as the row had been filled up by these four Indian men. In hindsight, it was a wise move because the alcohol made them rather animated to say the least.
Mr shopkeeper proceeded to make himself a beer cocktail by combining it with a glass of orange juice, while the shop owners called for repeated rounds of whiskey. Mr shopkeeper then reached up and pulled a packet of namkeen out of his luggage in the overhead compartment. It was eagerly passed around. One of the shop owners decided to employ some good ole Indian jugaad, and used an in-flight magazine as a plate. He licked his fingers and wiped them all over the magazine to get every last bit of namkeen into his mouth.
It wasn’t long before their requests for more alcohol were denied. “Tell that bitch to bring us some more,” one of the shop owners encouraged the other. (Thanks to my husband for that translation).
My husband had wanted to join in the namkeen eating, but didn’t want to be associated with the dukundars in case he was also denied more wine. Meanwhile, I’d bonded with a lovely Indian male flight attendant over a mutual dislike of paneer, and he kept filling my glass to the brim with it.
The dukandars did get more whiskey. And, to make sure they got paisa vasool, giggled as they sneakily poured it into empty water bottles to take away and drink later.
The wine went straight to my head, and I found their behaviour quite disgustingly hilarious. But yes folks, it’s undoubtedly the reason why alcohol is not served on domestic flights in India!
Making a beer cocktail.
The namkeen came out.
The namkeen was eagerly passed around.
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Hilarious! In the trains you would find people drinking from stainless steel glasses always accompanied by Namkeen. This is again unique to India….
Yeah, seems Indians can’t travel anywhere without a packet of namkeen!
Ha! True about this Namkeen thing! You should visit this part of India where I live, city called Indore. The place is Namkeen Capital of our Solar System with tonnes of it produced and consumed daily(exported as well).
Also drinking experience in India is not complete without mentioning “ahatas”. An ahata (which translates to an enclosure) is usually a tin roofed space accompanying a road side liquor shop where customers can get a quick grab.
LOL. I am also from Indore! Heehee And we people always eat sev with EVERYTHING!
I can eat sev with bread, roti, paratha, tea, rice, even maggi! LOL. Anything will do. And the sheer types of namkeen in the market- wow.
And whenever I go to school trips or travel, I carry loads of namkeen to eat with tea!
Being Belgian and a beer lover ( and especially of our trappist monk’s beers ), I share your point of view !
Disgusting and what about beer coktails … a real shame but, indeed, I’ve seen some of my Indian female friends ( whenever they indulge ) mixing beer with orange juice or soft drink. They call it ” shanty ” !
However, here in Belgium, we have special beers very popular especially in summer like ” Kriek ” ( beer mixed with tasty cherry juice )n another mixed with blueberry juice or peach juice and the ” Blanche de Hoegaerde ” served with a slice of lemon. De-li-cious and so refreshing in hot weather !!!
BTW, do you know that in USA, some people drink Coca-Cola topped with a huge scoop of vanilla ice cream ? There are all kinds of tastes in the world.
I tried it once … Not too bad but definately not my taste either !
But I love namkeens. In Jodhpur, there is a great shop where you can buy all sorts of them & I always take a few bags with me when I return home from India.
I enjoyed Stella Artois in Brussels when I was there a long time ago. I’ve given up drinking beer now though, because I’m avoiding gluten in my diet (apparently, I’m a bit intolerant to it). I do miss having a cold beer on a hot day.
My grandmother liked shandy (as we call it).
Hi Sharell
Ever watched show called 3 sheets? It’s about an American traveler called Zane Lamprey who visits countries around the world to explore drinking cultures. His trip to Belgium was pretty cool but it never covered Indian. Do watch it on Hulu sometime it’s totally funny
No, I’ve never seen or heard of it. I don’t watch much TV. I’ll keep an eye out for it though. Would be great if he visited India!
We called beer mixed with lemonade a “shandy” but I’ve never seen beer and orange juice. Wine and orange juice, yes.
soda with ice-cream is an ice-cream soda or a spider. I liked them as a kid but the thought makes my stomach churn now.
What is namkeen?
Namkeen: I would say the Indian version of beer nuts; anything that is salty, chilli-hot, and fried.
Beer and OJ? That would be a new one for me. Hmmm. I wonder what that would taste like. Offhand, it doesn’t sound very good.
Whenever I visit this blog, my first reflex is to apologize for the troubles this country of mine gives to the people coming from abroad. I am so embarrassed by my fellow Indians.
I was travelling in a train last year when some rich spoiled brats pulled out alcohol (and oranges, no namkeen this time) and drank while a European couple and a Chineese lady sat in the corner, probably feeling insecure and quite outraged.
What is so embarrasing about drinking alcohol in the train? ….as far as no lewd comments were made. The European couple must have asked the rich spolied brats if the Train has a bistro!
@Prabhat: Hahha, that’s my first reflex too!
There are always 2 sides of a coin. You like to see the dirty side of this country. I like to see the good side of it. I am so tempted to start a good India vs Bad India debate here….but..like most Indians, I am feeling lazy
All I can say is, I wish you, soon find a country of your choice to adapt you as her citizen.
Regards,
Mohit
Agreed to comments above. I think a formal training to many Indians is quite necessary on travelling mannerisms. They forget they share their space with other people, have little or no regards for their fellow travellers. In short the actions of few bring shame to many others and as such a negative branding of the country forms. In Singapore there are rentals not for “Indians” specifically mentioned on websites..whether it is racism or simply the lack of integration in today’s cosmo world is a question. But away from the serious question, Beer and orange juice? I never saw that before..did see Indians mixing Beer and whiskey.
I don’t think thee is anything to be ashamed of here. Stop looking drinking habits from the prism of the standards established in the west.
Indians are known to be value maximizers, and even I have been told by my friends in the college “”Freeya kidaicha Phenyl kudda kuddipey nee” which translates “You will drink Phenyl, if its free”
I have evolved from a teetotaler to a refined drinker, and have seen the impact of the culture on drinking.
Every evening the smell of fried fishes permeated the air in the small town. My house is located between this town and the small village. I could see men, dressed up after day’s work going towards the village , ofcourse to dig into different kinds of bondas, Bhajjis and fried fish that goes with drinks. My dad usually kept the lights on, as after few hours men would would walk back…some of them drunk and making scenes.
I have seen college students drinking moonshine and lying on the ground. When i was doing Engineering, I was teetotalar, but had seen guys mixing up everything in a bucket…..all kinds of drinks and then drinking it in the plastic cup.
Things changed for me when I went to a Management school after about an year of being at a job. I was drinking from that bucket where all the drinks were mixed. We had lots of parties and dancing was fun after these drinks. Some girls got supplied this cocktail of all that boys could buy, was supplied to them in the pepsi bottle or can. It was fun…with both boys and girls dancing. I remember that the best song I sang before the crowd was when i was totally drunk.
My drinking habits have since changed after getting new perspectives at US. Its more about the quality than quantity. the protocols are different, drinking habits are different and some of them are due to the legal enforcement and drive against drunk driving. Its just one or two of cocktails or margaritas with white American friends with dinner.
Relax, and don’t feel uncomfortable when you meet this Indian guy with a value maximization attitude and different drinking habit. Most of time guys don’t know that water bottles that young guys carry during travel has a blend of some drink with soda.
Hmmm, I think this could be part of the reason why drinking alcohol is viewed badly by many middle and lower class Indians — because like you said it’s quantity of consumption, and not quality. In the west, a glass or two of fine wine is savored with a meal. Drinking habits and protocols are indeed very different, particularly with there being so many sidey bars around in India, where men go to drink cheap alcohol and get tipsy. It’s not at all surprising that alcohol has bad reputation and health risks in India.
Are you kidding me? Have you never been or seen how kids in the US behave beofre they turn 21 and are legal to drink? Frat boys drink like its thier last day on earth. Most football and sporting events are full of a brunch of crotch scratching, ber guzzling cave man. Even executives travelling business class make a complete ass of themselves when they are poured a free alcholic beverage. Gimme a break. Wine? who drinks wine in the US? Bored housewives in the Hamptons? White men waxing eloquence and thier wine tasting skills? Why is wine considered more refined and by what standards? Its ALCOHOL! Bottonline they were middle class dukhandars who had probably never travlled abroad, swap that with pot bellied, redneck from Alabama and the namkeens for peanuts and it would be the same.
Hi Ariana, I wouldn’t know, I’m not from the US. So, gimme a break. I’m from Australia and wine is extremely popular there. Amongst my friends and relatives, if you’re invited to someone’s home for a meal, you take a bottle of wine (and we’re average middle class people). In India, wine is hardly even viewed as alcohol. Point being the drinking age was recently raised in Maharastra — 25 for spirits, 21 for beer. No mention of wine. Very few Indians actually drink it.
Anyway, look at why the Indian government banned the serving of alcohol on domestic flights, and I think this whole issue is self explanatory. Have a read of this article: http://ibnlive.in.com/news/debate-should-alcohol-be-served-on-domestic-flights/52387-3.html
Oh, I should add that my husband’s drinking habits have also changed since he met me. He rarely drinks anything else but wine now!
Sharell,
Why would any ethnic indigenous group be it native americans or aborigines drink wine? Wine is a very European drink and popular in France,Italy etc, where it is drank on a daily basis. My Point is it is still alcohol, with a alchohol percentage of 12-18% vs Beer of 4%. I lived in the Napa Valley and did the whole wine tasting and wine touring shindig for years. I have a problem with the snobbery associated with ‘oh drinking wine is oh so sophesticated, vs the scum of the earth drinking wild turkey and Milwaukee Beer”. Bottomline- its alcohol. And why on earth would people in a tropical country like India want to drink wine with thier spicy food and the killer humidity?
I have no problem with people drinking its a free world.
Huh? How do aborigines and native Americans fit into this discussion? But just for the record, there are unfortunately many alcoholic aboriginals in Australia. They drink cheap cask wine. I’m really not sure what your point is with this discussion. It is going in all different directions. Australia has a substantial wine industry and is the world’s fourth largest wine exporter behind Italy, France and Spain.
Moderator’s Note: Remainder of the comment removed as it is not relevant to the topic.
Point is Indians are an ethnic people and they like native americans and other indigenous people do not handle alcohol well. Thats perhaps why drinking alcohol is looked down upon.
Ariana,
[This reply is to your comment below on march 13,2012 10:27PM, there was no reply button below]
To equate drinking habits or other cultural facts, it is not logical to compare the thinking of aboriginals in any way to the thinking of a 15,000 old civilization/culture.
The real reason alcohol is looked down upon because they are explicitly forbidden in Hindu , Buddhist(500BC) and Jain scriptures(500BC) for spiritual reasons. Even in the yoga books(original Sanskrit versions) , alcohol or anything which intoxicates is forbidden as it stops path to spiritual progress. Some smritis (personal opinions of sages in BC times) say that anyone drinking wine/alcohol is not fit to be a student and should be expelled from any university. Since smritis were sometimes used as guidelines it is a high possibility that ancient universities at that time – like Takshashila(500BC) or Nalanda (see Wikipedia) in the Indian subcontinent followed these rules. That is why alcohol was forbidden for brahmins in particular.
Wine/alcohol make one loose control over the mind if taken in excess or even get addicted – this is diametrically in opposition to the goals of hinduism, jainism and Buddhism – emancipation of the soul and freedom from the birth/death cycle by getting rid of attachment to materialistic things or passion. Many of the caucasian hindu priests in the Hare Krishna temples in the US do not even drink tea or coffee as it is addictive. Jainism strictly forbids alcohol as it can be addictive.
Alcohol is looked down upon in religious conservative groups and irrespective of class(low, middle, high).
My point is you cannot compare an ancient civilization to tribal folks and equate their thinking. So I agree with Sharell when she says that ” How do aborigines and native Americans fit into this discussion?”.
Yeah you can’t be swiss without knowing how to pour a beer either
I find it funny how Indian need to have their home food everywhere they go, one of my friends who lives in US always mentionned how she would make potato stuffed chapatti before a long flight somewhere and hid them in her cabin luggage, because she can never be too sure the vegetarian meal in the plan will be up to her standard or hygienic enough.
Seeing these pictures and reading the sneaking liquor in water bottle for later is indeed something that is typical in India it seems, not that we would know on domestic flight, because thank god booze is banned, but you see enough people that will try to make as much for their money psend ont he flight, asking for extra bottles of water, taking a handfull of candies instead of just one or two when the flight attendant pass the basket, or pick up a few extra sugar packs from the tray, or toothpicks and what not, and put it in their purse or pocket. And then will proceed to turn their personnal little fan on full blast only to ring the flight attendant to bring a blanket because they are feeling too cold
“He licked his fingers and wiped them all over the magazine”
this is a common ritual we indians do to ensure a safe flight.
and the magazine….
Will definitely try it next time I fly to India as I am a little bit superstitious
make sure you take the next person’s magazine and give it a good lick as well. Our friend on board seems to have forgotten that important step.
This is one of the funniest posts I have read on this site. Absolutely hilarious. If I’d been in your position, I would’ve been quite irritated at their behaviour – especially the ‘bitch’ comment – but laughed heartily afterwards. As I am doing now, in my office. Thanks for that!
Ha! You’re welcome. I’m glad you could see the humour in it. The wine sure made it easier for me to laugh at the time.
i have friends who do that. initially i used to get embarrased by them.
but later on i realized that their ”who the hell cares” attitude made them really interesting people to hang out with.
this is hilarious. so typical of an Indian on a domestic flight to make the best of the situation by making a beer cocktail. LOL and of course, gotta have namkeen. Namkeen in India is equal to Peanuts in the United States. Can’t take anything too seriously there. Keep them posts coming. And what is bitch in Hindi? Is it “Kuti or Kamini”?
Bitch in Hindi wasn’t a literal translation. The words, according to my husband, were “sali ko bula”. Sali actually means sister inlaw, like sala means brother in law. However, both can be used as a slang insult.
I don’t drink, so all this talk about alcohol leave me cold as I have nothing to contribute. I was coaxed into taking a sip of beer once by my friend. It tasted bitter like Dettol (a popular antiseptic solution in India). I could not bring myself to drink an antiseptic solution. I am amazed how people gulp down bottles of this disgusting liquid. Perhaps it is an acquired taste.
It is not alcohol, but the disgusting things that people do after drinking, that gives it a bad name. The Indian male, who is not so respectful to women when in his senses gets even more disgusting when he is tipsy. Nevertheless, there is great acceptability for such drunken behavior in many communities. Alcoholism is celebrated. People are not greatly perturbed by such behavior. It is like a necessary evil. In every marriage, there is some middle age gentleman who is unable to handle his booze and makes a ass of himself. We don’t allow alcohol in our marriages and have as much fun as others. Sadly, such vices have found a place in parts of the country where it was once looked down upon. Uptill now you must be well aware with the drinking habits of Indians, if you get my drift.
As a beer loving India, I agree. Indians aren’t really good at the art of pouring beer. I hate it.
My kind of story. I love watching people in airports and in airplanes. Thanks for the entertainment on this early Monday morning!
A friend introduced me to namkeen and I loved it so much. If I was in the same flight, I might also get tempted to join those rowdy guys.
This is the right time for Bollywood folks to compete with Hollywood folks, by directing a film called “Villagers on a Plane” (Similar to “Snakes on a Plane”). This also reminds me of a pic that was recently doing the rounds on the internet and which says “You can take the man out of the village, but not village out of the man”!
the only thing offensive here is that you thought that four Indian males sitting next to you was offensive !
geez, talk about racial stereotyping.. You are a mean lady !
Don’t be silly Mr Rider, it’s got nothing to do with their race but everything to do with their behaviour.
well you assuming that four indian males instantly means trouble is racist lol
Rubbish. It’s nothing of the sort. Why do some people love labeling things as racist? It’s about having the intelligence to make an informed decision based on experience, the type of person (narrow it down a bit more than just four Indian males), the situation, and what is likely to happen. Turns out, I wasn’t wrong. I often travel in the gents compartment of the Mumbai local train, so I hardly just assume that four Indian males means trouble.
Hi Tim,
I’m an Indian and if I were to be Sharell’s place, even I would have swapped my seat with my husband. Call it a woman’s intuition rather than being racist.
Yeah!! I totally agree Sharell its the misbehavior which makes you outwardly defensive..Last week I was on a official trip coming back from some place to my city when in the AC compartment there were four services men not in their uniform but trying every bit to be in authority like ordering the attendant to bring him water and like that/.. They were drinking in stainless steel glasses and making a lot of noise. Though I am man so less likely to have any unholy advances from them but then also was no very comfortable with their level of voice and mannerism. Though why do they behave so in public which makes others feel threatened. I tried to close my eyes and pretend not to hear or see any of their hooliganism just wanted to avoid there eye contact though they didn’t say or act fresh with me.
so Sharell I can relate to your experience which you find disgustingly amusing and lil uncomfortable. But the wine help you see the funny side..
//Meanwhile, I’d bonded with a lovely Indian male flight attendant over a mutual dislike of paneer, and he kept filling my glass to the brim with it.//
Hmmm, he kept filling your glass with paneer?
What did you do with it?
Hey, don’t split the paragraph up!
The “it” refer to the wine from the previous sentence not the paneer.
Ah, I did learn how to pour beer right from a very young age
Sharell, I do not know if it is a good idea to be posting these folks pics on your blog. I wonder if you have taken their permission!
I was recently returning from Bangkok myself and there were two rows of such folks sitting right behind me. I like the word you used to describe em.
“animated” the guys on my flight even broke out into the national anthem.
the harassed staff were being begged for “one last drop”
People must learn to conduct themselves properly but i think alcohol can be troublesome in the hands of the wrong people.
Take permission in India? Nooo! I’ve lost track of the times my photo has been taken by guys without my permission. Seems like there’s no need to take permission in India, from the way I’ve been treated anyway.
I’m just following along with the example that’s been set for me. 
LOL, I somehow knew you would say that
I’m sure those pics were taken so that they could worship you or something, not castigate them on a blog
Nice to see you hada good time in Bangkok.
Um, yes, well if only they worshiped me like a goddess it might be okay.
However, more than likely they’ll use my picture to fuel their fantasies or to tell all their friends that they had “sexy good time” with me.
I think most times it may just be to record the exotic. You think only foreigners can do it? The foreigners do get politically correct (sometimes) when it comes to photographing exotic humans, because of historical reasons. But Indians have no such compulsions.
sexy good time ???!!!
That is so funny!
@AG, yeah, you’d better believe it. I get email offers for it all the time. I’m serious. Sometimes I wonder how I can keep resisting them.
The sense of entitlement (generally the rich) and grab-what-you-can mentality (generally the nouveau rich) that some Indians display on flights is embarrassing to say the least, or can become downright dangerous, if upped a level. I guess, that is true to most other nationalities, but I come to see it more often from Indians.
As to the point – raised by some commentators – of Indians not knowing how to drink responsibly in social situations, that is pretty accurate, in my experience. Most young people, all over the world, start drinking when they are in college. Youth binge drinking and drink-to-get-drunk attitude are prevalent everywhere. From what I’ve observed, is that a lot of Indians typically do not out grow this habit, or take a long time to outgrow it. To appreciate fine wine or aged Scotch, to savour it, to socially adapt to your circumstance while drinking – is pretty much not followed. I nail this down to the taboo associated with alcohol in most parts of the Indian society. No one is taught that drinking is a privilege and alcohol must be handled responsibly.
[I'm aware I've made a few generalizations in my comment, but to explain a common phenomenon you have to generalize to an extent. What I'm NOT saying is: All Indians are drunk assholes. That would be stereotyping]
i think a group of men/bachelors are rowdy and mis-behaving regardless of their nationality.
when men travel in groups without their family with them, then they tend to free themselves. they don’t care if they disturb others. its one of those times when their ”primate qualities” takes over the better sense.
if they are traveling with friends then a competition among them gets sparked off. they compete among each other on being more rowdy.
lets say a group of guys who were frnds in college meet after a long time. now instead of behaving maturely they will start behaving like they used to do in college. just to show that they haven’t changed at all after all those years.
having said that i really think despite all the troubles they might have caused but still, sans them your flight would have not been half as interesting.
they best way to deal with them is to just enjoy the stupid things they do.
Sorry, but I can’t see the purpose of this post. Is this about the lack of knowledge how beer should be poured or how young Indians should behave in a flight.???
I’m not surprised you can’t see the purpose in the post. We know that dear old Chanakya’s English comprehension skills aren’t the best sometimes.
It’s just a light hearted story, of which some people managed to see the humour in. However, if you want to give it a defined purpose it’s about Indians and behaviour when consuming alcohol on flights. Definitely nothing to do with how young Indians should behave on a flight because the men were middle aged!
Sharell,
“We know that dear old Chanakya’s English comprehension skills aren’t the best sometimes.;):) ”
Its an old update. Recently, Chanakya has secured a score of 9 in IELTS.
Actually wine is what we called ‘SOMRAS’ in good old times. Whisky is MADIRA. Beer is like TADI. Those middle aged children were cute, curious and caring(to each other). I like the camaraderie between them when they shared Namkeen. Actually this type of bonding is unseen and unheard in other countries.
I am not surprised to say the least. They can’t pour beer correctly even in 5 star hotels sometimes. I had a bartender pour me one like that in Sahara Star near the aiport. More than pouring it correctly I have observed that even the knowledge of internationally recognized drinks is poor amongst even bartenders. There isn’t much training in that area I bet.
Feels nice to be commenting here after a long time. How have you been?
I am sure you both got ‘talli’ on wine all the way to Thailand and back eh Sharell!
…and all the while not being able to pronounce “talli” properly. Gee, that word causes me problems even when I’m not talli.
But it was more like nasha, and only on the flight coming back. The fight there was a very early morning one! Too early in the morning for me.
Hope all’s going well for you in the US!
All is good here, busy times and tons of traveling around. Will share some experiences soon.
Hilarious. Reminds me of flying in Russia where drunk passengers sing songs, and clap and cheer loudly because the plane lands safely. One must find amusement in the world or risk being miserable. I do agree that beer pouring is an important skill. The picture made me wince. Oj with beer is a bit odd when its not for a hangover, but whatever floats their boat.
Funny post ! And is that your husband laughing in the corner of the last picture ?
Yes, that’s him! He puts up with my antics so well and was telling me to pretend to take a picture of him, but take it of them instead. I guess he was happy I was laughing and not complaining.
For once!! lol
I had heard of shandy during my school days in Pune when the army kids and moms would get to drink it during their ‘parties’. I always thought that this was an Indian Army thing
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shandy
Cheers,
Madhu
Well Sharell,
Although not here to comment on beverages but I just wanted to let my appreciation for you and your efforts known for the last two days of my holidays all I can say that I am hooked to your blog and apart from enriching my own knowledge of my country ,which apparently now I think I know little about you efforts have really kind of changed my attitude and the way i thought about Australians being an extremely racist and rude human beings.
Keep up your work ,I am waiting to hear more of your tales of travel.
Hi Guruprasad, thank you so much. I’m honoured you found my blog so interesting that you spent the last couple of days of your holidays reading it.
The problem with Australians is that they love to be insulting to everyone, whether it be to friends or people they’ve only just met. Often, when meeting someone for the first time, they’ll figure out whether they want to be friends with them or not by insulting them to see if they can “take a joke”. Best thing to do if you meet an Australian and they do that to you is insult them back! 
On the other side of that coin, the good thing about them is that they’re really easy going and don’t get offended easily.
Hi Sharell
I was googling the best beers in india a few days back and I found this link of yours
http://goindia.about.com/od/nightlife/tp/top-indian-beers.htm.
I so want to try the dark beer haywards black ,but it seems they are not in supply anymore in mumbai.Have you tried any dark beer lately in mumbai?
Btw I would like to learn how to pour beer aussie way(properly without making froth) from u as I just drink it straight from the can or bottle lol
Hi Koolj, unfortunately, I rarely drink beer anymore because there are ingredients in it that I have allergies to, so I’m not sure about the dark beer.
The way to pour a beer — you have to tilt the glass to the side a little, and pour the beer onto the side of the glass, not straight into the glass. That will stop it from forming the froth on top. However, you must have a little bit of froth. You don’t want the beer to be completely flat. So, when the glass is almost full, hold it straight and pour from the top for a few seconds. Do it by holding the bottle from a greater height. Then the beer should end up with nice “head” on it.
thanks Sharell…maybe u could give me a demo in mantra??lol jk
I presume u r a wine drinker..But I doubt if they make any quality wines in India which r not bloody expensive.
True, I only drink wine now, and sometimes vodka. I really miss beer though, especially on hot days. And it’s also true about the wine in India, unfortunately. I can’t justify paying expensive amounts though, so I drink what’s available. My taste buds have gotten used to it now!
They’ve adapted like the rest of me.
U have developed some bad indian habits it seems.too bad lol .What wine do u usually drink then?
Usually Sula, or Fratelli. Reveilo from Vintage Wines is the best though. Their Reserve Chardonnay tastes like wine should! 8)
It don’t mix beer anymore. I was having a busy “bathroom time”…
Hi Sharell
My initial reaction was to have a good laugh at the incident and also enjoy the easy manner in which you have written the article. After my initial reaction subsided, I thought a little deeper and I would say that I am with Tim Rider. I also think it inappropriate to poke fun at a small group of unsophisticated persons enjoying their first trip abroad. After all, I could write countless stories of drunk Australians making a thorough nuisance of themselves but racial steriotyping does not accomplish anything worthwhile.
I found this blog entry lacking of your normal sensitivity. Come on Sharell, you can do better!
All I can say is that I’m Australian and I do have an Australian sense of humour. Yes, we like to poke fun at people (including ourselves). Yes, we can be insensitive at times (on the plus side, this also makes us difficult to offend). But we are like that only.
If you wrote about drunk Aussies, I would definitely laugh. Of course, Aussies are well known for going on trips, getting drunk, and making a nuisance of themselves. Why not see the funny side and have a laugh at them? So, stay with your initial reaction and have a laugh at my light hearted article too. Life is serious enough as it is. 
PS. Who said it was their first trip abroad. It was probably one of many since they were shopkeepers on a buying trip!
Well Sharell, since you invited me to share a funny travel story about an Aussie, here we go.
After my brother graduated, he took an inexpensive coach trip to Paris, France. His hotel room was on a shared basis with an Aussie from the out-back. Well, the Aussie mate had never seen a bidet and in the morning he used it, assuming that it was the French version of a toilet. Deeply embarassed, he emerged from the toilet and grabbed a wire coat hangar out of the closet and proceeded to mash up the doo da to help it go down the bidet!
See, that is funny and worth a laugh! But how embarrassing! Actually, I remember being totally confused about the proper use of the bidet. I always thought it was for cleaning after going to the toilet, but a French woman started work in my office and she informed us that no, the real use of the bidet was to wash body parts and maintain hygiene after sex because French people didn’t bathe every day (water shortage). We were all surprised by that! Actually, I couldn’t quite believe it. Someone else told me that they were staying in a hotel in Paris where there was a bunch of Aussie blokes (guys) on a party tour. They partied day and night, and even had special t-shirts printed for the occasion.
OMG !!!
That is strange . What I don’t understand is that there must also be a regular toilet along with the bidet. Why did he ignore that. The human nature is to ignore any unusual thing and use only familiar objects.
we in Germany like beer with froth
…its the british and aussies who dont like froth 