Wow thats a great write up. I also would like to travel more in India. I used to fly charter flights into Kolkata and Delhi a few years ago, mainly from Yangon, Phuket and Jakarta. I was crewing an Indonesian based VIP aircraft with me being the only (Orang Putih) white guy on board. We used to overnight there for 1 or 2 nights. All I can say is that you have hit the nail on the head from a white guys perspective on this part of the world. The indonesians, all from Jakarta, saw it differently. They hated the place, refusing to ride in the Morris Oxford taxis and screwing their noses up at the food, preferring to stay indoors and avoiding contact. They were ever so critical of the untidines of the place which amused me after Jakarta. An amusing moment when flying in the East that highlighted the variance in belief and religion there. When preparing a morning departure from Thailand to Kolkata the caterers asked me what kind of catering we would require. We had high powered muslims associated with the oil industry on board. I remember commenting to the guy that Chicken or beef based meals would be fine but no pork or bacon because they were all Muslim. Once airborne the hosties started the service and it turned out that all we had was Pork sausages and bacon breakfasts and nothing else but coffee and juice! Jeez they were pissed off and some of them even felt ill at being so close to pork. Even the copilot I was flying with wouldn't eat and had a sleepy hypoclycemic arrival into India. Dunno if it was a genuine mistake in communication or the guy had a thing aginst the Indons, but he certainly caused so much pain for all of us.
A couple of days later the Indian caterer asked me about the return catering order. I forcefully said something like 'anything but pork! Chicken or beef would be fine' he looked horrified and said 'oh no I could not possibly give you beef'. Obviously outside of his religious or cultural realm. Ok so chicken it became.
If you love it, let it go. If it comes back to you, you've just high-sided!
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Originally Posted by skidmark
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