Rupee Notes

They all have gandhi

Train to Goa

Watch "Train to Goa" on YouTube

Ants

Madras Christian College has ants everywhere, especially near the International Guest House. They cover the ground in unbroken patches for hundreds of square feet - not the nests but the ants themselves, just looking around for feet to crawl on. That's their favorite hobby, just climbing around on the lower legs of anything that moves. They never bite, but it's hard to shake the panic they trigger in anyone who has stepped in fireants. The only thing that slows them down is the 98% DEET I spray on my feet for slacklining, and even that's not completely effective. They have earned the taxonomically official title of "tickling ants" from our group. 

The other day they even followed us on the road:

Pure Veg

Over 80 percent of Inida is Hindu, and several major paths of Hinduism adhere to vegetarianism. This, I assume, is what drives the booming vegetarian resturaunt economy. The other day I spent about 30 minutes of a bus ride trying to photograph the veggie resturaunts we passed. Here's the results, and I definitely missed some:

 

 

Plenty of places also offer meat, while maintaining the vegetarian options:

 

In the second picture there is a white square with a green circle inside. It indicates that a food item is vegitarian certified, and it is found on packaging for everything from drinks to candy to soaps. 

Although I don't require high class or even purely veg dining, it is really nice to see a food culture that doesn't use meat as the center of every entree.  From my nearly yearlong vegetarian stint, I remember having very limited options when eating out at most places. I like seeing such depth and variety in vegetarian options, and I'll definitely miss it in the states.