There are times on this trip that I feel like Alice in Wonderland, like I have fallen down the rabbit hole into a world where things are not quite “right”. One such moment was visiting a McDonald’s. Yes, we went to McDonald’s. I find going to McDonald’s to be an interesting thing to do whenever I visit another country just to see the differences. We had talked about going to McD since we left home partly because of an episode of the Big Bang Theory. If you haven’t watched that show, you’ve missed some classic TV comedy. One of the characters (Raj) is worried about being deported back to India and he is bemoaning all that he will miss from the US including McDonald’s Big Mac. He says “In India all you can get is a Chicken Majaraha Mac and the special sauce is curry which, in India isn’t all that special”. So, of course, we went in search of a chicken Majaraha Mac and… we found it! Unfortunately, Ed and I found it too spicy to eat but the guys had no trouble. Also on the menu was a McSpicy Paneer and a Paneer wrap (paneer is a kind of Indian cheese that is like a firm cottage cheese). I do believe that one of America’s gifts to the world is McDonald’s french fries. No matter what country you are in, they’re terrific. There have been several McDonalds’ in India but the one we stopped at was in the Delhi airport. The Delhi airport is fabulous and so is the Hyderabad airport. An important travel tip : never fly into or out of Mumbai. It’s a nightmare. So we are dreading the flight out of India in two days – through Mumbai. Groan. Before I end this, I’d like to mention two other moments of cultural dissonance that cause double-takes. One was walking into the Agra Fort to see a bunch of women in beautiful saris and baseball caps. The other was seeing a man walk his ox while on a cell phone. This is a culture in transition and it’s interesting to be able to see the past and present together.
SDSMT India 