India,  Nepal,  TDM,  Tips

India, Nepal: sickly spitting

After almost a month of traveling in this area, we still can’t get over the continuous spitting of the Indians and Nepalese.In India, instead of smoking, Indians chew the paan (betel). I, who hates smoke, am happy about it.A betel leaf, a layer of slaked lime, pieces of arec nuts, spices, herbs, sometimes a little tobacco and they chew for hours. This mixture gives a red liquid, which the Indians like to spit in the street. The red of this mixture affects the teeth and colors them permanently. It isn’t uncommon to meet Indians with teeth all red in a vampire way.Betel was also very popular in Vietnam a century ago, but people used to get their teeth blackened so they wouldn’t have red teeth. I don’t know why Indians don’t do the same thing.In Nepal, one feels a certain influence of India on this small country. In this country that was never colonized by the English, they drive on the left as in India, they eat vegetarian as in India, they have a caste system as in India. And they spit like the Indians… Even though most of them don’t chew betel. Worse, they clear their throats and spit almost every 5 minutes.If pollution has anything to do with it, spitting becomes a sick habit. Even in the mountains, where the air is clean and everything is clean, the Nepalese people give themselves over to it to their heart’s content. This concerns both men and women.If the noise and the gesture are disgusting, don’t be afraid. After years of training, the Indians and Nepalese are aiming right. They can spit 20cm away from you, but it will never be on your feet or on you. At least that!

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