Thanks God for Pepsi! I know I am supposed to be immersing myself in this Indian cultural experience, but really, thank God for ice cold Pepsi!
It’s as hot as hell here in India, and when the water you carry around with you in a bottle heats up to a temprature that might make for a nice cup of tea, I have to tell you that a cold Pepsi is just bliss, seriously BLISS!!
I lasted a good few days eating South Indian food and drinking water (or water with a little fresh squeezed lemon) and hot milky sugar saturated tea, but my western taste buds were yearning for something familiar, something refreshing.
After having a bottle of ice cold Pepsi over dinner one night, I was so happy that on the way back home I stopped at one of the many roadside shops to get a big 2 litre bottle of cold Pepsi which I drank that night as we watched the moon rise over Arunachala.
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Wrote the following comment on May 1, 2008 at 9:13 pm
Shopping at local stores must be giving you a little language lesson–care to share any choice phrases?
Wrote the following comment on May 1, 2008 at 11:09 pm
I’m suprised you can get anything “ice cold” in India. I work with a number of Indain folks and we have two coolers full of bottled water here. One is unplugged so the water is room temp and used almost exclusively by the Indians since they seem to like nothing chilled. I refer to it as the “Indian cooler,” although I too prefer the unchilled water.
Wrote the following comment on May 2, 2008 at 5:53 am
My high opinion of you just went down a couple of notches.
Just kidding. I am quite jealous that you’re getting to explore the delights of India. Stay healthy!
I also wonder if the Pepsis are made in India and if their chemical composition is any different. American Coca Colas are made with corn syrup, but if you have one in Mexico or Nigeria, you’ll get a Coke with real sugar (and thus a noticeable taste difference).
Wrote the following comment on May 2, 2008 at 12:28 pm
India! That’s one of the coolest places you’ve been in a while….I know you go to a lot of cool places! But, INDIA! I so want to go….have fun and more Pepsi…why don’t they have Coke?
Wrote the following comment on May 2, 2008 at 3:36 pm
i didnt realize it was the corn syrup that made the different taste…. thanks for that info genie. i always thought it was the water or something… lol!
yes pepsi. got to love it. its amazing how what’s similar to you, what your body is used to can really set you right. i was in turkey once and i ate a local fruit ( and yes i knew it was a bad idea when i did it). of course my stomach got all messed up for a few days…. until one day we were in the city and we saw a fast food place. something in me knew this was the answer. i went in, had a burger and fries, and my stomach got better. weird how that works… but anyways, hope you have many pepsis and even a sprite or mango soda to make you happy.
Wrote the following comment on May 3, 2008 at 10:09 am
Pepsi tastes like Coke that’s been sitting out in the sun for a week!
I’m a Coca-Cola girl. Granted, in that kind of heat, I’d be willing to drink pickle juice if it was cold enough. ^^
Wrote the following comment on May 3, 2008 at 4:05 pm
And now, this brief feature article from the A.P.:
The tentacles of capitalism have extended their reach as well known blogger Simon Jones , noted for writing social commentary, has just signed a contract with the Pepsi Cola Corporation to start featuring their products on his blog under the guise of a post. According to Senior Vice President of Communications, Julie Hamp, the appearance of Pepsi products on Simon Jones’ blog is a part of a larger “guerilla marketing strategy” that is designed to meet consumers in unexpected places.
Wrote the following comment on May 4, 2008 at 2:38 am
Wait…wasn’t it Pepsi you were telling me about last time, who made getting healthy fresh water down in S. India so hard to for locals to get?
Wrote the following comment on May 4, 2008 at 2:16 pm
looks like life is good mate! well done, you got there in the end!
Wrote the following comment on May 5, 2008 at 1:50 pm
Well yes Anne, drinking Pepsi in India is a tough choice because they don’t have a great track record there. But not as bad as Coke who really have engaged in some quite staggeringly immoral behavior. (See here)
The problem is, Coke and Pepsi bought out almost all of the local drink companies so even bottled drinking water (Aquafina is the most comman) is often actually owned by Pepsi or Coke.
Wrote the following comment on May 5, 2008 at 9:23 pm
I had no idea Coke behaved like that. Did you know that Aquafina and Dasani are actually just bottles of locally bottled filtered TAP WATER!!!
So did you get an STD there? It seems like maybe they were available at that store in the picture!?
Wrote the following comment on May 7, 2008 at 1:59 pm
I’ll let Simon explain about STD, I think…. (I’ve you tried STDing, Simon? I guess not, since you came fully equipped with gadgetry…)
Here in S India, Pepsi comes with a reassuring “CONTAINS NO FRUIT” printed on the side of the bottle. Phew, for a moment I was worried.
But I wonder which contains less sugar, the Pepsi or the ‘sugar-saturated’ chai!
Wrote the following comment on May 7, 2008 at 1:59 pm
Ooops, power cut… Everything’s gone dark….
Wrote the following comment on May 7, 2008 at 2:10 pm
You know what, I actually don’t now what the STD stands for. You can rest assured that I remain free of all STD’s :-)
Wrote the following comment on May 7, 2008 at 4:18 pm
I had a similar expeience in Mexico, years ago. My fix was A&W Root Beer.
I am in Brasil now (for three years) and they have lots of choice here. I am still unable to enjoy local fruit drinks so I stick with Coca Lite (Coca Cola Lite) or sometimes Fanta Lite.
Cheers
Urso Branco
Wrote the following comment on May 8, 2008 at 11:07 am
I traveled through India and southeast Asia extensively after finishing school and I remember having a similar experience of 7up (I see that in the picture too) and how it could transport me back to a place in my mind that was not so hectic. Hope you’re still enjoying your travels and the Pepsi too!
Wrote the following comment on May 8, 2008 at 9:06 pm
Just caught up with your trip to India. I loved the restaurant review! Hope the remainder of your stay is safe and rat-free.
Wrote the following comment on May 17, 2008 at 4:09 pm
Sorry for the late comment, I’ve just spent 3 nights on the train and I’m now in Dharamsala and have not been online all this time.
STD stand for “Subscribers Trunk Dialing”…. ?! Had to look it up, I knew what it referred to but not what it stood for. Which actually means, a self-dial national phone call. ISD is the same for international calls.