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!

Roadside shop in Tiruvannamalai.

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.

Just for the taste of it