tastes and smells

Well, I have a bout of stomach upset. This is the second time since I've arrived. I'm not surprised though as my stomach has gotten more sensitive over the years. I've been nauseous for four days now. So....this is a great time to write about the smells of India since I am EXTRA sensitive right now.
I'm sure that you can all guesse what smells stand out the most. It hasn't bothered me much at all as it just seems natural here. But I'm noticing it more now that I am sick.
Street dog poo and cow poo is, of course, all about. But, there are also large strips of sidewalk that somehow have been designated as toilet areas. There are lots of public washrooms around and Mumbai is really great for that. BUT there are just sooooo many people and not everyone is going to bother lining up for a toilet. In a "shanty town" area, it makes more sense to walk up to the sidewalk to do ones business rather than allowing it all to collect inside the little towns made of bricks, cloth and tin.
Melissa, Che and I have named these sidewalks "shit strip".
Today, I was trying to not throw up during my bumpy rickshaw ride home. Then, my driver decided to pull up to a shit strip and do his thing. I thought I was going to lose my cookies right there inside his rickshaw as the smell wafted over me.
Haha, I'm just such a North American wimp. Any Indian's immune system could crush mine just by looking at it. Anyway, we all know that we don't squat enough in North America. All the squatting keeps backs healthy and hips lose here so.....there ya go.
Anyway....moving right along. Allow me to tell you about PANI PURI. MMMMMMM. I can talk about it even when I am sick.
Pani Puri is the food of Mumbai. Every state in India has a dance form and every city has a food. Pani Puri is eaten hovered around a little stand on the street. One doesn't have to travel more than a few metres to find it. There are three components: a deep fried, round bread shell; a type of bean and a spicey/ sweet sauce. The vendor who makes it takes the small shell, fills it with beans and dunks it in the sauce and then hands it to the customer. Each customer gets 7 pani puris and the vendor serves them one at a time to about 6 customers at once. So, one gets the food in their cup and then eats it and puts their cup out to get the next one.
It's the PERFECT snack food. It's street food at it's finest. It's sooooo grab and go and just so handy. Like the rickshaws, like lime juice stands, like pooping on the sidewalk, like so many things here. Just grab it, buy it, do it and go:)
AND, there isn't any waste because either people eat it out of their own little cup or a glass saucer which the vendor then takes back and washes for the next person.
Unfortunately, I'm too wimpy for all the street food and so far...it's made me barf (though I still eat it now and then). BUT, Che has a stomach of steal and he is able to eat everything. JELOUS!! At least we all can get a review from Che.
Good food, bad smells, lots of laughs;)