more trivy trivvies

Trivandrum, INDIA --

1) caffeine fix care of coffee day, india's popular chain of coffee shops. good service and home of the kaapi nirvana, winner of the silver medal at the '04 world barista championships (yes, i read the entire flyer). i normally don't like anything coconut -flavored(except maybe sunblock) but for this yummy iced frapp i'll make an exception. for some reason, the coffee i've ordered elsewhere tastes like 2/3 evaporated milk and just the tiniest hint of roast. just one complaint though: maybe you can come up with more creatively-named offerings? veg pizza, non-veg pizza, veg burger and non-veg burger don't really sound enticing.

2) just like the brits, when you want food to go here you say you want it "in a parcel." and lawyers are called barristers.

3) major dailies here have entire pages devoted to "marital ads." you post one not to look for a date but to get hitched to a "suitable spouse." no wonder people here don't ask you if you have a boyfriend. they ask if you're engaged like it's the most casual of questions.

4) if you visit the trivandrum zoo, you'll only get in for free if you meet very specific requirements:



5) emotional upheaval+bird droppings on your shoulder= not a v. good day