Man this thread is making me hungry. Hungry for pig. Any pig will do. Pork Rinds. Hooves. Pickled Snout. Bacon. Ribs. I don't care I just gotta get me some yummy unclean pig.
Vincent: Want some bacon? Jules: No man, I don't eat pork. Vincent: Are you Jewish? Jules: Nah, I ain't Jewish, I just don't dig on swine, that's all. Vincent: Why not? Jules: Pigs are filthy animals. I don't eat filthy animals. Vincent: Bacon tastes gooood. Pork chops taste gooood. Jules: Hey, sewer rat may taste like pumpkin pie, but I'd never know 'cause I wouldn't eat the filthy mother****er. Pigs sleep and root in ****. That's a filthy animal. I ain't eat nothin' that ain't got enough sense enough to disregard its own faeces. Vincent: How about a dog? Dogs eats its own feces. Jules: I don't eat dog either. Vincent: Yeah, but do you consider a dog to be a filthy animal? Jules: I wouldn't go so far as to call a dog filthy but they're definitely dirty. But, a dog's got personality. Personality goes a long way. Vincent: Ah, so by that rationale, if a pig had a better personality, he would cease to be a filthy animal. Is that true? Jules: Well we'd have to be talkin' about one charmin' mother****in' pig. I mean he'd have to be ten times more charmin' than that Arnold on Green Acres, you know what I'm sayin'?
Well, let's just say that Manchester Elementary will have metal detectors at the doors for this year's production of The Three Little Pigs .
It seems to me that Judaism and Islam proclaiming that "god" dictated for people not to eat pork is a classic example of ancient culture becoming realized as the literal dictation of god. I really don't think you can believe that god actually singled out one animal out of millions not to eat.
That's actually not dissimilar to where I started, though I did India/Malaysia i between China and VIetnam It depends, you can live very very cheaply if you watch your budget but you have to be careful about overcharges (happens to all westerners everywhere), good at bargaining, and stick to places that are in the offseason when rates are better. Example, here in rural vietnam out in the sticks I've got a decent hotel room w/clean, working bathroom for 10 US$ a day - which is around the going offseason rate outside the major cities. Food is ridiculously cheap - at the tourist restos (where it is more expensive), you spend maybe 3-5$, and if you just go to the local bia hoi/pho joints, you can eat for a dollar or two. China outside of the major tourist sites & big cities is comparable to vietnam as far as cheapness goes, athough the standard of hotel accomodation is not quite as good value for your money. Intra-china airline flights are cheap and essential given the massive distances involved. India is likewise dirt cheap, but you have to have a higher tolerance for discomfort sometimes there (althoguh domestic airline flights there are a ripoff) I haven't really been doing the budget thing, more of the mid range thing, because I can afford not to have to share a dorm with 6 snoring kiwis, but the most expensive thing is the plane ticket over here, by far. glynch post an email address for me (your board one doesn't work) and I'll send you a travelogue, too long to post here.
How many times have you gotten sick? I would think that you would have gotten sick many times if you're eating out in small towns. Once I get sick, I never fully recover for weeks, and I get sick very easily from eating out in 3rd world countries.
two bouts with dysentery in which I was confined to a 10 foot radius of the bowl for about 2 days each (China & India) and some upset stomach due to bad food and dirty water. All in all not so bad, there's much worse things to catch.
awesome. i have a free ticket off my continental miles to bejing.. just hoping to find cheap airline from china to vietnam.. maybe explore western china a little bit. but yeah, i will have to do the dorm thing in the hostel with snoring brits and kiwis. thanks for the tip.
It would be cheaper and more fun for you to cross over into Vietnam by land. I suggest you make your way to Kunming at some point in your trip (you can fly there for relatively cheap from virtually every chinese city with a decent sized airport), then spend a few days expoloring points south of there in Yunnan which are among the more interesting in china (minority villages, lakes, valleys, rivers, forests etc) and cross over the border at Hekou on foot into the vietnamese town of Lau Ci, then head to Sa Pa where I am now (about an 30 km by minibus). From Sa Pa/Lau Ci you can take a night train into Hanoi. ALternatively, if you're pressed for time I know there's a Hanoi-Kunming sleeper train as well, but I would seriously think before taking that as the area in between is among the most rewarding for tourists in either country.
That sounds awesome Sam. I have wanderlust larger than my pocketbook, and I just bought a residence, so until I'm sure I can safely make the mortgage payments I won't know how much I can save. But a SE Asia trip is definitely in my future. If it is alright I may try and hit you up for advice as the time draws more near. I'm not sure when that will be.
the key with everything in the developing world is to go ASAP while its stilll cheap and before starbucks moves in. You should consider Laos, it's not on my itinerary this trip but I may try to squeeze it in, everyone raves about it.
I traveled between Singapore, Thailand and Hong Kong around lunar New Year last year and it didn't seem that bad. It didn't seem near as bad as flying in the US on the day before Thanksgiving.
From what I've noticed about travel in Asia is that its pretty cheap if you're willing to rough it a bit, like stay in places without AC and with squat toilets. Its getting across the Pacific that's expensive but once you get there you can find some deals. There are lots of great deals out of Singapore to almost anywhere in Asia and Singapore is a great starting point to get used to the time, whether and culture change. The sanitary standards are superior to most American cities so you can get over jet lag and it being over 90 in January before taking the plunge into Vietnam or Indonesia. One place I would recommend visiting for anyone going to SE Asia is Phuket Thailand. They've recovered quite a bit from the tsunami and its still incredibly beautiful along with some great deals. They won't recover without tourism so now is a great time to visit.
Mr. Mahmoud shows more sense than the banks. ***http://www.theage.com.au/news/World/Piggy-banks-offend-UK-Muslims/2005/10/24/1130006056771.html Piggy banks 'offend UK Muslims' October 24, 2005 - 6:44PM Page Tools Email to a friend Printer format British banks are banning piggy banks because they may offend some Muslims. Halifax and NatWest banks have led the move to scrap the time-honoured symbol of saving from being given to children or used in their advertising, the Daily Express/Daily Star group reports here. Muslims do not eat pork, as Islamic culture deems the pig to be an impure animal. Salim Mulla, secretary of the Lancashire Council of Mosques, backed the bank move. "This is a sensitive issue and I think the banks are simply being courteous to their customers," he said. However, the move brought accusations of political correctness gone mad from critics. "The next thing we will be banning Christmas trees and cribs and the logical result of that process is a bland uniformity," the Dean of Blackburn, Reverend Christopher Armstrong, said. "We should learn to celebrate our difference, not be fearful of them." Khalid Mahmoud, the Labour MP for a Birmingham seat and one of four Muslim MPs in Britain, also criticised the piggy-bank ban. "We live in a multicultural society and the traditions and symbols of one community should not be obliterated just to accommodate another," Mr Mahmoud said. "I doubt many Muslims would be seriously offended by piggy banks." © 2005 AAP Brought to you by
Yeah I will probably head out to Phuket sometime next month, as much to inject a few baht in the local economy as to see the beach.
If you go to Patong make sure you have a beer at the 2 Black Sheep. Its a pretty good bar run by an Irish guy from New Zealand.
