Adventure or Curiosity? IDK

With all the coffee related posts, I recalled a recent discussion that happened with my brother and his friend during their last visit to my place. For some reason the topic of Bali, Indonesia came up and we were discussing the places and things we did etc. I told them how I finally got around to taste the Kopi Luwak. My brother’s friend was wondering what was so special about that coffee. So my brother explained. After that he saw me all wide eyed and disgusted and asked ‘why would you drink that shit’? (well, his pun wasn’t intended, because he said that in my native language…but that is how it gets translated in English)

I had a good laugh because it is indeed that. For people who don’t want to read the Wikipedia because it is too much, here is the first line from that

‘Kopi luwak (Indonesian pronunciation: [ˈkopi ˈlu.aʔ]), or civet coffee, refers to the coffee that includes part-digested coffee cherries eaten and defecated by the Asian palm civet‘

Why would I do that? I honestly don’t know. And now that I have done that, I don’t know why I wanted to do that in the first place and what made me drink it when I drank it. I did want to know how does a world’s most expensive coffee tastes like. Now that I have tasted it, I can tell you that I liked the other flavor (Bali Coffee) that they served us as part of the tasting menu. True, that this Kopi Luwak was very strong and very bitter as any other coffee should be and since my olfactory senses have gone on a life long vacation, I can’t tell you about the smell of any of these coffees.

But did I get that as a gift to my mother when I decided to get her some coffee powder from Bali as a souvenir? Nope. I definitely know that she wouldn’t even touch it, so I got her the traditional Bali coffee 🙂 I could have fooled her but I would feel terribly guilty and would eventually blabber something about it. I don’t want my mom’s wrath descend upon me any time in my life. I have had enough of it. Now, I know that my brother wouldn’t also touch it, so wouldn’t his friend. Where is your sense of adventure, bro ? What about you? Would you try Kopi Luwak?

They came, they smiled & they won…

…my heart 🙂

There I was sitting and relaxing while my friends went in for a short climb in the Vani Vilasa Sagara Dam. I was too tired and the speed of the wind was too high for me (and not to mention the height of the dam too, even though the dam was small) to manage that climb. I tried for 2 levels and gave up because I was scared that the wind was going to push me down. While I was sitting with my camera (Canon 450D) these kids (belonging to one huge family, brothers, sisters, cousins etc etc) were going on their way to that climb. They were looking at me and my camera and I could see their curiosity in their eyes making them shine bright. They had a cute dog, Jimmy, with them and I tried to take the picture of that dog. They wanted to see his photograph in my camera so I showed them. And that is all it took. For the next 10-15 mins I was sitting there and until their parents caught upto them, I was flooded with requests for each of their photos, a photo of each one with their favorite other person, with their elders, with their dog, just girls, just boys, you name it and I have it. At times the elders had to break a fight on who is going to pose next. And every time I take a photograph I had to show them how it had come. The kid on the right end was so confident that his photograph was going to come in the newspapers. I tried to tell him that I am not a professional or a journalist, but he wouldn’t even listen 🙂 His parents could only shake their heads. They were villagers but at least they knew that I wasn’t a journalist. That was a relief to me.  I tried asking them for their address so that I can print a few and send it across, but their Kannada and mine didn’t sync well enough for that communication. And they didn’t even bother. In fact they tried to tell their kids to let me go but they couldn’t be discouraged in any way. I had a blast with their enthusiasm and my tiredness long gone.

Jimmy

“Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.” ― Thích Nhất Hạnh.

<

p style=”text-align:left;”>At least in this case, their smile was the source of my joy.

Curiosity+Beer+Shampoo=Gag

Every time I come across this product either in the medical shop or in the cosmetics aisle in the super market, I used to pick it up, turn it around, check it and then keep it back and move on. Ever since I laid eyes upon it I have been curious to find out the difference of using it when compared to the normal ones. But I wasn’t very sure about buying one to try it. What if I don’t like it ? Don’t want wasting my money on it. I don’t stick to a particular brand or anything. Mild and less costlier will do for me. But a shampoo with beer ? Did I tell you I am a bit curious by nature? So imagine my glee (or surprise) when I found out that I could try it in at my parent’s place (courtesy: my brother) for free and then decide. I don’t have a very sharp nasal function going on. Thanks to my sinus and other nasal allergies, I can’t smell well. Unless it is very strong (odor or fragrance) I can’t smell it. That is why I can’t figure out if a person is too drunk (unless the person slurs or sways) or if the gas is leaking (which is a little worrisome) and I can’t decide if a food is good or not by the way it smells. So imagine my surprise, when I used this I sort of gagged because of the strong smell of beer. I know how the beer smells because even though I am not a beer drinking person, I have friends who drink it and I remember the way a particular snack bar smelled of it because they had a special beer they brewed in that place. I just couldn’t bear the overwhelming smell of beer especially in my hair. I know there is always this controversy about if the hair has a natural fragrance or not.  But even if my hair doesn’t have a natural fragrance to it, I don’t want to have a odor associated with beer or any other thing as such to it. Gee, the whole bathroom reeked of it. Yikes! For a second, I thought I would black out. It was that worse. But I should also probably tell you that my hair did feel nice after a day. It was bouncy when compared to the effect of other shampoos I have used. But will I buy it ? Sorry, No. Can’t keep gagging every time I use the shampoo now can I ?