Violating Cardinal Rules

So far in Darjeeling, I've broken two of the Cardinal Rules of Asian Travel. The first is the "Watch Your Head" rule. Normally, it isn't a big issue in India (people are fairly tall here), but it's crucial in Southeast Asia. I broke it twice in the tea stall yesterday. It didn't hurt very much and provided some welcome comedy for the tea stall owner. But the second violation was a big one, but I got away with it.

The second violation was of the "Don't Eat Raw Food Washed with Water" rule. Violating this rule can have very unpleasant consequences. The reason is that Third World food is actually very safe, but the water they wash it with can be deadly. Two days ago, I ordered Papad Masala, which is essentially a pizza without cheese made with Papad (usually "papadan" in the US). Papad is a thin crispy cracker- like thing made from channa (chick peas). The toppings were onions, chilies, tomato, and cilantro; all of which were raw. It's the tomatoes I was worried about. I'm not sure why I ate it, but it was really tasty. And I got away with it.

The deal with uncooked fruits and vegetables is the water. The basic rule is this: if the outer skin is not edible (onions, oranges, etc), then it's safe to eat beacause they won't be washed. But if the outer skin is normally eaten (tomotoes, apples, etc) then they should be avoided because the skin might have been washed in cholera- ridden water. Leafy things like lettuce should only be eaten if they are dirty. The primary exceptions to the rule are chilies and leafy spices. Chilies are okay because they are extremely acidic and the acid will kill most diseases. Leafy spices like cilantro are okay because they are grown without pesticides and don't gather a lot of dirt. So they aren't washed. But tomatoes are something you should always avoid because they require pesticides and are always washed. Cooked food is usually pretty safe because the developing world knows to cook at very high temperatures. I have now spent about a month of my life in India and about 11 months in the developing world. And I haven't had any food poisoning, which is unusual. So I think these are pretty good rules.