Barrie

It's true about the red clay tea cups in India! On train rides, when you buy
a cup of chai in one of these cups, you can just throw the cup out the
window of the train when you are finished. Everyone does it. They also have
plates made out of dried banana leaves. Fresh banana leaves are used a lot
too as plates. Brilliant, if you ask me. At most tea stands glasses are
used. A chai is about 5 cents or so. You sit and drink and when you are done
return the glass to the chai wallah who washes it. I don't think I ever had
any beverage in a paper or plastic cup in India the whole 6 months I was
there. Oh, they did have mango juice boxes and water in plastic bottles, but
these were the exception. Soft drinks were always in glass bottles that one
returned after drinking. Oh yes, and spicy nuts in newspaper cones. This was
nine years ago, so maybe things have changed by now. I hope not. I was
always amazed by food containers of all sorts when I was there. Everyone had
these stainless steel lunch boxes that were essentially a pile of 4 or 5
bowls on top of one another with a stainless steel metal band that snapped
tight. People would carry 5- course meals in these things. And there was so
much natural recycling. I literally saw one tea wallah making tea in what
looked like an old paint can. One of my favorite treats were made to order
omelets right at the train station made on a sort of wok with a real fire
underneath. I can't remember what they were served on. Oh, and coconut water
right out of the coconut. Wow. I don't think I ever saw a vending machine
the whole time I was there.

Barrie ( Ruben, age 4 and Sita, 22 months)

elainegh8

>Everyone had> these stainless steel lunch boxes that were essentially
>a pile of 4 or 5> bowls on top of one another with a stainless steel
>metal band that snapped> tight. People would carry 5- course meals in
>these things. > Barrie ( Ruben, age 4 and Sita, 22 months)

They're called tiffin boxes or tiffin carriers. If you do a Google
image search you'll find plenty of examples. I like Japanese lunch
carriers I think they're called bento boxes.

BWs Elaine

elainegh8

Found this really wonderful story while looking at tiffin boxes.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4447391,00.html

BWs Elaine

> >Everyone had> these stainless steel lunch boxes that were
essentially> >a pile of 4 or 5> bowls on top of one another with a
stainless steel > >metal band that snapped> tight. People would carry
5- course meals in > >these things. > Barrie ( Ruben, age 4 and Sita,
22 months)
>
> They're called tiffin boxes or tiffin carriers. If you do a Google
> image search you'll find plenty of examples. I like Japanese lunch
> carriers I think they're called bento boxes.>
> BWs Elaine