I've Had Some Weird Coffee Before, But This Takes the Cake!

Sometimes it's easy to get caught up in the day-to-day travel efforts and one tends to forget the small moments that make traveling fun and interesting.  
I will attempt to recapture some of those moments in this post. 

We've had a few weird and odd encounters on our trip - such as the Birdman at Easter Island - click here Birdman.

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I love Coffee ... but ... 

But one of the most unusual was the "Cat-Pooh-Chino" in Bali.  This is a play on words, using the familiar coffee term of Cappuccino.   Of course, most people know about the famous coffee grown in Sumatra or Java, two neighboring islands to Bali.

And they do grow excellent coffee beans in Bali, the climate is perfect for this.   However, there is a funny looking animal called a civet, locally known as a luwak.  Looks sorta like a cross between a raccoon and a fox.  They refer to this animal as a cat.

So this critter likes to eat coffee beans, and is able to extract the caffeine out, but the beans are not totally digested.  In other words, they are pooped out - and collected.   These partially digested beans are then roasted and made into ... coffee.  

I know, Fiona and I reacted the same way - this sounds gross!  Yuck, nasty!   But it's a big thing, although admittedly a niche, and the Balinese are proud of it.  Frankly, we just couldn't bring ourselves to drink any of this cat-poop coffee.

But they humorously refer to it as Cat-Pooh-chino.  No thanks.

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Another rather hilarious moment was recently here in Madagascar, when we were talking with a couple of guys, negotiating a driver for a four day trip to the other side of this giant island. 

We like to get to know people a little and learn their names.  The driver we have is named Andy, just like western style names.  I'm sure he has a Malagasy name (citizens of Madagascar are called Malagasy). 

His colleague was named Lionel.  We had a brief challenge understanding his accent.  I finally said, "you mean Lionel, like Lionel Ritchie, the music singer?"  

And he became excited and "Yes!  Exactly!  My mother is very fond of Lionel Ritchie, big fan!"
and then he added, "My brother's name is Ritchie!"   BWA HA! HA! HA!  

It just came across as super funny!  Lionel and Ritchie, brothers here in Madagascar!  Who'd have thought it?   Say You, Say Me ...

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We were driving around visiting sites all over Bali and one of the distinguishing features there are the rice paddies.  They are all other the place, very colorful, and usually in terraces, often looking like stepping stones. 

Rice is very popular all over Asia and now Africa.  The folks here in Madagascar eat rice three times a day - a full kilo each (2.2 lbs.).   Many people in this part of the world feel like they have not had a proper meal unless there is rice.  It's even the same in Senegal, where work with our Andando Foundation. 

At any rate, we're driving around and there are colorful flags fluttering in the breeze in the rice paddies.  It's very beautiful to see this.  I thought maybe it's a cultural thing, a way to beautify their everyday existence.  

But I eventually realized that the flags were there to ward off the birds, kind of like scarecrows.  That being said, they were still pleasant to look at, with different sizes and colors; a nice contrast to the green of the rice and the blue of the sky. 

I asked the driver if they were to protect the rice crops, and he said in broken english:  "Yes, they make scary for birds!"

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We were at a restaurant in Singapore and had ordered a meal, which came with a drink.  At one point the waitress came by to ask a question.  This is where the accents can be amusing.  

She said to me "Do you want to take off your bapsy?"
My response "My bapsy?  Do I want to take off my bapsy?"  I had no idea what this meant.  
She repeated the question, I was no better off than the first time I heard it.  What kind of thing is a  "bapsy"?  
She was courteous and rephrased the question "What kind of drink you want sir, Tea, Coffee or Pepsi? 
so - Do you want to take off your bapsy - really meant - Do you want tea, coffee or Pepsi - Ha! Ha!  

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Or check out this truck below!  It appears that the farmer or whoever stacked individual ears of corn, one by one into the back of this vehicle.  That must have taken a long, long time.  Wow!

Travel can often be a hassle (usually in customs and immigration at the airports) - but it can also provide some good laughs.  Or maybe some insight into culture ...