This is India!

18/05/08 PM
On his motorbike, seated behind Milan, we honk and work our way along streets and through intersections to a bar/restaurant around the corner and down the street from Cottage GH where Milan works. Ordering a beer, we split the not cold beverage with Milan telling the server to please bring a cold one next time. Relationships need time to sprout and grow. Ours is still in its infancy. But, already we have established that no topic is off-limit. Second beer, luke-warm. Milan shrugs and asks if it's OK. Yes. Dinner is some fried rice, fish and chicken curry. We seem to be in a rut with our ordering. Except, each restaurant prepares food differently and the taste, this time, is much hotter. We both are sweating under the heat of the evening and the spice in the food. About sweating, it is accepted as part of life. Everyone carries a cloth to wipe their face and neck.
We talk about the fact that the server is not understanding Milan who is speaking to him in Tamil, the server's mother tongue. I relate that at the internet today I sat next to a Frenchman who did not seem to understand when I said a sentence to him in French. It's curious that when something is not expected, we tend not to hear or see it. Milan is obviously not Tamil and the man can not compute the Tamil, which is fluent, coming from his mouth. I wonder what he would do with me if I were able to speak it? Asking for the bill, the server casually says, "325". Twice more, Milan asks for a bill - only an amount is given. Finally, Milan asks the server the price of each dish as I transcribe it onto a piece of paper and add it up. Taking the paper, Milan shows the server, who looks it over, and gives many figure 8 head shakes. I pay and we leave - 288 rupees. Milan then informs me that this morning, when we stopped for drinks, when the server had said our drinks were 45 rs, he knew it to be 40. How do restaurants keep tabs on their earnings? There are no computer slips to check and no record or copy of sales. Yet, somehow, it works. Who can be sure the money ever arrives at the cashier? I admit, these may be Western questions. There are eateries which don't pay the server knowing rupee are being skimmed. "This is India!" is all Milan says, as he turns his holy hand palm up and cocks his head to the side.
New Angkor Wat pics: http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/musungi/AngkorWatCambodia