by Bhagawati

(reprinted from Bali & Beyond)

Welcome to the cultural experience of Bali’s roadways.

To drive in Bali is an art in itself which must be analysed in depth.

The initial traffic experience may shock the fragile, jet-lagged nervous system of the first-time Bali visitor.

There’s a well-defined pecking order on the road. Tourist buses and trucks have the right of way. Next ranks the bemo (public mini vans which stop, without signalling at the drop of a hat), followed by rather frightening monster-wheeled jeeps with dark windows, favoured by visitors from Jakarta who follow a different set of traffic rules altogether. (Jakarta drivers are made conspicuous by their “b” license plates.) Kijangs and Jimnis abound thereafter, with an array of sedans thrown in. Read the rest of this entry

Author: Robert M. Kradjian, MD
Former Chief of General Surgery at Seton Medical Centre #302 – 1800 Sullivan Ave.
Daly City, CA 94015 USA

“MILK” Just the word itself sounds comforting! “How about a nice cup of hot milk?” The last time you heard that question it was from someone who cared for you–and you appreciated their effort.

The entire matter of food and especially that of milk is surrounded with emotional and cultural importance. Milk was our very first food. If we were fortunate it was our mother’s milk. A loving link, given and taken. It was the only path to survival. If not mother’s milk it was cow’s milk or soy milk “formula”–rarely it was goat, camel or water buffalo milk.

Now, we are a nation of milk drinkers. Nearly all of us. Infants, the young, adolescents, adults and even the aged. We drink dozens or even several hundred gallons a year and add to that many pounds of “dairy products” such as cheese, butter, and yogurt. Read the rest of this entry