India Bars Drinks

One of the sweetest beverages you can get in India is tender coconut water. It is found on any beach or other tourist destinations in south India.

In summer from March to July, one can purchase fresh sugarcane juice and fresh fruit juice varieties. Be careful as fresh juice may contain many germs besides unhygienic ice! The juice waalas do not always clean their equipment properly and do not wash the fruits either.

Everywhere you can get tea (chai) of one variety or another. Most common is the "railway tea" type: cheap (2-5 Rs.), sweet and uniquely refreshing once you get the taste for it. It's made by brewing up tea leaves, milk, sugar and spices altogether in a pot and keeping it hot until it's all sold.

You can also get "masala tea": black tea with a blend of spices. That takes some getting used to.

Make sure you taste the many soft drinks in India such as :

• Thums Up - a cola that has a unique taste with different spices and sweeteners
• Limca - a lemon lime soda.
• They are both bottled by Coca-Cola alongside Coke and Sprite.

India and Alcohol

Drinking alcohol can either be frowned upon or openly accepted, depending on the region and religion of the area within which you are drinking. For example, as you can imagine, Goa tends to be more free-wheeling (and has low taxes on alcohol), while southern areas like Chennai are less kind to alcohol, and may even charge excessive taxes on it. Some states such as Gujarat are legally "dry" and alcohol cannot be bought openly there. Alcohol is officially banned, but there is a substantial bootlegging industry, and all types of liquor can be obtained in Gujarat. If you have a non-Indian passport, you can obtain a 'liquor permit'. This allows you to buy alcohol at state-licensed shops, of which there are fourteen or so in all of Gujarat.