Tag: Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown

Oman/ Anthony Bourdain – Parts Unknown

By Kiran, Simran, and Svara Jayasinghe

In December of last year, we had watched an episode of ‘Anthony Bourdain — Parts Unknown’ and it took us to the country of Oman. Oman is located in the Middle East, in the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and the United Arab Emirates. It’s surrounded by the Gulf of Oman, Gulf of Aden, and the Arabian Sea.

Oman is a country that is partly well-developed, and partly not. In the 1970’s, Oman was a very under-developed country. It only had six miles of paved road! Then, Sultan Qaboos, rose to power. He managed to transform the country into a more modern place, while still keeping it’s traditions at heart. The Sultan earned the respect and admiration of his people.

The country sports the largest sand dune in the world. Clean sand draws several groups of Omani people to wander the dunes. On the show, Bourdain spent one night and day with people who roam the desert. They traveled on camels and set up tents in the night, played music, and overall just enjoyed their time. Oman also has beautiful beaches and shoreline, and many people have boats. Most people spend some time each day at the ocean.

As usual, had Bourdain showcased the food of the country. Oman’s food is a mix of their own and Indian food. They eat shuwa, which is pit-roasted goat. Shuwa is prepared by taking the meat of a goat, wrapping it in palm or banana leaves, burying it in the ground over hot coals, then taking it out again two days later. Shuwa is a special dish. There is also pakora, which is Indian fritters, and chapati, which is Indian fresh baked bread.

Oman is a modern, but traditional country. Bourdain himself said that Oman “defys expectations”. With beautiful scenery, shores, sand dunes, and the culture, it would be an interesting place to visit.

Laos/ Anthony Bourdain – Parts Unknown

By Kiran, Simran, and Svara Jayasinghe

In a TV show on CNN, called “Anthony Bourdain – Parts Unknown”, the host, Anthony Bourdain, travels to taste the cuisine of countries around the world.  In the process he also learns about the history and culture of each country. In one of the recent episodes that we watched, Bourdain traveled to Laos, a country in Southeast Asia. Bourdain rode on a motorbike, sampling various foods, and witnessing several cultural events, such as a boat festival. The show featured Bourdain trying chicken feet, squid and other quite interesting foods, such as congealed buffalo blood soup with herbs.

A map of Laos. Laos is in green.

Laos is bordered by Myanmar, China, Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam. It’s popu
lation is approximately six million. The capitol of Laos is Vientiane. Most people are Buddhists. The currency of money is the Kip. The scenery in that we saw as the host moved from place to place looked wonderful.  The country has a lot of  wildlife, mountains, valleys, and dense forests.

A collection of some of the bombies that have not exploded.

 

 

But Laos also has a startling history. During the Vietnam War, there was a civil war in Laos. America dropped bombs on Laos, partly to cut the supply lines from Laos to Vietnam, and to stop Communism from spreading. Cluster bombs were dropped which were big bombs containing many smaller bombs called “bombies”. 80,000,000 of these bombies did not explode and can still be found scattered around the country. This has been a hazard for decades, since children are attracted to these bombs, which look like small tennis balls. The bombs sometimes can detonate while in children’s hands.

Bourdain talked to victims of the war, and the squads of people trying to clean up the bombs. The show displayed footage of the clean-up teams using metal detectors to search for the bombs, then mark the spot with a flag, and then detonate the bomb, so it wouldn’t explode on it’s own.

Overall, we learnt a lot of information about the country of Laos, it’s fascinating cuisine, and it’s history. Anthony Bourdain does an excellent job on hosting the show and provides education while entertaining the audience.