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Actually, Chennai is where I did my second postdoc.

My first postdoc was in Bangalore and my third one in Chandigarh.

No I didn't pick any Indian languages. I was speaking to them in English. Inside the Institute they knew English well and most of them were speaking English to each other anyway. Outside the institute most people didn't speak English but by using one or two words they understood I could get by.

Females, by default, are more interesting people, are they not?

Yeah they are...they usually run rings around me

Yeah that's easy, the institutes attract the best and brightest from across India where local/regional languages are spoken, the common lingua franca across southern India is English so it makes sense they all speak it.

Did you try Dosa?

Try is an understatement. I ate it quite often.

Everyone does that.

It's nice isn't it, like french crepes but sour - crispy on the outside and soft on the inside

I would never categorize them together with crepes because the flavor is completely different. I like crepes much better by the way. That doesn't mean I don't like dosa. I like it too -- particularly potatoe dosa. But that has nothing to do with liking crepes.

So is your wife from Chennai? How did you meet? Was it because she came to Australia or because you came to Chennai? Did you run on each other by accident?

She was from Malaysia so Malaysian Indian but her parents spoke Tamil. I think her great-great-grandparents must have originated from Chennai. We met in Australia but she had a boyfriend. I had to bide my time (sneaky look) but pounced when she was on the rebound.

Apologies about the crepes, I was trying to relate them to the nearest food type I could think off but yes dosa is savoury and crepes are mostly sweet and do taste different. I think the Russians also make a type of crepe/pancake as well right.

Back when I was in Bangalore where I did my first postdoc, there was a section of the town called Malaysia (no that wasn't where my institute was; my institute was in a different section of the town that was called Sadashiva Nagar). So I was always wondering whether the country Malaysia is anything similar to that section of the town and, by extension, whether there are any similarities between Indian culture and Malaysian culture. So I always wish I could go to Malaysia and see what its like, but never had an opportunity to do so.

What about yourself? Did you ever get a chance to visit Malaysia since your wife is from there? If so, how does Malaysia compare to India?

As far as your wife's ancestors being from India, is it just a one-off situation, or is it common for people to migrate back and forth between Malaysia and India? Do Malaysian people have Indian roots?



How did she end up moving to Australia? Did she move because of her boyfriend, or for some other reasons?



So are you saying that it started from you supporting her through her heart ache and then, when she saw how supportive you were, it drew her close to you?



When I think of crepes they seem to have a unique flavor that goes beyond just sweet. Yes they happened to be sweet, but the flavor I am thinking of is a lot more than just that. Its really hard to describe because in order to describe it you have to compare it to some other food but I don't think there is any other food that has that distinct flavor (other than Russia's bliny -- see below). And no, dosa doesn't have that flavor either.



Yes. In Russia they have bliny and they ARE very similar to crepes both in terms of look and in terms of flavor. When I first had crepes, my first thought was that its Russian's bliny. But then several years later when my mom's friend made some bliny for us, I saw that its different. Of course I had bliny back when I was a little kid long before I had crepes. The reason that when I had crepes I didn't notice that difference is that I had bliny a really long time ago so I didn't remember the taste that precisely. But in any case crepes and bliny ARE basically similar -- and I can't think of any other food that I would place into that category.

I worked in Malaysia for 3 years so learned Bahasa Melayu (the national language). I really enjoyed the culture there and fell in love many times over with girls there. I used to be a microbiologist so was working in an institute called ITP on the use of bacteria in treating agricultural wastewater. Kind of like of what you were doing in India except it wasn't really a postdoc, more like a research officer position.

I met my wife in Australia and yes she herself admits I caught her on the rebound so she was ready to move on with me! She migrated to Melbourne with her parents.

Yeah dosa is different and probably closer to the texture of Ethiopian injera except dosa is fermented rice/chickpea flour whereas injera is fermented millet.

I rarely eat it here in Melbourne but ate plenty in Malaysia where there is a sizeable Indian-Tamil community.

I guess Bliny and crepes do sound similar.

So how do the streets and buildings in Malaysia compare to the ones in India? I noticed that India is a lot more dirty than the US. But what about Malaysia? Which is dirtier, Malaysia or India?

Also the other thing I noticed in India is that they don't have as many shops and restaurants as they do in the US. That, plus most restaurants they have is just a cheap Indian food (like dosa is a good example). On the other hand if I want to go to eat European food I would have to typically go to downtown (which I had to do both in Bangalore and Chandigarh). In Chennai I was a bit more lucky: there was one European restaurant near the institute I was at (I was at IMSc) but it was just ONE.

Now here is a question about Malaysia. Is Malaysian situation with restaurants similar, or do they have easier or more difficult access to European food over there?

And what about malls and shopping centers? In India there are a lot fewer of them than in the US. But what about Malaysia?



That leads me to another question I was wondering about. So, the reason I don't have permanent professor position, is basically a competition. So one thing I was thinking of is maybe get a permanent position in the third world country. So I asked that question back in India whether it was possible to get one over there. What they told me was that in order to have permanent position in India I had to be Indian citizen and getting Indian citizenship is very hard: I had to live there for 12 years for one thing. This situation is totally different than in the US by the way. My former thesis advisor for my 1-st ph.d. doesn't have US citizenship (he is Italian citizen) yet he holds permanent position as a professor. Also, in the US, it doesn't take 12 years to get a citizenship.

But in any case, the question is: is it any easier in Malaysia? If the answer is yes, then maybe I can apply to Malaysia as the solution to my problem. Clearly you got permanent position in Malaysia even though you lived there for only 3 years. But then again, maybe in your case its different since you were married to someone from there. In India, too, there was a woman from Germany that had permanent position there because she was married to an Indian. Now if I don't want to marry any Malaysian, do you think I can still get permanent research position over there?

Did you work in Malaysia before you met her or after?



Did her parents go there for job, or just better life?



How does the flavor of dosa in Malaysia compare to the one in India?



And what about other Malaysians, outside of that particular community? Do they all have roots in India or no?

Malaysia is definitely cleaner than India but still a long way behind the US or Australia in terms of hygiene. One problem in both countries is there is a culture of littering and lack of civic mindedness about hygiene/cleanliness. Singapore had the right idea by applying heavy penalties on littering.


This is a problem throughout Asia is finding western food. In Malaysia there are lots of McDonalds and Carls Jnr but I mostly ate street food (rice/noodles). Local Malaysians go out to "European" restaurants run by Chinese people but the food is not the same, the chinese bakeries the bread all has sugar in it which tastes weird.


Probably better access, Singapore and Malaysia are more westernised than India so you would find it easier to find western food without having to go downtown. But still Asian food is king.


Yep, Malaysia and Singapore have massive shopping malls, some of the biggest in Asia. In Kuala Lumpur you have Bagnsar, Ampang and Globe Silk store but that was the 1990s, I am sure they have much bigger ones there now.


Would you really consider living in India?


I married my wife in Australia, She never been to Malaysia since migrating. Its quite hard to get citizenship in any Asian country. Almost 99% of expats are on visas (I was on a working visa). If you marry a local muslim then the process of citizenship is automatic as Malaysia is a muslim country.


see above


seeking a better life.


They are slightly different in terms of local ingredients in Malaysia are different and there is south-east Asian influence


There's three communities - Malay muslim - 40%, Chinese - Buddhist 40%, Indian-hindus 10% and the other 10% are mix of other communities.

That makes me really curious to see if that would be too much mess by my standards or no. If the answer is no, then it would be the best of both worlds: new culture and no mess that ruins it. If the answer is yes, well then it would be just another India. Since you said its in between the two, I would be really curious to see what it would be like in terms of my perceptions.



Yeah I remember someone telling me that in Singapore the cops would beat you up if you throw anything on the ground no matter how tiny. I never been to Singapore, I just know it from what someone told me. But then it must be much cleaner than US, since in US people do litter (although not as much as in India of course). I don't mind the US level of littering by the way.

Have you been to Singapore? Is what I was told correct?



In India they don't have that many Mac Donalds either. But then again, even if they did, I don't really care for that junk, so I would have been eating local street food too if Mac Donalds was the only other alternative.

But now that you mentioned MacDonalds, one European-style thing that is quite common in India is "Coffee Day" caffee. But I say European-style rather than European because I won't find it anywhere in Europe or in the US. Only in India. There is actually ONE exception though. There is a Coffee Day in Austria. I been to physics conference in Austria and I went to Coffee Day there. But at the same time I also know you won't find it anywhere else because I seen them actually advertize their Austrian location as the only one outside India.

In any case, to me, Coffee Day feels very similar to Starbucks. But they don't have Starbucks in India, except for that one place (I don't remember where it was). So it was actually pretty funny how the moment I saw Starbucks I was so excited when in actuality Coffee Day is similar. Well I guess maybe there is some differences. I mean the food sold in Coffee Day isn't the same, but to me it feels more European than Indian, although perhaps it has a little bit of Indian flavor.



Thats interesting that Chinese people err in the "sweet" direction. Because when I go to Chinese restaurants it doesn't look like Chinese people like to eat any sweets (other than that fortune cookie of course). So what is your theory behind Chinese people ending up making bread thats too sweet?

My theory is that, when people look at the difference, they exaggerate the difference. So if an extravert looks at an introvert, then extravert assumes that introvert doesn't want to communicate at all which is not true. And when introvert looks at the extravert, an introvert decides that extravert wants to party 24/7, which isn't true either. So maybe, by the same token, when Chinese (who don't like sweets) look at Europeans, they assume that Europeans want lots and lots of sugar in everything, which is also not true. And thats why Chinese "over-compensate" by making bread overly sweet.

But thats just my theory, I don't know if its true or not. What is your theory about it?



Once again, this makes me feel it would be the best of both worlds. I will get to enjoy Asian food without missing European food.



Do they sell there European type of things or Asian type of things?

How do they compare to Mall of America in Minneapolis?



If it meant that I could get a permanent job as a physicst, then yes. Being a theoretical physicist has been my life time goal since I was 9. Of course I would rather be one in Europe or US. But if I can't -- due to competition -- then I would rather be a theoretical physicist in India than to look for a different job in the US.



What about becoming a professor without a citizenship? I mean, my former thesis advisor doesn't have US citizenship yet he is a professor in the US. So in US its possible. In India they told me its not allowed. But what about Malaysia, is it allowed over there?

I presume you didn't have the Malaysian citizenship yet they allowed you to work there. But at the same time you said you worked only for 3 years. But what would have happened if you wanted a permanent professor position, *without* a citizenship? Would they allow you to have it?



Is it possible to get professorship in Malaysia and then get working visa that will keep getting extended due to my work being permanent?



I thought India is also south-east Asia? So what exactly do you mean by south-east Asian influence as compared to India?



By the way, since its a Muslim country, does it mean they have a lot of middle eastern food?

By the way, as someone of a Jewish background, I only eat kosher -- and thats why I avoid Chinese restaurants because they have oyster sauce all over the place. So I am curious about Chinese restaurants in Malaysia. Will they be a kosher type of Chinese restaurants where they won't have any oyster sauce or crabs or other stuff I can't eat?

There are parts of Malaysia that are really clean. The Malays have a couple of states in north east Malaysia (Kelantan and Terranganu) that are run by fundamentalist islamic parties and the kampongs there are spotless and people are remarkably friendly. Parts of Kuala Lumpur are as clean as any western country (Ampang, Bangsar, Damansara, Subang Jaya and Sunway) but that's because these are areas with embassies, shopping malls and tourists frequent and large numbers of expats live. However there are also lots of areas in Malaysia that are less than adequate in terms of cleanliness but no where near as bad as India (Indians consider Malaysia as first world).


The streets are clean. again areas where tourists, shopping malls., embassies, expats live.


Cleaner than Malaysia yes. But Singapore is a microcosm of Malaysia so there's dirty places as well.
In terms of cleanliness
North India - 4/10
South India - 5/10
Malaysia - 6/10
Singapore - 7/10 (Singapore they has draconian laws but somehow many neighborhoods where people live the streets/buildings are covered in algae/mould (a problem in the tropics) and they constantly spray for mposquitoes so there is a chemical smell (pollutions is also a problem in Singapore)
Melbourne - 8/10
Perth - Where I grew up - 9/10


I am not familiar with these type of festivals


I think there are actual Starbucks in Chennai now but I have no idea about the quality. There is a general rule in Asia to eat the food traditionally cooked by the community whose eating establishment you are patronising. So never eat Thai food cooked by Indians or italian food cooked by Chinese etc....stick to what locals are good at.


Yes you are right. Chinese are not big on sweets but they add sugar to a lot of their sauces and baked goods. They also have a strange taste for dried meats soaked in a paste that is sugary sweet (one of the weirder things I have eaten is dried squid that is served as a chewy sweet), I don't have a theory but they are traditional people and sugar cane isn't native to China but they do love sugar cane juice and honey (they also use a lot of honey in their cooking).


This could be possible but in Chinese communities (I lived with a Malaysian Chinese family for 6 months) they consider being overweight a sign of poor health and not attractive (probably more than Europeans). But I think adding sugar might also be because they don't like the taste of bread and it tastes better when sweet.


I think Singapore will be the country you will feel most comfortable but the cost of living there is quite high so you would need to secure a good salary.


Malaysia and Singapore sell everything you can buy in the US except cars are exorbitantly expensive (although fuel is cheap as Malaysia is an OPEC country).,



Would be the same. Malls in Malaysia are the same as in the US but prices for imported clothes, technology may be the same as in the US as well.


Ok well best of luck there. Go where you are happy and can pursue your desired career.


Yes, many of the overseas academics are on visas. There are European professors but there are lots of conditions placed on their contracts. One of the things I had to demonstrate to the immigration office that my role could not be filled by a local (they are very stringent about foreigners taking jobs but generally specialised fields such as physics you would likely be safe that you can find a sponsor).


Yes although it helps if you are a muslim.


Yes this possible, keep in mind their education system is moving away from government block grants to sustain universities and academics would need to win competitive grants so a publication record still helps in getting promoted.


India is considered "south asia". Most east Asians don't consider Indians as Asians.



An interesting sideline is there used to be active Jewish communities in Kerala, Bombay, Calcutta and Chennai in India. I think after 1948 almost all jews left India to go on aliya to Israel. Yahudi Yale founded the University of Madras in India when he was the first vice chancellor before moving to the US to found Yale University. The founding father of the oldest university in Malaya was a jewish professor named Oppenheimer (his name still there on a large plaque in the chancellory building).

Sorry you asked my about Kosher food. In Malaysia all food is halal except Chinese food. I assume if the food is prepared halal then it is also kosher?