Sticking Out Like A Soar Thumb

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I don’t know why I thought that I would blend in here in Asia, nope, I stick out like a soar thumb in Vietnam and they can’t figure me out in Singapore or Malaysia so they try all the Asian languages they know. In Vietnam on the first day that we went to the market I was taller, whiter, shorter haired, and of course heaver than the majority of the people there at the market. I am happy to say that I did see some that where heavier then me but not many. I felt every single pair of eyes scooping me out and trying to figure where I was from. I would say that I was at least 2-3 inches taller than most of the people in Ho Chi Minh. Can you believe it! I’m in a country where I am taller than most?!!!

Singapore is very much like Hawaii, it’s hot and humid (just like Vietnam) and there are beautiful tropical plants that I am very familiar with. Singapore is a VERY clean country, there is barely any litter on the ground, I haven’t seen a homeless person, and all the cars here are clean and pretty new, maybe 5 years old at the most. The people here are not as tiny as Vietnam because there is such a mixture of people from all over Asia. I found out that there is no Singaporian race, Singapore is an island that is primary to the many different trade routes. The official language is what they call Singlish which sounds like English mix in with several different cultural expressions.

One the second day of our tour we were taken to a jewelry shop…honey you would be so proud of me, I didn’t buy a thing! O my goodness you should have seen the frenzy in that place! All the Asian tourists were running around like crazy as if they all just took a hit on a crack pipe. Sales people were running around and the tourist was buying like crazy. My Mom looked so excited and she kept on pointing here and there telling me everything was so cheap. Sadly I had to inform my mother that everything was fake and that they didn’t even use gold in the settings. Although you got an IGI certificate with certain pieces and it does state that it’s synthetic, most of the buyers didn’t care to read the paperwork in detail and they chose to listen to the sales person telling then that it was real.

Kelly, I took a picture of a fake Rolex for you 😊

Did I mention that Singapore was civilized? NOT so when it came to the public restroom. Imagine my shock and absolute horror when I decided to use the public restroom provided by the jewelry shop, I was so stunned that I had to take a picture of it (okay, I’ll admit that I took a picture of the toilet in Narita, Japan it was much nicer)! It was a hole in the ground all-be-it a nice hole, kinda. It is a flushing toilet that you squat over, eeewh! One word…SPLASHING, if it isn’t done right :P

Today we went to Malaysia…more on that later.

Mai

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Comments

[Elaine and Jim]

Enjoying your Blog
We can't tell you how much we have enjoyed your blog, we look forward to each new entry you make. It is so neat to read your impressions of what you have seen and experienced so far, nothing like what we hear and see on the Travel Channel.