Friday 29 May 2009

Westerners in Asia

Some years ago, when spending a lot of time in Asia, and mostly in Bangkok, I regularly read the Bangkok Post's Trink Page that sort of was a guide to the city's entertainment venues. Recently, while making another attempt to put my things in order (quite a task for a collector), I also came across some old copies of the Trink Page. I occasionally wondered why on earth I had put aside this or that copy but there were also pieces that I thought really funny (and refreshingly politically incorrect). This one for instance (quite some of the behaviour described here I have witnessed myself):

You know you've been in Asia too long if
- The footprints on the toilet seat are your own
- You no longer wait in line, but immediately go to the head of the queue
- You habitually punch all the buttons as you leave the lift
- It has become exciting to see if you can get on the lift before anybody can get off
- It is no longer surprising that the only decision made at a meeting is the time and venue for the next meeting
- You no longer wonder how someone making US$ 200 per month can drive a Mercedes
- You accept without question the mechanic's analysis that the car is "broken" and that it will cost you a lot of money to get it fixed.
- You find it saves time to stand and retrieve your cabin luggage while the plane is still on final approach
- You are quite content to repeat your order six times in a restaurant that has only four items on the menu
- You regard it as part of an adventure when the waiter exactly repeats your order and the cook makes something completely different
- You don't notice when music is played at full volume
- You see snow in a Western movie but can't quite place it

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