On Traveling

There are many things that you have to remember when living abroad.  Patience is the first and most important.  A sense of humour really helps with the first and is equally important.  Another is that you have to realise that what used to be a norm are now not and what used to be unheard of are now normal and acceptable.

So far, in my experiences, the Chinese have presented a fair share of breaks in my norm.  Lets start with personal space.  I give you exhibit A:

On first look, two woman sitting in one chair (as the one in orange and blue are) isn't really out of the norm.  What you don't see is that mere moments before this picture was snapped, I was in that chair.  They were not.  But what was there is that woman in orange's purse...  there just over her right shoulder.  When I was sitting there, it was also over my right shoulder.  They weren't sitting there when I was, but they were standing.  And boy were they close.  They were almost leaning on me.  Note: this is not a crowded space.  The is a cavernous terminal in the Bangkok airport, which is a fairly large airport.  I got tired of it and got up, got to laughing and took that picture.

The Chinese are an adventurous bunch.  They travel, and when they do, it is in a group.  When they are in a group, they resemble, to me, a group of pre-schoolers:

All the people in the red hats are apart of a group.  There is a handler or two barking out orders, then the group is barking out communication amongst itself (there will be a post on this soon).  They all have sacks full of toiletries that they bought at the duty free (I haven't figured this one out yet).  There must have been at least 30 of them, and much like pre-schoolers, while moving they are full of energy, but once they get stationary, its lights out.  I don't know what it is, but with Asians, they can sleep on anything that resemble public transportation.  Most of the group was snoring before take off.

There is some grade A people watching while travelling in SE Asia.  I give you this:

It is true that a picture is worth a thousand words, because I am left with but four... best comb over ever. 

More "On" postes later.  I will post a proper update within a couple days.

Later

On St Patty's Day in Singapore

No there isn't a more interesting place to be on St Patty's Day but in Singapore.  It is the only place that one can have a beer with the sect of people who celebrate the Irish tradition the most, the Americans.  All joking aide... Americans are really the only nationality that celebrate the day as a national holiday.  Another group that you will find out and about on this day (night and into the next day) are the Australians but all they need is a reason.  And with most of the Aussies, when a reason to drink a beer is involved... well... give them an inch and they'll take a mile.  The Irish do party and drink but its because they would do that anyway.  They look at everyone else and laugh. 

We were told, several times, that everyone else takes it more seriously than the Irish do.  In fact, they don't even wear green. They wear blue. 

To follow suit, the next day there was a parade.  St Patty was an Indian man in a turban.  I don't have a picture.  But I do have this.  I just kept thinking about a skittles commercial.  Finished the day with a wonderful Thai dinner... I thought it fitting.