They didn't know each other. She just reached over the seat, and he didn't say anything. Only in Asia.
On a bus filled with Loatians, suddenly I heard Vietnamese spoken, and it was by this man, next to me. He was talking on the phone. This coincidence came in handy when we got off in Vientiane, for he negotiated a ride into town for me, on a motorbike. Had I done it on my own, it would have been a real pain in the ass, and likely to have cost more.
He's from Nam Dinh, my father's home province, so here we were, speaking in almost the same accent. He owns a foundry in Nam Dinh, and comes to Laos ten times a year, on business. He speaks Loatian fairly well.
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1 comment:
Only in Asia.
Not really -- I've experienced this (albeit not that often) on airplanes and public transit in the US and Europe -- of course the parents will quickly (and usually gently) stop the contact and apologize, even if you make some sign that you don't mind -- it is best the behavior not continue.
Once on a plane, under the eyes of its parents I let a small child crawl onto my knees to look out the window -- after a few moments I offered to swap seats with one of the parents, which they accepted -- it kept the kid occupied.
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