this is normal

While traversing South East Asia we have found ourselves amongst people who live their lives rather differently than we’re used to. And some things that are regular things for us while traveling – often things that don’t seem noteworthy – we realize are different than life back home.

For example, while living in Chicago we rarely ever drank bottled water. We went all “fancy” by filling a container with tap water and putting it in the fridge so we’d have nice cold water all the time, but it was the rare occasion we had bottled water. Now I can’t really remember the last time I’ve had a sip of tap water. Must have been L.A. Maybe an airport drinking fountain?

Water here is cheap, though, and plentiful. Even in the most remote locations you can find water. The cheapest local brands cost less than 20 cents for nearly a liter. There are also western brands for a bit more. But no matter the day, when it comes to water, we never leave home without it.

It’s also normal here to drive a motorbike. The streets are packed with them. The motorbike is just like the car back in the US or Canada. It holds the same amount of stuff and people. Family of 5? No problem. 50kg sack of rice? No worries. New refrigerator? Simple. We have been on motodops (motorcycle taxis) where the driver keeps our big pack between him and the handlebars and we ride on the back with a small bag. And that wouldn’t even be considered a full load here!

People here eat rice. By the kilo – literally. An average man will eat .5-1 kilo of rice per day. Per day! In the U.S., most families of 4 or 5 would buy a 1-pound bag (or box) of rice. For one meal no more than half the bag would be used (1-2 cups max, typically) and it would be more than enough rice for all. And that would be the only rice anybody in the family would have that day. By contrast, the same family in Vietnam would need at least 2 of those packages of rice for just the Dad (for the day). The Vietnamese family would need probably 2kg of rice per day, or 2.5 typical American packages of rice.

While doing a homestay in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam our host asked us if we ate rice back home. We said yes, but not like people here eat rice. So he asked how many times per week we ate rice. Our reply was that we could not answer that question; it needed to be per month, and that a typical family may have rice two or three times per month. No words came from our host’s mouth. The look of shock, horror, disbelief consumed the jaw-dropped face. In general, we can estimate how “westernized” a restaurant is by how much rice they give us with one serving. Local joints give you practically a whole pot!

Internet cafes are plentiful and cheap. Most locals cannot afford to have a computer at home. Not only is the computer expensive, but so is the electricity to run it and the programs they’d use. Although pirated software is plentiful. Anyhow, most locals do their computing — often it’s children playing games on the network — at the internet cafes. And, of course, foreigners are doing their thing. The going rates are anywhere from about 20 cents to $1.25 per hour, with most around 50-60 cents.

Guesthouses and hotels vary dramatically in quality, and price, but we always seek out something clean and relatively comfortable. The standard stuff is a bed, fan and light. The bed usually isn’t much to brag about, and we’ve slept on more than a few things that seemed pretty much like rocks. We prefer a private bath (although shared can be ok), which would have shower, sink and toilet. We are enjoying Vietnam because for about the same price as Thailand or Laos we get extremely comfortable beds, nice blankets, tv (with cable or satellite), a fridge, a table and a private bath with a very nice shower, including hot water. Even has a tub. But never a shower curtain. Wet bathroom floors are par for the course.

It’s also typical for small children to go around naked, or at least pants-less. It’s comfortable, less clothing to clean, and it’s not like they’re using diapers around here. Of course, it’s also typical for grown men to take a leak just about wherever they are. At one place our bus in Cambodia stopped, all the guys just walked out back (essentially a back yard) and just found a place to do their thing.

Lastly (for now, at least), people just throw their garbage wherever. In most places there are people who have the job, which seems endless, of sweeping the street and collecting the garbage. We’ve had bus operators who, as we’re driving along, will just chuck any garbage they have out the window or door. This littering, though, is one thing we won’t partake in. We always seek out garbage bins, even if it means carrying some trash with us for a while.

While we want to try to live life somewhat more like the locals, we draw the line at certain places. But for the most part, we really admire the local way of life. It’s pretty remarkable.