Drugs in South East Asia

We've been at the computers a lot lately, so I thought I would blog again, just for fun.   Thanks to everyone who sent me a newsy and for the part of the Canadians "it's-really-cold-up-here!" email.  It's great to hear from everyone.   So here we are in South East Asia, land of milk and honey but also land of hash and marijuana.  I mean, I know this in a global sense, not in an actual sense, since tours of the ganja fields aren't on the regular tourist track.  However, I know that it's around because Nathan keeps getting offered "smokie" or "ganja" or "some really good stuff".  At least, he says he does.  Either my hearing is going, or he only gets offered when I'm not around (which isn't very often), because nobody EVER offers me drugs.    Actually, nobody has EVER offered me drugs, ANYWHERE.  I mean, really.  I am JUST as likely to want drugs as the next person.  Nathan doesn't look any more like a stoner than I do.  And yet, he gets offered drugs and I don't.  I'm sure that now that I've written this complaint, I will get tons of offers and have to wade through the crowds of opium dealers, but it just doesn't seem right.  Now, I realize, that we don't even drink alcohol over here, so why am I complaining, I've never used drugs in my life, I don't even take Tylenol if I can help it, but that's not the issue, is it? There is some serious stereotyping going on here in South East Asia and I thought that I would let everyone in on it.  And by the way, it's not just the fact that I'm a woman, I've met other women over here who have been offered drugs.  Just not me.   Ah, that feels better.   I would like to address the issue of Vietnamese furniture.  Mainly the issue is, they don't seem to use any.  Rooms are furnished in a hotel type way for the tourists, but not in the Vietnamese living space.   In a regular north american household, there is a dining room with chairs and a table, there is a living room, with a couch and/or chairs, and there are bedrooms with beds and mattresses. Although there is some of that in Vietnamese households, the places that we see here that are next door to our guest house or down the alley, even at our own guest house...none of these places seem to have any furniture, at least for the permanent residents.  There is a living space downstairs with a TV, but everyone sits on the floor.  If you want to eat, you go to the kitchen, which habitually has no oven, just a two-burner stove type thing and a bar fridge, and you make your dinner, and you sit around the living space on the floor.  Even seniors sit on the floor.  They lie on the floor to watch TV and sometime a concession is made for a lawn chair in the living space.    There are no beds, they sleep with blankets on the floor, sometimes in a seperate space, but often in the same living space.  It's no wonder that Nathan and I are having a heck of a time finding a place with mattresses that are slightly softer than a marble countertop.  It's because everyone sleeps on their tiled floors.  I mean, it really saves money, not to have any furniture.  I can't imagine, though, having people over and asking them to sit on the floor to eat dinner.  They must all have very strong back muscles.  Whereas I, softie that I am, wake up every morning with a sore back, because the mattresses are all so hard.  However, I can see the sense in the way of the Vietnamese.  There isn't much room (mostly people have a 12 foot by 12 foot living space, if that, and that's including living/sleeping space, bathroom, and cooking areas), there isn't much money and families are often big. Imminently practical to go without a table or couch.  The floors here are VERY clean.    Also, people don't spend that much time at home.  There are always huge crowds at the parks in the evenings, and people ride all over on their cyclos.  Vietnamese think we are the weirdest people because we walk everywhere.  There are very few people walking on the sidewalks, though perhaps this is because the sidewalks are taken up by parked cyclos, kids playing, food vendors selling their wares, people just standing around taking a break, people lying and taking a nap (no kidding)...sidewalks in Vietnam are really for everything EXCEPT walking on.   Other cultures are so interesting.  There are a million different ways of being.   Thanks for reading.  My next installment may be from India. Happy days! ACDB