April 06, 2004

No, make it a dozen

Walnut Grove, Yunnan Province, China

At the guest house this morning I was brought two bowls of porridge for breakfast. I had forgotten the cardinal rule of travelling in south-east Asia. Always specify "one".

"I would like the chicken and rice".
"One?"
"Yes. One"

This conversation is so common that long term travellers short circuit it by always specifying "one", usually with single finger clearly held up, with every order. No matter how superfluous it might seem.

Posted by David at April 6, 2004 10:48 PM