General Thoughts

Ok! That out of the way, let's get down with some indian/sri-lankan thoughts I've been having. This was all borne from three things
1. I met up with "mr guide" - the man with whom I described an account a few posts back. AGAIN he says hello, where are you from... as though he doesn't remember our mad cap antics! Although, in truth, they weren't really that mad cap. Or maybe they were? It depends on your mad cap definition.
Only this time... well, last time he was a gardener, who worked at gardens and was going home, his family lived in Kandi etc etc. But this time (the conversation wasn't as long, as I was bored of him) we were chatting at a time when he should have been working! Call me suspicious sally, but I think he really makes his living by waiting at the same spot, to walk besides tourists & give sad stories to them!!

2. Back when I was in Una Watuna, I was accessing the internet, and could overhear a woman bargaining with a tourist agent. She was trying to get the price of a trip to some wildlife reserve down... and he wasn't budging. Eventually, he asks her where she is from - and she says the UK.

3. Tanya (from Goa) pretty much summerised to me why they keep on asking where you are from:
"It's because then they can work out how much money they can get from you." which, while flabbergasting in it's simplicity & duplicity, is also pretty accurate. IF you are a UK-type, AND you are reading this blog (why, by the way?) AND you go to india/sri-lanka... don't bargain if you are going to say you are from the UK. EVERYbody knows that the UK pound is stronger than superman right now... you won't get very far. Try Uzbekistani... they don't know WHERE the hell that is.

Ummm... I totally forgot where I was going with this one. Ok! Off to the aussie embassy for drinks tonight.

Cheers!