In previous blogs, I have mentioned that paper towels are not as prevalent in Thailand. The cultural differences extend to regular towels.

A few towns ago, Jamie and I were staying with the same host, who pretty much did not speak English. Jamie took a shower in the evening and managed to procure a towel by pointing to the one in the bathroom to express her need.

I tried the same trick in the morning. She seemed to scurry about for a bit but with no results. I tried asking again. Eventually, she pointed towards our room and said something including song (two in Thai) while holding up her fingers. As near as I could translate, she had only two towels (the one in the bathroom and Jamie’s), and Jamie and I must share. In fact, she seemed a bit affronted that I would ask for a towel.

When telling this strange story to Wendy, she mentioned that her host explained that most Thais travel with their own towel. This somewhat explains the situation but does not relieve the fact that Jamie and I shared the same towel for two days.

Oh, but it got worse. At our last host, we could not find them in the morning to ask for towels, so Jamie and I air-dried. I employed three methods: 1) shaking like a dog, 2) brushing off the water with my hands, and 3) using my pajamas for excess moisture. For two days, I did this. It was especially hard to get my hair dry.

It is nice to be in a hotel now.

This entry was posted on Saturday, March 22nd, 2008 at 9:56 pm and is filed under Thai culture, bathrooms, housing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.