GOING CRAZY FOR FOREIGN THINGS

Last weekend was the annual Red Cross Diplomatic Fair in Bangkok. Most of the embassies and consulates sell products and food from their own countries, such as salmon from Norway wine from Germany, Chile and Argentina. I went last year and I have to say that some Thai people go crazy for anything foreign, even if they're not sure what it is. I was looking at some things on the Spanish stall and one woman grabbed a handful of cosmetics and gels, paid for them and then asked the young Spanish guy behind the counter what each of the things was. That was just one example. Half the time I am sure most of the people didn't have a clue what they were buying; the fact it was foreign was good enough. I was pleased with my purchases which included three bottles of Ribena from the Malaysian booth, some salmon from the Norwegians and some Hershey's chocolate from the US.