I am starting to feel as if I should just shout "Fee! Fi! Fo! Fum!" before I enter a room here. People back home stare occasionally, but here a near-majority point and chatter. Their eyes, meltingly, ask a question they have neither the courage, nor the English, to speak out loud. I cannot bear to deny them.
"188 centimeters," I say. It took me ten minutes to work out the first time, but now I'm practiced. Their eyes widen, as if I had suddenly gotten even taller. Smiles. Giggles.
"My God, you very tall girl."
"Yes," I agree. "Very tall."
Perhaps it was unwise to pack so many high heels. And what could I have been thinking when I tossed in the turquoise suede platforms?
Did I say Ross Douhat's title of World's Shittiest Paid Blogger was merely in danger?
Scratch that. There's a new sheriff in town.
HeavyJ, I believe you, but you seem to have failed to provide a link to your own blog so that I may verify.
I had the same experience in HCMC in the early 90's, although as a guy (I say 6'7") the locals may have been a little less reluctant to show their amazement. People on the street would literally stop in their tracks to stare and point me out to their children. I also learned early to beware of the be-nailed eye-level wooden poles holding up the street vendors awnings.
I also had the flip-side to your (above) shirt experience while buying silk blouses. "Your wife must be very very tall, very beautiful"
"No, they are for my mother"
Just tell them you drank lots of milk as a kid, even if it isn't true.
"And what could I have been thinking when I tossed in the turquoise suede platforms?"
I'd say you were thinking like a chick.
And what could I have been thinking when I tossed in the turquoise suede platforms?
Turquoise suede? What were you thinking when you bought them?
heh, you would make an interesting dance partner at 6'5" with your heels...
Consult your shorter compatriots as a reference point... I don't know about Vietnam, but back in Taiwan, where I spent a couple of years, I would get the same stare treatment that you describe. I'm 5'8", which is average for males in Taiwan. (But at the time I had long curly blond hair, which is somewhat less average for males in Taiwan.)
Just watch your feet, baby.
Your shorter compatriots don't get stared at as much. When my friends get tired of being stared at, they hang out with me to get a break. They call it taking the panda for a walk.
Just remember to smile at the children, so they know you're not going to eat them.
Sounds like a delightful place, but I don't think I'd fit, I'd probably trip on some curb and take out a whole village...
(197cm, 166kg, size 50 shoes :p)