One of the things that I”ll miss the most about Asia is the prices. At the beginning of the race, I thought of prices in relation to the US dollar. That cheeseburger costs four dollars, but that’s how much it would be at home. No biggie. Our financial minds have now shifted. Prices are compared automatically to the country you are in. Three dollars for a t-shirt?! The guy on the other side of the market will give it to me for two!” Bargaining has been a way of life since we entered Africa.
I’m excited about coming home and seeing everyone, but I’m not too excited about leaving the land of cheap stuff. A dollar goes so much further here. I could buy sixteen ice-cream treats with one dollar last month in the village. Sixteen! Allow me to give you more examples.
Item number 1: MONK DVD set, complete seasons 1-7
.jpg)
Country: Vietnam
Price: 200,000 dong
USD equivilant: $10.00
Price at home: around $300.00 for high def.
Adrian Monk is the funniest obsessive compulsive detective of all time. Actually, I don’t know of any more that exist…but he’s still great. The series ended while we were in Turkey. I was devastated. It was like I lost my best friend. But there was redemption in Vietnam when I found the entire series in a shop.
Item number 2: Pad Thai
Country: Thailand
Price: 30 baht
USD equivilant: $0.93
Price at home: $7.00
I eat pad thai for lunch every day…I’ll usually eat half, then save the rest for dinner. It’s a heaping portion. It conists of noodles, sprouts, chicken, peanuts, and a lime to squeeze over it. I’m pretty sure they put crack in it too. I’m addicted, what can I say?
Item number 3: Same Same shirt
Country: Cambodia
Price: $2.00
Price at home: Most likely $10.00
A same same shirt is the cool thing to buy for World Racers. On the back, the classic Asian phrase is completed with “but different”. It’s the perfect souvenir because it encompasses the culture so well. Everything’s same same…but different.
Item number 4: Rosetta Stone, 26 language set
Country: Vietnam
Price: 50,000 dong
USD equivilant: $2.50
Price at home: Roughly $5,356.00
(No, I didn’t misplace the decimal)
26 languages on two CD’s for $2.50? Can’t beat that.
Item number 5: New glasses!
Country: Thailand
Price: 200 baht
USD equivilant: $6.25
Price at home: $150.00-$200.00
I’ve been too lazy to deal with contacts for the past three months. Your hands are always dirty, it means waking up five minutes earlier, and it’s a hassle. I wasn’t a big fan of my old glasses. The lenses were super thick on the edges because that was the cheaper option, and they were super stretched out. I found these on a table display outside of the grocery store. The prescription (-4.00) was written on a sticker and stuck to the lense. Perfect! Super easy, super cheap. Hopefully they’ll last me a while.
Item number 6: Custom hand-painted shoes!
Country: Thailand
Price: 450 baht
USD equivilant: $15.00
Price at home: I don’t even want to know.
I’m so excited about these shoes. I know they’re tacky and extreme, but I don’t really care. They have all the flags of the countries I’ve been to this year. On the top is Psalm 84:5 written in Thai.
“Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have their hearts set on pilgrimage.”
It wasn’t just fifteen dollars for the painting. That price covered the cost of the shoes and the custom job. Oh, and we’re going to be featured on the artist’s blog! Keep an eye out for us.
Yes, it will be sad to leave this place and return to the land where a Dairy Queen blizzard is now $4.00. Please be patient with me if you take me in public and I scream at the salesman for having ridiculous prices. Or if I start crying when I receive a check from a meal that costs more than $1.25. I’ll work through it with your help.
Thirteen days!
