Asia for Dummies

Filipino office workers due to turn the aircon down to 25 deg. C and wear shirts and shorts reported in the newspaper reminds of the colds and flu commonly afflicting Singaporeans. For over a year and more like two one wondered at the extensive winter appareil advertised in the newspaper and on sale in the stores in town. Jackets, scarves, hoodies, gloves even. There was a large middle class granted, but were there truly such numbers of skiers and mountaineers traveling to colder climes? Winter layering of course offered designers greater scope. How though was this possible on the equator? London, Paris, NY streets — the same romance as everywhere — suggested by the mannikins in the shop windows.... snow-covered side-walks, scarecrow trees, street brassieres aglow behind French windows.... Eventually one noticed the coats and the rest behind counters in various workplaces in the malls and office towers, odd little subtle out-of-place displays that took a time to fathom. Oh. Oh. One got it in the end.... Electricity supply more of a problem in the Philippines to be sure. A French agronomist on the bus on the weekend surprised with the revelation of her expatriate community’s reference to their host country. At first the accent prevented comprehension. The yellow books, you know?... (Did she mean the old term for pornographic under-the-counter books, still current in France perchance?) She spelt it out: DUMMIE??… Dummies.... You know, Asia For Dummies?... Ah! Ah! Yes. I see. Oui. Oui.... Certainement. Oui. True Asia, the reality, lay elsewhere. Oui.