Part 15 - Is Malaysia Truly Asia?

03.08.2013

Ahoj folks,

I hope this finds you well.

Malaysia, truly Asia?

I’m back from my holibobs and I know that you are waiting with such anticipation for me to answer the question on everyone’s mind…Is Malaysia truly Asia? I can confirm (and I believe Lukasz can reaffirm) that it is indeed truly Asia, particularly the Malaysian Airlines inflight video…marvellous!

Leaving Honiara for 12 days was extremely welcomed; a break from ailments, work, and high cost of living. What more could one ask for?! Malaysia and Singapore also provided inexpensive and delicious foods, free wifi, and the return of Viber and What’s App in my life – hurrah for the small things! The sleeper trains chugged slowly but in comfort; the jungle provided the NATURE FACTOR as well as the not-so-welcomed leech bites (poor Lukasz, he emerged from the hike with socks that were blood red); and the diving in Perhentian Islands was thoroughly enjoyable. Singapore also greeted us with generous people, free Starbucks and even free beer at the hostel. We also got see my Singaporean family and even pop by to see some old friends, Carlos and Theo. In summary, it was blissful.

 

Honiara calling

Flying back to Honiara via the mandatory transit that is Brisbane, I realised that I was somewhat reluctant to return to Sunny Sols. I attributed this to the understandably sad situation of having to say goodbye to Lukasz for another 4 and a half months, coupled with an unnerving feeling of losing 4 extremely close friends whilst being away. I remember being picked up at the airport by my colleagues and driving through Honiara thinking how alien it all seemed to me, despite only being away for 11 days.

These feelings aside, I was really looking forward to my Honiara home comforts (HHC). My friend, Anna, wrote me a very funny email titled ‘Reasons why I love Honiara more and more each day’. Unsurprisingly, this list induced a flurry of thoughts and motivations about why Solomons is a freakin’ cool place (I must admit, some of her points were a little barmy and have provided her with some constructive comments, in track changes of course). Needless to say, armed with Anna’s list and a refreshed Kenn, fun nights were undoubtedly soon to follow. Last weekend, we had a Great Gatsby movie night, which was pretty cool on the old projector; and a board games evening consisting of both Twister (travel version) and Articulate in one sitting – MEGA FUN (although I think Sophie cheated at Twister!)

Netball is also keeping me busy; despite losing their match last weekend, the Bokolo Hornets did enough to make it through to the semi-finals, which the team is very pleased about. Other than that, I’ve applied for my provisional licence and have been ramping up the lessons with Sophie and Carlos. Here’s to a test later this month…

Over a week since my return and it has been certainly been a much easier transition to life in Solomons compared the previous occurrences. I think it’s because I’ve tried to get back into a routine of activities but unlike before, I have managed to get a better balance of time by myself some evenings and gallivanting the streets of Honiara on other nights. 10 months in and this concept is only just starting to become the status quo.

Solomon Islands Discoveries and Observations (SIDO) – Brand power

Attention! SIFF has been replaced SIDO this week but I hope it will still be interesting…

Before I sign off from this entry and head to bed, I wanted to share a really interesting observation with you. It’s about the state of brand loyalty in Solomon Islands. I recently read a BBC article on the success stories of foreign companies operating effectively in China. Big brand names such as KFC, Volkswagen, and Nike are all performing very well for several reasons, one of which was the demand for branded goods that imply good quality… http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-23364230

I tried to apply this logic to Solomon Islands and I would agree that in some sectors such as toiletries and hair care or white goods, brands definitely rule. However, in some sectors such as clothing and even the food and drinks industry, the importance of brand loyalty just doesn’t exist.

For clothes in particular, I think this is a very unique situation for this country in that there are no first hand clothes store (with the exception of a few stores that stock limited specialist stock like sportswear or locally made clothing or generic Chinese clothes); all clothes are second hand! Imagine this guys, clothes shopping that is cheaper, environmentally friendly, and with no stigma attached to the idea of second hand clothes because everyone is doing it. Nearly everyone I know really enjoys the search for interesting items, whether it be a Spiderman onesie for a superheroes party or a beautiful floral dress for work.

Personally, I love what this does for the environment and providing a mindset that doesn’t place a ridiculously great weighting on designer labels and super expensive branded goods. Clothes shopping on a Saturday is funny though, particularly when it is new bale day; the women will be queueing up very early (one of the few times that people are early/on time in Solomon Islands), grab handfuls and handfuls of clothes when they finally enter the store, and then plonk themselves down on a huge hoarded pile of clothes and spend a good hour or so just sorting through the items they would like – incredible stamina.

Granted, some of my friends are likely to find clothes and look at the brand as an indicator for quality; nevertheless, the majority of the population seem to shop and wear without such considerations. And I think something I noticed the other day (captured in a photo that I took of course), just sums up the importance of brand power and loyalty; 25kg of pre-bagged clothes for $1,250. No choice at all – what a concept! I’ve even learnt to use old clothes that are now deemed as unwanted fabrics for card designs – so much saving and so little waste.

Another example that supports my theory was a story that my friend, Sonia, mentioned to me a while back. She saw a very old woman walking down the street with a t-shirt saying ‘it’s not easy, being easy’. I had to laugh and I bet you’re laughing too right now! But I think that definitely epitomises the lack of concern over branded clothing (or perhaps lack of understanding of the meaning).I think it’s just great and so refreshing –will definitely be added to Anna’s list.

Until next time, kids. And in the words of Jerry Springer “take care of yourselves and each other”. Don’t forget to write!

Much love,

Kennton x

Kennton x