Material World

To me it seems somewhat ironic that in such a staunchly Buddhist country, Bangkokians are such a materialistic bunch. Shopping is the national obsession; a new shiny mall opens every month to feed the habit. For many, it's all about labels. And because it's Bangkok, these aren't always what they seem. A tale of caution:
Sara receives an end-of-term present from England. No, not the country, it's one of the kids in her class (football is a common theme in names - a family we know of has two boys called Man-U and Markhughes). It's a sarong, and the box and bag that it comes in indicate that it's from a expensive boutique shop in town. Sara likes it, but isn't too keen on the colour, so goes into said expensive boutique to change it. An embarassing scene ensues as the assistant explains that the sarong doesn't come from their shop at all. The parent has taken a cheap sarong and put it in the box to make it look like they were being flash...