Day 79 :: Pink Nipple Cream

Day 79 - Koh Samui
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[Did I mention that after traveling through China, Vietnam and Cambodia, Thailand was pure luxury? The freeways have actual lanes and cars instead of cows. From city to country, the homes are made of concrete instead of wood and tin. You can even get little pieces of heaven like Reeces Pieces and nerds. It's like going from Tijuana to San Diego less the suburbs and the San Diego Chargers.]

Since our last post, we have moved on to Koh Samui, an Island off the Eastern Coast of Thailand. As we've done nothing but lay on the beach, we've been able to notice something quite fascinating:

All the westerners are trying to get darker while the Thai people are trying to get lighter.

The westerners on the beach are covering as little of themselves as humanly possible (some cover nothing at all, which is often much more disapointing than you would think). On the other hand, the Thai's are wearing long sleeve shirts and carrying umbrellas. The westerners are buying tanning lotion to speed up the process. The Thai people are buying whitening cream. They can even buy a product called pink nipple cream in order to enhance their whiteness.

Could this be because people everywhere always want to look different than they are? Or is it because in Thailand, the darker you are often means the poorer you are, while in the States it's usually the opposite? Or are there other reasons why pink nipple cream and dark tanning oils are sold on the same shelf?