In Tonga

My husband and I are having a holiday in Tonga.

We walk into a local store. The layout is somewhat like those local dairies here. The owner is a dark-skinned, thin man in his forties. He greets us and asks us what he can do for us.

My husband asks him if we can buy a sewing machine. I notice that there is a sewing machining in the store, which looks like the owner’s personal belonging rather than merchandise for sale. My husband asks him in Tonga language, to my surprise.

The shop owner says that he does have sewing machines if we want to buy. Unfortunately none of them is packaged. He realises that we are tourists and feels sorry that he cannot satisfy us.

At the moment his wife comes out from a back room. The man has a quick discussion with his wife. They then tell us that they are willing to rent us their sewing machine for seven days after that we can return it to them. My husband is happy with this deal and we are grateful for these people.

I don’t understand though, as to why my husband wants to buy or rent a sewing machine in Tonga, and ask him. He says that it’s very cheap to have tailor made business suits in Tonga. I tell him that I know nothing about sewing (in case he thinks otherwise) and that if he wants tailor made business suits he can perhaps make the suits himself. I actually think he is quite funny to come up with such crazy ideas.

......

We are on a boat. There is a large aquarium on the boat which shows all the sea creatures. When we come out of the aquarium, I ask my husband if he has brought with us the suitcase, as I have just realised that I don’t have clothes to change or cosmetics in my backpack. He tells me that all we have got is the stuff in our backpacks (he’s got his and I’ve got mine).

There is a tiny shop on the boat, at the corner. The shop sells cosmetic products. I think that’s just fantastic. But when I have a close look at them, I am disappointed. Although they have some well-know brands such as ‘lo real’, they all look fake and locally produced. It is also interesting to notice a brand called ‘Westpac’. Westpac is a bank. I wonder if Westpac is a sponsor to this range of product. All the ‘Westpac’ products are packaged in red boxes and have the Westpac usual logos on them.

.......

We are visiting a cave in a group. The cave is up high, in a mountain. To get there, we have to climb a ladder. The bamboo ladder is very long, narrow and steep. I look up and see four or five people already on the ladder, making their way up. I am a little worried because the ladder to me doesn’t look straight and wonder if the other end of the ladder is fixed. While I am hesitating, someone in the group seems to have read my thoughts and convinces me that the ladder is very safe. So I got on the ladder. I soon become very scared as the ladder feels very fragile and makes squeaking noise.

I have reached the top. After a tour in the cave we are heading down. This time I take a close examination of the ladder. I was right! The ladder is not attached to anything! But both ends of the top of the ladder are covered with some cotton material (I presume this is to prevent the bamboo from slipping away from the rocks). I am not impressed with this design of safety and ask a girl in the group to help grab hold of the top ends while I make my way down the ladder. (She is He Xinyin, a classmate of mine in high school).