clothes shopping in Thailand is not for those with hips

I had to share this story because it is all, sadly enough true, but so funny. I had gotten to the point where my wardrobe was no longer attractive to say the least. I could buy tops cheaply from local vendors, who had no dressing rooms available. Just pop it on over what i was wearing. Pants were a different matter. I needed a proper dressing room. SoIi found out where the AC shopping center was, a big plus when it hits 100. I went into Central which is a huge very middle class Department store. One whole floor was just womens clothing. The sales girl cold not understand my request for capri pants so she called for a translator. She knew minimal english but i did get across I want pants on sale since some of their prices were much higher than I would have paid in the states. I knew right off after a quick survey of the sales racks i was in trouble sizewise. Totally different sizing system. So the translator, I shall henceforth refer to her as T, and I agreed we would start w/ a 28 waist. Well the Thais have very skinny legs, i have thunder thighs. I could not get them past my knees. So we tryed different styles & progessively larger sizes. Finally she had the other sales girls helping her look as i could tell I was a real challenge for her. Like get this foreigner fitted & make the sale.

It was not easy. Imagine a huge department store floor. You have about 6 very small women running around yelling lage, then exta lage. At this point i mentioned to T, not that she cared or probably even understood that I, of course had never been a large or certainly not an extra large in the U.S. I guess she understood a little as she eyeballed my hips and said you no lage, you no exta lage, you exta, exta lage. Needless to say i had no response. Looking around the huge floor filled with very tiny thai women I was the largest woman on it.

Unfortunately I never found anything that fit there. I did find a pair at another store. It was marked LL. I can only assume it meant larger than large. It fit, i took it. The pitying eyes of the staff was beneath the drive to make a sale. No one cared that i wear size 10 petite in the US. No one cared i was under 130lbs. In the land of no hips, skinny pencil thin legs & thighs, you are lucky to find a LL.

Eventually i found, as I was leaving the Mall hidden in the basement a store for LARGE folks. I guess i know where i will start my cloths shopping next time in thailand.