I’ve found that ‘right’ and ‘left’ knowledge is shocking. But, more so for country folk, compass direction is well known.
Many times I have been out in the sticks and got directions like: go to the crossroads and turn west, or turn south after the school.
When asked to clarify do they mean left or right, I’m met with a blank look then a debate between a few folk as to which one is right which just confuses the directions completely.
City folk generally aren’t great at compass points - nor indeed lefts or rights.
And I don’t think they smell better than us, farts excluded, I reckon I smell better than most.
A cnuts map of Cambodia
- ផោមក្លិនស្អុយ
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It seems I need to clarify my comments, so here it goes.
Sight: I was referring, in particular, to spotting changes in detail, even the most minute. My experience is that they spot the smallest changes to a person's appearance or apparel far quicker than we do and that ability seems to apply to other aspects of their surrounding environment.
Hearing: Not as much experience of it here, but while living in the Philippines I was constantly amazed at how locals could pick up details of a conversation by others, despite being a considerable distance away and with other serious noise distractions taking place around them. Bars in Manila and Angeles were prime examples.
Smell: They seem to detect unusual odors far quicker than we do.
These observations are based on my personal experiences-yours may be different. Then again, it may be that you are not personally aware of what is happening around you, which tends to justify my original claims. As I stated in the previous post, they probably evolved as survival instincts.
Khmer text's comments about rural Khmers are very interesting, as they are the total opposite of my experiences in the Philippines. Over there, I traversed the entire country, making tourist maps and travel guides. Compass directions were entirely alien to rural folk, though they seemed to understand the concept of left or right. Asking for directions from one small town to the next was a nightmare, as they would tell you anything to avoid loss of face. They would point in a certain direction or to a side road and say "Dahun", which translates as "That way". We developed what we called the rule of three. If three of them gave us the same directions, we'd try it-otherwise it was probably a face-saving lie.
On an earlier occasion, while flying from Brisbane to Manila, a middle aged Filipina sitting next to me asked my advice, after noticing I was reading a Lonely Planet guide to her country. She said she had married an Australian and was returning home for the first time in 14 years. Her home city was Cavite, but she couln't remember how to get there from Manila or the distance. After consulting the guide, I was able to tell her that Cavite was the next city south of Manila, about 30 km. from the airport, where connecting buses departed regularly. It was experiences like that which led to my conclusions about Asians having serious difficulties understanding location and direction.
Sight: I was referring, in particular, to spotting changes in detail, even the most minute. My experience is that they spot the smallest changes to a person's appearance or apparel far quicker than we do and that ability seems to apply to other aspects of their surrounding environment.
Hearing: Not as much experience of it here, but while living in the Philippines I was constantly amazed at how locals could pick up details of a conversation by others, despite being a considerable distance away and with other serious noise distractions taking place around them. Bars in Manila and Angeles were prime examples.
Smell: They seem to detect unusual odors far quicker than we do.
These observations are based on my personal experiences-yours may be different. Then again, it may be that you are not personally aware of what is happening around you, which tends to justify my original claims. As I stated in the previous post, they probably evolved as survival instincts.
Khmer text's comments about rural Khmers are very interesting, as they are the total opposite of my experiences in the Philippines. Over there, I traversed the entire country, making tourist maps and travel guides. Compass directions were entirely alien to rural folk, though they seemed to understand the concept of left or right. Asking for directions from one small town to the next was a nightmare, as they would tell you anything to avoid loss of face. They would point in a certain direction or to a side road and say "Dahun", which translates as "That way". We developed what we called the rule of three. If three of them gave us the same directions, we'd try it-otherwise it was probably a face-saving lie.
On an earlier occasion, while flying from Brisbane to Manila, a middle aged Filipina sitting next to me asked my advice, after noticing I was reading a Lonely Planet guide to her country. She said she had married an Australian and was returning home for the first time in 14 years. Her home city was Cavite, but she couln't remember how to get there from Manila or the distance. After consulting the guide, I was able to tell her that Cavite was the next city south of Manila, about 30 km. from the airport, where connecting buses departed regularly. It was experiences like that which led to my conclusions about Asians having serious difficulties understanding location and direction.
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