We all have them; whenever we're about to embark on a trip to Nepal, some relative (or relatives!) tries a fast one, and will kindly request, "Dada/Didi, can you send me a iPhone?"
When you can't or barely afford an iPhone yourself, what is your reaction?
a) Think about it, ponder over your finances, procrastinate for a bit, and make a decision later.
or
b) Just buy an iPhone at your nearest Apple store because you love your relative so much.
I don't know about you, but for me, it's "c) You can go to hell!"
Shock, horror, why would I think like this, I must be a cruel kinda guy >:) well actually I think I have, what you're about to read is a reasonable opinion : - )
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| If you gonna sell it like that, ma pani laptop chian-cha, (but must be shipped from UK)! |
It all started off when I was at someone's house for the evening, and someone mentioned how their Dad in Nepal wanted a laptop from the UK, shipped to Nepal. Instantly, that sounded really daft. I've been to Nepal, and I've been to the electronic stores in Nepal, and there are plenty of laptops for sale, prices not that different from UK, why doesn't their Dad just buy one there (or arrange some Western Union job, and buy the laptop in Nepal?). You guessed it, everything made in the UK is great is 100% superior to the rest of the world (even if it's stolen or 2nd hand).
Wrong.
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| Uhh...does a Rolls Royce airplane engine interest you? Thought not, sorry nothing else is made here. |
Unfortunately, that is the impression etched into the Dad's mind in Nepal (and every other person from a developing country), despite a product so universal and manufactured from a handful of countries uhhh.Chi.emm..na.emm.and.Tai-wan, it has to come from the UK. "Oh look, yo UK bara aiyo." except the truth is it's made in China and has made a complete round trip to a country neighboring where the laptop was probably first assembled, with it's electronic parts taking a few drops on the way. If someone could prove to me statistically, laptops (or any globally known or used device) are inferior in Nepal when compared to the same products bought abroad, then I'll be happy for someone to prove me wrong : - ) It's like saying, I want to buy a BMW car (pretty standard across Europe), but request to buy one from Germany, (assuming it's about the same price) and have it shipped over to the UK, which would probably cost me more, and in essence a waste of time. Maybe no one trusts the Germans or Chinese. : - )
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| Oh yeah just take one, they just magically appeared. |
The other gripe I have is, when a request like this arrives is, you buy an iPhone for someone (same argument as above, you can get one there too), this gets around your family, and they either all start asking to buy one for them as well (like iPhones grow out of your back pocket), or suddenly you're enemy no.1 for not giving them a gift of equal or superior worth. It's usually both. You can't win with folks back home, so there is only one solution...
....arrive with nothing.
God Save the Queen and Jai Nepal
P.S. In the end, the Dad bought the laptop in Nepal. A wise Dad, like so many : - )