The Tan
I used to be sure that it were dogs the one true bane of a woman traveller, I have now however, found this devil a new friend: The Tan.
The Tan involves a great deal more effort to get right than is led to believe - the perfect all round, no straps marks, golden hue that conveys to all that the bearer “has been abroad” or at the very least has had sufficient relaxation time to gather the necessary sun hours to gain an admirable tan.
HOURS must be spent pool side or beach lounging to gather enough vitamin D, turning and basting like a Christmas goose (we did things a little different in Central Otago) to produce the perfect all communicating Tan…. yet almost the moment ones foot so much as touches the good soil of home, skin turns peachy pink from toe nail to brow top…one month and not a glimmer of tan to show for the dayssss in Phnom Penh’s beer-before-midday-friendly resorts, and long bus rides in search of beaches not yet destroyed by flashing lights or thoughtless garbage dumping.
What about the movement not to home from the tropics but to colder climes such as my much mentioned Himalayans? I hear you ask… well I will readily admit that quite possibly The Tan disappears at a similar rate at such elevations, however the difference lies in the fact that there aren’t quite the opportunities to see ones skin in the mostly Hindu (no longer Kingdom of) Nepal. In other countries along the range there is a lack of clean or warm water. Mountain showers that I am familiar with, are had in a small stone rooms with slimy wooden floors, a tiny rectangular hole near the ceiling for light and a bucket of barely defrosted glacier water, thus The Tan is not an issue as skin beyond hands and face, simply do-not-exist.
This is a pic from Shimshal, I've mentioned it before, but you can imagine that once the borrowed blue jacket was removed, shoes changed and my head properly covered I easily traveled as a local woman... who could question the skin color? the nail grime the purplenss of cheek?
Hmmm Photo added when I journey out of this national park to faster net connections x
The Tan involves a great deal more effort to get right than is led to believe - the perfect all round, no straps marks, golden hue that conveys to all that the bearer “has been abroad” or at the very least has had sufficient relaxation time to gather the necessary sun hours to gain an admirable tan.
HOURS must be spent pool side or beach lounging to gather enough vitamin D, turning and basting like a Christmas goose (we did things a little different in Central Otago) to produce the perfect all communicating Tan…. yet almost the moment ones foot so much as touches the good soil of home, skin turns peachy pink from toe nail to brow top…one month and not a glimmer of tan to show for the dayssss in Phnom Penh’s beer-before-midday-friendly resorts, and long bus rides in search of beaches not yet destroyed by flashing lights or thoughtless garbage dumping.
What about the movement not to home from the tropics but to colder climes such as my much mentioned Himalayans? I hear you ask… well I will readily admit that quite possibly The Tan disappears at a similar rate at such elevations, however the difference lies in the fact that there aren’t quite the opportunities to see ones skin in the mostly Hindu (no longer Kingdom of) Nepal. In other countries along the range there is a lack of clean or warm water. Mountain showers that I am familiar with, are had in a small stone rooms with slimy wooden floors, a tiny rectangular hole near the ceiling for light and a bucket of barely defrosted glacier water, thus The Tan is not an issue as skin beyond hands and face, simply do-not-exist.
This is a pic from Shimshal, I've mentioned it before, but you can imagine that once the borrowed blue jacket was removed, shoes changed and my head properly covered I easily traveled as a local woman... who could question the skin color? the nail grime the purplenss of cheek?
Hmmm Photo added when I journey out of this national park to faster net connections x
posted by Cathy at 7:29 pm
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