We were early. The wife and I completed our check-in/pre-departure procedures and were strolling around the departure lounge. McCarran International Airport, serving the city of Las Vegas, is one of those contemporary American airports which are located very near to the city proper. While most of the world prefer to locate cities far from the growing urban areas. Maybe they are just stubborn and think their systems are simply the best there are, or their helplessly stuck with the car-centric culture their society has become. But the airport is near.
The flight was still 1:10 p.m. yet, last 11th of October; we were on a short hop to L.A. and we were hungry. It seemed I was living off hamburgers and French fries the week before, or any of their derivatives and I was longing for "real" food. We saw a "Chinese" deli off to one corner so I delightfully ordered fried rice and coffee, the wife settling for croissant with ham and bacon. It didn't seem like the fried rice I was used to, but I thought it was good enough. As usual, the serving was fit for two persons and a half, usual in the U.S., including their drinks!
Fried rice. One of the most generic meals one can get around Asia, or Southeast Asia, at least. I chuckled when a freckled Caucasian girl asked me the three days before, "white rice, or brown rice?" There was an "Asian" stall at the Las Vegas Convention Center, where the Routes World conference we were attending was help, and I ordered the brown one (fried rice) of course. But in Asia, you can eat this anywhere. Only the plain one, or boiled rice, or whatever the locals call it is more popular. But certainly not called "white."
What got my mind racing for possible explanation, was recalling having the same breakfast exactly one month earlier, outside of our hotel in Bangkok, Thailand, September 11. Well the meals and their preparation were similar. Fried rice is fried rice, and it usually doesn't have any permutations of ingredients. But what dumbfounded me was the cost. The one in Las Vegas was $11.99. The one I ate in Bangkok was 35 Baht. Now, what's the $ to B conversion? 1:31.05 as of yesterday. So the Thai fried rice cost me $1.13!
What could be the possible reason why a man's meal cost 10 times more in the US than in our neighboring country, Thailand? Well, the former was in an airport, for one; the latter in a cafeteria-like shack common in most street corners in Bangkok, where Thais regularly eat their breakfast on their way to work. Maybe the rice as well as the other condiments are cheaper, too, in most countries in Asia. And one can add that labor is cheaper, if we analyze along economic terms. But 10:1 is still a ratio hard to rationalize by any standards.
How about in the Philippines? Well, it might be a bit difficult because Filipino restaurants seldom offer fried rice, which is actually surprising to me. It's usually a choice of plain rice or garlic rice - but seldom fried rice, unless you go to a "Chinese," "Japanese" or "Thai" restaurant, or the "Vietnamese" ones which are becoming more popular. These are usually complete meals by themselves; the ones that a few Filipino outlets offer are not. The Thai menu also offers such varieties as dried fish fried rice and shrimp paste (bagoong) fried rice.
In the Philippines, fried rice is more commonly cooked at home, using yesterday's leftovers, as an economic measure of the household. Seldom as a regular fare…again, garlic rice is more common and preferred. But in many parts of the world, it is served as a complete meal, even in Las Vegas airport, where it costs 10 times more! Maybe I need more time to analyze why this is so, but this is probably why the US hold such a gigantic attraction to many of our kababayan, enduring the long lines at the US Embassy along Roxas Blvd. Jobs in the US pay a fortune, you'll have access to all the amenities, and can own a house and a car (for each member of the family) in no time. But you will be living with loans and mortgages to pay the rest of your life. I wonder if this is a better way to enjoy a lifetime.
Compare this to how many foreigners chose to relocate themselves here, especially in Cebu. Imagine yourself in a hammock, tied between two coconut trees beside the seashore, the sunset to your left, drinking "tuba," a whiff of fish slowly grilled nearby, carried by the sea breeze. Now, isn't that a better life to have?
By the way, the fried rice in Bangkok tasted a lot more heavenly that the one in Las Vegas...