The Ice Cream Vendor

My buddy, James Dunlap, from the University of Alberta, recently visited me with his daughter, Chloe. After lunch, I took them sightseeing in Chinatown. Chloe saw some trishaws, and suggested taking a ride, but I felt it would not be very safe as the
traffic was quite heavy. I suggested taking a boat ride instead, as it would be safer and it would also enable them to see more buildings and feel the breeze.

As the boarding jetty was quite near Fullerton Hotel, we decided to use the washrooms in the hotel. When we came out of the hotel, I saw an ice-cream vendor, and thought it would be nice for Chloe to try our locally made ice-cream and to eat it ala Singapore style..... holding the ice-cream by the ice-cream biscuits on both sides of the ice-cream and licking the cool cream. However, I was surprised when the ice-cream vendor wanted to charge us $2/- for a piece of ice-cream. I told him I usually paid $1/- for a piece.... and he shook his head in protest..... claiming that it was a big piece and hence cost $2/-. When he took out the ice-cream, I saw that it was like the normal ones I had purchased from the ice-cream vendor near my office at Park Mall. I decided not to buy the ice-cream from him and to my shock, he became angry and banged the wooden cutting board and the cover of his ice box.

I wonder at the ice-cream vendor's dishonesty. Did he think we were tourists and hence wanted to fleece us.? How many tourists had he fleeced already? Or did he think we were wealthy Singaporeans who could patronise a six star hotel and hence would not mind paying $1/- more for the ice-cream.? Or did he take security in the knowledge that even if the tourists eventually realised they had been fleeced, they would not bother to complain as it was only a dollar more?

In contrast, I think of the cheerful ice-cream vendor near my office. He is an elderly man, and you can detect an aura of pride and contentment on his weather-beaten face. Perhaps I should ask the young ice-cream vendor to get some training from the elderly vendor.

Every year, the Tourist Promotion Board tries hard to promote and increase the number of tourists in our country. It is people in the likes of the young ice-cream vendor who would tarnish the reputation of Singapore.....as a nation of diligent, honest and law-abiding citizens.

Gan Chau