I was enjoying a nude stroll along a completely deserted beach that is about 20kms long, and as I was heading back to my stuff, I found myself face to face with a youngish fisherman (I could tell he was a fisherman from the net he had over his shoulder). He just appeared out of nowhere! Talk about shocked! I would've had to have changed my underwear, but fortunately I wasn't wearing any!
That moment, where we stood about 10 meters apart, seemed to last ages, I thought of so many different things I could do in that space of time, of what must have been only a second or two: 'run!' freeze, cover myself with my hands, act like nothing has happened, start making strange noises in the hope that this guy thinks I'm crazy, pretend to be a palm tree, etc. In the end I chose to act like nothing had happened, pretty difficult really when I was physically shaking! I'd better explain that this area I was in is a mostly Muslim
area, and I had no idea at that time how any local would react to seeing a naked white-man on a beach there.
The fisherman broke the ice by smiling. Thank goodness! I greeted him in the local language, which further broke any remaining ice and we ended up having a chat and a cigarette together. He wasn't worried about me being naked in the least.
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11:53 am Saturday, 18th May, 2013
I often strip off in my garden here in Japan but as it's surrounded by woods and a tall hedge there's usually no problem. Occasionally, though, local hunters and trappers come crashing through the undergrowth in search of game. So far I've managed to avoid getting shot. |
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12:37 pm Saturday, 18th May, 2013
Are people accepting and tolerant of nudity in Japan? I guess they would be more so than people here in Thailand, seeing as the Japanese only wear their birthday suits to the public baths and hot springs... |
