Swimming in full attire

I promise this will be my last entry on my PD trip last weekend. Two weeks from now, I shall be writing about the sun and surf after my weekend at Redang Island.

This subject is one of my pet grouse actually. I have pics but then again, like I said, I can't load them as they are in my notebook and the wireless is busted. I am using a public pc.

You know, I find it totally utterly incredibly DISGUSTING when people disregard the rules when they take a dip in the hotel pool. The rules say 'Proper Swimming Attire Must Be Worn' and what do we have? Grown-ups who should know better about hygiene taking a dip, fully attired! T-shirts (you can even see the bra beneath the T in ladies), shorts (usually bermudas or football pants, head scarves...blah blah blah!

Don't get me wrong, I am not targetting any particular race. In fact, on that day, people of all races were happily dipping in the pool with their complete wardrobe. It's like an IKEA sleep-in or something.

I found it a total turn off. At least the pool management had the decency to forbid these people from crossing over from the kiddie pool to the adult pool; but, the water still flowed from the former pool to the latter across a barrier. Ugh! Gross, to think I was swimming in muck. And my kid was swallowing the same water by the mouthfuls.

I think it's terribly unhygienic. I mean, what if the clothes have not been washed for, like, ages? What if there were sores (or bodily discharge) from any number of anatomical cavities? I am not saying it's more hygienic if one strips down to a two piece or a pair of trunks; but rules are rules and chances of hiding a sore is minimal.

I can think of a few reasons why people disregard the rules:

1. It's purely religious. Religion says one should not expose certain areas of their body. I have no quarrels with that. But there are many types of swim suits out there that don't make one look like Bo Derek coming out of the sea (or Halle Berry or Martin Lawrence, depending on which version you like). I have female muslim colleagues who took the trouble to buy decent suits that cover their entire body. I appreciate that. I think that's considerate and it's also modest.

2. They have low self-esteem. They feel that they are ugly, over weight or unsightly. I believe that 99% of the people in this world are pretty ordinary with average looks. The remainder 1% works either for the entertainment, cosmetic or the media industry. Look, it’s not a beauty pageant at the pool and a pool full of happy shouting kids isn’t exactly the best spot to pick a date. Rules are rules. I have a friend who refused to swim because he is fat and because he refused to swim (or exercise) he is fat. What a vicious cycle.

3. The rest of the people basically don’t care. Says a lot about our Malaysian mentality right?

I remember an encounter with 2 women of Middle East descent at a hotel pool in Kuantan last year when I was holidaying there. Not unexpectedly they were dressed in their customary clothes, exposing only the face, hands and feet. I was in the pool with my kid. My fellow female muslim colleague was swimming nearby with her 2 kids, all properly attired and modest.

They were mother and daughter. The latter, in her early 20s, gingerly walked to the edge of the pool and sat down at the steps, dipping only her delicate toes in the water. After a while, ever so slowly as to be almost imperceptible, she began the slow descent in the water, step by step; first the ankles, then the knees, then the thighs and lo and behold, before you can mutter “abracadabra” she was swimming laps in the pool, fully Arabian-ly attired! All these while I was watching her nearby and was fuming mad.

As she paused to take a breather from her Olympian laps, I casually mentioned to her and her mum that the hotel rules state that she ought to be properly attired and also SHOWER before entering the pool.

Mother and daughter immediately took offense at my words. They launched into this heated conversation, voices rising in crescendo to cacophonic proportions and obviously dripping with vitriol; all the while throwing glares of death my way.

Reluctantly the now soaked little mermaid got out of the pool and stormed off. Just before the mother follow suit, she glared at me one final time and hissed “You happy now?” to which I replied “Yes, very, thank you!” ( I could not hiss as well as she did).

Truth be told, I was far from happy. In fact, I felt sad and sour. I think the world would be a more pleasant place if people would just take the trouble to follow simple rules.