One might think that a reference to 'umbrellas' would involve the subject of 'rain'. Well in Singapura that is a yes and no kind of answer. Umbrellas are just one of those things that you don't leave home without, because here you truly never know what kind of weather is apt to occur through the course of the day. You can be walking out the door with scarcely a cloud in sight and yet you get on the train, an hour later depart to a rain shower.
Of course the most obvious reason to carry an umbrella here is not the infrequency of rain (which can range from a drop here a drop there, a slight drizzle, a light rain, a cloud burst, a downpour to the monsoon we now have 3 feet of water streaming through the gutters). I don't know why you think an umbrella would be necessary for those things; it is the sunshine that you most want to protect yourself from.
A day of sunshine can warrant as many umbrellas out as the day when it is raining so hard you can't see 3 feet in front of you (of course on those kind of days you don't use the umbrella because the wind is blowing so hard that it turns your umbrella inside out and is causing the rain to be horizontal element of nature rather than a vertical and therefore umbrella or not you get wet).
While not directly related to why people use umbrellas on sunshine days, however I have made the correlation to this issue; is that Asians prefer to lighten their skin tone. Yes, if you traverse the globe you will find not only are you on the opposite side of the globe from which you began, but the inverse has occurred in the lotions that appear on grocery store/pharmacy shelves. Rather than there being a myriad of products that help you bronze your skin (so we are talking more than just sun tan lotion), in Asia you have products that "whiten" your skin (that is what it says on the bottles... "for whiter skin"). Granted they do have a moderate share of suntan lotions, but you have to search for those and they are usually on a bottom shelf in an obscure area of the department. It is the lotions with 'skin whiteners' that are eye level, on the end aisle for immediate attention. Asians view darker skin tone as that of being a lower class citizen (the "coolies" that migrated here from other Asian countries to do the menial jobs the upper crust would not consider; or to make a better life for their families - these were the individuals from Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos who were uneducated and could almost be considered slave labor); the lighter your skin thus has become an indication of wealth.
Are you scratching your head yet. While recent studies have shown that the beloved 'suntan' can actually be a detriment to ones health - the western world thrives on having the tan. To us the tan is that 'healthy' glow we strive to obtain, and if you appear healthy, then that sends a message. So in combination of using 'skin whitening lotion' (which of course runs the gambit in price and effectiveness just like our beloved skin bronzing lotions do in the United States) they carry umbrellas.
When it is the 'umbrella' for the sake of keeping the sun off, then we aren't talking the pocket umbrellas that compact down so that they will fit in your backpack or purse; the ones that have a diameter of about 18 inches and can barely keep the rain off one person, much less a mother with one, two or more small kids with her; the umbrella that can revert to a piece of abstract art with the first gust of wind. No we are talking the full monty, the large umbrellas that can double as walking sticks; umbrellas that can fit a family of 6 (okay, 4) underneath; umbrellas that when unfurled make it difficult for two people to pass each other on the sidewalk without one person having to step off the sidewalk.
Of course you have all kinds of umbrellas. Solid colored, patterned (Hello Kitty is very popular here - but young girls, older girls, women and even an occasional older man (for reason I won't begin to fathom other than it is an umbrella and he needed one)), artistic designed, theme, and the ever popular mylar coated. Why the mylar, well they no only shade you (when the umbrella is open of course) but they reflect the sun, thereby making it cooler (5-10 degrees) under that umbrella.
Umbrellas and bottles of water are a necessity here in Singapore on any given day. As I prepare to venture out into the city I wonder....
What kind of Umbrella is today?
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