There is one profound difference in culture that we have experienced on this trip that can be easily shown. The personal space we take for granted in the West is either not desired or not available here. This is a light day on the MRT.
Here is an example of the high-rise apartments that are commonly found here, this one is right outside our hotel window. We have seen both old and new, luxurious and run down in all neighborhoods around town. The ones in the picture are about 50 stories tall with approximately 10-20 apartments on each floor (just guessing). We understand that most are occupied by not couples but entire extended families so possibly 5 to 10 people in each apartment times approximately 10 towers in this set alone and you get an idea of the density of population.
Taking those into consideration it is not surprising that privacy is not something easily found. Take for example our hotel room, which is in a beautiful hotel (although not near the palace that the Shangri-La is) with a very zen-like design with simple lines and natural materials however WHAT IS UP WITH THE NON-EXISTENT BATHROOM? There is a glass toilet stall and a glass shower stall and they both dump out directly in the the bedroom. I know it's only my Western sensibilities that find this odd but it has taken some getting used to.
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