Marriage

I often sit in front of my hotel and chat with the tuk tuk drivers. It's a great neighborhood feel. I wish my neighborhood were more like that! Many of them are not married, because they can't afford it. They don't really date here. If they want to marry someone, you ask to meet their parents. Then, you arrange to pay them a large sum of money. Girls in the city that are beautiful and have white skin (lighter anyway!) cost around $3,000. Girls in the country are cheaper. They are not so beautiful and their skin is not white (it's darker). They cost around $700 or so. The tuk tuk drivers just can't afford that. Families can arrange a marriage. When this happens, the families pay the price for the bride. This usually happens in the country side. Some of the tuk tuk drivers I talked to said their family doesn't want to arrange a marriage, because their families can't afford it. So, the tuk tuk driver has to save up the money and pay for the bride themselves. If a family arranges a marriage, the young man meets the bride to see if he approves. If he does, he meets the parents and the arrangements are made. Sometimes, they will know the bride if they grew up and live in a village in the country side. The tuk tuk driver I talked to hadn't ever met the bride before, because he had come in to the city to work. Typically, after a couple gets married, they live with the bride's family. This tuk tuk driver, and many I have talked to, do not live with the bride's family because they had to move in to the city to work. It's interesting learning about their lives. They are surprised when I tell them in the US, you just find someone you want to marry and you marry them. You don't have to pay for them. I guess each system has it's pros and cons. I asked about divorce, but nobody seems to understand what I am talking about