Day 9: One bottle of water. Five smiles.

If I have already not made this clear before, am a huge fan of Starbucks. Am particularly fond of their Tazo Chai Tea Latte. Hence when I found out that Starbucks in Bangkok no longer sells this wonderful beverage, I was devastated. After a long, tiring day of consumer work, imagine running all the way to a Starbucks near the hotel in the hope of having that great cup of Chai only to be told that they don't sell it anymore. It's like one of the worst things that can happen to you.

Hence, the minute I landed in Singapore, I craved for Chai. So I went to the Starbucks at Terminal 2.

I was in the queue at the cashier with an Indian guy in front of me and an old Caucasian guy in front of him. The old Caucasian guy asked the barista for water. From his struggle to say "Water" you can kinda guess that English is not his forte. The barista gave him a bottle of water and asked for something like $2.50. The old man took out some 100 Thai Baht and gave it to the barista.

Barista: "Sorry sir, we don't accept Thai Baht. Do you have USD?

Old man simply blinks.

Barista (at half the speed, hoping it would help): "Siiiirr.... No Thai Baaaaht. USDdddd?"

Old Man (blinks): "Huh?" (sways the 100 Baht note in front of the Barista's face... he probably thought the barista had issues with his vision.)

Barista (pauses, considering the situation): "It's OK sir. You can have the water."

Old man sways the note even more vigourously.

Barista: "It's OK sir. No need money. This is on me."

Old Man: (suddenly understands it all): "Water.... take?"

Barista: "Yes. You can take."

Old man picks up the bottle, gives a faint nod of appreciation and leaves. Well, I definitely was wowed. I don't recall anyone giving away something on the menu for free like that at a coffee shop ever. I looked around expecting people to clap or something. None seemed to have noticed except for the Indian guy in front of me, who was smiling at the exchange. But he didn't say anything, and he definitely didn't clap.

Next was my turn and I couldn't help but talk to the Barista.
Me: "That was nice of you. About the water."

Barista (shrugs): "Well, it would have been hard to explain to him."

Me: "Still, it was a nice gesture."

The barista smiles. His colleague who overhears, smiles. The Indian guy smiles. I smile. And hopefully as he drank the water, the old man smiled.

991 more to go.