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Brides For Sale (Part 1) This blog of mine was inspired by a question from ‘shygoodgirl1986’, ‘Mail order grooms and brides’. It immediately springs to mind on an article in a local Chinese magazine called Feminine that I had once read. On the other side of the globe, there is a different way of ‘Mail Order Brides’. A more specific description but degrading, without euphemism called ‘Brides For Sale’. There are agents in Malaysia and in Singapore, doing the matchmaking businesses by introducing Vietnamese women for Malaysian and Singaporean men looking for wives, in form of packages. These men, the are looking for and ‘buying’ brides from Vietnam for a variety of reasons. The pioneering idea of this lucrative business came from Singapore, due to Singaporean men having difficulties to find partners in their own country. This issue has become infamous long ago. But buying brides in poorer countries isn't. The magazine elaborated the matchmaking thoroughly, with many pictures as evidences. An amazing real story. The magazine article subject was a Chinese Malaysian old bachelor, Mr. Chuin. Mr. Chuin was 73 years old, a wealthy businessman who owned 2 manufacturing Chinese sausage factories. Mr. Chuin was generous enough to let the team of the magazine reporter to follow him, along with the matchmaking agent and team to the journey, adventure to search and ‘buy’ a wife in Vietnam. I'm making things easier ‒ I classify the entire process that took place according to the dates of days the agent and team and the reporters were there. Also, I’ve divided this blog into two, also for easier reading and enable to post another picture. The matchmaking agent, a husband and wife team, were Malaysians. The were Malaysian men looking for Vietname women, to BUY them to be their wives. The agents offered packages. A package was expensive ‒ about RM 20, 000 (U$ 5, 291) to RM 40, 000 (U$ 10, 582). The package? In both Western and Eastern styles. The traditional wedding ceremony would done according to the essential ‘sam shue luk lai’ or ‘3 books 6 customs’. There would be a roasted pig, ‘lung fung juk’ or ‘dragon-phoenix candles’, ‘lung fung pau’ or ‘dragon-phoenix bed sheet’ in the bridal chamber (hotel room), Chinese wedding cakes, flowers, fruits and vegetables. Gifts were offered, covered with red clothes, also for auspicious reasons and all other miscellaneous. There would be wedding photography too. The grand wedding banquet would be taken place in the hotel, where there would be cutting string of ties, cutting the layers of (Western) cakes, pouring the Champaign on rows of glasses and exchanging drinks. Both the bride and bridegroom wore Western style suit and white wedding gown. The procedure? No brides’ pictures to be previewed. (But some matchmaking agents do now). Instead of that, the process itself was degrading. The would fly to Vietnam, seeing and choosing their ideal brides on the spot. Who were the ? They were old bachelors/divorcees/widowers like Mr. Chuin, or the handicapped ones, or those who still bachelors that have reached or passed their marriageable ages, usually urged by their parents. And the pathetic case, the men were gays unknown by their parents. So their parents would do the choosing, since their sons were still singles and shied away from women. Their professions? From lowly taxi drivers to hawkers to professionals to rich businessmen like Mr. Chiun. On 8th April 2004. First day. When reaching Ho Chi Minh airport, the agent and team and the reporters of the magazine were welcomed by the related people there. They were then settled down in a hotel lounge. The agent told Mr. Chuin that there were 200 to 300 women there awaiting for him to choose and BUY! Next, the most crucial moment, also a horribly DEMEANING one ‒ choosing the-bride-to-be. They called it ‘thai fo’ or ‘see the products’. The young women, from legal age of 18 to mid 20s and not any older, did the ‘catwalk’. Every minute, 2 to 4 ‘participants’, mostly wearing their beautiful traditional dresses, ‘ao dai’ would parade in front of Mr.Chuin and others, like a beauty pageant. Those they found undesirable or unpleasant would be WAVED AWAY and ASKED TO LEAVE. But those they seemed to fancy would be asked to stay back and had a chat, introducing each others. But those were not the final decisions. In a short time, after about 10 participants paraded in front of Mr. Chuin, he quickly chose a young woman age 19, with very fair, smooth skin, ample body, and only wore a red T-shirt and jeans. Mr. Chuin insisted that he saw her smiling at him when the group of women stepped down from another van at the same time they arrived at the hotel. So, Mr.Chuin had found his bride! The bride or the woman chosen by Mr. Chiun was Ms. Chao Chou, aged 19, living in a village far, far away from Ho Chin Minh city. But Mr. Chuin liked ample bodied women. They clicked by love at the first sight. So the rest of women there awaiting to do the catwalk had to return. At the same time, in the same hotel lounge there was another group of people from Singapore, in which a man in his 40s also looking for ‘a bride to buy’. His agent and team accompanied him. He had seen about 200 Vietnamese women who did the catwalk, but had not chosen one! (How arrogant!). Then Ms. Chao called back home the good news. Nvm the groom was very old, but she was chosen from hundreds of girls! Mr. Chuin adored her to no end, they held hands as they proceeded to the restaurant. What a fast struck of cupid! They were very romantic, and having a translator to enable them to communicate. During the meal, Mr. Chuin was feeding Ms. Chao, and Ms. Chao reciprocated! The agent team and reporters envied them! And Mr. Chuin said, ‘Whoa, the more I look at her, the more beautiful she is! What a smooth, fair skin she has!’. Ms. Chao had become Mr. Chuin’s ‘sam kon pou pui’, or direct translation, ‘heart and lungs babe’. Mr. Chuin could only slept with Ms. Chao after 3 days, or on the 4th day, after all the marital documents were done and they were legally married. So, after a tired day, they slept in different hotel rooms. On 9th April 2004. Second day. In the next morning, they had breakfast together and Mr. Chuin said he couldn’t sleep well due to excitement. Then Mr. Chuin related to the reporters that there were actually many local women after him, but all of them interested in his wealth. Thus, they were a turn off. Then, the agent’s Vietnamese business associate, Ah Yung told Mr. Chuin something awkward (and absurd). Ah Yung said Ms. Chao had earlier examined by a doctor, to confirm her virginity! There was even a certificate for that! Ah Yung shown it to Mr. Chao. Ah Yung added (more ludicrous) that the doctor said Ms. Chao’s was very small. It couldn’t be forced, or she’d be in pain! Next, Mr. Chuin brought Ms Chao and the team to the goldsmith shop. Ms. Chao became a subject of envy again. Mr. Chuin generously spent about RM 10, 000 (U$ 2,645) worth of gold accessories for Ms. Chao! And next, when Ms. Chao said that she didn’t have a good set of lingerie, Mr. Chuin immediately brought her to the lingerie shop and chosen a matching bright red color bra and pant*es! Picture ‒ Mr. Chuin and his new Vietnamese bride, Ms. Chao in Western style wedding suit and gown. PA 
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