Thread by @twinsighter

After five years as a copywriter at the beginning of my #advertising career, I switched to planning, thanks mostly to some classes I took at UW-Madison in anthropology, sociology and psychology, after which I realized that you can actually be paid for people watching. 1/

My favorite site for people watching on a regular basis is the Delhi Metro that I ride as much as I can for my work commute. I’ve had fun people watching all over the world, but one place that gave me some good guiding principles for the activity was Maastricht. 2/

Located in a southwest corner of the Netherlands and abutting Belgium and Germany, this university town has a lot of charming nooks and corners. It also underscores a few characteristically Dutch traits while providing a great vantage point for people watching. 3/

Firstly, the distinctive Dutch take on form and function, as defined by the…bicycle.
In Delhi, the standing instruction on fashion is form before function. Aunties and South Delhi girls will agree to Guantanamo Bay-level plying before subsuming function at the altar of form. 4/

The Dutch, on the other hand, seem to have found the Holy Grail that marries style and substance, and they don’t even seem like the sorts who will zealously guard and refrain from sharing it with the rest of the world. 5/

The thing about riding a cycle is that your feet only make contact with the pedal, not the pavement. Which means that you don’t need to bother with any gobbledygook from the cobblers-turned-warrior-creators masquerading as shoe companies. 6/

Function comes from the bikes, designed mostly for upright riding, at leisurely paces. Comfortable saddles, roomy saddlebags, and where kids need to be ferried, additional seats in front or behind the rider are easily tagged on. This leaves the rider(s) to dress for form. 7/

Substance having been taken care, style is paid attention to. And here, the Dutch wear what they’re comfortable with, including, sometimes, a three-piece suit. Arriving at a fine dining destination in your soiree suit is de rigeur for svelte misses. On a bicycle, of course. 8/

But back to people watching.

The Markt is the city's public square with the imposing City Hall at its centre. Off on one side of the Markt is a nondescript cafe called Bazaar Tea & Coffee that serves as an excellent vantage point to eavesdrop / be a voyeur. 9/

There's that guy with the 3-day-old stubble that matches the unsavoriness of his clothing, picked up from last week’s flea market. He has a never-ending cup of strong black coffee and an unlit cigar that he chews on. If I didn’t know better, he was probably watching me. 10/

You can also tell the tourist from the local in the way a canine visitor to a new neck of the woods differs from native canine. The former will circle the woods, examine the pros and cons of undergrowth and diagnose territorial rights from olfactory examination. 11/

The native will nonchalantly pay homage to those accustomed to his custom, indulge in some banter, and continue with life. He knows the durum kebab vendor is a better bet than the stew & sandwich counter without having to wander from one to another. 12/

One common predicament tourists face is in the search for a place to eat. they wander the square like so many headless chicken and then, half in relief, half to make up for their indecision, walk in to those universal antidotes to alien-ness, Burger King or McDonald’s. 13/

Oh, and that judgmental Indian aunty? She’s in the Markt too.

“Ay yai yai yai yai yai yai!” went this middle-aged Dutch woman at a compatriot who had clearly ‘enhanced her proportions.' Suffice it to say she would have no need to ‘nose ahead’ in a race. 14/

#InsightStories