Spanish words on maps

 

Flag of Spain

Useful words in Mexico, Spain and South America.

Spanish - English

aguas - waters

casa - house

casita/caseta - little house, cottage

cortijo - farm estate

cuidad - city

espacio publico - public space

la - the

los - the (plural)

villa - house

English Spanish

city - cuidad

cottage - casita

farm estate - cortijo

house - casa/villa

public space - espacio publico

the - la, los (plural)

waters - aguas

Useful Websites

If you are buying or renting a property - check these definitions

https://taha.nl/en/blog-en/cortijo/

Useful Websites

https://www.spanish.academy/blog/list-of-spanish-words-a-z-beginner-spanish-for-kids-free-flashcards/

Please share links to my blog post

https://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com/2023/12/spanish-words-on-maps.html

Let's look at Colombia, the country which is the birthplace of Shakira, successful singer songwriter

The flag of Colombia.

Colombia is in South America and the language is Spanish. As you might guess, it is named after Christopher Coumbus. Colombia has several neighbouring countries.

Famous Landmarks - statues

Statue of Shakira with Guitar from 2028

Statue By Sculptor Fernando Botero

Statue of Shakira installed 2023

Other famous Colombians

Gabriel Garcia Marquez 1927- 2014 was awarded the Nobel prize for literature in 1982. His well known movels include Love in the time of cholera, based on the courtship of his mother by his father, despite her parets' opposition. 

Statues of him are in the capital, Bogota, and in  the gardens of Havana, Cuba.

Capital

Bogota.

Useful Websites

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Index_of_Colombia-related_articles

Wikivoyage Colombia

https://wineinternationalassociation.org/top-3-wineries-in-colombia/

Please share links to your favourite blog posts. 

HoReCa Welcome sign for FoodHotelAsia

 

Angela Lansbury at HoReCa at the Expo in Singapore for the hotel, restaurant and catering exhibition. 

The stands were displaying ovens, ice cream makers, moulds, cutlery, crockery, packaging, and ingredients such as milk, vegan products, chocolates. Countries with big displays included Asians such as Singapore, Vietnam, China, Korea as well as Europeans such as France, Spain and Italy.

This welcome sign was a favourite place for group photos and individuals to show that they were at the show. A souvenir. A reminder of dates.

My pose was with arms out, which is more welcoming.

Some handy Spanish Words In Argentina and South America, Mexico and Spain , for banks, silver and plates

The name Argentina sounds Spanish but actually comes from the Italian for silver or silver coloured. The Italian masculine is argentino. But Spanish is the language of Argentina. Let's go!

Even if you have never been to Argentina, you may recall the emotive song, Don't cry for me, Argentina, about the Argentinian heroine, Eva Peron. Spanish isn't only useful in Argentina. Spanish a handy language if you are ever going to Spain in Europe, and to popular Spanish islands such as Mallorca or Tenerife. 

You also find Spanish handy in Mexico and all over South America and central America. The exception is Brazil where they speak Portuguese, but understand Spanish, and when I was on holiday in the Portuguese speaking island of Madeira I could recognize and understand a huge number of street signs, shop names, and leaflets.

Spanish is a very handy language to know. It is one of the easiest languages to pick up if English is your first or second language. Large numbers of English words are derived from Latin, or romance languages. The same roots lead to the Spanish words. Add an a or an o and you have many Spanish equivalents. For example. Bank is the English.

For example, add an o to the English word bank, and you get the Spanish word Banco. That is easy to recognize in a street, on a website, or when speaking. But what if you say banca? That means banking.

What about plato and plata? Plato is a plate. 

But Plata is silver.

Un plato. Imagine asking for a plate in a shop. 

The assistant replies, 'Oh, a plate'. 'Un plato.'

However, imagine that you are looking for something more expensive, silver. 

'Ah!' she replies. Silver! 'Plata!'

Accents

The accents are not a hindrance but a help. They tell you which syllable should be pronounced more heavily. 

The squiggly line above the n tell you to pronounce it like ny. You probably already know the word 'mananya' meaning tomorrow. it sounds like 'man - yarn - a'.

English - Spanish

bank - Banco

banking - banca

beautiful - hermosa

capital - capital

capital city - ciudad capital (note that the adjective is after the noun in Spanish)

city - ciudad

a plate - un plato

plates - platos

silver - plata

silver jewellery - joyeria de plata

silver mine - mina de plata

silver plated - platado

a silver plate - un plato de plata

tennis - tenis

white - blanco (feminine blanca) (like blank)

Spanish - English

Banco - bank

banca - banking

blanca - white

capital - capital

ciudad - city

ciudad capital - capital city

hermosa - beautiful

joyeria de plata - silver jewellery

mina de plata - silver mine

plata - silver

platado - silver-plated

platos - plates

un plato - a plate

un plato de plato - a silver plate

tenis - tennis

Useful Websites

duolingo.com

translate.google.com

Uruguay - Your South American Seaside

 LANDMARKS & TOURIST ATTRACTIONS

Food[edit]

Uruguayan food culture comes mostly from the European cuisine culture. Most of the Uruguayan dishes are from Spain, France, Italy and Brazil, the result being immigration caused by past wars in Europe. Daily meals vary between meats, pasta of all types, rice, sweet desserts and other. Meat being the principal dish, due to Uruguay being one of the world's largest producers of quality meat.

Typical dishes include: "Asado uruguayo" (big grill or barbecue of all types of meat), roasted lamb, Chivito (sandwich containing thin grilled beef, lettuce, tomatoes, fried egg, ham, olives and others, and served with French fries), Milanesa (a kind of fried breaded beef), tortellini, spaghetti, gnocchi, ravioli, rice and vegetables.

One of the most consumed spreadables in Uruguay is Dulce de leche (a caramel confection from Latin America prepared by slowly heating sugar and milk). And the most typical sweet is Alfajor, which is a small cake, filled with Dulce de leche and covered with chocolate or meringue, it comes in various types, fillings, sizes and brands. Other typical desserts include the Pastafrola (a type of cake filled with quince jelly), Chajá (meringue, sponge cake, whipped cream and fruits, typically peaches and strawberries are added).

Mate (drink) is the most typical beverage in Uruguay, being a portable beverage that Uruguayans take to all manner of places.

Label Travel Photos while you are at home - for order, a travel book, or a family history book

Are all your photos labelled and captioned? I shall tell you why you should caption them. The day after my mother died, I sorted through a box of photos at my father's place for a photo to display on the dining table.


Who? What? Where? When? Why? My parents' wedding photo. Who? Netta and Albert. Where? London.

I wrote in small capital letters on the back margin: my mother's married name, her maiden name, and her date of birth, and date of death. That was in the year 2000. Now, in 2020, twenty years later, I have trouble remembering the date my mother was born and the date she died.

Those photo labels at the time were easy to write, when my father was alive. Which year did they get married? The date is in a book I self-published of my family history.

My father's box of photos mostly had no captions. He did not tell me much detail. He said about some of them, 'That was last year.' Others were labelled, that was 'France', or that was 'Venice'.

"Who were these people?" I asked my father.

"Those were our neighbours. ... A couple we met on holiday. ... Auntie Sarah." And so on.

When I finished, I went through the photos, again. I was able to add dates to places, and places to dates.

Sometimes I was able to pair up the pictures using landmarks. The picture of a church, 'I don't know where' was my father's comment on the background to a photo of my parents. In another picture I found a French signpost. France, Belgium, Switzerland or Canada or some French-speaking island?

Label Your Own Photos
When I left my father's flat and went home, I started the same exercise again with my own photos. I had tutted disapprovingly over the fact that my father had not labelled his own wedding photo. Of course, he knew it was himself and his wife and the year they married and where.

But my own photos of my wedding were not labelled! For the same reason.

At the time of my wedding to my husband, in the 1970s, both sets of parents shown in the group photos were alive. Now all four are gone. When I pass on, and the photos are passed on, my descendants will be trying to work out which woman was my mother and which was my husband's mother.

If you label your own photos with even only the most basic information, the name of the family members, the year, the country, that can trigger memories.

Why bother labelling the country? While you are all living in the same country, your country and your home town is obvious. Five years later, when you move house to another city, or go to work overseas, or emigrate, the identity of those old photos is less clear.

You might be able to check on dates with other sources such as who went where and when. A photo taken of South America has to be my husband's because I have not been there.
'Where?' I called.
He just told me, 'Argentina.'
'Which city?'
'Cordoba.'
Which year?
'1976. No 1978. I was invited to the World Cup of Soccer. I had written a paper on football attendance when I was a lecturer in statistics at Aberdeen university.'

I can check on the dates of the World Cup in Argentina to be sure which year.

But a photo of Mexico was my trip on a cruise ship in the Caribbean. My husband has never been to Mexico.

Signposts Opening Sets Of Photos
Nowadays I include the welcome sign as we drive into a city. I take a photo of the airport on arrival with the sign. I photograph signposts.

Romantic Road sign, Germany.

Self-captioning Photos
I often take self-captioning photos. I include the name of the hotel with a picture of the outside.

Why use labels?
When I worked for a photo agency, we were instructed to write on  labels and stick the photos on the back. Never write on the middle of the back of a photo, because the indentation of the pen or pencil would impact the front of the photo.

Now you can use your grouped photos for a blog on your travels, or a printed book.

Storage Systems
I visited the head of a photographic society in New Zealand. He had a simple dating system. He kept all photos in date order in numbered shoe boxes. January 1999 was followed by February 1999. To find photos of particular places, he used books of indexes. He kept one book in date order. The other was by country and City, alphabetically by country and within that alphabetically by city.

So his page on France, Paris, might have an entry: France, Paris, Notre Dame Cathedral, exterior, June 1999.
Another later entry would read: France, Paris, Notre Dame Cathedral, interior, altar, 2002.

He could use this system to pair up photos at different dates, his first photo of a place fifty years ago with the same place last year or this year.

Each photo had a number. It helps if you make notes of what you have photographed every evening on a trip.

Mystery Photo
I have a mystery photo of a wedding taken in what looks like a back garden in the East End of London. Was it from my mother's family, or from my aunty Pearl? If only they had written the bride's first name, I could have checked back in the family history and found the bride, the groom, and maybe many more people, and the location where they lived.

You could use a similar system with family photos. You can compile a family history.

I used a stock photo on the front of this book for the 90th birthday of my relative Pearl.

I prefer the family photo I used on this book of family history, which I wrote for my neighbours.

Alice and Loudon

About the Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. (Not related to the actress.) See books and profiles on Lulu.com and  Amazon, such as Wedding Speeches & Toasts, Quick Quotations, Who Said What When. Also watch videos on YouTube.

A quick way to learn Spanish for Mexico, Peru, South America, Central America and Spain

I was reading about Mexico on a BBC English language page when I saw a link to BBC news in Spanish. I followed the link and read some of the headlines and the opening lines of the stories. I was amazed how much I could understand from words which were similar to English.


Flag of Mexico

The flag of Mexico is similar at first glance to the flag of Peru, another country where Spanish is spoken. But flags have three stripes, red and white stripes and a symbol in the middle.

Look closer or keep them side by side and you will see that Mexico's flag is green white red. But, Peru's flag is red white red.

     

Flag of Mexico    

Flag of Peru

Look at the symbols.

Mexico's flat has an eagle eating a snake. The story goes that seeing that told the founder of Mexico city where to found the city. A handy reminder to me to watch out for snakes. I remember seeing snakes on the ground ahead on the steps of an archaeological site which was a trip when a cruise ship from the USA landed at the Mexican city and popular port of Cancun.

Going back to Wikipedia to check on Cancun, I was intrigued to read the its name Cancun is based on the word for snake:

There are two possible translations of Cancún, based on the Mayan pronunciation kaan kun. The first translation is "nest of snakes". The second version and less accepted is "place of the golden snake".^[

Returning to the BBC website I read:
Lo encontraron con 15 puñaladas en su celda, donde cumplía una condena de 13 años por tráfico de drogas. El exmilitar era considerado por las autoridades el nexo del Cartel de Sinaloa en el país.

I could easily see 13 years for trafficking of drugs, ex military (person) considered (by) authorities and Cartel.

Reading the news in Spanish was no effort. My automatic response was to check up on just one or two words in the three sentences which I did not know by using Google translate.

Finding Google Translate
Typing into google translate might bring up translation services which charge a lot of money to translate just one word.

Using the newspaper as your source of whole sentences has the advantage that you have a context.

Pinning Google Translate
I have pinned the symbol for google translate to the top of my screen, second left of my menu. That way I can find it fast.

How To Pin The Google Translate Symbol
To pin you right click on your mouse and when you do this up pops the multiple choice box f more actions.

Remembering How To Pin Google Translate
Click on pin and your favourite website is pinned or made semi-permanent on the left of all the sites currently opened or opened in the recent past. You could unpin it the same way. Right click. When the symbol is pinned, the choice offered is now unpin. If you change your mind, pin it again. If you want to remember how to pin, pin and unpin several times until the action is embedded in your memory and you can do it fast.

One of the words I checked on looked like peace but turned out to be country. Words which sound the same or look the same but are not are sometimes called 'false friends'.

You can then pin the Spanish news from the BBC, or any other new site, to have up to the minute news of your favourite country, or to follow a news story. A quick way to refresh your knowledge os Spanish, including technical and slang words.

Spanish - English
 años - years
celda - cell
con - with
de - of
donde -where
drogas - drugs
ellos - they (like the French elle for she and elles for they)
en - in
lo/Los/las - the (singular and plural, as in Los Angeles meaning the angels)
el país - the country (like the French, le pays)
paz - peace

English - Spanish
cell (in a prison) - celda
(the) country - el país
drugs - drogas
in - en
of - in
peace - paz
the (plural) - los (as in Los Angeles meaning the angels)
they - ellos
where - donde
with - con
years -  años 


Flag of Spain

You could also learn Spanish as spoken in Spain from a Spanish newspaper online.

Where You Can Use The Spanish Language
Countries where Spanish is spoken: Argentina, Bolivia, Balearic Islands (Majorca/Mallorca, Minorca, Ibiza, Formentera): Canary Islands: , Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Equatorial Guinea, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Spain, Tenerife, Uruguay, Venezuela,

Learn Portuguese, which is similar to Spanish, as spoken in Brazil from a Brazilian newspaper. My family and others on a holiday in Madeira could recognize words on signposts from holidays in Europe in Spain and Portugal. Spanish is also a help when learning Italian.

BBC news in Spanish
https://www.bbc.com/mundo/topics/

USA
Notice the Spanish names of the cities Los Angeles (The angels), San Francisco (Saint Francis) and El Paso (The pass).


Duolingo
duolingo.com


Memrise
Memrise.com


About The Author
Angela Lansbury is a travel writer and photographer, blogger, author of 20 books including an ebook on Improve Your English, from Amazon, and teacher of English and Business English and other languages to individuals, colleges and companies. For more information on learning languages see the previous posts. For information on sites to see in Spain and Portugal see the next post. Please bookmark your favourite posts and share the links with your family, friends and colleagues.

Statues to see for free in Botero Plaza, Medellin, Colombia, and in Spain

Colombia

COLOMBIA - FIND IT
Colombia - my first thought was where is it, I've hardly heard of it, and my second thought was why would I go there? I now have one good reason to go there, the wonderful Botero sculpture park by a major museum in Medellin.

 Also it turns out that the country is named after Christopher Columbus, not many adults have not heard of him,

 In my recent times, Colombia is the birthplace and home of well known Nobel prize winning author of One Hundred Years of Solitude. Marquez also wrote Love in the Time of Cholera about his courtship of his wife-to-be despite opposition from her parents.


Thought, bronze sculpture by sculptor Fernando Botero in Botero Park, Medellin, Colombia.

MARQUEZ - READ UP
I just had a thought. I shall briefly digress into the book, which is so well known and widely read, and can be read before you plan a trip to Columbia, or on the plane there, and then I shall come back to the sculptures.

Gabo" wearing a "sombrero vueltiao" hat, typical of the Colombian Caribbean region. Most of the stories by García Márquez revolve around the idiosyncrasy of this region.

The name Marquez probably rings a bell, two bells. It is also a name you might recognize from the news about two Spanish motorcycle riders, bothers world champions of MotorGP.


Wiki sums it up, the writer Marquez, succinctly:

Gabriel José de la Concordia García Márquez (American Spanish: [ɡaˈβɾjel ɣaɾˈsi.a ˈmaɾkes] (listen);6 March 1927 – 17 April 2014) was a Colombian novelist, short-story writer, screenwriter and journalist, known affectionately as Gabo [ˈɡaβo] or Gabito [ɡaˈβito] throughout Latin America. Considered one of the most significant authors of the 20th century and one of the best in the Spanish language, he was awarded ... the 1982 Nobel Prize in Literature.

WHERE AND WHY VISIT MEDELLIN?
Colombia, spelled with a double o, with your eyes look for it on the map of the world, cut out of the north west corner of South America. A free site to visit is the sculpture park, Botero Park, double o again, in front of the major museum in Medellin (double l and the letter e twice) where the sculptor Fernando Botero was born. I kept typing Ferdinand until I remembered the song Fernando's Hideaway, and realised that Fernando and Botero both end with o.

Medellin is the country's second largest city after the capital, Bogota, so you might make this a two centre trip. The big capital city has the expected population of around 12 million, offering more museum and visit opportunities, whilst the second city of Medellin is nearer 1 million, a more manageable size where you can quickly zoom in on your tourist target.


BOTERO AND BOTERO PARK
The bronze sculptures were donated by the sculptor Botero.



Botero's work is known all over the world. He also created sculptures displayed in the USA, in New York and Washington DC, in Paris, France, (he has lived in both countries) , as well as Armenia, Spain, Singapore and many more places.

Here's a handy list of what you will see if you go to Colombia, or what you can check out online.

Botero Sculptures in Spain


Woman with mirror, in Madrid, Spain, by Colombian-born sculptor Botero.


Cat, by sculptor Botero, in Barcelona, Spain.


Hand, by sculptor Botero, in Madrid, Spain.


Medellin is known for textiles and speak Spanish language schools.

LEARN SOME SPANISH QUICKLY
Finally, for fun, in Colombia the language you will find useful is Spanish. You could try learning some words from Memrise, which allows you to record your own memory aids and share them with other learners of the language. Duolingo, another free website good for starting a new language, offers multiple choice with pictures, and simple sentences.

Useful Websites
duolingo.com

memrise.com


TRAVEL HELP - SUGGESTED WEBSITES

Finally, the flag.

Flag of Colombia.

TRAVEL
https://wikitravel.org/en/Colombia
https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Angela Lansbury is a travel writer, photographer, researcher, author and speaker and teacher of English and other languages.

For handy Spanish For the Traveller see next post.
I have several popular posts on countries around the world including Spain, and learning Spanish. Please share links to your favourite posts.

A Warm Welcome In Chile

Problem
Chile is in South America, yes, most of us know that, but - ahem, what more do you know about it?
Looking at the map, the larger country of Argentina (don't cry for me) to the right or East takes up most of the other half of the tail of South America.

On Wikipedia you can click on the national anthm to the right of your screen and hear the jolly music played by what sounds like a brass band with cymbals, and watch the words about the country, including 'embroidered with flowers' and 'refuge from oppression'.

The country's name used to be spelled Chili, but, catch up folks, it's now Chile. The name has several possible origins, most of which are obscure and instantly forgotten. The memorable ones are that it was the word for snow in a local language, or the sound of a bird. Very visual and appropriate for a potential tourist.

Answers
First, where is it? Along the left hand side of South America. Long and thin, north to south. Snake shape country.

Who, what, when, where, why?

Who To Know About
Allende, (Salvador Allende) Marxist President in office for 40 years. Introduced many worthwhile reforms but nationalised copper industry, which failed, and suffered major inflation, finally a truckers' strike brought a crisis and Allende committed suiced (disputed) with a gun given to him by Castro of Cuba. His daughter was called Isabel and so was his second neice, the author Isabel Allende.


I started typing Isobel, found the correct seplling was Isabel, and now easily remember that with the mnemonic or memory aid: Isabel - She is a belle.
Isabel Allende, author of The House of the Spirits.


Chile has:
Allende family - President Salvador, and writer Isabel, whose novels use magical realism.
Andes mountain on the East, some snow-capped and reflected in lakes.
Authors
Democracy
Dictatorship
Nobel Prize winner Pablo Neruda

Pablo Neruda, Nobel Prize winner.

Pinochet (took over from Allende in mitary coup)
Speak Spanish. A chance to practise your Spanish, or plan to learn Spanish.
Wines!

What Next
Two well known Pacific islands controlled by Chile might interest you:
Easter Island with its weird statues of primitive looking people.

Robinson Crusoe Island where Alexander Selkirk was marooned, whose story was one of several which inspired the novel Robinson Crusoe, although the author set his story in the better known Caribbean.

(Come back for more later today or at the weekend.)
Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Please share links to your favourite posts.

South American Countries - How To Learn And Remember Them

Problem
How do I remember them? I started testing myself on Duolingo's Tinycards, but this was tedious as I did not yet know the countries. I thought, first I need a map.

Answers
I looked in Wikipedia for a map, and found one but it was just geographical contours.
However, Wikitravel provided the perfect map with good colours separating each country from the next.

Most of the countries speak Spanish as a first or second language, including Venezuela, a favourite for Americans from the USA, probably because it is nearest, being the furthest north (apart from a finger from Columbia on the left of Venezuela).

The two I could remember most easily were, Venezuela, on the Northern coast near American, and Brazil, the big one, on the right, which unlike the others, has Portuguese as a first language.

The countries, listed alphabetically, are :
Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, (British) Guyana, Suriname, Venezuela, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay. The mainland countries are fourteen, plus the islands: Eastern Island; Falkland Islands, sixteen.

I memorised some of them alphabetically going anti-clockwise.

B - Brazil
Brazil is the biggest. B for Brazil and b for biggest. If you need another reminder, the second letter or Brazil, is r for right.

A - Argentina
Also large is Argentina. Don't cry for me Argentina, as the song says, because I am also pretty big.

A-B-C - Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia
Swinging north from A to B, we have a conveniently alphabetical progression of Bolivia next to big Brazil, then anti-clockwise, the letter C for Colombia.

CO - O
 I keep typing the letter U but Colombia has the letter O twice.

ABC-E - Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador
No country starts with letter D. However, but the next letter is E, for Ecuador. The country's name, Eduador, means equator, which sounds similar to The Equator. You can see Eduador is bulging out to the west (apart from a finger coming up from larger Peru).

PC - Peru, Chile
Next down the coast is big Peru and long legs Chile. Think of PC, politically correct.

A-B-C Argentina, Bolivia, Chile
Or go anticlockwise from Argentina via Bolivia

P - O
P and O, like the P and O shipping company, Paraguay and Uruguay rhyme. Poor Paraguay is landlocked and doesn't have a beach. You and I will go to Uruguay (rhyme) first, because it has a beach, a coast, on the East.

Map of South America from Wikitravel.

Paddington Bear statue on Paddington station, London, England.

Useful Websites

Duolingo For learning Portuguese and Spanish.

www.duolingo.com

www.tinycards.duolingo.com

Language learning books and CDs from 

http://Amazon.com or 

http://Amazon.co.uk

Paddington Bear toy from

http://www.harrods (About £53)

http://www.johnlewis.com/clearance (About £13)

www.selfridges.com

Paddington Bear books such as A Bear Called Paddington by Michael Bond from

http://www.amazon.com

http://www.foyles.co.uk

http://www.waterstones.com

Film / Movie

Paddington bear trailer on youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nicz3pS-CQs

Author

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Next post will cover what to see in South America. Please bookmark and share links to your favourite posts. See my other posts on languages and destination on this blog and my other blog:

www.luxurytravelforless.co.uk

Buying Three piece outfits: UK, USA, Singapore, Asia, Africa, S America, translating dupatta

At the World Travel Market I saw lots of ladies in gorgeous three piece outfits with matching scarves.
Even mixtures of red and pink and yellow and green and gold seem to work if you have the colours linking each piece and a matching hat or even a fabric flower in your hair.Notice these outfits have a short skirt over a contrasting long skirt, and short sleeves. Little gold shoes peeping out.

Vibrant colours come from sunny countries where the flowers and even the birds are brightly coloured. Here's another lovely lady. Looking at the photo again, I see she has a large 'shawl' , a thigh length tunic, and knee length trousers which tighten in a contrasting cuff. Because she is wearing trousers, (pants one would say in the USA), she can wear heavy, practical walking shoes, in black, and when I met her and at first glance the photo I was not even aware of them.

I was looking on line for three piece outfits, skirt, blouse and scarf, when I came across some indian outfits. Here are the translation of the names:

dupatta - scarf

You can find the pronunciation of foreign words:
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/pronunciation/english/dupatta

UK
I found Indian outfits on sale in the UK in London at Northwick Park hospital. You also find them in Indian areas such as Southall and in ethnic shops in central London.

In Singapore you will find them in Little India and in the Mohammed Mustafa department store on the edge of Little India (one stop further north on the MRT) as well as in stores and supermarkets all over.

Malaysia
Malaysia has co-ordinated outfits with long skirts. Cheaper in Malaysian shops and stores and markets. Take a bus from Singapore. Or hire a car and drive across the bridge into Malaysia. Or shop in the suburbs of Singapore. Bargain in small shops, walk away and come back, or ask a local friend to buy for you.

Singapore
I bought caftans in Singapore at Tang's department store in one of their many sales. I was horrified to learn from a Singaporean Chinese friend that Singaporean women would only wear loose outfits such as my Malaysian caftan at home as housecoats. They wear fitted garments, mostly suits with pencil skirts, to the office. For years at meetings and on the train I had been wearing the equivalent of a dressing gown or night-dress! For several months, every time I looked at my caftan, I felt mortified.

But I also had some very elegant entirely silk caftans which I wore at home for entertaining. I got lots of compliments. (Well, I was the hostess.)

I gradually recovered my courage and thought: To hell with local customs and fashions. I set the style. If it suits me and my Western and oriental friends who have the same tastes as me compliment me on my clothes, that's good enough. Maybe I shall be a trend-setter and change the fashion.

India, Parkistan, Bangladesh
Other countries of course are India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Many African countries have national dress or local dress consisting of  a dress or skirt and matching top. Often instead of a shawl they have a piece of cloth worn wound around the hair like a turban.

If you make an expensive purchase, or several items, you might be given a matching scarf for free, or you could ask for one.

Men's outfits are similarly co-ordinated.

I noticed that in hot countries the local ladies even though they were shorter or plumper than Western women often looked elegant and slim. I think wearing either plain or co-ordinated colours with long skirts. Vertical patterns or patterns around the neck keep a pencil like profile.

Looking on eBay you can also buy two piece outfits in so called Thai silk, often a synthetic which is as pretty as real silk and as soft to wear.The skirts are wrap around so they fit most sizes if you buy a large one, which can always be pulled tighter and the bodice taken in. If you look carefully you can find a co-ordinating scarf to wear as a wide cummerbund or shawl.

Thailand and Singapore
They are much cheaper if you buy them in Thailand or Singapore, especially if you buy them from a market stall and bargain. (Easy to wrap around or hold them against you to try the size. Or take a tape measure with you.)

World Travel Market
At World Travel market I met lots of ladies who were wearing their national dress. I should have asked them where to buy budget clothes and best clothes in cor-ordinating patterns and fabrics.

Look at this lady looking gorgeous in her national costume from Colombia on the North West coast of South America. The turban adds to the height. From the shoes to the top of the head, the line is elongated, the colours co-ordinated.

Brides
Do check which colours are worn when and which outfits are worn where. All white, following the fashion set by Queen Victoria's daughter, is worn at weddings in the UK and worldwide. But Indians and Chinese brides often wear red for part or all of the day, so my outfit for a wedding in Singapore must not rival or outdo the bride's. White is also worn for funerals at some Asian events.

Mother of the bride
To find an elegant outfit in co-ordinating colours which is not too revealing, try searching for mother of the bride outfits. They are often sold new or second hand (vintage) with a matching hat or shoes or handbag.

The mother and mother in law of the bride may want to consult each other so they match by design, or do not default, and do not clash in photos with one in red and another in orange. They must decide whether they agree to look different, or agree to co-ordinate.

Made to measure
Made to measure clothes can be ordered in many countries such as Singapore, India and China. You can also order online from China, sending your measurements. See eBay. Warning. If you order online you cannot be sure the garment will fit and if it doesn't you might not be able to return it. Another option is to make it yourself or get one garment as cheaply as possible, then get it copied in other colours and better fabrics, either in your home country or when on holiday.


Fabrics
I find that some saris have beautiful gold or glittering brocade. But sometimes the brocade is scratchy.
I like to feel the fabric or look for the word soft. On the other hand, I buy reversible dresses in a rough, tough fabric. Just so long as you are aware of what you might be getting. I also like washable clothes because if they arrive creased I can hang them up to drip dry. Also when travelling it is handy to be able to drip dry to remove creases.

Internet terms which are useful in searches:

bag
balloon
batwing
belt
blouse
boho (short for bohemian, casual, gypsy look)
bolero
bride
bridal
brocade
caftan
calf-length
came / camisole
cardigan
Christmas outfit
clutch (small flat oblong evening / party handbag with short, small or no handle)
coat
coat dress
coat and hat
cocktail
co-ordinating
complete outfit
cruise
cuff
culottes
cummerbund (wide belt)
custom made
cutout /devore
diamond
dress and jacket
dress and top
dupatta
embroidered
ethnic
evening dress
fascinator (hairband or hair clip with flower, feather, lace or other flat or projecting headpiece
flute cuff
four piece
formal outfit
groom
gypsy
jacket
kilt
knee-length
lace
lagenlook (German for layered)
layered
leisure outfit
long dress
long skirt
long sleeve
matching
maxi
mother of the bride
occasions
one size fits most
outfit
overdress
p a l a t i o pants
pants
party
pashmina
prom
pure silk
raglan
satin
saree / sari
scarf
sequin
set
shawl
shirt and tie offer  / suit shirt and tie offer
silk
silk velvet
skirt suit
sparkle
special occasion
stretchy
suit (try suite - sometimes Asian sellers mis-spell words, but your search for suit or suite often brings up three piece suites of furniture so add the words women or ladies)
Sunday / Sunday best
tailored
Thai silk
three piece (again you are likely to get furniture, kids clothes as well)
trouser suit
trousers
tulip
twin set
two piece
turban
underdress
wedding  / guest outfit
waterfall

Warnings
Watch out for so-called gold which is merely a dark yellow. Gold and silver might be a really nice shine but a stiff metallic, non-stretchy finish on a tee-shirt.You might be happy with a scratchy surface if the garment has a lining or if you wear it over another item.

Indian outfits sometimes say, skirt needs to be sewn. They are sold that way sometimes so that you sew it to fit. Also it's cheaper.

Sometimes the scarf shown with an outfit is no longer available, is sold separately, or is in the photo to enhance the colour or effect. Check the specifications before you click on the buy now button, to be sure the scarf is included.

The most misleading ads I have seen are those where the colour is not the same as the picture.Sometimes the headline gives the colour. You click on the picture which is red and up comes the description, jade suit. Read the description carefully, or email the seller to confirm the colour. Other outfits are sold in several colours but when you click on the options you may find your favourite is out of stock. You can then look for another supplier, email asking for an update, or watch the page daily.

Some brand names and stores: Ann Balon, Anthony Sicari, Coterie, Jacques Vert, Gray and Osborne, Marks and Spencer, Debenhams, J D Williams, Frank Usher.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer, author, speaker.