People Watching

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Lusterine

Lusterine

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So, I'm sitting in the airport with some time to kill. I realize that this place is a prime location for one of my favorite hobbies- people watching.

So far I've encountered a super duper positive dude, an elderly couple who lost their passport before their international flight, and a some youth who cannot use chopsticks to move food from the plate to his mouth.

Of course, there's lots of interesting conversations all around.

Do you like people watching? If so, where your favorite places to watch? Any notable moments?
 
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Yep.
The Mall.

Ala Moana in Honolulu, Hawaii was fabulous. I used to work there and took the bus, so arrived quite early sometimes. So I'd just sit around and watch.
Plus it's a primo hangout spot anyway, so I was there often.

Anyway, tourists, locals, and homeless all meshing together, it's always pretty great. Especially if you seat yourself near the stores facing the parking garage haha.

There were the regulars:
- The androgynous "lesbian?" elderly couple, where one was dressed like Elvis.
- That one guy who always leads his dog around in a stroller, dog dressed up like a baby, every time.

Then there was:
- However the aisle stall people decided to hawk their wares that day.
- White tourists doing white touristy things.
- Asian tourists who can't speak English being extremely confused by American everything.
- The nonsense that happens at every Luau production in the crowd.
Endless.

My favorite moment though I wasn't actually people watching.
There's a Barnes & Noble that faces the parking garage and for Batman V Superman day, they called a cosplay group/troupe I was in. So we all show up in cosplay and make kids happy and stuff.
We all are taking group photos up front, and this random dude who I can only describe as "dressed exactly like a chimney sweeper (complete with chimney sweep)" hopped into our group and started pretending he was one of us. Unfortunately I didn't save any pics with that guy in it, but one of the managers threw him out later.
It was awkward as hell, but looking back on it now, also hilarious.

EDIT:
But since you mention airports.

I had a really long layover in Stockholm, and there was this guy going around taking some type of survey in Swedish, Finnish, and probably some other languages. I was watching him do it. Kind guy, whatever. Eventually he gets to me and tries to ask me to take the survey, I decline with a shake of my head. He tries another language, I say "Sorry, only english."

And he goes "ONLY English?" And gives me this judgmental stare. He shook his head in disgust and moved on to the next person for his survey. Px

Like I'M SORRY GUY GEEZ
Didn't mean to ruin your day!

In hindsight, it was probably because I was in a terminal that doesn't see many tourists (I was headed to Turku, Finland).
 
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OH. THE BEACH PARK.

Yeah, doublepost, I don't care.

Right next to Ala Moana Mall is the Ala Moana Beach Park. I guess that's technically in Waikiki, not Honolulu. But anyway.
I try to stay away from there but everyone always throws pot lucks on/near Magic Island so I ended up being there a lot if I ever wanted a social life.

ANYWAY

THAT ALSO HAPPENS TO BE A PRIMO SPOT FOR WEDDING PHOTOS

There and the bus ride to there, does looking out the window on a bus count as people watching? Because as soon as you enter HNL/Waiks, it's all people watching all the time for me.
But my favorite thing I guess is watching people take wedding photos. Because it always amazes me WHERE they do it.
In case you haven't been to Hawaii, Waikiki and Honolulu are honestly pretty trashy. There are way better beaches than Waikiki Beach, but all the Asians usually take their photos here anyway (or it seems like they do).

I went to Global Reddit Meetup Day (eyyy) and there were no less than 3 brides getting pics at the same time, adjacent to the Quiddich team practicing. Just amazingly outlandish imo.

But my most memorable uh memory
I was on a bus to go to my uni, and on the way there, there is a thrift store called "Rainbow Shop" (IIRC). It's right on the street and it has a wooden sign with a painted rainbow on it. It's a tiny sign and totally not memorable at all. Also it's in the slightly less-touristy part of town, so it's hella dirty.

So imagine my surprise when amidst the dirt and in between the homeless, there is a bright white Asian bride posing under the Rainbow sign, with a Tux-clad Photog snapping her pics.
I WAS AGHAST

THERE WERE SO MANY QUESTIONS

I wish I had been walking so I could stare at the whole thing for much longer, but alas, the bus drove right by and I only could gape for like 5 seconds.

TL;DR Hawaii is the #1 people watching hotspot of my life.
3 years of pure, unadulterated, people watching.
 
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I love to people watch. Some of the most fascinating happened at LAX and I'm afraid i spent a lot of time with my jaw on the floor while I waited for my son to pick me up. I mean I HOPE it wasn't literally hanging down but I know a few of the sights there had me doing a double take. One in particular was a very, very tall black man (When I say very tall I am referring to over 6'6") I wasn't standing but the two women who were on either side of him have on stiletto heels ans they were not either of them up to his shoulders. ANYWAY...height aside...he was wearing a neon yellow three piece suit with matching shoes. He looked like the sun and had two half naked blond girls clinging to him like solar flares. He was probably someone famous but I didn't recognize him. A few feet behind that trio though was a man with all black and a rainbow colored mohawk that had to be glued or something because it was really LONG. I remember wondering how long it took to get his hair like that and how long it took to wash it out. I am a wash and blow dry kind of hair person so anything that takes that much effort has me stupefied.

So yeah...I'm one.
 
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This is always interesting, and especially when you're just lounging about in a metropolitan, melting pot city. You just kinda slow down, while everything just passes by, and it's sort of this beautiful sensory overload. The 'all-praise New York' bit has been a bit cliche and trite for decades now but, wow, I love that place for people-watching. Off the top of my head, some of the more memorable things I've seen:
  • Some awkward melancholy looking guy giving homeless man like... what had to be at least $100 in bills, walking away, and then awkwardly shuffling back to ask for directions.
  • Harajuku (I... guess?) girls huddling in a trio slapping the shit out of each other for no discernible reason.
  • Guy gets tapped on the shoulder from behind by a friend who just noticed him on the street. Turns in a flash and enters some fucking wuxia kungfu stance. The way his face went from abject survival instinct to just sheer reunion-happiness was LIT.
 
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I don't really do this, but when I do...

- Once saw a guy highfive a stranger, who was going for a highfive with a friend. Very awkward.
- An old couple getting mushy at a restaurant.
- Kid walking into a glass door like an idiot.
- Middle-ageish dude getting lost in an Ikea and promptly getting redfaced and extremely upset. On the brink of tears upset.
- Pair of kids screaming bloody murder as the tides came in.
- Same kids then build a sandcastle and then punch it to destroy it.
- What had to be a 90 year old woman sunbathing nearly nude.

So, yeah. People watching.
 
I do it some times, I'm more likely to pay attention to people if they're walking a dog though.
There was one just yesterday where a man in extremely tight pants was walking an cute, pudgy little French bulldog who was just dying on the leash trying to play with their kid, who was walking alongside kicking up snow. I was wondering why they wouldn't let the dog, who was practically beside themselves trying to play with the kid, play. And then someone else came by and told the kid not to wander off and it turns out that it was totally not dog person's kid so that made a little more sense.
 
I watch people when I'm walking with my son in the park. It is also interesting to listen to fragments of other people's conversations
 
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