Same, same but different.

I saw not one – not two – but three different guys wearing “SAME SAME/BUT DIFFERENT” t-shirts today.

When young Israelis finish the army, they collect whatever savings they have and venture off into the wilderness that Southeast Asia has to offer. One of their main stops is Thailand, where everything is cheap and shopping is plentiful. Looking for (somewhat) designer jeans? Brand-name (sorta) electronics?

“Same, same. But different.”

It’s the chant of the natives, and somewhere along the line it got printed on t-shirts and sold to tourists. My guess is that most of these tourists are Israeli. Not a week goes by that you don’t see one floating in the crowded streets around you. The front of the shirt reads, SAME SAME and the back proudly states, BUT DIFFERENT.

And veteran backpacker Israelis think this is so freakin’ clever.