Are we that local?

There is a question often asked when traveling; where are you from? As we spend most of days outdoor, I am thoroughly tanned, disguising my identity as a thin, pale Japanese man. while in Mongolia, locals more than often came to me with their native tongue, and when I shake my head as I point at myself and say "Japon", they continue to speak in Mongolian as if to say I am lying. I tilt my head with an uncomprehending expression, they would then say "ahh, yakuza"... No one really believes where I am from here in China either, and popular assumption is often Korean and Mongolian. The most unusual was when I was called a Himalayan in Iceland.

Sahe is usually mistaken by Chinese locals that she is one of them, or Tiwanese. However, this misunderstanding is usually followed by "because your Chinese is excellent", so it's a good thing, unlike mine. In a town of Shan Shan we went to get a room in a motel turned out to be not available for a foreigner, the clerk told Sahe they have a room available but asked who the man standing next to her is. I guess I don't pass as one of them.