BE A TRAVELER

Souvenirs are for tourists. Don’t be a tourist, be a traveler.
–Anthony Bourdain-

Oh, I can’t wait to watch Anthony Bourdain: No Reservation on Astro: Discovery: Travel and Living – the food and the drinks, the atmosphere of the places he visited, the impromptu remarks he would make etc. There are many travel shows on the TV nowadays, but so far, I guess I like Globe Trekker the best. Somehow, my chances of watching them are quite slim because – yeah – Wah Lai Toi rules in my house.

No reservation? I did it once when I went to Perhentian Islands and it was a harrowing, yet exciting experience. I find it hard to do this if you travel with paranoid friends. What if this? What if that? It is usually cumbersome if you were to travel to a country in which the natives do not speak English. So far – I had only been to countries; which understand English, Mandarin and Malay. It helps if you know some Chinese dialects if you were to travel to the Southern parts of Thailand.

I totally admire people who could travel alone. Or some friends who would just pack-up and buy a plane ticket to nowhere, spontaneously. Just like that. There is one peculiar friend, who actually never do any homework at all and went to Northern Vietnam during winter in her baby tee and shorts. Gullible Dimple (Yes – the girl who doesn’t know the way to her own home and blamed me). But like the Cantonese saying – “Sor Yan Yao Sor Fook” – “Silly people just have luck”. I hope she ends up safe and fine; wherever she goes. She is now working in New York.

Anyway, I don’t think I will be a traveler since I dare not travel alone. I will forever be a tourist. Ha ha.

Being a tourist – I sometimes buy souvenirs. I normally spend my money on food, beer and clothes or accessories for my sister. But my fascination for magnets all started a year ago – when Ann requested me to get her one whenever I go traveling. My brother – being the more extensive traveler due to his work, would get me some whenever he travels. Party Girl – who also travels extensively, is also generous enough to get me magnets from the places that she had gone to, and she really has the eye for a nice magnet – you should check out her fridge!

So far, my collection is quite minimal. But I doubt I would collect more, as I don’t think my fridge would be able to fit in everything! Sometimes, I do find souvenirs a nuisance. You just don’t know what to do with them. Especially key chains – oh gawd! How many key chains do I need?? Or those little handcrafted stuffs, which are good to look at, but they would be tucked away at some corner to gather enough dust till they are ready to be dumped into rubbish bin. Most things you got from all over the world is stamped with “Made in China”. Ha ha! I am not surprised. A friend gotten me a nice leather coin purse from London – but the wallet is made in Sri Lanka. Ha ha ha!

I find, other than food, fridge magnets are quite practical and it comes in handy as a place to hang all your post-it-notes for your family – I have a big family. But if you have children at home, magnets are a big no no. They would somehow use them as their playthings and you ended up with many broken ones. I had to resort to keeping all my magnets in my drawer till my mother no longer baby sits the two monsters! Or put them up again, when the two are old enough to understand magnets are not playthings.

So far, these are my favorites souvenirs:-

A magnet from Manila from Takeshi (I have to like it coz he spent a few friggin’ hours looking for it, and shopping was not his forte), Southpark key chain from Eugene (UK) which I’ve been using for 8 years now – I didn’t know Cartman was gone till I took this pic! A mask magnet from Italy given by Party Girl, 10 cats – given by Cynthia, Chubby and WY, Road sign magnet from Hong Kong given by Ann, and of course, Mount Fuji magnet and little Japanese dolls from my brother.

I like this one which I gotten for myself from Cha-tuk-Cha in Bangkok. A carving of an Indian Goddess in clay (a magnet in the size of a palm).

So I guess I won’t buy much things in my coming trips. Bali trip was a splurge. I was crazy. Hahaha. I blew a few hundreds on chocolates alone.

Thank goodness for digital cameras. I think it is a better idea to go to a place and take nice pictures as remembrance as pictures paint a thousand words. Whenever I go places; I would usually sample their local food (even if it means cirit birit), immerse myself in the atmosphere of merry making, trying to blend into the everyday life of a fellow native and snap pictures like a mad woman. These are the things I look forward most, in every trip.