Saturday, September 23, 2006

Needs Vs. Wants- Travel spending

I love travel. It is one of the things that really floats my boat. The ability to go to places and visit with people. The ability to see new things, meet new people, explore my world.

What I can't stand is the desire that I feel everytime to spend. When I was a backpack traveler, the desire to spend was not even there. If I bought a dress, it was handmade of batik fabric and cost 4 dollars. I wore the dress the rest of the trip. When I travel now for work, I find that the trinkets, the crap, the junk seems to be more attractive. I buy magazines at the newstand, I buy books (and while they are great reads) I don't need them.

I am traveling with the rest of the my co-workers and the shopping has been relentless. Every spare minute, they are off in the markets-shopping for stuff they don't need or really even want if they sat down and thought about it.

Declan and Kiera wanted a gift, so rather than more junk, I bought Declan and Chinese Kite and Kiera a wooden puzzle. I am going to the Dirt Market today, a famous Beijing Antique market- I am actually excited about this because I don't need anything. I want to see the antiques, dig through the stacks of stuff, all sold as a second hand flea market. And, should I buy something it is because I recognize that I want it.

More on Monday about a great sustainable tourist site I was at here in Beijing.

1 comment:

venitha said...

Thanks for the Beijing tips! And good luck resisting all the shopping. I can't understand the desire that everyone has to buy so much crap either. I usually concentrate on gifts for my nieces and nephews (who's got a birthday coming up?) and something that'll work as a xmas tree ornament. Of course, lighting is surely going to strike as soon as I hang all these Buddhist things on my xmas tree...

 
Who links to me?