Tidewater Traveler - May 2011

 

A Tale of Two Piggies
by
George W. Sellers

 

Ever travel with a shopper? Ever been a shopper-traveler? It used to be that whenever I crossed the state line to venture out and see the world, I carried with me, like excess baggage, the self-imposed obligation to return from my junket with a memento for every child, grandchild, niece, nephew, neighbor and close friend. Much of the trip time would be absorbed with searching for the perfect gift for each member on the list. Yes, there was a list – not unlike a Christmas list. But over time I noticed that it was rare if the appreciation for all my hard-shopping efforts seemed to extend beyond the few seconds required to confer the gifts upon the recipients.
I tried to analyze the source of my inner drive to fill a small travel bag with trinkets and gadgets that would be ceremonially dispersed or displayed upon my return from faraway places. Was I bragging or boasting about my travel ventures? I went to San Francisco and you didn’t! At one point I wondered if the original source of the habit might have been ancient warring tribes who defeated enemy camps and returned home to exhibit the spoils of war.
Still wondering why I had the inclination for travel-shopping, I harkened back to childhood days to recall that my mom had a collection of colorful square ceramic trivets – one for each state visited - proudly displayed in the dining room. Each road trip included the hunt for a new trivet to represent the newly visited state. An aunt had two wooden racks on her living room wall nearly filled with tiny little spoons, each representing a state or special destination visited (or gifted). Notice, I said the racks were nearly full of spoons? That is because there was always room to add more. Of course this made travel-shopping easier. When the aunt traveled she would buy a spoon for herself and a trivet for Mom; and vice versa.
Stuckey became a millionaire by satisfying this need for the traveling public. Vendors (really just ordinary local folks) have set up temporary shop in every corner of the world to fulfill the desires of shopping travelers.
Betsy is a travel shopper, and she is a collector of pigs. Pig replicas of every size, shape, color and composition find their way into Betsy’s luggage each time she returns from a trip. Last time I escorted a group to China, Betsy was a member of the group. It became a daily matter of fascination and curiosity for other members of the group to see if Betsy could fit the quantity of souvenirs within her luggage space allotment. Amazingly and miraculously, she made it all fit every day; we wondered if perhaps she left behind some of her clothing or toiletry items to make space.
One day while on a Li River cruise, along a beautiful water route through the famous gumdrop hills of southern China east of the city of Guilin, I noticed about half a dozen ladies leaning over the starboard rail. Lots of gesturing and pointing drew my attention to a long, narrow wooden raft being pulled along by our cruiser. The raft was fashioned from four thick bamboo stalks lashed together with thin bamboo strips. A crude hook at the end of a rustic rope held the raft to the larger boat. Toward the front of the raft were two large plastic buckets filled with pale greenish rocks of various shapes. The lone barefoot occupant of the raft extended both hands upward, each displaying and offering a couple of faux jade sculptures.
The ladies leaning over the rail shouted over the noise of the boat engines and gestured toward the baskets of goodies. I discovered that the goal was to help Betsy find and purchase a jade pig – not real jade of course, but an adequate look alike.
The ladies shouted the words pig, hog, swine, boar and piggy over and over. The rafter went through his baskets and offered up mini-sculptures, trying to satisfy his potential customers, but never a pig. Finally a creative mind determined to shout “Oink, oink, oink!” His faces lit up, he dug a little deeper and cames up with two jade-like pig shapes. A moment later the pigs were in Betsy’s hands and the happy capitalist was drifting away to await the next cruise boat.
A few days later our mini-bus made a stop along a country road to visit a farm. It was a very primitive farm. We saw dirt floors, no electric appliances – no electric – crude tools, glassless windows. We met the mother and two small children, one strapped to her back in a canvas carrier. She proudly welcomed us into her home.
From the house and work buildings we proceeded down a dirt path into the fields. Along the path we soon met – face to face – four water buffalo being guided along by a young boy. The path was elevated a few feet above the fields. The rice fields were separate by a network of irrigation ditches. It was hot and it would be a long walk, so a couple of the ladies, less interested in agriculture, spotted a shade tree with a couple of stone benches and decided to wait while the rest of the group went on to see an operating waterwheel crafted totally from various bamboo shapes.
Picture the scene – a remote farm in rural China – out in the rice paddies – nothing else around for miles. Imagine the amazement and amusement of the group when we returned to the shade tree to find Betsy shopping. Yup – a couple of entrepreneurial farm ladies had appeared from somewhere to show their crafts. And Betsy was buying. I believe one of those styrofoam decorative balls had the ears and nose of a pig! Now that’s a serious travel-shopper!
I don’t begrudge Betsy her pigs, nor would I ever suggest that she part from her pursuit of purchasing pigs in places on the planet. I do not remember where I first saw it, but several years ago I encountered the phrase “Memories are the best souvenirs!” Soon afterward, I made the conscious decision to replace shopping with savoring and sharing the destinations I visit. Now when I travel, I try to take the time I would have used for shopping and use that time to meet and talk with people, striving to better appreciate the local experience. Sorry, I didn’t bring you anything this time!
May all of your travels be happy and safe!

George Sellers is a Certified Travel Counselor and Accredited Cruise Counselor who operates the popular travel website and travel planning service www.SellersTravel.com. His Facebook and e-mail addresses are George@SellersTravel.com.