“I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move.” ~ Robert Louis Stevenson
Today I walked. Everywhere. Nowhere. Without purpose. A venture of the best kind.
I love going shopping without the intent to buy. Istanbul is full of alluring things, let me tell you. Stunning tea sets, exquisite jewellery, chic fabrics. What's more, they're all totally my style. In a former life, I'd want to buy it all. God only knows what will be discovered one day when a family member decides to clean out their spare closet. Where these boxes are and what they contain, I couldn't tell you.
Now, many years on, I'm happy just to admire these temptations. I'm not saying that buying souvenirs is inherently a waste of money or that I won't in fact buy any on this trip. It's just that I haven't so far in an entire year of travel, bar a scarf for mosques, and I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything.
Travelling frequently and in the nomadic style we often do, I've started perfecting the art of deciding between a need and a want. It's not only about the fact that if I buy it, I have to take full responsibility for carrying it everywhere we go. It's about those boxes in random family members' closets. The ones with the mystery contents. I can't tell you what's in them because they ultimately don't mean anything.
It's easy to feel like we need to commemorate every place we visit with physical things, as if we haven't really travelled to a place unless we acquire everything that is popular there and souvenirs for all our family and friends to show for it. Yet how quickly the impulse to have those items disappears when we are removed from the situation. Much of it ends up in one of those boxes, stuffed in the back of a closet somewhere. Maybe you'll find mine while you're at it. Please tell me what's in them. I'd really like to know what I was thinking.
So I've basically stopped buying random souvenirs for myself and other people, and I cannot tell you the freedom of walking through the Grand Bazaar with no list of people to buy for, or intention to buy anything. Then the joy of shopping actually returns for me. The looking at stuff because I want to. Discovering all the random things that I probably would have missed by being a woman on a mission with my list. I can stop where I like, when I like. There's time to high-five that shop owner who goes “up high” as you walk past and to have a laugh with the one who welcomes you with “Please let me sell you something you don't need.” I almost wanted to buy something from him just for saying that, yet he knows I'm on to his reverse-psychology tactics. He smirks.
So I walked and walked. Turning here or there. To anywhere that caught my eye. And it was nice. No stuff, no plans; it's liberating.
But I do have to admit something. You know the scarf I mentioned buying earlier? You could say that this was a practical purchase, and it was, but I also could have lived without it. The mosques here in Istanbul at least seem to provide head coverings for those who don't have one and if worse comes to worse, I do have a hoody jacket that I could use to cover my head.
But the fact is, I wanted to get a scarf. It serves a practical purpose (beyond just mosque visits) and makes said visits convenient, while it also does something to change up my look when I get tired of feeling like the eternal backpacker with my three outfits. The truth is, I really like this scarf. And while I'll never go back to the frenzied souvenir buying like before, sometimes it's OK just to get something because you want it. If you get use out of it, if it makes you smile, then by all means, get it.
Perhaps the line is not so clear between a need and want for me. Maybe I draw the line at purely ornamental and things that I cannot use or wear. I certainly don't need a brick in my backpack, but these little pieces of indulgence we afford ourselves that come from a place of genuine joy, we live for these feelings. It's the excess born out of some sense of societal expectation that I've learned to let go. Now I prefer to keep things simple, enjoy the things I do have, and to only gather what improves my quality of life as I see it.
And to just smile.
Do you like buying souvenirs on your travels? What's your take on travel shopping?
Excellent piece Jessica! I think I also prefer those “keepsakes” which you actually make us of, so practical things that are lightweight and don’t take up much space in the backpack.
As you said, freeing yourself from the urge to buy souvenirs can be incredibly liberating and one probably walks through a place or situation with more awareness and curiosity. We almost may find a few lovely things here and there and sometimes even without searching for them… :)
Thank you Oliver! I totally agree that we often find the best things when we are not even looking for them. :)
I enjoy shopping for souvenirs when I travel, especially handicrafts and local products. Not only do I get to relive the memories at home, but I feel like I’m helping to support the economy of the place I visited. But I don’t buy just to buy. I look for handmade items with personal meaning, and try to stick to one piece per trip. One of my favorites is a beautifully-carved wooden goddess head from Cambodia that we purchased at a museum store. I also purchase souvenirs for friends and family, but try to pick up things that would be of actual interest and use, such as handmade paper products in Laos for a friend who is into craft projects. And rather than give them right after the trip, I save them for Christmas presents.
A few special things is definitely the way to go, I think. The goddess head you got from Cambodia sounds stunning and if you still talk about it and love it, then that sounds like a good purchase to me!
You’re idea about saving souvenirs to use as gifts for special occasions is a really good one. You can check off gifts you would have purchased anyway and the receiver gets something more unique.
Thanks for sharing your perspective, Heather!
That scarf is gorgeous and a useful souvenir to have forever. I don’t ever buy anything when we travel really. Except for fridge magnets, a goofy travel tradition we started together years ago. I only did the family/friends souvenirs once in Hawaii and never did it again. I just knew as I was giving the gifts away that they were going in the back of a closet somewhere.
As you said, it is so much lovelier to window shop, to immerse yourself in the hustle and bustle of trade and to admire some goods and laugh at others.
Thanks, Britt! I do really like the scarf and have been using it like crazy.
Traditions are fun and fridge magnets are a good item because you can pretty much find them anywhere. Some people have some really cool “one item” traditions they pick up in each place they go, but sometimes I wonder how they can find them?! I’d probably end up spending the same amount of time I used to spend on shopping for my list on trying to find just that one thing! However, some people have some pretty cool collections, I must say, and one special thing is better than a million random purchases, for sure.
I’m still trying to figure this out, after almost 4 years here and there… I’ve never really bought anything for myself and regretted it the first year, having “only” those thousands of pictures to go through and make an album of…
I don’t want to buy stuff “because I have to, because I’m travelling and need to have something to remember each place by” but at the same time, I wonder… don’t I?
Usually, I send postcards to friends and family because I feel it’s more personal but I also try to buy them a little something from those beautiful places I’ve been at. And that comes down as a problem… what to choose, first? for whom? how to transport it for the rest of the trip? should I send it home? what about the postal services reliability (latest issue being one in Argentina where our 6kgs package was never registered in spite of a tracking number and we don’t know if it’ll ever make it back to France…)?
I’m still debating… the relevance of buying presents people won’t really use, the relevance of buying things we won’t find a place for back home, the relevance of buying everywhere we go…
Your point of view is MORE than valid and gets me somewhere else in my thinking…
Cheers! and Happy Wandering around without buying!
Thanks for chiming in, Jul’! There’s really no easy or right answer!
When you see something nice, especially something unique to a destination, it’s easy to think, why wouldn’t I want to get it? To have something to commemorate this place and something cool and different to display at home. I certainly don’t think it’s wrong to buy souvenirs. Although I do think there are many travellers who go a little crazy on holiday and get caught up in the “but I don’t know if I’ll ever be here again” mentality. I’m guilty as charged too.
I guess I’ve found I hate the pressure of shopping more than anything. I don’t know how many times I’ve spent the last days of my time away running from market to market trying to find gifts for other people as well as feeling like I needed to get x, y and z for myself too because that’s what everyone buys here.
You’ve brought up a good point with the postal service issue too. Not all services are equal. The two times I’ve sent stuff from (sorry to say and I do really hope your package arrives from Argentina!) South America, neither reached their destinations. Then it becomes a situation where I’ve wasted time and money getting the souvenirs, time and money posting them, only for them to never arrive anyway. Not saying that this is always the case or that people don’t successfully send their packages home from places around the world (South America included) all the time (again, I have my fingers and toes crossed for your Argentinian package!), it’s just that these things unfortunately can never be guaranteed. Whenever we acquire stuff, then we have to account for either carrying it or making alternative arrangements like posting it, and I’ve found that oftentimes others don’t place the same value on these items that you’ve so carefully tried to find for them. Once some time has passed, I too lose the urge to have these things that I felt so compelled to buy in the moment.
I just feel so liberated to not have a list and to have let go of feeling the “need” to buy. I’d rather spend my energy on experiencing things and only picking up something if I really want it.
Many thanks for your very thoughtful comment, Jul’. Hope all is well on your adventures! It’s time for me to catch up on what you’ve been up to lately! x
Your article and your answer have had me thinking a lot these last few days; also the fact that the package sent from Southern Argentina hasn’t be found and will probably never make it to France…
and I’ve come to the decision to stop buying souvenirs. As you say, it’s a lot of work (finding the right one for the right person…), a lot of thoughts for such a short moment of happiness when you offer it or to leave it in a box because you don’t find it useful back home.
I’ll keep sending postcards, I might keep buying a ring with the local national stone as a souvenir for me and will do my best to wear them as I travel and later on. But that’s it.
I find myself in a huge moment of doubt about the whole thing… it goes as deep as thinking about stopping taking pictures and writing because I’m not sure I enjoy it as much as I did before, when I only did it for me and not for a particular purpose…
thinking… trying to enjoy everything without thinking too much…
Enjoy your day!
Jul’
Jul’, I’m so humbled that you’ve put so much thought into this. Your comments remind me of why I love blogging. Not necessarily to change people’s minds, but the fact that we can have these discussions and share ideas from all corners of the globe. Thank you.
I really feel you on doing something with a “particular purpose” in mind. That was part of the shopping dilemma for me. Buying stuff because I felt I “had to”. It’s the same in the creative world. I think blogging starts off as complete freedom for most people. Then, as it evolves, there is this ideal to start streamlining content, having/joining series, to do x, y, z on particular days. I’m not against any of this, in fact, I do it myself to a large extent. Many would say this is good practice and regular content is certainly an important part of retaining readership. At the same time, it can feel like you’re moving further and further away from the creative ideals that started the venture in the first place. Some people like and need the push of set deadlines, others feel boxed in by it. I really hope you don’t stop blogging because you are very talented and so many of us enjoy your posts. From time to time, we all have these blocks in the road. Perhaps reevaluating what you want out of it will help, rather than deciding to stop altogether, unless that it what you really want. Sometimes we hold on to something just because we started it (like a particular series we started, for example) but if it is not working, if we are no longer feeling it, then it’s better to let go of those things and focus on what does make us excited to write and photograph again. Ultimately, these pieces that come from the heart tend to be the ones most greatly received too. :)
I recently had my own deep think about this too and am working on this balance, this place of both passion and progress towards other goals. I believe it can be achieved. If you stumble upon the answer, please tell me! haha In the meantime, remember you have friends all over the world who totally feel you and are only a few taps on the keyboard away. :)
Hope all is well on the road! As my go-to French expert, I’m about to send you an email. I need your advice. x
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this piece, Jessica, in no small part for the way you have perfectly captured this sentiment. It reflects exactly how I would like to feel, and indeed reminds of how I did feel when I was travelling in a much more nomadic fashion. Now that my partner and I have plans (that are actually in motion!) to make a base for ourselves in Berlin, I seem to have started allowing myself to buy more stuff…almost because I can, but still usually not souvenirs. I think I’m OK with it, though.
Thanks Sam! I think it’s totally fine to have more than a backpack’s worth of stuff when you have a base! I did in Tokyo and will totally do the same wherever we set up a base next. I think the key is trying to eliminate pointless purchases that don’t have any purpose and don’t improve your quality of life. Those things that end up in “the box”. Buy things – use them, enjoy them – just don’t let them define you, I guess is what I’m getting at.
Glad to hear that your plans to move to Berlin are in motion. Certainly not a bad place to base yourselves! Looking forward to hearing more about it. :)
And here I thought I was the only person who had every gone to Istanbul and not bought a thing! I like to wander around and stroll without the hassle of carrying impulse purchases which end up in a cupboard. It is quite refreshing to meander without having a list of people to buy for and be able to genuinely enjoy the atmosphere, something I truly enjoyed at the Grand Bazaar. Recently for each country I visit I purchase a bell which is hand painted or crafted locally, my favourite being Czech glass from Prague.
Haha It’s easy to feel like you’re the only one when wandering a popular tourist haunt like the Grand Bazaar!
Totally agree that not feeling the need to shop is very refreshing. There are an increasing number of people doing as you do, Lyn; choosing an item they like and picking that up in each place for a more special collection of keepsakes. I’ve done this with flag patches and postcards in the past. I’m always interested to know what this “one item” is for other travellers.
Have you ever found it difficult to find a bell in the places you have visited? I’m just reminded of my patches experience where in some places I could not find a flag patch for the country I was visiting and I ended up running around trying to find one before I left.
I love a bit of window shopping, I never buy anything either but I spend a lot of time walking through shops just seeing what different places offer. I even like walking through supermarkets in new places.
As for the scarf, it’s the best thing I’ve bought on my trip I’ve used mine for everything from a bed sheet to a beach towel or wrapped it around my head to protect me from the sun,
Oh, I LOVE supermarkets too! It’s fun just to see what’s on offer but also to pick up some new and interesting snacks. I, of course, don’t include food in the no buy category. ;) It’s always good to try new things.
Scarves are incredible useful and I think they have a place in every backpack. Don’t regret getting mine at all. :)
This is certainly the way I feel. Travel for travel’s sake. Enjoy the culture, people, everything.
For sure. Sometimes we are so distracted by all these things we think we have to do and then lose the moment entirely. I have to remind myself of the same thing with a pen and paper or camera in my hands sometimes. Thanks for chiming in, Dave!