The Joy of Shopping

At the half-way point of my 4-week journey, I find myself in Bangkok, Thailand. If you read my previous post on the "Stress of Travel", you know that I was pointedly challenged on this trip to bring home meaningful and substantial souvenirs and gifts for the family. After multiple failed attempts to overcome my shopping "mental block", I found resounding success in the night time street markets of Kuala Lumpur. With the help of our local agent, Ng Kee Oei, and his fine negotiating capabilities, I was able to secure a nice collection of casual shirts for the boys and designer-looking handbags for Shelley.

Then I got stupid....and overconfident. The right course of action at this point would have been to neatly tuck the loot into my checked baggage, make no mention of it to the family, carry on with the business at hand during the rest of my trip and just surprise everyone when I get home. Yep, that would have done just fine - everyone would be happy, and quite surprised to receive something other than airline toiletry kits and coal.

Nope, I wasn't that smart. In retrospect, I'm not sure if I could have really controlled what happened next. I think there is probably a chemical explanation, perhaps it will be explored in Daniel Goleman's next book. Now, when Shelley goes on a shopping spree, she invariably comes home and rethinks her purchasing decisions, experiencing remarkable self-doubt. I think the term for this phenomena is "shoppers remorse".

Conversely, after a long morning run, the endorphins released in my system, give me a euphoric sensation, commonly referred to as a "runners' high". Maybe it was the release of stress and fear of failure - but I returned to my room with an unmistakable "Shoppers' High" that night. I will blame this chemical imbalance for my actions over the subsequent 24 hours.

Mistake #1: Immediately sharing descriptions (and pictures) of the purchased items with my family. Had I just maintained a secret and presented the gifts upon my arrival, everyone would have been happy. By reporting 'in situ', I created the opportunity for increased expectations. Seeing the types of goods available, the family's "wish list" turned into a shopping list.

Mistake #2: Admitting that I enjoyed the shopping experience. I no longer could collect 'hardship points' for subjecting myself to such an arduous and unpleasant experience.

Mistake #3: Actually enjoying the shopping experience. The human brain is a remarkable organ. It works on a complex series of pattern recognitions and electrochemical reactions. Once the pleasure centers in the brain are activated, there is an inherent (and uncontrollable) motivation to replicate the experience. Drug dealers know this "the first hit is free".

Having experienced this "shoppers' high", I undertook the singular mission of replicating the experience. Sitting at the airport in Kuala Lumpur, I research the shopping scene in Bangkok. I discovered that the largest, and most famous, of the markets in Bangkok is the weekend market; Chatuchak Market. Since the market is only open on the weekends and Sunday would be occupied with setting up our trade show booth and meeting with the local agents, I had no choice but to shop immediately upon arrival on Saturday afternoon. At 2pm I arrived at my hotel. So intent on stimulating the pleasure centers in my brain, I skipped my unpacking and set-up ritual altogether. Tossing the bags on the bed, applying a liberal amount of sunscreen to my exposed skin, I rushed out the door to the train station two blocks away.

During the 25 minute ride on the "sky train", I felt my internal anticipation building. Maybe it was the "standing-room only" crowd on the train - all heading to the same destination at the end of the line. As the train slowed approaching Mo Chit station, we passed the market below. It was HUGE! Does anyone really appreciate how big 35 acres really is? No, that wasn't a typo - I was gazing across a 35 acre outdoor shopping bazaar - and with great anticipation.

I scurried off the train amongst the masses, eager to dive headlong into the sea of bargains. As I turned down the first aisle, picking my way through the 15,000 vendors, a familiar feeling overcame me....gone was the happy feeling from serotonin release in the brain's pleasure centers. This place was WAY out of my league. Looking at the wares available for sale, fear engulfed me. None of the clothes seemed big enough to fit anyone in my family, all of the handbags looked cheap and gawdy, the articles morphed before my eyes - nothing would possibly fit in my luggage. The old feelings were coming back. Determined to beat these demons, I pressed on, determined to find that shoppers' high again. I was breaking into a sweat. (OK, maybe I'm being dramatic, I was sweating because it was 90 degrees and humid outside).

After almost two hours, (one of which was devoted to finding my way out of the labyrinth and back to the train station), I found myself carrying 2 t-shirts for the boys, quite certain they would be too big for Timothy and too small for Tyler. Slumping into a seat on the train, I came to grips with what I already knew - I am not, and never will be, a good shopper.

Will New Media change the course of the elections?

General Election, 2008

Tomorrow is election day, and it's what everyone is talking about. This is only the 12th general election held in Malaysia, so it's still a really big deal. Tyreal will not be able to accompany me to Bangkok tomorrow, he will fly out on Sunday instead. Tomorrow, he needs to drive 3 hours to his home town to cast his ballot, then turn around and drive 3 hours back to Kuala Lumpur. All to support the "illusion of democracy" as my dinner companions put it.

Malaysian TV and Radio are state owned. The ruling party decided years ago that it was not in its best interest to allocate air time to opposition parties trying to deliver their manifesto to the masses. According to some people in this city, districts who elect and support opposition candidates suddenly find their government-provided services lacking - or even absent altogether. No wonder the ruling party won over 90% of the Parliament seats in the last election - with a record number of candidates running unopposed.

Some believe that this year's election will be different. What the government in Malaysia can not control is the Internet, blogs, YouTube and SMS messages. Can this make a difference? Perhaps. In 2000, only 15% of Malaysia's 25 million people had Internet access - today, that number is almost 50%! (By comparison, roughly 50% of U.S. households had access in 2000, and 71% have access today.)

So, do Google and YouTube have the power to change the world? Guess we'll have to see.

By the way - how many people were aware that the Malaysian Parliament was dissolved earlier this year, forcing a general election one year ahead of schedule? Who thought the Florida democratic primary in the U.S. would even matter?

The stress of travel

I don't know how to shop really. Sure - I'm plenty good at buying stuff. Shopping is something of a transactional mission - head out with the target item in mind, grab the first one you see, grab a couple of other shiny objects that look like you might need some day, pay for it and get out! Stereotypically, men shop this way.


So, in the midst of a 4-week long trip that takes me to Napa, Sydney, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and Jacksonville; I'm feeling a bit of stress. It's not based on figuring out how to pack for multiple climates and still limit my self to no checked baggage. It's not the high level government meetings in Canberra, or my presentations in front of oil and gas executives. It's not even the fact that I'm heading to the airport at home with a ticket to Sydney and a ticket home from Bangkok two weeks later, and nothing figured out in between. Nope - those are all just aspects of business travel, especially when you're trying to link a lot of activities and meetings into a single trip.


No, the stress began as I was saying my good-byes to the kids. "Bring us back something really neat, dad," was the request...and they really meant it. Now, I haven't really been much of an overachiever in terms of bringing back souvenirs for the boys. For international trips, their standard loot is the 'ditty bag' filled with personal care items, ear plugs and sleeping blinds that is issued when you fly in international business class. Conveniently, I receive one on the way out of the U.S. and one on the way home, perfect for the two boys. I think they have run out of creative things to do with foam ear plugs and aren't as into the taste of the generic toothpaste. On a trip to a power plant in West Virginia, I did bring Tyler back a lump of coal. He had been reading the "Magic School Bus" series, one book in the series was a journey through a power plant, showing how coal was converted to electricity...so having an actual piece of coal on his shelf was kinda cool at the time.

But the family was making it quite clear this time that I was not going to get off the hook by bringing home freebies from the airlines or coal. Besides, between Australia, Malaysia and Thailand, there should be some pretty worthy trinkets and gadgets to be had. Problem is: I don't know how to shop for trinkets and gadgets. Have you ever walked into a souvenir shop? I think my brain shifts into shopping overload. Suddenly, everything on the shelf starts to morph...it all starts looking like piles of useless junk...and it all seems to look really, really big - like something I would NEVER fit into my one, already overstuffed carry-on bag.


OK, maybe it's not ALL bad. Shelley's mom is easy to shop for. She collects those little silver spoons (although, after putting up that new bookshelf in her basement last month, I'm not sure where she's keeping her rack of souvenir spoons anymore) Souvenir spoons are universal - and simple. I almost always bring my mother-in-law a new silver spoon....

I've also learned that consistently picking up souvenirs for the mother-in-law while getting nothing for the wife is not particularly good form either.

So, the challenge looms before me - what makes a suitable take-home gift for the wife and kids - I'm open for suggestions. (oh yeah, I did check bags this time - with a small duffel bag with plenty of extra room to bring stuff back.)


I am into the seventh day of my trip, and have actually walked in to several stores with the intention of purchasing souvenirs - but the trinket-shopping paralysis is still there....I wonder if there is medication available for my calamity....or maybe men just can't shop.