Stupid souvenirs
#46
Guest
Posts: n/a
I thought of something else . . . a really stupid souvenir that we send home with people who visit us in China (or at least, those people that would find them funny).
I'd lived here in Shanghai for about 2 years and always thought that it was a bit odd that every other stall selling "antiques" and other tourist items always had a large bowl, half-filled with water, with small ceramic figurines of a naked little baby boy, (Why the water? Why was a plain figurine of a baby boy such a popular a tourist item?) but I never bothered to ask.
Well, my mom was even more curious, and just asked. The shopkeepers pulled one out of the water and set him on a table, then hurried to the back room, came back, and poured hot water on the figurine. A long stream of water came shooting at least 6 feet right out of the boy's . . .
(As lowbrow as the humor is, it can be a very effective dinner party joke if you build it up solemnly as a "carving" you've just brought back from China that you want to show everyone)
I'd lived here in Shanghai for about 2 years and always thought that it was a bit odd that every other stall selling "antiques" and other tourist items always had a large bowl, half-filled with water, with small ceramic figurines of a naked little baby boy, (Why the water? Why was a plain figurine of a baby boy such a popular a tourist item?) but I never bothered to ask.
Well, my mom was even more curious, and just asked. The shopkeepers pulled one out of the water and set him on a table, then hurried to the back room, came back, and poured hot water on the figurine. A long stream of water came shooting at least 6 feet right out of the boy's . . .
(As lowbrow as the humor is, it can be a very effective dinner party joke if you build it up solemnly as a "carving" you've just brought back from China that you want to show everyone)
#47
Guest
Posts: n/a
I may get into trouble posting this on the Europe site, but it is relating to stupid souvenirs - or more precisely stupid consumers of souvenirs.
On a trip to Agra in India we visited a craftman's shop (marble and silk carpets) and spent a great deal of money on purchasing black marble plates inlaid with semi precious stones - and a genuine hand made silk carpet. Backpacking at the time we were hardly capable of transporting our booty home so given that this craftsman had not only dined with us that evening but had copious letters and certificates from the government (probably, now it seems, fake) and letters from a certain famous cricket player (again probably fake)as references we felt that we could trust this man to post the things we had ordered (and paid for) to us.
Months went by after our return and finally we received our packages from India. You can imagine our dismay when we opened these to find that our black marble plates were actually white alabaster and our silk carpets (originally bought in traditional red tones) was in fact blue and practically worthless acrylic.
Letter after letter was sent to the craftsman (with, of course, no reply) and then letters to the Indian Government body relating to this type of thing (ie; tourist ripoffs) - who also did not reply and we just, unfortunately, had to put it down to a bad experience. The very worst thing was a very expensive marble table top that one of us had bought for his mother's 50th Birthday did not even turn up.
You live and learn I guess - now we take everything with us - and if it can't be carried we don't purchase.
On a trip to Agra in India we visited a craftman's shop (marble and silk carpets) and spent a great deal of money on purchasing black marble plates inlaid with semi precious stones - and a genuine hand made silk carpet. Backpacking at the time we were hardly capable of transporting our booty home so given that this craftsman had not only dined with us that evening but had copious letters and certificates from the government (probably, now it seems, fake) and letters from a certain famous cricket player (again probably fake)as references we felt that we could trust this man to post the things we had ordered (and paid for) to us.
Months went by after our return and finally we received our packages from India. You can imagine our dismay when we opened these to find that our black marble plates were actually white alabaster and our silk carpets (originally bought in traditional red tones) was in fact blue and practically worthless acrylic.
Letter after letter was sent to the craftsman (with, of course, no reply) and then letters to the Indian Government body relating to this type of thing (ie; tourist ripoffs) - who also did not reply and we just, unfortunately, had to put it down to a bad experience. The very worst thing was a very expensive marble table top that one of us had bought for his mother's 50th Birthday did not even turn up.
You live and learn I guess - now we take everything with us - and if it can't be carried we don't purchase.