Do the Op Shop Hop

As you may know, I am planning to head overseas soon *. I’ve always been a bit of an itchy-foot, and trial-and-error has settled me into a way of travel that sits very comfortably with me. Apart from all of the smaller details, such as packing a variety of comforts for the road, I find one of the most useful things to pack is a theme.

By trying to cram every must see attraction into a journey it ends up becoming an arduous checklist of obligations; somewhat less romantic than the free and joyful experience you saw when you were staring at the wall cobbling the plan together. By travelling by theme you can be more selective; you can see things that you would have missed out on had you simply taken the well-worn tourist path; understand a particular aspect of how the local people live their daily lives; taste the grassroots essence of a place. So, after some discussion with my travelling companion of this journey, Mr T, the theme is going to be op shopping**.

Now op shopping is no great leap of imagination for Mr T and I, granted; it’s been a way of life for me for twenty years or so now. Mr T and I have whiled away many a happy day fossicking about in junk shops, trying on strange garments for the other’s amusement, speculating on the actual purpose of some obscure object. A grand day’s entertainment. I take enormous satisfaction in replying to a comment on a recent purchase with the boast, Thanks, yes, I got it from the op shop for $4, and glow smugly at the astonishment and the questions and hums of approval that follow. As fabulous as that is, it’s nothing compared to the thrill of the hunt itself.

Yes, thrill, I say!

Op shopping is hunting,
Op shopping is your history,
Op shopping is voyeurism,
Op shopping is pop culture,
Op shopping is giving to charity,
Op shopping is entertaining,
Op shopping is recycling,
Op shopping is avoiding middleclass sweatshop guilt,
Op shopping is sticking it to the fashion fascists,
Op shopping gives you objects with soul,
Op shopping stimulates the imagination,
Op shopping stimulates your memory,
Op shopping is cheap,
Op shopping is always surprising.

And what better way to come to know the psyche of the countries I’ll be visiting? What on earth will they have on their jumble sale stalls in Tokyo? What bizarre delights are waiting for me in the charity shops of Prague? And Moscow...? Red Square be damned when the city’s second-hand vendors have a cornucopia of the inane and the baffling, just waiting for Mr T and I to squeal over.

I can’t wait.

* Yes, I know I’ve been leaving “in six weeks” for the past six months, but, hey, I’m getting there. I have a passport with a bad photo and a visa and everything. Really.

** Previous travel themes I could recommend include:

Big Things

Gardens

Cliffs (in Southern Victoria)

Art Deco (in Perth)

Devonshire Tea

Architecture (anywhere except Hervey Bay)