Was just reading Yenhan's post on her trip to HK and we are so different when it comes to defining a good vacation! She shops... a lot. And malls, sales and shopping give her that happy buzz. I'm more of an intangible-item collector. A bit stupid right, since you come back home with close to nothing. But good experiences make me sooooo pleased!! Here are my Top 7 things to do in a foreign country:

1. Museums, culture, history, old buildings... Yes I do sound so middle-aged but I get high on history.
2. Going to local street festivals and parties, be it a CNY fest or Divali or Mardi Gras!! Ooh and clubs of course!
3. Good (and strange) local food, I'm quite open. But I draw the line at maggots and eyeballs. Grasshoppers in honey-ok, locusts-ok, squirrels-ok, lizards-ok, crocodile-ok, ostrich-ok... but NO maggots or eyeballs.
4. Good and NORMAL food. (Yay yenhan! Or-jian and xiao long paos! HK xiao long paos are lovely right!)
5. Getting skin art done. Somehow my vacations always involve some kind of semi permanent skin art. I read somewhere that apparently there is no culture that does not have their own native or modern versions of skin art!
6. A useless accessory, something unique from a flea market...I get tempted to buy stuff like that, and never use them again.
7. Pictures pictures pictures, (think yenhan loves this too) especially of the people. I have the habit of asking little kids or interesting looking people on the street to take photos with me or just on their own doing their thing. I've never been turned down. Which means that generally, locals are quite happy to oblige! I think everyone should do this!

I don't know why I don't really get the buzz from buying clothes and branded stuff. I like looking at them though! Maybe it's because I can't really afford them on my own...YET. *evil grin* ask me again 5 years from now!