World Tour, A Lá Dollar Store

Or, a tour of some random countries, at least, since shopping trips often turn up some items from places not known as "China." And if purchases are not akin to those of the Grand Tour, the price is right.

Can't say much for the highly artificial scent of the "mineral salts and seaweed" bars, but couldn't resist the wrapper (enlarged here)—

Uh, no; it would appear not—

The offer of "Find Cash! In the bar if you're lucky" [according to my gracious host's translator] was past its expiration date, but winning a prize wouldn't have paid for the trip to claim it, as Rp 200,000 turns out to be not quite $22.

Sister J. has remarked on the odd paths by which merchandise comes all this way to sell for only $1. Complicated intrigue and money laundering were her suspicions...

Overactive imaginations aside, this is a store run by a nice family that's been in its nearby location for quite a few years, to the gratitude of the neighborhood. I've heard appreciative remarks from more than one customer, including the public school teacher who exclaimed, "If it wasn't for you, I couldn't afford to buy art supplies for my students!" But that's a whole 'nother story, about our brave new world of Tiffany's or Dollar Store...

I did want to find a juicer, and this Israeli-made plastic model does not smell toxic. Kitchen use requires removing the enjoyably retro packaging, but that's one thing cameras are for—

It is a good design, with a handle that fits nicely in the hand—

And this is reminiscent of those happy, happy foodstuffs of 1950s cookbooks...