Beware of "Relativism"

I spent the first day of 2009 in Tokyo. I come to Tokyo for the second time to visit my friends, Dede and Jim. From Tokyo, Papua seems like an island in a different planet. So affluent, so clean, so efficient and so expensive. What a city! The soaring yen makes everything in Tokyo becomes much more expensive than it has already been.

Pricing everything in Rupiah makes things seem even more expensive (USD/Yen=89, USD/IDR=11.000). Housing and transportation are certainly not cheap. Taxi costs a fortune. The flag rate (when you start) is Yen 710 ($8 or Rp90.000). In Jakarta, taxi starts with Rp 5.500. Lunch in ordinary restaurants costs about 800-1000 Yen ($9-10 or Rp112.500-Rp125.000) per person. Japanese traditional stuffs are particularly expensive. I saw an origami product (Japanese paper-folding art)that cost Yen 12.000. A geisha hand-made comb costs about Yen 13.000.　And there is this small box of food (about 30cmx30cm) i.e. Osechi Ryoori especially made for new year that I find excessively expensive. It costs Yen 10.500 ($120 or Rp 1.320.000).

Actually they have another type i.e. Chez Matsuo Osechi that costs Yen 126.000 (Rp 15.750.000)! So much for food! Japanese are nuts, aren't they?





So shopping in Tokyo is totally a not great idea (I like Hongkong better). But somehow, I don't know what's gotten into me that I managed to buy 6 bags! Am I becoming one of those women who shamelessly spend so much money on things like bags? Hm, but I didn't think they were that expensive (ergh ... except 1 or 2). Oh, wait a minute ... what is expensive, what is not?

I think "relativism" is at play here. It's amazing to see how it works. The first time you see the tag price, you'll scream outloud. Man, it's so expensive! In a few days you'll get a sense on the price in general when you see the price of groceries and other daily stuffs which obviously is at a different level. Before you know it, you already get yourself adjusted to the local price level. So, having had complained and dreaded on how expensive things were, I gradually shifted my "affordability" threshold. In a few days, things didn't seem that expensive anymore as they seemed in my first day in Tokyo. I ended up spending more than I had planned to.

And I brought home with me that new price level. Everything seemed so cheap in Jakarta. I began to compare the price in Jakarta and Tokyo. I felt this euphoria of living in Jakarta. But as a result I found myself spending more than I normally did. I think it has got to stop or else I will get broke. I need to adjust myself back to my old price level. Still struggling ;-(. What a dangerous thing this "relativism"!