Say you’re wandering through a foreign market and come across something you just have to have. The problem is, you’ve only just begun your trip. Whether it be a small hand carved buddha or a 6 foot tall wooden giraffe, what do you do? We allot space for various souvenirs in our luggage, but some things are bound to make your trip just a tad bit more difficult.
I’ve come across this problem many times and there’s really only three options. First, you could just pack it and deal with the added weight and/or odd size if that be the case. Secondly, you could ship it. And lastly, you could leave it be and try to find a similar item stateside or online.
Packing and toting something along for awhile seems reasonable, but it catches up with you very quickly. While camping in the Sahara, I had the great idea to bring home a liter wattle bottle filled with sand. Maybe an okay idea if that was the tail end of my trip, but no, I was in the very first week of five backpacking. The space wasn’t an issue, but the added weight became a burden. Of course, there was always the option of ditching the sand, but I was too stubborn for that. Nowadays, the sand sits in an ornate glass vase on my dresser. It’s reddish hue bring back memories of my time in Morocco and I’m quite happy I stuck it out.
Stuffing something into a suitcase or backpack isn’t always an option. While in Japan, I decided to get my brother a replica samurai sword. Since a sword is something difficult to discretely carry in public, I shipped it home. The process was quite smooth and the sword made it home in one piece, although international shipping can get expensive.
Then there’s always the instances when you find something that you can neither carry and will scare you in terms of its shipping costs. It could be a large framed painting or a 6 foot giraffe. This poses quite the dilemma. Do you just deal with the associated costs, find something stateside, or just ignore it? Many international stores carry worldly art and crafts, but at a price. So, is it worth it to take your chance shipping or waiting to find something in a local store? I’m not exactly sure on that one yet.
Regardless, I love collecting knick knacks from here and there. For me, they serve as mementos of some of the exciting travel I’ve been fortunate enough to embark on. While I don’t buy souvenirs often, when I do, I hold them in high regard. So yes, souvenirs can be worth their weight in gold (not literally, unless you bought something that was gold), but unsparingly scrutinize the potential items so that you don’t tote something half way around the world to get rid of it at a garage sale.
Written by DIWYY’s Erich.
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
I try to find a "floaty pen" (http://www.floatart.com/) from wherever I go. Not always available in more exotic places but I've still managed to collect over 400 of them over the past decade… I also try to buy something that can serve as a Christmas ornament since I decorate our tree with items that represent what we did that year. Finally, I collect small (under 2", usually smaller) unique frog figurines. Also, not always found but if I do find one, I mark on the bottom the year & place.