For those of you who have traveled a lot, do you tend to buy something for yourself and your loved ones a little something to remember the experience by? Field trips in the past had allowed me and my classmates to take something but from our excursions, either we had to buy them like shirts, knick knacks, picture postcards or food. Sometimes we were given free stuff from the factories we took a trip to.
I always buy a souvenir for myself when traveling. The one mistakes most tourists make is buy expensive souvenirs. It doesn't make a difference if you buy something cheap or expensive if all it does is remind you of the time when you traveled somewhere. For me I never spend more than $10 on any of the items I buy when traveling.
I am always buying a few souvenirs every time I visit a new country and a specific city. When I return, I place them on my desk and when I want to get distracted a bit after long hours of work, I just stare at them and remember the greatly spent time in those cities. As far as the price is concerned, I never spend more than $5 for each souvenir.
I don't really buy souvenirs, I just take pictures when I visit a new place. I think it's cute that some people collect jars of sand from ever beach they visit and label them. I have a few different pinecones from different national parks I've been to.
Yes, from where I am, souvenirs or "pasalubong" as we call it, are very much important. Just last week, we went to a nearby province to see a monastery and while we were travelling home, we bought some fruits to give away to our relatives. If it's a place like a beach, we have to buy souvenir shirts as well, especially for the little kids in the family. And we always try to buy the best tasting native delicacy in that place as well, to let our colleagues or friends or relatives taste them. Another favourite souvenir that we buy almost all the time is keychains. Usually, the name of the place is etched on the keychain. It's a very cheap souvenir but it's great enough for almost all relatives and friends. Fridge magnets are great souvenir items as well, we have collected a lot already since we started travelling. Sometimes, if we'd go zip-lining or maybe visit a theme park, we'd have our pictures taken as well by the photographers in that place. This way, we have a souvenir of what we did in that place.
Yes, I buy souvenirs, especially if they are unique to the area. I don't have much money these days though so, the last time I went someplace, I just got a bought water bottle, with the name of the place, and a magnetic postcard with pictures on it. I always buy something though. I mean isn't that why God created giftshops???
Whenever I travel to another country, I always visit the souvenir shops. I like to buy little souvenirs to take back home for family and friends, as well as something for myself like a T-shirt with the name of the country on it. Key rings make good souvenirs since they do not cost a lot. I think kitchen towels and kitchen gloves are also good to have as souvenirs or to give away. Mugs with pictures depicting some part of the country are also good to give away as gifts.
When I traveled to China, I was so enthusiastic of my trip that I only bought souvenirs for my family and friends and I forgot to buy something for myself, lol. So, yeah, you could say that sometimes I buy TOO MANY souvenirs for others. But to be honest, my greatest souvenir can't be immortalized in the material aspect... I'm really more content of the trip itself rather than ephemeral items.
I like to get souvenirs but try not to go overboard. I only get myself postcards (I have a huge collage on my bedroom wall from places friends or I have visited) or once in a while I'll get a shirt or mug, but it has to be something I'll actually use. I don't like getting little knick-knacks that will just fill up shelf space. I also try to get something for friends and family but I try to limit how many I buy for, I'll usually switch it up so one trip I'll get things for just a few close friends and the next vacation I'll focus on gifts for the family as an example.
Yes I always try and buy souvenirs for my nephews. In return my brother and his family do the same for our boys. It's great, they have t-shirts and knick knacks from around the world. I have to say we mostly buy t-shirts, postcards, key chains. The typical souvenir stuff which are inexpensive but it's a nice way to remember a trip. I know people that always buy mugs from their travels or fridge magnets. They make for great conversation starters.
In the past when I first starting traveling on my own I used to buy gifts for my family a lot more but nowadays I don't because they all travel just as much as I do and it's become a lot more common that I feel it's a lot less necessary. The only time I'd buy something is if I came across an item that I felt was truly unique and would fit the personality of the person I'd give it to that much but thats rarely the case and even in the past I usually just found myself buying items for the sake of it anyway and at least now I have more to spend on actually enjoying the vacation I'm in.
If I am visiting a place for a very short time then I would get a souvenir at one of the shops. It is also a kind of tradition in our family. My grandpa on my German side used to have a walking stick and every time he would visit a new place he would buy a small metal piece with the name and small image of the given place and stick it on his stick. My mother always bought him these kind of miniature souvenirs and that is how I got used to buying souvenirs for my family as well. Most of my souvenirs I got from my student exchanges in France as well.
Travel agents would say that your travel is not complete without the souvenirs that you bring home especially from abroad. We usually travel with no baggage allowance and our things fit in the hand-carry bag. But on our trip back home, we have an extra bag or 2 that are filled with items that we bought from that place. Our most recent trip was last March to Bangkok. Since clothes are cheap there, we had 2 bagful of clothes that we give away as coming home presents to our circle. With the free stuff, we sometimes receive from stores where we buy souvenir items. The trick is to be friendly with the seller and later upon knowing that we are tourists, they would give us a discount aside from the freebie. We usually experience that in Hongkong.
