Summary

The author discusses their evolution in selecting travel souvenirs, shifting from decorative but non-functional items to practical ones that are regularly used.

Abstract

The article reflects on the author's changing approach to purchasing souvenirs during their travels. Initially, they favored decorative items that served little purpose beyond aesthetic appeal, such as a ceramic figure from the Netherlands or a prayer wheel from Nepal. Over time, the author's preference shifted towards souvenirs that are both reminders of their journeys and serve a practical function in their daily life. These include items like a tiffin from India, a cooking spoon from New Zealand, and a parmesan cheese cutter from Italy. The author highlights the personal significance and stories behind each souvenir, emphasizing the joy they find in using these items and the memories they evoke.

Opinions

The author values the aesthetic and cultural appeal of traditional souvenirs but has grown to appreciate the practicality of functional items.
Souvenirs that integrate into daily life are seen as more meaningful and useful compared to those that simply collect dust.
The author enjoys the personal connection and stories associated with each souvenir, which enrich their experiences and memories of the places visited.
There is a recognition that some souvenirs, like the metal box from China, may not be authentic or old but are chosen for their visual and tactile appeal.
The author is open to unique variations of common souvenirs, as seen in their preference for non-traditional kissing figures in the Netherlands.
The author encourages readers to share their own souvenir-purchasing philosophies and favorite travel mementos.

Let’s talk about souvenirs

What are your favorites? These are mine.

I’ve noticed recently that several of my fellow Globetrotter writers have taken to writing about souvenirs that they have purchased on their travels. With that in mind, I thought I may as well chime in with my own take on the topic.

Thinking about this makes me realize that over the years my approach to purchasing souvenirs has changed quite a bit. I used to buy lots of dust- collectors that sit on shelves and countertops. I still have many of these (too many to depict here). That’s where I will begin.

First, a small sampling of the dust-collectors

These items represent the “old way” that I used to buy souvenirs: at turns, attractive, quirky, or aesthetically pleasing in some way, but not really serving any useful purpose. See the descriptions that follow in the paragraph beneath the photo.

dust-collectors from Greece, Netherlands, Papua New Guinea (2), Nepal, and China

Before I went to Greece, I had no knowledge of the differences among the various island groupings in the Mediterranean. Ionian? Sporades? Dodecanses? Cyclades? Saronic? North Aegean? I had no clue. I visited the Museum of Cycladic Art in Athens and I was enchanted by the timeless beauty of the art, represented here in the small white statue that looks like modern art to me.

If you have been to a souvenir shop anywhere in the Netherlands, you have more than likely seen the ceramic figures of the Dutch boy and girl kissing. They are not only ubiquitous, but come in several different sizes. In only one shop in Amsterdam did I see figures of two boys kissing and two girls kissing; that was enough of a variation to spark my interest and make me pull out my wallet.

I love the smoothness of that snake. Beneath it is a lime stick, which is used in ritual betel nut chewing. Both of these items are from Papua New Guinea.

The prayer wheel on a stick is from Nepal. I don’t have any of the beliefs that coincide with spinning it for improving karma. The script is supposed to be written in Sanskrit. For all I know, it says, “Purchased by a moron in Kathmandu.”

I was traveling in China with a friend when we happened upon the shop in Yangshuo that sold these little metal boxes. The very fact that the salesman who sold it to me told me that it was old tipped me off to the fact that it was probably faux aged and intentionally banged up a little bit, like the dozen other ones on the shelf where it sat. I didn’t care about its age. I just liked the looks and feel of it. I thought it would be fun to keep something in there, but now, 26 years later, it’s still empty.

Now, some souvenirs that come in handy with regular use

The items depicted here represent a definite shift in my purchases, as I now more appreciate items that serve the dual purposes of not only reminding me of my visit (as the very word souvenir indicates) but of having a specific use.

useful souvenirs from Haiti, India, New Zealand, Spain, Italy, Mexico, Guatemala, Vietnam, and Mauritania

Around the perimeter are four painted particle board place mats from Haiti. In addition to these, I bought others in the shape of a pineapple and a bunch of bananas. Here at home, I happened upon an eggplant at a garage sale. They are colorful, useful, and easy to wipe clean.

Starting at the top are two stainless steel containers from India. The one on the right, a tiffin, is a lunch box that comes apart in three separate compartments so that each one can hold a different type of food. By the time I purchased this, I was already retired from teaching, so I never had a chance to take my lunch to school in it.

Next to the papaya place mat is a wooden cooking spoon that I bought at some sort of school yard sale on the magnificent Kaikōura Peninsula, on New Zealand’s South Island.

Kaikōura Peninsula: Come for the scenery, stay for the school fund-raising sale

The the right of the spoon is a stainless steel dripless olive oil container from Valencia, Spain. Underneath it is my newest acquisition: a cutter specially made for parmesan cheese, which I purchased for .50€ at a church sale in Italy.

The Basilica di San Francesco, Bologna holds its market every day.

It was in Oaxaca, Mexico that I purchased my useful lemon press. The butterfly-shaped potholder is from Guatemala. Underneath it is a corkscrew that I got on my very first trip to Spain, so that has been with me in active regular use since 1986!

The little stick to the right of the butterfly potholder has its own story. It was a souvenir from Lac Thanh restaurant in Hue, Vietnam. I read about Lac Thanh in my Lonely Planet guide. Mr. Lac, who runs the restaurant, is deaf and mute. He offers this bottle opener, which he makes himself, to all his customers. The walls of the restaurant are filled with photos of customers who are holding the bottle opener at a landmark in their home city. See this mention of him in this Fodor’s online guide: https://www.fodors.com/world/asia/vietnam/the-central-coast/restaurants/reviews/lac-thanh-restaurant-614838

When I got home, I sent Mr. Lac a photo of myself with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background, holding his bottle opener.

My final useful souvenir comes from the time I lived in Mauritania while I served in the Peace Corps. It’s a large slotted spoon that I always use when I cook garbanzo beans to make home-made hummus. I like to pretend that it is not leaching aluminum into my garbanzo beans.

So there you have it: from useless dust-collectors to useful memories. I would be so happy to ready about any souvenir-purchasing philosophy that you may have, along with any mention of favorites that you have found along your travels.