Why The Best Travel Souvenir From Any Country is a Postcard To Yourself
Souvenir shopping while on vacation was one of my favourite things to do! Who wouldn’t want to shop around local markets and bring home a collectible item from a foreign country visited?
As a global travel blogger, I’ve purchased bright Bolivian blankets and throws, colourful silk scarves from Cambodia, cute elephant shaped magnets from Thailand, handmade bookmarks from Vietnam, paprika spices from Hungary, lacquered dishes from Malaysia, carved wooden spatulas from Cuba, Swarovski crystal figurines from Austria, yerba mate from Argentina, raw cacao beans from Panama, and chocolates from most places visited in Europe.
Over the years, however, the travel souvenirs I have collected became quite impractical and ultimately just took up space in my apartment, piling up with other ‘junk’ hiding in cupboards. I’ve had quite a few ‘in the moment’ purchases (like Fair Trade Cacao Beans from the Oreba Organic Cacoa Farm in Panama) but ultimately, chocolates get eaten, magnets break, jewelry and accessories go out of style, shotglasses pile up in a cupboard, and local figurines get covered in a layer of dust. As I traveled more frequently, I realized that the typical junky, imported “Made in China” magnets or thimbles, with the city’s name on it, aren’t really practical nor authentic souvenirs.
