postcards, pins, patches – what’s your favorite travel souvenirs?

the tale of lola’s favorite travel souvenirs

how do you feel about them? i like to bring a few home. i prefer the practical travel souvenirs…like food, scarves or t-shirts i’ll wear to the gym. maybe spices. my favorite souvenir for my most special places i visit are gold charms for my charm bracelet. i don’t buy them everywhere i go. only the places that have some deeper meaning and touch me in some way. YES that’s right. lola’s a sentimental gal.

i picked up some things that i just LOVE in Cambodia. Cambodia is a very special place to me for soooo many reasons. i bought a ‘i heart Cambodia’ t-shirt that i just love. paid $5 for it. whether i wear it bumming around, to sleep or to the gym, it’ll bring a smile to my face every time i put it on. i also bought a ‘floppy hat’. if you’ve been to Asia, you’ll know what i mean. hats are a big thing there to protect your head and face from the sun. while mine isn’t terribly floppy, it IS very cute and i paid something to the tune of 3 bucks for it. then there’s the ‘traveler pants’ i bought as a joke. these are akin to harem pants and many people wear them almost as a fashion statement. i’ve actually come to really love these pants too – $10. they are really comfortable, and again, remind me of my lovely time Cambodia. they make me laugh because of all the jokes with my friends about them and now that i own them, ACTUALLY like them, AND wear them – well, the joke is on me!

BUT my favorite travel souvenir (and maybe of ALL TIME) is my impulse buy of a gold buddha charm. on my last day in Cambodia, i was walking through a dank market in Koh Kong and was reminded that i wanted to look for a charm for my bracelet at the end of my trip. i didn’t even barter (which i suck at) much to the friend i was with chagrin. i don’t care. unless it’s fake, i totally love it and got an amazing deal for it. i will treasure it always.

  1. it’s from Cambodia.
  2. i impulsively bought it which makes it more fun!
  3. i was accompanied by a wonderful friend who i’ll forever be reminded of when i see it.
  4. AND it’s vintage and traveling somewhere else in the world it’s never been.

this goes back to the sentimental side of lola. i love to bring new life to things that are old. i believe in recycling. i don’t need shiny and new. i need meaningful. and this charm meant something to someone(s) else and now i carry it on with me. it may sound silly but it’s BLISS for me.

BEST news of all. i dropped by the jeweler once home to get a quick estimate of it’s value. ummm, yeah, i paid $130 for it. highway robbery in Cambodia – i’m sure BUT this baby at first look appears to be worth $600 to $700 so who’s complaining? certainly NOT me!!

what are your favorite travel souvenirs?

36 Comments

Filed under cambodia, koh kong, travel

36 Responses to postcards, pins, patches – what’s your favorite travel souvenirs?

  1. Ahhh I love this, and it looks much more than $130!! Bargain xxx
    Scarlett recently posted…The Scarlett Rum Diaries: It Begins…My Profile

    • darling Scarlett – if i can get some upfront cash maybe i should be a gold charm buyer across the globe & sell them online at a marked up price? just another one of my hair-brained ideas…i know you’ll understand 😉 xx

  2. Much better than my usual ” I brought home a hangover , a story and some bad pictures ”
    Karl recently posted…Go Travel SoloMy Profile

    • haha! i Karl. it’s an awesome souvenir but if you’ve continued to read my stories you’ll deduce that i brought home some hangovers & bad pictures too!

  3. First of all thanks to sharing your experience with us and I love that t-shirt too “I Love Cambodia” and I’d love to wear that t-shirt with that gym pant that you already wear in this picture. 😛

    • thanks Susan. just wait for my upcoming Eurotour trip. i plan to get ‘i heart xx’ for all the places i visit. i will have quite the collection soon!

  4. Hahahaha!!!!! Traveller pants !!!!!! xoxo

  5. Melaniec – i have them on right now. ya know, cuz i’m a travellllllller HAHAHAA! miss you xoxoxox

  6. Mal and I should get a pair for our trip to visit you !!!!

  7. I loved seeing the charm when I last saw you – where it is worth $700 or not, I will never forget how excited you were when you showed it to me! 🙂

    I love buying thing abroad – for example, that pair of shoes from paris, that skirt from NYC, those rings from Rio 😉 you get the idea!
    @mrsoaroundworld recently posted…Photos of the Week – WhiteMy Profile

  8. You know, I haven’t bought a souvenir T-shirt in ages, but it never occurred to me they’d be good for sleeping or the gym. That makes more sense, because as fashion statements, not so much… 😉 My favorite souvenirs are pictures, followed by books, music and jewelry/clothes. I usually go for the practical. 🙂 Lovely charmbracelet!
    Pola (@jettingaround.com) recently posted…Photo of the Week: John Hancock Center in ChicagoMy Profile

    • thank you, Pola. i do really love my charm bracelet & my charms i wear on my necklace too. wonder what kinds of charm goodies i’ll find in Europe. excited to search them out!

  9. I LOVE your gold buddha charm. Charms.. what a great idea for souvenirs. And they’re travel size friendly. Wish you wrote this post before I went to Asia.. 🙁 Haha.. Gerard and I use to collect shot glasses and magnets.. but we said we wouldn’t on this trip because we wouldn’t be able to lug them around for a whole year. Charms though.. I’ll keep that in mind for Europe! 😉
    Kieu ~ GQ trippin recently posted…Camel Safari through the Thar DesertMy Profile

  10. Great post! I love souvenirs and some of my favorite I bought in Asia. I have an I <3 Thailand shirt, which I'm equally obsessed with, and after coming home from Vietnam I wore my silk kimono robe everyday in hopes of being transported back there. Obviously, that didn't work. 🙂 This year, I bought several cds of African music that I love, along with a beautiful mirror and lantern from Egypt. I love the "stuff" I've collected from around the world. Makes me think it's like bringing a piece of that country home with me.
    Erin Marie recently posted…Thoughts on Turning Two.My Profile

  11. You know I love your charm bracelet and that necklace so much. I love artwork that I get from my travels. It takes me back to the locale each time I see it in my house.
    Leah Travels recently posted…Global Entry: Yet Another Advantage to Having Never Been ArrestedMy Profile

    • i know you love my travel charms!! i do too. they are a big part of me. you are brave to buy artwork. that is something i’m more indecisive on…

  12. Those Cambodia souvenirs are a great mix of practicality and fun. Good on you! I like bringing different things, depending on what’s typical in the place. Also wine. 🙂
    Raul (@ilivetotravel) recently posted…Having a Good Time in Willemstad, Curacao: Beach, Food and MusicMy Profile

    • thank you, Raul. i like that phrase ‘practicality & fun’. i might have to describe my travel blog that way too!!

      of course you bring home wine. i do too but i always drink it all quickly!

  13. Rarely do I actually buy a souvenir. I like the free stuff better…like hotel notepads/pens etc. I guess the exception would be our recent trip to California where I have lots of souvenirs sitting on a rack in our dining room:)
    D.J. – The World of Deej recently posted…Finding Florida – Discovering the CapitalMy Profile

    • yeah…my souvenirs are not usually screaming a place’s name. (exception – the i heart t-shirts) i just like to pick up something special that will remind me of the place & take me back. gold charms are timeless & do just that 😉

  14. love that buddha charm! big fans of the atypical souvenir- i bought an oil painting from a vendor along the seine in paris, and its hung in every apartment ive had for the last five years. xo, the wino
    thelazytravelers recently posted…living the swiss lifeMy Profile

    • LOVE that! i find artwork hard to buy. it is the ONE thing i really am indecisive about. AND if you don’t like it when you get home – it’s hard to return!!

  15. I usually do not buy souvenirs. To me pictures are what brings back the memories for me; however, I break down every once in awhile and get something to remind me of a place. Probably my favorite was a guitar strap I bought in the Philippines. I bought two for about $1.00. I gave one to a friend and kept one for myself. Seven years later the strap still is attached to my guitar and has seen a lot of use.
    Traveling Ted recently posted…A superior sunset in the Porcupine Mountains State ParkMy Profile

    • love that, Ted. i don’t buy too much either but i do like to find something special – if i happen to come across it. i knew Cambodia would be an amazing important trip for me & so i knew it deserved a gold charm. thrilled i found my most favorite charm yet & for such a steal 😉

  16. The charm is beautiful – and a lovely reminder of your friendship too!

  17. I specially like the thing you have with the image of Buddha on it. It will always reminds you about your best days here in Cambodia.

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