Souvenirs of our Travels

"Souvenir collecting can be a lot of fun when you travel. Whether they're free, cheap, or pricey, the souvenirs you gather and the souvenirs you create become symbols of special places you visited or experiences you had."  

Susan Breslow Sardone

Bronze Statue from Thailand

Souvenirs – why do we bring home those knickknacks and mementos of our journey?  And why do they sometimes mean so much to us?

I always say that I am not going to buy anymore “things”, I have way too much stuff around already.  So this trip I am not buying anything!  It never works.  Inevitably I see something that is different, that I just can’t live without. 

Tree Root which stands in our entrance area

I have purchased some unusual things over the years.  We have a tree root from the Philippines that has been with us since 1980, when I saw it alongside a road.  It was an unusual shape, and it had been polished up, and when I saw it, I just had to have it.  A man was selling it for practically nothing.  Now I will have to admit, that if I had been traveling where I had to think about getting this root home in a suitcase, then I would have had to pass it up.  But we were stationed there for 2 years, and all our household goods would be shipped home by the Navy, so it became ours.  And it has always held a place of honor in our home.  It is one of my favorite purchases from my travels.

While we were in the Philippines I also brought home close to 100 baskets, some of which I have kept, and some I have gotten rid of.  Wood carvings were also popular there, so we have a large wood caribou statue that we use as a door stop to our bedroom, and a carving of a Ho Tai Buddha.  We also bought a small bar, that has a capiz shell inlaid top and when you open it there is a built in wine rack and space for glasses and other bottles - again something I wouldn't have bought if not for the Navy shipping everything home for us.

Plate from Rhodes, Greece

While in Greece a few years ago I purchased several souvenirs.  I love my little owl that is made of metal and stands on my shelf.  The owl is the symbol for the goddess Athena, and is also the symbol for the city of Athens.  And in Rhodes, Greece we discovered a pottery place that had hand painted plates that were made in their shop.  I bought several for gifts, and kept one for myself.  When I look at these items, I remember our trip to Greece.

 My husband doesn’t tend to purchase much in the way of souvenirs.  He seems to be mostly immune – I think it’s a guy thing.  But he does have a weakness.  Everywhere we go he drinks some of the local beer.  He then finds a beer mug that has the name of that beer on it, and he purchases it.  Most of the time he asks at the bar where he drank the beer if he can purchase the glass there, and about 95% of the time, they have given him the glass free.  He actually hasn’t had to pay for the mug very often.  He has a huge collection of mugs now, from around the world, and he is running out of shelf space in his den.  But that doesn’t stop him from getting another. He just brought back several from our last trip.

My dragon from York

I have purchased Murano Glass in Italy, and Waterford Crystal in Ireland.  And I have a full set of dishes that are oriental in style - service for 8, that I bought in Hong Kong back in 1980, but while I like those things well enough, they are not the kinds of things that become favorites.  It is usually the little things, the things that are slightly different. 

I have several other souvenirs that I am particularly fond of.  I have a ceramic dragon that I purchased in York, England back in 1989.  It is whimsical and it makes me smile.  I remember a song from my childhood, The Reluctant Dragon, and he reminds me of the song.  I also purchased a few cottages on that trip, and when I got home they grew into a whole collection.  I now have my dragon sitting next to a castle from that collection. 

Hand-Painted from the inside,
Bottle I bought in China

 And while in China last year I bought a glass bottle with a tiger hand-painted on it.  The painting is actually done with a very fine brush, on the inside of the bottle.  I watched the person paint one like it, and the talent it takes to paint such fine detail while reaching the brush inside the small bottle was fascinating to watch.  I will always treasure that bottle for the talent of the artist. 

I also bought a very small glass bottle on a little street in Hong Kong.  An old guy was sitting on the street in front of a makeshift store, and he was selling all sorts of unusual items.  Mostly knifes and tools.  But mixed in with this was a small bottle with green frogs and a red cap.  I loved it when I saw it.  It has absolutely no practical use, but it appealed to me, and I bought it from him for just a couple of dollars.  Some of my favorite purchases over the years have not necessarily been expensive, but they are priceless to me.

Frog Bottle from Hong Kong

Unlike the standard souvenir junk that is found in every tourist shop in every city – the T-shirt, dish-towel, keychain or whatever, a real souvenir is yours alone, and has real meaning.  When you look at it, it brings the trip back to you.  You remember the street where you found it, or the person you talked to as you purchased it.  It is a tangible memory of your vacation.

Now, I will admit, that when I travel I see a lot of crap for sell.  And like everyone, I have sometimes bought some of that crap.  There are times I have come home from a trip and looked at my purchases and think "now why did I buy that?"  And then sometimes you just can't resist, even if it is very touristy.  I remember that in the Philippines we came across a small barrel man, and when you pushed the barrel down, up popped a huge penis.  At the time we were part of a small theatre group on the Navy base, and we were putting on a play.  We decided to buy several of those barrel men, we took them back to the base and spray painted them gold, and after the play we gave them out to certain actors as awards – kind of like a Tony Award, only we called them Fred Awards.  We gave one to the actor who made the biggest goof, or who did something funny during rehearsals.  They were well received, even if they were really tacky souvenirs.

Metal owl from Athens

So, is it okay to bring home a souvenir if it makes you think about the area you visited, and about the culture of the place?  Is there a moral pass on a souvenir, if it makes you chuckle?  (Like the guy with the penis jumping out of the barrel in the PI)  This is one of the reasons you travel, for the memories and the fun.  Bringing home little fragments of the trip, makes you remember your trip for years after you are home.  So will I continue to buy things as I travel?  I’m sure I will.
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Delilah

Years ago, my older sister took a trip to Germany.  While she was there she purchased a small carved donkey.  She purchased it in a shop in Oberammergau.  Shortly after her return I visited her, and she showed me that donkey.  She told me she had named it Delilah, and she was obviously very proud of the carving, which was quite well done, and had probably been fairly expensive.  That visit was the last time I saw my sister.  I left for the Philippines a few days later. My husband was in the Navy and we were being stationed there.  My sister had said she would come visit us during our stay there.  But 2 months later she was killed in a car crash.  I flew home for the funeral.  While there my mother asked me if there was anything of Donna's I would like to have.  My first thought was of the little donkey Delilah, and her delight in telling me about her trip and purchasing it.  That donkey has always had a special place in our house and when I look at it, I think of my sister.  We all have a list in our head of what we would grab if our house was on fire, after family and the dogs, Delilah is the next thing on my list.  Some souvenirs just become very special for reasons you never would have dreamed of when you bought them!
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My next posting is an extension of this one - sometimes you don't know what to do with something you have brought home, but don't despair, hold on to them, and sometimes a brilliant idea will come to you.  If not, well you can always gift it.