Souvenir Shopping 101

You can't travel to another country without leaving with a physical memento. The process of picking and bartering for souvenirs can be a learning process and lots of fun! However, you may run into a few problems. Who do you buy souvenirs for? Will you have room in your luggage? How much should you spend? What do you get? Well, I hope to give you some guidance to help alleviate any anxiety.

Shopping in Cusco!

I will first say, have an idea of what you may want in mind. Do some research (so much research, but it's fun research!). Figure out what the city or country is known for. Cambodia is known for its silk farms, Japan for its technology, Peru for alpaca wool, Italy for food and wine, etc.  What are you interested in?

Before my first trip to Europe, someone suggested to purchase the same kind of souvenir every place I went to start a collection. So, I decided to buy spoons and rosaries. However, these became difficult to come by at many tourist attractions. So I nixed that idea. Trevor and I met some awesome, well-traveled Aussies on our Macchu Picchu trip, and they collect magnets (no porcelain ones since they could fall and break) and something to decorate their house. We really liked this idea, so besides a magnet and a decoration, we buy a shot glass, and something the country is known for. For a budget friendly option, get addresses of all friends and family, and write/send them a post card from each city. You will need to find out where you can buy the stamps and post box. Shot glasses can be tricky as they are fragile. Plus some shops just slap on a sticker that after one wash it falls off. I try to hold off as long as possible before buying the shot glass, maybe the morning of departure. I make sure they wrap it in paper and then take a sock and roll it in there. If I have brought an extra pair of shoes,
I will then typically stick it in there or make sure to snuggle it in the top of my bag. We go after some form of art (Aboriginal art from Australia, Woven alpaca tapestry from Peru, street painting of the Eiffel Tower from Paris, etc). Now it hangs in our house for our visitors to see. These items were typically moreMore recently I have ran across flag patches of the host country, such as here. Of course one can order them, but much more fun to purchase them in the country you visit. You will see them scattered on packs at the train/bus station of beginner and experience travelers alike.



Things to avoid:

• Bulky items. Yes that cuckoo clock made from black forest wood would look great in your home, but is it worth the hassle?
• Anything that could be mistaken as a weapon. Take into consideration how strict airport security is. I had to plead to TSA to allow me to bring my boomerang with me. If you check your bags in, of course the risk is not there, but we do not fly this way.
• Food/vegetation. Minus the fact it spoils and could stink up the plane, customs does not allow food or vegetation. Alcohol is allowed on checked in bags.

Everything is negotiable