Ridiculous things we buy on our travels

Souvenirs for sale

Souvenirs for sale, Luang Prabang

Our house is full of stuff from our trips. As I type this post I have a set of Malawian drums on the shelf above me alongside a strange unnamed string instument from Uganda. On the wall hangs a cartoon map of Argentina and a watercolour from Bristol (of all places). There’s a pottery piece from Peru and a Sri Lankan elephant on the window sill. It’s nice to have these mementos, although they’re a nuisance when we decide to move house.

As the years have passed we’ve become more sensible about bringing these bits of junk back from our trips. We normally settle for a painting or a batik, mainly for the ease of rolling it up and stuffing it in the pack without adding to the weight of what we carry. But it wasn’t always like this.

Perhaps our most impractical gift was not even for us, but for my brother. We had just visited the Terracotta Army in Xi’an in 1995, and we passed on the chance to buy the $30 clay figurines that were being sold in the shop on the site. Outside the kids were selling what appeared to be identical figures, although our guide warned us against buying these as they had not been properly fired in the kiln and would break when exposed to frost. A strange objection, and one we chose to ignore as we were offered 5 figures for $3.

These must have weighed almost 10kg between them and doubled the weight of the pack instantly! What seemed like a bargain at that instant soon proved to be a millstone around my neck (literally) as I had to carry these clay pieces for a further two weeks around China. Fortunately, my brother and his wife were thrilled with the little men and they still adorn their living room 15 years later.

We see many ridiculously bulky items for sale to tourists as we travel. We came across thousands of large wooden dolphins in northern Cambodia (there were probably more wooden dolphins than there are tourists passing by in a whole year), we saw tourists buying large pots in Laos and opting not to ship them but carry them on their trip, and even strange animal statues that serve as garden furniture in Africa, again often seen at the airport being packed into the hold and thrown to the mercy of the baggage handlers.

There are countless opportunities to buy useless rubbish when we travel. The item that looks fantastic on a street stall in Bali can often turn into a embarrassing and tacky eyesore when it’s back home in Birmingham. But people must buy them, or they wouldn’t be there in the first place. Anyone care to own up?

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13 Responses to “Ridiculous things we buy on our travels”

  1. We have an octopus pot we brought home from Tunisia. The fisherman who sold it to us looked at us like we were nuts (well, in fairness we were, and are!) but he only charged us the equivalent of $1USD – how could we refuse?

    It was fairly heavy. But not as bad as the giant fan we elected to buy in the 2nd place we visited in China. Which meant we were dragging it on and off trains for the rest of the trip. On the other hand, the fan has a beautiful dragon painted on it and it’s a wonderful reminder of good trips and happy times.

    Plus, he keeps the giant dragon kite we bought in Malaysia company…

    Ian and Wendy

    March 10, 2010 at 5:51 pm
  2. clareawasw #

    My in-laws started buying us little objects from their many travels – we were rather horrified and didnt know what to do with it for a long time, until we moved and had a large shelf in the kitchen.. so they all sit there now – and we have started to add to it ourselves from our own trips. Sure they collect dust and are tacky but I’ve grown to love them.

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/clarew/3095236805

    PS: Why doesnt every country do tea-towels like they have in England?! LOL that would be great and useful!

    March 10, 2010 at 6:02 pm
  3. R. #

    Being that I’ve yet to figure out where I’m setting up camp, even though I’ve been in Bangkok for over a month, my souvenir shopping hasn’t strayed beyond wearable goods. That said, I don’t think I’d wear most of the stuff if I had a choice (read: my wardrobe back home). Still, no fisherman’s pants for me.

    March 10, 2010 at 7:42 pm
  4. I stopped shopping when I travel, except for one thing: I try and buy a fridge magnet in every major city I visit, and then I put them on a big white board I have in the bathroom. That’s the only thing, although last time I was in Asia I bought a little hand made wallet too, one I could have in my shorts pocket. I simply realised how cluttered my home would have gotten otherwise…

    March 10, 2010 at 9:49 pm
  5. Oh boy I can relate! Fortunately, I no longer have a house, since I’m pretty much a perpetual traveler these days, so I have an excuse for NOT buying this stuff anymore.

    March 11, 2010 at 5:39 am
  6. Haha, great post Andy! I have a bamboo musical instrument (I’ve no idea how to play it) from Indonesia and a Maasai water pouch. Authentic, and they look fine… but pretty useless. LOL!

    March 11, 2010 at 9:25 am
  7. Thanks for some great confessions!
    Ian and Wendy, we need to see a picture of the octopus pot!
    Clare, thanks for sharing your very busy wall with us! Don’t other places do tea towels? Why not? How do they dry their dishes? Ha, a case of British ignorance.
    Ruben, by the time you get home your feet won’t be able to stand normal shoes anymore. Shorts and sandals for the rest of your life.
    Ann-Katrin and Keith, you need to talk to each other about fridge magnets – I think there’s a common theme there?
    Barbara, it’s great to have that freedom of not wondering where to put that giant pot that someone’s trying to sell you. ‘I have no house’ must be a good way to stop the hawkers in their tracks.

    March 11, 2010 at 1:13 pm
  8. This is hilarious! I get crap from customs every time I come back from vacation.

    Declare the value of goods purchased in another country and entering the US: “None.” None?! How many days were you abroad? “Five.” And none? Wine? “No.” Cigars? “Non.” Clothes? “Nope.” Jewelery? “Nooooo.” Art? “…(Annoyed look) NO!”

    However, R.- I wear my fisherman pants from Cambodia all the time!

    -Laura
    http://www.tastethistours.com

    March 15, 2010 at 12:53 pm
  9. I can’t seem to pass up buying at least one little tchotchke in every country I visit, the ones from the guys with tables outside major landmarks. I hate to say it.

    But the expense is minimal, they’re tiny and light and even though the item is usually poorly made and identical to a thousand other ones, I end up falling in love with it after get home. They’re great to help jump start the nostalgia.

    I also have a fairly extensive fridge magnet collection.
    As seen on Keith’s Velvet Escape blog: http://velvetescape.com/blog/2009/09/the-ubiquitous-fridge-magnet-a-readers-collection/

    March 19, 2010 at 5:35 pm
  10. My mom bought this massive fan with thailand scenaries painted onto it. It hangs on the living room wall now. Though it looks much smaller on the wall then it did when we bought it. :s

    I bought this mini clay sampan on my trekking trip to Taman Negara, Malaysia. Its collection dust. lol..

    Sometimes I tell myself I shouldn’t buy unnecessary stuff, then I wonder how else am to remember i visited this place if not for something peculiar to adorn my living area. Lol..

    Cheers

    June 15, 2010 at 4:02 pm
  11. It’s funny how we feel the need to have at least one trinket from each place to remember it by! Usha, it’s when it’s the other way round that it worries me; when you see something you buy in a market, and then you get it home and it’s so big it’s ridiculous!
    An endless topic… thanks to all for the great contributions :-)

    June 15, 2010 at 6:41 pm
  12. I’ll own up. I have no idea what I was thinking, but I had to have it…. http://tinyurl.com/234kpks (Bought in Shanghai, China)
    It is currently serving as a dust collector/ conversational piece in my office. Fun article, I really enjoyed it.

    August 18, 2010 at 11:36 pm
  13. Love it Beau! I can see why it was irresistable. You never know when you might need it :-)

    August 19, 2010 at 11:02 am
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