Followthe 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.
- it’s from Cambodia.
- i impulsively bought it which makes it more fun!
- i was accompanied by a wonderful friend who i’ll forever be reminded of when i see it.
- 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!!
Ahhh I love this, and it looks much more than $130!! Bargain xxx
Scarlett recently posted…The Scarlett Rum Diaries: It Begins…
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
Personally, I like jackets.
yes, i know. i know. A LOT 😉
Much better than my usual ” I brought home a hangover , a story and some bad pictures ”
Karl recently posted…Go Travel Solo
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!
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!
Hahahaha!!!!! Traveller pants !!!!!! xoxo
i’m wearing the traveler pants right now. i practically never take them off. what the hell has happened to me?!
I collect postcards and snow globes 😀
i like collecting postcards too! how do you display them at home, though, so you remember the places you’ve gone?? xo
Melaniec – i have them on right now. ya know, cuz i’m a travellllllller HAHAHAA! miss you xoxoxox
Mal and I should get a pair for our trip to visit you !!!!
yes, yes you should. we can take funny photos of the 3 of us out & about in our traveler pants 😉
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 – White
yes, Mrs. O, i do get the idea. i wonder how broke i’ll be after my Eurotour?? i’m thinking VERY!
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 Chicago
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!
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 Desert
i know, right?! charms IS a good idea. people love to look at them and ask questions & then you have a story about your travels too! 😉
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.
couldn’t agree more, Erin! i love my trinkets from my travels too. i’d love to see your mirror & lantern some day 🙂
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 Arrested
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…
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 Music
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!
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 Capital
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 😉
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 life
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!!
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 Park
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 😉
The charm is beautiful – and a lovely reminder of your friendship too!
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.
tis true, tis true. Cambodia was a very special trip for me. i feel so lucky to have visited that beautiful country!