Timeless Travel Souvenirs

Most of us bring something home from our travels as gift to our family, friends and love ones or simply just for our own keep-sakes. Though I tend to avoid buying a lot of stuff now that I’m on a long term backpacking trip, I do often buy travel souvenirs during my short trips.

Here are some of the items that I frequently bring home from my trips:

Local Handicrafts:

Handwoven Carpet at Darjeeling, India

Regardless if I travel locally or internationally, I do buy interesting small unique handicrafts that I often see in markets. I used to keep some of these items just for myself but now I usually just give them away to my friends and family.

Postcards:

Postcards from Kaza, India and Siem Reap, Cambodia

Sometimes, if I just want to send something right away, I do send postcards. Nowadays, since most of us are carrying cameras, we can have our own photos printed instead and make it as a custom made presents to our family and friends. There are certain companies that could help you do postcard printing in bulk for an affordable cost such as Uprinting.

Local Artwork:

Artwork at 1961, Siem Reap, Cambodia

Art works made locally are favourite souvenirs among short term travellers that I’ve met. These are unique and really beautiful products that are definitely worth carrying back home. This is also a nice way to support the local artists in the places that you go to.

Garments:

Batiks at Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Various places in the world are known to create beautiful garments and related products just like India is known for its shawls and Indonesia for its Batiks and Sarongs. These products make great souvenirs because they’re extremely useful and of course very beautiful.

Local Food and Delicacies:

Lao Coffee at Luang Prabang, Laos

Whenever I travel locally, I always bring back home local delicacies from the provinces that I’ve visited in the Philippines. If you’re travelling internationally, you may or may not be able to do this depending on your home country’s customs regulation. In my own experience, local delicacies from other places are the things that my friends and family always look forward in getting.

How about you? What are the kinds of souvenirs that you frequently bring back home?