Travel Souvenirs/Mementos

[JamesBon92007]

I have those also, you are from Californa, have you had the pleasure of putting a penny on the track at Knotts berry farm...I still have 1 from way back then. the nannies prob dont let you do that now.

These end up embossed with the location like this: and are super easy memento, and dont take up too much room in your bag or at home.

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I never did that at Knotts but my grandparents had some flattened pennies that I suppose could have been flattened at Knotts. I probably got the idea about using a train from my grandfather but I don't think he specified any particular train.

Back to the subject: does Cayman have an local coins that will work? I have no idea what currency they use.

 

[Dizzi Lizzi]

I assume they do since there is a machine in GC. They did have a small copper penny and a 25 cent coin....
in england they had pressed pence machines so I think the machines are made to fit each countries currency

 

[Damselfish]

I have too much crap and too many t-shirts, so mostly I try to resist anymore. I also used to feel compelled to go souvenir shopping for close family and friends each trip, but I got over that long ago. Sometimes I'll get something I really like, ideally truly local and somewhat unique. Even better if it's consumable like liquor, spices, hot sauce, chocolate. Storyboard from Palau, a Caymanite fish that I made a necklace from, Saba spice, weird flavors of Kit Kats in the Tokyo airport, a shirt and fabric from the batik place on St Kitts, batiks and locally printed fabrics from various other places. I guess my weakness is fabric.

I keep an eye out for small ceramic dishes, like soy sauce dishes, which I actually use. It's surprisingly hard to find nice ones so it gives me a shopping mission that I usually fail at, which is perfect.

 

[KeithG]

Agreed with "too much crap". My house is getting too full. Many (most, all?) are made in the same factory in China.

We used to grab fridge magnets and tshirts. The tshirts were crap quality so we stopped that. We remodelled the kitchen and magnets don't stick to the new fridge so we stopped that. Every now and then I buy some hot sauce, if it is locally made. other than that all i bring home now is picture (and a pocket full of the local currency).

I took about 300 pictures today. We are visiting Quebec City. Saturday is Quebec's "national holiday". They are a bit like Texas...

 

[Bubblesong]

I usually try for a holiday ornament, but I LOVE squashed coins. I've got them from all over here in the states and some from england, and ireland. I've not dive traveled much and in the Caymans I got a blank look when I explained what I was looking for LOL.

If the is a train track nearbye, it would a DIY opportunity! We used to squish coins on tracks as kids.

 

[Bubblesong]

We have bought original art, because it goes on the wall, not cluttering up tables.
@giffenk mentiined Quebec City and that city has a great "Art Alley" with really pretty paintings of Old Quebec City and the area, the most beautiful City in North America.
Quebec City also has a great quirky and singular fashion culture for re-hashed clothing, they call it up-cycled clothing, to save the earth.

 

[JamesBon92007]

We have bought original art, because it goes on the wall, not cluttering up tables.
@giffenk mentiined Quebec City and that city has a great "Art Alley" with really pretty paintings of Old Quebec City and the area, the most beautiful City in North America.
Quebec City also has a great quirky and singular fashion culture for re-hashed clothing, they call it up-cycled clothing, to save the earth.

I only buy art that I know I will regret having not bought. I have quite a few paintings.

 

[outofofficebrb]

We try and get a souvenir that we can use as a Christmas ornament for our tree. It doesn't have to be specifically an ornament, but it could be something we can turn into one by simple modification as well. We like to write the month and year of our visit along with the location/country.

I generally like to purchase the dive shop's t-shirt if I really enjoyed my time there diving with them. It sparks great conversations with other divers when I wear them in random places.

Lately, Mr. OOO has also been getting magnets. We generally don't like kitschy souvenirs but that's the exception. We generally don't like to find things in the typical tourist souvenir shops...Things that are more local, hand made, one off, not mass produced. Things that are good accent pieces in the house or decorative.

 

[Wingy]

I bought a gigantic Iguana - overnighting in Phuket I needed to go to an Aussie bar to watch the Lightening Stakes (I had racehorses at the time) so some dude with the obligatory iguana take picture was strolling along and I was watching this poor iguana getting dropped, having beer poured in his mouth etc the usual Bangla road stupidity so I bought the Iguana after much negotiations to save him from another night in and out of the clubs and bars. Seemed like a good idea at the time, except I was staying in a very expensive 5 star hotel on another part of the island so I spent the night cleaning up iguana guano and ordering various menu items to see what he would eat. Even worse, I had a dive boat transfer picking me up at 7am. I'm probably one of the few people to ever turn up with a large iguana as a dive buddy. I paid the driver to look after Iggy for me while I was diving (thankfully he did) but then had to do something with the iguana as there was no way I could sneak him through customs. I had friends living down in Songkhla so I caught buses and taxis to the end of the country to give him to my mates where he still lives happily today. All up the iguana souvenier cost me about $2500 including his likeness I had tattooed on my back seeing I couldn't take him home.

I try to now buy things that aren't so..stupid...Spices from spice islands are my usual thing, some nice carved bowls from PNG, lace work and Valiha's from Madagascar..also not technically allowed through customs but much easier to conceal than a large iguana

 

[UFOrb]

I bought a gigantic Iguana

What an opening line! ...and great storey Massive kudos to you! I'm glad it worked out for the iguana