Despite 17 hours of transit time, I was still excited to open the packages of souvenirs I'd mailed home from Hong Kong, China, Nepal, India, Thailand, and South Africa when I got home from Colombia.
Some of the stuff seemed trivial (like the stupid aluminum can tuk-tuk I paid far too much for in a Bangkok market) while other items like the Tibetan “Wheel of Life” thangka I spent a day shopping for in Kathmandu were as beautiful as I'd remembered.
For a few items, I used expensive courier shipping like FedEx, but for most, I relied on the national mail service.
I lost one package, which contained all the souvenirs I'd bought in Cambodia and Laos, plus a few DVD's of photos and videos. I learned a valuable lesson I used the rest of my trip, and will continue to adhere to on future trips – burn two copies of photos/video, so if you mail one home and it doesn't arrive, you've got the back-up still in possession. Blank DVD's aren't that expensive these days…anywhere.
Thankfully, I had been compulsively uploading ALL my photos to Flickr like a mindless travel-blogging zombie, but only a few of the video clips were ever uploaded to YouTube, so the rest of the footage I took during the time period was lost.
Since I didn't talk much about my souvenirs while I was traveling, I thought I'd feature some of my favorites week to week. Of course, each one has a story to tell…if I can manage to remember them!
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Lilliy says
July 23, 2009 at 11:34 amActually now you can also upload videos on flickr as well. But when I was traveling most times it wouldn’t upload. I still give them a try. I too upload everything on flickr and youtube.
It seemed like it was your birthday or something.
Lilliy says
July 23, 2009 at 4:34 pmActually now you can also upload videos on flickr as well. But when I was traveling most times it wouldn’t upload. I still give them a try. I too upload everything on flickr and youtube.
It seemed like it was your birthday or something.
Sharon Hurley Hall says
July 24, 2009 at 9:56 amIt’s always great to unpack your memorabilia and relive the stories belonging to each one. I got a similar sensation after moving when the stuff I had shipped finally arrived two months later.
Dave says
July 24, 2009 at 4:37 pmGood point – my family moved twice while I was growing up and I remember having a fun time unpacking all my stuff in a new room/house each time.
Dave says
July 24, 2009 at 11:37 amGood point – my family moved twice while I was growing up and I remember having a fun time unpacking all my stuff in a new room/house each time.
parkrideflyusa says
July 24, 2009 at 2:56 pmIt’s always great to unpack your memorabilia and relive the stories belonging to each one. I got a similar sensation after moving when the stuff I had shipped finally arrived two months later.
TravMonkey says
July 28, 2009 at 8:58 pmHi Dave,
Nothing worth than loosing things you bought whilst traveling, although it tends to happen quite a lot.
I have that many photos from my last big trip… I haven’t had time to actually do anything cool with them yet. There is just too many!
Paul @
TravMonkey.com
TravMonkey says
July 28, 2009 at 3:58 pmHi Dave,
Nothing worth than loosing things you bought whilst traveling, although it tends to happen quite a lot.
I have that many photos from my last big trip… I haven’t had time to actually do anything cool with them yet. There is just too many!
Paul @
TravMonkey.com
Dave says
August 5, 2009 at 5:14 amHey Paul – always good to hear from you. There is a lot I want to do with my photos and video too….but so far, finding a job will have to come first. Or maybe second to creating (and hopefully selling) a calendar. :)
Dave says
August 5, 2009 at 12:14 amHey Paul – always good to hear from you. There is a lot I want to do with my photos and video too….but so far, finding a job will have to come first. Or maybe second to creating (and hopefully selling) a calendar. :)
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