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!
Planning a trip? Go Backpacking uses and recommends:
- G Adventures for small group tours
- Skyscanner for researching flights
- Hostelworld for booking hostels
- Airbnb for renting rooms and homes
- Rail Europe for train passes
- World Nomads for travel insurance
Actually 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.
Actually 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.
It’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.
Good 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.
Good 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.
It’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.
Hi 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
Hi 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
Hey 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. :)
Hey 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. :)
Keep focusing on your blog. I love how we can all express our feelings. This is an extremely nice blog here :)