A Guide For Finding The Perfect Travel Souvenir

by Jessica Festa on

You know the feeling. There are only two days left of your vacation, and you still haven’t gone souvenir shopping. It’s not that you don’t want to get a special memento from the trip; it’s that you have no idea what to get. Use this guide on your next trip to help you choose the perfect travel souvenir for absolutely anyone.

Research The Culture Beforehand

Before leaving home, do some research to find out what types of handicrafts and items you can expect to find. Some cultural souvenirs I’ve purchased on my travels include wooden masks and indigenous artwork in Ghana, alpaca hats in Peru, masapan dolls in Calderon, Ecuador (shown right), a Panama hat in Sig Sig, Ecuador, and hand-sewn bags in Chiang Rai, Thailand, made by at-risk women. I try to buy souvenirs that I know are also helping the locals who make them instead of large corporations. Additionally, you’ll want to look up if there are any scams you’ll need to be careful of, like locals commonly lying about the authenticity of a certain product, so you can be savvy about your purchases.Know The Rules

You would be surprised how many souvenirs people purchase that aren’t allowed out of the country they’re visiting or into the country they’re flying to. If you remember just last month, two tourists were detained at the U.S. border for trying to bring back chocolate Kinder Eggs, which are illegal in the United States because of the potentially hazardous small toys inside. Many times when products are created using a natural material like wood, you have to be careful of how the handicraft is made and finished. Additionally, foods and drinks often have very specific laws regarding what you can transport. Mailing souvenirs home also presents potential challenges. I once spent over $100 on seasonings and pastas in Florence to send home to my parents, only to be told you can’t mail food and beverage products, even if they are dry.

Make Sure It Won’t Land You In Jail

Taking the previous point a step further, you also don’t want to deliberately break the law just to get a great souvenir story. Sure, bringing home cocaine from Colombia may be seen by some as an interesting souvenir; however, that’s only if you even make it home before getting arrested. Even softer drugs like marijuana can get you into big trouble, especially since laws vary from country to country. Research the laws of each country you visit beforehand, and skip making risky purchases.

Stay Away From Touristy Souvenir Shops

Like I said previously, it’s nice when purchasing a souvenir to try to help local craftspeople. When you purchase something from a touristy souvenir shop or hotel gift store, you’re most likely getting something that isn’t authentic and may even have been made in another country. Not only that, but browsing local markets, especially in the open air, can be a cultural experience in itself.

Get Something That’s Useful

While figurines and carvings are nice, they’ll inevitably end up forgotten about on the shelf. If you can get something the person you’re purchasing will actually use, your souvenir will get much more mileage. Items like hand-sewn bags, jewelry, dishes, glasses, hats and scarves are my favorite. For instance, when I was in Bolivia, I purchased baby alpaca socks, one of the warmest varieties, for my dad to use when he goes hunting. He absolutely loved them, unlike the Loch Ness Monster figurine I bought him from a gift shop in Scotland – yes, bad move, not to mention he thought it was a dragon.

Keep The Person You’re Buying For In Mind

While you may think handmade shell earrings are a great keepsake, if the person you’re buying for doesn’t have pierced ears it will be a waste. Think about the person you’re buying for and what their interests are. If they cook, a beautiful bowl could be something they’d appreciate. Maybe this person loves music. Buying them a CD from a local artist would make a worthwhile cultural present. If they’re interested in fashion, purchasing something that gives them insight into the local style could be a great gift. When buying something for myself, I have only one qualification: that every time I look at it, I am flooded with strong memories of my trip.

It Fits Safely Into Your Luggage

First of all, you don’t want to be lugging something heavy around from city to city. This may not matter as much to someone who is staying in one spot for their entire trip; however, as a backpacker who has to carry every ounce on her back, I always opt for as weightless and small a souvenir as possible. Also, you’re going to want to make sure the item you purchase won’t be broken into several pieces by the time you get home. If it’s made of glass or ceramic, make sure the retailer wraps it in very durable, protective covering. Consider labeling your luggage as “fragile,” or mailing it home and telling the postal worker the package contains something breakable.

Make Something

One experiential souvenir idea is to make a souvenir yourself. I don’t mean glue some local macaroni onto some locally purchased paper. Take a cultural class or ask a craftsman if they can show you how to make something. For instance, when I was in New Zealand I got the chance to make a small wood carving with a group of indigenous locals. Sure, it wasn’t the prettiest souvenir I’ve ever taken home, but looking at it brings back strong memories of interacting with the culture, and reminds me of how much I want to go back.

Keep Something From Along The Way

Along your travels you may be given some items that also make great souvenirs. For example, in Vietnam I went on a tour with Intrepid Travel, who gave the group locally made chopsticks so we’d always have them on hand. Furthermore, in Morocco, I watched a local craftsman at work creating beautiful tile mosaics. After I complimented his work, he gave me one of his tiles to keep for myself.

Make Use Of Your Photos

If the souvenir is for yourself, why not make use of all the photos you took along the way and create a collage or scrapbook? Pictures have the ability to preserve memories in a visual way that not many other souvenirs can. I have made scrapbooks from almost all my big trips, and are great for helping me to remember and relive my travel experiences.

[Images via Jessie on a Journey, Casey Serin, Jessie on a Journey, Jessie on a Journey, Bruce Guenter]

10 Locals To Befriend On Your Next Trip

by Jessica Festa on

When traveling, interacting with locals can really enhance your trip. From showing you lesser-known sights to teaching you about local culture and giving you offbeat tips you wouldn’t find in a guidebook, residents in the city you visit are worth getting to know. To help give you some travel insight, here are 10 locals to befriend on your next trip.

The Taxi Driver

Many travelers don’t realize when they get into a cab they are actually stepping through a portal of information. They spend their days driving people all over the city, so they know the best places to go for just about anything you’re looking for. Ask them for dining information, where to get a great view of the city, the best markets for getting a deal and what some of the more offbeat sites are. I’ll usually even ask them to put together an itinerary for me with the question: “If you had friends visiting, how would you spend a day with them?”

Additionally, taxi drivers can tell you more than just where to go and what to see. These people have seen it all, and in my experience, are usually extremely open, fun and talkative. Even when I’m home in New York, my friends and I will often get into taxis and ask the driver to pretend we’re in the Cash Cab and ask us trivia questions. I can’t think of a driver who has ever declined. When I travel I always have about 10 million questions about everything from food to dating and fashion, and my cab drivers are the ones who get bombarded with them. And unless you ask something extremely inappropriate, they’re usually happy to answer.The Hotel Staff

Whether I’m staying in a hostel, hotel or guesthouse, I always try to befriend the staff. In fact, many of these people have become friends I still keep in touch with. Their job entails helping people to discover the best the city has to offer – not to mention they live there themselves – so they’re happy to tell you the hidden secrets. After their shift, they may even offer to accompany you. On my last birthday, I was traveling solo in Mendoza, Argentina. I didn’t want to spend the day alone, and confided this to my hostel receptionist, Javier. Luckily, Javier helped me get a group together that included hostel staff, locals and himself to go out for dinner at the “best asado restaurant in town” and for drinks at “Mendoza’s best wine bar” to celebrate. It ended up being one of my best birthdays.

The Tour Guide

In my experience, tour guides are the easiest locals to befriend. It always seems as if they take on the job to not only educate the public, but also meet new people. And of course, since their job is to show tourists around the city, you’ll know they’ll be a good person to get recommendations from and explore with. On almost every tour I’ve been on, I’ve invited the guide out for drinks or to walk around the city, and it always turns into a worthwhile experience. One of the best tour guide friends I made was on San Cristobal Island in the Galapagos. My scuba diving instructor, Jens, and I began chatting on the boat, and the next day he came with me on a jeep tour of the island. The entire group was thankful, as our real guide couldn’t speak any English, so Jens was able to translate as well as add in tidbits of his own knowledge. And when my camera broke at the beach, he was able to put me in contact with someone who sold me their used camera for a very cheap price.

The Barista

Getting to know the barista at a local coffee shop can help make the city feel more like home. Not only can they give you insight into the city’s coffee culture, they’re often open to talking about life beyond the cafe, as well. And if you spend enough time relaxing with your cuppa joe in the shop, you’re likely to become fast friends.

The Local Children

Local children are great to befriend, not only because they’re cute, but also because they usually love talking to anyone and everyone. Not only that, they think everything is interesting, so you’ll get tidbits of knowledge most adults don’t deem worth mentioning. For example, when I was in Ghana I worked at an orphanage, and many of the children loved showing me their workbooks from school. Most likely, no adult is going to throw into a conversation, “so the children are learning about religion and household roles at school.” However, it was fascinating for me to learn about the education system in the country, how it differed from the one in my country and what this said about Ghanian culture.

The Student

If you’re traveling during the summer, it won’t be hard to find a local student eager to do something with their free time. Hangout at student bars, peruse message boards or head to the nearest student cafe to get to know some of these locals. Most likely, they’ll be happy to take you out for beers and give you some insider tips. In Lima, Peru, I befriended one student who actually gave me a tour of his campus, introduced me to his friends and told me about what classes were like in the city. It was an interesting excursion, and not one I would have thought to do on my own.

The Local Celebrity

Meeting a local celebrity can give you a quirky look into local culture. New York’s Naked Cowboy, the Elephant Man in Barcelona and the Egg Lady in Gimmelwald, Switzerland, are just a few that I’ve encountered. They’re usually famous for some quality they bring to the city, so meeting them is a unique experience. If you’re not sure who the local celebrity is, ask your hotel, taxi driver or any of the other above-mentioned locals.

It’s also possible to meet local celebrities. When I was living in Sydney, Australia, I won tickets to a film awards show. I had no idea what to expect, as I didn’t know much about Australian films. The event was glamorous, with a red carpet, impeccable decor and free-flowing Champagne. While I didn’t recognize any of the awarded names, I couldn’t help but feel like a teenage girl meeting Justin Bieber at the after party. It was really exciting to sit and chat with these local celebrities who people in the film community deemed to be helping to put Australian movies on the world map. If performance doesn’t interest you, you can seek out high profile locals in the communities you find worthwhile, like humanitarianism, cooking, farming or business.

The CouchSurfer

As an avid CouchSurfing member, I have spent much time abroad meeting locals through this medium. While some are expats and others have lived in the city their entire lives, all have a wealth of knowledge and are always excited to share it. Because the site is made for travelers who want to meet locals and vice versa, you know you’ll be able to find someone who is excited to show you around. I’ve gotten to have some really “behind the scenes” experiences by meeting CouchSurfers, like watching local painters at work, learning to tango for free, attending a birthday party and helping to cook for potluck suppers.

The Chef

One of best ways to get to know a culture is through food. And what better way to taste the city’s best food than by befriending a chef? Whether it’s a 5-star Michelin Chef or a street food vendor, get to know these people by sampling their cuisine and asking them how they make it and what the dish’s importance is in the community. It’s also a great excuse to indulge in delicious foods.

The Local Activist

If you want to dig even deeper into the culture, befriend a local activist. Learn about issues in the community and how people are responding. Who knows, maybe you’ll even be able to come with a solution or strategy to help the city you’re visiting.

[Images via Adam Jones, Ph.D, David McKelvey, Jessie on a Journey, Melissa Wentarmini, N A I T]

Travel Troubles: What To Do When You Lose Your Passport Abroad

by Rachel Friedman on

Some people are accident-prone. Others attract bad relationships. Me, I get into travel trouble. I once broke a piece off a plane mid flight – luckily not one crucial for flying. I’ve been robbed and swindled – in Bolivia, both in the same morning. There are friends of mine who joke that the only sure thing when traveling with me is that our flight will be canceled. I confess to you that I have even been deported.

Amazingly, I’ve never actually lost my passport. (Just a moment, please, while I race around knocking on every available wood surface in my apartment.) However, being embarrassingly prone to travel troubles, I’ve gone ahead and prepared for the highly likely possibility that this will one day occur. Here’s what to do when you lose that prized official ID, according to various subjective (me) and objective (the government) sources.

Panic
What? You’re not panicking? You’ve lost your PASSPORT. You might be stuck in a place that is not America FOREVER. I’m kidding. Do not panic. Definitely don’t. Do you know what happens when you panic? Well, it has something to do with the shift of blood flow and “fight or flight” and sweating and, see, it’s all very scientific so let me simplify things by saying that it’s the reason all those big-breasted, short-skirted girls run up the stairs in horror movies. In your case, it’s the reason you are currently braced against the nearest wall, starting to breath funny, and wondering if 25-year-olds ever have heart attacks. This will keep you from taking the necessary steps to remedy this unfortunate situation. So stay calm, guy. Everything is going to okay.If You See Something, Say Something
Of course, you might not have actually seen anything at all. When I was robbed in La Paz, the culprits set up an elaborate spit-on-the-target-and-abscond-with-her-stuff-while-she-is-wiping-disgusting-goo-off-her-neck ruse. I had no clue who these ninjas were. (Side note: referring to the people who rob you as “ninjas” makes you feel better than admitting they were probably not particularly gifted 12-year-olds.) Still, I filed a police report and you should, too. It’s important for making claims with travel insurance, at the very least. And you can rest a little easier that night knowing you’ve done your small citizen part to fight crime in Gotham City (or wherever you are).

Get thee to an Embassy
Turns out you’re not spending a lazy morning sucking down espressos at that quaint little bakery in rural France. Nope, you’re on the next train back to far less friendly Paris to visit your embassy. Here’s what will happen when you get there, according to the Bureau of Consular Affairs website: “You will need to speak to the American Citizens Services unit of the Consular Section … You will need to complete a new passport application. The consular officer taking an application for replacement of a lost, stolen, or misplaced passport must be reasonably satisfied as to your identity and citizenship before issuing the replacement. In virtually all cases this can be done through examination of whatever citizenship and identity documents are available, conversations with the applicant, close observation of demeanor and replies to questions asked, and discussions with the applicant’s travelling companions or contacts in the United States.” My unsolicited advice: don’t make any jokes about being a double agent or respond “Jason Bourne” when asked your name. I understand the embassy has a terrible sense of humor.

Ask for Help
Before traveling to any foreign country, I make sure to learn a few key phrases. How much does this cost? Where is the nearest restroom? Is what I’m eating right now technically food or are you just hazing unsuspecting tourists? Useful things like that. Another helpful sentence would go something like this: Help, please, I’ve just been robbed and I need to use your Internet/phone/bottle of tequila. (If you lost your passport over-indulging in the local wine, say, I recommend neglecting the specifics of how you ended up ID-less and only wearing one shoe and concocting a more sympathetic storyline. The travel gods will forgive you the white lie.) Losing a passport sucks, no doubt about it. But you might look at it as an opportunity, albeit an unwanted one, to witness for yourself the kindness of strangers. In any given place, even New York City, I promise you, there are compassionate locals ready to offer help. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to find them.

Back it Up, Back it Up, Back it Up
This is more of a post (or ideally pre) passport loss piece of advice – common sense but often ignored, as is the way with much common sense. You should have copies of all your important documents: passport and driver’s license, boarding passes, traveler’s checks. If you’re a real overachiever, you’ve stashed copies with a loved one back home and somewhere in your luggage – not to mention scanned the stuff and saved copies in your email. I’ve heard that getting new passport photos taken abroad can by a royal pain in the embassy so you might consider bringing these along for the journey, too.

[Flickr image via Howdy, I’m H. Michael Karshis]

Travel Rule #1: Talk To Strangers

by Dave Seminara on

The man approaching our parked car had an unkempt beard and was wearing a dirty T-shirt. My first inclination was to try to avoid him, but then I had a sudden change of heart. Earlier that morning, I remarked to my wife that we’d been traveling around the U.S. for more than a month and hadn’t really made a single new friend or, for that matter, even had a very substantive conversation with anyone other than people I was interviewing for a story.

This realization came to me after noticing that a friend we had met on the Greek island of Patmos a few months before had posted a photo of his cat on my Facebook page. Seeing Vlachos the Cat made me think of all the friends we made while traveling in Italy and Greece over a three-month period earlier this year. Now that we were back in the good old USA, how come we weren’t meeting people on our home turf?We were in Manchester, Vermont and had just parked our car in front of a breakfast place we were about to patronize when the scruffy looking guy that I had decided not to avoid parked his bike across the street and ambled over to our car.

“You’re from Virginia?” he asked, noticing our license plate.

“We spent the last two years in Falls Church,” I said.

“I hate Virginia,” he said. “You should move here.”

The man introduced himself as Chris and he and I got to talking, as my wife tried to corral my two young sons, who were playing on the sidewalk. In about 15 minutes, Chris told me the Cliff Notes story of his life. After graduating from college in the ’70s he walked across the state of Ohio to meet Ralph Nader because he wanted to work for the Green Party and thought that might impress him.

In the ’80s, he gravitated to Arlington, Virginia, but hated it there, so he moved to a town called Strasburg in the Shenandoah region based on his desire to live in the “real Virginia.”

“I hated that goddamn place,” he said. “I’ve never seen more ignorant, backward people in my entire life.”

It seemed as though Chris had stopped to talk to us primarily because he wanted to vent a little about our adopted home state, but I didn’t mind because our morning had just gotten a bit more interesting. Chris moved to Manchester earlier this year and said he’d found paradise. He said he was “hoping to get into environmental engineering,” and I loved the fact that at his age he was still wondering what to do with his life.

“Don’t let the high home prices here in town fool you,” he said. “I just picked up a log cabin, a little primitive but not bad, for 80k, about 20 minutes away from here.”

Eventually, we parted company but I was glad that I stopped to talk, or mostly listen, to Chris. The friends you make while traveling might not become lifelong buddies but if I don’t meet people when I’m traveling I feel a little like I’ve missed something. When I think back to my favorite trips, I tend to remember the people I’ve met more than the things I’ve seen.

After talking to Chris, I thought about how we had made so many friends in the Mediterranean and realized that the reason we weren’t making friends on the road in the U.S. wasn’t because people here are less friendly or approachable. It was us and how we were traveling. Here are a few thoughts on making friends while on the road.

Get out of your car. In three months on the road in the Mediterranean, we rented cars for a grand total of just two weeks and, while not having a car can be an inconvenience in some places, it also creates opportunities to meet people. We met loads of people on trains, buses and ferries and a few more while mooching rides to places we couldn’t get to on public transport.

Trying to visit places in the U.S. without a car is a lot harder than it is in many other parts of the world but you can still park your car and sightsee on foot or bike more often than you might think. When you’re driving around seeing things inside your car, you obviously aren’t going to meet anyone.

Brings kids and/or dogs. OK, I admit that bringing small children on a trip isn’t the most relaxing way to spend your holiday, and a lot of hotels don’t allow dogs, but kids and dogs are great conversation starters.

Don’t be in a rush. People who know me know that I have a hard time with this one. Americans have a tendency to travel like cheetahs on amphetamines. We want to cover 12 countries in 6 days and see everything that’s listed in our guidebook. That’s a surefire recipe for not meeting anyone.

Don’t get too comfortable. When we travel to another country, especially if we don’t know the local language, we are in many ways helpless. We need to seek people out to ask them how to get places and how to do things, but when you’re in your own country, you’re a lot more self-sufficient.

Here in the U.S., we have a GPS and I have a phone that allows me to pull up restaurant reviews or anything else I need in a moment. I like that technology, but it also robs us of the chance to stop and ask people for help, directions and recommendations. Use the technology, but still stop and ask someone if the route your GPS suggests is a good one, or if the good reviews you read about on Yelp are legit.

Stay in small hotels or bed and breakfast places. When visiting large U.S. cities, we have a tendency to stay in big chain hotels, but if you seek out smaller, independent places you can get to know your hosts – who are often very interesting people. In Italy, we made friends with landlords who rented us apartments in Spoleto, Perugia and Lecce and they helped give us insights into their hometowns, and in Greece, we became friendly with a host of couples that ran the small hotels we stayed in.

Some bed and breakfasts in the U.S. don’t welcome families with small children but if you do your homework you can find family-friendly establishments.

Become a journalist, if only for a day. Blog about your travels and use your site as an excuse to interview people you want to talk to.

Split from your group at least once. Solo travelers are more approachable and when you travel as a couple or a group, you tend to rely on each other for conversation. At least once or twice on any trip, split up from your party for at least a half day and see what happens. When you reconvene, you’ll enjoy each other’s company all the more so.

Make the effort. This is really the most important rule. We managed to sleepwalk through a month of travel in the U.S. largely because we were a self-contained unit, dependent only on each other, traveling by car and mostly staying in large hotels. Strike up conversations with people and don’t assume that everyone that approaches you is hoping to save your soul or fleece you.

[Photos of strangers met on the road by Dave Seminara]

International Business Travel Tips, From Business Travelers

by Chris Owen on

After posting our 10 Tips For International Business Travel, readers responded with some engaging comments. Chiming in with additional tips that work, their ideas for international business travel have an undeniable common sense. Based on their personal experience, with some lessons learned “the hard way,” readers shared not what they heard would be a good idea, but what they did that worked. Take a look and see if you agree.

Bring Local Currency With You
“Take foreign currencies with you,” advises Rosie in her comment, adding “In France, you cannot go to a bank to change dollars, you need to go to the Post Office, but they will NOT exchange $100 bills unless they have been verified as genuine by the French Banque de France. And this could take a minimum of 3 weeks. Apparently, a lot of fake $100 bills ‘manufactured’ in Russia have been floating about.”

Notify Credit Card Companies In Advance
Annie recommends, “notifying your credit card company(s) of your itinerary. Also if on a cruise notify them of the name of the line & where they bill from. My card co. did recognize the name of the billing co. & it was really annoying as the card co. doesn’t have 24/7 call service. Also check your medical insurance! Medicare participants especially need to check their supplemental as most only cover $10,000 out of the country (except emergencies in Canada).”

Scan Documents, Be Prepared, Know What To Do
“In addition to carrying copies of your documents and cards and leaving a set with family, scan copies to your email account,” commented reader brinniewales. “This helps considerably in case everything you are carrying is lost or stolen and/or no one is available at home to respond to your immediate needs. Internet cafes are available around the world, so those copies of documents and cards are just a few clicks away.

If your passport is lost or stolen, and if possible, check the government website to determine the requirements for a replacement passport before going to your embassy or consulate. You may be able to complete the form online and print a completed copy to submit. Photos are necessary so, if necessary (if not taken at the embassy), take the appropriate number (and size) of photos.”Have A Backup Plan and Know The Rules
Lou had a bunch of comments including, “Leave a complete list of the contents of your wallet and valuables home with someone who can immediately report these items to credit card companies, law enforcement, US Customs or insurance companies.

Business travel may require a VISA where tourist does not. Business travel laws and rules vary in most foreign countries. Also items you travel with may be considered for tariff. It’s smart to have a letter of invitation from [your] client stating your business.”

Better Than An App For That
“Here’s a good idea for protecting your valuables and keeping track of your iPhone, your iPad, your laptop and even your camera, keys, luggage and passport,” wrote Gordon. “Two years ago, I found Okoban and obtained tracker tags for a free global lost and found service. I put them on all of my valuables.”

It paid off in Rome. I left my passport at a restaurant at lunch. That afternoon, I received a text message from Okoban saying that my passport had been found. I did not even know it was missing.”

Know Your Cards And Don’t Assume
Hanky wanted us to know that he “just returned from Europe a few weeks ago, so my experience is fresh.

  • Be sure you have a credit card that can be used internationally, i.e. Citibank cards in the US are not used in Europe, call for the upgrade at least one month early and they will send a new card that can be used in all locations.
  • Be sure you call all your banks and credit/debit cards to tell them your travel dates, so they don’t reject a bill.
  • Be sure you take the appropriate electric converters, we stayed at the Ritz and even they did not (have any to loan)”

Share Your Story, Work The Maps
Reader Joy has multiple suggestions too, advising:

  • Give someone at ‘home’ your complete itinerary, and numbers where you maybe found.
  • Take foreign money with you, and be ready upon landing to get where you need to be.
  • Do not assume anything, so be prepared. Maps help too. (show and tell cab drivers).
  • Take all medicines with you, in your possession, and not in luggage.

Thanks to all who commented, these are great tips we think others can use too. You lived and learned and we benefit. See more comments at “10 Tips For International Business Travel” or add yours here.




[Flickr photo by _tar0_]