A few months ago I stumbled upon the Budget Travel Supermarket Souvenir article, with its quirky mix of items you can buy in foreign supermarkets. Pig-liver patee in handy �to go� portions, grilled shrimp and pepper flavored Pringles, that sort of thing. There�s a good slideshow if you�re interested.
I appreciate supermarket shenanigans as much as the next person. But the article left me a little hungry for more (pun only partially intended). The concept is great � travel souvenirs and mementos from foreign lands � but why limit it to foreign supermarkets?
No, let�s go big here. Let�s open this concept up to any and all travel shwag. I�m hungry for a list of the world�s most quirky, oddest, funniest (both strange & ha ha) and downright weird travel mementos. Did you bring home a shrunken head? A jar of pickled feet? A felt painting of Jesus driving a monster truck?
Don�t be shy. You are not alone in your appreciation of weird & wonderful travel souvenirs. I�ve added a few of my personal favorites, but please send us yours! Simply email your photo (jpeg preferably) with a short explanation at feedback@viator.com and we will add the best ones to the list below.
Best Travel Souvenirs & Mementos: It�s Unbelizeable
When I was 22 years old I went to Romania to write a travel guide for other 22-year-olds. Strangely enough, nobody was interested in Romania at the time, especially not the 22 year olds. My mom felt bad, so she bought me an �I Luv Romania� T-shirt. The shirt makes me laugh about a difficult time in my life (you go spend 8 weeks in post-revolution Romania and tell me how you like it). To this day I still know how to say, in Romanian, �No! I do not like pork liver.�
At the other end of the emotional spectrum is my shirt from Belize. It says �You Better Belize It!� Which pretty much sums up the wonderfulness that is Belize (read about the wonderfulness here).
Best Travel Souvenirs & Mementos: Monkey Madness
I ran out of toothpaste once when I was in Kenya. After much fruitless searching I was informed that in Kenya it�s more common to use tooth powder. Fair enough. So I picked up this � tub? jar? bottle? � of Monkey Brand Black Tooth Powder, imported from India. No, it did not turn my teeth black. Yes, I was worried about that.
Best Travel Souvenirs & Mementos: Allahu Akbar
I bought this mosque clock after taking a trip to Istanbul (read about that trip here), where I became completely enamored with the call to prayer. This clock is perhaps the best travel souvenir I have ever purchased. Every time the alarm goes off I think fondly back on my time in Istanbul and Turkey. If you�re curious to experience the clock�s call-to-prayer alarm firsthand, click here (warning - this is loud).
Best Travel Souvenirs & Mementos: Hutt River Freestate
This T-shirt is from the largely unrecognised Principality of the Hutt River Province, which �seceded� from Australia in 1970. It�s located in Western Australia, about 5 hours from absolutely nowhere. Prince Leonard and Princess Shirley run a gift shop, as well as guided tours most days. The photo was submitted by John Ryan, author of a superb book on Micronations.
Best Travel Souvenirs & Mementos: The Red Detachment of Women
Another entry from John, this time of a female soldier-ballerina statuette with a pistol, from the balllet The Red Detachment of Women. It was a Cultural Revolution favourite in Mao�s China. Richard Nixon saw it in �72 and it�s still performed on high rotation. The statue is just over a foot high and was purchased at a market in Beijing in 1998.
Best Travel Souvenirs & Mementos: Singapore Surrender Monkeys
Another one from John Ryan, who says: �This is a tiny little souvenir fan I picked up in a gift shop on Sentosa in Singapore in 2000. Friends have looked but not seen these since - I wonder if they�re still on sale? Only 7cm (or just under 3 inches) wide, the fan depicts the Fall of Singapore to the Japanese in World War II, with British soldiers signing the surrender papers. Ahhh, the memories!�
Best Travel Souvenirs & Mementos: I Love Minding the Gap
Here�s an entry from David McLagan, who says: �I bought these stickers recently in London and they made laugh - as I�m sure it would anyone that�s travelled by Tube in London for any length of time. (Apologies for my dodgy photo, but I hope you get the idea.) It�s all the excuses London Underground feed you when there are delays. Hilarious.�
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