Buying Souvenirs

Do you buy things for family and friends when you travel? When you go overseas? Or when you go on holiday locally? Me? I have learnt by experience what not to do.

I remember being asked by a family member's friend could I please bring back an ashtray, preferably of wood. Took quite a while to find one. Never again.

On my first trip to SEA, I bought back some lovely hand-made silk items - spectacle glass cases, coin purses etc. One of the coin purses was left on son's desk. His girlfriend didn't want it. I did think that was rather rude - she should at least have taken the damn gift, even if she didn't use it.

Now, I just buy fridge magnets. There are specific members who say I don't want any fridge magnets. They get nothing.

I love fridge magnets and will always buy myself one from each country I visit. I have quite a collection now, in fact there are so many on my fridge, the fridge looks downright messy. I really should have bought ones that matched but then I wasn't that smart, I just bought the one that caught my eye at the time.

Quite a few are those chunky breakable ones only because I wasn't able to find another kind. They are lovely but they do break if they fall. My Viet Nam magnet is still sitting on the shelf in two pieces waiting to be glued back together!