Unique Souvenirs

Have a lot od boring and impractical souvenirs whose only purpose is gathering dust on your shelves? Here are a few somewhat more unusual ideas for shopping during your trip!

Kukuxumusu shirt

Always bring home generic shirts with the pictures or names of cities, countries or tourist attractions? Instead of buying an ˝I love Barcelona˝ tee or something equally boring during your summer holiday in Spain, have a look at some Kukumuxusu shirts, which are becoming an increasingly popular souvenir from Spain. Instead of a plain T-shirt that you’re only going to wear at home or in the gym anyway, you’ll get a unique fashion accessory that you won’t be ashamed to wear for a night out – the funny and offbeat drawings they feature will definitely attract attention. The firm Kukuxumusu, which means ˝flea kiss˝ in Basque, also decorates an array of other products with their crazy drawings – you can have a look at their complete range on their website.

Tagine pot

A tagine or tajine pot is a special kind of ceramic pot that is used for cooking in North Africa, and it can be a great gift for someone who enjoys cooking, or it can serve an inspiration to take up cooking yourself. In addition to having a striking and attractive appearance, a tagine pot also enables you to prepare a tasty meal with as little effort as possible – mixing is not necessary at all so, after you have put all the ingredients in, all you have to do is wait for the meal to cook itself! A tagine pot consists of two separate parts, a dish in which the food is placed and a long conical lid which, apart from looking very interesting and exotic, also has an important practical function – sending the steam back to the dish in order to keep the food moist. What’s more, another practical feature of the tagine is that, after removing the lid, you can serve the meal in the same pot!

Indigenous art

If you end up in Australia or New Zealand, don’t let the short presence of Westerners in this area of amazing natural beauties fool you into thinking that these are countries with a meagre history, culture and tradition. Australia is home to the oldest continuous living culture in the world, the Aborigine culture, which is fifty thousand years old, while equally fascinating (although a lot younger) is the culture of the Maori, the indigenous people of New Zealand. Thus don’t miss out on the opportunity to get acquainted with the unique culture, art and way of life of these peoples, and to take home a part of their ancient spirit in the form of a souvenir – a boomerang, wooden carving or didgeridoo in Australia, or art and jewellery made from jade or the beautiful Paua shell in New Zealand. However, make sure not to fall for a cheap replica and try to get to the originals, so that you can also financially support indigenous creative expression.

Indian clothes and textiles

Traditional Indian attire has been resisting the test of time for five thousand years, and the beauty of its splendid colours and patterns is still a regular sight even in the biggest cities of India. An elegant, timeless sari or a kurta (a long tunic for men) will be a striking and exotic addition to your wardrobe, but if this seems like too daringof a step for you, you can always enrich your style with a touch of the East and buy a beautiful shawl. And if clothes don’t play any role in your life at all, you can always use the attractive and quality fabrics India is famed for to decorate your home,e.g. for making pillowcases, bedspreads, curtains…

Tenugui

Souvenirs are often objects without any practical purpose, and are as such frequently destined to while their lives away on a shelf before falling into oblivion. However, the same definitely cannot be said for the tenugui, which has become one of the most popular Japanese souvenirs precisely because of the wide range of its uses. A tenugui is a thin cotton fabric about 90 centimetres in length and printed with a wide range of patterns, and you can use it for all sorts of things – as headscarf, towel, tablecloth or home decoration…or you can be creative and find a totally different purpose for it.

Snake wine

Love to stock your home bar with wines from all over the world? If your journeys take you to China or Vietnam and you happen to not to be grossed out that easily, snake wine could be an exceptionally interesting addition to your collection. Snake wine looks exactly like its name suggests – an entire snake is placed in a bottle of rice wine so that it may let out its ˝essence˝ or, in another variant, snake blood or bile is mixed with alcohol and is drunk immediately in the form of shots. The snakes should, preferrably, be of the poisonous sort, but this doesn’t mean that snake wine has dangerous health consequences – the ethanol decomposes the poison and it becomes ineffective. According to folk wisdom, snake wine is even good for you and increases life expectancy, while it is also considered a cure for impotence and baldness.

Figa

While the word ˝figa˝ has negative connotations in the Croatian language, in Brazil it is the name for the most popular – good luck charm. A figa, i.e. depiction of a fist, comes in different shapes (from earrings to one metre-tall sculptures) and is made out of various materials (stone, wood and even gems). This tradition came to Brazil in the 17th century with the slave trade, while folk beliefs maintain that the figa only brings luck if it is received as a gift, so don’t miss the opportunity to bring joy to all your nereast and dearest!

Silvia Vidović