The most captivating and unique souvenir items across Asia.
Hello Travel buddies! This is Doodle here 💓 ! Welcome to Doodle’s Travel Diary! ❤🌍→. So, here is something really exciting and fun that’s going to happen for a month now in this space! For the first time ever, Doodle’s Travel Diary presents to you, ‘ Around Asia in 30 days ‘, a 30-day blog series curated on 21 travel-friendly countries and a lot more about Asia! If you have not checked my last blog posts on other countries in Asia, please do give it a read, and feel free to drop a comment and share!
After virtually traveling to 21 travel-friendly countries of Asia, you must be thinking about what’s next in the remaining nine days! These 9 days are going to equally fun and exciting and I am sure all of these blog posts will definitely help you plan your next vacation to any of these countries.
So what’s that one thing we and especially our family members save up to shop for as and when we near to the end of our amazing vacation?! You have already read the title so there is no doubt that any build-up would eventually fail XD so yes! You read it right! Souvenirs! I give you a moment to recollect the best and the worst souvenir you have bought from any destination you traveled to. It would soon hit you up that no souvenir is the best or the worst, at least, not the worst because each souvenir is like a postcard from that place, a reflection of your thoughts and memories back when you were planning to buy it, and a unique representation of that place in your heart and travel diary. Souvenirs are also saviors from those clingy friends and relatives who expect you to bring something back every time to travel anywhere across the globe (I did not say who, but I know you are thinking of just the right person XD). I am personally a huge fan of souvenirs and one of the reasons I travel is because I love collecting different souvenirs from different places. I got his habit from my father and that is why most of our living room is full of different souvenirs from places we have traveled to and yes, our refrigerator top is undoubtedly full of beautiful and interesting fridge magnets from a lot of different vacations!
Souvenir shopping can get tricky and confusing, so here is a curated list of unique and special souvenir items you can grab from these travel-friendly countries in Asia.
South East and South Asian Countries
1. Handmade Room Decor from Vietnam:- Vietnam is home to many talented artists which is why you can see a beautiful variation from rough wood to color pencils, local amateurs put a makeover and create masterpieces. Every products mark an impression of traditional Vietnamese spirit combining with a modern luxury style. They will definitely stand out as unique pieces in your living room and showpiece display.
2. Silk Handloom Products from Vietnam and Thailand:- Vietnam is very famous for its pure silk and is made available extensively available to tourists in Vietnam. The Vietnamese handloom silk pieces are unique and attractive throughout the country and costs at least VND 70,000/m and over VND 100,000/m for common kinds. From colorful scarves to bags and bolts of fabric, Thailand offers a wide variety of silks pieces and there are a lot of reputed places from where these pieces can be bought at a pocket friendly price for tourists.
3. Chopsticks from Japan and Vietnam:- Different from Korean chopsticks which are often made of metal, or Japanese chopsticks which are often colorful toward one end, Vietnamese chopsticks are often made from wood or bamboo. The weight is often light but enough to pick up the food without giving the impression of fragility. Different restaurants have different types of chopsticks and those used in the family will often have the best quality. The prices of chopsticks fluctuate around 100 yen to 10,000 yen depending on the quality of products in Japan and less than $4 in souvenir shops in most parts of Vietnam.
4. Tea from Korea:- Tea is a souvenir that is infused with tradition as well as flavor. Traditional teas like omija and meshil are still widely consumed by the Koreans. Other than bringing home tea as souvenirs you can also get unique tea set if your family is a hard-core tea consumer!
5. Traditional Dresses from Bhutan, Vietnam and Japan:- The Ao dai, Longyi, and Yutaka are the traditional dresses of Vietnam, Bhutan and Japan respectively for women. These dresses are made easily accessible to the tourists to not only try but also buy. Each beautiful dress is a unique representation of the culture and tradition of the country which is why these dresses are so authentic.
6. Stationery items from Japan and Korea:- Japanese stationery is a good choice for a souvenir because it is famous for various kinds of high quality and ease of use. Some places to look up to buy Japanese stationery are ITOYA, Tokyo HANDS and department stores. In Korea, you can find the cutest pens, markers, notebooks, and planners. Make a trip to an ArtBox outlet to grab some affordable stationery for yourself and your friends. While at it, grab some stickers too because why not? You should hand it to the Koreans for their creativity in churning out cuteness-overload stationery.
7. Cosmetics from Korea:- One of the best gifts for your beauty-conscious friends is Korean cosmetics which are hot around the world. Don’t worry if you do not know exactly which brands to buy, you can’t go wrong with these cult Korean beauty brands — ranging from Innisfree to Laneige.
8. Artworks and Paintings from Nepal, Indonesia and Phillipines:- Indonesia, Nepal and Philipines are known for their artistic pieces of paintings and wall hangings, which are meant to support local artists. The art usually depicts Tibetian, Philippine or Indonesian folktales which give a glimpse of the culture and tradition of these countries.
Middle East Asian Countries
1. Iznik Ceramics from Istanbul and Israel:- If you have already fallen in love with the blue ceramic and Iznik tiles in the mosques of Istanbul and Israel, its time to get at least one cutlery set of Iznik Ceramics back home with you. Istanbul and Israel is known for its Iznik market and the ceramics are available in a vast range of variety and color.
2. Lamps from Kazakisthan, Istanbul and Israel:- These countries have the best collection of lamps in their local markets and the best quality of lamps are found to be here. Besides the unique design, the lamps are vibrant in color and very pocket friendly. They are a must-buy definitely.
3. Vintage showpieces from Jordan, Kazakisthan and Quatar:- The local markets of these countries are home to various vintage showpieces depicting the Islamic folk culture. Items like khanjar, Shisha, and the famous lamp have been used extensively in the Islamic period by royal families, which are know sold to tourists as a Monatage.
4. Dates and honey:- Almost all the middle east countries are great producers of dates and honey, which is why they serve the best quality of dates and honey in the world. You must certainly think of bringing them back to your home to enjoy the taste of Middle east Asian.
5. Sand bootles from Jordan:- The glass bottles are painted on the inside by an artist, who then fills it to the top with different colored sand. This souvenir is available in a variety of sizes with endless designs.
The next 9 days are going to great fun curating and presenting each country and I will try my best to put up the best content every day.
Also, let me know in the comments section below if you enjoyed reading this blog! Your response does mean a lot!
Till then, stay home, please, all this can wait and stay happy! We are in this together! keep following Doodle and show her some love on her Instagram handle https://www.instagram.com/doodles_travel_diary/?hl=en and follow her on Medium as well: https://medium.com/@doodlestraveldiary for an exciting series of posts 😎😇.
Doodle Signing off😊
