I’ve made no secret of committing a lot of travel faux paxes in the past.
Overpacking. Underpacking. Exploding toiletries.
My longest standing one, however, has been my obsessive need to collect souvenirs.
Hard Rock caf̩ t-shirts. Posters. Keychains. A brief shot glass collection phase. In short Рthe cheapest, cheesiest items one COULD collect, I did.
My mother indulged me when I was a kid, but quickly put an end to it when I was 13. We were in Egypt, visiting a perfume shop. I decided I wanted a collection of fragrant oils, each in its own beautiful small glass bottle.
Mom had other plans. “You get ONE. One oil, one bottle. Pick it out and let’s go.”
While she said the words quietly, the look in her eyes were anything but. I quickly selected jasmine oil and an amethyst-colored glass bottle. As we exited the store, she said something that I will never forget.
“Your memories are your most important souvenirs. But if you must buy something, buy something that lasts.”
No cheesy posters. No t-shirts that no longer fit. No flimsy keychains that broke after a handful of uses.
Her words stuck with me on our subsequent trips, where I picked up a beautiful printed yukata (cotton kimono) in royal blue. It continued in Italy, where she haggled for rich dyed wastepaper baskets embossed and decorated with gold finishes. In Greece, we picked up a bronze chess set with pieces fashioned after ancient Greek gods in stunning detail.
When we made our way to India a year later for the winter holidays, the only request on my wish list was a watch. She took me straight to the Titan store near our family home in Hyderabad.
I still remember every moment of that experience. The mango juice that was quickly set before me, the worn silk cushion topping the chair I sat in, the rows of watches, quietly clicking away. While I normally am quick to select and purchase, I took my time picking out my very first watch.
“That one,” I said.
“Are you sure? It’s a men’s watch” replied my mother.
I was sure.
The watch was classic and simple in its design – a white face framed with a gold-plated rim, on a black leather band. I wore it every day for years, replacing the battery and the glass face during my annual India trips at the same showroom where I purchased it.
Now? The watch now lives in my watch case, along with a couple of models I’ve stopped wearing with regularity. I’ve swapped my analog model for a smartwatch. And as I did with my first watch purchase, I opted for another Titan this time around – the Titan JUXT, Engineered by HP.
Still a men’s watch. Still has a black leather strap. Still the same amazing craftsmanship that my mother preached me to invest in when I was a kid.
Except my last Titan watch never informed me of incoming texts, the number of steps walked, or a call. This one is a definitely an upgrade.
And while I didn’t purchase it at the same Titan shop I got my first watch at, wearing this one keeps me firmly rooted to the other place I call home – Hyderabad.
And isn’t that the point of souvenirs in the first place?
Special thanks to Titan & HP for sponsoring this post. All opinions (and memories!) are, of course, my own.
