Souvenir

According to Wikipedia;

 

A souvenir (from French, for a remembrance or memory), memento, keepsake or token of remembrance, is an object, a person acquires for the memories the owner associates with it. The term souvenir brings to mind the mass-produced kitsch that is the main commodity of souvenir and gift shops in many tourist traps around the world. But a souvenir can be any object that can be collected or purchased and transported home by the traveler. The object itself has no real significance other than the psychological connection the possessor has with the object as a symbol of past experience. Without the owner’s input, the object’s meaning is invisible and cannot be articulated.

 

I was in Singapore and Malaysia few weeks ago. WCW and I were killing time on our lay-over at Singapore’s Budget Terminal waiting for our flight bound for Kuala Lumpur when a lady approached us and introduced herself as a representative of Singapore Tourism while flashing her I.D. She will conduct a survey among tourist to help improve Singapore’s Tourism. The usual questions has been fired towards us and we answered in a 1-5 star rating, with 5 being the highest.

How do we find Singapore?

Was the airport signs traveler friendly?

Do we find Changi International Airport and Budget Terminal Clean?

Are the toilets/restrooms clean?

Airport Ground Personnel Friendly? Approachable?

Does the airport information counter informative?

Does the food cost reasonable?

Does Singapore shopping okay?

Do we plan to come back to Singapore for another trip?

We answered the questions attentively like graded school children. At the end of the survey, she handed me two bag tags courtesy of Singapore Tourism.

As tourists, I love collecting souvenirs from places that I’ve been to. I have a thing with refrigerator magnets as travel memorabilia. A hobby that I got from my aunts who collected the same kind of souvenirs themselves. But nothing beats a souvenir that is given to you for free from the country’s tourism department. I was a little disappointed at myself for not paying attention when she approached us and introduced herself. I could have remembered her name and would have possibly pose for a photo with her. The survey and a little chat with her lasted for about fifteen minutes. She gave suggestion on what to try out and what is not to miss during the stay.

refrigerator magnet souvenir collection

I am not adventurous like the well travelled backpackers all over the world. But who doesn’t love to visit places? I am slowly crashing out the countries and cities on my list that I have come to visit and each of these refrigerator magnets that my Mom and I collected reminded me of how much I enjoyed each and every trip. I can still open the door to the fridge with no fuss. The side panels on the appliance hasn’t fell off yet. It simply means there is still a wide space to stick magnets into and the list is very long. I am not done travelling yet. The journey has just started.

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