I have 4 collections; 3 of which are travel related. I collect or keep things from each country, city, or tourist spot I visit. Here they are.
Bills and coins
When I visit a new country and after exchanging my money to the local currency, I make sure to keep one of each bill or coin that I stumble upon. It is actually the first thing I do before spending.
Right now, I have 109 bills from 20 countries. No, I have not been to 20 countries but I have supportive friends who give me their spare small bills to add to my collection.
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| My Banknote catalog |
On the other hand, I have 139 coins (125 unique coins) from 22 countries. I still have around 20 more that I haven't had a chance to inventory.
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| Map of where my coins from |
I started consciously collecting bills and coins in 2010 when I went to South Korea with friends. However, the first foreign bills I kept was in 2004 from Hong Kong which was my first trip outside Manila. Since 2010, I have been keeping every unique bill I see even if the condition is horrible.
Key chains
It's a habit to buy souvenir every time Jomar and I would visit a touristy spot or a new city. Through the years, my key chain collection grew and when I did an inventory last December, I realized I had duplicates or two or more from a location so we decided to donate them to the nearest Salvation Army thrift store. Below are the ones I decided to keep.
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Top: Country keychains
Bottom: US States and Cities |
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| Tourist spots in Philippines (top) and Canada (bottom) |
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| Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao Keychains |
Fridge Magnet
This is a most recent thing I collect. Well, Jomar started it by buying magnets when he couldn't find key chains so now we have a few.
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| Fridge magnets from all over the world |
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| Fridge magnets from United States of America |
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| Fridge Magnets from Canada |
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| Fridge Magnets from Philippines |
Others
Recently, I made a goal of trying out all Pringles flavor and taking photos of each one. You may find it all
here. I plan to try more depending on the unique flavor per country. Lastly, I also try to eat either at a KFC or McDonald's in all the countries I've been. Personally, KFC chicken is best in Malaysia but nothing beats the gravy from KFC Philippines.
How about you? What do you collect or bring home when you travel?
