You’ll lose the souvenir. You’ll keep the story about the person who sold it to you.

Objects bought on trips are stand-ins for the trip, and stand-ins get lost, broken or quietly thrown out. What stays is the ten minutes with the man who insisted on wrapping it twice and wanted to know where you were from. The encounter was the real souvenir, and it did not cost anything extra.

When you are somewhere new, spend your money where you have to talk to somebody rather than at a counter. Ask one question past the transaction, and you will have something nobody can lose for you.