Dear Rolf,

In your book, you mention leaving room in your pack to bring gifts for people you meet along the way, such as home-stay hosts and others. What types of gifts do you recommend that are space-friendly, practical and yet meaningful?

— Sean, Seattle

Dear Sean,

The best kind of gifts for potential hosts and new friends on the road should reflect your own home and background. Naturally, people in distant lands will be curious about where you come from, so small tokens of your state or hometown (or even your neighborhood) make great presents. Since gifts are intended as tokens of friendship (and not “payment” for services), inexpensive items work best. Souvenir postcards, pens, pendants, patches, key-chains, stickers, or refrigerator magnets that tout your hometown or local sports team are easy to pack and make nice keepsakes for your hosts. Similarly, t-shirts, hats and local books will be popular with new friends (though these items are slightly bulkier to pack).

One strategy is to contact your local chamber of commerce or tourism board and ask them for free souvenirs before you depart on your journey. My cousin Mary Hill did this when she was living in Nebraska, and the response was great. “They gave me a gallon bag full of pins, pens, brochures and stickers,” she says. “They even gave me a few t-shirts. Of course, I learned that I also needed to travel with a small laminated map of the USA to explain where Nebraska was!”

Whichever gifts you choose to take on your travels, remember to distribute them with care and integrity. Don’t hand out fist-fulls of trinkets to near-strangers (as this will only reinforce the stereotype that Western travelers are condescending materialists)—and don’t give gifts to small children until you’ve first asked their parents’ permission (as this interferes with local hierarchies and encourages kids to beg from tourists).

Columnist Rolf Potts is the author of Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel.

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