'Best store I've ever been to': Why shopping has always been my favourite thing to do on holiday
Some people might go on holidays to relax, tick off tourist sights or see the local wildlife.
I like to do all of those things, I'll admit. But I also love to shop.
From France, Italy and Greece to Japan, America and Canada, I love to fill my bags with curios, clothes and cosmetics and everything else.
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A load of Sarah's bags in America. Supplied
I started at a young age, despite family holidays being pretty frugal back then. While other kids likely wanted fridge magnets, I lusted after a polka dotted red flamenco dress in Spain.
I tried it on but my parents wouldn't let me have it (unsurprisingly). I then recall moving on to easier targets, like the Spanish equivalent of the dollar shop.
I lugged home vases and fragranced candles from Barcelona which I proudly displayed in my bedroom.
Later, also in Spain, I discovered Zara, which back then was the height of fashion and wasn't yet available in England.
Then, the first couple of times I went to New York City as a teenager, was jaw-dropping.
Suddenly I could get all the things I'd read about in magazines and seen on TV shows like Sex and the City.
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Sex and the City is a big inspiration for shopping. HBO
Hard Candy nail polish, Carmex lip balm, Oreos and DKNY T-shirts filled my case. I'd also come home laden with CD's - remember those - which were much cheaper there.
And as I started earning my own money, things escalated.
Going on a ranch holiday in Arizona was an excuse to head to the local western shop, Boot Barn and holler, "GET ME EVERYTHING".
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Posing outside a Boot Barn in Arizona after buying a whole outfit. Supplied
Now, the definition of a souvenir is "a thing that is kept as a reminder of a person, place, or event."
And we've been collecting them for thousands of years apparently, as ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans used to cart rare artefacts home. Of course, social media has recently sent travel shopping stratospheric.
What are being dubbed 'goods getaways' are 'trending', travel firm Expedia says. Because a lot of the time, it's all about showing off, isn't it?
And where better to do that than online.
"Here is this decadent chocolate from Dubai!'
"My butter is better than yours because I got it in Paris!
"See these cheeks, they look as shiny as glass due to this face cream from South Korea!"
All the things I bought in Japan. Supplied
Indeed without TikTok I would have had no idea about the best things to snap up in Tokyo.
Turns out it was strangely flavoured Kit Kats, hair and face stuff and heated eye masks, all from discount store Don Quijote.
Garish, packed, cheap and found all across Japan, it's possibly the best shop I've ever been to.
But I don't just follow the trends.
Perhaps the most unusual thing I have bought on holiday was the $40 (empty) Fortnum and Mason hamper I found in a charity shop in London. It took some effort to cram that in the overhead locker.
Don Quijote shops are across Japan and sell EVERYTHING. Getty
And the best goodies would be the second hand clothes I've unearthed everywhere from Phoenix to Kyoto.
However, with the cost of living and exchange rates the way they are, recently I have reluctantly scaled back my holiday shopping.
Plus, you can now get most things online which has really killed the novelty of coming home with stuff nobody else has.
I've also started to realise memories are much more valuable than things.
Or maybe I'm just sick of trying to squeeze it all in my luggage.
