A Traveling Culturati listener, The Savvy Traveler, who has followed me for over 10 years has, for that same period sent me postcards from his travels.
When I started traveling more than 30 years ago, I used to get postcards and mail them to family, but I stopped that practice more than 20 years ago.
It is an old-fashioned practice yet, you can always find postcards in abundance at most places you travel to. You can find them at museums, which is where I typically still buy them (for reference only), tour sights, and yes, sometimes hotels.
Some purchase them to collect them. I have on occasion purchased them if it was an image I wanted and didn’t or couldn’t get with my own camera. And some, like The Savvy Traveler, get them religiously to send to others.
I remember as a child seeing a postcard arrive at our house, typically to my mother, from a friend or relative. It was either from their travels or their hometown. I remember the intrigue I felt looking at it. Seeing where it was from, what the note said, and wishing I was there. Sometimes that was the note, “Wish you were here!”
But that was then, and then, people wrote letters or sent postcards to drop a note or keep in touch. This is now, and now, it’s no longer a way of keeping in touch, especially when traveling, we do that digitally.
What I also remember is, it was a nice surprise, a souvenir, and a treasured piece of memorabilia. It was nice to be thought of.
Whenever I receive a postcard from The Savvy Traveler, I appreciate that he took the time to share his experience with me. The last postcard I received from The Savvy Traveler made me think – Why don’t I buy postcards and mail them to a loved one or myself as a keepsake and souvenir? It captures a place and time. It’s a personal gesture. It’s affordable. It’s a pleasant surprise. And it puts a smile on the recipients face.
One reason I remember from when I used to do it is, it’s not so simple to get stamps and mail them from the destination, especially if it’s international. I would sometimes mail them when I got back home but, there wouldn’t be an international postage stamp. That being said, if you want to add a little adventure with education and an experience of a country’s postal service, you’ll become a storyteller.
Whether you mail them or not, consider that if you pick up a postcard from each place you visit, you’ll have a photographic itinerary complete with a caption of pertinent details about the location.
Do you purchase postcards during your travels? Do you mail them to friends, family, or yourself? Let me know javonne@travelingculturati.com to comment on this post.
