One of my first travel memories was seeing a postcard come through our letterbox when I was a child in Bangor, Northern Ireland. As a kid, you ignore those boring brown or white envelopes and you are intrigued by colour so the postcard that arrived in the post caught my eye.
The first postcard I got came from London, or Holland and I kept it as a souvenir. The journey of a postcard is the classic travellers souvenir. Postcards have been on a journey, however an e-mail has not. Let's hope the art of postcard writing and sending continues as we have now entered a very digital age.
The last time I visited my family I sought out my travelling postcard collection that I had sent them - mostly to my youngest brother. The collection has now amassed postcards from over 50 countries - hundreds of postcards.
All bought in various shops across all seven continents (yes, I bought and posted a postcard when I was in Antarctica!), then written with details about what I did there at the time, then a stamp is put on them, then I find a post office or postbox and post them. Then the completion of the journey when my family receive the postcard. What an amazing journey.
From a very cold chilly hut in the British Antarctic Base of Port Lockroy I bought, wrote and posted postcards. From the world's coldest continent all the way to Northern Ireland in the northern hemisphere, this is a great journey for a bit of card, miles from the world of internet and mobile phones.
I bet there are young travellers out there wondering why people still send postcards when you can do everything quicker and easier on e-mail. But it's the story of the postcard that does it for me.
Spot the difference:
1. E-mails: E-mails v postcards. On my travels I logged onto the internet and sent an e-mail.
2. A postcard: Postcard v e-mail? I bought, wrote and posted this one in Port Lockroy in Antarctica. Thankfully there was no internet around.
Which one would you rather receive?
Don't forget on your next trip you should send a postcard! A physical present. Sending postcards to friends and family really puts a smile on their faces and means a lot more to people than an e-mail.
Postcards are great - keep writing and posting them everywhere you go!
The first postcard I got came from London, or Holland and I kept it as a souvenir. The journey of a postcard is the classic travellers souvenir. Postcards have been on a journey, however an e-mail has not. Let's hope the art of postcard writing and sending continues as we have now entered a very digital age.
The last time I visited my family I sought out my travelling postcard collection that I had sent them - mostly to my youngest brother. The collection has now amassed postcards from over 50 countries - hundreds of postcards.
All bought in various shops across all seven continents (yes, I bought and posted a postcard when I was in Antarctica!), then written with details about what I did there at the time, then a stamp is put on them, then I find a post office or postbox and post them. Then the completion of the journey when my family receive the postcard. What an amazing journey.
From a very cold chilly hut in the British Antarctic Base of Port Lockroy I bought, wrote and posted postcards. From the world's coldest continent all the way to Northern Ireland in the northern hemisphere, this is a great journey for a bit of card, miles from the world of internet and mobile phones.
I bet there are young travellers out there wondering why people still send postcards when you can do everything quicker and easier on e-mail. But it's the story of the postcard that does it for me.
Spot the difference:
1. E-mails: E-mails v postcards. On my travels I logged onto the internet and sent an e-mail.
2. A postcard: Postcard v e-mail? I bought, wrote and posted this one in Port Lockroy in Antarctica. Thankfully there was no internet around.
Which one would you rather receive?
Don't forget on your next trip you should send a postcard! A physical present. Sending postcards to friends and family really puts a smile on their faces and means a lot more to people than an e-mail.
Postcards are great - keep writing and posting them everywhere you go!
About the Author:
To read loads more Travel Features visit the inspiring and backpacking site from Backpacker Jonny Blair