TOP 5 REASONS TO WRITE POSTCARDS WHEN ON TRAVEL - vidoutboundaries

Most travellers share a pic on WhatsApp or snapchat or Instagram or Facebook with their family and friends. I do too! After all we are in the digital era. I personally prefer sending a local postcard as a sign of sharing my travel experiences with my near and dear.

Its quite amazing that the snail mail postcard first used in 1840 still survives the digital onslaught. Yes it does, and it has started growing again in popularity. There is nothing like receiving stamped postcards from different countries or locations.

I love sending #postcards to loved ones on every travel. Over the years, I have written hundreds of postcards from 17 countries and multiple states. It's 1st on my priority list to buy. By the end of my trip, I surely have so many wonderful things about every place to go in as the message along with a logo I sketch of the place (something funny or cute) and then postcards are waiting to flyout.

Here are my top 5 reasons to convince and excite you enough to start writing postcards to your friends and family when you travel next!

IT’S PERSONAL:

The messages postcards contain resonate on a personal note, and show a degree of effort on the part of the sender. It shows you care – by taking time out from your travel schedule to find a card with the right picture and personalising the message with the handwritten note (like a memorable experience you had during your journey or what made you think of them in that place or simply thank them). The uniqueness of the gesture can be endearing.

IT’S A KEEPER:

The best souvenirs one can get from a place and you can be sure that it will stick around for a lifetime unlike emails or digital pics, it won’t get erased if your phone or device crashes. They can either be framed (looks great on a wall), stick it in a travel journal as a to do for the next trip or pin it on their work desk. In #Bhutan you can have your personal stamp created with your favourite picture to post, Imagine!

IT’S A COLLECTIBLE:

Maybe one day your heirs will get their hands on some of your handwritten notes and enjoy your travels through your unique perspectives…or maybe they’ ll sell them for big bucks or maybe they’ ll take the stamps for their collection. Either ways it’s a winner :)

If you’ve not heard of it, there is a whole subculture of people who collect postcards. They are called deltiologists, a term coined in the 1940s for postcard collectors. Prized postcards may be found at antique shops, through auctions, or via postcard shows. (I found some interesting ones in a flea market in Edinburgh, Scotland and Fort Kochi-India dating back to the 1900’s)

IT’S CONVENIENT:

Well if you don’t have the time to visit the local post office for posting your cards (where you can select the collection of stamps that you fancy) you will be surprised to know that every airport around the world has post boxes (almost all airports- In Saigon, Vietnam they had a box instead to drop the postcards at the information desk). Just ensure you have postcards and stamps before you reach the airport so that you can spend some time, while waiting for your flight.

IT’S FUN TO GET ONE BACK:

So next time you travel, look out for the colourful or vintage postcards and send a couple to your loves ones, there is nothing like sharing your experiences…There’s so much joy that comes with receiving a postcard in the mail. A postcard is such a pleasant surprise and a novelty these days. It’s also completely different from any other gesture these days. When you send someone a postcard, there’s a good chance that they might send one back to you someday. Both of you end up benefiting from something that started as a simple and personal act.

There’s so much joy that comes with receiving a postcard in the mail. A postcard is such a pleasant surprise and a novelty these days. It’s also completely different from any other gesture these days. When you send someone a postcard, there’s a good chance that they might send one back to you someday. Both of you end up benefiting from something that started as a simple and personal act.

Do your bit to keep the art of handwritten correspondence of snail mail alive by sending postcards. (After all we are still mourning the death of Telegram!)

So next time you travel, look out for the colourful or vintage postcards and send a couple to your loves ones, there is nothing like sharing your experiences…

This blog was originally published on Vidoutboundaries.