When we start off for a journey, we may find that we are stepping away from our everyday cares and concerns. Someone once said that “Life will be changed after you start on a journey” because during the journey, we forge new memories and lasting impressions and experiences of societies and cultures different from our own.

In addition to the experiences we have while traveling, small things we collect during our journey can be souvenirs that keep the memories of the journey alive for a lifetime. According to “Pleng dab Mae Nam Roy Sai ,” writer and traveler, “traveling is a part of life.” All those little things she kept are the souvenirs of a journey of a thousand miles. Souvenirs that refresh her memory, such as postcards written to herself and acquaintances, and miniature mailboxes collected from the countries she visited.

“Pleng dab Mae Nam Roy Sai ” the prolific book writer, translator, and movie scriptwriter explained that her “miniature mailbox” collection is a direct result of her love of travel and writing postcards. After visiting the post offices in several countries, she noticed the differences and variety among the simulated mailboxes. After that, she started collecting those mailboxes from the countries she visited.

“I like to send a postcard at the post office itself because it takes longer to deliver if it’s just left at an outside mailbox. I feel good if I can send it by hand and see the officer stamping the seal at that moment. Another nice thing is that we can choose our own stamps. If we buy stamps from a convenience store, there aren’t any beautiful stamps to choose from. Besides, I like to talk with the post officers; asking about places in town, what is interesting, where to visit, and many times I get good advice. These little things became the starting point that piqued my interest in collecting miniature mailboxes.”

“During my travel, I often bring miniature mailboxes of each country back home. Many are multi-purpose; one mailbox that can be a piggy bank, or another one that can be a magnet. However, some mailboxes are just for shelf display. My friends who know my collection also buy them for me sometimes. Most of the mailboxes I buy can be put in my luggage. They are not too big and are not easily broken.”

“I also have a funny little anecdote about one of my mailboxes, an unexpected incident. A friend of mine traveled to Japan and bought me a miniature mailbox, what he didn’t know was that particular mailbox is also a lighter. There was nothing in English on the box or mailbox itself to indicate that it was a lighter. So, on the way back, he asked a friend who was come back at an earlier time to take his baggage. Once it was scanned through an X-ray machine, the machine’s alarms sounded and trouble ensued. They needed to find what had set off the alarm, but it took some time before they could figure it out. No one could tell that the mailbox was also a lighter! “

“The most impressive post office I’ve been to would be the one in Japan . I felt that Japan is a country that has high all around potential. People are efficient. When going to the post office, I felt comfortable because I could select items conveniently and the place was not too crowded. There were a bunch of postcards to choose from with various beautiful patterns and styles. The mailbox souvenir there is stylish and can be used as a piggy bank. Another mailbox there can be used as a flowerpot. They had a promotion period such as buy- postcards-get-mailbox. I thought it was cute.”

“Another memorable story from my travels is about a post office in Laos . When traveling abroad, I often bring stamps with me; beautiful Thai stamps such as a Supannahong boat stamp which is 4 inches long . When I went to the post office in Vientiane , there was a shelf displaying stamps. I selected stamps for sending a postcard , then had a chance to talk to a very friendly Laos post officer. I gave her the Supannahong boat stamp as a souvenir. She then exchanged a lot of Laos stamps with me in return. The post card I sent back to myself was then full of Laos stamps.”

“During my journey, I often send postcards to my friends. Sometimes, I draw a postcard myself, handmade. A postcard to be mailed does not need to be scenery or a picture of a town. It could be any postcard that reminds you of someone you want to send it to.”

Souvenirs can be compared to a picture representing the memory of each journey and period of life passing by. Whenever we feel that the stories of our lives are only those “pale-colored memories”, let’s pick up those little things we’ve collected to help us recall. Those “pale-colored memories” will become vivid again.