Once in a Lifetime: The Nostalgia of Travel Memories

Feeling the hot sand beneath your toes, you squint your eyes towards the bright orange sunset sinking into the ocean.  

Man, life is good you tell yourself.  I wish this could last forever.

‘Beep, beep, beep’ – You are shocked awake from your pleasant dream by your stupid phone alarm, which rudely interrupts you remembering your holiday in the sun last summer.

“Travel memories are some of the most powerful memories we have”. 

In this article, I discuss why we should remember them but also a warning for those wanting to relive them.

Let’s dive in.

The Nostalgia of Travel Memories

Memories from distant places stir emotions like no other.  

It might be the night you shared a sunset with a stranger in Thailand or a night out with friends in New York.  

The smell of lemongrass as you pass the open doors of an Asian restaurant can take you back to the street food aromas of Vietnam.  Or when that Bryan Adams song comes on the radio, you smile as you remember drunken singalongs with your new best friends in a hostel bar somewhere.

These memories stand out for us because we experienced them when our senses were at their highest.  When we travel, our minds and bodies change.  When we break the routine of life at home, we feel like a new person.  

In a way, we do become someone else.  

Marc becomes Marcus, Sarah becomes Sara – we become who we want to be.  Even for just a while.  Leaving home and its associated stresses and routines, we feel the change when we travel.  That is why we come home feeling so refreshed.  We come home feeling a lot different.

“Making travel memories are the reason for that change.  They inspire us, challenge us and give us new perspectives on our realities at home.  Sometimes, our travel memories can motivate us to change how we live our lives when we return.”

Travel memories do come with a catch though.  

They can’t be recreated.  Not even close.

Sure those photos you see of families recreating photos of themselves decades later at Disneyland, doing the same funny poses and all are cute.  It would be cool to have my own silly photo recreation sometime.  

But the memories from that first photo, that initial experience, can’t come around again.  It’s like a drug addict always chasing that first high.

The same goes for travel.  Memories are a special thing.  

Some you know are special at the time.  Others grow on you years later.  You look back at them and it can sometimes feel like yesterday.  

What might have seemed just another good night becomes a memory you constantly reflect on.  Don’t spoil these memories by trying to relive them.

It took me years to learn that properly. 

smiling people in a bar

How Travel Memories Can Lead to Disappointment

Some of my favourite travel memories happened a couple of decades ago now.  

I was in my early twenties, young free and single and in the middle of an eight-year stint, working, partying and having the time of my life in the UK.  I moved around the country for a popular bar chain working in and managing pubs – life was good.  

Those few years flew by in a flash.  The seasons rolled into the next, friends came and went just as quickly.  Many of my friends felt like best friends for a time.  These people are part of some of my favourite travel memories.  Even if I don’t remember all their names.

The details aren’t important.  The memory is.

“After I left the UK, I didn’t return for over a decade.  When I did, I realised a lot had happened during my time away.”

Of the seven pubs I worked at, not a single one remained operating.  Any dreams of going back to one of my old haunts, getting the old crew together, and having a good time like we used to were dashed.  

One pub (or what remained of it) I did visit.  Since the doors closed, nothing had reopened in its place.  The original decor of the pub still lined the walls.  Other than that, it was a soulless shell.  A far cry from the loud bands, DJs and queues of crowds of yesteryear, a place of some of my favourite memories was now just a derelict building.  

I felt a lump in my throat.  I was confused by that feeling.  

My past had met my present – trying to mix the two doesn’t work.  I realised that I was trying to relive my past.  Trying to relive the same emotions I had when I was there over ten years earlier – even though I knew the pub was closed. 

The very next day, I visited another pub.  Not one I worked at but a place I visited many times with good friends and made some great memories.  I felt a few butterflies in my stomach walking through the large entrance.  It looked familiar.  It felt familiar. 

Sitting down at a table with my pint, I brushed my hand over the worn, mahogany bar table.  They were the same tables that were brand new when I used to visit.  It felt like I was there yesterday.  Time had vanished quicker than I had ever thought possible.

It all felt a bit melancholy in the end.  Even though the pub was still there, the people I made memories with weren’t.   

As I walked out, I felt no desire to return.

Make New Memories

Nostalgia can be a dangerous thing.

It is often a recipe for disappointment.  Travel memories have a downside – we often remember them with rose-tinted glasses.  It is so tempting to try and relive those times.  But trying to chase those highs again in the same place years later is impossible.

What you are chasing are the experiences at that unique time in your life.  With friends and people that were part of your life at the time.   

The memories you created will always be there.  

“The secret to avoiding disappointment is to create new memories.”

I get into conversations all the time about the fun times of yesteryear – those conversations are fun.  Reminiscing on good times always comes with laughter.  The problem is it is easy to fall into the trap of yearning for those times again.  

To look at your life now and almost feel a little envious of how adventurous you were when you were young.

By planning and having new adventures you will find the key to breaking that cycle of nostalgia and reflecting on travel memories from the past.  By continuing to have new adventures and experiences, you will find yourself yearning less for those good times years ago.

It doesn’t mean that your old memories don’t matter.  They are as memorable as they ever have been.  These memories from your past will always bring a smile to your face. 

By making travel in your life a priority (instead of the newest iPhone) and continuing to have new experiences, you can continue to make memories that will last far beyond the lifetime of anything you can buy in a shop.

So, where are you making your next travel memories?

Let me know in the comments.

5 thoughts on “Once in a Lifetime: The Nostalgia of Travel Memories”

  1. Pingback: How Travel Can Make You Fearless - Life Went That Way

  2. I tend to get Bryan Adams songs in Vietnam a lot… The classic stuff from the 80s 😉
    Great write-up and lots of home truths there

    1. Thanks for reading mate! Bryan Adams has followed me all over the world in bars 🙂

      Appreciate the comment and feedback.

      Safe travels
      Marc

  3. Pingback: Travel Expectations vs Reality (and How to Make the Best of It) - Life Went That Way

  4. Pingback: Why Travel is Overrated (but why you should do it anyway) - Life Went That Way

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *