Overwriting memories

When you start planning a new trip, it always begins with that one open-ended, limitless question: where shall I go?? :-) Previous memories quickly pop up and can easily tempt you to go for that beautiful region or awesome country again. Simply because there is so much more  to see and do there .... and because you already know it's going to be great! But then again, it can also be just as tempting to tap into a new destination, perhaps on a whole new continent ....

Personally, I really like variety and discovering new things all the time. When I was young, my parents made it a point to choose a new destination to go to every year. Maybe that sparked something in me .... Whatever the case, the unknown makes me very curious! And the more I travel, the more that seems to be the case. Having said that, I do sometimes return to a special place that has managed to enchant me and that´s calling me back.

There is a risk involved in such a repeat visit, though. Something you might not immediately think of .... When you return to a familiar place, your memories change along. This happens automatically, largely outside your own influence, and the ensuing effects can be either positive or negative. After all, new experiences - and therefore new memories - cannot be undone. Now, I don't know if you recognize this, but for me certain (travel) memories are as good as sacred! I want to keep them intact, exactly as they are. So that I can cherish them for a long time to come. Instead of overwriting them. 

To give you an example: I've been to Thailand relatively often. It was the first exotic country I ever visited and it completely blew my mind! When I set foot on Thai soil again after an absence of more than 20 years - this time with my husband - I was, besides all the excitement, also a little apprehensive about what I would find. What would it be like now? Yet my desire to show him this fantastic country won out over my doubts. And as it turned out (luckily!), I still found it to be just as wonderful as back then! :-)

Other trips have actually allowed me to positively overwrite memories of hard times during travel, sometimes even to the point of changing my entire image of the country in question. This happened in Mexico for instance, which I traveled to for the 2nd time during covid - and which will always hold a special place in my heart since. This time I did manage to maximize my time there and do the country itself justice. In contrast, my first trip was almost entirely dominated by illness and crippling stomach problems .... not the kind of travel memories you like to think back on :-(

However, the other way around is also possible. In Bali, the negative effects of (mass) tourism were so visible at one point that it ended up affecting my memories of that magical place. Which is a shame, of course.

So this is something to consciously think about, especially if you had a great time somewhere and you end up wanting more! How you experience a certain place at a certain moment in time depends on so many factors that the experience, by definition, is not replicable. In any case, it won't be like it was then .... and chances are pretty good that today's reality can't quite match that special memory you carry within. Sometimes you´re just better off leaving something as it is. Instead of physically  revisiting a place, you can still seek it out again and again: in your own mind and heart. And thereby honor it best.

Do you ever travel back to a place you've already been to? And what´s your viewpoint on this?

Published on: June 23rd, 2023 - © Luminessenz