Travel Collections From My Firsts

September 16, 2023

First of all, I would like to say hi to this new community created by @mipiano. When I read her first post about collections, I thought of my own collections that I could share here. I was a collector myself back in the day, from clothes, bags, and shoes to unique and random souvenir items. But those are quite common to share, and some of my collections were already sent home.

I like traveling, as you guys know. My passion for it grew over the years, as I always found happiness in places I visited and in new things I discovered. While doing so, I love collecting intangible experiences and storing them in my memory.

There are things I love collecting, especially from my first travel experiences in new places I visited. When you think of travel collections, you probably think of souvenir items like keychains, figurines, toys, or some other stuff. But mine is rather different, as I am often thrifty with myself when traveling and don't want to spend money on buying souvenir items. I do have souvenir items, but my collections were sent home. I would probably ask my sister to take photos of them so I could share them here one day.

So what are my travel collections from my firsts?

As shown in the photo below, they are leaflets and booklets given in the places I visited, usually from museums and historical places. There are also tickets from places I visited on my bucket list. I attached sentimental value to things I achieved, so I opted to keep those tickets as souvenir items.

I can't just throw them away after using them. They would be a waste of resources and effort by the people who made those items. Besides, they are pretty items that are good for my collections. Moreover, those leaflets and pamphlets contain interesting information about the places I visited. I also love reading history, which can be found in those leaflets and pamphlets.

These are from my visit to HKMOA or the Hong Kong Museum of Art. These booklets containing information about the three main exhibitions I visited, along with the history of the items on display.

I like calligraphy and two of the booklets contain information and illustrations about it. These are from the booklet about Love Letters exhibition. It contains different kinds of letters to loved ones, friends, teachers, and others by different people in the past. Reading some love letters in this pamphlet makes me smile, as if I am connecting to the characters in the letters.

Meanwhile, these are from the booklet about City Rhymes exhibition, the world of calligraphy. You should read my blog about it if you want to see different Chinese calligraphy styles. Some of them are in the book, which I love looking at even though I don't understand them.

Lastly, these are from the booklet about porcelain exhibitions from Jiajing Emperor.

I just couldn't throw them away because those were creatively made. In between pages are paper artworks of porcelain figures that protrude as I flip the pages. Who would want to throw it, anyway? They are good for upcycling things too.

Tap the provided links above if you wish to read about the exhibitions I visited at HKMOA. Others are below.

Canton China Trade

DNA shop and Messy Desk

Make-A-Wish Porcelain Party

This was the leaflet given during my space exploration at Space Museum. It was an interesting place, and I learned a lot about space science. The exhibitions are pretty cool too, as if I were literally exploring the space. The ticket was also saved, and this great exploration only cost me HK$10. It was so worth it.

This was the leaflet from Spinning Factory art exhibition in The Mills, Tsuen Wan. It was an interesting exhibition, and I was able to see the items from the former textile factory, originally located in the same place. It contains history and interesting stories about the past. I do love reading such historical stories.

I also found a great cafe here. You might want to check it out here

I also keep items I got from the events I attended. One of them was these bun shape fans I got from the Bun Festival in Cheung Chau Island. Some might throw such souvenirs away, but I find them useful when traveling in the summer.

Aside from souvenir items, I am keeping tickets from the places I visited on my bucket list, and the famous attractions I visited for the first time. These tickets are from my first visit to Disneyland and Ocean Park, my first ride on a 360° cable car, my first trip to Macau, and the recent unplanned visit to Hong Kong Annual Cosplay.

I should share this Cable Car experience here one of these days.

I also found these tickets from my first ride on HK's iconic giant wheel at AIA Vitality, and my very first ticket to Hong Kong last September 2017. It is already old and fading.

The following are souvenir items I collected from my recent travels to Shik Kep Mei. I went to a historical site and an ecological community art exhibition. These two will be shared one of these days.

This booklet was from the EccoVe art exhibition I visited in Shik Kep Mei. It was the very first ecological art exhibition I ever visited. It shows the art of togetherness by connecting with nature through art. I was moved by the stories portrayed in the exhibitions and the booklet, so I opted to keep this. Besides, I like reading pretty illustrations in any book.

Lastly, this was the folder containing a pamphlet about the historical site I visited recently. I keep them because the booklet contains the history of the place, and the folder can be used for keeping files. It looks like an amazing place, isn't it? You'll soon find out about it.

So those are my travel collections from my firsts. Firsts are great experiences. Indeed, it's true. And these items will remind me about the great experiences I treasured from the new places I visited.

Do you have any collections too? Feel free to share them in this community.

(All photos are mine)

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