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The Special Stories We Tell When Sending Postcards

SPONSORED — I’m writing this blog as I sit on the top bunk of a sleeper train, traveling from Gokarna Road Station to Mumbai. Cross-legged on a royal blue slab of a cushion, my flip-flops still covered in sand sitting in an equally blue mesh net by my head, and a makeshift pillow made out of my bulging 65L North Face backpack stretched across the head of the bed.

Anyone who has backpacked through India has seen this sight before; you would’ve lived it countless times because, truthfully, there’s something really special about train travel in India. Like so much of the country, there’s a deep culture rooted in this microcosmic experience. It might seem like a lot of nothing to those who haven’t lived the experience themselves, but it’s those moments which we remember, and we cherish from our travels.

India trains - top bunk!

Writing a postcard on the train in India

But where do those moments live on? Sure, I snapped a few selfies up here on the top berth but the light is truly unflattering. I’ve scribbled some notes in my Moleskine journal: “royal blue, 3 berths, middle one folds into a seat-back, 2ac has a reading light and sheets/blanket/towel, sleeper class is crazy but kinda fun, just loud and people will sit anywhere, food-sellers constantly up-and-down the aisles yelling whatever it is they’re selling…”

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Postcards India - Travels of Adam

Want a postcard from India? I’m sending out a few handfuls! Check out my latest Instagram photo to find out how to get one. Or: if you’d rather send a postcard yourself (I like mail, too!), use code TRAVELSOFADAM on the MyPostcard app.

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These little moments when we travel, they’re not always the ones retold when we come home. Someone will inevitably ask me what the Taj Mahal was like, how was the food, did I get diarrhea, but who is going to ask me about that guy who sold me the ₹25 rupees (39 cents) carrot soup (which came with a breadstick, by the way) on the train from Gokarna to Mumbai?

Those are the stories we need to remember, the ones we need to retell. Because, sure, the Taj Mahal was every bit as incredible as you’d expect it to be, but that’s an experience lived by millions of others. These stories, though, these little moments from a trip abroad—they do find a special home so they can be remembered and shared: most often, in my postcards.

a postcard story from india

I follow a pretty straightforward script when writing a postcard. It’s got to be short, sweet, and hopefully memorable:

  1. Date
  2. Greeting
  3. Everything is great!
  4. Some comment about the weather
  5. Random story that happened that day
  6. Bye! Love and miss you! See you soon!

Sending a postcard is a lot of fun. Not just because of the fact that it’s physical, hold-it-in-your-hand mail, but a postcard is somehow different. It’s a snapshot from your day, an instantly mail-able Polaroid, both secret and public at once.

There’s a certain joy to sending postcards. The thrill of finding a friend’s address, of choosing a photo to send halfway across the globe, of scribbling down a note and, later, of that anticipation, “did you get it?!”

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Related: 12 Reasons to Send Postcards When You Travel

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When we go on our once-in-a-lifetime journeys to faraway places, we want them to be remembered. Not just by us, but by our friends and families. It’s probably why we obsessively take photos—many of which will never see the light of day. But still: an urge to share is simply human nature. And what’s better than sharing a trip?!

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Late last year I partnered with the MyPostcard app—a free-to-download app on iOS and Android. Armed with the app on my phone, sending postcards has become easier and easier (and quicker and quicker). Sending postcards online might look and sound like cheating—but in fact it’s actually enabled me to send more than ever!

Open the app, upload a photo, write a funny story with at least seven different emoji, select my niece’s address already input into my phone’s address book, two clicks, and the postcard is on its way! A photo postcard from my India trip sent to my niece—ready to inspire her to see more of the world when she’s older.

Postcards through the app cost just $1.99 (1.99€) to send and can literally be sent anywhere in the world. But the coolest part of using MyPostcard is the fact you get to upload your very own photos to send. Basic templates can feature anywhere from one to four or more photos on the front-side, with your personal message on the back. But you can special order other sizes as well (including an XL jumbo size!).

Personally, though, I’m sending a set of travel-themed postcards that I designed myself and are available through the MyPostcard designer marketplace. You can choose among thousands of different designs to customize and buy on the MyPostcard.com website and app.

My designs feature airport codes from countless destinations and my favorite airports (I’ve always been an airport junkie). The Travels of Adam MyPostcard shop is the perfect way to instill a bit of envy in your friends while maintaining a bit of travel geekery, too.

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Check out these cool travel postcard designs here. Bonus: use code TRAVELSOFADAM on MyPostcard.com to send a free postcard to a friend!

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I’m up here on the top berth, an elderly Indian couple sitting below me ready to turn off the lights and fall asleep. As the train bounces on, I open my phone and type out a note to my niece.

Riding trains is just so much fun in India – you never know what you’ll see next! There are so many different ways to travel – car, train, bus, plane – but riding in trains is probably my favorite! ???

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Postcard Stories - What we share

  1. Nice story to be shared

  2. CO says:

    I love postcards, sending and receiving them. I enjoy the thought that goes into picking the perfect one for the particular person I want to send it to (of course, when visiting Berlin I inevitably would buy ones with graffiti). Sometimes, I’ll keep some at the end of trip for a couple reasons: I love it too much to send to anyone else, or, I will plan to send it sometime to a person I really care about when I’m simply thinking about them. In the latter case, writing a favourite song lyric or poem is a classic for me.
    I had a humorous experience sending postcards in Lisbon, where the Postal worker (who didn’t speak English) still took their time to look at each photo on the postcards and then look at my scribbled English – while a large line was still behind me. Got to love those cultural differences sometimes.
    Cheers on your journey around India,
    C

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