Shortly after my wedding 30 years ago, I went on a road trip with my husband. We started in New York City and drove across the entire country to San Francisco. There, at a tiny souvenir shop, my husband found a bracelet charm in the shape of the Golden Gate Bridge. When I saw this cute little charm, I thought it would be a great souvenir to remember the trip, so I bought it to hang on my silver bracelet. This turned out to be the beginning of a lifelong tradition. After a few months, my husband and I got a chance to travel to Moscow. There, we happened to find a tiny St. Basil's Cathedral charm and it reminded me of the first charm from San Francisco. Without a moment's hesitation, we bought it to add to the bracelet. Since then, we have managed to find the perfect charm on every trip. We now have nearly 20 different charms one from each trip. We have a Taj Mahal charm from India, a Parthenon charm from Greece, and even an elephant charm from Kenya. As my children grew up, they helped choose some of the charms, so our whole family can look back at every trip we've taken together.

Whether it's for uploading status messages and selfies on social networks or for looking up the best restaurants, staying connected online is not an option but a must for many travelers these days. However, finding an affordable way to get a reliable connection when traveling overseas can be very challenging. So I buy a SIM card when I get to a foreign country. At a reasonable price, I can get the same connection speed as the locals. That's not all. Because countries all have different telecommunication companies, each SIM card is a unique souvenir of my trip to that country. What's more, as SIM cards don't take up luggage space, they're very easy to take home. I have a collection of nine already, and it's growing fast!

Another thing I collect might sound strange: Wi-Fi hotspots. Whenever I'm in a place I want to remember, I purposely connect to the Wi-Fi. Then, the hotspot name is automatically stored on my phone from that time on! Occasionally I glance through the list of all the museums, resorts, restaurants, and other places I've visited in my travels. Although I can't connect to these hotspots when I get home, just catching a glimpse of one of their names on the list makes me excited. All the memories from that place come flooding into my mind, and I can remember exactly what it was like to be. for example, at that peaceful terrace near the shore in Bali. For a moment, it's almost like I'm actually there!

For me, the best souvenirs are new friends I make while traveling. Obviously, I can't put the people in my suitcase to take them home, but while we're together, I can have conversations and laugh with them. Sometimes I add them on social media or ask for their contact information so that I can stay in touch with them. Two years ago I made friends with an elderly couple from Japan I met at the Jeonju Hanok Village. While in the restroom, I happened upon a woman's bag. Right away, I took it to a nearby police station. When I got there, I met an elderly couple who had come there looking for their lost bag. Happily, the woman was the owner of the bag that I had found, so I handed it to them. They were so thankful that they treated me to dinner, and we had a great time together. We still keep in touch, and last year they even visited my home in Gyeongju. For me, this proves that a good relationship is the best souvenir, because it can make the memories↵
of a trip last for a long time.

In the end, travel is really about personal memories and unique experiences that will color your soul and enrich your life. So the next time you think about grabbing a souvenir as a reminder of your trip, remember: whatever captures your own priceless moments will be better than any souvenir you can easily buy with money.