9 Slightly Ridiculous Things Frequent Travelers Collect From Their Trips
For those who travel the world, life tends to move pretty quickly — which means keeping track of where you've been can quickly become a daunting task. What better way to slow it all down and remember those places near and far than by collecting something to remind you of them?
For some, maintaining collections often becomes as compulsive as travel itself. And for those familiar with the frequent flyer community, particularly the points and miles one, it shouldn't exactly come as a surprise. We are, after all, collectors — of points and of experiences — so it's only natural to hoard hotel room keys the same way we hoard points (something, by the way, you shouldn't do!).
Whether you take lots of photos, keep the hotel's 'Do Not Disturb' signs or collect postcards from every city you've ever been, collections serve as a great reminder of travels past. So of course, we turned to our TPG Lounge community, to see what our passionate readers take home with them — and the results were pretty interesting.
1. Fridge magnets. Shared by TPG reader Erick, and apparently the wife wants another fridge for more!
2. Hard Rock Cafe Pins from locations around the world. To each their own. Thanks for sharing, Greg!
3. Individually wrapped paper cups. Many hotels offer branded paper cups for coffee available in your room upon check-in, so why not collect them? The best, of course, list the city or town the hotel is located in.
4. Amenity kits. Ah good ol' amenity kits. For those who often fly up front (and even in some economy cabins), amenity kits — pouches filled with toiletries and cosmetics to make your long-haul more pleasant — are a dime a dozen. Considering each airline's is different, and nearly all of the major international long haul carriers offer them, one's collection can grow fast. Plus, they can be repurposed later.
5. Hotel key cards. Road-warrior rack up hundreds of these babies every year, and some of them have collections of thousands.
6. Christmas ornaments. What better way to celebrate Christmas than with an (inter)nationally adorned tree?
7. Sand. Brandon, who submitted this photo, notes where the sand came from with a special pen that can write on glass on the bottom of the bottles.
8. Floaty Pens. These pens are wonderful, and can remind you where you got them even while you write! Thanks for the photo, Debby.
9. "Tons of weight." The struggle is real, friend. Eating — or more accurately, overeating — is often one of the most dependable hobbies while traveling.
Jokes aside, if there is one thing that we all collect, it's memories, perhaps the very best of all.
Hopefully, whatever it is that you do collect brings you joy as your points and miles take you around the world.
