Music … My favourite travel accessory!

Have you ever found yourself in a moment where you’ve heard a song and it’s instantly transported you back to a specific time, place or event?

I had one of these moments the other day, and upon hearing the song it sent me zooming back, to a day in 2001 when I was sat perched on a bench, at the back of a Greek Island ferry. All of a sudden I was sun drenched, brown as a berry, and a slightly naive 21 year old again, out exploring the big wide world of ours.

What was the song? Nelly, ‘ride wit me’. You know the one (Hey, must be the money!)’.

‘eeeeeeeeek’ tragic i know and definitely NOT one of my finest musical moments (I do pride myself on having a decent taste in music), but it DID get me thinking about how music is basically a time machine to past experiences and while you can’t be on holidays all the time, you can attempt to re-live some of those epic moments at the push of a button.

And that’s why MUSIC is my ultimate and must have travel accessory.

I know this is a little off topic from my normal travel highlights and tips, but I was thinking about the connection between music and travel and how a good tune (or even a bad one) can have you instantly reliving a moment in time.

Hearing the first few bars of a particular song has had me re-living plenty of travel moments in the past. From the time I was dancing on tables at Oktoberfest, singing ‘Hey baby’, to remembering the countless hours where I’ve tried to dull the hum of the plane’s engines with the smooth sounds of David Gray, so in case music isn’t already a part of your travel routine, I want to encourage you, to make it one.

I’m addicted to music (almost as much as travel) and because it makes up a large part of my life already, it’s natural for me to have these triggers in place, but If you don’t listen to music all that often now, It’s time to start. Doing this will carve that pathway in which to unlock your memory bank years down the track, so all you need to do is let music be a part of your journey.

Create playlists of all of your favourite songs before you depart on your trip. Download all of those new albums you’ve been meaning to listen to. Dig out some of your old favourites and keep an ear out for new tunes along the way. There will come a moment on your travels where you’ll be at a particular place, in a certain moment of time, and a song will be playing. You might not realise it at the time, but one day, long after you’ve returned to reality, you’ll hear that song again and you’ll remember…. and hopefully it will make you smile.

So, make music your #1 travel accessory and include it as a part of your next journey. You’ll create the ability to re-live moments of that trip again, and again and again.

How many of you have songs that trigger those moments in your lives? What are they? Completely tragic like mine? I’d love to hear about the songs that are etched in your mind and have you whizzing through time… and don’t be afraid if they are as tragic as mine. Share share share!

Kate xxx