What makes a good travel vacation? How do you rate them? I have mine as you do as well, but the order of the best ones would likely change if I was asked to rate them a year from now. The reason being we often only appreciate things in retrospect. Looking back on things is when we often give value to a moment in time.
So, looking back on things, what is it that makes something stand out more? Be it good or bad? Well, I believe it is impressions. How is the event imprinted into our minds. After all, we remember things through impressions, the bigger or deeper the imprint, the more likely we will remember it.
In this post below I talked about the band Rush. When they were at their height in popularity, I liked them, but I never appreciated their great talent at the time. Same for the Beatles. It was only in retrospect did I realize the tremendous talent in these bands.
In the referenced post I referred to the Neil Peart penned line "Time Stand Still", in tribute to how I need to appreciate the given moment. But Neil had another line in the song, "Make each impression a little bit stronger ". He was a smart guy. He knew it is the impression of the moment that mattered. The memory that will endure.
Impressions are what make things special and important. Those weighted impressions will firm our opinions on what are most memorable for us. Impressions that last a lifetime.
There are a couple of the readers here that comment often that I count the best friends of my life. We had lost contact for many years, but the memories we made early in our lives formed deep impressions that last a lifetime. Even though we may recount the same story we experienced together differently after the years, it is inconsequential. It was never the details that mattered anyway, but the impression of the event.
In travel it is like that as well. But in travel we often have an aid to impressions. The photographs. In my early travels I was not so careful in picture taking or preservation of photos. The main reason being I realized most people are not interested in my sharing pictures of trips. It's like trying to force baby pictures on everyone you meet. The pics are a lot more interesting to you than them. So I don't take advantage of a captive audience and force pictures on them. I post them here but it is voluntary to look. It was for that reason I never captured enough moments by pictures. I thought since I won't be sharing them with others, why photograph? After all, I'll remember the memorable stuff, right? Well, wrong.
But I since learned that pictures aren't about showing off all the places I've been, but rather memory preservation. So I can have the impression of a moment to remember years later. For myself. Most these stories I write now are from the pictures. Stories I never would recall without the picture.
Many of my favorite impressions are of simple people. I know I would never remember them or that moment in time had I not clicked the camera button. Simple pictures like these:

Myusha and Yecholic picking flowers in India. A simple moment in time easily forgotten. But now forever imprinted in my mind by impression.

Simple life on the water running through a small Chinese village. The working life of a simple woman.

Goofing with the children of a boatsman I hired in Borneo. The kids hang with Dad while he works. We had a lot of fun, I would have forgotten but for the picture.

Children playing by the Mekong in Thailand.

Boys sharing a pole in India

A simple man in Kolcutta trying to make a living and trying to stay out of the brutal sun.

Here is one of my favorites. I was taking a picture of these Nepalese people outside a temple on one of their holy days. It was quite crowded. Notice the girl in the center whisper to the other girl. After that they conspired to give me a good photo shot:

Great picture of these beautiful Nepalese ladies. I know they enjoyed it too. A beautiful moment in time that would have been lost in the archives of my mind if not for the pictures imprinting a lasting impression. This is one of my favorite photographs, even though it looks quite ordinary.
In travel, or really anything in life, it's not always the big events that should leave lasting impressions. Certainly a walk on the Wall of China, or a helicopter plunge into the Grand Canyon, or standing in front of Devil's Throat at Iguazu Falls, will always be etched in my mind. The impression of the moment is sufficient to secure prominence in my memory. But equally important are the simple moments in life imprinted in photo of the more mundane events of a life.
Just an opinion.....
Like the saying goes a picture is worth a thousand words. Love the photos and are glad you are able to write these blogs once you have reviewed your pictures. Thanks for sharing.
Pictures can definitely trigger your mind to remember that particular time in your life.You are very fortunate to have the photos and memories to share with others that have not traveled to these foreign countries. Love the pictures.