My Favorite Travel Souvenir? The Local TV I Watched Abroad

As someone who grew up yapping to my family about how much I’d love to visit Australia — then got the chance to visit the country’s east coast this fall — I know that “loafing in my hotel bed watching an Aussie medical drama” is weird to mention as one of my trip highlights.

Let me clarify, because the trip was more than I could have hoped for. I fed kangaroos, kayaked Sydney Harbour, lapped up flat-whites and chicken salt and Tyra Banks’ hot ice cream (the verdict: even more delicious and texturally confusing than you’re thinking). On every step of those dreamy coastal walks, I felt blessed to just be in that corner of the world. It takes nothing away from this to say that the TV was really good, too.

Early into my trip, I saw a commercial for a Channel 7 scripted series called RFDS — Royal Flying Doctor Service — that teased an upcoming episode: “Will the Outback’s favorite couple finally get their happily ever after?” I couldn’t help but wonder... will they?

Emily Henry said that on vacation, you can be anyone you want. But sometimes you’re exactly who you are, and who I am is a TV girlie.

So when Wednesday night rolled around, I happily retired to my hotel — equipped with snacks and a sparkly juice from Coles — just in time to watch the handsome flight nurse confess his feelings to the doctor over Christmas lunch. I was suddenly invested in their yearning against this vast, beautiful backdrop. (Their relationship is more complicated than I could have foreseen!) I fell asleep before the credits rolled. But like a souvenir, I brought my new show home with me.

Breezing through RFDS on PBS Masterpiece, I fell in love with the show’s high-stakes emergencies, its close-knit cast of characters, its thoughtful exploration of trauma and how we can care for each other. But I also love that it echoes my trip in a way physical souvenirs can’t really do. The fervor of a new TV show gives you a new world to get lost in — and when that world is tied to an actual place, you’re compelled to keep learning new things about it.

Now, I listen to the Royal Flying Doctor Service official podcast and check on the show’s renewal status, as if these are my close personal friends. And of course, I’m casually searching for flights to get to one of the service’s real-life visitor centers.

Obviously, that isn’t to say you should stay in and miss the real-life sights you came to see. It’s a privilege to explore somewhere new, and the best way to do that is assuredly out and about. But if you’ve traveled this far, you’ll probably need a little time to decompress anyway. Leaning into those lulls by studying the local TV scene (at a time when, if you’re anything like me, you could just as easily fall asleep scrolling TikTok) can help you recharge while still learning something about the place you’re visiting.