Traveling with Just Us Zine
This collection of stories about traveling together is a zine for the wanderlust-stricken.
I’m a sucker for travel stories so when I came across Just Us in Escolta last year, I knew I had to get a copy. Its premise was simple: a travel diary of sorts but with a focus on the relationships we build or rediscover during a journey. With today’s surplus of blogs celebrating and even romanticizing solo trips (not that I don’t like it; I often travel solo myself), I found this an interesting perspective on travel and what it brings to people who embark on adventures together.
Just Us looks and feels like a book instead of a zine, and I’m sure it’s one of the first things about it that caught the attention of zine readers and collectors like me. The size is just right for a travel zine — big enough to showcase the photos but also small enough to bring along with you for some cafe reading. The print quality is excellent from cover-to-cover, which is a must for a photo-heavy publication. I’m a big fan of matte paper, so I found it delightful to feel the pages as I flipped through them.
This first issue takes readers to some pretty cool locations where the personal stories of the contributors are set. Aidx Paredes talks about the lonely side of traveling solo in Stockholm. Petersen Vargas and Shintaro Lopez discover themselves on a trip to Taipei. Fed Pua and family get lost in Istanbul. Samantha Samonte and Leah Castañeda talk about their life-changing journey in New Zealand. Lastly, Just Us editor and creative director Bonnapart Galeng and Curves Pasco look back at getting inspired in Chiang Mai.
These simple yet intimate and youthful stories were not made for mainstream travel magazines, and that’s exactly what piqued my interest. I wasn’t disappointed. Everything — from the written stories to the wanderlust-inducing photos, to the layout (may not be for you if you’re not open to unconventional treatments)— led to an engaging zine experience.
It’s a great start for Bonnapart Galeng’s new venture following his equally fascinating youth culture zine Yuckzine (which I was also following). It’s hard to pick just one favorite among the travel stories in this issue as they all have something special about them. I’m really glad I was still able to grab a copy months after I first spotted it. Already looking forward to the next issue!
