The days are long gone where it seemed that only teenagers and very important people would keep a log of their lives. Everyone has a story to tell and as a traveller, you have so many stories that deserve to be remembered or even shared! In the years to come, looking back through your old travel journal will be sure to make you smile and refresh your memory on what you did do exactly. As life goes on, we tend to all lead busy lives, and certain chapters in our history does start to blur at some point or another and so it’s crucial that you have a way of remembering those highlights and at times, setbacks in life, if not for yourself then for your children.
Some of you might be thinking, I don’t want to write a huge diary entry from when I woke up to when I went back to sleep, or my life isn’t simply interesting enough. Let me tell you, it is! The trick is not to write a structured diary as such but to enter extracts and small bits of information that will simply jog your memory to remember the rest. If writing is not your strong suit then don’t forget that you can draw, paint, glue, stick pictures, postcards, stamps, and souvenirs in your journal. This way, your travel journal itself becomes a souvenir! Here are a few ideas of what to put in your journal and feel free to have more than one idea. It’s your journal after all.
The Facts
Tell the facts. Where you are going, what you saw or will see, how did you get there or will get there, why are you going and where are you going next. Just write! It’s a travel journal so expect it to stay a little weathered and a tad tatty as it’s coming with you all over the world. Starting with the facts is the easiest way to start your journal. It involves nothing but a notebook, a pen and jotting down the things in a daily log that just highlights where you’ve been.
Tell The Story
This is where you take those facts to the next level. So okay, you’ve mentioned that you had a coffee before boarding the train to Cannes, France but why did you have that coffee, or more importantly, why are you going to Cannes? Describe the world around you and this is where you’ve got to get creative. Write down all the sounds, smells, what catches your eye, and how do things taste. Don’t forget the not so pleasant experiences like if your flight was delayed, what did you do about it and if the airline lost your luggage, how did you improvise for a few days? Remember to tell the story with description, creativity, and enthusiasm.
Add Some Life To It
This is a combination of the above and this one really ought to bring back the memories on a whole other level. Add postcards, stamps, your used tickets etc… Stick them in. Stick an empty envelope on a page in the journal to hold some of these items. Help prove the story with the evidence, not because you won’t believe yourself in the years to come, but because seeing old tickets, for example, adds a sense of nostalgia that a written story or facts can go so far. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words.
More ideas to add some life to your journal:
- Maps
- Theatre or Museum Tickets
- Bus, Train or Airline Tickets
- Brochures
- Stickers
- Quotes
- Magazine Clippings
- Stamps
- Foreign Food Wrappers
- Pressed Flowers and Leaves
If you’re super creative, draw what you see in your journal. This is what people used to do before cameras were so easily available. People would simply draw what they saw, from exotic animals to whatever interested them personally. This is a nice touch to add a really personal effect to your journal. Even if you have never drawn before or don’t think you are very good, do still give it a go. You may surprise yourself. The best way is to keep it simple. This is a journal that will see hard times, I’m sure so don’t fuss too much as to why your sketch doesn’t quite look as good as someone who has studied art through university.
Supplies For Your Journal
More than one pen – Don’t want to see all these wonderful things and be unable to write anything down. I would, however, take pens that are easily erasable. Try something like these Frixion Pens
Pencil – For sketching or rough notes that you are sure you would like to erase.
Tracing Paper – Love an image and would love the sketch it into your journal? Take a few sheets of tracing paper so that when you are in your hotel room or at a table in a coffee shop, you can trace an image into your personal pages. Tracing paper here
The Journal – This is going to depend on how you want to create your logging. If you’re looking just to add the facts with very few physical extracts from your adventures then perhaps you might prefer the pages to be lined. If you’re looking for a combination of everything then a journal with blank pages might suit you better. Another thing to take into consideration is that you might want a journal that will allow you to refill the pages, but personally unless you’re spending a lot of money on the cover, I would buy another journal to start over again. Because you’re going to be taking this journal with you, you are ideally going to want something fairly protective from the weather as well as sturdy enough to be thrown about in your bag. You might even want a normal notebook that you use for rough entries and then when you return home, you can neatly log your adventures in a prideful notebook. A few options:
Writing While Travelling
You’re excited to get going and see what the world has to offer. However, finding the time to write what you’ve done while away can take up valuable time, especially when you’re not in the area, city or country for long. A few ways to rather find the time as opposed to making the time is to as I’ve said many times is to take your travel journal with you in your day bag. You never know when you might have to wait in a long line, or you might have some extra time at a restaurant to jot down a few words. Or if you’re sketching, you never know when you might feel inspired. Whilst out and about, it’s about note-taking. Quick snippets of information and when at the end of your day, you can write down everything in full. Whether it’s after you get back to your room at night or right before you go to sleep, there’s usually some extra time at the end of the day where you can squeeze in some travel journaling.
Writing When At Home
You’ve done it. You’ve had an adventure and returned home. You might even be feeling the blues and slightly depressed even, but not to worry, the adventure hasn’t quite ended. There’s still more to do and with your journal, you have an obligation to tell a story.
This is your time to relax and think deeper into what you have done. Add additional pages that you didn’t quite think about at the time with all the madness and excitement whilst away. This is your time to write a conclusion to what you experienced. A way to summarise the trip if you like. You can also add in some extra photos or finish any pages you didn’t get a chance to.
If you have a significant amount of leftover blank pages, you can reuse the journal over and over again on future trips until you fill it out. Or you can choose to just keep one journal per trip. It’s up to you.
After the trip find a place to store your travel journal so it’s ready without hesitation for the next big adventure. Look after it as it will be your greatest souvenir in time to come.
Previous Travels
I’ve made many adventures and travel experiences before I even considered a journal and if you are the same, then that’s okay too. You can go back! Chances are you will have hundreds of pictures that are just sitting on your computer or phone somewhere and lots of memories to still write down. When you have some free time and feel inspired, go back and add to the journal. Better late than never, and the sooner you get those memories down the better.
