Keeping a travel journal
I’ve always kept a journal since I was twelve, but I didn’t have a travel journal until this year. Now that I have one, I’m surprised how I ever traveled without it. If you’re a traveler but don’t really keep a journal, it wouldn’t hurt to consider it.
It’s true that writing on a blank page, especially in a beautiful notebook, can be intimidating. Just keep in mind that your travel journal doesn’t have to read like a polished anthology of essays. Even seasoned travel writers can’t just photocopy pages from their journal and expect them to be published as-is. Your journal doesn’t even need to have complete paragraphs or sentences, especially if you find that you’re often too tired to write. In most cases, simple phrases and keywords will do.
The best way to get past the intimidating blank page is by starting with the basics. I tend to write on my travel journal before I even go on the trip. I start with writing about the place I want to visit, what I want to do when I get there, and why I chose it in the first place. It’ll be interesting to read these notes when you return home, as they can help you realize how the trip has affected you.
If you’re in a non-English speaking country, you have additional material to work with, especially if you’re unfamiliar with your destination’s language. Write down translations of words and phrases that interest you, or even local jokes and sayings. You’ll find that you can learn so much about a place based on their language.
Apart from words, your travel journal should also include souvenirs from your trip. Some travelers add local postage stamps, train tickets, restaurant receipts, and found objects. I had a roommate who kept paper napkins from restaurants in her journal, while my father collected match packets from hotels he’s stayed in around the world. If you’re artistically inclined, you can even draw or paint on your journal.
Having a tactile record of your travels is important, especially as you get older. This will prove to be invaluable when you want to look back on the places you visited, the times you lived in, and who you were when you were there.
Do you keep a travel journal? How do you write in it?
September 4th, 2008 at 12:27 pm
I did keep a travel journal for the first few years of my travels, and I would send emails home with summaries of them. But sadly I am not that great a writer and no matter how cool what happened to me was, I could never really get the point across and people quickly got bored with what I wrote.
But this year I found the solution! I started a video travel journal, which I edit in the style of a documentary; something I’m much better at. I’ve been getting great reviews about it and my friends are actually interested in keeping up with my travels! It’s not that hard to do too. I do follow many online travel journals of friends and inspirational travellers I hope to meet some day though. It’s true that keeping one is an excellent means of sharing your stories and being able to look back on them and see the vivid detail as if you were there again 🙂
September 5th, 2008 at 12:21 pm
I am not the type who keeps a travel journal. I am satisfied with my taken photos and videos, for me it’s enough. But, I admire persons who did travel journal, I love reading their stories, adventures and voyages. Actually I have written before, I never know where is it now.
Jhazline
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https://www.1explore.com
Your life deserves a place like this.
September 9th, 2008 at 6:24 am
Wow! great post. Well, I really care about having a journal when traveling. This makes me updated with what I have done and what else do I have to do. This was really of great help to me as a traveler.
Jim
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https://www.1explore.com
Your life deserves a place like this.
September 11th, 2008 at 4:51 pm
Celine,
Great advice and ideas here. It’s so important to recognize the distinction between a pen-and-paper travel journal and a travel blog. The travel journal is uniquely private and personal–a haven, a refuge, and a tangible souvenir. The blog, though undeniably the best vehicle for sharing our travel experiences with others–serves a different function and shouldn’t be considered a substitute for the handwritten journal. There’s nothing like the tactile pleasure we derive years after a trip, unearthing that familiar travel companion, dusting it off and walking together again down an old forgotten road.
You might be interested in my book coming out in Spring 2009, “Writing Away, a Creative Guide to Awakening the Journal-Writing Traveler,” filled with tips and advice for using your travel journal to deepen the experience of the journey. It will be published by Travelers’ Tales. I hope it inspires you!
Lavinia Spalding
September 13th, 2008 at 2:33 pm
Celine – thank you for your post. I like to keep a visual travel journal – I find that drawing something embeds itself far more in my memory than simply taking a photograph. If I’m not happy with the way the drawing turns out, I simply paste a photo of the scene over the top of it! But I still have the visual memory more complete in my mind.
I am always looking for other things to do in my journal, and I love your ideas of translations and souveniers. I also like to record the smells and scents I encounter when away. I find that by writing them out and representing them visually – it takes me right back to the scene. I tend not to complete my journal while away, but work on it for several weeks after my return. That way the vacation seems to be extended.