Creating a Dynamic Travel Journal
by Donna Thomson
This time when you return from a vacation to far away places, or special locations that aren't so far away, you will have a record that doesn't just contain the places you visited and when - that is is called an itinerary. This article will provide plenty of tips for keeping a dynamic 'living' travel journal that will enhance the memories of your trip for years to come. No boring stuff here - you'll actually open this journal time and again and maybe even share it with family and friends.
All you need to do is engage a bit of creativity and imagination. Print this article and keep it in the front of your journal to prompt you with ways to enhance your journal through the things you write about and record in ink, as well as the items you collect, often referred to as 'flat items' for keeping in your journal. Oh and along with your pen you might like to take a small roll of tape or glue stick for those extra items. You'll see what I mean when you see all the possibilities that many people make use of in their own journals.
Whether you're a seasoned traveller or this is your first big trip, I'm sure you'll find something you hadn't thought of before...
Prepare
Prepare ahead and purchase a nice journal that will become a keepsake. These types of memories and insights into you and your life will be cherished by your children, grandchildren and beyond. However, don't write for anyone else but yourself. Don't censor yourself because someone else might read it one day. It is first and foremost your journal.
Commit
Commit to writing something every day, even if it's just to say that you did nothing that day because you were too sick from food poisoning! Don't leave your journal in your room....take it in your daypack so it goes everywhere with you. Once you get the hang of writing, you will add more an more details and grab it at every opportunity. When you look back, even after only a few weeks, you will come across things you'd already forgotten about. So a travel journal is like creating a time capsule.
It's very much about YOU
You are likely to write about what you SAW. Now ask yourself "what did I feel when visiting this place?" and "what were my thoughts about this?". Carrying your journal with you will allow you to capture those thoughts and feelings in the moment or just after, when they are fresh in your mind.
A journal of what you saw is quite boring to reflect on because it contains no emotion - it tells you nothing more than what you could gain from maps and guidebooks about the places you visited. The journal comes alive by adding YOU to the journey and will bring back your memories in greater detail in the future. So write about how you were feeling, what was happening at the time and around you, what the day was like, what the people were like, what caught your attention, what you loved, what you disliked, what challenges you may have had, and what you gained from the experience.
Have you stuck to your planned itinerary or changed it? Why? What do you expect or hope? What was the outcome?
What decisions have you made on the spur of the moment? Where did they lead?
Engage all of your senses and record the feel of the trip and your own personal journey...
Emotions - excitement, home-sickness, joy, sadness, anger, wonder, awe, fears.
Questions - what questions surface and what answers do you receive on your journey?
Achievements - what have you done that you haven't done before? Perhaps you can set some goals of things that you'd like to achieve and start your journal before leaving home.
Dreams - you can even record the dreams you have while away.
Sketches & Mud Maps
No matter what your drawing skill is like, you can add depth to your travel journal by drawing objects and sights that you see along your travels. Drawings and sketches add interest to otherwise word dominated pages. Also, taking the time to sketch something means you are giving your full attention to that scene or item and will therefore give you stronger memories of that object or scene than you might otherwise retain.
Notes about your favorite or memorable locations can be enhanced by adding hand-drawn directions.
Local scenery - flowers, landscapes, people, cityscapes, architecture
Flora & Fauna
Pressed flowers, leaves and bits of bark from trees can add a nice touch of colour and nature to your travel journal. First though, you must consider any customs restrictions that may prohibit bringing foreign organic matter back into your home country if you are travelling overseas. If it's okay with the place you are visiting, then try to find a freshly fallen flower rather than picking one of a plant and the same goes for leaves. You don't want to take from nature if you can find those items naturally discarded.
If you can't or don't want to take a flower or other organic item, you could do a rubbing in your journal where you place the flower or leaf underneath the page and rub the pencil or pen over it to show the shape and other features of the plant.
Whether you've pressed a flower or done a rubbing, it's a nice touch to add a sketch of the item in its natural state and label it with the name if known.
Other items you could add (depending on where you are and any restrictions) are feathers from different birds, sketches of animals and/or their tracks and so on.
People
Here are some intersting additions that you could make to your travel jounral to remember the people you've seen and met.
You could have people sign your journal and/or write a message in their home language (don't forget to get a translation).
Write profiles of the interesting people you meet - their name, what they look like, quirks, what you like about them, how they've been helpful and so on. Add a photo or sketch of them and things relating to them such as their home, an animal companion and so on.
Flat Items to Collect
You might like to collect a beer bottle label from each place you visit which will require you to perhaps enter locations you would not have otherwise visited. Collectibles need to be flat to be kept in the journal. Just some of the possibilities to add are:
- Ticket stubs - plane, bus, train, boat, etc.
- Admission passes - tourist locations, performances, museums, etc.
- Receipts - restaurants, purchases, etc.
- Labels/packets - food, drinks, other purchases
- Brochures - tourism brochures, local attractions, etc.
- Business cards
- Currency
- Postage stamps
- Rubber stamps - there are places that have rubber stamps and you can ask to have your journal stamped too.
Quirky, Funny & Interesting
Note funny things you see e.g. mis-translated signs and advertisements. Local slang and sayings.
What wisdom is passed to you from other people that reflect their culture and/or heritage?
What are the customs of the local people?
What do the people do each day? What are their routines?
What do they find important?
What are their interests?
What are they reading, watching or talking about?
What sounds do you hear at night? What sounds wake you in the morning? Animals, traffic, people, technology, nature, etc.
Secret family recipes from your hosts or other people you meet - if they'll give them away!
More ideas...
Send yourself a postcard from different places so you'll have stamped and postmarked postcards to add to your journal when you get home. Leave space in your journal for it at the appropriate place - the time you sent it.
Write your own poetry based on the name of the city or other local word. Write it down the page and start each line with the letters of the word.
If you write emails home, CC them to yourself so you can print them and add them to your journal to save re-writing what you wrote.
As you can see, there are truly great possibilities for creating what I call a 'living' journal because it's not a static factual record but a collaboration to represent a journey that you have travelled to one or more destinations with feelings, thoughts and interesting words and images. Have a wonderful trip!