back
Keeping a Travel Journal
Now, my friends may call me a hoarder, but I call myself nostalgic. I know the concept of writing a journal needs no explanation, but what are some ways for you to capture more than just your thoughts on a trip?
1. Buy a journal when you get there
It's worth the wait. This way, even the journal itself will remind you of the place, and will hopefully have a picture or title on the front.
2. Hoard paper items
If you're like me this is easy, but for others it might go against what you're used to. But think outside the box on what you could later glue in to a scrapbook style journal. Any sort of tickets are the obvious ones, but anything from a beer label from a festival you went to or the business card of a small-scale jeweller you bought souvenirs from can add to the memories.
3. Record the specifics
Everyone has gotten home from a trip, and years later found out that a friend is going there. Of course you want to make sure they visit the most picturesque little bistro you stumbled upon when you were there, but odds are its name is long gone from your head. Thankfully, you'll have a travel journal to turn to! So make sure to write down the names of hotels, restaurants, shops and bars you hit because odds are that one day you're going to want to remember what one of them was. Often holding onto paper items from these places can help in case you forget to record it as I mentioned in number 2.4. Get creative
There are lots of alternatives to paper items that you can find to enhance the memory experience in your journal. For instance, smells. If you visit an outdoor market, save one of the spices that was in the air and rub it on a corresponding page of your journal. Or if there was a common flower in season while you wear there, press one in your journal.
5. Watercolour pencils
I like to draw and paint, but there's hardly any time for that when you're on vacation, let alone room in your bags for supplies! A great alternative to this is to take a set of watercolour pencils with you and a small brush. A pack of colours is easy to carry in your purse so you can draw/paint on the go. All you need is a water bottle and you can use the lid to dip your brush in.
Watercolour Pencils
Watercolour Brushes
Pick a picture that reminds you of your surroundings, maybe copy a post card you've bought? Start by sparsely colouring in the image with your watercolour pencils, but don't use too much or once you start using the brush it will be too thick to layer any depth. Dip your brush in a little bit of water, and the water soluble pencil crayons will function as watercolour pigment! I like to go over some details with the black pencil crayon after it has dried.
6. Print out your photos when you get home
It is so rare these days to have hard copies of your photos. But if they are forever sitting amongst thousands of files on your computer, when are you ever going to spend the time to look at them again? So print out some of your favourite photos! And this is easier than it seems if you aren't one to do this regularly. You can find a Kodak kiosk at most grocery stores, pharmacies or copy centres and then you either need the ScanDisk from your camera or if you have an iPhone, you can print directly from it through wifi. This will usually cost you around $0.20 per photo.
7. Leave space for photos and keepsakes
Now that you have all these photos printed, are you going to put them in the leftover pages at the end of your journal? No! Then you would have no idea where your photos, nor any of your keepsakes came from. Therefore, it is very important to only write on every other page so that there is space for you to add your photos and keepsakes with their corresponding journal entries.
Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”