Airports, trains, beaches – these are all places where you usually spend long minutes to hours, and there is often not much entertainment. So what to do? Take a pen and paper, or for the tech-savvy, a tablet or laptop, and start writing your travel journal.
What are the benefits of a travel journal:
You remember more.
Not only do you know which cities you visited after returning, which mountain you climbed, or where you had the best coffee, but you will also remember specific scents, the smile of a passerby, or the feeling of your first rickshaw ride.
You learn more.
Educational signs are everywhere, and most of them have really interesting information engraved on them that often even Wikipedia doesn't know. But can you cram them all into your head? You can take pictures of them, but if your phone dies during the day, you won't be able to read them again. So where do you quickly write them down? You know the answer.
You become more aware.
You learn the most from information signs, but especially from the customs and behavior of individual cultures and nations. Maybe something will really surprise you, like an unexpected kiss on the cheek or a story passed down for several centuries, and that is exactly what you will be happy to remember in a year or a decade thanks to your entry in your travel journal.
Don't just wait for departure
Before you leave, write down routes, addresses, phone numbers, and opening hours in your journal that might come in handy. It is interesting to think about what prejudices or expectations you have about a given country, write them down, and after arriving, realize and revise what came true, what disappointed you as expected, and what, on the contrary, pleasantly surprised you.
Details matter
How did you feel while shopping at the local market? What scents did you smell, what did you taste, and what did you hear? What did you learn from the handsome guy at the bar? What crazy clothes or accessories on someone caught your eye?
Brevity is also IN
No complicated sentences are needed; for recording and remembering, short sentences or even bullet points are enough. However, those who are poetic souls and enjoy poems or novels do not have to limit themselves. If your travel journal has enough pages, go for it!
Postcards don't necessarily have to go to the mailbox
Besides writing, you can also express yourself graphically. Buy postcards and try drawing something too. It doesn't matter how skilled you are; the important thing is to capture a breathtaking sunset or a magical beach. Every now and then, bend down for a leaf or a flower and let it dry in your journal.
A separate chapter is photos. Everyone has a mobile phone at hand while traveling, so there is no shortage of quick snaps of what caught your eye. We probably don't need to mention Instagram too much, because from a travel Instagram feed, it's only a small step to a travel blog. However, printed photos are more suitable for a travel journal. You can arrange that after you return and simply add them to your notebook.
But take photos sparingly so you don't miss what's happening around you. Focus more on the expressions of people on the street, lift your heads and photograph the tops of buildings, notice the details around you. Take each thing at most once; if it's blurry, it doesn't matter! You will then know even better that you were rushing to the bus at that moment or avoiding a fire hydrant on the sidewalk. Only in this way will you capture the most interesting moments that will bring back that unique feeling you had at that exact second while reminiscing.
TIP: Do you enjoy photography? Would you like to take nice photos for your travel journal? We will advise you on how to capture the most beautiful memories.
Names and smiles create stories
You will probably have the most authentic memories after returning thanks to recorded moods and people's expressions. Are you buying a ticket or coffee? Write down on the receipt how the cashier and barista looked. Were they pleasant, did they give you a tip for the trip, did they ask where you were from? Or did they not even look up at you?
Size matters
The format of the journal is a question in itself. If you plan to store maps, illustrative materials, or leaflets, look for larger formats, ideally A5. It is very impractical to fold a given brochure several times. Really large journals, however, will create more of a thick tome that will suddenly add another kilo or two to your airport weight.
For simple notes and the occasional photo, on the other hand, a pocket diary with a pocket pencil is ideal. It fits into every backpack, and neither you nor airport security will even know about it. We also do not recommend ring bindings, as they are less practical and take up unnecessary space in the backpack.
Geeky even on the road
Great helpers when writing a travel journal can also be applications that take up no space and yet serve perfectly. Geo Tracker records your trips, so if you don't remember the whole route in the evening, you have everything in one place and can recap.
The Journi application records the route, saves photos, and you can also share the trip with friends who will certainly want to see where you went and how you are actually doing there. Journi allows you to write notes like a travel journal and also works offline, which you will quite appreciate in places where there is no Wi-Fi or data is not working.
A calendar, map, connection to documents, and tips for writing a journal are provided by the Journey application: Diary, Motivational Journal.
A small piece of advice at the end
Bring mini-glue with you! That is the foundation of every travel journal!
TIP: If you would like to get a pre-printed journal for travelers, you can check out how the travel journal by Jitka Štádlerová from Koralkydni.cz proved to be during our testing, or get inspired.
Photo source: www.flickr.com
Have you personally found keeping a journal on your travels useful? Do you have any other tips on what to add to the journal or how to approach it? You can share them with other travelers by posting in the comments.
