When my friend got me a travel journal for my birthday a few years ago, I was over the moon.
She was creative in her approach, filling the journal with stamps, travel quotes and personalised it with a silver engraving of my initials.
I remember taking the journal on all my adventures, whether it was a family trip to Sun City or a work assignment in the Western Cape.
Travel journals, for me, are a good way to write down the day’s event and recreate them when you open its pages years later. It is also something that can be passed down to future generations.
Not convinced as yet? Here are some reasons why you should keep one:
It can hold all your awesome photos from the trip:
Whether you take a photograph on your smartphone or a camera, turning them into a print is a sure way of having them safeguarded should that memory card or camera decide to break. Think of it as an album with little stories to go with it.
A place to store travel documents and items:
Plane tickets, itineraries and even that rare chocolate wrappers are another way to remember a trip. Instead of those precious memories being chucked into the bin, why not store them in your travel journal?
Fast way to relieve boredom:
When you tired of watching television or having drinks at the poolside bar of your hotel, journalling is a fantastic way to ease you into sleep or keep you occupied until your next tour.
Rant away:
Not all travel experiences are good. It is a good stress reliever when you document the exploits of a bad waiter, a rude traveller or an embarrassing travel experience.
It will make you want to travel more:
Once you documented your first travel experience, chances are that you will want to take more trips to fill that book. Remember, trips need not be international holidays. It can also be a day outing at one of your favourite museums or a road trip to another province.