I was going through some old boxes the other day when I found a beat up travel journal from my trip to the Philippines a decade ago. The journey had been my first to a tropical country, and thumbing through those wrinkled pages was like stepping into a blast of Southeast Asian humidity: the more I read, the more I began to feel the emotions I felt when I first wandered through Manila and Cebu and Boracay.
Keeping a travel journal can be one of the most rewarding habits a person can cultivate while away. Less precise than a ship's log and more personal than a published blog, a travel journal can organize your thoughts, help you process the experience and serve as a reference–and the ultimate keepsake–years later.
Admittedly, the prose in my old journal was far too purple and unfocused to submit for publication in the greater world, but it was a wonderfully vivid evocation of the trip, written by me and for me–an author and audience of one.
Keeping a travel journal is an artform, something to do in addition to, not instead of, a ship's log and an Internet blog.My travel journals haven't been quite so detailed in the years since I returned from the Philippines, mainly due to the demands of professional travel writing, which takes up most of my note-taking time while away. Moreover, since a lot of my leftover travel perspectives now go into my blog, my pen-and-paper journals have been a bit skimpy in recent years. But I maintain that keeping a travel journal is well worth the time.
Because I'm a bit out of practice, I got in touch with my old friend Lavinia Spalding, a Utah-based writer and travel-journal guru, to gain some expert advice on keeping a journal while away from home or port.
Rolf Potts: What are the benefits of keeping a travel journal? Why not just enjoy your experience organically without recording it?
Lavinia Spalding: Every traveler who keeps a journal does so for different and valuable reasons. On the most basic level, a travelogue is a place to record information–the name of that historic hotel in Livingston, Montana, or directions to the best Khmer restaurant in Siem Reap, Cambodia. It's a log of what not to forget. It can inspire writing to publish, or share with friends and family; serve as a confidant on solo journeys; store memorabilia such as stamps, ticket stubs, and wine labels; or provide a clean canvas for impromptu sketches. It can be a mirror of self-discovery along the way.
For me, the ultimate reward is being forced, regularly, to slow down and be present. If I sit with my notebook for even a few minutes each day to write about where I am in that moment, and what I'm currently experiencing with all of my senses, it becomes a practice. It takes me out of thinking only of past and future–the site I've just visited, or my next destination. It demands an immediate stillness and awareness, and in doing so enriches the whole experience.
WHERE TO START?
RP: What advice would you give to a first-timer, who has never kept a travel journal and doesn't know where to start?
LS: Begin by treating yourself to a new, unlined blank book. Choose it carefully, paying close attention to the weight of the pages and the feel of it in your hands. Will it lay relatively flat when open? Will it hold up to weather and wear? My favorite journals are actually sketchbooks–they're affordable, sturdy, and versatile, and can be found in any art supply store.
