How to Keep a World Travel Journal

Have you taken a memorable journey recently? Whether you travel nationally or worldwide, it's important to have a record of the memories and good times you had away from home. Photos can be an excellent way to recreate travel memories. An even better idea is to keep a world travel journal
documenting your thoughts and feelings as you traveled in distant lands. Here's how to keep a world travel journal.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Add Special Mementos.
   
   Keep an envelope of special mementos in your travel journal. Include such items as menus, ticket stubs, matchbooks, and business cards that will remind you of where you've been and what you experienced. It's nice to be able to feel and touch a tangible reminder of your journey.

2. Include Photos.
   
   The addition of photos to your journal will help recreate the experience of your trip. Don't just take photos of well known landmarks you encounter but capture the personality and essence of the people you meet in the streets with your camera. Many times it's these photos that will mean the most to you when you look back upon your journeys.

3. Be Descriptive.
   
   Describe details of the people and places you encountered during travel. The colors, textures, sights, sounds, and smells that drew you to a particular place should be recorded along with your reactions to them. Make your journal descriptions come alive so you can enjoy sharing your journal entries with your friends and family later.

4. Record your Reactions and Emotions to what you Saw.
   
   Did you witness a beautiful sunset when you vacationed in the Colorado Rockies? Write a description of it and what you felt when you encountered the magnificence of the Colorado sun sinking behind the towering mountains. When you look back, you'll want to experience that special moment and delight in the emotions it aroused within you.

5. Avoid Recording Commonplace Details.
   
   When you reopen your travel journal many years after the event, you won't want to read about every mundane detail of the trip. You'll want to re-experience the beauty and emotion of the people and scenes you saw. Avoid keeping a minute by minute account of exactly what was on your itinerary each day of your trip. Years later, details won't seem important.

[madayo]

on 2/18/2009 Thanks!

[GetATrip]

on 1/13/2009 Great article!

[LilacGirl]

on 11/27/2008 Great suggestions for keeping a world travel journal.