Travel Journals

I have yet to meet many travelers who don’t take some type of camera with them on their voyages. Whether it’s the latest DSLR or a simple point and shoot or an old, soon to be dinosaurish film camera, most bring something to record the visual memories.

But what about a written journal? I wonder how many of you spend time each day writing down your memories. Those that go beyond a simple picture. The thoughts, feelings, emotions and experiences that no image can display.

And for those who do, what do you keep them in? A simple notebook, a decdicated travel journal, or perhaps  an online blog? Do you write with pen, pencil or computer keyboard?

I’m looking for a new journal and wouldn’t mind getting some suggestions. And to hear about your journals.

(Frank II)

Comments

[Andy]

People blog now.

Also, the most popular camera is an iPhone.

[Larry]

I use Moleskine and a pen. I have for years. The day will come (and at 65 it's closer than it used to be) when I can't travel any more and I'll have my pictures and my journals to recreate the trip in my mind.

[Frank II--Editor]

Which Moleskine? (ruled, plain, squared? and what size?). And any particular type of pen?

[Larry]

I've used both ruled and plain but prefer the plain as I sometimes make maps or drawings of things. I use a Sharpie fine point pen, not to be confused with a regular Sharpie. Also, I usually carry some colored pencils for drawing things of interest. I don't draw very well but it helps me to fix a sight in my memory. I use the journal to record, not only what I've seen, but also how I felt about it. I try to make a complete record of a particular moment. I hope that helps. BTW I use the large size Moleskine with a hard cover.

[Paul Z]

On our trip to Europe last summer I used Evernote on my iPod to jot down notes at the end of each day. Just a brief paragraph outlining what we did.

I used to try to write more detailed journals but by the end of the day I'm usually so tired that I fall asleep before I get around to it.

[Bee]

Another vote for the plain Moleskine (large with soft cover) with a fine gel pen. I start a separate journal for long trips, and usually manage to fill it with pictures, drawings (pencil or ink), notes and items I have collected en route, simply stuck into the journal. For shorter trips, I keep some specific journals for particular locations, such as travels in the UK (I'm a Brit) and to Ghent (my favourite destination of all time). The journals bring back the trips so vividly that it's almost as good as travelling again. The Moleskine isn't exactly light, but it's an important part of my travels, and I'd hate to be without a journal.

Long time lurker, btw, and thanks for all the encouragement you have given me to travel light.

[Monte L. Steiger]

I use something like a Moleskine that I found in Stapes. Plain light cardboard cover with rules lines. Three in a package.They measure about 5 x 7. I take two Fisher pens and one old Scripto eversharp that says "Property U.S. Government on the side.

Previously I've used a smaller ruled paper pocket notebook that measured about 3 x 5 but is is too small. I do carry a pocket notebook all the time with a six inch ruler that converts to metric for measure and temperature. I found the three by five size too small for dedicated journal writing.

I looked at the Moleskines but thought they were too expensive for a product made in a distant country that eats our lunch.

Keeping a journal is a good idea because it is impossible to use your memory to refer back to details about your trip. In the Philippines our driver for the trip from Manila to Banaue Rice Terraces used the word oki oki. It means dig deeper for a better one, and refers to shopping in a used clothing store where the items come in bales from Korea and Japan. I couldn't remember it if I hadn't written it down and now it has become a staple word in our conversational vocabulary.

I've seen the hand written journals of two of the early American explorers in the southwest and found them particularly interesting because they both contain many sketches and drawings as well as the narrative. So, you need to keep journals. Its certain scholars won't be referring to them during research, but you future family might.

[Yonkdaddy]

One of my friends has been travel-blogging using travelblog.org. I'm gonna give it a try for my next trip. It's free and seems pretty easy.

[Liz]

This is sort of like the "which flashlight" question. There are multiple sites dedicated to pens, and multiple sights dedicated to paper.

Pens. I use a Fisher Bullet space pen, of which there are many varieties. Their ink works upside down, in wet conditions, and they don't leak under pressure. They also have varieties (which is what I use) that collapse to about a 4" sized "bullet", hence their name.

Paper. I use a squared pocket sized moleskine if I don't think I'll be going back on a regular basis. But for some cities (Paris, DC, NY, London, Madrid) where I return frequently, I use the Moleskine specific to that city to record, restaurants, hotels, museums, etc., as well as my feelings. I put the business card, if they have one, of the hotels and restos in the back pocket

I also use google maps (you can name a map, and share or not) in case I lose my moleskine to record restaurants, hotels. It is great especially if you go down to the "city street view" level to help jog your memory. There are some restaurants and hotel on the same street with a similar name, which makes things difficult.

[Alan B]

While we have had paper journals, these days my wife seems to be recording travel details by using a netbook, which is small enough to use on a plane, in a car, etc.

[Jeff]

Love this discussion, especially the jump from the camera as a way to capture memories to a journal as the tool, and how several commenters have included that they choose blogs (or another form of "newer" technology) as their tool. In The Art of Travel by Alain De Botton there is an essay describing how John Ruskin believed (I'm paraphrasing someone's Amazon's comments here to simplify) the only meaningful way to possess beauty was through understanding it. The way to attain this understanding, he suggests, is to draw and write (word paint) those things and places we come across in our travels that strike us as beautiful. A person sitting down in front of an expansive landscape, and sketching its many features, will discover aspects about the scene that would be invisible to the casual observer. Ruskin believed that when travelling, one should take the time to draw and write about those places and things one sees, so the experience will be much richer and provide a more lasting meaning to the traveller as a result. The book is a good read overall, but I really like Ruskin's idea and thought I'd share -- it seemed appropriate.

[Frank II--Editor]

BTW, I'm currently reading a book that pertains to this subject:

"Globejotting: How to Write Extraordinary Travel Journals" by Dave Fox.

I've only just started but I'll review it when I'm done.

[K-eM]

I use a Moleskine Cahier in the middle size with plain paper and I write in it with a Uniball Signo Micro 207 extrafine point gel pen. I also take a small camera (other than my iPhone) and a sketch pencil and an eraser. If I'm going on an extra special trip and have the room, I'll also pack my PoGo printer with extra paper so I can print photos from the day and stick them in.

Writing a travel journal by hand is very different from doing it on a computer. I find it much more engaging and certainly more portable and easier to take care of. It's also easier to go back and just pick it up when you need a vacation by taking a trip down memory lane years after. I have a special shelf for all my travel journals and love to just sit down and read through them every once in awhile.

I'll sometimes start writing before the trip; about the anticipation and what we're hoping to do and finish it after we get home, writing to digest all that I've experienced. THEN, I put it on the computer and write the stories I'll share with everyone and including excerpts from my journal.

Since I started taking a journal to record my travel experiences it has made those experiences much more interesting and I even find myself more willing to try things outside my comfort zone. After all, if you want to write something interesting about your day, you have to have done something interesting that day.

[K-eM]

I should have also mentioned that I take or get glue so that I can paste things into my journal. Such as tickets, business cards, water bottle labels, a leaf off the street... Somehow those carry more power for my story than a photograph of those objects.

[Larry]

K-eM reminded me that I use a glue stick to put receipts, tickets etc. into my journals. It IS more difficult to write in one but It makes an accurate and permanent record of the trip, not just a "we went here and did this" kind of record.

[Bentley]

The system I have been using for many years is a simple spreadsheet made in excel creating lines and various columns, depending on the activity. The next step is I print them out in A5 size (2 to an A4 page) and carry these. I also print out my itinerary 2 pages to A4 and cut them in 2. Much easier to carry A5 pages.
I also glue in tickets, receipts etc. I also get the glossy brochures and cut out the relevant pictures from that. These are usually small and I cut them out when I have finished with the brochure so I don't have to carry them. I also take a thin plastic 2 hole punch and a plastic binder, or if a small trip I use the clear plastic sheet used in binding presentation folders, cut it in 2 to get A5 size.
The pen I use is a el cheapo Bic. They last just as long as the expensive pens before I lose it or someone loses it for me. I used to use gel inks because they write well and look good on the paper, but if you get the pages wet the ink can sometimes run.
I keep all my travel diaries, my earliest is from December 1976 where I rode a motorcycle approx 5000 km down the east coast of Australia. Interestingly the diary was an A5 Executive Shorthand note pad with the spiral at the top.

[Maggie]

This is a fun post! Definitely will look up the Dave Fox book. I literally have a couple dozen journals all different sizes and paper types. The last few years I've used an unruled Moleskine. I forget what size - slightly bigger than a 5"3" index card. I use a mechanical pencil because I draw and the thinner paper doesn't do well will heavy ink. In addition to writing (including my most common packing lists in the last 6 pages of the journal), I draw places and people. I draw items I see in museums when I'm not allowed to use a camera. I even draw cartoons of funny situations I observe in my travels.

My husband bought me the Tom Bihn field journal which is quite wonderful (should be for the price). What is special is that it can be left or right handed and the strap is designed so the journal can be open so one can write/sketch standing up which is great. I've tried all 3 of their papers and aren't thrilled with them. I cut and punched some of my own. My small water color set and travel brushes fit in the pockets inside. I love this journal but it is bulky. I ALWAYS have a journal with me. The small Moleskin is small and compact and thus always with me. Using a pencil I don't have to worry about ink running all over (been there, done that). I also have a Moleskin of the same size that is watercolor paper. I can get my normal journal, watercolor journal, and art supplies (paint, brushes, pencils, etc.) in a quart size Ziplock with room to spare.

I have found that my writing is getting hard to read and I spend too much time writing things down. ThusI have been using a voice recorder more often for my notes and coordinate them with my Moleskin. What I love about the voice recorder is that I can record wonderful sounds along with my voice notes. Like the bells off the hotel balcony in Florence and conversations with fun people I've met along the way (you'd be surprised how many people will let you record them!). I know that a video recording is a more complete record or an event. But it reminds me of listening to audio-logs on NPR. You are listening to all the sounds and focusing only on the sounds for a very rich experience.

It is strange - I have so many pictures of where I've been, but I treasure my travel journals and voice recordings even more. They are more personal to me I guess.

[Larry]

Maggie,
I'll be going to Kenya next month and one of the things recommended to take is a small tape recorder. I hadn't thought about how special it would be to again hear the sounds of a special place. The recommendation and your endorsement helped me to make up my mind to take one.

[Frank II--Editor]

I'm glad the subject of digital voice recorders has been brought up.

My handwriting is atrocious and I do most of my "writing" by typing. But I occasionally "write" by dictating into a digital voice recorder and use Dragon Naturally Speaking to convert it to a print document. Granted, it's not perfect, but that's when the editing comes in. My years in journalism were in broadcasting so I'm more of a speaker than a writer.

My choices for journaling are the following:

1) Journal and pen....my handwriting is bad but this is the easiest way to keep notes.
2) Digital Voice Recorder and Dragon Naturally Speaking...I need to get a new DVR but not all are compatible with Dragon and need to find a way to upload the digital audio to the Dragon app on either my Ipod Touch or a future tablet
3) Get the new Apple folding bluetooth keyboard and use it with my Ipod Touch or future tablet and something like Evernote.

Decisions, decisions.

[Bee]

I too am loving this discussion. Thanks, Jeff, for the information on Ruskin. Although I'm by no means a great artist, I really feel that I "see" more when I try to draw something for the journal.

My normal travelling pack includes a thin zip case containing a sketch pad, some pencils, glue stick, scissors and my journal. I love taking 20 minutes here and there to draw or write about the day. In addition to people being willing to have their voices recorded (great suggestion there for some very evocative memories), I have found that people are happy to add something to my journal. I have some lovely comments, plus menus, wrappings and all kinds of fascinating additions. The act of writing a journal in itself seems to open up a conversation.

[Paula S]

I used to use a small notebook and pen or pencil, religiously wrote in it every evening.
I guess if I really needed to record anything these days, I could voice record on my global roaming phone or iPod. As we keep returning to the same places on most trips, I've given up making travel notes.
The best thing I ever took note of was in the 1980s, in France.......a list of all the wines we drank, their names, dates and graded from good to excellent. I still have it.

[Andrew]

+1 for journaling by Dragon dictation (which i also available as an iPhone app). Frank, you beat me to it.
Journaling is priceless, especially as time passes. Lots of factors combine to make it unlikely I'll write in a notebook at night (although there are beautiful journals available). Dragon isn't perfect, but it's worked well for me, despite the occasional glitch.
I've been using my iPhone Dragon app rather than a dedicated voice recorder. Lets me journal outdoors or on the move, so long as there's not too much background noise or wind noise to confuse Dragon.

[Frank II--Editor]

Andrew, I just tried Dragon on my Ipod Touch for the first time. It works great. No need to buy a separate digital voice recorder.

A question. Besides emailing it to myself, how else can I get the text from my Ipod to my computer? Especially if I'm someplace without a wifi signal.

[Berg]

I used to write in journals, and I still try to when traveling, but on my last trip to Japan, I began making short videos on my camera about what I did that day. Since I was traveling alone, it helped to "talk" to someone at the end of the day about what I'd seen & done and how I was feeling at the time. Also, my handwriting can really stink when I'm tired, so that's the other reason I made videos.

[Maggie]

I also use Dragon for the iTouch but I thought that you have to have a wireless connection for it to work. Perhaps it is because I have the free version? Thanks all - such great ideas!

[Michii]

When I flew to Japan, my friend and I kept journals like we did when we flew to China with our class trip. We each had a pocket sized, blank Moleskin notebook that had an elastic band to keep the book shut when stashed and a folder at the back for business cards, train tickets, etc. I used a pencil to log the journal each day while my friend used a pen, more out of personal preference than anything. I tried to use my iPhone and the blogspot app but it didn't go over so well since you need a wifi connection and there wasn't a lot of free wifi around that I wanted to spend time hunting for. We spent about an hour or so relaxing at a restaurant or a cafe making our blog entries about the sights, the experiences, and the laughs we had along the way.

[Deloris]

Thanks Frank for the "heads up" on Globejotting -- loaded it on the Kindle this afternoon. I use the ProNotes by Blue Sky for my journel. Pen is the skinny Zebra ball point - fine. I like the ProNotes because the paper is lined on one side and graph on the other side. Also has a calendar, key contacts pages, one page of commonly misspelled words. It is about 5-1/2 by 8, thin with a small wire binding. The journal will lay flat when you are writing. Also you can get a leather case with places for address lables, postcards, stamps, etc. We still do "albums" for our photos. We take the journal apart, put the journal pages with the pictures in the albums. One journal will last about three weeks, on the longer trips I take a couple. We do not travel with a cell phone or a computer. We do take our Kindles and one camera.

[Betsey]

Another vote for the Moleskine Cahier. I use the 5 1/4 x 8 1/4 with plain paper (useful for drawing or tracing). I also take along a glue stick and tiny scissors to put in paper momentoes. I buy a sticker souvenir to put on the cover to indicate where I went for that journal. I find any nice pen to take along. My criteria requires it to be a click pen (no cover to lose).

Important thing: work on your journal each day, otherwise you have more incomplete journals than completed (sigh .. been there, still doing it, too). Do carry the journal in your day pack so you have it at quiet moments to write (can be something to do when eating alone). I do like to carry a bit of blank paper for quick notes when I can't pull out journal, so I have the notes when updating the journal at the quiet moments.

Another possibility for recording sounds is just a nice point-n-shoot digital camera. I've done some of that.

[JohnEye]

I am a Moleskine man. My favorites are the City Notebooks that include street maps and indexes. I've used the ones for Paris and San Francisco so far. I can usually find them online for cheap, especially in Amazon's marketplace. Before discovering them, I used the pocket sized hardback Moleskines. They stand up pretty well to the rigors of travel, especially as I carry them in my back pocket throughout the day. I prefer the blank pages but don't mind the lined either. Even though I carry a smartphone with me and can access my blog/facebook fairly easily, I still prefer the old school method of taking pencil in hand and jotting down my reflections throughout the day. There's just something timeless about it that I appreciate more. Besides, I never have to recharge my Moleskine!
Aside from the Moleskine, we take our Canon s90 point and shoot camera. It fits neatly into my front pocket and keeps us free to roam about without worrying about lugging a giant target on our backs (a.k.a. camera bag). Its video quality is good enough that we use it to shoot short clips for things we just can't express in writing. The waves of the Mediterranean rolling in and out along the shores of Nice were one of those things!
My wife and I have made it a habit to write down our thoughts at the end of the day, even if we just jot down some bullet points to flesh out later, the point is to get down all that we'd like to remember from that day. It's fun to go back in a day or two and fill in the blanks, usually we'll do it on a bus or train. As you can imagine, our writing quality suffers but we've learned how to interpret each other's bumpy road hieroglyphics.

[Larry]

Frank II, I've bought Globejotting and so far I love it. I look forward to your review of it. Makes me want to go and redo some of my journals.

[shiva]

Hi : i am not able to locate the Dragon App in the app store. When I search for it, just the games by that name show up. Any pointers would be great.

[Frank II--Editor]

In the Itunes store it's "Dragon Dictation."

[bb]

I carry a pocket-sized Moleskin Cahier. with a small pen clipped in it, it is light and always there. I put a couple of business cards, 3x5 cards and some cash in the pocket.

But for real writing I use either the computer (11" MacBook Air), or a thin A5-sized ring notebook I bought in Europe years ago.. It is easy to take out the pages I write in and store them for each trip. I have some blank pages in it for drawing, and can carry address lists, etc. as well. (It also has clear pockets, which I use for business cards and to carry some reference pages taken from an old day-planner..
Recently, I have begun carrying this notebook in a Tom Binh Field Notebook case. It has room for some drawing pencils in a small flat case, and can carry a paperback book and ipod. On planes I often use it as a 'reading station' (it fits well in an end pocket of my Tom Binh Aeronaut.)