I just got back from an AMAZING trip to Vietnam and Cambodia. In fourteen days my boyfriend and I visited Saigon (HCMC), the Mekong Delta, Hoi An, Hanoi, Halong Bay, Sa Pa, Kuala Lumpur, and Angkor Wat (Siem Reap). It was amazing, and I'm exhausted, but I have to say one of the most rewarding things I did on my trip was keep a travel journal.

Inspired by reading a book a friend gave me, "Writing Away: A Creative Guide to Awakening the Journal-Writing Traveler" by Lavinia Spalding, both my boyfriend and I bought journals along with a few good travel reading books before taking off. They were so nice to have! Following Lavinia Spalding's advice, we wrote a few things down in preparation (what predictions and expectations we had for our trip, preliminary plans etc) and brought a few necessary supplies she recommended (a couple colored pens, tape/glue, and child's scissors).

First off, we had a lot of fun writing the journals. Everytime we were stuck on some form of transportation, be it airplane, bus or boat, we pulled out our journals. We competed for who could draw the best illustration of the things we were experiencing, and who could come up with the best idea for decorations for our journals (I had an edge as I actually read Spalding's chapter with ideas on this, such as rubbings, wine cork stampings, any tickets, maps, etc). My personal favorite was a square of the green silk that I had made into a dress by a tailor in Hoi An. We also used Spalding's ideas for what to write about - write about first impressions, people you meet (guide, friend, local), all senses including smell and taste (my favorites were the taste of sugar-cane juice or the coconut crepes outside the rice factory).

And I found that Spalding was right that keeping these journals so faithfully (a daily dedication that she inspired me to keep!) really helped make my experience more memorable. I paid more attention to the life around me and the details of my adventures than I normally do, and really travelled more mindfully, as she described.

I recommend that anyone planning a trip like this (or any other trip at all) keep a travel journal, and before you go read "Writing Away". It's on Amazon of course, or offered by the publisher (Travelers' Tales) at writingaway.net

Happy Writing!
~Becky

I love to keep a travel diary while I'm away. My first was written in 1986 when my husband & I went to UK & Europe. I also like to carry a little note pad in my camera bag or backpack so I can jot down the name of a place that I've photographed or restaurant I've eaten in . I also note costs of things that may be helpful in answering forum questions for other travelers when I get home. I have never read that book and I am definitely going to seek it out before my next trip. How about some excerpts from your journal I am heading to Hanoi next year & would love to read of your adventures. Sandra

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Glad to hear there are other avid travel writers here! I also love to write. On my first trip I wrote every day, and I'm so glad I stuck to it. I can look back now and read my journal and remember in so much more detail about my trip, and bring back the kind of feelings a photo just can't evoke for me. It's quite rare for anyone to have a chronicle of a year of their time on the planet... I think I'll give it to my grandkids... if I ever settle down long enough to have kids myself!

You should be able to add trip reports to the Travel Blogs section I think - if you fancied sharing your tales with us here?

I also never travel without my notebook and of course camera, everything we do goes in that book. Then it all gets added to my website along with the photos. Hate updating the website as I have another 56 pages to do from our last trip but love it when its finished haha.
Cathy

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