Keeping a diary of your travel experiences is definitely worth doing. Many years ago, before my very first overseas trip, I was given a travel diary and so decided to use it. We were going to the United Kingdom and Europe for twelve months.  On some days I wrote a whole page, while on others just a couple of lines.  Since then I have kept a travel diary for every overseas trip I have made, which runs to over 25. It is great to now look back at those diary entries to see where we went and to renew old memories.

Some of the diaries I bought were specially set up with information about such things as world time zones, maps, calendars, world currencies, country phone codes, useful phrases, clothing sizes and plenty of others.  More recently I have simply bought a blank page diary and set it up to suit my purpose.  I usually have an itinerary in the front and ruled pages for writing up credit card transactions at the back.  I may also write down some addresses and phone numbers, email addresses, websites although these now tend to be kept in mobile phones or ipads. Speaking of ipads, there is nothing wrong with doing your diary entries on a device, however I have still kept to the pen and book  despite travelling with an ipad.

What to write? Everyone has their own writing style with special emphasis on some aspect or another. Some write about the landscape, although photographs will describe that more effectively. Some concentrate on the people they meet, others have a lot to say about the food they eat or the drinks they enjoy, or the circumstances in which they are consumed. There is always a place for funny anecdotes.

Some people write diary entries on one side of a double page and use the other side to paste in airline , train or ferry tickets, beer labels, restaurant menus or personal scribbles or doodles. This, however,  is not my preference.

You do need some discipline in ensuring that you write up the diary regularly. Some like the morning time, others just before going to bed. The problem is often in either being too tired or forgetting completely and having to backtrack a few days.

The benefits of keeping a diary are many. One of them is to settle bets or disputes, such as,  ‘we have never been to San Sebastian’or ‘we spent two nights in Dubai in 2005’ and ‘no we didn’t’.  Another advantage is in labelling your photographs, whether digital or prints in an album, when you get home.

The back pages of a diary can be reserved for special moments, amusing anecdotes, great meals enjoyed or contact addresses of people you meet and want to stay in contact. Your collection of travel diaries can thus become one of your more prized possessions.