When you love to travel, it isn’t enough to just get out and see the world, drinking in everything from the sights and sounds that a new place offers, while indulging in the amazing foods and culture that abound across our beautiful Earth; you want to perfectly remember all of it. The places you go, the people you meet, the food you eat, the things you see – it all becomes a bookmark for some of the most incredible experiences that you’ve ever had; experiences that you want to look back on, recalling every perfect detail, and share those experiences with others.
World hoppers, in their own way, are the modern day bards. After all of the amazing experiences you’ve had, you naturally want to share those adventures with others, and keep them enthralled as you recount your travels. It helps bring us closer together, allows us to live life to the fullest, and best all, may even inspire others to take their own globe trotting escapades!
Fortunately, we live in an age where technology has made recording our travel adventures easy, fun, and incredibly simple to share with others! Often with the touch of a button, people can see you as you bask in Awao Falls, take a walking tour of Japan’s many shrines and temples, or pose for a selfie in front of the Pyramids. To help you get started, here are the three best ways to record your experiences as you explore our beautiful world.
Photograph It
There’s a reason the old saying, “A picture is worth 1,000 words,” has become so cliche – because it’s so true. Pictures are invaluable when you’re trying to chronicle your travel adventures, because, in their case, less is most definitely more.
With your own collection of photographs, you’ll be able to not only show others the places you’ve been, and the things you’ve seen, but they can get a sense of what it was like by seeing it from your vantage. It’s one thing to talk about how beautiful the Pacific Ocean is, and describe how lush and blue the water is; it’s another to be able to whip out a photo, and show others just what you’re talking about.
Photos are also great for you personally, because they’re such an instant refresher for memories. As time fades, you’ll forget certain details, like what color a certain hotel room was, or what that sign on the road to Dubai said. With a photo, you can capture those moments with crystal clarity, thanks to the advancements that have been made in camera technology. Even cell phones now have incredibly powerful cameras, that bring every vivid detail to life, so you don’t have worry about investing in a super expensive camera, if you don’t want to.
Blog About It
People love reading stories that transport them to places they’ve never been. It’s been true since we first started to see printed material distributed all over the place, and it’s especially true with some of the classic stories of travel and adventure, like those Ernest Hemingway and Jack London wrote about. And while photographs are superb at capturing colors and visuals, where they are decidedly lacking is in communicating the most important aspect of any good story: emotion.
With a blog that you’ve registered for yourself, you’ll have a page that’s totally unique to you, and not only be able to chronicle your adventures, but also draft a sweeping narrative that explores both the exciting and the mundane in an equally compelling way. The key is that you really focus in on the emotions and feelings that you experience as you travel. I don’t mean that you have to detail every time you’re pleasantly surprised by a gorgeous flower or landmark; I mean, you should express how the place really made you feel.
I’ve spoken a great deal with travellers who went off on some trip, at a time where everything in their life seemed to be falling apart, whether it was from a death in the family, a divorce, bankruptcy, or any number of tragic circumstances. I’ve been fully enraptured as they travelled to places like Tibet, where they were able to meet and interact with some of the Buddhist monks who populate the many ancient temples that grace the country. I could feel my eyes stinging as the tears welled up, overcome as they mired in despair upon arrival, only to leave feeling completely at peace, confident that redemption and hope were just a few short steps away, because of what they learned there.
A blog will allow you to tell stories exactly like the example above, in a way that keeps your readers engaged, and allows you to reflect on some of the most transformative periods in your life.
Scrapbook It
It’s great to see it, maybe even to touch it, but even better still, is to take it home with you. This holds true if you’re talking about a trip to Macy’s or to the Chevrolet dealership, but it’s especially true when we talk about travelling. We all want to have a little keepsake to put over a fireplace and hang on a wall. But more than just decorating our homes, we can use the souvenirs that we accumulate as we travel to create a compelling artifact that will serve as a testament to our globe trotting ways, long after we’ve left them behind.
Scrapbooks are incredibly fun to make, because they’re so customizable. Not only will the items you put in be unique to you, but so will the way you present them. You could do something as simple as paste in your boarding pass for that trip you took to Ireland, or put in a take home menu you picked up in a noodle shop in Hong Kong. The possibilities are endless with a scrapbook, and you’ll delight those you share your book with, and keep your own memories alive, for years to come. So, have fun, and really make it your own!
