Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Create Your Own Travel Diary

An inexpensive travel journal you can buy.

You can buy one, or make your own.

Finding A Blank Book
Failing all else, select a suitable blank notebook from your nearest store, online, or an old notebook or diary sitting unused. Unwanted gift. stock for next Xmas or las Xmas but still not found a recipient.

Cover And Number A Blank Book
Number the pages.
List the country on the cover
List date on cover.
List date on back.
Add a ribbon.
Now on to the inside

How do you add a ribbon? Find a discarded ribbon from a box or chocolates or cake or last year's diary which you never look at. Or buy ribbons, cheaply from sewing departments and stationary departments and online. Stick down the top of the ribbon. (You might also be able to sew the ribbon in place at the top, inside the spine. See your other similar size books or diaries with ribbons to see how the ribbon is attached.

You could add a piece of stiff card as a bookmark, attached to the ribbon. use a hole punch to creat a near hole to attach the ribbon.

Contents Page
Write in pencil, title page, contents page.
Check the number of pages and allow one line per page on the contents page.
For example, one page for contents is not enough if you have less than 30 lines on the page and more than 60 pages. You might want the contesnts list on the back and front of one page. Or draw a pencil line vertically down the middle. allow a tiny margin for page numbers and a wide column for contents.
Later you can type up the contents and past the printed list over the written pages.

If you want a neat book, you could, in advance of the trip, or while sitting waiting in an airort or station, label every page, or every third page, with the dates of your trip. Start with the travelling day and end with the day of the return.

Picture and Text
You could have text on the left hand page, photos on the right. On the right add pictures, drawings, sketches, maps, landmark photos, photos of friends, on the right page, with or without a title.
Allow room for the page numbr top corner, or footer, or signature if it is a drawing.

Alternatively, divide the book horizontally. Have the text at the top. Paste the pictures below the horizon.

Cut Horizontally.
If you cut horizontally, you can keep the map from page one permanently visible as you turn the text pages.


Alternatively, divide the book into sections for each day.
If you don't fill the whole section with writing, fill the gaps with plan,e bus and train tickets. Or stick on photos from travel leaflets, or print photos from you holiday snaps or wikipedia.
If you are short of space, stick in supplementary lined or blank pages from aanother notebook.
Carry spare pages with you. Keep the book and spare pages together.
List contents.
Stick on train maps
Put your family photo on the front.
Past a map on the front.
use a cereal box in a foregn langauge as a notebook holder.
Print your photo for the cover or index page.

No time, no money, no Book!
I have had to dash off to meetings with no notebook for notes on the meeting, for myself or to give evaluations and handouts to others.

Many hotels can supply a free bedside notepad.

Once I was in a remote hotel whilst my husband was at a conference and I wanted to create a mini notebook with the words of a speech, as cue cards.

I had several options.

Diary Blank Pages
Tear pages out of my diary - blank pages
Tear out unused pages from January.
Or keep the used part from early in the year and buy another cheap diary for the rest of the year.

Business cards, leaflets, menus
Take business card of leaflets from a rack, the cards with blank backs. If the hotel prints a new menu every day, yesterday's menus are thrown in the bin, or today's menus will be thrown away when the restaurant closes. You can ask for the spares and use the backs.

You don't want the writing on the back to distract? Stick two pieces back to back. Seal with glue, Sellotape (sticky tape), or staples. This turns two flimsy pieces of paper into something stronger, firmer, better.

Only one piece with writing on the back? Fold it in half with the two pieces with the writing stuck together.

What can you do with your new blank travel diary?
Take a free leaflet with the name of the country and cut out the flag or country name or city name to paste on the cover of your blank book.

I often get home and find two members of the family have brought back the same map or travel leaflet. I don't like to throw away the duplicate. It can be used to decorate or label a holiday notebook.

Covering boxes
An unwanted empty cereal box or shoe box can be covered with maps and headings.

Useful Websites
https://www.amazon.sg/My-Travel-Journal-AA-Publishing/dp

About the Author
Angela Lansbury, the author, (not related to Angela Lansbury the actress) is a travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

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