Just a few of my travel notebooks down the years…
Right so after the euphoria of the fact Don’t Stop Living is SIX years old today dies down, it’s back to basics – and on a Tuesday, that means a travel essential. Today it’s the MAIN essential I have used for the last six years for this travel blog. NOT my laptop – that’s right – I’ve typed up this blog over the years using about 40 – 50 different computers on the move. What’s been more important is a traveller’s notebook!
Tuesday’s Travel Essentials: A Traveller’s Notebook
I carry a traveller’s notebook everywhere with me and I always have done!! I write EVERYTHING I can in my traveller’s notebooks and in fact have a box which contains about 30 of my traveller’s notebooks down the years. I write down where I was, who I met, what I did, the price of things, the transport I took, the beer and food quality and any personal feelings and opinions I have at the time. I write this stuff mostly on buses, trains, boats and planes and while waiting in lounges for those transport types. It doesn’t take a lot of work – you just need a notebook and a pen.
One of many of my travel notebooks down the years…
If you’ve met me on my backpacking journey you’ll have seen me getting out my notebook and pen, writing everything down (often over a beer). I’m actually a traditionalist to be honest. I prefer physical things. I’d rather read a book than an e-Book. BUT the internet and technology have changed everything and when I was in Toronto I started my travel blog online.
Just some of my notes from my traveller’s notebooks down the years…
BUT having an online travel blog hasn’t changed the fact that I STILL write everything in my traveller’s notebook. Sometimes I get lazy and scribble stuff on flight tickets, receipts and pieces of paper etc. But normally I’m pretty good with it.
Another of my travel tales notebooks from my journeys.
All you need to do is buy a traveller’s notebook every few months and they last long – use every bit of paper on it and write doubled sided and in small print and you can fit a lot on. It also comes in handy to give people your e-mail address and get e-mail addresses and contact details from your travel buddies. I try to add everyone I backpack with on Facebook so I can connect with them, share photos etc. A traveller’s notebook helps with this. You can keep tabs with me by liking my Facebook Page for Don’t Stop Living. These days I have business cards with all my social networks and things on them (a future post coming) as my blog gains more readers and traffic. But still, I’ll always be there writing things down on paper!
My travel notebooks are also in many colours and style – I buy a different one each time!
I’d totally recommend all travellers out there (whether you are a blogger or not) to get a traveler’s notebook and write EVERYTHING down. It’s amazing how much stuff you forget. And unless you wrote it down at the time, you’ll never remember what bus you boarded in Paraguay, how much your dinner was in Taiwan or what day you landed in New Zealand for the first time. I finished my book in 2015 and will release it at some point under the moniker “Backpacking Centurion“.
Writing away to my heart’s content during a flight delay in Xiamen, China.
Happy writing and safe travels guys!
One of my traveller’s notebooks from a trip in 2012.
With my endless travel tips and stories, I want to inspire you all to head out there and see the world! Check my advertising page if you have an idea for a product for my Tuesday’s Travel Essentials, and don’t forget I welcome free pens and traveller’s notebook s…
1 thought on “Tuesday’s Travel Essentials: A Traveller’s Notebook”