Africa, Bali, Bali & Malaysia, Singapore & Bali, Spain. Wish I had written travel journals also from the Brazilian Amazon, Kenya, Nepal, and Crete. And even way before, during my previous life, from Thailand, the USA, and elsewhere. But I am glad I corrected my mistake and began to write. These journals have always served as raw material for my blog posts – and the blog posts may serve as raw material for something else I’m working on.

If you’re curious what journals I use: the two Soumkines on the right hold up well and the paper is sturdy and lovely, but they get quite blotchy in use.

The dark and medium blues are Moleskine Volants. Even those covers get worn out around the edges, but the book holds together well. I love the detachable sheets and always keep a Volant in reserve, in case I run out of pages but don’t need another entire notebook to complete the trip journal. I just tear out the pages I used, staple them together, and paste them to the back with a paperclip. The downside with Moleskine paper is that it bleeds through if you use liquid ink or more wet rollerball pens.

For trips where I know I will write a lot, the Daycraft journal is a winner. It is thicker, the paper is amazing, and the cover is a thick, bouncy soft material that stays neat. The burgundy journal went with me around Namibia and Zanzibar for two months and does not look any worse than it did when we set off.

(Copenhagen, Denmark; April 2020)