Easy Travel Journals
Before we move to journals costing more serious money, note that the travel journal gift search can be as easy as a trip to a superstore, like Walmart: grab a few small spiral notebooks, thread pens through the spirals and you've put together what would be called journaling tools. And the journaling idea is planted, too -- the recipient will remember that writing doesn't have to be done in a gorgeous journal to be legit.The Tools - Preprinted Journals
- Nomad Travel Journal
- Read more on the women's travel journal as part of a travel gift set
This very sturdy journal, pre-printed with soy ink, comes from Colorado with its own zippered case, or fits (trim back cover slightly) in an LL Bean passport holder (see a picture) that I've traveled with and like very much. Lined and captioned pages (refills available) offer spots for all the crucial info; covers are ruff-tuff cardboard. Nomad's got several journal types; I like the "Adventure" -- folks always ask me where I got this journal -- it's got the look of some serious scribe stuff. If they read between the covers, they'd see it's not -- just random scribbles that remind me where I've been and what I've done. I tend to fill the margins with words I want to look up, like mysterious road sign instructions seen while bouncing along in a bus ("I wonder if this sign means 'Curve of Death Ahead'...").
Women's Travel Journal
Publisher Ten Speed Press always comes up with the goods, and the Everywoman Travel Journal is the goods. Lotsa practical travel info, like international dialing codes, calendars, maps, women-specific travel advice and room for memory jotting, of course.
Moleskine Journals
Folks swear by Moleskine -- the sturdy, oilcloth bound travel journal is divided into bed, food, people, sights and facilities by laminated and tabbed sections. It's got an elastic book closure, black ribbon placeholder and cardboard accordion pocket. Moleskine journals are classics with followings of lifelong fans.
The Journaling Tools - Pens
- Fisher Space Pens
Fisher Space Pens write regardless of position or gravitational pull (hence the "space" factor) -- carpenters and chimney sweeps love 'em. A Fisher Space Pen is a tad heavy, though it's tiny, which makes it the perfect size to drop in a cargo pants pocket but actually kind of hard to lose.
Night Writer Pen
A hostel bed is a good place to jot down the day's travel memories and with a pen that lights the travel journal's pages, writers won't disturb dorm mates. Needs three watch batteries (included) -- comes with three additional batteries and two black ink refills. See it pictured.
Add a Clip-on Book Light
Little bitty book lights are a great travel accessory -- they can be used to read maps in a darkened train, check guidebooks on a night bus or, of course, clipped to a journal for late night writing. Your local book store probably has at least one variety of clip on book lights, as do superstores like Walmart."My Light" makes a couple of cool ones -- a super sturdy clip-on reading light and a carabiner clip light (pictured above at right) that I love. I hang it over the rung of a hostel bunk for general illumination, slide it into a book, bending the flexy head over the page, or set it flat like a desktop lamp, head bent up and out to light up an area, and I hang it in my tent and my VW van when a lantern is too much. The light that the two LED bulbs puts out is really pretty amazing -- I clipped the carabiner to a chair to light a photo of my bag perched on a London hostel windowsill at late dusk (see the picture -- shows what powerful candlepower it packs).
