Even if publication isn't your goal, a travel journal can be turned into a scrapbook. Hannon always carries Scotch tape so she can affix ticket stubs, hotel business cards and other memorabilia in her notebook, making it a vivid and entertaining record of a trip. There are other important practical reasons for having a journal. For instance, before I leave home, I write on the cover of mine the addresses and phone numbers of the U.S. embassies and American Express offices in the countries I'm visiting, for quick reference. Those who think keeping a journal could become a chore should take a tip from Bond, who says she doesn't always write full sentences.
Rain is the only fault in it.
Best of all, perhaps, is the meditative, quiet time you give yourself to keep a journal. Dianne Taylor-Snow, who rarely sleeps past 4 a.m., told me that on a trip to the Amazon several years ago she routinely found a spot on the veranda of the inn where she was staying to write in her journal by oil lamp. I love the mornings. My thoughts are clear and my memory is good. Taylor-Snow's journals may never be published or put in a time capsule, but keeping them was how she found her way through the inward journey, which is what matters most to many women travelers.