Navigating the world as a literary citizen; the importance of a travel journal.
by Daphne Xulu
Long before I became familiar with the term travel writing, I was captivated by stories of adventure and exploration; how a distant land, thousands of miles away, could com
e to life on a page. The word travel tickles my senses, and my already inquisitive mind wonders further to dreams of countries, cultures, and cuisine. The first book which brought my attention to the world of travel literature was Jack Kerouac’s On The Road. I was hooked. Who was this author who had traveled across America? Why did this piece of creative non-fiction unlock a burning desire for adventure? How did a country that I had yet to visit, seem so close to home?
When I was seventeen, I felt downtrodden like most teenagers do, and I left the UK in pursuit of a solo adventure to Nepal. I had spent months preparing and packing all the important things: sun cream, hiking trainers, documents, and handy bottles of mosquito repellent. Yet, I would’ve never guessed at the time, that the most important possession I could ever have brought with me was tucked away in the front pocket of my backpack –a cheap notebook. Every day for eight weeks I sprawled my adventures across the page, documenting the highs and the lows, friendships, and failures, fleeting moments and memories. I wanted to remember everything and in doing so I created a time portal, a story that authentically summarised two months in my seventeen-year-old life, a story of discovery and exploration.