Travel journals were all the rage in the 19th century. A lot of it had to do with the limited nature of travel: most people couldn't afford to go far, and with transportation being limited, armchair travel was the next best thing. Travel journals found a huge market with people who wanted to travel but couldn't (kind of like the Discovery Channel, I guess!).
But travel journals have a place in the 21st century, too. You probably won't publish them (unless you do it in the form of a guide, a la Lonely Planet). But you may very well find them a treasured memory of your holiday in the future.
I'm not talking about scrapbooking here, or writing a novel. The best travel journals are small coil bound notebooks where you record highlights of your day, interesting thoughts and sights, and ideas as they occur to you. You can do it in bed before you pass out for the night, on a plane, on a boat, on a train... er, you get the idea.
If you're an artist, pepper your journal with illustrations in true 19th century fashion. If not, leave spaces to paste photographs later on. You never know: your travel journal might become your very own blog in the future!
