(Tip: you can click on the journal pages to view a bigger version)
The inside front cover of my travel journal
While having breakfast with my cousin one day while on vacation in Japan, I brought up the topic of travel blogs. My cousin Miki, three years younger than I, is an avid traveler and has been all over Asia, the US, and Europe, as well as our own country, the Philippines. Miki’s a talented writer and has a flair for photography as well, so I thought she’d be great at putting up a blog of her travels. “I always say I’ll write about my trips,” she said. “But I never do.”
I told her I plan to blog about my trips as well, but with a different spin: I’ll document it in photos and in a sketchbook. Kind of like The Sketching Backpacker, except I don’t backpack. LOL. Miki gave me a side glance. “Yeah, riiiight,” she said with a knowing laugh. I knew what she meant. It means that when the trip is over, we all go back to our usual, daily routine (work/school/whatever) and all plans for writing about the trip, organizing photos, etc. are thrown out the window. The least you can do is upload 473 photos of the trip on Facebook (after selecting from the 1034 you took), oftentimes not bothering to write out captions because who has time for captions?!
That conversation with Miki happened in November 2011, but I actually started keeping a travel sketchbook two months earlier. I bought a red, pocket-sized Moleskine sketchbook in time for my trip to Sagada, a rustic mountain town in Mountain Province, Philippines. I got the idea to keep an illustrated travel diary from cartoonist Lucy Knisley, who kept one (and published it as a book!) during a trip to Paris. I have no plans to go that far with my travel journal though; I just think it would be nice to keep a visual account of the things and experiences one encounters while traveling.
A bumpy, washed out segment of the road to Sagada, taken while riding atop a jeepney, a mode of traveling called “toploading.”
The Banaue Rice Terraces in Banaue, Ifugao, a stopover en route to Sagada
The thing is, I didn’t know how difficult it was to actually sketch and travel at the same time. Trip fatigue and the fact that you will spend your free time on the trip trying to access free wifi means you will end up doing very little work on your travel sketchbook. The Sagada trip was also a very physically-exhausting and challenging trip; my friends and I were all in bed sound asleep by 9 PM every night. Really, no time to draw or write. I ended up filling in my sketchbook two months after the trip– a feat harder than sketching while traveling, actually. But I managed.
I was also quite at a loss on how to approach travel journaling/sketching. Do I keep the events in chronological order, as I did on this first spread? Do I write about everything? Which experiences get written about and which ones get drawn? The bit about the conductor lying in the middle of the bus aisle was typed out into my cellphone as it happened, as it made an impression on me and I knew I wanted it to end up on the journal, but the rest were thoughts/experiences from memory long after the trip was over.
Rock climbing with just a rope!
I ended up including just the things that stood out the most on the trip, like “surprise rock climbing” as illustrated above. If I had been told we’d be clambering up rocks and walls prior to the trip, I might not have joined in the first place. Haha. But I’m glad to have experienced it all. I did not escape unscathed, though.
A very bruised knee a day after I hoisted myself up on a rock and hit my knee hard on the ground. Too bad I didn’t bother taking a photo of this knee several days later, when it was green and yellow.
Our group of 15 crossing a hanging bridge at the start of our 7-hour trek to the waterfalls.
Crossing raging rivers. Photo from @ayladeeyosah, our trip coordinator from adventure travel/tour company, Travel Factor <3
My muddy feet and trekking sandals
I think this spread is too text-heavy.
Sagada is known for its caves, and a trip to the place is incomplete if one does not go spelunking. I always read up on a place prior to making the trip and I was looking forward to seeing the fantastic, bizarre, and ethereal cave formations in Sagada’s caves, but unfortunately, I was too busy trying to watch where I was going to marvel at the rock formations. Seriously. I’m not the most coordinated person and being acutely aware of that, all I saw were fleeting glimpses of stalactites and stalagmites as I was more concerned about not slipping and plunging to my death.
Me going down a waterfall in the cave… slowly, and carefully
At the time of the Sagada trip, I was living a sedentary lifestyle and was a half-zombie as I was working night shift for a US-based job (while in the Philippines). I found out that being in that situation had an effect on my physical fitness and overall health, as shown in the illustrations above. I confirmed this several months later, when I went on several other physically-exhausting trips after I had resigned from the night job and went back to sleeping at night like most people do. Unlike in Sagada, I wasn’t tired and panting anymore after every physical activity.
I left out a lot of things in my Sagada travel sketchbook, belying the amazing (but exhausting) three days I spent there. That’s what happens when you try to re-capture moments in a trip long after the trip is over; you just can’t quite grasp those fleeting memories as well as you would when you’re experiencing them in that moment itself.
Good thing I had photos to base the drawings and memories on. It’s not the same though, and for future trips (I’ve gone on about 4 other trips since Sagada, and I’m leaving for another trip in a couple of weeks), I hope to actively set aside time solely for sketching while on the trip.
In any case, I’m glad that I at least have this hand drawn and handwritten account of my Sagada trip– I think this really pulls out and highlights all the standout memories and experiences that would otherwise get buried in a slew of batch-uploaded Facebook photos. I’m looking forward to documenting my next trips this way… and actually, I already have. I just haven’t scanned the pages yet 😉
18 Comments
EJL
ang galing naman….lalo na ang mga sketches…. keep it up…..ako din bibisitahin ko ulet ang aking talent sa arts…mukhang naisantabi ko lately….great job…
Reg
@EJL – thank you! 🙂 oo, drawing lang ulit! Ako din matagal akong hindi nag-drawing (years and years) until I decided to take it up again 😀 Thanks for dropping by my site and leaving a comment! 😀
andrea
“The thing is, I didn’t know how difficult it was to actually sketch and travel at the same time. Trip fatigue and the fact that you will spend your free time on the trip trying to access free wifi means you will end up doing very little work on your travel sketchbook.”
I know what you mean! I sometimes don’t know what to take out first when I have limited time and beautiful sights in front of me–my camera (in an effort to take the best shots possible) or my notebook. I find that I draw more during downtime, using photos as reference, like what you did. I also have this travel scrapbook where I stick tickets, food container labels, maps, etc, with minimum commentary, just so I won’t forget.
You inspired me to draw more with this post though! I also love your quirky illustrations, and am looking forward to more glimpses of your sketchbooks! 🙂 Thanks!
Reg
@Andrea – Yes!!! Sometimes you just need to take in and appreciate what’s in front of you as well, no journaling or drawing. Just appreciate the moment. It’s just icing on the cake if you have time to spare for drawing/writing while there 😀 Thank you for your sweet comment! I’m glad to hear I inspired someone. LOLOL. Your username is familiar btw, I think I’ve come across your Livejournal back in the day (I had/have an account there as well). Thank you for dropping by! 😀
Rommel
Hi! Stumbled on your site. 😀 Looks great! 🙂 A couple of my illustrator friends just came back from Sagada last month. Buwis buhay pala doon. 🙂 hehe.
Andrea
Reg, I love your travel journal! I’m inspired to go back to journalling, but I guess it couldn’t be as fun as yours. 😀
Anyway, my site’s up! 🙂 Filling up with Portfolio things but there’s a blog. 🙂
the weekend artist
i love your travel journal! been meaning to start on that ala ‘sketching backpaper’ who I have been following when he was still posting. hope to see more of your travel sketches!
Reg
@Rommel – Thank you, fellow Pinoy illustrator! *apir* Yeah, buwis buhay, exactly :)) If I had known ganon pala ka-extreme ang outdoor activities doon, I would’ve thought twice about pursuing that trip. Buti na lang medyo wala akong idea. Hahahaha. But it was a great experience, still! 😀
@Andrea- Yay! Thanks Andrea! I’ll check out your blog! Always nice to connect with fellow illustrators! 😀
@weekend artist – Thank you! 😀 I am currently traveling and hoping to sit down and work on my travel sketches tonight! Sana hindi tamarin. Haha! Thanks for dropping by and leaving a comment 😀
Sun Adela
I love your website, easy to read and fun to read.
I will be a regular visitor:)
emla creme Prijs
Hey, wil even vermelden dat ik bewondering heb voor dit blogbericht.
Dit is praktisch. Blijf artikels plaatsen!
www.ktbleasing.co.th
Hello I am so delighted I found your web site, I really
found you by mistake, while I was researching on Digg for something else,
Anyhow I am here now and would just like to say thanks a lot for a
fantastic post and a all round enjoyable blog (I also love the theme/design), I don’t have time to look over it all at the minute but I have bookmarked it and also included your RSS feeds, so when I have time I will be back
to read much more, Please do keep up the superb work.
Jerose Ian
Hi Reg! Ian and I enjoy reading your this and it will help us a lot since we’re planning to travel to Sagada. 🙂 We’ve also seen some of your illustrations.. and super kyut nila! Super like..keep on posting!
Reg
Hi Jerose and Ian! 😀 Thank you! Naka-book na kayo sa Sagada? It’s sooo worth it 😀 Ingat lang sa shorts, dahil mapupunit at mapupunit yan pag nag caving kayo! 😛
Angelo
Reading about adventures in Sagada always gets me no matter how many times i’ve visited.
I love your diary. Its so illustrated and cool!
I’ll definitely come back for more interesting read from you =)
Safe travels!!
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JG Jose
Nice blog. You didn’t cover Danum Lake nearby.
Bee Chavez
Oh my!
You are one gifted person. Love your sketches.
+1 fan here.
Laagholic Buyog
ayie ortiz
this is so good! i love it. it made me feel like i visited the places you’ve been to by just reading the blog! thank you for this.