The wonderful Craig and Caz Makepiece of yTravel Blog hold a weekly “Post your URL”on their Facebook Page where a random participant is drawn and last week it was

—–> ME!!<—–

(Linda Fairbairn of Journey Jottings!)

They promptly asked me some questions… and this is what I said 😉

1. So, who is Linda?
Born in England, I couldn’t wait to go travelling!
I love the serendipity that happens when you step out into the unknown world of travel. I’d never heard of ‘cartography’ until, on the other side of the world, I got a job at Darwin airport interviewing tourists and crossed paths with a German named Henning. This chance meeting led to my pursuing a course in map-making, which in turn led to some amazing years mapping outback Australia.

2. Tell us about your travel blog and it’s purpose?
Holidays and travelling are full of amazing experiences ~ but that’s only the half of it!
Spending time with those memories when that moment for nostalgia strikes, whether that be a few weeks, a few months or even years later, is like taking a marvellous mini-trip… if you can remember it!
There seems to be a great divide between the pedantic journal writer who fills a tome, and those who don’t bother at all as it appears too much like hard work ~
I really want to spread the word that jotting a few bare essentials to help recall fading experiences and place names is the way to go. i.e. Don’t feel you have to compose the first draft of a finished manuscript!
I loved this description by Ant about his notebooks:-

“They offer a short, sharp and raw portal
to many of the places I’ve visited.”

My 3 Best Kept Travel Secrets give some pointers as to how to do this.

Scottish stamps and precious local postmarks 🙂

3. Why do you travel?
Serendipity ~ Being out there ensures all manner of unexpected delights will come your way.
Discovery ~ The wonder of bombarding all of my senses with fresh experiences and I’ll have to add to that… magnificent landscapes – luv landscape 😉
Change ~ What’s out there that’s different to what I already know and to what I’m familiar with?
Generally, I take the tack that as soon as a place doesn’t feel as though I’m on holiday, its time to explore elsewhere – Interestingly, that doesn’t necessarily mean I’m constantly on the move – I love ‘travelling’ on what, for a period, will be my ‘home turf’ – Taking the time to see beyond the big picture so as to notice on a deeper level local idiosyncrasies and by remaining observant drink in the often overlooked little details that make up my current surrounds.
It otherwise seems so funny how there are people saving madly to visit where I live, while I’m dreaming of visiting where they live!

Sunrise in the Bay off Brisbane

4. Where have you visited so far?
Scandinavia up to Nordkapp, above the Arctic Circle. The big lap right around Australia, then overland Australia to GB, via Timor, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Burma, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey, then across Europe to England. Over to the USA to travel Up-State NY and the east coast of Canada to visit Prince Edward Island. New Zealand.

Sculpture Treasure Hunt in Cairnsmore, Scotland

5. Favorite place to date?
Every place has its beauty –
I’m always excited broaching any new horizon 🙂
However… I did love Istanbul.
If you’re coming from Europe heading east it feels like the first real taste of the orient, but coming from the east (as I was) I was more struck by the Mediterranean influence. Having said that, the Blue Mosque and the Grand Bazaar are a-m-a-z-i-n-g LOL

6. What place has surprised you the most?
Seeing not only the splendor of colourful life in India, but in the streets of Calcutta, seeing death. It puts what we consider to be a struggle to survive into perspective.

7. Where are you currently and what are your future plans?
Currently living on an island in the Bay off Brisbane, where I’m publishing and distributing a range of hand drawn Australia ‘Journey Jottings’ Map Journals and Mail-It Maps that *highlight your holiday adventures*.
I want to put the fun into travel journaling for everyone, whether you’re an aural person, visual or kinaesthetic and I have a feeling story maps are the way to go.

Post Script: Linda has a series of blog posts showing you How to Travel Journal Like a Map Maker

8. How do we learn more about Linda?
Bare essentials for jotting your journey: https://journeyjottings.com/wp/best-kept-travel-secrets/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/JourneyJottings
Twitter: http://twitter.com/journeyjottings
Web for Map Journals of Australia:  https://journeyjottings.com

Have I missed anything?

What else would you like to know?

Happy to answer questions in the comments below 😉