A friend of mine started on a three month solo trip through Asia last weekend.  What an adventure! 

As I was talking to her, and thinking about the adventures to come to her I thought to suggest that she take along a sketch pad and take the time to draw things of interest.  Her immediate response was similar to mine over most of my life, "I couldn't possibly do that - I am not an artist." 

I thought that - until I happened to be sitting in a theater in the Santa Clara Tech Museum getting ready to watch a big screen travel movie.  I was seated next to a young lady who had just returned from a tour around the world. She was anxious to show me her drawings of her trip.  It was very basic art - mostly stick figures and a couple of words describing the scenes.  However, as she described the drawings to me it became clear that she had tapped into something really big - she found a way to notice what was happening around her - the sights, smells, noises, people and what she was feeling.  Magic I think.  So I decided to try my hand at very personal, not for anyone's view, attempt at sketching where I was when traveling.  Here are a few examples:

 This is a sketch of the "observatory" from the front steps of my hotel at Chichen Itza in Mexico.  It is a very pretty sight, but what is missing are my friends who were sitting on the steps with me - talking, laughing and having a good time.  I can recall the smells, feelings, warmth, and friendship of the day.

This is a sketch looking out of my hotel room in Vietnam.  I was waiting for my traveling companions and decided to see if I could figure out how to get the doors and walls "correct."  I didn't get exactly what I was hoping for, but I got a view that brings me back things not in the picture such as the chair I was sitting on, the talk in the lobby and the feeling of the place.

This is a little sketch of our room on the island of Moorea (next to Tahiti).  It was a pretty spot, the rooms were great, the weather was perfect, and the costs were out of this world ($20 for a standard beer!)  It was pretty, and pretty boring.  We finally rented a car and toured the island - much better than sitting around in a high priced hotel.

A flower, sketched while being bored on Moorea.  It is just a flower that fell onto a table outside of our room.  By this time we had ventured off to "town" and found a bottle of affordable wine - and that lead to time to sketch a flower.




These are examples of very simple sketches that really bring the moment back to me.  They aren't particularly "good" or "artistic" - and they don't have to be because they are just for me.  They are my personal reminder of a moment.  I highly recommend that everyone try this - it is fun, doesn't have to take very long, doesn't have to be shown to anyone else - but is a world of difference from shooting a quick shot with a camera, or cell phone.   It is worth the time to stop and look at what you are seeing.