Given that a holiday often takes just one or two weeks yet we spend months planning it and years reflecting on it, I always think it’s important to create a nice record of the trip that you can look back on later and enjoy.

I’m less in favour of creating mammoth photo albums that you can torture your friends with, but there are lots of ways in which I’ve created some kind of memory of a trip that gives me pleasure long after my return plane trip touches down.

Perhaps some of these suggestions will be something you can relate to and try out over your next holiday.

Keep a travel journal.

I always write a journal when I’m travelling, but I try not to make it a boring “first we did this, then we did that” kind of account. Try to focus on the interesting moments of your day - perhaps describe some exhibit in a museum you found particularly fascinating or an interesting waiter you chatted to at a restaurant.

A journal can also be more than just words, so if you’re a bit artistic, try to draw in some impressions of your day. For less artistic travellers (that includes me) you can stick in an entry pass or a bus ticket that will help you remember the day.

Take unusual photos.

Everybody has a snapshot of the Eiffel Tower or the beach in front of your resort, so try for something original. You might pick a theme - I always remember a travelling companion of mine who started taking pictures of wooden doors across Russia - and it was really a great collection of pictures.

Or try using the macro function (every digital camera has it these days - to take pictures up close) to get an accurate impression of the plants or flowers in the area or of unusual foods, for example. You can also get chatting with some locals and involve them in your photographs.

Acquire interesting and practical souvenirs.

Sorry to bring up the poor Eiffel Tower again, but I’m saying, avoid the small Eiffel Tower ornament when you’re caught up in the frenzy of souvenir buying. If I’m thinking of souveniring something, I always try to buy something that I can actually use.

I have a great camel-hair bag I bought in Tunisia that I use to take my books to the library; I have a pencil case from Vietnam that I take to classes when I’m teaching. Don’t buy a dust-collector just to have a souvenir, but if you find something you can use in everyday life then go for it, and that helps immortalise your trip.

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