Travel journal pages January 2017

Why yes, I finally got some of my travel photos printed...and *drumroll please* scrapbooked in my Midori Traveler's Notebook. Yay, go me! *High fives all around*

Let's not dwell on the fact that I'm years behind on my travel journal...and focus on the positives. Like 2017 might actually be a year I document ALL my travels. *winks*

So grab a cup of tea/coffee/hot chocolate and join me as I recall *very sketchily* my first trip out of the country this year to...Ho Chi Minh City (aka Saigon), Vietnam.

Since I've been to Saigon like 6 times in the last year (for my other life), I finally found my fave hotel (to date) - Caravelle Saigon. It's a local establishment at a great location in District 1 (within walking distance of local landmarks), a fabulous international breakfast spread and an excellent concierge service.

I incorporated the map that I took from the hotel by cutting it down and adding a washi tape border.

You know that I've been mostly scrapping out of my multi-slot single file of patterned paper scraps so I was really happy that I got to use the really little bits and pieces. Did you spot the infamous Basic Grey bird? And of course, check out my lousy stamping. I can't stamp straight to save my life...*LOL*

I went with washi tape in the center to try to unify the two pages. 

You can tell that I was a little overzealous with using my scrap bits because I didn't leave much space for journaling...haha.

So I left a whole lot of space for journaling on the next pages. :) Like a quick summary of the places I went and things I did. 

I always make time for a facial, body massage, a manicure and pedicure when I travel to a less developed country because you get really good service at affordable prices (US$40 for all four). I like using TripAdvisor to pick out the good ones nearby. 

I also go with a list of fine-dining establishments I want to try out. Lunch time is great for eating at these places because you pay about 25% of the cost of dinner. 

If you have a strong stomach, try out the street food vendor stalls. Those are reportedly cheap and good. For me, I stick to restaurants because I've had food poisoning a few times and they were not pleasant experiences. 

I went a little tag crazy on these pages (I have so many of them!) but they were perfect for my small photos. :) 

There you have it, my travel journal pages from January 2017. Next up is February...which will feature a lot more photos because I was in Japan! :)

P/s: Happy week ahead friends!