My Kindle kept me tweeting through Mongolia.

I found a new piece of travel gear this summer which I’ll never leave home without any longer. As I raced through the Mongol Rally, my new Amazon Kindle was probably my most used travel gear after my camera. I used it constantly, yet I never finished a book during the whole 5 weeks of travel.

One of the most common questions I get when people speak to me about my participation in the Mongol Rally is “How did you stay connected? It seemed like you were always tweeting. Did you have a satellite phone?”

The surprising answer I give them is “I used my Kindle to stay connected.”

Yeah for 3G!

When I was in Seattle this spring attending the World Domination Summit, Dave from WhatsDaveDoing.com and I were talking about how I would stay connected during the rally. At the time I didn’t really have an answer. However that’s when he recommended and showed me his Kindle with 3G. As I sat and played around with it using the ‘Experimental Browser’ (this is seriously what it’s called in the menu dropdown!), I was intrigued. And I repeated somewhat incredulously to him, “You said the connectivity is free?”

“Yes” he answered with a mischievous smile as if he were sharing a secret to a hidden treasure.

I started to research this free 3G connectivity further on the Amazon website and found the following details:

Free 3G Wireless
No annual contracts, no monthly fees. Download books anytime, anywhere. Unlike cell phones, with Kindle Keyboard 3G there are no monthly fees or commitments — Amazon pays for Kindle Keyboard 3G’s wireless connectivity.

Global 3G Coverage
Travel the globe and still get books in under 60 seconds with wireless coverage in over 100 countries and territories.

I looked at the coverage map and to my surprise I saw that most of our route was covered in some way.

Kindle Coverage map

So I did it – I purchased the Kindle Keyboard 3G, Free 3G + Wi-Fi, 6″ E Ink Display – includes Special Offers & Sponsored Screensavers

And decided to add it to my possible ways to stay connected during the Mongol Rally without draining my bank account.

As we left the UK and our Tep Mifi device behind I turned on my Kindle and immediately it picked up a 3G signal. I opened up the Experimental Browser and went to twitter.com and was able to follow hashtag streams as well as easily reply to tweets and post my own. Now the web browser is nothing to write home about but it’s perfectly adequate for checking and sending e-mail, looking stuff up, and reading mostly-text websites. Truly – the websites do need to be simple and no flash or Java script – but most of the popular websites offer a mobile version of their site that is pretty light and simple which makes it useable on the Kindle.

Pros:

• Automatically finds 3G connections as you move throughout a country and cross borders without having to do a thing.
• It saves you money on ridiculous international mobile phone roaming charges. Allows you to easily check your email and social media accounts. It’s free!
• It picked up signals better than our unlocked mobile phones.
• Oh yeah, in addition apparently it allows you to store and read books too! Who knew?!

Cons:

• The browser is really clunky. You have to be very patient for it to load the screens. It’s sort of like playing Atari again. Old school.
• There’s no touch screen functionality. Once again – think old school.
• No color
• The battery life is shorter when using 3G

New Version:

There is a new color touch-version out of the Kindle that moves it a step closer to the Ipad but still places it in an affordable price bracket.  Kindle Fire, Full Color 7″ Multi-touch Display, Wi-Fi

However – read the details closely. This new touch Kindle does not include free 3G. Amazon states,

“We apologize for the confusion. Our new Kindle Touch 3G enables you to connect to the Kindle Store, download books and periodicals, and access Wikipedia – all over 3G or Wi-Fi. Experimental web browsing (outside of Wikipedia) on Kindle Touch 3G is only available over Wi-Fi. Our Kindle Keyboard 3G will continue to offer experimental web browsing over 3G or Wi-Fi.”

Conclusion:

The Kindle is my new favorite travel item! It helps me stay budget and connected; the two most important things I look for when I travel! The connectivity in addition to the fact that it lightens my pack by leaving my heavy travel guides and books at home is all I need to make it an essential travel item I won’t leave home without!

How do you plan to stay connected when you travel overseas?  Share in the comments!

Wifi for your pocket...perfect for travel bloggers!

I’ve been walking around London all last week with a hot pocket…literally.  I’ve been carrying my Tep wireless hotspot device in my pocket as I ride the tube, visit Greenwich, the London Eye, Borough Market, Brick Lane, museums, and friends.  The Tep device was a life-saver providing me a constant dose of internet access, which for a blogger is as necessary as blood flowing through your body.

Tep provided my Mongol Rally teammates and I these tiny little devices for our week in London to utilize as we moved around the city prepping for the Mongol Rally, as well as while working in our London Apartment .  The Tep Pocket WIFI device is small and basically works through mobile signals.  It sends out a wireless signal and allows me to connect multiple devices (laptops, phones, ipads) and utilize internet via 3G.  This helps me get around the issue of not being able to use my American locked cell phone without becoming bankrupt form international roaming charges.

I used the pocket WIFI all week in London and it allowed me to communicate with friends who I was meeting, to find my way around the tube, make skype calls, and use the GPS maps on my phone to not get lost in the packed London streets.  But most of all it allowed me to stay connected and update my social networks while out touring around London.  This was a luxury I don’t often get when I travel with my locked US cell phone.  When I got back to the apartment it was my on-ramp to the internet and allowed me to write posts, upload pictures, and search the internet for the various gear we needed.

The Tep pocket wifi was the most useful device I have used for working and traveling abroad.

In addition to loving the connectivity and freedom it provided me in London, they were simple to pick up and return.  We picked the devices up at the airport and we easily return the devices by mailing them back in a provided envelope – sort of like NetFlix.  The devices came with the proper charges and plug adapters too…so honestly you don’t have to bring anything with you but your laptop and phone…turn it on and you are good to go!

Also, if you are coming to Brittan with your laptop or locked cell phone – check out this great promotion.

We are happy to have Tep as a Mongol Rally team sponsor.  They are also providing us pocket wifis for all of Europe with limited data so that we can stay connected as we drive towards Mongolia!

Disclosure:  Tep is a sponsor of our Mongol Rally team and provided our team with pocket wifis in London and Europe.  However, all of the opinions expressed here though are my own – as you know how I love to speak my mind!

Lovely Sunset over the Gobi Desert

I’m happy to announce – I’m in love!  My heart is all a flutter, I’m wearing a permanant grin, and when I see the pictures – I can hardly contain myself!

I’m in love with my wide angle lens!

I used to travel with two lenses a portrait lens 17 to 55mm and a telephoto 75 to 300mm – I thought that was all I needed.  And then I went to Mongolia.  I decided in order to capture the vast landscapes of the Gobi Desert – I wanted to get a real wide angle lens.  So I purchased a 10 to 22mm and took it to Mongolia to shoot landscapes.  I’d only limit my use of the lens to shoot wide open spaces.

Gobi Desert

Sure – I liked it – but I wasn’t necessarily in love with it…yet.

However over the last year I’ve gotten to know this lens better, and it has grown on me.  I realized I went into my initial relationship with my wide angle lens with all the wrong intentions.  I was narrow minded – I thought it was only best used on landscapes – big, wide-open spaces.  Granted, it is good for those types of shots…

Puma, Nepal

Grand Canyon

But then this summer I realized just how versitile the lens could be.   It has now become my favorite travel photography lens.  A wide angle lens can give massive impact to your photography.  It creates distortions and lines that my telephoto lens would never be able to do!  One of my favorite things to photograph with my wide angle is clouds.  In fact, I will now stop if I see good clouds, just so that I can get a photo – regardless of what the landscape is!  The clouds seem to zoom through the picture with the wide angle bringing the whole thing alive and the viewer feels like they are in the photo.

Gobi Desert Storm

Netherlands

Notre Dame

The lens isn’t just for the outdoors, it can also be used in cramped, confined, small spaces to take in a whole view.  This is perfect for rooms like this one in Amsterdam.

Museum Wall

Speaking of cramped space, it’s also perfect for city streets.  Very few cameras can get a complete shot of the buildings of New York City while standing on a street corner – that’s where the wide angle comes in.

NYSE Wall Street

Empire State Building

Leuven Belgium

It also has some fun distortion effects.  Whatever object, or part of the object, is closer to the lens will appear larger than the rest of the image; sort of providing a 3D effect.    I love to compose shots with the wide angle lens for this effect.

Brooklyn Bridge

Snow Canyon Utah

Louvre Paris

My photography tutor in Laos taught me that when photographing people – it’s better to shoot wide so that you can capture how the subject is relating to the space around them.  Sure, I still like tight people shots, but I do get so much more from travel photography where I can see the person and there surroundings.

Luang Prabang

Have you fell in love with the wide angle lens yet?  I thought so…

Better go make your holiday shopping list now!

Speaking of the holiday, I’d like to remind people that my photography is for sale – just click on any of these images to see how to purchase them, or simply browse through more photos from that gallery!

When I was a kid I used to have a vivid imagination and would always beg people to play in my imaginary world.  I would play library, school teacher, office (my personal favorite); I think I was a natural builder of empires, whether they be books, homework, or filing.

However, recently I’ve had the pleasure of taking my ‘play’ dreams and slowly making them come true one day at a time…I’m building an empire of career breakers,one day at a time.

How does one learn how to build a real empire?  They go to the Caesar himself, Chris Guillebeau.

Slowly I’ve been dipping my toe into the online lifestyle/travel guru world  and it didn’t take me long to find Chris Guillebeau’s Art of Nonconformity website where he writes about how to not be average in life.  Not only does he speak eloquently on the benefits of not conforming, but he’s also a marketing, lifestyle product, launch, and travel guru.  I’m not sure that he puts all of that on his business card though!

One fascinating thing about Chris is that he has a goal to travel to every country in the world before he’s 35.  I love lofty goals, and I love following his progress on this in his newsletters and blog posts.

So – we’ve established, Chris is a cool guy with a lot of cool ideas, and if you haven’t read any of his work, then you are missing out.  You can get a taste for it at his website – The Art of NonConformity – and check out his most popular articles on the bottom right.  That will provide enough motivation for the next month at least.

One day at a time!

However I recently signed up for one of his products called the Empire Building Kit (EBK) where he provides you one lesson a day (via email) on how to build your own lifestyle business.

EBK was only available for 24-hours during both of the earlier launches. However, on June 16, 2010, it’s finally going to be released it into the wild, where it will be available on a long-term basis.  Chris offers 3 different pricing levels with different benefits;  I am doing the Hail Caesar EBK and feel that it is just right for what I was looking for.

A few things EBK Hail Caesar includes:

Case Studies (including $’s earned) of how others have started their own empires (businesses)

Video interviews with some of the leading online lifestyle entrepreneurs (these are my personal favorite)

A launch checklist (I found this very valuable since I knew nothing about launching a product!)

A full year of inspirational, educational, and task oriented emails from Chris

This combo of items has really opened up my mind to the possibilities and steps that I need to take to get Career Breaks into the mainstream!

Plus – he’s even throwing in some extra products for incentive to purchase on June 16th only.

I’m not going to say anymore about the product since Chris does the best job of selling it – check out his website to be wowed.

Build Your Own Empire in 1 Year

The only thing I will say is that on Ottsworld – I only recommend things in which I believe in and use.  I wouldn’t be taking the time to write about this if I didn’t believe 100% in it.  However in full disclosure – I’m a part of the affiliate program for Chris which means that any sales I refer for EBK, I get a percentage.  I’ve given up on most affiliate programs on Ottsworld and no longer offer them on my site as they don’t really yield much – only Smugmug Photography Storage/Website and Empire Building Kit will remain as they are two products that I love and would recommend regardless of any affiliate program.

So if you have entrepreneurial aspirations, are full of great ideas, want to stop ‘working for the man’ – or simply dabble in being your own boss, need some inspiration to keep you on track, or simply want to learn how to create and launch an online business – then check out the Empire Building Kit – Build Your Own Empire in 1 Year

One last thought to leave you with…

Is this what you really want?

Setting you up for Blogging Success

I recently realized that I have been without a ‘typical’ job now for longer than I’ve ever held a job at a particular company – 3 ½ years. My typical length at an employer was about 3 years before I would move on and up.

I’ve been traveling and  blogging now for 3 ½ years; this is surprising to me considering I started this blog with no plan other than to keep friends and family updated. I often fantasize about what I would do if I knew then what I know now about blogging. I think about how much bigger and better it would be, how it would be optimized for search engines, how I would have gained a huge following and had advertisers knocking at my door. Ah…but sometimes things just happen organically – at the speed they are meant to happen. So I’ve learned that there’s no use in thinking about what I would’ve done differntly if I had known I was going to run this blog for 3 ½ years instead of just 1 year.

In 3 1/2 years, the one thing I’m amazed at is how the Travel Blogging community had grown. Actually – grown really isn’t even a good word as in early 2006 when I started researching for my Around the World trip, there were no blogs and travel websites except for Bootsnall – nothing else really existed. Now if you go out and search on travel blogs or destinations – you are bombarded with stories of people’s travels and how-to’s …and of course my most hated stories that start with 10 best, 7 worst, 5 biggest, etc (ugh – I think we should ban number’s from travel writing).  So how do you make your blog and experiences stick out and be seen?

In the midst of all of the travel blog overload where everyone is trying to be heard, my good friend, David Lee of GoBackpacking, has started a new site called Travel Blog Success. The site includes a course and discussion forum about how to build a better travel website.

A description from the site:
Whether you’re looking to entertain your friends and family on a future trip, or develop a living wage from doing what you love, the resources on this site will help you get started on the road to travel blogging success.
The course consists of 12 weekly lessons. If you chose the premium membership, then you can work through them at your own pace. If you chose the monthly payments option, then you will receive access to a new lesson every 7 days (via e-mail).

If you are wondering why you should listen to Dave – then check this out:

- He earned over $10,000 from travel blogging in 2009, or about $850 per month. But….
- He earned over $1,300 per month in just the last 6 months (Aug 2009 to Jan 2010). A step further and…
- He earned $5,000 in just the last 3 months (Nov 2009 to Jan 2010).
- Go Backpacking will exceed 20,000 unique visits and 45,000 page views in January 2010.
- Both his travel blogs, Go Backpacking and Medellin Living, are finalists in the 2010 Weblog Awards (http://2010.bloggies.com)

Ummm….yes…I’m turning green with envy right now…

Plus he’s a really good guy, super helpful, and passionate about travel.  I kinda wish I could hate him…but that’s impossible!

I was actually a part of the Beta Testing for Dave’s project and was felt like I spent the whole time saying “Doh!” (said with the Homer Simpson inflection).  I had so wished there would have been something like this out there in 2006 when I started Ottsworld! It had fabulous information for the new blogger on how to get started. Because as with many things, blogging is about good design and planning upfront; then you can really set yourself up for success. Suffice it to say – I did no planning for Ottsworld!

The site is a ‘premium’ site so there is a small fee to join, but I personally think it’s worth it for the Discussion Forum alone where you’ll get to interact with some of the best travel bloggers out there today as well as newbie’s.

Now – here’s the really good news…

Take a career break!

Dave has agreed to let Briefcase to Backpack (my other site that I hope you know about by now!) be the first site to run a contest which gives one lucky person a premium membership to Travel Blog Success!

All you have to do is head over to Briefcase to Backpack, and sign up for the contest. Plus you get an extra entry if you tweet about it – read the instructions to learn more! And while you are there – you can check out our review of Travel Blog Success as well as other super career break articles and stories from ‘Briefcasers’ who became ‘Backpackers’!

Lonely Planet Travel Blog Awards
The Indie Travel Podcast has been nominated in the Lonely Planet travel blog awards this year.

Why do I care? 

First, I think they put together an excellent travel podcast.  I’ve been a regular listener since the day I left the US to travel around the world.  They have been on my blogroll now for a long time; they have great travel advice  – short and sweet. 

Second, I write for them, so a vote for them is like a vote for me!  Plus, Craig and Linda at the Indie Travel Podcast are some of the hardest working people I know; they teach ESL, been traveling around the work now for 3 years, and manage to run the ITP empire!  They are lovely people and have taught me a ton about this crazy world of travel blogging and living.

Lonely Planet is a huge name in travel publishing, so a win here would be really excellent for the Indie Travel Podcast. 

50% of the decision is based on the public vote. They are currently coming third but would really like to be in second place before things move on to the judges’ decisions. Vote, vote and ask others to vote! No sign-up is necessary – just click the button next to “Indie Travel Podcast” in the “Best Podcast” category and then “vote”.

http://lplabs.com/2009/02/25/voting-open-for-the-2009-travel-blogger-awards/

Time is running out – so vote NOW!

History Can Be Hard to Take With You

I know that many of you have heard me rave about podcasts – and yes, I have yet another one to rave about. This one is straight from the classroom…Berkeley University.

There aren’t many things I would do different in my life; however, if I could go back to my 18th year, I would change one thing. I would have paid more attention in my high school history class. Mr. Durham wasn’t the best history teacher in the world – but I honestly didn’t have any passion for the subject a that time either. If I would have had some passion for history, then maybe I would have actually taken an American history class in college – but I didn’t and I opted for history of American Jazz instead.

I am one of the many Americans that knows very little (ok – nothing) about American History. Don’t evern get me started on World History…one thing at a time please. Therefore, before I started on my around the world journey, I decided that I better make up for lost time and try to educate myself a bit on American History. As I was searching around the internet, I found my answer…a History podcast!

They don't take up much space

Berkeley University has successfully moved into the technical age and is offering podcasts of class lectures to the world for free. Now – if I were a parent paying college tuition for my kid to attend Berkeley – I’m not real sure how I would feel about this development. However – as a freeloader – I loved it! I downloaded the complete lectures from American History 7B – Civil War to the Present and I took off for my big trip in September of 2006.

On flights or bus rides, and sometimes on runs – I would listen to the History Podcast as if I were a student again. Professor Jennifer Burns had passion for her subject and a great style of teaching. It amazed me at how much I learned. It made me wonder how much more I could have learned in University if I had just had simply paid more attention and enjoyed my classes.

I highly recomend this podcast for anyone – but specifically for travelers. It will provide you a basis for how the world see Americans, why we were involved in various global conflicts, what our stance was on various issues and why, and most importantly – it helped me understand how the US became who we are today and why we act the way we do globally. Now – I didn’t say that I agreed with it all, but it sure did provide me the context and knowledge I needed when I was frequently asked questions about my own culture, politics, and history from other international travelers.

If you are looking for some entertainment for the road – then consider getting educated while being entertained – I promise you that you won’t be sorry!

You can download the podcasts from the Berkley website and listen to them on your computer at this website.

Or on Jennifer Burns’ website, she has links listed on how to listen to the lectures via itunes.
or you can download them from itunes. Just ltype ‘jennifer burns’ in the itunes search function and you will find it.

Man in Athens adding some music to the streets

One of my favorite travel ‘companions’ is my ipod. I don’t know how I would have widdled away hours on buses, in airports, or simply waiting in lines without it while traveling around teh world! I use it for to keep travel information via podcasts, language guides, TV shows, Movies, and just simple music. I have some favorite travel songs that I thought I would share with you.

I have created many playlists that go with my various moods (angry, happy, mellow, energetic, hippie, honky-tonk, emotional, and world), however whenever I feel a bit nostalgic about my vagabond life, I like to listen to my travel playlist. It immediately makes puts me back on a bus in the middle of Morocco…happy days…

I thought I would share that list of songs with you. It’s short, and certainly doesn’t represent all of the possible travel songs I could pick – it’s just some of my favorite ones that I actually own. If you listen to these – you too will want to take off into the wild blue yonder and enjoy the serenity that comes with travel. They may also make you appreciate coming home from your travels!

Please leave a comment and let me know what your favorite travel tunes are!  

Sherry’s Travel Playlist:

Island in the Sun – Weezer
Leaving on a Jet Plane – John Denver
Who Says You Can’t Go Home – Bon Jovi
Like a Rolling Stone – Bob Dylan
Mary’s in India – Dido
New York’s Not My Home – Jim Croce
Take Me Home, Country Roads – John Denver
I’ve Been Everywhere – Johnny Cash
Winding Road – Bonnie Sommerville
On The Road Again – Willie Nelson
Come Sail Away – Styx
Sand in My Shoes – Dido
Far Away – Ingrid Michaelson
I’m Free – The Who
Holiday – Madonna
Mexico – James Taylor