Ottsworld Travel Experiences » Travel Tips

Growing Up, Growing Scared

admin — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 08:10:03 +0000

I had all the kids stand up and one by one they sat down…

“If you haven’t been outside of Lincoln, Nebraska – sit down.” I stated.
Everyone remained standing…phew.
“If you haven’t been outside of Nebraska – sit down.”
I lost a couple.
“If you haven’t been outside the United States – sit down.”
They started dropping off rapidly now.
“If you haven’t been outside of North America – sit down.”
There were a meager 4 students left in my nieces 6th grade class of 60.

This is how I started my presentation to the 6th graders at my niece’s school. This wasn’t to embarrass anyone. Instead I then went on to tell them I had been to 34 countries and the first time I ever went out of North America was when I was 30 years old. Clearly, they had time to build up their travel resume; but I wanted to provide some inspiration to do so.

Letters of Thanks

I passed around my passport so they could all see what one looked like; they flipped through it eagerly. I went on to give a photography and activity-laden Power Point presentation about 3 countries I had been to: Vietnam, Nepal, and Mongolia. I compared the countries on their food, transportation, and school/family/home life. At the end, the class had to vote where they’d rather be an exchange student.

Giving this presentation was one of the most ‘non-travel’ rewarding things I did this year. The kids loved it, and I loved teaching them about parts of the world they had never heard of and leaving an impression on them that would fuel their travel desires as students and adults.

I was thrilled when I received a standing ovation at the end and kids came to talk to me in the hall about how much they liked my travel presentation. But the real treat came when I received a package from the teachers with 60 hand-written thank you notes.

I sat up late into the night, as I couldn’t put them down. They were rewarding, funny, and passionate; and peppered with many spelling mistakes. All the notes were brightly colored with stars and rainbows; it reminded me of what it was like to be a kid again.

Some of my favorite excerpts were (I left in the spelling errors for authenticity):

“During that one hour that you were there we learned alot more geography then we were taught the whole year, no joke!”
“I also thought it was pretty cool that you just quit your job to do what you wanted to do. I think that would be fun but challenging to do.”
“You inspired me to do what I like to do, instead of what makes money. Well, you make money but not as much.”
“I think I want to be a nomad to.”
“I never thought that you were a nomad because you have nice clothes and stuff.”
“You are so courageous!”

These were lovely compliments – however my thoughts really lingered on sentences like these:

“I would have liked to live in Vietnam the most. It definally looked like a lot of fun with those motorbikes!”…”and what about them holding all those things on their bikes? If I could do that I’d love it so much.”
“It sounds like fun to try all kinds of different food.”
“I like that they ride motorbikes even though there aren’t any rules.”
“It would be so interesting to visit 34 countries. The beautiful sno-capped mountains in Nepal, the flat, sandy plaines in Mongolia would be so cool to see!”
“Was it fun to have a motorbike? I think it looks really fun to have one.”
“I think it is awesome that you got to live in Vietnam.”
“I think it would be fun to try a whole new lifestyle every day!”
“I think it would be awesome with no traffic laws.”
“It is cool, but gross how you had to eat a rat! But that’s really cool!”

I lingered on the use of words like “awesome”, “cool”, and “fun”. Yes, they screamed youth in all of its glory; but they also made me think about how most kids are fearless. I thought about the comments I would have received if I had given this same presentation to my old work colleagues. I don’t think they would have unanimously thought it was cool and exciting to ride motorbike in chaotic traffic in Vietnam; or eat rat; or live with nomads in the Gobi Desert.

When did life stop being fun and start being scary? Is there a magic age where we start to worry? Where we start to conform? Where we start to be fearful of things that are different instead of embracing them?

I don’t have the answers, but I know that somewhere along the way to adulthood we change; we become scared.

As adults we look before we leap, and kids just leap. My nieces jumped into their swimming pool when it was 65 degrees for the fun and love of swimming. As an adult – who out there would do that?

The whole experience reminded me of why I love to travel and do what I do. I want to bring you another view of the world and hopefully show you that it’s not as scary as you think. I want us all to try to embrace youthful attitude again; be fearless, be open-minded.

Back when I had a home with furniture, I used to have a magnet on my fridge that said “Do one thing every day that scares you.” Try it – it may take hold. It may make you feel like a kid again.

The experience also reminded me of why I love spell-check functionality too! I had to include this one comment from a student as it had me double-over, laughing out loud. I laughed so hard, I felt like I was 11 again!

The teacher even thought it was funny...

Itinerary Update – Boston to Europe

admin — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 04:44:28 +0000

Greetings from New England!

It’s time for a little Sherry update. I try not to do these too often so that I can remain a mystery and therefore more interesting…but here goes – the mystery is revealed in a short post.

Waiting for the fireworks in Boston

Where am I now?

I’ve been in Boston now for 5 weeks house-sitting and haven’t really written a thing about it.
Bad, bad, travel blogger.
My lack of Boston writing has been due to my lack of Boston activities. I’m not looking for pity, but it’s simply a fact. I’ve kind of chosen not to go out much because I took the opportunity to work on some other writing/website projects. However all of this online, inside time has taken its toll. I lack a nice bronze summer tan and I’ve been through a bottle of eye drops already thanks to staring at this screen.

My pale skin and dry eyes are because my other project, Meet Plan Go!, is coming along nicely. I’m working harder than I ever have…but the difference is that I’m absolutely loving it. It’s amazing that when you start working for yourself, how much more fun work becomes. It’s exhilarating, scary, and challenging…and it’s for me.

My Virtual World

Brian, Amy, and I drinking patriotic beers on the 4th.

I attended the Travel Blog Exchange Conference in NYC at the end of June. This was a chance for my virtual life to collide with my physical life as I met online travel friends I’ve known for 2 years, but never shook their hand or gave them a hug. The collision resulted in a Super Nova of travel blogging goodness. It also made me realize once again that I really do love what I’m doing.

I’ve had more virtual/physical world collisions lately as I spent the 4th of July with my longtime online friends and Ottsworld enthusiasts, Brian, Amy, and Marty. I totally believe in the fact that you can meet people and make friendships online. After meeting Amy in person after conversing with her for over a year and a half online, it was like meeting a long lost friend. Everything clicked. And to top it off – it not only clicked, but it banged…with a great fireworks display along the Charles River in Boston!

Where Next?

Heading to the flower capital of the world!

I’ve also been working on some of my upcoming travel plans. They are still rather fuzzy to share everything, however my next immediate move is to head to Europe at the end of July for the month of August! I haven’t been to Europe since 2007, so I’m pretty excited to get across the pond again; especially since the Euro has tanked a bit.

I’ll be hitting two brand spankin’ new countries for me – Netherlands and Belgium. Hard to believe that I’ve never been to Amsterdam, but finally I’ll be setting foot in that eclectic city full of art, and freedom of expression. I’m even going to try couch surfing for my first time ever in Amsterdam., so expect more info on that shortly.

I’m also continuing my house-sitting gigs as I house-sit for a family in Brussels for 1 month. I’m loading up on my allergy pills and taking care of 3 cats while exploring Brussels and the surrounding cities and countries via the fabulous European train system. My two priorities in Brussels are chocolate and beer – the rest is just icing on the cake.

NYC to Midwest

I’ll be back in the NYC in September to kick off Meet, Plan, Go! in 13, yes – 13 cities across the country. I’ll spend the fall in the midwest house-sitting while I work on launching a product after Meet Plan Go that will hopefully be just as amazing as the event itself – stay tuned for that announcement!

That brings me to November – then what?

The Big Bang of Boston

Well, all I can say is that I will be dusting off the passport again for some grand new adventures in new parts of the world; I promise you it won’t disappoint!

On a happiness quotient – it’s over the top. I realize that as I am coming up to my 4 year anniversary of leaving Corporate America (that deserves a few fireworks!), I’m happier than I’ve ever been. I’ve completely transformed my life; something that I didn’t even think was possible.

But it is…

With a little time, determination, perseverance, and lots of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, it is possible to move yourself in a whole new direction.

Before I head to Europe, I’m determined to bring you Boston over the next few weeks! So – stay tuned to learn about my experiences in the ‘mother city’ of America!

What to expect in a Vietnamese Restaurant

admin — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 04:14:08 +0000

Eating in Vietnam

Going out to eat at a restaurant is easy, right?
…not always.

Often when you find yourself in other countries, even though there’s a waiter, a table, you are putting food in your mouth, and there’s a bill – there are many things that can be vastly different. As I lived in Vietnam there were many little differences I noticed every time I went out to eat. Most of these things confused me at first, but most all of them I grew to love….really love. Now as I’m back in the US for a while, I miss these Vietnamese restaurant oddities!

If you are traveling to Vietnam, here’s a few things you can expect when going to eat in a restaurant – consider this pre-travel preparation!

It's safe to drink!

Drink the Water!

Yes, you CAN have ice in your drinks; and most of the time you can drink the water in restaurants. I know this seems strange, as every guidebook tells you not to drink the water or have ice. However, I lived there for a year crunching on the ice cubes and drinking the water they put in my glass at restaurants and was never sick.

There’s more than just luck and a strong stomach involved…the ice in Vietnam is frozen at a central plant before being distributed to restaurants, bars and street stands. The water that is used for the ice is filtered and pure, meaning you can enjoy cold drinks and fruit juices (even from street vendors) without worry about your health.

In the restaurants which cater to expats (most all in District 1) filtered water is always used. No one is bringing you water straight from the tap. At least they never did while I was there. I know this can be a hard thing to believe – as all of the guidebooks say don’t drink the water (or ice), but they are referring to drinking water straight from the tap; not the ice or the restaurant water. Ultimately though, the choice is up to you.

May I take your Order?

Be prepared, the waiter will stand by you as you read the menu hovering over you until you tell them what you want. They don’t bring the menu and then walk away; they stay there… and wait. Don’t let this phase you, take your time. If you think they are annoyed by your indecision, then realize that it’s you projecting your concerns onto them. They don’t mind waiting, they aren’t in a hurry!

Eat while it's hot!

Can you spare a Square?

Napkins are seldom provided. Instead you get a ‘wet wipe’ that you end up paying for if you read the details of the bill. Don’t worry, the cost if minimal…a few pennies. For real fun be sure to pop your wet wipe baggy really loudly…it’s customary!

Cold Beer Here!

If you order a beer, it will come with ice….and yes, you can drink it (see the first point). If you don’t want ice in your beer, then you specifically need to ask for beer without ice. However, unless you like your beer warm…I suggest trying it with ice!

Ms. Manners Never Went to Vietnam

Food is delivered to your table as it’s ready. It doesn’t sit in the kitchen until the whole table’s food is ready and then brought out. If the food is ready, then it’s put in front of you. It doesn’t matter if the other people you’re with ordered something at the same time. This also means that it’s totally acceptable NOT to wait for everyone to get their food before you start eating. Else you may be waiting a long time! It’s customary for you to start eating when the food is put in front of you. Throw your manners out the window in Vietnam.

Bill Charades

You always have to ask for the bill. You can sit there for hours and hours, but until you actually ask for the bill (or in my case, motion for the bill as if you are playing charades), it will never come. You will not feel rushed, in fact many times you will think they completely forgot about you and you may have to find them to get your bill.

Table for 5?

Table for 6

You often get seated at what seems to be too small of a table for the amount of people in your party. There will be enough chairs – but you might not be able to all fit around the table. This is normal. It’s normal because in Vietnam you seldom get a plate; there are no place settings in front of you. Instead you get a small little rice bowl and a set up chopsticks. You take the rice bowl off the table and cup in your hand. The food you ordered is on a big plate placed in the middle of the table. You reach to the middle with your chopsticks and grab a bit of the food that you ordered and put it into the rice bowl on top of the rice. While holding the rice bowl underneath your chin, you shovel the food in with the chopsticks. Therefore you never really need to set down your rice bowl ON the table and don’t need much table space!

Put your calculator away

You absolutely don’t need to tip. Don’t let your western guilt take over.

Happy to share my food learnings, but if you want to read about other things I learned in Vietnam, check out my Vietnam Learnings post.

What have your experiences been with eating in Vietnam? Any great stories to share?

Still hungry? Then stop on by WanderFood at Wanderlust and Lipstick for more great food stories!

Win Your Way to a Career Break

admin — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 04:18:15 +0000

“I wish I could do that.” A phrase I have heard often regarding people’s reaction to me quitting my career of 14 years to go travel around the world on a mini-retirement. Normally this phrase is followed by “but…I have a family/house/pet/no money/insert dream killing word here…”

This ‘wish’ is the sole reason we created Briefcase to Backpack and started the concept of Meet, Plan, Go! We know taking a career break isn’t rocket science, we know the biggest hurdle is you and the ones that you put in front of yourself. Many people have overcome these hurdles. Meet, Plan, Go! intends to strip those away – or at the very least make the hurdles much, much smaller for you.

Sometimes when you have ambitious ideas, you feel like you are alone on an island. I know I did when I was planning my career break in 2006. However all of our Meet Plan Go hosts will join you on your island on September 14th – making you a ‘tribe’ of career breakers! By making connections and learning more from people who have accomplished their goal, you will be inspired and get some tools to make it happen yourself. So I hope you consider joining our little Career Break tribe on September 14th and start to connect your dreams to reality!

You can find more information on Meet, Plan, Go! at our website and in our newsletter where we provide updates on locations, sponsors, and travel give-aways.

Speaking of give-aways…
Even though Meet, Plan, Go! isn’t until September, here’s your chance to learn more about career breaks NOW! The Lonely Planet book “The Big Trip” is a great resource to help you through some of the steps to your career break.

You can WIN this book by simply signing up for the Meet, Plan, Go! newsletter below.

So, if you are wishing for/planning a career break in the future, then register for the newsletter, get the latest information about Meet, Plan, Go!, and be sure to stop by Meet, Plan, Go! on September 14th to be inspired by real people who have taken career breaks!

If you want to see other Career Break books that I recommend – check out my Travel Store and look at my picks for Career Break Books!

And, while you are in the ’signing up’ mood…sign up for my Ottsworld newsletter too and get more personal updates on my where-abouts and future travel plans!

Sign up for the Meet, Plan, Go! newsletter and enter a chance to win The Big Trip Career Break Book

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Subscribe below through June 18th to be entered in the contest.

The Ecstasy of Unpacking

admin — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 04:45:30 +0000

I have a new appreciation for hangers

When I meet people, I live in fear of people asking me ‘the’ question; but eventually after some small talk, the question always comes.

“Where do you live?”

It’s an innocent question, but it throws me every time. I normally look at the person and size them up before I answer. I try to determine how deep I can go with them.

If I don’t think they would understand or be interested in my unconventional tale, I tell them that I live in New York, but travel a lot.
If I think that they may be interested in travel or world geography, or simply know where SE Asia is, I tell them that the last place I lived was in Vietnam.
If I think they have a passport that has taken them beyond Mexico or the Caribbean, and they have ever picked up a National Geographic magazine, then I tell them that I live out of a suitcase.

Reactions tend to vary. Some people want to know more and some just go oh, and move on; too much for their brain to comprehend. Or maybe they are just trying to figure out if my answer is the politically correct way to say “I’m a homeless person”.

My mailing address

I have struggled to give my ‘situation’ a name and tried out a few words such as:

Nomad
Vagabond
Hobo (my niece’s personal favorite)
Homeless
House-sitter

Nothing really feels right. However the fact is I don’t have a home. I have an address where my mail is sent, but I don’t live there.

It’s become the norm for me to live out of a few suitcases now for about 3 ½ years. Yes. While living in Vietnam I did have some homes where I actually unpacked and stayed for a few months. But they were always semi-permanent and I never seemed to stay at any apartment or room for longer than about 3 months. I’ve been back in the US for 6 months, yet I’m still moving from place to place every 2 weeks, never staying anywhere long enough to unpack.

Right now everything I’ve been living off of since December fits in 2 suitcases, a small backpack and a purse. In the new ‘green’ terms, I have a small footprint. Overall, I love having the freedom to move around, house-sit and try on different lifestyles. I love not having to shop for home stuff (it saves a bunch of time in your week…think about it). Plus, it’s a good workout lugging suitcases around! However, on the flip side, you never get the joy of hanging your clothes on a hanger…ever. Since I’m normally a guest in people’s (or my family’s) homes, I always have to be the ‘good guest’; never leave things sitting out, always clean up, always make up the bed/air mattress, and never leave your toothbrush on the sink in the bathroom.

The best thing about living out of a suitcase is…

…the complete new appreciation you develop for closets

I currently find myself in a situation that I haven’t been in since August of 2009 – I’m in one place for 6 weeks. I’m in Boston house sitting for a friend who’s in San Diego. I have her beautiful apartment to myself.

Utilizing the counter

Week one in Boston and I’ve practically had orgasmic experiences simply unpacking my entire suitcase and hanging my clothes on hangers. I’ve unpacked my toiletry bag and yes, my toothbrush is sitting on the bathroom counter. My lotion is in a cabinet, my dirty clothes get thrown in a proper bin as opposed to a plastic sack, my shoes are in the closet, and once this week – I didn’t make the bed. Joy!

It’s not just about unpacking, it’s about ‘living’ in a community as opposed to visiting it. I now have a plastic card dangling from my keychain which provides me discounts at the local grocery store. I joined a gym in the neighborhood for 2 months. I have a bus pass.

I’m ‘normal’…well….at least for 6 weeks!

Let’s here from you world travelers out there – what’s the best thing about living out of a suitcase?

Ups and Downs of Solo Travel

admin — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 05:02:24 +0000

Going it alone...

After 26 days traveling with my father in Nepal, we parted at the Delhi airport. I found myself choking back tears as I gave him a hug and we parted. Why was I, a person who typically travels solo, crying about being solo again? I wish I knew. I kind of chalk it up to being an overly emotional person. However I think it’s always hard when you get used to spending time with someone for a month and then they leave again and you are back on your own; no one to lean on but yourself. There’s a period of sadness that goes along with that.

Don’t get me wrong – I love solo travel for many, many reasons. However, it’s something that you have to adjust into and find your rhythm. Every time I strike out on my own I have to get used to it again.

The beautiful blue pool

I was headed to Sri Lanka, another new country to mark off my list! However, I wasn’t merely going to give it a check mark; I was heading to Sri Lanka to hit the beach…in luxury. I have friends from Vietnam who own a large beach villa in Sri Lanka called Auraliya, and when they heard I was traveling to Sri Lanka they kindly offered the villa for me to stay at in exchange for some photography they needed for future marketing.

I arrived in Sri Lanka around midnight and still had a 3 hour drive ahead of me to the villa just south of Galle. I made it through customs and I stared around confused at the appliances for sale in the airport…something I had never seen before. Magazines yes, dish washers no. I looked past the refrigerators, stoves, and washers, and saw a man holding a sign with my name on it…bingo…that was my driver. I got in the comfy car, he gave me a pillow and I slept for the next 3 hours until we pulled up at Auraliya.

I felt as if I were Dorthy, who had fallen asleep and been transported to Oz…a very luxurious Oz. A man in a sarong welcomed me, and kindly led me through an entrance down a long walkway and into a room. I could hear the waves crashing and smell the sea air. My day of travel had sucked the energy out of me and I went straight to bed.

Waking up in Luxury

The next morning I looked around the room in amazement, luxury was an understatement. I proceeded open up the blinds to have the beach and crashing waves meet me as if they were personally saying “Good Morning Sherry”. I wandered out of the room into the open air pathways when a big, floppy black lab came to greet me. She bounded down the pathway and gave me a good licking; this villa came complete with a loving, loyal dog…talk about perks!

I went to one of the large dining pavilions and was greeted by the same man who greeted me the previous night, Sunny. What a perfect name for a perfect place. He motioned for me to sit down at the long 12 person dining table in which there was one little place setting…just for me. I felt a bit dwarfed as plates of fresh fruit, eggs, breads, and bacon were placed in front of me. I felt like Imelda Marcos having shoes paraded in front of me…it was surreal.

As I sat and ate my beautifully carved fresh fruit, drank my strong coffee, and stared out across the long expanse of table towards the crashing waves, I thought, “It sure sucks to not have someone to share this with.” I imagined how amazing the place would be with my friends or family surrounding me at the table with witty banter and mimosas flowing. But there was just me; and 11 empty chairs. However I did have a beautiful black lab at my feet waiting for my next move to follow me wherever I went.

Kala

I sat with Sunny and planned the rest of the menu for my 5 days at the villa. There was actually a staff of 5 people running the villa and they made food to order. Once I chose a menu, they’d go shopping and get everything they needed for the week…including beer.

Let’s go through the math – 12 chairs, 6 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms, 5 staff of people waiting on me, 3 pavilions, and 1 dog; I felt dwarfed. Needless to say, I never wanted for a thing. I finished a drink and someone was at my side asking if I wanted another. I got up to go to the sitting pavilion and the dog dutifully followed me. I set down an empty glass and it was whisked away before it hit the table.

That first day I laid around in ‘luxury shock’ – this isn’t the normal way I travel; it took a bit of getting used to. However I also managed to get out my camera and start my process of photographing the grounds; as the dog, Kala, followed my every move. I felt a bit tired and sluggish and wasn’t sure if it was due to all of the attention lavished upon me, or if it was because just a 3 days ago I was hiking in the Himalayas and now I was walking around at sea level…maybe my body was in shock.

The big dining table

However as the day went on, a headache came on, I was exhausted, and felt achy. This was the beginning of something serious. Why oh why did this have to happen now…when I was in my villa of luxury? However, in some respects it happened at the best time. Being sick and alone with a staff of people waiting on you and a sympathetic dog is better than being sick and alone in a hostel bunk bed.

For the next 5 days, I walked around in a daze with a fever, sinus headache, and generally feeling of death. Did I say I love traveling solo earlier? Well, I meant to say love traveling solo unless I’m sick. Then the love morphs into a pathetic mound of self-pity. For some reason – the only time I really ever get homesick when I travel is when I get sick. As a solo traveler, when you are sick, there’s no one to lean on, and it triggers a longing for me that I have a hard time dealing with.

The staff tried their best to make me feel comfortable; I had ample places to choose from to lie around and take naps. I finally felt lucid enough the 3rd afternoon to take a tuk tuk into town to go to the pharmacy. The pharmacist listened to my ailments and told me to go see a doctor in fear of me having H1N1. I bought some cough drops, Panadol, and tiger balm instead and went back to the villa defeated. The staff continued to try their best to make me feel better. I started trying all of the local remedies – they would put me under a sheet with boiling water to try to steam the illness out of me. They would bring me ‘special’ mixes of herbal tea which did seem to help a bit. I think the staff were amused I would try all of these ‘local’ remedies – but when you feel like death – you’ll try anything.

I was alone; alone in paradise. I couldn’t really even enjoy the amazing surroundings I was in properly which sent me into more of a funk. I promised myself I wouldn’t worry about it and instead one day I would have a ‘do-over’ and come back to Auraliya villa to take walks along the beach and hopefully next time be surrounded by friends and family!

By the end of the week, I had left the villa once…and walked on the beach twice.
I’m absolutely fine traveling alone until sickness strikes, then I just want my mom…funny how we never get too old to want our moms to take care of us. In lieu of my mom, a generous staff of locals and a dog will do.

All of your solo travelers out there…what do you do when you get sick on the road?

If you are interested in learning more about renting Auraliya villa for and unforgettable beach stay with family or friends – check out the website at www.auraliya.com

McDonalds and the RTW Traveler

admin — Thu, 27 May 2010 14:20:25 +0000

The McDonalds stigma is strong...

It has to be said…and this may be controversial…

Eating at McDonalds in a foreign country does NOT make you a despicable traveler.

In all honestly – up until I took my career break and traveled around the world, I would have scoffed at that statement. I thought Americans who ate at McDonalds while traveling abroad were heathens; some lower form of tourist I was embarrassed to associate myself with.

As successful as they are, McDonald’s somehow has a terrible stigma associated with it. Lazy, fat Americans going to McDonalds instead of trying a country’s local food items is often a picture that is painted. People wonder “Why go abroad?” if you are just going to eat at the same places you did at home.

However on the other side of the coin is the argument that there is something comforting in knowing what to expect and having something familiar. This is how I found myself in a McDonald’s in Luxor on one very hot day in July. I had been on the road for 11 months and had been in Egypt for a week touring temple after temple. The problem with this…I’m not a ‘temple person’. They don’t really excite me. Sure – I wanted to see the pyramids, but the other stuff was just ‘extra’.

Temples, Temples, Temples

So when the group I had been traveling with all started lathering on sunscreen and getting ready to leave to see the Luxor Temple, I decided to be different. I didn’t want to go to the temple. Instead, I wanted some ‘me time’, I wanted to sit and be lazy and not explore; a vacation from my around the world travel. After nearly a year on the road, I felt like I deserved this lazy day. However, I took it one step further, I wanted a hamburger; a ‘real’, American hamburger with pickles, onion, ketchup and proper yellow mustard.

After my friends left to dig further into Egyptian relics, I left in search of American greasiness. I had remembered walking by a McDonalds the night before and it must have triggered a craving in me…one that wouldn’t let go.

I walked inside aware of my caucasian skin and for a moment I wondered what other people thought. I wished I could be invisible. However that moment lasted about 2 seconds – until the freezing cold air-conditioned air mass hit my body and I stood motionless just soaking it in. I walked up to the counter and ordered a Big Mac, fries, and a coke. I sat at a table with my many ketchup packets and enjoyed my greasy American feast while listening to old Paula Abdule songs being pumped through the speakers. I savored every moment of this familiar feast. A familiarity I hadn’t had in a very long time.

Yearning for the familiar when you are on the road long term is normal. After all, you spend the majority of your time constantly trying to figure out how to communicate and get around in an abnormal environment; it’s exhausting. I never really got homesick while I traveled for 16 months, however I did have these moments where I just wanted it to be easy for a few hours or a day; and those days were apparently a good day to go to McDonalds. I think I can count on one hand the number of times I went into a McDonalds, but they were all pretty memorable to me.

I sat in the McDonalds in Luxor Egypt, enjoying my alone time; a time when I didn’t have to think. There was just one last thing I had to do with this perfect lazy day; order a hot fudge sundae.

Ok – time to confess…how many of you long term travelers have went to McDonalds while on the road?!

Q&A – Travel with a Laptop

admin — Wed, 26 May 2010 14:43:58 +0000

Travel Questions? Ask Them!

I get many emails from travelers all over the world asking me questions about my travels. Here are some of the recent ones that are great to share with everyone! If you have a question, don’t hesitate to ask!

Q: From Anna in New York city – I’m planning a trip to start in December ’10 and have questions…
Did you travel with a laptop? Was that a good idea or bad?

A: Yes, I travel with a laptop, however I use it to write and blog while I’m in the road. So I’m probably not the average traveler when it comes to carrying a laptop. First I would recommend really considering what you want to use a laptop for while traveling. Once you can answer that, then you can start to figure out what type of equipment is right for you. For me, a long term traveler, it is really nice to have your own laptop to use for skype, travel research on your next destination, upload photos as a backup, and to simply stay in touch without having to use an internet cafe. However if you’re not a travel blogger, then I would recommend getting a cheap travel netbook (mini laptop) to simply have some internet access, and upload/backup photos. If it’s cheap, then you won’t feel as bad if it’s lost or stolen. You can now get little travel laptops for about $500 and they are really just used for internet and some storage space. That way it won’t take up much room, if it gets lost or stolen you haven’t invested a ton, but easier to use than an iphone or droid as you’ll have a full keyboard. Here’s a recent review from PC World about The Best Laptops, Netbooks, and Smartphones for Travel.

Here’s another good post about 7 tips for taking a laptop traveling, the author lists some good things to consider if you considering taking hardware with you!

If you decide to take it with you – then here’s a must read from my friend Anil at Foxnomad (he’s a security guru!) – The Traveler’s Guide to Locking Down Your Laptop

Blogging in Action at an airport in Vietnam

Q: How did you get internet access?

A: Depending on where you are going wireless internet may be free, or you may have to pay for it. I can safely say that all thru SEAsia(and most of Asia) – you can find it for free. Also – unlike America, most coffee shops, hotels, and airports also have internet and it’s normally free if you are a ‘guest’ there. Sometimes in Europe you’ll have to pay. If you know where you’ll be staying – you can contact them and find out if they offer internet. When I stay in hostels or choose hotels, I only choose places that offer wireless internet – else I won’t stay there. That way after touring around all day I can sit in my room and write or catch up on emails.

A decent source to find public access Wifi spots is Wifinder – just put in your location and see what’s around you. It’s not completely up to date, but it will give you a good start if you are researching a travel location.

Finally, I would also highly recommend bringing an ethernet cable with you as you never know when you’ll have trouble connecting wirelessly on old routers, etc. By bringing an ethernet cable – you may just be able to directly ‘plug into’ the internet and skip the wireless hassles.

Q: Did you really write and upload photos in the internet cafes?

A: When I first started traveling, yes, that’s how I did it. – I had a little card reader and would plug in via USB port at internet cafes and slowly try to upload my photos. It was painstaking. Once I started taking my laptop with me, I could at least get the photos on my laptop, even if the internet connection was too slow to upload them to the photo site I keep at Smugmug. So at least I had a backup – which was important to me. Yes, I also did the writing in internet cafes. Which the amount I write now, I don’t think that would ever work for me again. I find it so much easier to have my own laptop to travel with. However it is extra weight and security concerns. That’s why I suggest getting a cheap one for travel.

Q: What blogging software do you use for Ottsworld?

A: I use Wordpress. We also use it on Briefcase to Backpack, Meet Plan Go, and Auraliya (my many sites!). It’s a great free software that is constantly updated and provides a lot of flexibility – and most importantly you don’t have to be a tech genius! You can have a free acount on Wordpress - or simply choose your own host and download Wordpress for free and then customize it.

Keep the questions coming! Or if you have experience traveling with a laptop and want to provide Anna with more info – please leave a comment below!

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Travel Tips Bring Clean Water

admin — Mon, 24 May 2010 05:28:42 +0000

Clean Water - a privilege in most countries

America is easy…yes…easy. I think about this every night when I brush my teeth. I run water from the tap over my toothbrush and rinse. I never have to worry about the tap water I’m using. This is a far cry from Vietnam where I lived last year. I became so accustomed to brushing my teeth with bottled water that when I arrived back in America it felt practically ‘illegal’ to use the tap water to brush my teeth. I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was doing something wrong.

The water hardships are never ending while traveling. While living/volunteering in India we were subject to water rationing, and couldn’t use water for certain hours of the day. We’d have to keep water in a bucket for those hours and use it only when needed. In Nepal I had to have my water boiled before I could drink it. In Mongolia there was no water, so we drank goat milk.

When you live in a country without a good supply of safe water, then it turns from a hardship to a potential cause of death.

Travel Tips = Clean Water

Starting with just one blog post back in November 2009, the Travel Secrets project spread quickly with 200 amazing travel bloggers revealing their most closely guarded travel secrets. The secrets were too good not to share! So Tripbase compiled all 500 of them into a series of inspirational travel eBooks, available for free download right now!

From secluded beaches to bargain hotels, exotic foods and expert travel tips, this wealth of insider travel knowledge is available now, absolutely free!

The Cause

For every person that downloads a Travel Secrets eBook Tripbase will make a $1 donation to the fantastic cause, Charity: Water.

Our mission: to help bring clean and safe drinking water to people in developing nations.

Our campaign target: to build 4 freshwater wells, providing clean water for an entire school for the next 20 years.

How it works

You, the avid Ottsworld travel reader, get a FREE ebook with travel tips from the best travel bloggers across the net (including me!). When you download the FREE ebook, Tripbase will donate $1 to the clean water project. Simple. YOU click, YOU download, YOU get great travel tips, YOU help bring safe drinking water to the world.

Click away so that others can drink away!

I’ve helped, please help too

Download Free eBooks

led by Tripbase

Grounded for Meet, Plan, Go!

admin — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 05:36:14 +0000

The Iceland volcano grounded air travel in Europe last week; it was a frustrating week for travelers. I know their pain because I too am grounded…here in the US. I’m waiting to travel. It’s hard for me to stay grounded and be patient waiting to travel; I have trouble taking my own advice -> Have a Little Patience. However there is a good reason why I’m waiting. I’m waiting because I’m working on a project that will help others travel. I feel like a martyr after writing that last sentence; willing to sacrifice for other wanna-be travelers!

I’ve been in the US now for 5 months, which is about 2 months longer than I would have liked to stay – but a new project is keeping me here. My start-up venture, Briefcase to Backpack, has partnered with Three Month Visa Coaching & Consulting to hold a national conversation about long term travel. This whole idea was sparked by the upcoming realease of the movie Eat, Pray, Love (first a best-selling book). A very popular travel book that follows a mid career woman through travels around the world as she resolves her mid-life crisis. It’s not my favorite book, but I love it for the interest it creates in long term travel.

As the movie hits the theatres in August, it will hopefully spark interest in long term travel and hence that’s how our Meet, Plan, Go! event was born.

Meet, Plan, Go! events will be held with travel experts in major cities across the country on September 14th. Each event will be designed to help participants get inspired to follow their travel dreams as well as connecting them with useful resources and contacts that will make planning that trip of a lifetime that much easier.

I get letters every week from people who read this website or Briefcase to Backpack saying, “I wish I could travel like you do.” This breaks my heart because I know that in reality most people CAN travel like I do, but they are being held back by our own society and way of thinking about work, vacations, and time off. We put so many road blocks in our way, it’s hard to accomplish anything!

It’s great to interact with people on the web and via social media – however the opportunity to have a live ‘real person’ travel discussion is another avenue which we can use to inspire people to travel and help them realize the benefits of career breaks! We can’t do it alone, so we are enlisting the help of well known travel bloggers and experienced career breakers throughout the country to facilitate these events in their home cities.

You can read all about the national Meet, Plan, Go! event being held on September 14th at our Meet, Plan, Go! website. In addition, consider joining our Meet, Plan, Go! Facebook Fan page or our newsletter signup so that you can get the latest updates on new Meet, Plan, Go! locations and sponsors.

As much as the world is calling to me to get out and see it, I’ve decided that getting more career breakers out into the world is more important.

So mark you calendar for September 14th and attend a Meet, Plan, Go! event in your city. Or consider becoming a host, a sponsor, or simply tell others about it. By doing any of these things, it will make ‘staying grounded’ worth it for me and you will be a part of a cultural shift in how we look at travel in America!

Have a Little Patience

admin — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 05:27:55 +0000

Lady in Waiting

If you are going to travel around the world, it requires patience.

I hear from many people who want to travel, but they have to wait for the right time to begin their journey. Sometimes they have to wait for money, for a school degree, banking enough time off, for a wedding, for a child to leave the nest, or for work reasons. If you don’t have the patience to sit it out and wait for these things, then I can guarantee that you won’t have the patience to survive the rest of the world like India, SE Asia, and certainly Eastern Africa.

Due to financial reasons, I couldn’t just quit my job immediately and then start planning my around the world travel. Lord knows I wanted to as I was miserable in my day to day life and knew that I had to make changes. Once I did some research and ran my financial numbers, I knew I had to wait for about 2 years before I could really leave my job. Two years is a long time to wait for something as exciting as around the world travel, however it was a necessary part of the preparation process.

What can you do while you wait for the perfect time to escape?

Guide Your Decisions:
Make a trip to your local bookstore and wander through the travel section. I could spend hours in the travel section of a bookstore. Looking thru guides and glossy photo books; reading about festivals all over the world and plotting my own itinerary and dreaming of what is to come.

Read Travel Blogs
The travel blogs are plentiful these days and I can guarantee that with a little research you can find one that ‘speaks to you’ and your situations or style of travel. This is a great chance for you to ask questions and get to know others who have done what you are planning to do! Don’t just read them, engage the bloggers in conversation; we love that! Don’t know where to start? I have a lot of great travel blogs listed on my Link page and of course don’t forget to check out Briefcase to Backpack – it will inspire you!

File it!
Use the above ideas to start a file of research. Cut our clipping, save website urls, bookmark guide books and start jotting down notes about what you want to do and where you want to go. Get organized!

Get Digitally Educated
Odds are that when you do launch into your trip you’ll want to record it digitally via photos or video. So why not use this waiting period to learn one of these skills or improve upon what you may already know. Take a photography class or video editing class and finally learn how to use your camera(s) BEFORE you are on your trip fumbling with the controls and trying to read the user manual.

Speak the language
Why not start to embrace your international wanderlust and brush up on or learn a language of one of the countries you intend to visit. It will most certainly get your excited about your upcoming travels, and you’ll learn more about that country through simply becoming more in tune with the language.

Start Your Own Blog
Start to record your journey; many people blog about their travels, but few people blog about preparing for their travels. You may inspire others by blogging about your preparation mentally and physically.

Consider this ‘waiting period’ as your training for future travel; if you can work at perfecting this skill, then you will be on the road to a good travel experience!

How do you spend your time waiting to travel?

Visa Required

admin — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 05:06:12 +0000

Have Visa, Will Travel

Tiger Balm Tales Vol. 21

Visa Required

Even though I didn’t start traveling internationality until I was 30 years old, I’ve done a lot of traveling; some people may even consider me an ‘expert’. I’m not real sure if I deserve the ‘expert’ title, but there are certainly a few things I’ve learned about international travel.

You need a valid passport to travel. That passport shouldn’t expire within 6 months of you traveling. You need to have at least 2 empty (non-stamped) pages in your passport. Countries require a visa to enter their country and sometimes that costs money. However, if you are only passing through the country via the airport, you don’t need a visa if you are simply transiting through the airport.

At least that’s what I thought.

Dad and I were leaving in two days on Jet Airways (an International Indian airline). We were flying out of Kathmandu together to Delhi where we would split up and then go separate ways. I was headed to Sri Lanka from Delhi and my dad was going to Singapore. The Singapore Jet Airways flight goes from Delhi to Chennai (also India), THEN to Singapore. Neither one of us were staying in India, we were simply passing through.

We had been advised to confirm out flights so Giri, our tour operator manager handled that for us. He took our passports and had someone run to the Jet Airways office to confirm our flights. We sat in Giri’s office going thru our photos of the circuit and making plans for lunch with his family the next day.

The phone rang in his office, there was a problem with our tickets; my heart sank. This is not the news you want to hear in Nepal two days before you are supposed to leave. Dad didn’t have an Indian visa in his passport. I immediately thought…hmmm…this must be a translation issue, he didn’t need an Indian Visa, he wasn’t staying there. We tried to explain that we didn’t need a visa, he was traveling to Singapore and simply had layovers in India.

Delhi Airport

Over the next hour of arguments and explanations which made little sense to me, we learned if dad was to get on a plane in two days, he would need an in–transit visa for India. Apparently, since we flew into Delhi and he needed to change planes in Delhi and fly to Chennai, his flight to Chennai would originate out of the domestic airport in Delhi. The Domestic airport is right next to the International airport. You simply go out side and into the next building.

Ah…there laid the problem…he had to go outside.

Damn.

It didn’t matter that his final destination was Singapore, nor did it matter that it was all Jet Airway’s flights. This was a strange black hole of visa requirements encountered only in odd situations like this at the Delhi airport.

We gave in, we next had to figure out how to somehow get an in-transit Indian visa in less than 36 hours. An Indian visa can normally take weeks to get and it’s never an easy process. There’s only one way to do it…you know someone who knows someone who you pay off to get it for you. One good thing about undeveloped countries, sometimes bribes can work in your favor. At least it’s a viable option that you can take.

We looked at all of our options and consulted with Giri who was intent on helping us through this issue no matter what. We decided to go the ‘pay a friend’ route. Giri knew someone who knew someone at the Indian Embassy who reportedly could get an in-transit visa for a slightly higher fee than taking the regular route. I don’t know that I would’ve went this route unless I had known Giri so well; he was a friend. I trusted that he had our best interests in mind and he genuinely wanted to help us. He had been our guardian angel so far on this trip, and that wasn’t going to change now.

The woman from the embassy came to Giri’s office, she reassured us that she could get the visa by the next day, we paid her the money, and we said a little prayer to the travel Gods that it would all work out.

Luckily – it did. Money talks.

Never again will I assume that I know about travel – at least when it comes to visas and India!

Read the complete Tiger Balm Tales from the beginning!

Vol. 1 – The Begining of a Nepal Trekking Plan
Vol. 2 – Preparing the Parents
Vol. 3 – Annapurna Itinerary
Vol. 4 – Travel Back in Time
Vol. 5 – Breathe Through Your Mouth
Vol. 6 – Road Work Ahead
Vol. 7 – Changing Rhythms on the Annapurna Circuit
Vol. 8 – And on the 7th Day We Rested
Vol. 9 – Paralyzed on the Annapurna Circuit
Vol. 10 – No Room at the Inns
Vol. 11 – A Mouse in My House
Vol. 12 – Beware of Falling Rocks
Vol. 13 – The Longest Day
Vol. 14 – Motorized Travel
Vol. 15 – A River Runs Thru It
Vol. 16 – Carbo Loading
Vol. 17 – Danger Curves Ahead!
Vol. 18 – Going Up Again
Vol. 19 – Coming Down to Reality
Vol. 20 – Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round

Using Your Network to Housesit Around the World

admin — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 05:10:48 +0000

Maintaining the House

I’ve been back ‘home’ in the US for 4 months, yet I’m still living out of two suitcases, changing locations every week, finding unique adventures, experiencing new things. I’ve been staying on lakes, farms, and in suburbs; watching cats, dogs, chickens, horses, and pipes (so that they wouldn’t freeze); gathering mail, picking up dry cleaning, taking out garbage and transporting vehicles. All of this adventure was made possible through house sitting.

I know that many people consider house sitting as a way to travel and see the world, so I thought I would give it a go considering I really have no home and wanted to stick around the US for a while keeping my expenses minimal. I first looked into the typical house sitting sites around the web. There is a whole house sitting industry out there – but I quickly found anything which involves travel and free lodging is saturated; everyone wants to do it. The competition can be tough.

I realized not everyone who owns a house and wants someone to watch it looks to these websites to find sitters. In fact, many homeowners probably don’t even know they exist. In addition, most Americans only travel for a week or two at a time and don’t consider hiring a house-sitter through a website service as they think it’s overkill. That’s where I come in; the short term, flexible house sitter!

So, how do you go about house-sitting for short term engagements?

Be Verbal – Physically and Virtually
I decided to use my network of friends and family to put out the word that I was available to house sit, animal sit, vehicle sit or farm sit – all for two simple things; a bed and an internet connection. I’ve learned that one of the great things about being older and well traveled is that you are considered trustworthy. I put out updates on Facebook to all of my friends, I also put out updates in my monthly Ottsworld newsletter . Even in the electronic world of 2010, word of mouth is still very powerful. So when I found myself at lunch with my sister and one of her friends, the topic of my house-sitting came up and that launched into the friend needing someone to look after their house. Often people might not consider house sitting at first. But given the opportunity people prefer to have a trustworthy, referenced individual staying in their house with their pets rather than a neighbor simply looking in on the pets once a day. People feel more comfortable having someone stay with Rover or Fluffy and keeping them company. However, they don’t want strangers staying at their house – that’s why the friend of friends network becomes important; you’re not a complete stranger.

The long winter

Time and Place is Everything:
In order to housesit – you have to put yourself in places where people don’t want to be. For me this meant the Midwest in the winter. In the 90’s I lived in Minnesota for 4 years and was quite familiar with the long, cold winters. These winters make a winter getaway a necessity in the Northern US. In this part of the country, people have to be concerned with freezing pipes and other issues when they leave their house unoccupied. This is how I found myself moving from house to house in and around the Twin Cities and South Dakota for the last 2 1/2 months. In addition, if you have a network of friends that include families you can also take advantage of spring breaks. All schools have their spring breaks at different times and often families use that time to do a weekly get-away; and they leave their pets behind.

Curbside Service:
Parking in long term airport parking can be expensive. That’s where I come in. Not only do I watch the person’s house, but I provide airport pickup and drop off service; utilizing that person’s own car. Sometimes the savings of avoiding airport parking can be worth having me watch a house regardless of pets! I’ve made 12 trips to the Minneapolis airport in the last 2 months – yet I’ve never stepped on a plane myself!

Having a Home Base:
I have to admit – I was pretty lucky as most of my house sitting gigs this winter lined up perfectly on the calendar. I’d go right from one to the other as different families had different weeks for spring break. However there is bound to be a few days where you have no house lined up,which leave you homeless! You need a home base and for me I was lucky I had family in the Twin Cities. Between house-sitting I would stay at my sister’s house for a couple of days until I moved on to the next house. If you don’t have that luxury, then I suggest couch surfing or finding a local hostel or someone’s home at AirBnB for cheaper short term lodging.

Leave a lasting Impression:
While living in Vietnam for the last year, I never had to lift my finger to clean a thing. Cheap house cleaning is one of the great perks of SE Asia. However when house-sitting, my motto is to leave the house in a better condition than when you arrived. My goal is for my visit to appear invisible. I even go as far as bringing my own food to the houses so that I have very little impact on my stay. The last day of my house-sitting is always the cleaning day; sheets, towels, bathrooms, floors, kitchens, and don’t forget to take out the trash. As an added bonus I try to leave the owners a gift – the gift of photography. Since many times I was watching precious pets and animals, I used my time there and my photographic skills to capture their furry loved ones; something the owners seldom do themselves.

Whether you are in your home country or traveling around the world, you can put these tips to use where-ever you have a network of contacts. Thanks to my travels, my network of friends reach all around the world. In fact, while in Vietnam, I also spent 3 months house sitting for expats. So, if your travels find you nomadic, but looking for something different – you may want to reach out to your family and friends around the world and try out short term house-sitting!

Q&A – Cell Phones and ESL

admin — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 06:30:59 +0000

Q: from Dave – Brooklyn

I came across your blog and was very impressed by your decision to leave your corporate life and travel. My wife and I are planning a similar trip next year and would like to spend some time in SE Asia. I have a question regarding how you managed your cash while in Vietnam. Did you use ATMs primarily or is there some other method. I bank with HSBC which is pretty global but I would like to avoid ATM fees. Also, did you use a special kind of mobile phone. I’m wondering if I should get an AT&T travel plan and then use my phone abroad.

You ask a great question – and I have some good news – there are HSBC ATMS’s all over Saigon (and Hanoi). I ALWAYS manage my cash via ATM when traveling – it really is the easiest way and you get the best conversion rate – plus you don’t have to carry so much cash with you at once. Nearly everywhere I’ve went in the world I’ve been able to find ATMS that work (Peru and parts of S. America and Africa were a bit difficult to find an ATM that took Mastercard backed debit cards). ATMS’s in other countries rarely charge transaction fees – or you can talk to your bank and see if they can waive it somehow while you are international. Don’t use Travelers checks – they are certainly a thing of the past. I normally simply travel with ATM card and carry a bit of emergency US dollars (in new bills as some countries won’t accept old bills) just in case I can’t find another alternative.

Regarding your question about cell phone – my best advice is to use your existing phone – but unlock it from your US carrier so that you can add other SIM cards. When I arrive in a country – I just buy a SIM card from that country (if I plan to be there for a while) and use that – it’s so much cheaper. The US carriers will still charge you way too much; even on their ‘international plans’. I can’t stress enought the benefit of an unlocked phone. The US is the only place in the world that locks their phone to specific carriers and it’s really frustrating. If you need to unlock your phone – just do some searches on craigs list and you’ll find people that will do it. I went to China Town in NYC and had mine unlocked – there’s a hacker somewhere who will do it! Or just buy a cheap simple phone in a different country and use that as your ‘travel phone’. If it’s cheap enough…no one will want to steal it!

Q: from Susan – Ireland

Wondered if you can recommend specific TEFL programmes? I have a ton of work experience, including teaching and training, as well as a good educational background, but I assume for most positions now days, you must be TEFL certified? and i hear that CELTA is the best?

I can’t say that I’m any expert on ESL certification. I can only tell you that I did some research and decided to get my CELTA certification as I had also heard it was the best. Yet in retrospect – I don’t think it CELTA vs. TEFL matters at all – especially with your other credentials. I took my certification while in NYC – but it’s much more expensive to do in the US. The school where I taught in Vietnam actually offered CELTA certification there for half the price and then you could apply for jobs with them. So – it’s good to potentially research potential certification options (TEFL or CELTA) in the city where you want to travel to. Also with credentials like yours – you may not need any further certification - you may be able to apply for university ESL jobs in various cities…which would pay better! CELTA certification doesn’t teach you anything about grammar…it teaches you how to teach and manage a classroom – these are skill you likely already have! A good place to look for what jobs are out there and what the requirements are is TEFL.com – I get their daily newsletter about openings around the world.

Creating an Effective Travel Blog + Contest!

admin — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 06:54:38 +0000

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’!

Note: Briefcase to Backpack is an affiliate of Travel Blog Success and we earn a commission if you click through our site to purchase. We wouldn’t be an affiliate if we didn’t endorse this product, so we appreciate you supporting us too!

My Three (Girlie) Travel Secrets

admin — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 13:54:36 +0000

One of my best friends (who I love dearly…Angie…ahem) always sends me (and other victims) these crazy ‘chain’ emails. She always begins the email by apologizing for sending it…which I find a little weird. You know the kind, the chain emails where you need to fill something out about yourself and send it one to 5 other friends else you’ll have bad dating luck the rest of your life. I really dislike this…I already have a bad dating life – do I really need to tempt fate and make it worse…is worse even possible? Regardless, even though I love my friends who send these (Angie…ahem), I’m not fond of the concept of e-chain letters; in fact, I hate them. So when my travel friends started ‘tagging’ me in a game of virtual tag, I had the same feeling of irritation.

I tried to ignore it at first. But soon I started getting ‘e-tagged’ so many times that I couldn’t really ignore it. I finally looked at the details of this ‘game’, and to my surprise I found out there were no doomsday consequences; my dating life wouldn’t be ruined, my luck wouldn’t run out, I wouldn’t get fat, I wouldn’t turn into a bad cook, my friends wouldn’t leave me, and I wouldn’t have bad travel karma. After realizing that this wasn’t a typical virtual chain game, instead it was a virtual tag game where travel experts shared their best travel secrets. I was intrigued.

Soon I started reading all of my peers (and taggers) posts about their travel secrets. There was some great travel advice out there from my fellow blogger friends such as Barbara from Hole in the Donut, Jodi from Legal Nomads, Shannon from Travel Tips and Secrets, Heather Cowper from Heather on Her Travels, and Donna from My Itchy Travel Feet. Ok – maybe I should jump into this game…there are no consequences and you, my readers, get to benefit; what the hell.

The Tag game was started by Katie at Tripbase. The rules are that you are to write a post giving 3 travel secrets, and then tag 5 other bloggers to do the same. I can only bring myself to do the first thing…write the post. Considering how I feel about ‘tag games and chain letters’, I can’t go thru with tagging other people…so the buck stops here for my travel secrets I guess. If you want to see other bloggers secrets, then go to the links I put above; they offer some super travel advice!

Since lots of bloggers are sharing travel secrets, I felt like I needed to tackle tips that were a bit different so I decided to focus my travel secrets on unusual tips for women. Men – sorry, you can surf to some sports site if you want now.

1. Leave Your Vanity Behind
Since I’ve been back in NYC after being on the road for 15 months, I’ve been reflecting a lot on how I’ve evolved. 3+ years ago I was a hip business professional working for international retailers. I had more shoes, clothes, and handbags than there were days of the year to wear them; my life was about vanity. When I started traveling I had a hard time accepting my new backpacker style. I tried to hang on to my vanity; I had a hair dryer and make-up in my backpack for the first few months…then I just let it go…and it felt great. I know it’s easy for me to say to not pack your hair straightener or makeup or 5 pairs of shoes…but trust me, you will be happier without these things if you are doing long term travel. You may find yourself feeling more free than ever – I did. I got comfortable seeing my face without make-up, my hair without hair products, and flat shoes instead of heels. If you feel like you still want a bit of ‘flash’ when you travel, then I suggest that you add flash to an average outfit by accessorizing – jewelry is small and can be the focal point of an outfit. So are pashminas. Both of these things are plentiful in many developing countries for cheap…so just buy them there and don’t carry them in your bag! Plus, it supports the locals – win/win for everyone!

2. You WILL find Tampons in Other Parts of the World
This tip comes from a recent conversation I had with Amanda and Jen from The Lost Girls World and my biz partner Michaela of Briefcase to Backpack. We were chatting about common questions that we get asked and talk turned to tampons. I’m here to tell you that you can find tampons in other parts of the world – so you don’t have to take a year’s supply. Sure, some places are harder than others…so check out your itinerary and have some extras available (but not a whole year’s worth!). I lived in SE Asia for a year and you could find tampons in grocery stores for expats. You may need to ask someone where the expats shop, but that will get you pointed in the right direction. For travel, you can’t beat OB tampons – they are super small and barely take up any space. Yeah – some people aren’t comfortable with the lack of applicator – but the compact size it worth it!

3. You Don’t Have to Answer Every Question
As a solo female traveler – safety is always a concern for me. So when I was in Bali and a local guy asked me where I was staying, immediately my ‘safety radar’ switched on and said “I’m not going to tell you that!” As I continued to travel, I realized that being questioned is part of being a traveler. I was constantly being asked very personal questions,

How old are you?
Where are you from?
Where are you staying?
Are you traveling alone?
Are you married?
Are you with friends?

These questions tend to happen more frequently in developing countries for some reason. I think the culture and personal space issues tend to be quite different than our western culture. Plus – many of these locals don’t know much English and these types of sentences tend to be the first and only thing they learn – so that’s why they ask them. I can remember teaching all of my ESL students the phrases “Are you married?” and “How old are you?”…yet these are things I generally don’t ask people personally! Regardless, if you are traveling alone and you get grilled with personal questions…you DON’T HAVE to answer these questions. In fact, assess the situation and use your head, if you don’t want people to know where you are staying then don’t answer the questions. Instead, start asking the person other things about their country or area, they are normally happy to share information about their country and culture; and you’ve changed the subject.

Hope you enjoyed! Please leave a comment with your girlie tips – I’d love to hear them. Plus I promise you it won’t hurt your dating life!

Annapurna Itinerary

admin — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 04:24:27 +0000

Tiger Balm Tales – vol. 3

Start from the beginning! Tiger Balm Tales – vol. 1, vol. 2

The Rigid Peaks

We saw the first glimpse of them from the plane window – the rigid, snowy Himalayan peaks. They were practically at eye level with our cruising altitude; you could reach out and touch them as if they were the pages of a book. They looked beautiful and scary at the same time. They were so cold, hard, and barren; as if they were saying “leave us alone, you don’t belong here.” Yet at the same time they were the fascinating peaks I had studied as a child, topped with snow that looked like an inviting dollop of Cool Whip.

It was a bit surreal; all of my planning was becoming a reality. As my dad excitedly peered out the window at the daunting peaks I asked him if he ever thought he’d see the Himalayas in his lifetime. He thought about it a bit and said “No. I don’t think I ever thought about it before. I’m sure I learned about Nepal as a kid, but I never thought beyond that I suppose.” I’m pretty sure at his elementary school, which was a one room school house in the Nebraska countryside, no one ever thought they’d see the Himalayas. It was a marvelous feeling to know I was helping someone achieve goals they never knew existed; isn’t it wonderful when we push beyond our boundaries of possibility?

If I had been traveling solo as I normally do, I would have simply bought my flight ticket, arrived in Kathmandu, and then figured out the rest of the itinerary in a spontaneous manner. This lack of planning is the ‘badge’ of a backpacker – carefree, go where the wind takes you attitude that comes from a fat passport. However I wasn’t a typical backpacker this trip; I was a daughter traveling with her father, and I knew I couldn’t be that blasé; I needed a plan prior to arriving.

The busy streets of Kathmandu

Thamel is the backpacker/tourist area of Kathmandu. It is loud, chaotic, dirty, and positively terrifying when you step off the plane from a cushy westernized country. There are plenty of people in Thamel who want to be your ‘friend’; it can often be a daunting experience as everyone tries to sell you some tour, gift, or drugs – you have no idea who to trust. However when I volunteered in Nepal a year ago, I was able to form relationships with some great people whom I trusted; Giri was one of them. He was the younger brother of my past volunteer host, Didi. When I volunteered in the village of Puma, I stayed with Didi and her mother Ama. Whenever we had trouble communicating (which was often), Didi would get her cell phone and call her brother Giri and have him translate for us. That’s right – there was no indoor plumbing, and sporadic electricity – but there’s always a cell phone not more then a few feet away! The last time I was in Kathmandu I met my cell phone translator in person and we formed a friendship and kept in touch over the last year while I was in Vietnam. Giri runs a travel company in Thamel so he was perfect to arrange our trip for us.

Giri and I

I had been working with Giri for the past couple of months putting together transportation and lodging for my father and me, as well as to find us an experienced guide and porter. This is where I became rather high maintenance – finding a guide. I needed to make sure that we had someone with experience, knew about altitude sickness, was mature and responsible and most importantly – a guide who was willing to take a 73 yr old over the Thorong La Pass.

The afternoon we arrived in Thamel, we met our guide, Bishnu; he was a perfect fit. Mature, good English and many successful trips over the pass. Plus, he seemed to be social and have a really great sense of humor – something necessary if you are going to travel with someone for 21 days! Everything was set in motion and we’d be leaving the next morning for Lamjung district where the Annapurna circuit begins.

With the help of Giri and Bishnu, we laid out a loose trekking plan. For most people, the Annapurna circuit will take about 16 to 18 days to complete; we knew we weren’t most people. None of us (including himself) were really sure how well dad would adapt to the hiking conditions, so we decided to not be in a hurry and practice the concept of slow travel. We’d take our time, enjoy the trek, and give ourselves 21 days to finish the circuit. Prior to this the longest trek I had ever been on was 8 days at Kilimanjaro – this was the big leagues.

We laid out the following loose itinerary which included approximately 5 to 8 hours of trekking a day depending on our speed, with altitude changes of about 1,000 to 3,000 feet a day.

Day 1 – Kathmandu to Puma (the village where I volunteered last year)
Day 2 – Puma to Bhahundada
Day 3 – Bhahundada to Jagat
Day 4 – Jagat to Dharapani
Day 5 – Dharapani to Chame
Day 6 – Chame to Pisang
Day 7 – Pisang to Manang
Day 8 – Manang rest/acclimization day
Day 9 – Manang to Yak Kharka
Day 10 – Yak Kharka to Phedi or High Camp
Day 11 – High Camp to Muktinath (cross the pass at 5417 meters/17, 781 feet)
Day 12 – Muktinath to Kagbeni
Day 13 – Kagbeni to Marpha
Day 14 – Marpha to Ghasa
Day 15 – Ghasa to Tatopani
Day 16 – Tatopani day of rest at Hot Springs
Day 17 – Tatopani to Shikha
Day 18 – Shikha to Gorepani
Day 19 – Gorepani to Tikhedunga
Day 20 – Tikhedunga to Birethandi
Day 21 – Birethandi to Pokhara

Oh my – this was going to be a long time roughing it! However, it was also going to be a long time enjoying some of the most spectacular scenery the world has to offer, the friendliest culture, and the fresh air; oh yeah – and a long time spending time with my dad.

Planning a trip to Nepal? Please consider utilizing Giri’s services:
Giri Gurung
Nepal Tourism
www.nepaltourismtravels.com.np
Kathmandu Office – Nurshing Chowk, Thamel 17
+977-1-426-1114

Start at the beginning of the Tiger Balm Tales:
Vol. 1 – The Begining of a Nepal Trekking Plan
Vol. 2 – Preparing the Parents

The Beginnings of a Nepal Trekking Plan

admin — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 12:55:30 +0000

The Himalayas were beckoning me...

Tiger Balm Tales – Vol. 1

Why? Such a simple question, yet it resonated in my head many, many times on my most recent trip to Nepal.

Why was I going back to Nepal?
Why did I ask my dad to come with me?
Why did he decide to actually come with me?

At this point in my 26 day journey (pre-departure), I could really only answer the first two questions. I have to start by explaining one of the many weird quirks about myself – I HATE doing the same thing twice. Once I’ve done something or accomplished something or been somewhere, I don’t have any desire to do it again. I guess I figure that the world is such a HUGE place that why go see something again when you can see a new place or experience a new restaurant, etc. This quirk can be rather frustrating at times since I am often in mental struggles with my psyche that go something like “Why can’t you just be satisfied with standing still and staying put; doing things like everyone else?” Yet I’ve had to accept that this is who I am, take it or leave it. However this trip meant I was bucking the system, I was taking my precious travel time and going back to a country and area that I had already been to a year prior. But in some weird way, because I had never gone back to a visited place before, it meant that it was sort of a ‘new’ thing to do and I wanted to see how I felt about it. Yes – my mind is a bit twisted at times.

The village of Puma

My last trip to Nepal one year ago was strictly about volunteering and not necessarily about traveling as a tourist. Volunteering in the tiny, remote village of Puma was one of the hardest things I had ever taken on, but I survived; and therefore I wanted to go back primarily to see how the people I had met and bonded with were doing. I had other reasons though too – after a year of living in Vietnam, I wanted to see how it had changed me and going back to a challenging country seemed to be a good way to take the temperature of that change. Finally, I honestly wanted to trek. When I was there last time, I trekked from village to village not on any tourist trails. However I had always wanted to hike the Annapurna circuit so I felt like this was my chance to do so.

I had made some key contacts on my last trip there who could help me arrange such a trekking trip. The brother of the family I lived with in Puma ran a travel/trekking agency in Kathmandu and I had stayed in contact with him for the last year. Giri was eager to arrange all of my trekking, in addition to my journey back to Puma to see his sister and mother. Oct/Nov is the best time of the year to trek in Nepal – so that scene was set; I had chosen a time and a person in Nepal that could help me get it all organized. The only thing missing was a travel companion.

For me this always tends to be the thing that I’m missing. I suppose if I would pick some ‘easier’ places to travel to besides Mongolia and Nepal I might have a better chance of friends coming with me. The problem is that ‘easy’ isn’t really part of my vocabulary. No friends were interested in the trip to Nepal (maybe they had read my blog posts from last year and the leaches scared them away?), so I next went searching for family that might like to come with me. Brother has no passport – cross him out. Mother thinks Singapore is ‘too scarey’ – cross her out. Sister and brother-in-law would love to go trekking, but taking a month off of work and kids was impossible – cross them out. That left my father. He had already traveled to China with me, he enjoyed going to foreign countries, he loved mountains and trekking (I’m assuming this fact since he used to drag us kids on vacations in Wyoming camping all the time), and he – like me – was always looking for something new and unusual to do.

My father and I on the Great Wall

From an outsiders point of view, my dad is really quite adventurous in a quirky way. He and my mom once traveled from Seattle to New Zealand and back on a freighter. Plus, for the last 25 years he’s been walking to/from US capital cities on an intricate path around the USA. This fact alone could be a whole separate blog post I may explore at some point! But for now, let’s just say that he’s a bit quirky…and apparently that’s where I get my own quirkiness from. It took me 39 years to figure that out though.

I asked my dad if he wanted to join me as I really thought that he, out of any of my family or friends would appreciate the simplicity of Nepal and the rural lifestyle of the villages. Plus, at 73 years old, I felt like it would be quite an opportunity to see the mountains of Nepal. After a lot of uncertainty and pressure from others in the family (the most coming from my mom) he decided to join me. Game on…

The Tiger Balm Tales will be a series of posts and photo documentaries which chronicle our father-daughter journey to Nepal for 26 days; the trekking, the people, the culture, the great heights (and some lows), and the excessive use of Tiger Balm.

After the whole trip was over my comment was, “For the rest of my life, every time I smell Tiger Balm it will remind me of Nepal.”

I hope you enjoy the journey…

To read my other ‘travel series’ check out:
The Spice Diaries – volunteering in Delhi India for a month
Dhal Bhat Days – volunteering in Nepal last year
The Motorbike Diaries – learning how to drive a motorbike in Nepal

The Plan

admin — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 07:34:52 +0000

What and Where Next?

I’m on the move again. After one year of staying in one country and one city (yet many different apartments!); I’ve got itchy travel feet again. I’ve packed up my meager possessions in two suitcases, gave back my motorbike key, said my goodbyes, bought a one way ticket, and the wheels left the ground last Saturday in Vietnam.

I’m back to being nomadic; back to having no plan.

I called World Nomads Travel Insurance to find out how to change my country of residence since I was moving from Vietnam and I needed new travel insurance for my upcoming adventures.

They asked me, “What’s your home residence?”
Big pause by me….
“Um, I don’t really have one. I was living in Vietnam but I’m moving now and will be traveling to Nepal and Sri Lanka, then to the US for a few months. My residence is my two suitcases.” I said
“Will you live in the US?” the agent asked.
“No, not really, I’m visiting family and friends and haven’t decided where to go next. I don’t really have a home. In fact, I’m exactly what your name says – a world nomad.” I replied feeling a bit smug.

Basically this was a road block; the conversation ended as they told me I’d have to open a new account with a new email and home residence of the US and then I could purchase their insurance. A bit strange considering their insurance is for ‘world nomads’, and you can’t even edit your home country without creating a whole new account under a new identity! I ended the call by telling them their system wasn’t very ‘world nomadic’ of them! Their response…”sorry.”

This is the problem with being truly nomadic – you don’t belong anywhere and computer programs don’t even know how to handle you let alone people!

My brother-in-law asked me the other day, “Sherry, what exactly are you going to do with your life in the long term?”

“I don’t know, I don’t have any plan beyond these next few travel stops.” I replied.

This response visibly baffled him. It just doesn’t compute. Instead, it makes people nervous, and seeing their reaction makes me nervous! Should I be worried about my future?

Regardless, I intend on continuing this lifestyle a bit longer and see where it leads me. Yes, it goes against the norm; but as you know – I like that.

My itinerary for the next few months:
Oct. 10 – Oct. 16: Singapore (see family, meet up with my Dad)
Oct. 17 – Nov. 12: Nepal (going hiking with my Dad in Nepal. Doing the Annapurna circuit for 21 days!)
Nov. 13 – Nov. 18: Sri Lanka (staying in Galle at a villa on the beach – yeah – relaxation + a tan!)
Nov. 19 – Dec. 14th: Set foot back on US soil – NYC
Dec. 15 – Dec. 29: Midwest – South Dakota
Dec. 20 – Jan. 16: San Francisco
Jan. 17 to ?: Back to South Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota – after that – who knows what country is next!

I know when I return to the US I will be bombarded with one question, “What’s your plan?” So – I guess my plan is to make a plan in Feb. As for right now I’m not going to worry about it and instead enjoy the feeling of being free, without a plan!

In Search of…A Plan

admin — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 13:39:26 +0000

Something colorful in Ulanbatar

After arriving a day late to Ulanbatar, I had a lot of ground to make up. I arrived with no plans except for a guest room booked for one night. My plan was to make no plans and to figure it out when I arrived. In addition, I had another goal, I really wanted to travel with other people. Granted – I love solo travel, but for the last few big trips I have been solo and I find that being completely solo, in remote places, where no one speaks English is really challenging (see my Nepal posts). Sure, I proved I could do it in Nepal and in the Philippines, but I would have loved to have a little company to share the experience with. So in addition to making some itinerary plans, I also had to meet some strangers and convince them to let me go with them! It’s like dating all over again…ugh!

I had been conversing via email with a number of guest houses that said they may be able to help place me with some other traveling companions. Some guest houses were willing to work with me more than others. Idre and Golden Gobi Guest Houses went out of their way to try to find a solution for me by having me join another group already in progress. On the other hand Khongor Guest House didn’t even attempt to help me – and I was staying at their hostel! Idre and Golden Gobi came up with a few options, but nothing really felt right to me. I travel by intuition and feeling. When the right idea comes to me, I will know it. In the meantime I was spending a lot of time going between guest houses and getting frustrated with nothing feeling right.

East Meets West

Some countries are easier to travel through solo than others. On a scale of 1 (worst) to 10 (best), Mongolia seemed like a 3 to me at this point. I spent a whole day going from guest house to guest house trying to figure out if there was a group I could join up with, going to the same areas that I wanted to go to and working within my timeframes. I felt as if I should be wearing a signboard, standing out on Peace Avenue (aka Tourist Main street in Ulanbatar) reading “Single traveler, someone please travel with me. I want to go to the Gobi from July 20 – Aug. 1. Seasoned traveler, doesn’t snore, and will share my tent and packet of gum.” Or a higher tech alternative to the signboard idea was to simply get Ulanbatar guesthouses merged onto an onramp of the web; make a little Facebook page for them serving as an online message board for single travelers looking for people to travel with in Ulanbatar. I had it all designed out in my head as I imagined how much easier it would make this inefficient process. Anyone from Mongolia reading this…look into Facebook…it’s a super idea you can steal from me.

Ulanbatar Park

As I wandered trying to find a solution, a solution actually came to me. I was frustrated about not making any progress so had sat down in a park outside of the Golden Gobi Guesthouse. I use the word park lightly as the parks were run down, sad little places that looked like a scene from the cold war. A Canadian couple who I had seen earlier in the day at the guesthouse came outside and introduced themselves. They said that they were in the ‘lounge’ when they heard me talking to the tour rep and overheard what I was looking to do. They saw me outside and came to me to recommend a travel company they felt would yield all of the cultural experiences I was looking for in my Mongolia travels. They had just returned form a trip in the Gobi with a Eco Tourism company called Ger to Ger. I had actually researched Ger to Ger before and was impressed and intrigued with their cultural immersion travel. As we sat in the pathetic little park talking about their experiences, their kindness overwhelmed me. I suggested we go discuss over a beer and we happily spent the rest of the night together drinking beer and eating pizza sharing travel stories. See – these are things that don’t happen when you travel with others; these encounters happen when you are solo – and this is one of the reasons I like to travel solo – you meet wonderful people! They sold me on the Ger to Ger concept; it seemed absolutely perfect for the type of travel I wanted to do. I planned to go to the office the next day to choose an itinerary.

Turning Prayers

I sorted the Ger to Ger plans out the next day, but I still had one big problem. I had to work at finding some travel partners to come with me! I was prepared to go alone, but really didn’t want to. I had a day to try to find some other travelers that I thought I could get along with and convince to go with me. Considering my eternal single status and my inability to even get a date in the last 3 years – my odds weren’t in my favor. However the travel Gods shined down upon me the next morning and my potential companions showed up at my doorstep…errrr…my hostel kitchen. As I was getting my tea and having the meager piece of dry bread that Khonger called ‘breakfast’, I met two female, thirty-something English teachers who had just arrived off the train from Russia and were looking to make travel plans. They lived in Vienna and had been traveling on the Trans Siberian Express. I used all of my salesman techniques and told them about Ger to Ger; they were interested! A threesome was born! My trip was finally getting off the ground! It’s amazing how well things actually worked out considering my lack of direction the first day.

We had to wait another day in Ulanbatar before we left for the desert so I spent the time touring around Ulanbatar and dodging hail…yes, hail.

While I was there Ulanbatar actually had some deadly flooding. As the hail came down and the streets started flooding, all I could do was stand under an awning with the locals and watch the wrath of mother nature. After spending 4 days there, I can’t say that Ulanbatar is a great city, instead it had a cold demeanor about it. Parks were sparse and looked like they were abandoned, the buildings crumbling down or in desperate need of paint, and dark stairways led to sad little guesthouses. To top it off, it had to be one of the worst cities I’ve ever been to when it comes to petty theft. In the main tourist area on Peace Avenue there was no peace; there were only pickpockets. I never once felt safe or at ease walking around the streets there.

View Ulanbatar photography

Monastery

I tried out all of the coffee shops and pizza joints that I could find knowing that once I left for the desert coffee and food without mutton would be a rarity. I also walked to the monastery and wandered around the grounds there with my camera. The monastery was nice, but I found the ger neighborhood leading up to it even more interesting. Dirt ‘streets’ and fenced in gers gave it a very eerie, closed-off feeling. I found it unusual that every living area was fenced in; providing a territorial feeling in such a vast, open country.

Clearly the best thing about Ulanbatar was leaving it with a travel plan and new travel mates! Gobi or Bust!

Always Pack Your Toothbrush In Your Carry-on

admin — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 16:18:28 +0000

Many people hate airline travel. They hate overpriced airline tickets, they hate the cramped space, the crying babies, the lost luggage, and the swine flu or myriad of other viruses you tend to catch on the plane. However airline travel is usually necessary to accomplish a vacation, so no matter how much you hate it, you have to take the bad to get to the good. However, I’m one of these freakish people that actually loves airline travel; it is full of good and bad, but it a sacrifice that I’m willing to make. When it comes to airline travel, I personally find that the bad seems to come in waves of bad luck, and then it vanishes and you have good luck for a while. My last year of airline travel has been pretty good, no major problems therefore my time was bound to come. It arrived in Korea on my way to Mongolia.

As with most travel, you tend you work your butt off up to the point of stepping on the plane. I am normally going at the speed of light leading up to trip, and once I set foot on that plane, I can relax…all I have to do is sit and do nothing; I love it.

“Hello, my name is Sherry and I love long plane trips.”
Yeah – I know this is weird.

The activity prior to leaving for Mongolia was no exception. The two nights prior I had only had about 5 hrs of sleep each night; I was tired when I stepped on the plane and promptly got out my little neck pillow, blew it up, and went to sleep. It was an overnight flight starting at 12:30AM from HCMC to Seoul. I was rudely woken up at 3 hrs later when they turned on all of the cabin lights and forced us out of our slumber in an effort to feed us breakfast.

I begrudgingly stayed awake for the rest of the flight and we arrived on time in Seoul. I had a 5 hour layover in Seoul and was honestly looking forward to being in a big international airport for a longer layover to simply look around, buy magazines, enjoy some fast food.

Yes – I know liking long flights and liking to spend time in airports may be the reason why I’m still single…it’s strange, it’s very strange.

I bought a few duty free camera supplies, ate an egg McMuffin, and utilized the free wireless. After 3 hours of enjoying myself I decided I should go and check in at the gate so I could get my boarding pass for my next flight. This meant that I had to switch to a smaller terminal, no problem. The Seoul airport is quite nice and very easy to get around, plus I was on my pre-vacation high!

My flight was at 12:30PM. I went to the transfer gate and was informed the flight was delayed and we had to come back at 1PM to check in. Ok – I can take this in stride. Two more hours pass and went back to check in. They said, no plane, come back in two more hours. Now I’m getting a bit annoyed.

Food at the airport

My day is slipping by, I’m starting to get terribly tired and I’m hungry. I try to go back to the other bigger terminal to have lunch as there were some great restaurants over there and my current terminal only had fast food Asian. The security wouldn’t let me go back to Terminal 1 as I didn’t have a proper transfer. I tried to explain the situation – no luck – I was stuck with Asian fast food. On the bright side, it turned out to be pretty good.

Two hours later, I’m really tired , feeling gross, and I can feel a layer of film on my teeth reminding me that I had never been able to brush my teeth yet today and it’s now 3PM. When would I ever learn to pack my toothbrush and toothpaste in my carryon?! My red eye flight felt like 2 days ago and I was suddenly overcome with frustration. I went to the desk to check in – they said – come back 3 hours later.

That was it, my breaking point. I was doing great up until the sweaters formed on my teeth and my eyelids felt as if they were 5 lbs each. I looked at them and put forth my best plea – can you please give me a lounge pass so I can relax in a bit more comfort and take a shower? At this point I had been in the airport for about 9 hrs – I had reached my limit. They of course said no since the flight was due to a weather issue in Ulanbatar. They absolutely could not give me a pass. I begged more, tried to reason with them. They said all they could do was place a call the manager and ask. Great, call the manager I said.

The lesson here – nothing ventured, nothing gained. The manager granted me a Korean Airlines lounge pass…the gates opened, there was a bright light and angels singing…did I mention I was sleep deprived? Seriously though, it always pays to ask, the worst that can be said is “no”.

Korea Air Lounge

I went to the lounge and entered another world of comfortable chairs, English magazines and newspapers, a free buffet of food, free drinks plus an open bottle of wine. See….heaven. The first thing I asked about was a shower ; no problem, they gave me a key to my own little bathroom completely decked out with a plush towel, soap, shampoo, and wait one moment…what’s this? A toothbrush and toothpaste!

The shower room was brilliant – I felt a bit normal again – and my teeth didn’t feel like a woolie pullover any longer! I poured myself a glass of wine, got a plate of food and sat down to work online.

The delays continued for another couple of hours and we finally boarded the plane at 9:30 PM, 9 hrs after our original departure time. I had been in the airport for 14 hours now, I can safely say that I was pretty happy to leave and I was really happy that I had clean teeth!

just a bed...not room for anything else!

The saga didn’t end in Seoul – but when I showed up 9 hrs late to Ulanbatar the Khongor guest house (a terrible recomendation from Lonely Planet) forgot to send the car that I had booked – so was stranded at the airport trying to fend off pushy cabbies and determine which one I could trust, how to find an ATM, and how to tell the cabbie where to go! Not a great welcome into the country. However the main thing is that I made it eventually; and tomorrow would be a new day! I crashed in my little (very little) guest room and fell fast asleep after a long day of travel.

Hopefully this means that my airplane karma is back in the positive now. I’ve paid my dues, I’ve lost a whole day of my vacation – I personally think that’s enough sacrifice to the airline Gods…hopefully they think so too!

Saigon City Guide

admin — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 03:50:06 +0000

The densely packed city of Saigon

Last month I produced a Saigon City guide podcast for one of my favorite travel websites, The Indie Travel Podcast. I love writing, and I wasn’t really sure how I would like researching and doing a podcast, but it proved ot be a lot of fun! So – here’s everything you want to know about traveling to Saigon, from my perspective which of course is a bit more slanted to cultural travel rather than luxury travel or tours. Please feel free to share your comments and questions and of course please feel free to pass this podcast along to anyone you know traveling to Vietnam!

Listen to the Saigon City Guide on the Indie Travel Podcast

LIsten to the Saigon City Guide on Itunes

Leaving on a Jet Plane…Tonight!

admin — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 13:00:19 +0000

Just a quick update – I’m on the move once again; I’m taking a vacation….yeah! Ever since I made the decision a year ago to come back to Asia and live in the area, I knew that one of the things I wanted to accomplish was to round out my Asia travel experience. There’s one Asian country that has eluded me to this point, but it has been very high on my ‘must see’ list – Mongolia!

Tonight I leave for a 17 day adventure to Mongolia – solo of course. I can hardly wait to get to the unpopulated, unpolluted, quiet, open spaces of Mongolia. It will be such a change from Saigon – a much needed change!

So – I’m not sure what kind of internet access I will have – but I’ve schedule some posts to appear when I’m gone – so my blog will still be working, while I will be out having fun drinking fermented yak milk and learning how to wrestle Mongolian style. I don’t have an itinerary yet – will figure that out when I get there, but it will include cultural experiences no doubt and hopefully some fabulous photography.

See you in August!

Reasons to Take a Career Break and Travel

admin — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 05:20:23 +0000

Burned out on work, take a career break!

I recently contributed an article to BootsnAll Travel highlighting the “Top 10 Reasons to Take a Career Break…and Travel”. I wrote this with the help of my business partner, Michaela Potter, in order to promote our recently launced website -

Briefcase to Backpack: America’s Career Break Headquarters
If you haven’t been to the site, then please go check it out! It offers career break inspiration and advice to those contemplating a traveling career break!

Some highlights from the Bootsnall article include:

4. Work Will Always Be There…But Some Places May Not Be
Sure, it may feel like your job is on the endangered species list these days, but eventually you will be able to find another one. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for many of the world’s destinations.
With rising seas, warmer oceans, melting glaciers, and shrinking forests, many places that have been lingering on your “must see” list may not be there by the time you get around to going. Low-lying islands like The Maldives and coral reefs are popular with snorkelers and divers alike, but many are threatened by the Earth’s changing climate. In fact, scientists worry that the Great Barrier Reef may die in as little as 20 years.

6. Retirement Doesn’t Always Reward You with the Time or Ability to Travel
Have you ever really thought about the person you will be when you are 65? What will your health be like, what will your sense of adventure be like, and most importantly, will your health be able to support your sense of adventure?

9. Cure your Hurry Sickness and Return to Simplicity
Many Americans are plagued by ‘Hurry Sickness’. The more we speed up, the less we can slow down. Not only do we multi-task at work but we multi-task our leisure time as well – watching TV and surfing the web, or working out on the elliptical and reading a magazine. We are no longer capable of simply doing one thing and being happy about it. A traveling career break will force you to slow down and learn to be patient again. As you immerse yourself into other cultures you will observe simplicity and patience that Americans have somehow lost. Sure it can be a frustrating experience letting go of how you expect things to get done, but it will open up your eyes to how the rest of the world operates.

Read the full article at Bootsnall – 10 Reasons to Take a Career Break and Travel

How to Live Out of a Suitcase

admin — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 17:04:56 +0000

Check out my latest article on The Indie Travel Podcast about how to live out of a suitcase/backpack while doing long term travel.

You may wonder how on earth you can live out of a suitcase or backpack. I can’t say it’s easy, but with a few of these tips, you’ll at least make sure your whole ‘home’ doesn’t smell like your dirty socks!

You are staring at your 4,000 cubic inches of space to fill getting ready for your long-term travel; if there was ever a time to be obsessive-compulsive, it’s now.

When you live out of a suitcase or backpack, organization is key!

These are the steps I used to manage my suitcase or backpack.
Read the Rest of the Article…

Travel Q&A with Ottsworld

admin — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 17:15:28 +0000

I’ve been blogging now for close to 3 years and I get questions from strangers weekly. The questions range from

“Are you rich?”
“How can I do what you are doing”
“How did you come up with the name for your cat?”
“What did you pack?”
“At what point did you know you were going to take a career break?”
“Where should I go in SE Asia?”
“How do I become certified to teach abroad?”

…the list can go on.

I always take the time to answer these questions to the people individually, however I realized that there’s a lot of good information in those answers that other people might want to know. So I decided to post some of the recent questions that I’ve had as a little Q&A section.

If you have questions for me – please don’t hesitate to send them to me via comments on this post, or just send me an email!

1. Would you write an article on the safety as a women solo traveler- are there any precautions you had to take, or did you feel safe everywhere? If not, can you give me some pointers? I have been traveling solo in Europe (Paris, Prague, Ireland, and Poland; living in London as an American to be able to afford my travels) but want to go to South America, Asia and Africa in the next few years. Should I take any precautions? Thanks!

I can consider trying to do an article specifically on safety – I’ll put it on my list of future posts. You are the first reader to ever made a recommendation…I love it! A quick answer though…I felt pretty safe everywhere. Eygpt and Morroco were probably the hardest for me. It’s just a different culture when it comes to women in public, and they have some pretty screwed up notions about western women in general. As for Asia – it’s actually very, very safe. Sure, there’s petty theft , but nothing major at all. You just need to be smart and a bit ‘cold’ sometimes. I actually took a lot of boxing before I left on my trip…not for the trip, but because I loved it, but it did make me walk with more confidence for sure. My one piece of advice is to leave your hostel/hotel with only minimal things…not too much cash, not too many electronics, etc. I always walked outside and thought to myself, if all of this gets stolen, will I be crushed…if so, then I went back inside and downsized and then came back out!

2. How did you learn photography? Its amazing.

I took a couple of great photography classes the year before I left on my trip at PhotoManhattan. The teacher was great and it was certainly a class about photography, and not just how to use your camera or how to take vacation snapshots. It was really thorough. I practiced a ton before I left doing little exhibitions for the school, and then when I started traveling I was taking hundreds of pictures a day. You are bound to improve when you do that! If you look at my first pictures of Africa and my last ones of Laos - they improved immensly! In addition, while traveling I did hire a professional photo journalist in Thailand to travel with me and help me improve my skills – he did a great job!

3. Any tips or ideas for income for us non-writers, non computer wizards? I would like to learn a new skill to take with me on the road, so if you have any tips let me know.

First of all, I would like to stop and consider the fact that you think I’m a ‘computer wizard’….wait a minute while I stop laughing. I’m sure all of my past colleagues are also laughing…really, you can stop now, it’s not funny any longer.

I’m actually far from being a ‘computer wizard’, but thanks for thinking that I am!

This was a great article about how to travel and work abroad…I loved it – so check it out, it will give you many ideas! It’s from the Professional Hobo, Nora Dunn, a good writer that’s on the road now living what she preaches about!

Suitcase Diet: What you DON’T need to pack!

admin — Fri, 22 May 2009 10:57:44 +0000

I love traveling, but I hate packing. It’s really one of the most stressful things about traveling for me. Sure, this should be easy, but when you’re packing for a long trip and you will be lugging your pack around for months, efficient, smart packing all of a sudden becomes priority #1!

Of course I hate packing because I suck at packing light. I guess I inherited my parent’s ‘pack rat-depression era’ thinking when it comes to packing; take everything along because you never know when you may need it. This is why they still have canned vegetables from 1980 in their basement. And this is probably why I ended up hauling my medicine cabinet along with me on my around the world travel.

Some things I didn’t need on my Around the World Travels:
2 pairs of ipod headphones – one for exercising and one for non-exercising
hairdryer…nuff said
travel books – they are HEAVY!!! Give them up and use podcasts instead! I would actually recommend never carrying more than one book at a time.
water bottles – Water is cheap…just buy it when you need it.
sleeping bag – you seldom need it, you can improvise if you need to for a night or two.
A first aid kit is great, but don’t bring your whole medicine cabinet. Trust me, there are pharmacies all over the world…in the most remote places…you will be able to find cough drops, eye drops, and aspirin anywhere.

I recently was asked to contribute to an article about what not to pack…I figured that I had enough experience on overpacking, so I should be able to provide some advice to others. I recently started particpating in the site TravelBlogs.com, a site that is filled with great, active travel blogs from all corners of the world. It brings together the best travel bloggers out there all in one place! The editor posed the question of “What don’t you need to pack?” to the various travel bloggers out there in the blogsphere, and he put together this great, informative article with everyone’s input. That’s right, some of the best minds in “real travel” (people actually out there doing it!) all collaborated together to help bring you this list.

If you are interested, you can find my advice at #15. However it’s all great stuff, from underwear choices to, jeans, to reading material, to water filter; throw in a little humor and you’ve got a nice looking list of what not to pack! Enjoy!

18 Things You Don’t Need On Your Packing List
Over the limit? Need to shed a few pounds or fork out cash for going over your weight allowance? This inverted packing list – it tells you what you don’t need – will help you figure out how you can lighten the load.

Now, share your advice with the rest of the world, leave a comment and let me now what items you don’t need to pack!

Recession Proof Travel – Eliminating the Middle Man

admin — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 06:11:39 +0000

Check out my latest post on the Indie Travel Podcast about how to save money while traveling.

Booking tours online can be a great way to organize your trip ahead of time. But it’s also a pretty sure-fire way to waste money – a fair proportion of the cost goes to the middle man. Learn how to eliminate the middleman and recession proof your travles!

View the full Recession Proof Travel article here and enjoy other stories, as well as listen to some top notch podcasts on the Indie Travel Podcast . Incidently, their wonderful podcast is up for a Lonely Planet Blog award so vote for them while you are there!

15 of the Most Read Articles on Boots-n-all

admin — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 07:58:41 +0000

Squatty Pottie popularity!

I recently found out some surprising news. Bootsnall, where my blog was originally hosted, just published their year end newsletter and included a story to the 15 most read articles on Boots-n-all from 2008. I was scrolling through the list and there my article was at the bottom – Pee Pee Island: A Girls Guide to the Asian Squatty Potties! I was a bit stunned! I actually wrote/submitted that article back in 2007, so I guess it’s still popular!

Here’s what they had to say about it:

Of all the articles on listed here, this easily has the best title. It’s possible it’s one of the best-titled articles ever published on BootsnAll, in fact. And the subject isn’t just funny to read about – this is practical information that a girl’s gotta know.

So – go check out the other 14 articles and browse around Bootsnall – its a wonderful resource for long term travelers!

You can’t handle the truth…

admin — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 07:30:37 +0000

Happy Buddha or Crazed Buddha? Hard to tell...

I must apologize, I’ve been withholding the truth a bit. I love having a blog but there are times where I really feel that it is a huge burden; the last 4 months was burdensome. Let me back up – I started journaling 11 years ago to cope with an emotional time of my life. The only way I could get through it was to write down what was going on in my head else I think I might have went crazy; or some might say crazier. Journaling was my medicine, my way to stay sane and understand my feelings and emotions; my pen was my therapist. In 2006 when I decided to take off from my work life and travel I decided to keep on online journal – Ottsworld. At that time I put this together for a few friends and family to follow my journey. I traveled to 23 countries, and it grew into a large number of people reading about my journey and my personal life; people I didn’t know. However, through Ottsworld they cam to know me and make assumptions about my character; which were normally rather flattering assumptions that painted me a better, stronger person than what I really felt I was.

However, when I started Ottsworld, I stopped my physical journaling. I fired my paper therapist and outsourced it to my keyboard and Ottsworld. Actually, this was fine since I needed very little therapy at the time; I was literally having the time of my life traveling around the world. Sure, there were tough days and weeks, but I was able to get through them. 2008 marked the beginning of my ‘what’s next?’ phase of my life and I wish I could say that it’s been as stable as the last few years, but it hasn’t. 2008 has been a challenging year and those challenges seemed to multiply these last few months when I moved alone abroad. But I still didn’t journal, nor did I really let on to many people what was really going on in my head as having a mental melt down for the internet world to see isn’t really what I wanted to do.

I miss my emotional outlet. Maybe this is because I don’t have any close friends in Vietnam to talk things through and I’m tired of burdening my close friends back home, or maybe because this year was harder than most, or maybe because I’m finally in over my head with challenge; whatever it is, I need to get it out. I’m tired of being guarded, it takes so much time and energy; therefore, I will let my guard down a bit and see if it helps.

While in Hong Kong, I picked up a local free paper of events to find out what cheap thing I could do on NYE and came across this horoscope for 2009. It stopped me in my tracks. Here it is – word for word:

Free Will Astrology in HK magazine.
Aquarius – Imagine you’re driving down a very wide highway that’s 50 lanes across even though there are no lines dividing one lane from another. Speed limit signs aren’t posted, and some vehicles are zipping along in zigzag paths at over 100 mph while others crawl along like old-lady turtles. Now and then you’ve got to weave your way through a congested area where many on-ramps all feed into the road simultaneously. You haven’t seen an off-ramp yet, and you’re not sure where to get off anyway. I figure, Aquarius, that 2008 had some resemblance to the scenario I just described. Luckily, I predict that no later than your birthday, you will find an off-ramp and exit onto an uncluttered backroad with great scenery.

Feeling a bit unfocused...

I read this and thought, I couldn’t have put it any better; and it’s a traffic reference – perfect for Vietnam. This last year has been hard mainly because there are so many options and I just don’t know what to do. Giving up my possessions and my home was one of the first challenges. It’s great to be unencumbered, by property but it’s also harder than you can imagine. The real challenge though came with my move to Vietnam. I have so many different options here that it makes my head hurt. Some of them involve living frugally, some involve taking risks, some involve getting back in the corporate world; all of these things are terrifying to me. There is no clear answer and as I sit and wonder what to do, I feel like I lose a little piece of myself every day. I don’t know if I’m a business woman, a backpacker, a city person, a country person, a writer, a photographer, a teacher, an independent person, a social person, a positive person or a pessimist. I feel like I am a little of all of these things, which means that I do many things, but I do nothing REALLY well. This conflicts with my type A personality that desperately wants to do everything REALLY well. Most of the time I feel like I know nothing, and I’m simply masquerading as all of these things just waiting for someone to blow my cover.

The worst part about it is that I have no one to help me understand what path to take. Many people ask me if I ever get lonely. My answer prior to this year was “no, not really. I enjoy being on my own and having immense freedom. Sure there are bad days, but they go by quickly and they don’t outweigh the good days.” However, the bad days don’t seem to go by so quick in Vietnam. It started with Nepal and has continued in Vietnam; I’ve never felt more alone in my life. Sure, I know that it’s an effect of moving to a new place/country and not really knowing anyone, but this on top of trying to figure out answers to my life direction isn’t helping. I’m just going in circles and not getting anything done. I don’t rest, and I don’t relax. When I travel I can find beauty in many things, but those beautiful things now seem strange, confusing, and frustrating. How quickly we lose our innocence.

I used to say that a good relationship was one where you liked the person you were when surrounded by that person. Some people bring out the best in you and some bring out sides of myself that I’d rather not see. So far, Vietnam and all of this massive change has brought out sides of me that I’d rather keep rather buried; it’s not a healthy relationship. After a really terrible Christmas Eve where I missed my family, friends, and felt more alone than ever; I woke up Christmas day and decided to take control of my life again. I’m tired of being a person where things happen to me; I want to get back to being a person that makes things happen.

I still don’t have any answers, but I am trying to get back to the person that I am proud to be. I know that this is all a part of the culture shock of relocating; I understand this, but it doesn’t make it any easier to swallow. I will wait for my off ramp and see where it leads me; hopefully into the arms of a decent living, some new friends/relationships, and much needed sanity.

I Will Survive

admin — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 08:52:19 +0000

Sticky Situation

Let’s take inventory. I’ve been in Saigon for two months now. It’s honestly been good and bad. Maybe bad is the wrong word…it’s more like “challenging”. Considering I’m a challenge junkie, one would think that I could have rolled with all of this massive change in my life a bit better, but alas…I am human.

I met a roommate and that ended up falling through (not off to a good start)
I went to a huge Ball the first weekend I was here (forcing me to shop…oh darn)
I know three people that have contracted Denge Fever (and unfortunately I’m living with them in the same house)
I’m the proud owner of my own motorbike helmet (I’m a safety girl!)
I’ve been caught in downpours while on motorbike taxis at least 8 times showing up to work dripping wet.
I have had one ‘nice attempt’ at an American cheeseburger, a pretty good Ruben sandwich, and tons of great Asian food – and have still managed to lose weight!
I am getting very little sleep thanks to the stress of trying to figure out answers for my life.
I have met the head of at least 6 companies here. (Networking has been a breeze in such a small expat community)
I have had 2 job offers outside of teaching.
I’ve eaten in establishments with rats running around at least 3 times. (keep in mind, these are only the ones I saw)
I’ve had one bloody bike crash. (but did end up with a nice pedicure when the day was over)
I have seen at least 3 other people crash or get hit by cars. (yes –I have insurance)
I have one friend who was hit crossing the street – and then had his wallet stolen on top of that!
I still don’t have a place to live!

I suppose things could be better, they could be worse; regardless, it’s definitely an adventure. At least I’m not living over a buffalo barn any longer. That is a phrase that I will take to my grave I’m sure.

A wet Commute

It’s strange, I have really good days when I’m on the back of a motorbike and feeling on top of the world; loving the fact that I am somehow conquering all of my inhibitions and fears and tackling the unknown. Then the next day, I hit a low; a day where I really wonder if I can make it. The mind games begin and intensify when you are solo. I wonder if I want to teach. I wonder if I can deal with all of the hardships of living in Vietnam (and there are many). I wonder if I’ve made a mistake. I wonder if there’s any way that I will be able to really stick it out. I’m coming to the sobering realization that I not only took on a new career that I am unsure of, but I’ve moved to a foreign country where the culture is very different. There is a vast difference between traveling in a country and living in a country; I think I knew that before I came, but now I really know it. It’s no longer a simple thing to go buy milk at the store. In fact, buying milk at the store can now take me all day. That last statement is probably pointless since I can’t buy milk anyway as I don’t have a kitchen or fridge to put it in!

He's definitely having a bad day!

I honestly hate this roller coaster that I’m on; mainly because I hate to feel weak and I hate to doubt myself. Yet both of those feelings tend to creep in and send me in a downward spiral about every other day. I hate feeling distraught with no one really to talk to except my computer.

I don’t mean for this to sound gloomy, because I suppose if I really think about my time here – it has been pretty damn good. I have met some super nice people that will remain friends for life and who have taken me under their wing. These friends have graciously let me stay in her home with her family until I find a place to live. I have met friends that include me in social outings such as an opening of a new restaurant and boutique hotel and ate free sushi all night…I never complain about free sushi. So – things could be worse…much worse. I could be back in America being inundated with elections coverage and bombarded with news on how our economy is crap and taking down the rest of the world with it.

Overall, I’m surviving, trying to figure out how to stand still for a while. Thanks to everyone who has weighed in on my VOTE of what to do with my Vietnam life. I have made some decisions which really incorporate all three options – they involve still teaching part time for a while, doing business/IT consulting off and on, and working on writing…none of this yields very much money – but at least it all yields freedom.

Become a Vagabond Master!

admin — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 16:18:16 +0000

Taking off on a long term journey!

Here’s the link to my latest article on the Indie Travel Podcast! Go check it out and peruse the whole site; it’s a wealth of information for the independent traveler!

Do you have what it takes to become a vagabond master? Complete this four-week training regime to prepare your body, mind and suitcase for the realities of life on the road.

http://www.indietravelpodcast.com/article/become-a-vagabond-master/

Abrupt Transitions

admin — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 13:36:14 +0000

Dhal Bat Days - Vol. 1

8/30/08

New Cultures

Oh my God – what have I done? I kind of feel like it’s my first week at college again where I miss my friends and my comfortable life and wonder how the hell I’m ever going to make it.

I arrived in Kathmandu after 27 hours of travel from NYC to Nepal…My body and mind felt like mush, on top of it I had cramps. I was excited to be in a new country again – yet a bit intimidated to be doing this all by myself. When I left on my around the world travel 2 years ago, I left with a group of friends who I could talk to and in some way that could comfort me and ease me into the solo adventure. Plus – I went to a country where I was taken care of by a friend who lived there; once again preparing me gently for what was to come. It was a nice transition.

However, this transition was anything but nice; in fact the whole thing has been terrifying to me. Maybe I got to cocky and thought that I was tougher than I really am. Maybe I got too soft in the US where life is easy. I’m not sure what it was but this transition has knocked me on my ass and has left me freaking out thinking “What have I done?” Going from shiny, bright, clean, NYC, the epitome of western culture, to Kathmandu Nepal felt as if I had left this planet and traveled light years away. Nepal is like India. I’m not sure why I hadn’t realized that before I stepped off the plane, but I didn’t. I was thinking that it might be a bit more developed than India…but trust me – it isn’t. In fact, in some ways – it’s harder than India. Delhi had pockets of calm and of places you could go to get some western pampering…but I’ve yet to find anything like that here…then again I haven’t been looking too hard either I suppose. The streets are terrible and the traffic is crazy – beyond crazy; trying to walk down the muddy ‘street’ is a death wish. It’s monsoon season so it’s muddy and wet and you share the road with bikes, people, motorcycles, cars, buses, cows – it’s a massive mess where every step is possible death – or at the very least a severe injury. I remember India like this, but for some reason it seemed a bit more civilized there – maybe because there seemed to be more open space. Here it’s a 1 ½ lane road surrounded by buildings with no where to go to get out of the way. It’s dirty, it smells, I have no hot water, I’m just waiting to get sick, the bed is a foam pad. Sure, I’ve dealt with all of these things before, but not after I had spent 8 months of easy living in America. I had normally come from one bad condition to another…so it never seemed that shocking before. This time I was shocked.

Holy Men

I all of a sudden was flooded with memories of what I left behind and thought why did I do this to myself? I’m all alone in a challenging situation and regret starts slipping into my head….but I can’t let it….yet it really, really wants in.

I met with the man that runs the volunteer organization. I knew this would be very different from my last volunteer experience. When I volunteered in India with a US organization, I knew I would be taken care of well, doted on even – after all – the cost was $3000 – which was really because they had staff to completely support us. This volunteer stint that I as doing in Nepal was $340 – so I knew that you get what you pay for…and I thought I could handle that. Yet now I’m really wondering if I can. Once again – on top of it all I am reminded that I’m on my own, which can make a difficult situation ever more difficult. Let’s just say that there isn’t much support here…it’s ok while I’m in Kathmandu, but once I get to this village – I’m terrified. In fact, the more I hear about the village I get even more terrified. I think I‘m tough – but I am currently doubting that right now as I sit in my lonely room awake thanks to jet lag.

In the ‘orientation’ that I was put through, I learned that I will be eating rice and beans every day for 2 weeks; a type of real life Survivor. They told me that I should expect to get sick at some point too thanks to all of the new bacteria waiting to invade my virgin western stomach. In order to get to the village, there is a jeep that runs but the road is quite poor and steep; they told me that if I was scared, I should just tell the jeep to stop and I could get out and walk. First I should learn the Nepali word for ‘stop’ I suppose. Oh yeah – and I also found out that there will be a community bathing area in which I will need to bath in front of everyone from a large bucket of cold water. Then I was informed that the village that I will be living in has many leaches, but I simply have to pull them off. Mind you, leaches were never in the brochure. Yet, maybe the most terrifying thing to me is that I will be completely shut off from the outside world. No internet, no friends, nobody to converse with in English. My two days of Nepali language class while I was severely jet-lagged isn’t going to get me through any meaningful conversation besides ‘my name is Sherry’.

On top of this – I have to figure out how to teach…I honestly don’t know what to worry about more, eating beans and rice for 15 days, bathing in front of everyone, leaches, having diarrhea, falling off a cliff, or teaching kids everyday. It’s all a toss up.

Bhuddist Prayer Wheel

I’ve been trying to remind myself that the first few days in a new country/city are always like this – very shocking and very scary; but eventually you get used to it and ease into it. It never seems as bad as it first did when you arrived. So I’m really hoping that that feeling takes hold and this immense load of worry that I’m carrying on my shoulders goes away. I know that at some point your brain just gives up and resets itself – much like when I was climbing Kilimanjaro. You stop fighting it and just give in to your surroundings. Unfortunately, I haven’t stopped swinging yet…

This whole process has made me totally forget about my fears of Vietnam for now, yet it is there in the back of my head. What if I can’t live like this? What do I do?

To top things off tonight, I wanted to get some stories posted that I had been working on – and I wanted to check email before going into the hell that I have subjected myself to. Little did I know – there’s a daily power outage in Kathmandu and as I was writing my email to my friend in the hopes of feeling better getting some of this off of my chest – the power goes out and the whole city is black. I am writing this by candle light right now. My cell phone doesn’t work – and the fact that I’m completely cut off makes me want to cry; but I won’t. Why won’t my brain just give in? Maybe it would if there was someone to talk to about all of this…to laugh about it…to commiserate with…but there is no one. Just me and this keyboard. Instead – I didn’t even get to feel like I could say goodbye for two weeks. I just hope that I persevere and make it though.

Tears for Fears

admin — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 13:20:35 +0000

The view over Central Park

One year and fifty weeks ago I was in the same place. Sitting in a plane preparing to leave US soil for an unknown amount of time. The last few days I have bounced between feeling scared, sad, excited, and mad. I don’t know what to expect on my own, I’m terribly sad to say goodbye to friends yet again, I’m thrilled to be chasing a dream, and I’m mad because I’m on this roller coaster of tears when I should be excited beyond belief. This just once again reminds me that nothing comes without a price.

My various suitcases

I’ve spent the last 5 days running around trying to prepare to leave. For those of you who pack the night before a trip, you probably think that 5 days of prep and packing is absurd. Well, then you’ve never been on a long term trip. Just try to imagine trip prep for a journey duration of one to two years. I am not simply talking about packing a suitcase; I’m talking about administrative stuff such as taxes, voting, insurance, banking, medical files, phone numbers, and getting all of the items that I won’t have access to in developing countries that I may need/want. To top is off, imagine doing all of this when you don’t really have access to your stuff or your home (mine is all in storage). I felt like a raving bitch most days, but I was perplexed when my friends kept telling me how amazed they were that I was so calm and in control. I was completely paranoid when they told me this as if it were their way of making fun of me. I was positive I was the embodiment of Cybil this last week no matter what they said to me.

NYC Skyline over Central Park...Goodbye..

I find it disturbing that tears are in my eyes now as I depart the skyline of NYC fading into the distance and trying to squeak in one last cell phone call with friends before retiring my US phone number yet again. It’s disturbing because 8 months ago I was in tears when I was flying back to the US after being gone for 16 months. I was scared to come back to NYC, sad that my journey had ended, intimidated to see my friends again after I had been so self sufficient for so long. I don’t consider myself an emotional person, but if I’m crying leaving and crying coming back; maybe I just need to come to grips with the fact that I am an emotional mess. No wonder why I’m single…this is everything men hate about women…crying, for no good reason.

Regardless, I feel better now; a few tears always seem to help. What lies ahead is scary to me and I know that the tears don’t represent sadness; the tears are tied to fear. Whether it is fear of returning or fear of leaving and embarking out into the unknown, fear is a powerful thing. Hell, just ask any political campaign manager, they’ll tell you how fear can get votes. I don’t know that I will ever conquer the tears and the fears; but I know that I won’t let it control me. That’s why I’m on this 25 hour flight back into developing countries starting a new job that I’m terrified about. I want to be free; even if the price is a few tears.

How To Survive Being A Passenger

admin — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 13:31:13 +0000

Spiritual Passenger

Check out my latest travel article on the Indie Travel Podcast site! I’ve had many experiences with being a passenger, so I put together some things to consider before stepping onto that plane, train, bus, bike, or automobile. Sometimes you need drugs, sometimes you need a little help from above, but most of all you need some luck!

Click here to read the article!

Travel vs. Motherhood

Sherry — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 01:27:32 +0000

Is motherhood for me?

I’m doing a different type of travel these last few weeks. I’m traveling to catch up. Catch up to what you may ask; friends. This summer is about enjoying the cool summers of the northern US, fighting off mosquitoes, and having reunions with old friends. I’m staying with my sister and her kids at a lake cabin near Minneapolis and taking this opportunity to reconnect with my old colleagues and friends; after all, I spent 4 ½ years living in Minneapolis back in my 20’s. This journey through time has really made me think about the choices I have made in my past, as well as the choices I have made for my future. It has also made me think about motherhood since most of the friends that I’ve reconnected with are now mothers of multiple kids at various ages – a foreign concept to me.

When I was a little girl, I had an active imagination and generally figured out ways to entertain myself since my brother and sister were older and I was considered an annoyance. I loved playing house. I loved pretending I had kids to take care of, to cook for, to clean up after, and to tell people what to do. Then I graduated on to Barbies where I had a whole imaginary life of families, homes, relationships, and picking the right outfit to wear for the right fictitious occasion. Then I moved on to playing ‘work’. I would play at my dad’s old desk, make a rol-a-dex from scratch and pretend that I had important meetings to attend, people to see, people to fire, things to staple, and reports to create. At that point, I don’t ever think I thought about playing house again.

However the last few weeks have landed me back in my imaginary world of playing house. I’ve been surrounded by kids and families. I’ve been entertaining kids, cooking for kids, disciplining kids, teaching kids (mostly appropriate things)…and I generally have no idea what I’m doing. I am the youngest in my family, so I never really had any young kids or babies around me. Instead, I was too busy trying to be more grown up so that my sister and brother may be interested in playing with me or at least stop teasing me and beating me up! These last few weeks of being surrounded by kids and families has been fun, yet exhausting. It’s a bit reminiscent of being a middle manager in corporate America, so I’ve had to dust off my managing skills. Motherhood or Management – it’s all the same to me.

These last few weeks I’ve done things that are scarier and more challenging than climbing Kilimanjaro. I found myself driving a minivan full of kids to Wal-Mart to do the grocery shopping. My latest adventure was to take 4 girls to 3 different softball practices in different locations, cheer them on, yell at them to play nice, tell them to stop fighting with each other, and then going for pizza at the local pizza joint. It freaks me out to think that the strangers that look at me think that they are my kids…how can that be when I still feel like I’m 22 and I clearly don’t look like a mother…or do I? God help me. We’ll delve into that in another post when I have a drink within reach.

Photo: Drained lake Delton – all that is left is mud.
I even drove out to meet my best friend from high school, Audra. She lives in Milwaukee so we decided to meet halfway across Wisconsin. She brought her young kids (2 ½ yrs and 14 months) with her for the 2 hour drive, and they watched Dora the Explorer. I on the other hand drove 3 hours and listened to a gruesome book on tape about children soldiers in Sierra Leone in the 90’s. We were worlds apart. Our worlds intermingled in the heart of cheesy American resort towns – Wisconsin Dells. Some of you may have heard of the Dells recently in the news when rains of biblical proportions dumped so much water into Lake Delton that it literally burst its banks. Tens of thousands of gallons of lake water barreled through the woods, taking with it a roadway, several houses, boats, fish and lake bed. It emptied into the nearby Wisconsin River and was gone in hours. Definitely a site to see.

We met at the Copa Cabana Resort and water park so that the kids could be entertained between us trying to catch up on 4 years of not seeing each other. There was no Barry Manilow or Pina Coladas at the Copa Cabana….instead there were pirate ships and kiddy slides. I channeled my motherhood genes that had long ago shriveled up and dried out and played as if I were Captain Hook on the high seas in between talking to Audra about travel, New York, motherhood, her career, and diapers.

As I drove back to the other side of Wisconsin after lunch, I thought about just how challenging and hard motherhood is. I frequently have people tell me how brave I am for doing what I’m doing with my life and travels. But as I watch all of my friends as mothers, I am in awe. That is one challenge that I wouldn’t be able or have the desire to meet. I find it much easier to fly off to strange countries and new cities and try to integrate in foreign places as compared to changing diapers and raising kids. Sure, that makes me a bit unusual, but I’m ok with that. I much prefer being Aunt Sherry than “Mom, (insert name here)’s hitting me!!” Plus – if I were to be a mom, that would necessitate me actually having to find someone to date that I didn’t get annoyed by eventually…and that may just be impossible.

Photo: My 6 nieces – all together for the 4th of July
Thanks to all of my old friends who have come on out to see me – it’s been like a giant summer reunion for me. Sometimes it leaves me a bit baffled, wondering how in the world I have ended up on the small path that I am on and not on the interstate of motherhood and familydome. I guess I just figure that someone has to take the path less traveled.

Family Ties – Singapore

Want to take a Career Break and Travel?

Sherry — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 03:48:07 +0000

If you are sitting at your desk, stealing away a few minutes of sanity from meetings, your 4th cup of coffee, emails, the blackberry, and deadlines – then read on…

A few years ago when I started researching my career break, I quickly realized that for a corporate American – I was exploring new territory. There were very few books or websites that addressed how to plan and take a career break. Sure, there were that covered the topic, but they were all written from a British perspective. Now I don’t have anything against a British perspective, in fact I find it rather humorous normally – but the British and American take on careers are different. Brits travel – they use their vacation, they take long trips, their careers aren’t thrown into jeopardy if they take a year off. Americans – well, we don’t have those luxuries..or do we?

When taking a year+ off and traveling long term, I struggled with finding others like me from my culture. I struggled with simply planning the endeavor of long term travel. Yet at the same time, I heard from so many people through my blog that wanted/hoped to do the same type of thing I was doing. They were longing for a career break and had many questions on how to make it happen.

I always believe that life provides the path if you just open your eyes and are open to it. When I met two other Americans with similar backgrounds as mine that had also just completed a 3 month career break, the idea was born…Briefcase to Backpack – a website for corporate Americans who wanted to escape for a while.

My partners and I are working on putting this new travel website together and have a preview site up and running at www.briefcasetobackpack.com. It is a small look into what we intend to provide on Briefcase to Backpack in the future, a background on how it all came together, and a way for you to get on our mailing list to stay up to date on our progress.

I know many of you are contemplating a career break and wondering how to do it – then go check out www.briefcasetobackpack.com, sign up for our email, provide us some feedback on the idea, and save the url as a ‘favorite’! Briefcase to Backpack – the first stop on your escape from Corporate America!

Sherry Has Left The Building

Sherry — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 12:03:03 +0000

Photo: Shutting the door on my 5 years at 74th and Columbus…

There’s something surreal about seeing your bed wheeled down the streets of NYC on a dolly. Really – a sobering situation.

There I was, walking down the street with friends after dinner seeing my life possessions being carted down the street – God…this isn’t happening…is it?

My friends have been amazing – and have benefited quite a lot from my liquidation of my life. Many of them have taken/borrowed furniture, art, and electronics. This is all great as is means that it’s less stuff to put into storage…however in another weird way it is terribly painful. I realized just how painful it was when I saw my mattress being wheeled down the street past the Museum of Natural History…which may be quite fitting for my mattress!

Photo: Me working my ‘home office’…what’s left of it.
Slowly – every day more is taken away…I’m left with a beach chair – my only piece of furniture to sit on, paper plates, and plastic silverware as I’ve sold all the rest.

Sure, it’s great to have the money from selling things…but it goes so fast. It’s strange thinking that your bed is the same value as a dinner and a nice bottle of wine in NYC.

I’d like to sit here and say that I liquidated my life with ease and confidence, that I was the model of composure; but I can’t lie. There have been a few tears shed about the loss of my possessions. As it gets closer to nothingness, more tears seem to come, but that is more about me wanting this whole process to be over – I’m just tired of it. I’m tired of living like this slowly watching things disappear and crumble around me. The rub is that as bad as it feels – it feel equally good and freeing. Sometimes I think that tears are necessary though…it’s a mourning process that we have to let our bodies go through….and mine has been working overtime.

Photo: My dear friends doing some ‘Sherry Shopping’ – at least I know it goes to a good home!

Seeing my bed on the street…well, that was a whole new level. I was already a bit apprehensive about selling my bed, seeing it on the street made it even harder. Your bed is precious. Just think for a moment…think about your bed….and then think about never sleeping in it again. But not because you are replacing it with a new fluffier bed, instead it is because you are choosing to give up normalcy. From this point forward for the next few years you will be sleeping in multiple beds – some good, some bad. But never the same bed for long; and it’s never YOUR bed. That is the challenge of traveling.

It’s weird to be going through this again – leaving again. I have this ‘here we go again’ feeling as I pack up my suitcase full of rolled clothes – my dresser on wheels. It’s easier since I know what to expect, but harder also because this time it’s for real….there’s nothing but friends and a small storage space in Manhattan to come back to.

Homeless Again

Sherry — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 03:40:29 +0000

My posessions…no longer…

A friend recently asked me if I ever felt an overwhelming social pressure to get married and have kids.
My answer, “Not really.”
Sure, there’s pressure from a social norm standpoint, but I seldom let it get to me. However, recently I have felt a great deal of social pressure with my current life decision; to not go back to my corporate career and instead sell 90% of what I own to go make slightly over $15000 a year. I am truly going back to square one, the square I was in when I graduated from college.

Today there are an increasing number of women not getting married or having a family. But I don’t know many other people who have decided willingly to go from the making of an extremely comfortable lifestyle with a 6 figure salary to practically nothing. No home, and few possessions. Sure, when I used to have really terrible days at work I’d fantasize about giving it all up and living a simpler life – but deep down I didn’t think it would actually happen.

When I refer to social pressure, I’m not saying that people are specifically putting pressure on me telling me not to do it. In fact my friends and family have been very supportive through my struggles, indecision, and tears. The pressure is coming from myself and what I see around me. Ever since I graduated from college I have been on a quest; a quest to be ‘grown up’ and successful. A quest to own furniture that doesn’t come with assembly instructions.

I still remember the first piece of furniture I ever purchased; a couch from Sears. Then came a bed, some side tables, kitchen appliances, works of art, pottery, clothes, more clothes, handbags, and a shitload of shoes. Some how I moved from my apartment in Omaha, NE, which was furnished with furniture from garage sales and posters that I put in a plastic frames to a beautiful loft in Manhattan with real wood furniture and actual art on my walls. I had a real ‘grown-up’ life I purchased for myself.

Now I look around at all the stuff I have acquired through the years and realize that it’s really my enemy. It’s holding me hostage. But who at 38 yrs old in their right mind gives it all up?

The progression of my disappearance of ’stuff’…from every angle…click on the picture to enlarge.

I had to make this weighty decision while I was away from my stuff – it’s too hard to do while you are sitting on your perfectly good couch that you are deciding whether to give up or not. I’d like to say that my time back in NY since January has been fun and carefree – but it hasn’t. I’ve been weighted down with big decisions – what do I do next, how will I live, how do I avoid corporate America, where will I live, how will I make money to live? This constant bombardment of difficult questions that I submit myself to has been a slow torture. Coupled that with being in NY where you tend to bleed money – it has really sucked.

In order to not lose my mind I’ve had to make some decisions and my first step is to cut free of the shackles of my stuff and rent payments.

Selling my ‘stuff’ off to my family, friends, neighbors, and strangers creates a weird feeling. It’s certainly not a comfortable situation. As I hand over the items that I worked so hard to acquire I try to think of it as if I’m getting rid of a disease and now it’s someone else weighty shackles. They will have to house it for years and be tied down to it. By looking at it as buying my freedom, it doesn’t feel as pathetic.

As I look around my comfortable apartment, I wonder for a moment just how much my stuff defines me. It’s a fact that stuff doesn’t make you happy, so why not cut free? As I watch my things march out of my life I have to change my mindset. My stuff and my apartment doesn’t define me. Instead, it’s my writing and this blog that defines me. I don’t need stuff…I feel lighter already.

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Solo Travel & My New Writing Gig

Sherry — Thu, 29 May 2008 15:08:38 +0000

Going it Solo

I was recently asked to become a regular contributor for one of my favorite travel websites – The Indie Travel Podcast. Their site has a wealth of information and downloadable podcasts for the long term traveler. I utilized many of their podcasts during my travels! Plus, Craig and Linda (the hosts of the podcasts and site) ,are living out my dream of teaching ESL, traveling, and helping others travel through their website/podcasts. They have been a huge help to me in my planning of my next big step of teaching and traveling.

I have agreed to put out one travel article a month to start…so my first one was published this week!
My first article was on Solo Travel – One Isn’t the Loneliest Number – you can read by clicking here!

In this article, Sherry Ott tells us why solo travel is right for her and probably for you – not least because you spend less time waiting for your friends in the toilet.

If you like my writing, and want to see some more as well as check out another great travel website and maybe even download a podcast or two…then check it out!

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