Ottsworld Travel Experiences » Travel Advice

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...

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!

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!

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.

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!

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

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!

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.

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!

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!

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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From The Outside Looking In

Sherry — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 22:15:42 +0000

American Abundance

Photo: American Grocery Store

America – my home country…my passport, my culture. I’ve been gone from it for 15 months and am now re-entering it with a fresh pair of eyes. I have to first start out, I do love my country. It is my heritage. I love our freedom, I love our rights, I love having opportunities to seize as a female, and I love the general ‘you can do anything if you put your mind to it’ attitude that Americans have. Yet coming back here is like visiting an old boyfriend that got away – you are excited to see him and hear what he’s been up to, but yet in the same way you are afraid that seeing him may set you back to that post break-up depression that it took you so long to get out of. Maybe that’s why as I was high in the atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean I felt physically sick about coming back – a bit of excitement mixed with dread equals the vomit bag. There have been a number of things that have surprised me as I returned to the US. Most of them snuck up on me as if I just saw a mouse poking its head out making my heart race and body jump. Yet sometimes it was a simple feeling, a sinking feeling of knowing that something just didn’t feel right, but my mind was not able to decipher it immediately.

The stunning realizations began on the flight back to the US. As I entered the Tokyo airport to board my United Airlines flight, it hit me. This was going to be the first time I flew an American airline since I left 15 months ago. My body immediately tensed up as I prepared ready to be poked, prodded, and questioned. I quickly rummaged through my handbag and carry-on trying to find all of the liquids I could as someone handed me a plastic bag. Besides a short trip through Greece, this was the first time I ever had to put my liquids into a bag. I know that may be hard to believe for some of you who are subjected to the baggie check all the time. However, the rest of the world doesn’t always operate like the US and London….the rest of the world is more lax. I’m not saying that it is the better way – it’s just an observation – every country still does their own thing based on their situation. In addition to the first time baggie usage, I was also asked to take off my shoes – another new request for me. I mustered up all of my new found vagabond patience and did everything they told me knowing that this strange new world I was entering, the world of my birth, was different to me now and this was only going to be the beginning.

On the flight I was confronted with more distant memories. When the flight attendant came by and asked what I wanted to drink, I asked for a Coke Light. She handed over the can and as I looked at it on my tray, it seemed different to me. The can was different – but I couldn’t exactly put my finger on what was different. Then it hit me – the can said Diet Coke. In the last year, I had been living in the world of Coke Light, not Diet Coke! I wondered if it would take me as long to switch my brain to calling it Diet Coke as it did for me to switch to calling it Coke Light. The flight attendant next brought out the food…and the plastic silverware. That was a bit shocking to me again. I had forgotten about plastic silverware! I reminisced in my head about all of the crazy flights I had experienced over the last year. Fights where I sat in between the pilot and co-pilot, or the ones that were 45 minute flights in which the cabin crew would serve you a full meal and drink service at lightening speed. All of it with metal silverware which I had used without even thinking twice about it.

As they passed out immigration/customs forms on the plane, I started filling it out – I knew the routine by heart. When you are a professional traveler, you have all of your immigration/customs data memorized – as if I was back in college and had to recite my social security number to register for class. However I stopped and stared at the box that read:
List the countries visited on this trip…
Hmmm – this threw me a bit. Did they really want to know that I had been to 24 different countries on this trip? I used my judgment here and wrote down Singapore and Japan….I figured I could explain the rest of my passport stamps if necessary while getting strip searched.

One of the most disturbing realizations I made on my journey back to the US is that I am no longer a minority. No, I have not had a sex change, I’m talking about being an ethnic minority. When I stepped on that flight to San Francisco, it hit me – I was surrounded by Americans. People that looked like me, talked like me, ate similar food as me, and laughed at the same jokes as me. Yet as I sat there and took everyone in, listening to their loud boisterous laughs and complaints, I realized maybe they weren’t like me – or is it that I was not like them any longer? Something to ponder for months no doubt.

It was a long flight back to New York so when I stepped onto the Airtrain and left JFK airport heading into New York City towards my ‘home’ I couldn’t quite figure out why the young woman talking on her cell phone was annoying me so much. Was I just tired? Was I upset about being home? I wasn’t sure. However I was sure that if I had to hear one more moment of her conversation about her boyfriend and the personal details of her sex life that I was going to rip the phone out of her hands and step on it. Ok – maybe not that violent, but I wasn’t happy about being subjected to her conversation. I was already losing my vagabonder patience that had taken months to aquire!

Later that week I stopped in at a Starbucks to waste some time before an appointment. Once again I sat there trying to work on some writing, yet I was feeling bombarded with the excessive noise around me. Once again I was preoccupied and annoyed with the cell phone noise and personal conversations around me. I thought about how loud Americans were. I thought about why this was so different than Asia. Everyone in Asia had a cell phone and friends there, so what is the big difference? Then as I sipped on my tea, I had my ‘A-HA’ moment – a light bulb went off. First, the Asians tend to text and play games on their cell phones in public places. I don’t really remember them talking much – however the main reason why I didn’t remember them talking was because they weren’t speaking English. The reason why all of this cell phone and conversation noise was attacking me was because they were speaking English and I actually understood what they were saying! As I ride the subway, go to lunch, sit in a coffee shop I feel attacked by a barrage of English – hearing everyone’s personal life, business deals, heartache, and sex life. That is America – everything laid out there for anyone to hear. Or at least anyone who understands English. I can’t really say if it’s that much different than the other countries I traveled in because I never understood the background noise there. There was a constant buzz, but it never phased me while traveling.

After being back in the US a month, I have had time to let things really sink in…sometimes in disgust. As Americans our national pastime is accumulation and consumption. I can’t help but feeling that somewhere along the way, we went a bit overboard with ‘stuff’. We accumulate stuff, we pine away for more stuff, we want other people’s stuff, we have so much stuff that we have to take out a sub prime loan and buy a 3,000 square foot house to put our stuff in. As I re-entered the US, my home, one of my observations was that Americans consume – that’s what we do best.

As I sat through endless college Econ courses, I don’t think I ever fully understood the concept of consumer economy. How can you, until you actually step outside and look in as a ‘foreigner’? Now I’m fascinated by it. My first stop at an American grocery store left me standing in the aisle looking around in amazement; jaw hanging open, eyes wide, as if I had just entered Santa’s Workshop at the North Pole. The giant bottles of ketchup, the 20 different kinds of pickles, the 100 ft. aisle of cereal, just cereal; it was completely overwhelming. Sure, you could find anything you wanted, but at the same time I missed the local lady selling fresh tomatoes at a roadside stand, ones that weren’t injected with red coloring, but ones that were actually in season. If they weren’t in season, they didn’t sell them – plain and simple.

As I exposed myself to American television again, I had to do so in small doses because watching the commercials would infuriate me. I found myself in shock about the amount and type of things that are produced for our consumption. Take one simple area – the amount of toys and electronics that American kids have. Does it make them any happier – or does it just give them shorter attention spans and reason to throw more tantrums? I saw many perfectly satisfied kids in the world without an x-box, Kids that ate what was put in front of them instead of ketchup colored green to entice them to eat it. Yet at the same time, I am impressed with the American creativeness and ability to persuade consumers that they need something that they’ve been living without their whole lives. As a country, it’s our sweet spot – we know how to come up with ideas, how to market them, how to make people want them.

This ‘homecoming’ has left me rather confused. So much so that many days I feel like simply staying in my pajamas as if the old boyfriend has ‘won’. While on the road, I had grown accustomed to living very simply, being different, standing out, and not understanding the noise/language around me. I realize that this isn’t really what America, and especially New York City, is about. After a month of being in NYC, I felt like I am just one of the consumer masses again. However, after writing this post and going through it a number of times fixing mistakes, pulling it together, really listening to what I was saying, I realize that I am different, I do stand out. Not just because I have a passport full of stamps, but because I am now an international American – a bit of a foreigner in my own country.

Travel by Numbers

Sherry — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 05:07:37 +0000

Travel by Numbers

I must admit, I went to school for Accounting, why – I have no idea.
“Hello my name is Sherry and I’m a bean counter.”
Yeah – it never quite fit me, nor my personality, which is probably how I ended up in Information Technology. However, there was something about numbers that I liked which seems to fit with my Type A personality.

As I spend my days reuniting with old friends in New York, I am constantly asked to summarize my 16 months for everyone. This is not an easy task – therefore I started to actually prepare for this question in advance. I made lists…lists of countries, airlines, money, experiences, and anything else I could anticipate being asked. It provided me a summarized look at my travels through numbers…and I love numbers. So here it is – my around the world travels by numbers.

Number of countries I’ve visited: 23
(in order)
Kenya
Tanzania
South Africa
New Zealand
Australia
Bali (Indonesia)
Singapore
Lombok (Indonesia)
Thailand
Borneo (Malaysia)
Hong Kong
Vietnam
Cambodia
Greece
Croatia
Montenegro
Italy
Morocco
Egypt
Switzerland
India
Laos
Lankawi (Malaysia)
China
Japan

Number of pictures taken after editing (throwing out the bad shots which were too many to count!): 11,868

Number of stories/posts I’ve written on my website: 167

Number of airports I’ve flown into/out of: 46
London, Nairobi, Dar e Salaam, Johannesburg, Capetown, Hong Kong, Auckland, Christchurch, Sydney, Cairns, Melbourne, Bali, Singapore, Lombok, Chiang Mai, Mae Hon Song, Bangkok, Krabi, Borneo, Hai Noi, HCMC, Siem Reap, Phnom Phen, Athens, Santorini, Rome, Dubrovnik, Madrid, Dubai, Marrakech, Casablanca, Cairo, Aswan, Geneva, Jordan, Delhi, Udaipur, Luang Prabang, Vientiane, Lankawi, Beijing, Kunming, Shangri-la, Tokyo, Mombassa, Lamu

Number of cancelled flights: 1 - see the agonizing post here

Number of times my luggage was lost: 0 – miracles do happen

Number of times I lost something: 1 – a luggage lock which was easily replaceable in Morocco. Trying to communicate with the shopkeeper to find/buy the lock was definitely the hardest part!

Number of treks and mountains climbed: 13
Mt. Sinai, Egypt
Kilimanjaro, Tanzania (I was just about there…I’m counting it!) – 8 days
Mt. Kinabalu, Borneo – 2 days
Tiger Leaping Gorge, China – 2 days
Atlas Gorge, Morocco
Milford Trek, New Zealand – 3 days
Mt. Vesuvius, Italy
Franz Josef Glacier, New Zealand
Hill Tribe Trek, Thailand – 3 days
Hill Tribe Trek, Vietnam – 2 days
Great Wall Trekking, China – 2 days
Dali Trek, China
Color Canyon Trek, Eygpt

Longest number of simultaneous days I spent in one country: 60 days – Italy

Number of ferries taken: 10
Zanzibar to Dar e Salaam
Vietnam – Cat Ba to ?
Split Croatia to Ancona Italy
Ischia to Naples
Sorrento to Ischia
Sorrento to Capri
Egypt to Sinai
Dubrovnik to Miljet
Mykonos to Athens
Santorini to Mykonos

Number of world landmarks I’ve seen: 6
Taj Mahal
Pyramids
Angkor Wat
Great Wall
Roman Coliseum
Parthenon – Greece

Number of times I was sick: 1 – in Vietnam

Longest number of days without a shower: 7

Number of overnight trains: 10
Hanoi to Sapa – Vietnam
Sapa to Hanoi – Vietnam
Hanoi to Hue – Vietnam
Hue to Nha Trang – Vietnam
Nha Trang to Saigon – Vietnam
Tangier to Marrakech – Morocco
Beijing to Xian – China
Xian to Beijing – China
Bangkok to border of Laos near Vientiane – Thailand

Number of memorable places I’ve run: 19
S. Africa Capetown along the waterfront
Sorrento – on the cliffs outside of town and down the cobblestone streets
Rome – getting lost along the river
Tuscany/Siena – amongst the grape fields and rolling hills of a country road
Singapore – in the oven and in the jungle
Mossel Bay S. Africa – along the harbor and through the city
Pai Thailand – over the river and into the villages
Hanoi, Vietnam – around the lake in the old quarter. People looked at me as if I had 3 heads!
Hue, Vietnam – along the river – people made me stop to take pictures of me with their cell phone!
Greece Mykonos along the ridge against the freezing Mediterranean winds
Croatia Split along the harbor
Croatia Dubrovnik along a rocky beach path on the cliffs
Hong Kong dodging tourists at the peak – an amazing view of the city below
Venice Lido along the beach trail
Ferrara Italy on top of the old town wall surrounding the city
Geneva Switzerland along the lake
New Zealand Queenstown – in the freezing cold near the lake – it snowed later that day and I was out in shorts!
New Zealand – Te Anau along the lake front.
New Zealand – Wellington along the harbor

Number of Cipro pills I took: 0 – what can I say, I got lucky or I have a stomach of steel. However, I did have my share of Pepto!

Number of times I slept in a bunk bed: Too many times to count. Let’s just say, I’ve been in a bunk bed more often than a regular bed.

Number of friends and family who traveled with me on an individual basis: 9
Cyndi (sister)
Angie
Veronique
Emily
Russ
David
Miles
Marcy/Mike…ok – I kind of crashed their honeymoon – not sure if that counts!
Dad

Number of new friends I made for life: 6 – you know who you are

Number of wine regions visited: 4
South Africa
Yara Valley Australia
New Zealand South Island
Tuscany/Chianti…the granddaddy of wine

Most number of countries in a one month timeframe: 6 in April 2007

Number of books I’ve read: 10 – ok, so this doesn’t seem like a lot. However, when I was living in the US, I’d maybe read 2 books a year if I was lucky!

Number of times I thought I might not make it to tomorrow: 5 - all having to do with terrifying drives in buses, mini-vans, dilapidated cars from the 70’s, and one very angry taxi driver in Naples.

Number of emails sent: 3600

Number of bodies of water that I dipped my toe or whole body into: 10
Nile River
Indian Ocean
South China Sea
Red Sea
Mediterranean Sea
Mekong River
Andaman Sea
Aegean Sea
Coral Sea
Tasman Sea

Number of dollars I spent: The obvious answer here is ‘priceless’

For those of you who are really curious, and actually read to the end of this article – I did recently go through the process of determining how much I had spent over 16 months. Going through bank statements was a sobering experience for me, as I had never really sat back and through about what I was spending, yet I felt like I was very budget conscience throughout my travels. The final number – aprox. $70,000, and there is not one thing or experience I would change!

Finding my way Home

Sherry — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 14:57:04 +0000

Reality – what is the definition? I read once that “Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn’t go away.” That will give you a headache if you think about it too hard. However what really hurts, is when someone says to me “You must go back to reality sometime.” I hear this phrase about once a week. They say it as if reality is a terrible place or as if what I was doing for the last 15 months wasn’t real. I don’t think people really think about what they are saying – they say it as a trite phrase such as “What do you think about this weather?” It’s just a much used phrase that seems appropriate for my situation. Plus, I think that the majority of people out there consider reality as a negative thing – work, bills, responsibilities – things we don’t like but we feel like we have to do. Yet why does reality have to get such a bad rap? Isn’t reality what you make it…after all, it’s YOUR reality. When I left on my trip in Sep. 06, I wasn’t really trying to escape reality – it is more like I was trying to change my reality. I can only hope that I succeeded at that.

This is about the time when everyone starts to ask “Do you know what you are going to do when you return?”…so to avoid all of those questions that are awaiting my return – the answer is “No, I have no plan.” Sure, I have ideas – but when I verbalize them – they seem completely unrealistic and absurd. When I fall asleep at night, I chastise myself about them falling asleep in a swirl of doubt.

There are days when I feel like I have everyone rooting for me, just wanting me to succeed in order to tell the story about their friend that gave everything up, quit her job, and traveled the world to really experience life and eventually find a profession she loves. I love the feeling that I have so many people behind me mainly because it pushes me – propels me to succeed. I am such a proud person that now I feel like I have to try this, that I have to make this work just to prove to people that you can do it. Yet some days it weighs extremely heavy on my shoulders as I think that some people are just watching and reading waiting for the train wreck to happen…everyone loves a good disaster.

I’m not sure what home is anymore – then again I don’t know if I ever did considering I moved around my adult life throughout the US. I don’t have a cat to go home to anymore…so what is home…a bunch of furniture and kitchen appliances? Hell – I’ve lived without them for long enough now that it doesn’t even matter. I’ve purposely tried to not use the term ‘home’ any longer – so that I trick my brain into thinking that the US is just another country – one that I’m passing through. I also don’t use the phrases ‘end of my trip’, ‘back to reality’, ‘all good things must come to an end’, “finishing my trip”, or “when I’m done with traveling.”

For the last 15 months I’ve lived out of a suitcase or two…yet back in NY 5 wardrobe boxes of clothes and shoes await me…is that really all necessary? There’s a part of me that doesn’t even want to unpack it because I know the addiction that goes along with it. For that same reason I feel this urge to simply sit in my apartment for weeks just looking out the window at NY below me, not wanting to set foot on the streets. I’m afraid. I’m afraid that when I step back on the streets and subways of NYC that all of the pressures, anxiety, and expectations will all of a sudden glob onto me as if I were a magnet. I will feel like I need to fit in, like I need a job, like I need a new wardrobe, like I need to consume – the list could go on and on. Therefore somehow I want to stay on the outside and continue looking in – as if I don’t belong because it’s easier that way. I’ve been existing in countries for the past year where I didn’t belong – and I could simply observe as the minority.

What does all of this rambling mean – I don’t really know. I do know that I feel like I’m on the edge of something great. Not fame or fortune, but personal enlightenment coupled with doing the ‘right’ thing. I stare over the edge wondering; wondering if I have the guts to be that person who makes an impact to others, and to change my reality into a positive. Yet I am terrified to step off the edge and simply fly. However, the reality is I’ve stepped over that edge already and I’m already flying – I just have to keep flapping my wings so I don’t fall out of the sky!

Lost in Transition – Tokyo

Sherry — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 21:02:45 +0000

Japanese Wooden Dolls

For the ‘best of’ Tokyo Photography -click here!

For all snapshots of Day 1 in Tokyo – click here!

This is it – the last stop before I hit the US, one last hurrah – and I chose to do it completely on my own…solo…what I want to do, when I want to do it. No tour company, no friends, no sister, no travel book….just me, with a camera, an internet connection and an immense amount of patience. It had been a while since I had been completely solo, so it was quite a transition for me to make again. Not only was it a transition to be solo, but it was a transition to be back exploring some place new again since I had spent the last 20 days in Singapore, now considered my 2nd home.

Transitions are never easy, and I had to be reminded once again that the first day is always the hardest in a new country – and it gets better and better after that. Everything is so new the first day, transportation, food, safety, location, cultural differences – it’s really exhausting and can be frustrating. The key is to not let it get you down. It’s so easy for people to get frustrated at the newness, and the unkown, but you just have to stick it out past day 1 and it will get better, easier, and more familiar. I personally think that’s why many people (ahem…Americans) are actually afraid to travel…but I can save that topic for a different post! You need to embrace the differences, yet even for a seasoned traveler like myself, I still have to be reminded that day 1 is always a struggle.

Tokyo provided some additional challenges for me – mainly the language barrier. Sure, everyone told me that it would be difficult – but I went in with my normal attitude that all it takes is a smile and you will eventually find someone that will speak English…not so in Tokyo. There is really just the bare minimum in English…which basically means that some of the subway maps have English on them. I was really stunned at how little English there was around Tokyo, and even fewer people actually speak it. The part I found amusing is that everyone would speak Japanese to me as if I understood. Granted, I didn’t expect them to speak English, but I found it funny how they would speak whole paragraphs in Japanese looking right at me, expecting me to respond – and clearly I wasn’t Japanese. Maybe I should take it as a compliment that they thought I might understand! At the restaurants and shops that I went into – the people would all great me in Japanese and rattle off a number of sentences, and I would just look at them and smile without understanding a single word. They would continue to with sentences in Japanese, and I would nod and smile, not having one idea of what they were saying. The good thing is that you would be surprised how much you actually do understand based on the situation…I might not of understood what they said – but I know they were greeting me, or asking me if everything was alright, or to come back again, or to have a good day – I always answered with a smile and a nod – my one universal language.

Photo: Sawanoya Ryokan Room
I arrived under the cover of darkness – my least favorite time to arrive in a new country, but I made it to my hotel fine after a long train ride from the airport, and a taxi. I found this great ryokan, a traditional Japanese Inn, where you can experience living in the Japanese culture. In a ryokan you can experience the elements of Japanese culture and customs; living in a room with a straw mat flooring, changing into a typical yukata robe after taking a hot spring bath and sleeping on a futon put down directly on the floor. Sure, this all sounds pretty luxurious…but, you have to remember – I did a ryokan budget style, but it was well worth it! I stayed at the Sawanoya Ryokan, and it was hands down one of my top 5 hotels/hostels I’ve stayed in the world…for only $40 a night in Tokyo…not too shabby. I had my own little room with a sink and a shared bathroom. There were two traditional Japanese baths located on the main floor that were a delight to use. . In this ryokan they assumed you knew nothing about Japanese culture, so they provided you lessons. They provided ‘directions’ on how to take a traditional Japanese bath which includes sitting on a little stool and washing off, then getting into a hot tub of water to soak…pure bliss There was also a very detailed diagram of how to prepare and drink Japanese tea in your room. The owner took me around the Inn and told me where I was to wear the provided slippers, or no shoes at all. I could have used some more lessons on how to use the toilet though…there were more button and gadgets on that toilet than I’d ever seen…all in Japanese of course! However, it didn’t take me understanding Japanese to learn that the toilet seat was heated…talk about ecstasy!

Photo: Old Tokyo neighborhood
The owner also provided maps and information about the subway, the neighborhood, and generally was a wealth of information – I felt confident about my ability to conquer Tokyo when I talked to him …then when I stepped out the door and down the block, out of the comfort of English, that confidence quickly went to hell! Everywhere you look – the signs are in Japanese, I had no idea if it was a subway entrance, a restaurant, or a gentleman’s club! In addition to the map he provided me, I had two other maps that provided various amounts of detail on the neighborhoods and the subways and trains. You would think that this would be enough…but I was still constantly lost. One map didn’t have enough detail, but it had point of interest on it. One had detail, but no points of interest. One had subway exits, and but no street information. After standing staring at the signs in the subway with my 3 maps trying to figure out how much money I had to put into the Japanese machine…I was about ready to call ‘uncle’!

Photo: Shibuya Crossing
My first day was….well…difficult. I decided to go to the big populated glitzy areas of Tokyo first – so I head off on subway to Shibuya, Harajuku, and Shinjuku. I took the subway cautiously – hoping that I was going the right way. Luckily I did find my stop, and was bolstered with confidence from my first successful subway ride. I came out of the subway to be greeted by swarms of people, amplified voices and glaring mirrored buildings. Tokyo is an assault to the eyes, kind of like India minus the poverty and sheer amazement of oddities. Instead, Tokyo is stimulus overload. Loud speakers beckoning you to come inside, lights, videos, a bombardment of images and color…it could easily give you a headache. I simply stood at Shibuya crossing (where about 5 streets meet), and watched the busiest street crossing in the world. Over 200 people cross with each light, a sight to see – and this was at 11AM, not even close to rush hour. For fun, I actually walked into one of the many pachinko gambling complexes and it was like nothing I had ever heard before. The decibel level of the noise of the machines made my ears bleed. It was smoky, and colorful lights were going off everywhere – People stared like zombies into the machines, it was actually rather depressing – but to each his/her own.

I walked from neighborhood to neighborhood with my 3 maps in hand and my camera around my neck. Unfortunately the street signs were generally not in English either, which led me to stop every other block and re-look at my maps in vain. I walked around Harajuku – the teeny bopper Japanese hangout. It was as if Miss Kitty, Little Bo Peep, and the Wicked Witch of the West had all come together and morphed into Tokyo fashion. Yet it was strangely reminiscent of San Francisco to me…people that simply wanted to stand out and make an impact. Supposedly on the weekends the neighborhood is filled with young Tokyo teenagers trying to stand out and outdo each other. Unfortunately I was there on a Tuesday – and they were all behaving themselves in school, so I was unable to get any photos of the ‘freak show’. I moved on to Shinjuki, as I had read about a recommended tempura restaurant in the neighborhood, so I decided to challenge myself by trying to find it. Little did I know that after 2 hours of looking for it – and probably within about 2 blocks of it – I finally gave up. I’d had it. I was probably walking right by it for all I knew. I even tried to stop someone and ask them where it was, but that was a lost cause too. I was tired, hungry, and fed up. I wondered how anyone could ever figure this city out! I finally stopped at a tempura place that had pictures I could point to for dinner – and it was fabulous – maybe it was meant to be. However, for all I knew – maybe I was eating at the place that I was looking for all along!

The sun went down at 4:30 which completely threw me for a loop since I had spent most of the last year in the tropics where the sun sets around 7:30PM. It felt like it was 8PM and it started to cool off. I had read that you could go to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building to see the view from the top floors for free…which fit into my budget – so I armed myself with my 3 maps and made my way towards the tall buildings in Shinjuku. The people had come out in swarms – it was how I remember Times Square at 6PM…crowded and crazy, but times 2. The amounts of people were massive and I was swimming upstream towards the office buildings as they were trying to make their way to the subway. I made it to the Government building, and the view was spectacular. That was really the first time that I was able to get a feeling for how big Tokyo really was.

My whole body hurt after walking around lost for the last 9 hours, so I decided it was time to head back to my part of town. No problem, there was a big subway station in Shinjuku. I entered the station and was immediately transported in my memory bank to Penn Station in NYC. However, this was far worse because I didn’t understand any of the signs! I found a little pillar that I could squeeze up against, take out my maps and try to figure out where in the hell to go. I made it to the ticket machines and that was the end of the line. I was once again lost. I looked at the maps in Japanese and had no idea where I was going. I could see where I needed to get to, and I could see how much it cost, but I couldn’t figure out how to buy the ticket because it included a transfer to another line and there were no options for that on the ticket machine that I could find or understand. When I clicked on the transfer button, everything on the screen turned to Japanese – so I wasn’t getting anywhere very fast. They apparently didn’t expect tourists to make transfers! I must have stood there and stared at the ticket terminal and my maps for about 5 minutes when I heard a voice….a voice that rose above the footsteps, and the background noise of Japanese. I heard English!!!!! A young British man asked me if I needed any help! Yes, yes – I do need help!!!! I love Brits!!! As we figured out how to get my transfer ticket (an unknown to him too), I learned that he was a seasoned veteran at the Tokyo subway… he had been in Tokyo for 3 days…practically a local by now! We were both going in the same direction so we rode the train together for a few stops until we had to part. It was so nice to speak to someone for the first time all day. Up until then I had just smiled, nodded, and pointed….that was it. Now I was sitting here having a conversation…bliss! He gave me some great pointers about how to read the maps in the subway and figure out which way to go, etc. It’s amazing what a difference a few days makes.

I got back to my ryokan that night, relieved to take off my shoes, put on my sandals and robe, take a Japanese bath, and make a pot of tea – Japanese style of course. I reveled in my accomplishments of the day – basically that I had found my way back to my ryokan. As I reflected on the whole day, there was certainly frustration, but there was also elation at surviving, which is why I like traveling solo. You have to enjoy the small victories when you travel. Tokyo is not easy, it requires patience, and understanding. Sometimes you have to realize that being lost isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

A Year in the World

Sherry — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 15:32:59 +0000

Working

Photo: Me in front of my laptop…a familiar site!

It’s been one year…one year since I left home. I can’t remember what it feels like to be home anymore. I left wondering if I could even last 3 months. I’ve had a privileged experience – one in which I’ve grown…into someone that I hardly recognize anymore. I firmly believe that you can really know what it means to be American until you step out of America. It’s such a strange experience to step outside your culture for this long, and look back in from the outside. I’m scared with what I see at times.

As I look in, there are things that I dislike, such as work life balance, lack of extended family relations, and the ‘bigger is better’ view. Yet I have to wonder if the ‘pull yourself up by your bootstraps and you can do anything’ attitude that Americans have is really what put us in the place we are in today…a world leader. Yet at what price? I hate the fact that President Bush has ruined the view of America to the rest of the world. I honestly don’t know if he deserves the sole blame, as there are many people that are part of his organization, but it is a true – 90% of the outside world doesn’t like him and his American-Sized ego. Unfortunately he’s our ambassador to the world…and he’s not representing us to well at this moment. I’m not meaning to blame it on Republicans – as Democrats just as easily could have put us in this position – all it takes is a big ego, tunnel vision, and some bad advice – hell – that could be anyone. Sorry, I digress, as I hate talking politics, but it’s important to know that for those of you who haven’t traveled out of the country – not everyone wants to be an American – we are not necessarily envied. Today as I went through the security check at Dehli domestic airport, the security guy looked at my passport and said, where are you from? I said, “America”. He then mumbled something I didn’t understand and I asked him to repeat it. He said “Do you like Hilary Clinton, do you think she will win?” He was clearly in favor of a Clinton White House again. I found this whole line of questioning surprising…yet it’s been happening all over the world to me.

Don’t get me wrong – I love our country. I am a very fortunate to have been born there. There’s not many other places I’d rather be living as a woman…our opportunities are endless there. I see how women are treated in other parts of the world – their roles are very different, their opportunities are few.

I often get asked the question – what have you learned. With that question I could give you an endless list of answers such as; not all poor are unhappy, not all Muslims hate Americans, not all Muslims are militant, a smile is the universal language, it’s important to dance every chance you get, you can’t dislike something until you’ve tried it yourself someone who wears a turban is not necessarily Muslim or a terrorist, you can eat raw vegetables in 3rd world countries, Italian food is the only food that is truly worldwide, Twizzlers aren’t sold outside the US, if you roll your clothes instead of fold them you can fit much more into a suitcase, airline security standards are different all over the world, traffic rules aren’t always necessary, and the list could go on and on. The world is a complex place and I am truly lucky to see as much of it as I have.

I feel like I will need time…time think about these experiences that I’ve had, the places I’ve seen, the people I’ve met. When you see something new every single day, it’s overwhelming. Some days I feel as if my head will explode with all of the newness. It challenges your stereotypes, your concept of right and wrong, or good and bad, of socially acceptable and unacceptable. One thing is for sure, I will need some time to just sort it all out in my head.

I was supposed to be coming home now, yet I’m knee deep in India and plan to head off to Laos, Malaysia, and China this fall. A year goes so fast – especially when you don’t want it to end – or are afraid for it to end. I cried when I left back in September – my future was scary, but I know I will cry hardest when I have to come back and try to go through the most difficult cultural adjustment yet – being back in the US. Until then, I keep avoiding it and finding more places to go. Right now – I plan on coming back by the 1st of December. Yet I never said how long I would stay – as there’s a part of me that says it never really has to end…it may just take a different form.

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Addicted

Sherry — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 09:41:23 +0000

Me looking through my empty beer glass

I have a dirty little secret…well, I have many…but no need to get into all of them. I have an addiction, one that I crave, I just can’t get enough of it – I have to get my fix else I’m not a happy person. It’s hard to find my fix – and it certainly isn’t for everyone – but it’s something so unique and exciting – that you will find that you will do whatever it takes to get it…to feel it.

I’m addicted to travel.

Ok – so you are all rather disappointed because you knew this already. Sure, you know that I love travel as evidenced by the last 11 months…but do you know why?

I love seeing newness and wonder in the every day mundane things we take for granted.
I love feeling lost, scared, intimidated in a culture and overcoming those feelings.
I love a challenge.

This sounds really Oprah-self-helpish…which makes my skin crawl…but let me explain. I discovered that I love traveling in 3rd world/developing countries – this is a new fetish, I had no idea that I liked to ‘rough it’ so much. There are really two aspects to this addiction to the 3rd world. First – it’s the general challenge that it offers. It obliterates your definition of ‘normal’, and it wipes any expectations that you have clean. You have to let go and start with a new outlook…where everything has to be re-learned such as how to cross the street, how to eat, how to communicate, how to dress…you are really back at square one. The 3rd world destinations provide me many things…cultural experiences, a chance to understand a simple lifestyle, an ability to contemplate what is important in your life. It’s a trip back in time before good plumbing and electricity, it develops your patience, it tears down your ‘larger is better’ attitude – but it also provides me my fix that I crave. A challenge. There’s no better feeling than arriving in a country – being intimidated by the people and environment – only to leave it 5 weeks later feeling at ease with it all – no matter how dysfunctional it is. You leave feeling accomplished.

The second aspect to the addiction is the rush you feel when re-entering the western world after being in a 3rd world country for a few months. The first hours are the most exciting, the rush starts to fade away after a day or so…so you have to embrace the moment when you have it. I recently satisfied my fix when I flew out of Northern Africa, where I had been for the last 5 weeks, to Geneva Switzerland. I believe Geneva to be the twin sister city of Singapore…you honestly can’t get much more pristine, organized, and antiseptic than Geneva or Singapore. So – when you come from 3rd world travel into one of these cities – it makes the rush even that much more exciting.

The only way I can describe the feeling is that you feel like you are reborn…you are seeing the world again through fresh eyes – everything is exciting, new, baffling – your senses are all heightened and you notice things that you never noticed before. You care about things that you never cared about before. You walk around with a gigantic smile on your face because everywhere you look there is something that excites you.

As I walked off the plane from Cairo to Geneva, the first thing that hit me was the airport – clean, and orderly. As I walked through customs and got my luggage, I walked out into the cool airport – nicely air conditioned – it made the hair on my arms stand up. I walked over to the ATM and changed money. I was fascinated by the money that came out…it was so clean and crisp! The coins were shiny and new…I loved it. I sat and stared at it for a while. In Africa – the money was so old and ratty that I’m sure I picked up a number of various bacteria from it. It practically disintegrates in your hands. It was always a game to try to get ride of the worst pieces of money…see if you could hide them between other bills so that the shopkeeper would take it. It was certainly good money…it’s just that no one wanted to be stuck with it as it might tear and then no one would take it. So you had to treat it very carefully. But in Geneva – the home of money – it was colorful and clean. It looked as if someone was sitting behind that ATM printing it just for you and handing it to you with white gloves on!

The next delight that tickled my eyes was a grocery store…a real grocery store. People were standing in orderly lines, the beeps of the POS terminals hummed in my ears, There was a large refrigeration section…that was actually cold. I next got on the train and marveled at how clean and cool it was. You could actually hear what they were saying over the loudspeaker. I got off the train and walked down a clean, bustling street. Stores lines the street and no one came out and tried to sell you things. It was up to you to go into a store or not. The joy of being able to exercise free will! Cafes had men AND women sitting outside having coffee. The sandwiches were sitting nicely on shelves behind clean glass – there were no flies all over them. Finally – as I came to a road to cross – there was a stoplight…and people actually obeyed it…a true miracle. I noticed that the drivers stayed on their side of the yellow line – there was no beeping, it was just a well-oiled machine.

It’s a different feeling to be looking in from the outside with new eyes. It’s a feeling that not many people get to experience – therefore every time I have the chance – I soak up every exciting moment. My first day in Geneva was memorable – not only because it was the first time I was able to brush my teeth with tap water for the last 5 weeks, but because it was full of new ‘old’ discoveries.

I’ve been living in this comfortable city for 10 days – and sadly all of the newness has worn off . The worst thing is that I have expectations again. I actually expect people to stop at red lights and if they don’t – I get upset. I am annoyed at bad customer service. This signals to me that I’m ready to go back in…into the world of ‘anything goes’, the world of immense patience, the world where crossing the street can be a life of death experience. I’m ready for my challenge of India. A place that a year ago I was afraid to go to…yet now – I crave it…I crave the challenge.

Traveling can be a drug…always looking for a new challenge, a harder challenge. For all of the downs of traveling in 3rd world countries – the ups of surviving it is the adrenaline that I need. This is it – I’m playing in the big leagues of travel now – I’m arriving in New Delhi. Cover me…I’m going back in!

Losing my Marbles – Hostage Crisis at an Airport Hotel

Sherry — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 10:07:53 +0000

Me, Rosaline, and Sherif at the Cairo airport

After nearly 11 months of travel, it finally happened – I finally reached the end of my rope. Thanks to Egypt Air and Royal Air Maroc Airlines – I nearly had a nervous breakdown that was colossal. I actually had visions of me ending up in a Moroccan jail, arrested by the airport police in Casablanca. This incident actually happened over a week ago – but it was such a sour, terrible experience that I couldn’t even bring myself to write about it until now. I had to step away and collect my thoughts a bit first…so here’s my story of 2 shitty airlines, an inept airport hotel, non-existent customer service, living in the same clothes for 3 days, shedding many tears, making 2 great friends, and experiencing the largest cultural difference that I have faced yet – this is the story of how I got from Morocco to Egypt.

I left Marrakech bound for a flight to Cairo Egypt. I was to arrive in Cairo on Sunday morning early which was perfect as my tour that I was to meet up with started on Sunday night. The Egypt tour group was to meet for dinner that night at our hotel and then early the next morning we were touring around Cairo – I was finally going to be able to see the Pyramids! I had booked my air ticket through Royal Air Maroc who flew me from Marrakech to Casablanca. I had a 4 hour layover in the Casablanca airport and then hopped an overnight flight from Casablanca to Cairo on a Royal Air Maroc flight operated by Egypt Air. Thankfully my bags had been checked through to Cairo so I didn’t have to lug anything around other than my carry-on which included my laptop, camera, passport holder and a book or two. I worked on catching up on my writing while sitting around at the airport, and I worked at spending my remaining dirhams since I wasn’t expecting to be back in Morocco anytime soon! In fact – I was rather proud of myself for spending every last dirham I had at the little café on 3 bottles of water, gum, and M&M’s. In fact, I was actually short by one dirham and the nice boy behind the counter at the café just let it ride. Perfect! I was ready to go to Egypt!

I boarded the plane, excited to have some downtime to simply listen to music and read and sleep. The plane wasn’t full so I had my whole row to myself…a great perk for an overnight flight! Things were looking great! We taxied out to the runway, and you could hear a weird noise – but I had my itunes on listening to the Digital Photography Show Podcast – perfectly happy in my geeky photography world. It appeared that we turned the corner and were about ready to take off down the runway – but we stopped instead. Little did I know that this signified the beginning of the end. We sat for about 10 minutes with the weird noise still ringing throughout the aircraft. Then the crew/captain came on the loudspeaker and said something in Arabic, and then repeated it in French. I wasn’t really too concerned as I watched the reactions of the passengers around me – they all seemed a little annoyed, but they just stayed seated and kept on reading – I decided that I would follow their lead.

About an hour later, I was starting to get annoyed and restless. We still hadn’t moved and it was now 1AM and I was getting tired. Soon we had another announcement – in Arabic and French and now everyone around me wasn’t ok…in fact – they seemed rather upset and started to get up and get their items out of the overhead. I still didn’t know what was going on – but I followed the crowd and removed my items and followed people off the plane in a sleepy haze. There were airport buses waiting for us and everyone got in a bus and were bussed back to the terminal. Obviously – this flight wasn’t going anywhere tonight…crap. It wasn’t the end of the world as I had an extra day in Cairo anyway before my tour started – so if I made it there later in the day – no problem. I liked my new laid back attitude…3rd world countries make you patient…and I felt like I had successfully stripped my high strung NY attitude and achieved patience successfully in Morocco. However, since I was tired, I was mildly annoyed with the whole situation.

As I got off the bus and followed the rest of the passengers back to the terminal I was rather fed up with the fact that I really had no idea what was going on. I was worried that I was going to be sleeping on the airport floor; and let me tell you, there’s nothing in the Casablanca airport besides one (yes one) electrical plugs, a few worthless shops, and smokers (you can smoke all over Morocco). The prospect of sleeping in the airport was not a good thought.

As we re-entered the terminal, there were some men passing out arrival/departure customs cards….now wait a minute…I was really confused now. I decided to start using my vocal chords at this point. As the guy handed me the card, I asked him if he spoke English. He motioned me over to the side to wait (for someone who spoke English to come talk to me presumably). I got fed up with waiting while everyone on the plane passed me, and finally butted in again and asked him if he could explain to me what was going one and why were they giving us customs cards again. He told me to follow everyone and that someone from the airline would be out to talk to us. He also mentioned something about sending us to a hotel. So I kept on following the crowd to customs, loosing my patience slowly. I filled out the card and we all queued up again and they basically voided our previous Morocco departure stamp in our passport and admitted us back into the country as if we never left. By this time it was now about 1:45AM, and my annoyance and sleepiness level increased another notch. I finally found someone again and whiningly asked them what was going on. They told me to wait and someone would explain.

Apparently the whininess of my English attracted some other English speakers because we all started to gather together…all 4 of us. We expressed confusion about the whole situation – no one knew what was going on, but everyone thought we were being sent to a hotel. As we were all commiserating together, one of the Australian women next to me, Rosaline, said something about the fact that her tour started tomorrow and she was worried about missing it. I said – “yeah, me too.” As we continued this miserable exchange, we came to realize that we were actually both booked on the same tour in Egypt with Intrepid! It was really a weird coincidence that we had both been in Morocco touring and now we were both heading to Egypt on the same day to start the same tour. Hell, we were probably slotted to be roommates in Egypt for all we knew – and here we met in the Casablanca airport at 2AM!

We did introductions and stayed together as we followed the crowd back out to the departure area and out of the airport to 2 big buses. Since we were talking, I don’t think that I was really thinking to much about what was really happening and that no one from the airline seemed to be present – instead, I just followed the crowd and talked to Rosaline about her Morocco trip. I have no idea who was leading us out to the buses, an airport employee of some sort, but no airline representative was to be seen – this should have been my first red flag…but I was tired, and missed this first clue. Maybe my dream of working as a ‘Charlie’s Angels’ private detective was really a little too lofty for me. I obviously wasn’t paying close attention.

Rosaline and I stayed by each other’s sides because we both needed to get to Cairo for the same reasons, and we both spoke English! We sat on one of the buses for a long time – another 20 minutes passed and the crowd really started to get cranky. No one was telling us any more than the fact that we were going to a hotel. At this point I also realized that I didn’t have my luggage…shit. Sure, I had my carry-on’s, but my luggage had been checked and was on the plane. When you are a world nomad like myself – your suitcase becomes the only thing you are responsible for – it is your life, your home, your identify sort of like a homeless person with their shopping cart. You lose that shopping cart and you are really screwed. Annoyance turned up one more notch. The thought of not having my suitcase by my side that night made me really, really jumpy.

As the crowd was getting rowdy on the bus, Rosaline and I started to get a bit more worried as we still had no idea why we were on the bus, where we were going, when we were coming back, if we’d every see our luggage again, or who was paying for our hotel. People were yelling around us in Arabic; we made the comment to each other that we didn’t understand what was going on. The worst is that you don’t know what happening and you don’t know if that’s due to the language barrier or if it’s because no one is providing any info to anyone. You start to assume that it’s the language barrier and believe that everyone else knows what’s going on. However, this lovely young Arabic man in the seat ahead of us turned around and explained to us in perfect English that we were being taken to a hotel and that no one had provided any additional information at this time. Rosaline and I thanked him and then looked at each other and mouthed that we needed to keep this translator around…we knew that he would be invaluable in this crazy escalating situation. Finally at 3AM the buses started moving and we went about 7 minutes to the Atlas Airport Hotel…my cell for the next 2 days.

As we entered the hotel, I knew this was not going to be a good situation – there were about 40 very angry people and 1 man at the front desk. The check-in procedure was painful – pulling teeth without novacane would have been more fun. Everyone attacked this man behind the counter for a room. Yelled at him, and crowded around. Even though I was dead tired – I didn’t feel like getting caught up in the craziness – instead I was pre-occupied with making a mental list of what items I had with me in my carry-on bags and what was in my luggage that was not with me. I think I was going through all of the worst-case scenarios in my head – what if I never saw my luggage again, etc. The only real necessity that I was missing for the night was a toothbrush and toothpaste – so it wasn’t the end of the world – in fact, I had my really important, expensive things with me – camera, lenses, laptop, ipod, cell phone, and passport/travel wallet. I even had a breath freshener spray…so the lack of a toothbrush wasn’t a big deal. However at that time I also realized that I had no Moroccan money anymore as I had gotten rid of it all. I wasn’t too thrilled about that – but I had assumed that the airline would take care of us and tomorrow we would leave sometime, no problem.

Rosaline, Sherif (our translator), and I sat in the lobby of the Atlas Airport Hotel while about 40 people duked it out at the front desk yelling and screaming at each other. I had found my inner-peace again, or maybe I was just exhausted, but I just sat there and waited – for another hour. Soon the line died down and I got up and eventually they gave us all keys to our own rooms, and we went to bed around 4:30AM…exhausted. I was mildly concerned that I really had no idea when we were leaving tomorrow but the front desk said they would call us in the morning with the information. Mind you…this was just the hotel staff telling us that – no airline representative was ever present – yet because we are human – we want to believe in people, so I fooled myself into thinking that the hotel staff must know what they are talking about. I’m sure that we’ll leave sometime tomorrow on another flight. Worst case scenario, we will be put on tomorrow night’s nightly flight to Cairo and I will be one day late. It wasn’t ideal, but it wasn’t the end of the world either. If I was delayed exactly one day, that would mean that I would arrive in the early morning on Monday and I would hook up with my tour group on day one. The tour was scheduled to go see the Pyramids that first morning – the whole reason I was coming to Egypt – so I didn’t want to miss that! I fell asleep, a little uneasy with the whole situation, but exhaustion took over.

The next morning I awoke early, at 7:30 – due to the mild stress of the situation no doubt. I took a shower, tried to brush my teeth with my finger and my Listerine spray, and waited until 8AM to call the front desk to see what was going on. I had somehow thought that the front desk would for sure have some information for us by now. The airline should have a new plan and I wanted to know what it was so that I could go about making the necessary phone calls to Intrepid, my tour company, and let them know what was going on. I called the front desk, told them that I arrived last night on the late, cancelled flight and asked for an update. For the first time of many, they said “Sorry, Miss, we have not heard from the airline.” I was taken aback by this a bit, and asked when they expected to hear from them. They said that they should know more by 9AM. Ok, that’s wasn’t too far off, so I decided to ask the next big question on my mind…”will you be feeding us breakfast?”

Rosaline, Sherif, and I met in the lobby at 8:30, received our breakfast vouchers at the front desk and had breakfast. We got to know each other a little better over bread and butter (the typical breakfast in Morocco). Sherif was 21 years old, from Cairo. He was a tennis player – ranked 3rd in Egypt – and he had been in Morocco for a tournament. He had actually traveled all over the world playing tennis, which explains his flawless English skills. He told us about Cairo as we mentally started our tour through his information. After breakfast we went back out to the front desk and asked about the status of the cancelled flight and when we would be leaving. We got the same answer, “We have not heard from the airline.” I was visibly disappointed and Sherif stepped in and talked to them in Arabic. He didn’t get any further with the conversation unfortunately – but they told us that we should just be patient and the airline would call them when we were supposed to go.

I decided to stay calm, and do the next best thing – I asked them about internet access as I had seen a wireless router on the wall of the lobby. They had free internet…the one redeeming factor of the whole situation. I knew that if I could get online, I could get information. The web is my friend, and it ended up being my savior. I checked email, did some writing, while Rosaline and Sherif went back to bed. Sure, the hotel was very nice – just like your typical airport hotel – good, clean rooms, bad food, swimming pool, bar. However – we didn’t have our luggage, and I had no Moroccan money with me – so the pool just taunted us, as well as the bar.

Noon came around, my teeth were getting really icky now, and I was getting more and more concerned about the fact that we hadn’t heard any info. I went to the front desk again…still no info, but they gave me a lunch voucher. The 3 of us went to lunch again and now all we talked about was what was happening, or not happening with our flight. Sherif had talked to his parents in Cairo, and they said that the Egypt Air office at the Cairo airport said that the flight was delayed and that it would be leaving Casablanca shortly…ha. We went back to the front desk after lunch, well fed, but more annoyed than ever, and was much more forceful when asking for information. They kept on reassuring me that they had been calling the airport but they had no further information about our flight, they ensured us that they would contact us when they had any info.

Is your skin crawling yet….because this is when my skin started to crawl.

I was hot….I wanted information and I was tired of trying to get information via a hotel staff that really could care less about us. And I wanted to brush my teeth. I wanted to talk to someone at the airline…NOW. I got back online, and started looking up the websites for Eygpt Air, Royal Air Maroc, and the Casablanca Airport – I was just swinging in the air hoping to hit something. I started calling all of the numbers…international phone calls of course = expensive. I tried to use my cell phone, but decided that it would be way too expensive, so I used Skype on my computer and started making the phone calls through my laptop/internet for cheap. I dialed every number I could…however not a single number answered the phone. It was Sunday – and many of the offices were closed. Egypt Air only had one flight per day in conjunction with Royal Air Maroc that went out of the Casablanca airport – so they were only open at 9PM, and to make it more confusing – it was really a Royal Air Maroc flight operated by Egypt Air – so I honestly didn’t know who was responsible….but I kept on swinging.

I sent a note to the Egypt Air customer service email provided on their website – in vain…I’m still waiting for an answer a week later. I made the mistake of thinking that if they had something listed on their website – that it must be accurate. However, no phone number worked nor did the customer service email. In fact, the only phone number on the whole site that someone actually answered was the tech support number. Some poor guy in India had to listen to me rant – only to tell me that he couldn’t help me and that I needed to call customer service – I told him I couldn’t get a hole of customer service – so he gave me a new telephone number…but of course it didn’t work. It was now around 3PM – still no info at all. I finally went to the hotel gift shop and had to buy a toothbrush and toothpaste. However – you could only put purchases of 100+ dirham on your credit card – so I ended up buying toothpaste for Sherif and Rosaline too – so that I could at least make a purchase.

I tried to contact Intrepid to let them know that Rosaline and I were stranded in Casablanca and we weren’t sure when we were getting to the tour – but even they were closed on Sunday…I hate Sundays. I finally found a customer service phone number online for Royal Air Maroc and called it. Someone answered….hallelujah. As I tried to explain our situation (flight was cancelled, bussed to the hotel in the middle of the night, and now left here with absolutely no information about when we would be leaving), the customer service person put me on hold, came back after a few minutes and told me – “Miss, I’m sorry, but that’s an Egypt Air flight, you will need to call their office.” My brain was at it’s boiling point with this answer. I angrily explained back to this man that I tried to call the office for the last 2 hours, but no one answers – plus , my ticket was purchased through Royal Air Maroc – I am their customer and they need to be responsible in this situation too. I kept getting the same answer – they couldn’t do anything for me. I asked to be put on the flight tonight that left for Cairo (as I figured this would be my worst case scenario played out) – they looked at is and said, “Sorry, it’s full. You really need to talk to Egypt Air. We cannot do anything for you here.” Now I’m officially pissed.

My worst case scenario wasn’t the worst case. In fact – now I have no worst case scenario anymore because I have no idea what’s going on and who to blame. There are no flights to Egypt and no one from the frickin’ airline has contacted us, no one is answering their phone, and now I’m going to miss the Pyramids…and I still have no idea when I will arrive in Cairo. At this time, Rosaline comes up to my command station in the 2nd floor lobby, and says – I have bad news. The hotel staff just told me that we will be leaving tomorrow around 4PM.

My friends and colleagues in NY know how I get when I’m worked up. I was beyond worked up at this point. I wanted to pummel someone, I was angry, I was sad, I was emotional, I had lost all patience. I NEEDED to talk to someone from the airline – NOW. I needed to explain that they had to put me on that flight tonight – somehow, someway. I needed to get our of this damn airport hotel where they knew nothing and talk to someone.

The Royal Air Maroc Customer service person had suggested that I go directly to the airport and see if someone from Egypt Air was there that could help me, if not, they said to ask for the Chief of the Airport. I grabbed Rosaline, Sherif, and my backpack – and took the airport bus back to the airport around 6PM. I felt like a General going off to war…but I didn’t really know who the enemy was. I had decided that I wasn’t going to leave that airport unless I was on that night flight, or without an answer as to when exactly I was leaving, or a ticket on another airline that could get me to Cairo, or my luggage. I was going to take no prisoners – I was worked up, I wanted someone to speak to, I wanted someone to tell me what the hell was going on, I wanted someone to treat me like a customer, I wanted my luggage.

We arrived at the airport and went straight to the Egypt Air office…a little sign read – Closed Sundays…blow to the stomach. However, they had 3 phone numbers on the sign as an alternative. I had my cell phone and dialed all of the local Casablanca numbers – not one answered…another blow. We decided to go to the next responsible party…Royal Air Maroc – they were at least open and should be able to help us in some way. Little did I know that I was walking into a minefield of the rudest people I have ever met. These people were despicable. Our game-plan is to have Sherif be our voice since he can at least speak Arabic – they might be nicer to us that way. Sherif goes through an exchange with the Duty Manager at the Royal Air Maroc office. Even though I can’t understand it – I know it’s not going well. They basically tell us that it’s Egypt Air’s flight – they can’t help us. Yet – we show them our tickets that have the fact that we have Royal Air Maroc (RAM) tickets and the flight has two flight numbers – one for RAM and one for Egypt Air. They continue to give us the cold shoulder and send us to a different RAM office in a different part of the airport.

I feel angry.

We go there – it’s a ticket office – we talk to them. They tell us to go talk to the Duty Manager (who we just came from) and work it out with him. They also tell us that the flight tonight is full and our names aren’t on the passenger list. The final blow is that they tell us that they have no record of a flight going out tomorrow to Cairo around 4 or 6PM – the only flight is the standard 11PM flight – and our names aren’t on that either.

I feel invisible.

They tell us to contact Egypt Air – we are frustrated and yell back at them that Egypt Air is closed and no one answers their phone. We ask them to call Egypt Air for us on their phone – they refuse. They tell us to go back and talk to the Duty Manager…the evil man that we just came from. We ask them to come with us as we told them that the Duty Manager sent us here! They say no.

I feel helpless.

We go back to the duty manager, he sees us coming and goes into his office trying to avoid us. We go into his office and start the futile process again saying that the RAM ticket office told us they we were to come back here and they said that he should help us. At this point – I wasn’t even sure what help I needed…but I needed something. He came out of his office, he yelled at us more – basically making us feel like it was our fault that we were in this situation. I tried to speak to him logically about our situation and our lack of knowledge of next steps, and our need to get to Cairo, he turned around and walked away from me. We were left standing in the middle of the airport.

I felt like crying.
I did cry.

Sherif, young Sherif put his hand on my shoulder and said that it would be ok – not to worry.

Photo: The Royal Air Maroc office in the airport where I lost my marbles.
We went to the luggage area to see if we could at least pick up our luggage as without our luggage we were really a hostage. I couldn’t just re-book myself on another flight – there were no other flights going to Egypt. I could possibly buy a ticket to get me to Istanbul and them from Istanbul to Cairo…but there were a few problems with that. One, I would probably never see my luggage again, and two I would have to pay for it out of my own pocket. My father ingrained these principles of right, wrong, justice, and fairness in me. These principles grow deep within me. I love them and I hate them. I wasn’t going to pay for another ticket when one of these goddamn airlines were responsible for my travel to Egypt. The shitty part is that I didn’t know who was responsible. The luggage manager told us that we couldn’t get our luggage as it was still on the plane, locked up. Wonderful….my visions of putting on my bathing suit and jumping in the hotel pool to cool down my temper and attitude were ruined. Plus – now I’m more confused than ever – why is our plane still sitting out on the tarmac with our luggage in it – it has been nearly 24 hours. The luggage manager tells us to go back and talk to the ticket office.

I feel lost.

We go back to the RAM ticket office – we let Sherif do all the talking at this point – I’m on the brink of losing my mind – I can’t speak. I see mild-mannered Sherif starting to get upset with the conversation. I may not speak Arabic – but I’ve been traveling enough in foreign countries to interpret most conversations – and I know that this conversation isn’t going well. Another RAM manager comes over to us – yells at Sherif. Now, in all fairness – I’m not sure if he was yelling as the Arabic language is a very gruff language. It’s already loud and ‘in your face’ – so it is hard to tell if someone is angry with you or if they are just saying “have a nice day”. But in the mental state that I was in at this point – it seemed like yelling to me. Sherif gather up Rosaline and I (who were now blobs of depression about the whole situation) and told us that we were to go back to the Duty Manager at the RAM office. He said that the ticket office does agree that it’s RAM’s responsibility to help us, but the Duty Manager has to do that. For mental levity, I wonder what it costs to hire a private plane.

I feel empty.

I don’t want to go back to the Duty Manager…the callous man that left me crying in the middle of the airport. But I have surrendered to Sherif now – I’m letting him deal with it. It’s now about 8:30 PM – we have been walking back and forth in this airport now for 2 hours, making no headway, learning that we still have no flight, and we have no luggage. We are nowhere. Sherif talks to more people at RAM. I notice that mild mannered Sherif is now getting visibly upset while talking to the Manager. They are yelling, they are disagreeing. The Duty Manager refuses to speak anymore – they are in a stare down. I look around the airport, I imagine myself letting out a blood curdling scream…just to get attention, just to not feel invisible, just to let out all of the emotions that are dying to break out of my skin. I have this lucid vision of the police surrounding me, cuffing me, and taking me away to some Moroccan jail…all because no one will talk to us and tell us what flight we are on and when. I have officially reached the end of my rope.

I give up.

We go back to the hotel, get dinner voucher and sit and eat in silence…dejected, more confused than ever, feeling lost. I look around at the other stranded guests at the hotel. There are many. Why aren’t they mad, why aren’t they making a scene – the thought of this makes me even more angry. I realize there is a huge cultural difference here, but I can’t understand how they can just sit back and do nothing about this clusterfuck that we are in. Maybe they are just happy to be in a nice hotel with a pool, swimming in their underwear. Or maybe they know more than we know…maybe there is a conspiracy going on here. I am loosing my mind now. The front desk has no more information other than the fact that they will get a call tomorrow afternoon and then they will bus us to the airport for a flight. I wash my clothes in the bathroom sink.

I go to bed.

Photo: Pool that we were unable to use at the Atlas Hotel

The next day I wake up refreshed – a new fight in me. It’s Monday now – our tour group is looking at the Pyramids right now – we are still stuck in an airport hotel – with no information. We get our breakfast voucher. Rosaline and I make a plan – we will go to the airport again and the Egypt Air office should be open by now – we can talk to someone there and at least get the information as to if we are truly on a flight, when it leaves, and when it will arrive in Egypt. Since 2 nights have passed, we have missed the Pyramids, and we have a bigger problem – our tour group is leaving Cairo tonight and taking an overnight train south to the town Aswan. Therefore, we no longer need to even get to Cairo…we need to get to the town of Aswan so that we can meet up with our tour group there in route. It’s 8:30AM, before we leave for the airport in search of an Egypt Air representative, we ask the front desk girl for any addition information about our phantom flight. She says – oh – I heard that you are leaving at 11. What?

I am confused.

We arrive at the airport. The Egypt Air office is still closed. We talk to Information. They try to contact the numbers at Egypt Air – no one answers for them either. They cannot help us. We ask what the flights are that are going to Cairo today – they say there are two – one at 4:00, and one at 11:00 both by RAM. We go to the RAM counter – a new Duty Manager is there…he is nice, helpful, says that it’s not our fault. He looks up our names on the two flights. Our names aren’t on the flights. He said that there are no other flights listed. He said that we would need to talk to Egypt Air.

I am lost.

We go back to the hotel just in case there really is a bus at 11:00 taking us somewhere, anywhere…hell, maybe it’s driving us to Cairo. We are grasping at straws. We ask the front desk if there is a bus at 11:00, the girl says no – the bus will leave around 4PM to take us to the airport for a flight around 6PM. I tell her that we were just at the airport and that there is no flight at this time. She says, “Well, that’s what the agent told us – that’s all the information I have.” I immediately key in on ‘the agent’ Who is this agent? Who does he work for? What is his number? Is he the Wizard of Oz making the decisions – I need to talk to him!!! She has no contact info for him and does not know what airline he works for. I agitatedly ask her who is paying for the rooms. She says Royal Air Maroc.

I am pissed.

I now have a mission – I will get to the bottom of this – I will. I go back to the second floor lobby and set up my command center again…laptop, Skype, cell phone…group of 4 people standing around me (the other English speakers) waiting for action. I was ready to lead my troops into battle again…but one that I had the upper hand in…in the digital world of the internet. I decide that I need to talk to someone from the western world…someone that understands customer service, someone that understands that you don’t just take a plane full of passengers and dump them in an airport hotel for 2 days and not EVER talk to them. I am armed with the internet and I’m swinging again. I find a Egypt Air phone number for a London office. Great – they are awake by this time in the morning – I will call them. After being transferred a couple of time, I finally get to a customer service number for Egypt Air in London. I am connected to Susan, a customer service rep. I tell her the story. She says, “What has the airline representative told you?” I said – there has been no airline representative…none…ever! She said that can’t be…but I tell her it’s the truth. She asks how many passengers are stranded here…I told her about 40 or so. She told me that they have offices in Casablanca that I should contact – I said yes, I know, but no one answers the 5 phone number that I have. She puts me on hold. She tries to call the Casablanca office – after 5 minutes she comes back…she couldn’t get a hold of them either. I say to her – “Look, I’ve got a group of passengers around me with no idea what is going on, we’ve been here for 2 days with no information, I beg you to help us.” She said, “Sherry, you don’t have to beg, we’ll work this out.”

I feel justified.

After being put on hold a number of times again – she takes my cell phone number and promises that she will call me back. I can hear her manager behind her – they both seem absolutely shocked and embarrassed that we are in this situation…the exact emotions that they should have. When I told her I missed the Pyramids, she felt my pain. She was on my side. I liked Susan…she was my angel.

I waited.

Susan called me back and told me that I would be getting a call from the Egypt Air Manager in Casablanca shortly. I trusted her, so I waited. At noon, the manager, Salem, contacted me – apologizing profusely, and providing me answers. They were waiting for a part to be shipped from some other country. It arrived today and they were repairing the plane now. He was expecting that we would leave around 6PM that night. He said that he would call me back at 1PM with an update. I told him that Rosaline and I now need to get to Aswan, he said that he’d take care of it.

Justice.

I am sure that Salem, the Casablanca manager, got in a huge amount of trouble of this – as he should have. Susan told me that she called the Egypt corporate office and explained things. I’m sure that Salem had someone rip him a new one from the corporate office. I bought myself a bottle of wine, to celebrate my small step forward, and to take the edge off, I cried more, I just wanted to be away from this stupid place, I wanted to be in Egypt, I wanted my luggage, I wanted to change clothes, I wanted this to be over. I think that once I got some action, I was able to release all of the emotion inside.

Redemption.

Salem called me back and said that me and the other passengers should go to the lobby now and that there would be a bus waiting to take us to the airport to be put on a 4PM flight. The mechanical fix was successful. He then asked me how I would like to pay for the Aswan tickets…

Anger.

What? Did I hear that correctly? I said, “Sir, I appreciate all of your assistance this afternoon. I’m sure that you can appreciate the situation that we are all in here, so I’m sorry if I get upset, but I am NOT paying for the Aswan tickets. It’s Egypt Air’s responsibility to get us to Aswan now. You cancelled our flight, left us at an airport hotel for 2 days with out any communication, I have now missed my tour, and Egypt Air is responsible for getting me to Aswan.” He told me that he would have to pay for them himself. I said, “I’m not looking for you to pay for them out of your own pocket, I’m expecting that Egypt Air pays for them. Do I need to call customer service and talk to them about it?” The magic words…he said that he’d call me back.

We got on the bus.

We arrived at the airport and I had a call from Salem again, he said that I was to look for Mr. Sukani at the Egypt Air office at the airport, he would have our Aswan tickets for us. Mr. Sukani doted on us…he made sure that we were ok and had everything we needed. This is how it should be.

Perfect.

Photo: Boarding the repaired plane

As I sat in the waiting area with Rosaline, and Sherif feeling justified finally – I called back Susan from customer service and thanked her profusely. I looked at my boarding pass and ticket to Aswan – I called Salem back and thanked him and told him that I appreciated his help. He said that he was glad to work things out, was sorry for the confusion, and that he hopes that I come back to visit Casablanca soon.

Yeah right…never.

We arrived in Aswan the next morning…exhausted from our 2 days of hell, 5 hour flight, 4 hour layover, and 1 hour flight. We met Sherif’s mother and father at the Cairo Airport – we gave them a big hug and told them that they raised a great man. We promised to come cheer him on in the US open and the Australian Open one day! We collapsed with our luggage in our room…the ordeal finally over.

Photo: All of us with our boarding passes…finally.

Prologue

There is good and bad out of this ordeal. Sure, I already knew that airline travel can suck. However, I learned a lot about myself, but I mainly learned about the cultural differences. There are cultures that sit back and accept things – and then there are cultures that demand results. I was happy that I was able to hold it together (even if it was by a thread) long enough to get results. I felt alive again – I felt resourceful. Rosaline and I will be able to see the Pyramids…we are actually ending the tour in Cairo so we have rearranged our tour schedule to see the Pyramids the last day in Egypt. The bad news is that I have to hop back on an Egypt Air flight to get out of the country….God help me.

Some information in this post provided by Private Plane Charters

Pee Pee Island – A girl’s guide to the Asian Squatty Potty

Sherry — Sat, 27 Jan 2007 11:00:38 +0000

Welcome to public toilets in Asia!

All of the guide books make reference to it; the Asian toilet a.k.a. Squatty Potty, but no one from Lonely Planet is telling you how to use it. There is no diagram or map, they just let you figure it out yourself. So for all of the ladies out there that are planning to travel to Asia, read on. When I was in Northern Thailand trekking through hill tribes our guide, Hay, would use the term “Going to Pee Pee Island” when he or someone had to go to the bathroom on the trail. Fitting since there is an island in Southern Thailand called Koh Phi Phi (pronounced Pee Pee). I have affectionately decided to start using the term…it just seems a little nicer than #1 and #2 – don’t ya think?

My experience of learning to pee in a squatty potty came over much trial and error (and wet shoes and pant cuffs unfortunately – ewwww). After much practice in various countries in Asia, I became somewhat proficient. Here’s a few tips that I gathered.

First, no matter what kind of toilet you encounter in Asia, carry some sort of toilet paper in with you at all times. In a real squatty potty situation, and even in most western public toilet situations there is never toilet paper provided. I have no idea why. The only reason I can come up with is the plumbing can’t handle excessive paper usage, so one way to control that is to not provide it. Or maybe Thailand just has a shortage of paper products, as evidenced by their tiny napkins.

Ok, now down to the details. I will start with the western toilet in Asia

This toilet looks familiar, it looks like ours; a throne to sit on. You may be excited to encounter one of these as they are in the minority in Asia. As you are sitting ‘doing your business’, you survey your surroundings and notice, there’s a toilet paper holder (but no toilet paper of course – hope that you brought your own as I had advised), there’s a large bucket of water beneath a water spout, and there is a small trash can. The bucket will have a smaller scoop/dipper floating in it.
All of these items are important. They aren’t just there for looks as I had once thought. Don’t be fooled by the western looking toilet! Sure you can sit, however the plumbing in most of the areas is not very good. Therefore, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the flusher actually works. Instead, once you have completed your business and dug your own toilet paper out of your pocket, don’t throw it in the stool. You are supposed to throw it in the little trash can. Then you go to the bucket of water and use the ’scoop’ floating in the water to fill up and pour down the toilet. Do this 2 or 3 times (you can use your own judgment on this) and this creates a ‘natural’ flushing mechanism; thank God for gravity! If you are really polite, you should take note of how much water is left in the bucket and if it’s low, turn on the spout and fill it up for the next person.

You have now mastered the Asian Western toilet. Granted, in nicer hotels you don’t have to worry about this. These types of Asian Western toilets are mainly public toilets or in budget hotels/hostels.

The other situation…the true Asian squatty potty:

This toilet is basically a porcelain hole in the ground raised up off the floor about 4 inches. There is no plumbing/flushing mechanism associated with this. You will once again find the typical spout, bucket of water and ‘dipper’ to flush (see above), and a little trash can. The squatty potties are not meant to have toilet paper put down them, so definitely use the trash can! Upon first entering the foreign abode, you will be confused. Do you stand over the hole? Do you squat over the hole? How do you not ’splash’? What if you are wearing flip flops? Where do you stand exactly? So many questions; I have experienced them all!

The first thing to know is you should stand on the place where there are ‘foot rests’. This is normally signified by little foot platforms on the porcelain structure itself. I’ve made the mistake of putting my feet outside the edges of the porcelain structure and it just doesn’t work as well, trust me. Instead, you stand on the porcelain foot rests. Try to get your pants out of the ‘drop zone’ as best you can.

Next you have to know how to squat. I honestly learned this through trial and error. I first tried squatting a little bit; kind of like working out at a gym and doing squats with your trainer. However you’ll quickly find out that this still leaves about 3 feet between you and the actual toilet which directly effects the splash factor. Just use your high school physics; the longer the drop, the more the splash. You don’t want to come out of the bathroom with your pant legs all wet. Or worse, your shoes all squishy. It’s not fun, I’ve been there. You’ll want to reduce the distance between you and the toilet. The best way that I have figured out how to describe this is to get in a catcher’s stance, just like you are Jorge Posada, ready to receive the pitch from the mound. Now if you are actually standing on the right spot on the squatty potty (on the porcelain footrests) and you are looking like a major league baseball catcher, then you will look down and realize you are in the best possible position to pee.

After your done you use your own toilet paper that you brought and put it in the nearby trash can. Then you scoop water out of the nearby bucket and pour it down the squatty potty a few times. Before I had mastered the catcher’s squat, there were a few times I poured a scoop of water over my feet!

Finally, I know you are all wondering, what about #2? I call it Poo Poo Island. Simply assume the catchers stance again, make sure you bring your toilet paper, and know that you may have to refill the bucket for your manual ‘flushing’. It takes a few more scoops of water for natural flushing.

You may be wondering how I became so smart in the ancient ways of the Asian squatty potty?

I still remember the day that I finally figured this all out. I was at a bus terminal in Chiang Mai. I bought my toilet paper for 3 baht, and went into the public toilet. I decided to try the catchers stance for the first time; it was then that I noticed it. In front of me, on the stall door there was some Thai writing. It was right at my eye level while I was in the catcher’s stance. Eureka!!!! I had found the sweet spot; they put writing here because that’s where your eye level is supposed to be! I was so damn proud of myself I wanted to burst! I came out of that public restroom a new woman feeling successful! At that time I also decided that I could probably make a little diagram for westerners and sell it outside of the public toilet for about 10 baht. Who knows, maybe that will be my next big business idea; Squatty Potty Cliff Notes with diagram. I’m sure you would all buy it – wouldn’t you?

There it is, the instructions Lonely Planet never gave you. Hopefully this info came in handy. It’s the least I can do as it took me about 2 months, many wet pants legs, and shoes to figure this out. Most of all, I hope this avoids you from having the ever so common ‘Asian travelers constipation’ (fear of going in the squatty potty). Happy bowel movements to you all!

Top 10 – Volume 2

Sherry — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 05:57:41 +0000

Another month and a half of travel brings more learnings…here are the Top 10 things I learned in October and November from my travels…enjoy!

10. Everyone assumes that an American traveling outside of the US is a democrat. In a store in South Africa – one shop owner I was talking to said “Since you are traveling outside of the US, I can assume you are a liberal and from a blue state.” Wow…are we that easy to figure out??

9. Ostrich is actually quite tastey. You wouldn’t think so…but it was really good in Africa!

8. One day it hit me…finally…Look Right!!!!! This was the day that I figured out that my brain was re-trained to understand that people drive on the opposite side of the road in Africa, New Zealand and Australia! It’s very strange – but the switch in your brain does happen naturally after time. I honestly can’t remember what side we drive on anymore or where the steering wheel is supposed to be positioned in a car in the US!!

7. I can survive on Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches if I have to.

6. The most common (ex) professions of people doing extended world travel (like myself) is Accountant and Software Engineer. I find this rather interesting as I’m kind of both…my degree was accounting and I worked in IT. What is it about these seemingly boring, logical, professions that drive us to do these crazy things. I think it’s our creative side just trying to leap out of our skins.

5. I really should have rented Lord of the Rings BEFORE I went to New Zealand…

4. Every country has it’s weird sayings…New Zealand’s ‘Sweet As’ took the cake (or should I say pie) though.

3. My knowledge of the metric system has been re-awakened. I think it had been dormant since 5th grade! I am now forced to convert and think in Celcius, meters, and kilos. It took a while – but I think I’ve finally got it!!

2. Plastic grocery bags cost money in Africa. Of course I didn’t learn this important fact until weeks after I had been simply taking the plastic sacks and packing them full of my groceries and leaving (without paying for the sack). The amazing thing is that no one ever stopped me!

1. I have learned that I do have a creative side…and I feel it awaking a bit more every day!

Favorite comments from all of you

Sherry — Sun, 29 Oct 2006 03:50:12 +0000

Thanks to all of you who are reading this blog…I’m having fun updating it. I get some really funny, gripping, meaningful emails back from all of you at various times – I decided to share some of my favorite comments so far…I’ll continue to add to this each month. Or simply respond to a post directly in the comments section at the end!
Sherry

Volume 3

Miles from NYC:
Loved your post on Love Stinks. Amen sister! You will definitely be living in the same couldesac as David and I in Palm Springs. You can live in the middle house, so David and I won’t fight over who’s closer. We can meet in the backyard and play Croquet. I’m ALWAYS red.

Carlye from NYC:
LOVED your bday pics. Your nieces look like they got some of those sassy Ott genes – Marilyn would be so proud!

Kira from Singapore – comment about my Africa presenation to her son’s 2nd grade class. Kira’s son was rolling around the the floor during my presentaion – I honestly thought that the kids hated me!:
I just wanted to let you know that your sister impressed Peyton with her travels to Africa.
He told me all about the trip and even the guide’s name. She must have been very good with her presentation to the kids since I
received all the detail!

Anna, NYC – comment about my Too Much Time to Think post:
i almost laughed reading your introspective post from december…not because i don’t take your feelings seriously but because you’ve always been this sort of idol for me, something to aspire to when i am less self conscious. so when you say you feel dowdy and old, it couldn’t be
farther from the truth! if anything, that’s me, the almost 24 year old who stays home watching law and order:) it takes amazing courage
to do what you’re doing and you are most definitely my hero….and you still dress better than me!

Dave, San Francisco – comment on my post about the warm beach life that I have. Dave is in my fantasy football league (I had a miserable year). Oh yeah – and my fantasy football team name is always Burlap G-string:
burlap you are killing me right now. can we switch places for just one week please??? i will exact my revenge on you on the fantasy football field.

Larry from Minneapolis
I continue to be impressed, not so much by your travels (which is impressive), but rather your ability to see and talk about what some would see as small or insignificant, but to the people you meet and relate with , in there cultures, is not only significant, but who they are.
You are developing a gift….

VOLUME 2

Linda from Connecticut (aka – my cat sitter) – Comment regarding my desire to do travel photography:
“Sherry Ott, professional traveling photographer…what do you think of that kit-cat????!”
“mew” Translation: Great Auntie Linda, does that mean I can stay with you forever?
“Yes, kit-cat, I think it does. YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!”
“mew”.

Mark from Wales – comment regarding my statement that New Zealand was indeed the sheep meca of the world:
Sherry, I must bow down to you and eat the most humblest of pie. Having spent a day researching my wooly friends I have the official figures and they do not make good reading.
As you stated; Kiwi land – 4 million people and 60 million sheep.
Wales 2.9 million people and only 10.9 million sheep!
This new piece of information has sent me deep into a depressive world that quite frankly I may never recover from.
I will now make it my life’s mission to spread the word and declare that “yes, New Zealand is the world’s sheep mecca”!

Scott from Charlotte – comment on what I should do for my next job after I’m done traveling:
As far as job ideas — I think you should become a spy for the CIA — kind of the whole James Bond / Mission Impossible thing — I think it is a perfect job for you: exciting, you get to travel a lot; meet interesting people; hot men and serve your country — sounds like the perfect job for you. Probably would help if you can speak Arabic or Korean, or some other language of the trouble / hot spots.

Vonny from Kansas – thoughts on my wardrobe
Thanks for your masterfully organized travelogue. Like your comments and beautiful photos.
I would love to see just what is in your back pack to allow you to look so great on all the photos. Can not imagine.
Side note from Sherry…you won’t believe how much I can cram into a suitcase!!

Larry from Minnesota – comment on my statement about getting used to the germs when ‘renting’ clothes and equipment
Good news in the Germ dept… From one backpacker to another… all the gems you would get from the “other people’s cloths”… there all in the air anyway…. just keep you hands washed (that’s what touches your mouth, eyes etc…)

Steve from San Francisco – general comment on the blog:
Wow, your trip is just so amazing. I always look forward to reading about it… although it’s so easy to fall behind! Something is unfair that you have time to go to all these great places and write about it … and I have trouble just finding time to read what you’ve written!

Jake from Minnesota – comment on how I can make a living while traveling:
SHERRY CAM!!! Clearly the way to make a living while living your life…and I’d like to think we were recommending this concept BEFORE reality TV, before YouTube, etc. You could have been the most downloaded woman on the net!!

VOLUME 1

Fran from NYC – thoughts on leaving NYC
I was reading the entry where you explain you are about to leave NYC, where you say how it made you cry to talk to close friends about your departure, how scared (though determined) you were… It’s always painful to abandon stability and routine. It hurts kind of the same way your body hurts when it grows when you are a kid. And it’s scary! Veeery scary!! But you overcame that fear and there you are, seeing crazy elephants run your way while trying to stay cool. That’s fantastic. It seems the teenage years are difficult for all species.

Veronique from Geneva – Kili post:
- on the Kili climb : congrats anyway. the greatest climber is the one who
comes back down, not who gets on top! I could have warned you, but you
probably knew, that people with muscles have more altitude issues. It’s a
classic of people who are ‘in shape’ to get the most hurt, because more
muscles require more oxygen. In Tibet the higher we got, the better off the
fatties got.

Steve O from NYC – thoughts on Kili post:
Just read most of your story during my lunch; thankfully I had finished eating.

Tiffani S. from Illinois – thoughts on trip in general:
When I think back to my friend from grade school and high school, I remember a girl who lived in the same house all through school and a strange girl who used to enjoy the smell of cow manure. I also remember how we managed to get ourselves all scared of the sounds and bumps in the night when we were staying at your house. Our biggest adventure took us to Zellar grounds to tumble near the crazies. It is hard to believe that was the same person who is now sending me e-mails from Africa. I guess you are not scared of nighttime sounds anymore and you have definitely moved on from the little house on Koerner Road.
Keep the notes coming and keep living the life. Since none of the rest of us can.
Dan says…”I am greener than the Richwoods Knight with envy.”

Carlye from NYC – thoughts on the travels so far:
Its good to be in Ott’s World!!
Have you eaten any cheesburger deluxes lately?
Maybe in New Zealand!

Kishore P from NYC – thoughts on the blog:
I can’t thank you enough, for letting me on all the details from your trip. You could have done this as a paid subcrition and I would have gladly put the money down for this. You and your sister have been incredibly patient in writing all the details. My wife is having a great time reading through all of them. It constantly reminds us of what we are missing. Only if I knew that you were so much fun, I would have done more to come over from my boring NJ office and spend more time with you guys on all your NY get togethers.

Kathy S – from Newburg – thoughts on the blog:
WOW how exciting your trips have been! I love reading all about your adventures, in fact, it now has become a thing for my daughter and I to do together. So thanks for that!!!

Tom D. from NYC – thoughts on my customs experience in New Zealand:
Loving the posts. Am quite jealous.
Did I ever tell you about my trouble with NZ customs? Was sick so I had oranges in my car, in Perth. GOt stuck in traffic so I ran swooped everything up in my car and ran to my flight to CChurch (via Sydney). Despite all of the videos, I completely forgot I had an orange somewhere buried in my stuff. They found it, the single, solitary orange. I apologized and explained what happened. He would have none of it and charged my NZ$200 (~US$80 at the time). Pissed, I asked him if I could, at least, eat the orange since I had paid for it twice. Not to mention that it is the most expensive food item I have ever purchased. He shot me down.
Not happy, even now thinking about it.
Keep the posts, pictures…I know I am living vicariously through you.

Joan A. from Wisconsin – thoughts in general:
Wonder when you will figure out WHERE you belong. HA!!!!!!! You have
a long time to figure that out. Wonder if any of us really ever do.
Maybe it is just being content with who we are, where we are at the time
and who we are with or not with. Life constantly changes and we just go
with the flow. That is fine too. Trying to make life better for the next person is a challenge but worth it. Just be yourself and be thankful for all you have and learn each day. You are definitely open to new challenges and that is what makes you so special.

Steve B from San Francisco – thoughts regarding my post on Cape Town and my loss to him in my fantasy football league!:
I think you missed somewhere in your update about getting CRUSHED in fantasy football by Jake’s Treats.

Alex from Minnesota – thoughts on leaving my job:
I’m glad that you are having so much fun and meeting such nice people. I was sitting with Mitchell yesterday morning across from your empty office and we were talking about how much you seem to be enjoying the adventure. He hadn’t left until 9PM the night before because he was trying to get a HR file across that kept failing. I was fighting NYC traffic to get to my hotel by 11PM. Traffic in the morning was a disaster. I’m telling you this so you can see what you’re missing. Take it easy and try not to buckle under the weight of many people living vicariously through you.

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