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Travel and Life Experiences of a Corporate American Runaway

I’m Sherry. I’ve been traveling around the world and writing about it on Ottsworld since 2006. Yes, that makes me one of the first travel bloggers! I started out as a novice middle-aged traveler and have transformed into a world explorer and travel industry expert! I share my adventures, tips, and advice on how to conquer your fear of traveling or traveling alone so that you, too, can have epic adventures to intriguing places!

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Where I’ve traveled…

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10 Travel moments I’m most proud of

1

Traveling with each of my six nieces as part of the Niece Project

2

Living in Vietnam for a year solo

3

Finishing the 9,000-mile Mongol Rally

4

Having no home and being nomadic for 11 years

5

Taking my Dad to Antarctica

6

Completing the Camino de Santiago solo

7

Driving a rickshaw 2,000 miles across India and raising money for charity:water

8

Taking over my Father’s Capitol Quest and cycling from Capitol to Capitol in the US

9

Launching my first small group tours

10

Getting my first passport when I was 30

The one thing they all have in common is overcoming fear and trusting in the world to take care of you.

Travel Series

I’ve done a number of long-term travel ‘projects’ (I might call them Epic Trips) that I’ve written about. These are best read like a book with chapters. Some of these have taken place over weeks (like the Mongol Rally or Camino de Santiago), some over months (the Motorbike Diaries), and some over years (like the Niece Project).

  • Niece Project Travels

    The Niece Project

    2012 begins a project for me that has been in the making for a long time. But first, let me back up a few years…
  • camino de santiago questions

    Camino de Santiago: 23 of the Most Frequently Asked Questions

    You have made the decision to hike the Camino de Santiago, Camino Frances – what next? I bet you have a bunch of questions you need…
  • Nepal Annapurna Circuit

    The Beginnings of a Nepal Trekking Plan – Annapurna Circuit

    Tiger Balm Tales Volume 1 Why? Such a simple question, yet it resonated in my head many, many times on my most recent trip to…
  • Mongol Rally

    It’s Real Now – Starting the Mongol Rally

    Have you ever worked so long and hard on something that you forgot what you were doing or why you were doing it? The idea…

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Running Among Gods

There are a few places in the world that everyone should see, Angkor Wat is one of them. As most of you know, I am…

You will never believe it…

Note to self…Always, always, always take a camera with you when you walk out the door. It is certain that you will wish you had…

Superhero or Mere Mortal?

I was recently flipping through the channels of Vietnamese cable hoping to find something mildly interesting that I could understand. I’m not sure why I…

I Will Survive

Let’s take inventory. I’ve been in Saigon for two months now. It’s honestly been good and bad. Maybe bad is the wrong word…it’s more like…

Become a Vagabond Master!

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…

Over the Top

It has been a month and a half since I’ve gotten a pedicure. This is normally not how I operate, but when traveling, you don’t…

Being Abroad During an Election

This was a really exciting day. I have been marveling at just how far-reaching the US Election is/was. There is a weird excitement in the…

Net-ti-quette

I made a big purchase today…my first motorbike helmet. I kind of feel like it is my first rite of passage. Or maybe I should…

Bringing Home the Bacon

There’s a reason it’s called work. Work is still work. After two years of being out of work, my mini retirement has ended for a…

De-Worming

I was talking to my friend Jill the other day; she’s lived here as an expat for over a year, so she’s familiar with the…