wanderlust and lipstick Newsletter - January, 2007
Dear Traveler,
Happy New Year! All the best to you in 2007 and here’s to a year filled with travel and adventure!
Thanks to all of you who have already pre-ordered my book, Wanderlust and Lipstick: The Essential Guide for Women Traveling Solo. Advanced autographed copies are now available via this PDF form. Books will be available at both independent and major retailers in March.
With just under a week left before my trip to India, I’m busy packing, checking vaccination and medication requirements and learning how to work my new mini camcorder. Please stay posted on my adventures via my two blogs. Remember to bookmark them and check back frequently! Internet cafes willing, I’ll be posting fairly regularly about travel in India from a woman’s perspective on my personal blog and more general travel experiences through my Seattle Post Intelligencer blog.
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Forward this newsletter to your travel-loving friends so they can stay updated on travel issues and information for women travelers.
Each monthly newsletter contains recommendations for a travel book, world music, and perhaps a word or two of wisdom from the road. This month, I’m adding a movie suggestion as requested by friends abroad who are interested in what the latest buzz is here in the States.Book Recommendation
The Lost Amazon: The Photographic Journey of Richard Evan Schultes by Wade Davis.This treasure of a book was under my tree this year and was a gift that took my breath away. For anyone interested in indigenous cultures and the Amazon in particular, you may be familiar with Wade Davis, author of numerous (interesting) books on cultural anthropology and an Explorer-in-Residence with the National Geographic Society. The Lost Amazon is a compilation of field notes and photography that date back to the early 1900’s by “the father of ethnobotany”, Richard Evans Schultes, as well as biographical info from Wade Davis about Schultes (with a foreword by Andrew Weil). This is not a dry text book. Instead, think: photos of exotic cultures and psilocybin. Indigenous cultures and languages are declining at an alarming rate and this book is an important documentation of what once was.
World Music
Rebeldia con Alegria by Amparanoia. Lead singer Amparo Sanchez has been called one of the most fascinating female musicians in the world. And with good reason. The musical style of Amparanoia is eclectic and very upbeat, infused with a little salsa, a little rhumba, some world beat drumming and a bit of Manu Chao influence thrown in for good measure, all featuring Amparo’s outstanding vocals. This album is a release from ‘04 and includes previously released songs from 1997 through 2003 - a sort of “best of” without the “best of” hype you might find from artists produced in North America. While Amparanoia has an extensive tour schedule in 2007, the U.S. is unfortunately not on that list. If you’re from or traveling to Canada, Europe, or the U.K., try to catch this amazing band live.
On Video
Himalaya with Michael Palin. This was a fabulous primer to the world of India for me, even if I won’t be as far north as the Himalayas on this trip. The former star of Monty Python fame shows how to have fun in the midst of a grand adventure and he respectfully pokes fun at both the locals and himself. He manages to show us all the good bits from each country he visits: northwestern India, Nepal, Tibet, Bhutan, Burma, Bangladesh, northeastern India and China. While I ended up feeling good about each of these places, I suspect there was a lot going on behind the scenes that made travels very difficult for he and his entourage.Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the series and look forward to watching more of his documentaries, including Sahara and Full Circle.
Hot Travel Tip
Before there was blogging, there was sending emails to family and friends who were anxiously waiting to hear about your travels. Emails (usually) include only text versions of your adventures. But blogging allows you to add photos to your blog, giving your stories a depth that wasn’t possible just a few years ago. If you plan to blog during your travels this year, consider carrying a digital camera and a reader card that can easily plug into a computer (via a USB cable) at an internet cafe in order to immediately access your images. Upload selected images to a photo sharing site (such as flickr) and add them to your blog!
Looking for a Few Good Writers!
I’m accepting stories for the Travel Tales section of For Women Traveling Solo and looking for women bloggers who can share their travel stories and thoughts on travel through the blogs page. Drop me a line at beth at forwomentravelingsolo dot com if you’d like to participate or if you have questions.New Subscribers
If this eamil was forwarded to you, don’t miss next month’s issue. Subscribe by emailing newsletter at forwomentravelingsolo.com or use the easy submit form on my home page.Til next month,Happy Travels!
Beth