Marybeth Bond
ExpatWomen's Interview with Marybeth (Part 2)
ExpatWomen: Marybeth, last month, we interviewed you for the book that you edited, A Woman’s Europe. That book featured the Europe-related travel stories of thirty-seven women. This month, we would like to ask you about your own book, Gutsy Women – the indispensable pocket guide full of travel tips for women on the road. Let’s start with the obvious, why did you feel the need to write specifically on this topic and what makes your book different from other travel tips’ books?
Marybeth: Gutsy Women is a travel book geared to women only, and let’s face it, we travel differently than men. Our concerns and interests are different. The information in this book is specifically for women of all ages; from safety and security, to women traveling together, to volunteer travel, to the first-time, naïve student traveler, to the 60+ traveler, or traveling with children without a partner.
ExpatWomen: Your bio professes that you have walked, hiked, climbed, cycled and kayaked through six continents and more than seventy countries. Can you share with us some of your worst travel experiences and in hindsight, what you would have done differently to avoid or better handle the situation(s)? |
|
Marybeth: Yes, that’s true. And my 30+ years of experience, traveling alone, with my kids (without my husband), with my aging mother, with my girlfriends and for business to more than 70 countries has allowed me to write and to speak from experience. I traveled alone around the world for two years at the age of 29; bad experiences? Well, I learned that you have many of the same emotions that you have at home. Sometimes you’re timid, scared, frightened, lonely, sick or lost. I experienced the same type of loneliness I do at home. I treat it like PMS, I expect my little friend, I live with it (after all it’s just part of the human experience) and I get over it. Yes, I did suffer from dysentery twice in India and Nepal and I had lots of flea bites. I lay my head in very cheap guesthouses in marginal neighborhoods from Delhi to Dingle and Nairobi to Nandi, but I learned how to take care of myself.
I was pick-pocketed by gypsies in the revolving doors at the Jeu de Paume Impressionist’s Museum in Paris, (but I had about $10 US in my wallet – all my valuables were safely stashed in my money belt under my pants). I also lost lots of weight, which in retrospect was not a bad thing. But that allowed me to indulge with no restraint in fabulous Italian food and wine on my way home a year of traveling in Asia. Anything worse? NO, because I followed my instincts; that little inner voice and I didn’t take unnecessary risks.
Worst travel decisions? I ask myself, “Why didn’t I read more about women travelers before I left? Why did I think I had to have a partner or a companion to travel?”
|
|
ExpatWomen: Marybeth, you are a highly sought-after speaker, who has appeared on more than 250 network and cable media outlets. Please let us in on the secret, what travel messages do you share that make you so popular? |
|
Marybeth: Thanks for the compliment, I don’t know that I’m so popular, I just have a passion for life and travel and I love people. In my speeches I tell true travel stories that have a punch line, a moral or tidbits of wisdom. To be honest, Marybeth is a very positive person who loves life. That kind of energy is contagious. I encourage women to GO FOR IT! And hopefully I make it easier for them, with advice and true stories. Believe me, I am no one special. In fact, if the truth be told – I’m not so gutsy.
Yes, I’ve traveled a lot, but I’ve learned that none of us are “gutsy” all the time. Certainly not me. I have butterflies in my stomach every time I start out again. I’ve just learned that if I pretend I am “gutsy”, then by gosh, I’ll hold my chin high, throw back my shoulders, breathe deeply and then I feel “gutsy.” Feeling discomfort or fear about traveling is ok. I tell myself, “I can live with it. I can make those butterflies fly in formation.” The messages I share come from my heart and from my life experiences. Women connect with me; my sincerity, my humor, my vulnerabilities, and my love of life |
|
ExpatWomen: What’s next on your agenda – do you have upcoming books with your name on them to be released in 2008? |
|
Marybeth: Yes, I just finished my second book for National Geographic: Best Girlfriend Getaways Worldwide (available in Feb. 08). The book is organized by the places we want to visit and the things we want to do. I’ve arranged the trips by themes, such as exotic escapes, tantalizing trails, culinary classes, volunteer trips, education travel or cosmopolitan cities. You can use this book as a resource to learn about a style of travel or a specific location. Each destination is scrupulously examined through a female lens from Sydney, Buenos Aires, Capetown or on a barge trip in Holland.
Very frequently I am asked “Have you visited all these places?” Yes, I have visited, hiked, biked, eaten, slept, and shopped in almost all (ninety-eight percent) of the destinations I recommend in my books. I’m a former ex-pat, a gypsy at heart and a zealous traveler, who has dedicated her life to exploring – and who can tolerate lots of long flights in the course of a year. Over the past four decades, I have lived in Europe for six years, (Paris and Luxembourg) the South Pacific for one year, and I traveled, at my leisure, for two years around the world (alone).
Let me admit to you that I’ve called upon my girlfriends (many of whom are ex-pats) all over the world. For example, I’ve been to Australia, but not recently, but my friend Suzy was transferred to Sydney 25 years ago. She’s a sophisticated woman who entertains often, so I asked her for “women-friendly” suggestions for best places to go to the beach, shop, stroll safely, get cultured, watch the sunset, cruise, and dine in Sydney. She invited a group of women friends to the boardroom of her office, and over wine and cheese, and much negotiation, they hammered out a list of “Best Places” for Sydney.
|
|
ExpatWomen: Finally Marybeth, what words of wisdom can you impart to our global audience of expat women travelers, either about travel or about writing? |
|
Marybeth: I never regretted any trip I took, no matter how inconvenient or expensive it seemed at the planning stage. I only regret the trips I didn’t take. So I tell women everywhere: don’t wait. Go now!!
Oh yes, and don’t forget to buy one my books before you go; for ideas, tips, women’s stories and inspiration! See you on the road, or online: |
|
ExpatWomen: Many sincere thanks, Marybeth. We appreciate your valuable time for both our Gutsy Women and A Woman’s Europe interviews and we wish you all the very best for all of your writing endeavors.
to read Marybeth’s Part One interview - and find out about her appearance on the Oprah Winfrey show!
|
|
|
(Marybeth’s Blog – with more travelers’ tales and tips)
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
March 2008 |
| |
|
|
| |
|
020207.gif)
