Author: Katie Slattery
A Lifetime of Travel
In a previous blog I shared my collection of passports —a long line of documents that began when I was sixteen. These booklets, with their photos that reveal my gradually aging face and random visa stamps in red, green, and blue, represent a lifetime of travel. I also have a large box of travel journals,…
Balanced Memoirs of the Un-famous
Celebrity memoirs frequently appear on best seller lists, but what of the memoirs of the unfamous? If your name is well-known in the arts or politics, publishers will clamor for anything you might write. But, when a regular person with an interesting story writes a memoir, one of the first dilemmas they encounter is how…
Travel Photos to Bring Back Memories
Travel photos can help you remember highlights of your journey long after you are home again. They can remind you of special experiences and people you met along the way. Nothing beats a significant photo for bringing back memories. Too often, travelers limit themselves to photos of tourist views and selfies taken in front of…
Four Books about the Silk Road
For as long as I can remember, I have been fascinated by the Silk Road. Before adoption of the magnetic compass and advances in ship design in the early 1500s, this overland journey, also known as the Spice Road, served as the main trade route between China and Europe. Visions of camel caravans crossing the…
On the Hippie Trail with Two Brits
Some time ago, John found me through my web-site and emailed me in response to my interest in stories of about the Hippie Trail overland to India. Recently, he and I visited on Zoom. His story follows.
The Ultimate Road Trip Memoir
In 2007, Dina and Bernard joined the Centennial Beijing to Paris Motor Challenge, a 36-day car rally that would stretch for 9316 miles across the Gobi desert, Siberia, Russia, and eastern Europe. Married for twenty years, the couple had owned and operated a successful business together. In 2005 they were living on a ranch in…
Seven Types of Travelers. What Kind are you?
What kind of traveler are you? I don’t mean how experienced you are or if you prefer to travel locally or internationally. I’m interested in what activities and experiences make travel special for you. Recently, I got to thinking about this after I received two very different reviews of my memoir, Wherever the Road Leads,…
Two Women on a Train to Sangam. (Part 8, Return to India)
Our hotel host in Matheran had checked our train tickets and was upset to see we were booked on the slow train that stopped at every village station. “The local train will take six hours to get to Pune,” Mr. Lord had told us. “I recommend you change your tickets for the Konya Express train.…
An Indian Hill-Station Holiday (Part 7 of Return to India)
At Neral Junction, Una and I descended from our train into a different world. Gone were the crowds and filth of Mumbai. The station was a quiet oasis shaded by a striped awning. We waited there for more than an hour while trains from Mumbai came and went. There were several ways to get to…
An Early Morning Departure, (Part 6 of Return to India)
The telephone in our hotel room jangled at 4:30 am. “Yes?” I croaked into the phone. “Wake up call, Memsahib.” “Too early. We said to call at 5:30.” “So sorry! Will call again at 5:30, Memsahib.” I rolled over with a groan and pulled the sheet over my head.