Published: Feb. 12, 2012
Words: 70,398 (approximate)
Language: English
ISBN: 9781465917140

Short description

Mary, newly minted as a lone warrior after raising her son, sells everything she owns, breaks free of the USA and takes us on a water slide ride photographing the Dalai Lama in India to riding elephants bareback in Nepal. Across 27 countries by train, boat, bus, motorbike, and rickshaw she discovers that courage takes practice and wanderlust costs less than it does to stay home working.

Extended description

About Mary's Writing:

"Wise, warm, witty, it ripples with rude, righteous fun and at the same time offers profound insights. It resonates from top to bottom with deep and abiding humanity. Here is an irresistible book jam-packed with practicality and spirituality alike. It is essential reading for all true souls of light who love literature."
- Prof. Richard Walter, Screenwriting Chairman, UCLA Film School (Read more) About Mary's Writing:

"Wise, warm, witty, it ripples with rude, righteous fun and at the same time offers profound insights. It resonates from top to bottom with deep and abiding humanity. Here is an irresistible book jam-packed with practicality and spirituality alike. It is essential reading for all true souls of light who love literature."
- Prof. Richard Walter, Screenwriting Chairman, UCLA Film School

“The only problem with the book is that it ended too soon. I can't wait for the next one. Encore!”
- Tom R. Myers, USA

“A blast of fresh air, a more in-your-face Erma Bombeck.”
- San Francisco Chronicle

“Candid and edgy”
- San Jose Mercury News

“Along the lines of Virginia Woolf but in an irreverent voice akin to Annie Lamott.”
- Palo Alto Weekly

“From Silicon Valley Artist-Mom to Solo World Traveler.
I have a huge appreciation for the leap of faith it took, after 20 years of marriage and then divorce, to reinvent a completely new, totally freeing, radically self-reliant lifestyle. We all need the nudge to find our own courage. Mary, and her book, can provide just this kind of nudge. Whether your calling is to travel the world, or just to be more adventurous in your own backyard, Mary's stories of the people, places, animals, foods, and pure joy of embracing life will remind you to LIVE MORE FULLY!”
- Lisa Chu, USA

“Warning--this book will change your life! This is a visual documentary of a woman traveling the globe on a shoestring, it makes you realize that you can do it too. This author connects with sea turtles, baby elephants, sacred places and indigenous people. God love her for her open heart, her courage and her simple way of being human. If you are feeling a little afraid and disillusioned, read this book. It’s witty, fast-moving, and every episode is backed up by amazing photos taken by the author. Get the book it’s priceless!”
- Catherine Ramsey, New York, USA

“The only problem with the book is that it ended too soon. I can't wait for the next one. Encore!”
- Tom R. Myers, USA

Want to quit your job and travel the world? Mary, photographer and solo mom, newly minted as a lone warrior after raising her son, breaks free of the USA, and takes her gumption (and her business) on the road learning how to be a professional vagabond and CEO of fun.

Like a martini mixed with metaphysics Mary pokes fun at life and laughs at the holes: from dating after two decades in Italy to living in a temple in rural Thailand learning from an enlightened master to meeting her 18 year old son on the rooftop of the world in Nepal. Sheer terror, bewilderment and sex are also covered. With no big bank account and very little electricity she photographs the Dalai Lama in India, learns how to surf in Peru, and teaches kundalini yoga to Buddhist nuns after riding elephants bareback in the jungle. Drop-shipped into new worlds, she comes to know herself through the eyes of new cultures, foreign money, exotic food, and ancient ways to worship the divine. She finds a way to communicate, play, and work in the remotest regions of the world's most exotic countries and realizes that living out loud and laughing is the prescription to life’s monsoons.

Across 27 countries on 4 continents by train, boat, chicken bus, motorbike and rickshaw she learns that courage takes practice and wanderlust costs less than it does to stay home working.

What’s your divine blueprint, your spiritual DNA? What is written on your heart? Be inspired to do something scary every day even if it’s just erasing the chalk marks off your car when the meter maid isn’t looking. Do one thing that makes your hands shake. Try not to get arrested. It can be making a phone call, writing a book, speaking your mind or moving to Morocco. Be valiant, vulnerable, and scandalous. Get dangerous and step off solid ground. Reach into your soul and pull out your dreams.

This is Mary’s 3rd book.
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Tags

travel, travel on a shoestring, travel essays, travel humor, traveling alone, womens travel, travel adventure, solo travel, travel to nepal, travel in nepal, travel abroad, travel essay, travel in asia, travel budget, travel experiences, travel internationally, travel hints and tips, travel in southeast asia, travel in india, travel memoirs, travel around the world

Available ebook reading formats

Single purchase gains access to all formats. How to download ebooks to e-reading devices and apps.

Format	Full Book	Sample First 20%
Online Reading (HTML, good for sampling in web browser)	Buy	View sample
Kindle (.mobi for Kindle devices and Kindle apps)	Buy	Download sample
Epub (Apple iPad/iBooks, Nook, Sony Reader, Kobo, and most e-reading apps including Stanza, Aldiko, Adobe Digital Editions, others)	Buy	Download sample
PDF (good for reading on PC, or for home printing)	Buy	No sample available
RTF (readable on most word processors)	Buy	No sample available
LRF (Use only for older model Sony Readers that don't support .epub)	Buy	Download sample
Palm Doc (PDB) (for Palm reading devices)	Buy	Download sample
Plain Text (download) (flexible, but lacks much formatting)	Buy	No sample available
Plain Text (view) (viewable as web page)	Buy	No sample available

Videos

Dalai Lama in India
Photographing the Dalai Lama in India was one of the most profound experiences of my life. In the first chapter of my book I share with you the ecstasy and the speed of this gathering in the high holy Himalayas with a close-up view of the Dalai Lama. for more info on my travels go to my blog here: http://bartnikowski.com/blog/

Kitten Heels in Kathmandu, Adventures of a Female Vagabond
Learn how to be a vagabond and earn your way around the world - it costs less than it does to stay home working!

Reviews

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Review by: Mayah B on March 27, 2012 :
I loved this book and could not stop reading, it is eloquent and skillfully written . When I finished I felt like I had got to know a wonderful friend! Mary is inspirational and very entertaining and I am waiting for her next book, maybe I will read them while on elephant back…...time I got travelling. As an older woman I find it exhilarating to see how Mary is having so many wonderful adventures. Thanks for sharing all your joy, charm and love with me Mary!
(reviewed within a month of purchase)

Review by: joseph blomer on March 26, 2012 :
This is a true story of a "female vagabond" that is not only informative and interesting, but motivational as well. Ms. Bartnikowski has lived more in the last six years than most of us have lived in a lifetime. Her writing will make you laugh, and then it will make you cry. She is Hemingwayesque in the way she writes. She writes like she is talking to you as her friend. Her writing is personal, from the soul, and she holds back nothing. How could one not want to read the story about how she got close enough to the Dalai Lama, not once but twice, to photograph him closeup, smile and all. She had the privelege of experiencing Darsan with the Dalai Lama, and she is willing to share it with us. Along with the writing she is a photographer extraordinaire. There are breathtaking photos from around the world, that in themselves would be worth buying the book. Plus, if you would like to be the next "citizen of the world vagabond" she gives some wonderful ideas on how to make it happen. Five stars for this one.
(reviewed long after purchase)

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