: About Me

Previously the Site Steward for Helium's Southeast Asia Travel and Hawaii Travel sections, she is a woman on the move. In fact, she may pop up anywhere. Her affliction for embarking on global exploits is virtually unmatchable. She can often be seen racing madly through airports and train stations to catch her next lift. But ah yes, she knows very well that the journey is indeed as important as the destination. So, it is often this fun but frenzied "getting there" that fills many of her stories...

She's Canadian but has lived in Europe and Asia. Travel, for her, is as much about the people she meets and the cultural exchange as it is about the actual places she has the opportunity to explore.

Some of her favorite travel memories include enjoying fresh squid with local fisherwomen/divers on South Korea's Chejudo island, learning about local breads while enjoying cafe con leches with a small town cafe owner in Spain's Andalucia region, enjoying midnight tea with a new friend in Cairo and learning about Italian wines from a local merchant while resting her feet in a little wine shop in Florence... and yet there are so many more people to meet and places to experience! Perhaps her best experience is yet to come.

It's also great fun reflecting upon, and recreating the experience, through writing. Her expertise is in off the beaten track independent travel, solo travel, Hawaii travel and Asia travel.

She has extensive knowledge of the Hawaiian islands, having spent time on all of the Hawaiian islands, getting to know the locals. She recently spent a total of nearly 6 months in the last two years in Hawaii, primarily on Hawaii's Big Island, getting to know its unique culture and people. She also recently returned from an extensive trip to Asia, revisiting Korea, Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore.

A topic on many travelers minds these days is budget travel. And it just so happens that after nearly a decade of traveling, one area of Tracy's expertise has become budget travel. Travel addicts must be budget conscious, after all. However, travel has rarely ever been this affordable. In this economy, prices are down and bargains are bountiful. And Tracy can tell you all about them! Tracy is now working hard to publish all of her tricks and tips for traveling within a budget. However, for those who have saved or have a budget for splurging, Tracy also has some amazing stories on the way about once-in-a-lifetime experiences available in many places around the world...

When she's not cooking up her next adventure, Tracy is a professional writer/editor/ghostwriter. And she is always on the lookout for additional opportunities to help promote destinations.

My passion is ...

travel (and well, writing!)

My parents always told me ...

to follow my passion

My childhood ambition ...

was to write an award-winning novel, or be the next Barbara Walters

My favorite memory ...

is hard to pinpoint. There are so many. Among my favorites is my last evening in Egypt, sipping tea with a new and unlikely Egyptian friend, Nahala, at her Cairo apartment. She had just rescued me from my long day of cabbie madness and misunderstanding.

Why I write ...

to relate to others the experiences I have had... and inspire others to travel and experience this wonderful world for themselves! I also love the creative expression writing allows!

My first job ...

was as a paper delivery girl! Maybe all those words rubbed off on me...

My best moment ...

was taking the taxi from Kimpo Airport into Seoul, through the endless maze of traffic and high-rises, on the way to my new apartment. My eyes were forced wide open, as they took in new world around me. I've tried to keep them as open ever since...

My inspiration ...

is the many explorers before me, young and old. "The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page" - Saint Augustine.

Travel > Africa & Middle East Travel Diaries Travel experiences: Egypt

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After weeks of touring around Egypt that ended magnificently on the Sinai Peninsula, I caught a minibus back to Cairo. I must say, despite traveling solo, I felt incredibly safe in Egypt. The Egyptians are incredibly kind and gracious to visitors. So, while others worried about me, I was completely calm. Well, unless I was stuck in traffic somewhere. My most anxious moments were those when I was navigating Egypt's spectacular streets and traffic. I had never observed anything quite like Egyptian road rules. The unspoken Egyptian traffic rule seems to be that there are no rules. Anything go...

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