Beth Whitman is a traveler, writer, teacher, and hey, she's my neighbor! She contacted me to see if I'd be interested in reviewing her book, Wanderlust and Lipstick: The Essential Guide for Women Traveling Solo. "Of course," I said, and how crazy is this, she just dropped it by my house.

Since we live about two miles apart, we were able to meet up at the French Bakery that's about halfway between her house and mine to talk about her book, traveling, the travelsphere, and more.

On the book, I'll tell you what I told Beth: I liked the it. And also this: It's not for me because traveling to me is like breathing, I can't remember a time when I didn't know how to do it. But I DO think that the information in there is useful for women who are thinking of venturing out but just don't know how. The book is full of common sense advice, ideas, and, hey, it's a travel book, so there are inspiring stories in there too. But enough about what I think. Here's Q&A with Beth about why we're not traveling, a tale of things gone scary, and where she wants to go next.

What do you think is stopping women from getting out the door to see the world?

I think it’s a subtle, yet pervasive, peer pressure from men and women that “you can’t travel by yourself”. That phrase is generally followed by a list of why a person can’t do the thing she wants to do the most. It’s when the desire becomes far stronger than the fear, that we book those tickets!

Can we tell it like it is? What's the worst thing that's happened to you as a solo traveler?

First, I don’t believe that things happen “to” you. I believe that you make them happen or you put yourself in such a position that good or bad things happen around you and you have some control over the consequences. Sorry – that’s my rant about not making yourself a victim. Having said that, I take full responsibility for this next story.

I was traveling overland in Cambodia in ’92 from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap, where Angkor Wat is located. It was a time when it was not safe to be traveling overland in Cambodia due to a very unstable government. I was saving about $120 by not flying because the entrance fee to the great temples was collected at the airport and hitching a ride got me out of lining the pockets of the corrupt government officials. On the second day of a two-day trip, the truck that I was traveling in got stopped by a group of gun-toting military men. They saw my blond hair and came to the back of the open-aired pickup, where I was sitting on a bench. They were carrying AK-47’s, rifles and rocket launchers. One man started rubbing my arm and speaking to me in Khmer. I kept repeating, “No understand”, and he laughed at me. I could smell the alcohol on his breath. The driver of my truck came around and tried to give him riels, the local currency, but he just waved him off. The driver got back in the cab and started to pull away. Just then, Mr. Military pulled out a hand grenade. Even though I was sitting, I felt like my legs fell out from underneath me. He never pulled the pin and we quickly sped away. Lesson learned? My life is worth more than $120. But, it’s been a great travel story!

And yes, of course, I want know the opposite. What's the best?

This is the hardest question to answer because so many great things happen when I travel. Besides having seen some of the most beautiful areas on the planet, the “best” memories are those that involve people. And it’s usually when I’ve found myself in a bind and someone comes along to help out. For example, I was riding my motorcycle from Seattle to Panama and had a flat in New Mexico. Dan the Boat Mechanic was called in by some locals. He had his brother pick up a tire tube for me in Albuquerque (90 miles away), loaned me his car for the night and fixed my flat for an embarrassingly small amount of money. He was just being kind. Another time, I was traveling in Bali and met up with a fellow traveler named Joe. He obviously had far more money than I did as a backpacker and he bought breakfast for me and a couple other backpackers and he paid for a taxi ride around the island to visit craft shops. Looking back, he probably spent no more than $20 on us, but it was a big deal for me at the time and I never forgot it. I now try to “pay it forward” and help out other travelers when I can.

You're in a committed relationship. If it's not too personal, would you tell me what your partner thinks about the fact that solo travel is a priority for you?

Well, I admit I do less solo travel now that Jon has the travel bug, too. However, he’s completely supportive of me going off on my own (because of my book, now I call it “research”!). Plus, I think we both secretly like when the other one travels solo – it gives us a chance to catch up on movies the other person would hate and we completely let the house fall apart and eat terribly when the other isn’t around. It’s a mini-vacation for the one who stays home.

In the time you've been a traveler, what do you think has changed about travel for women? What do you wish was different and how?

When I first started traveling 20 years ago, there wasn’t a lot of information or resources available. Now, there’s no excuse for staying at home. Between the destination guide books that are available and all the info you can find on the Internet, travel is relatively easy. Plus it is so much more acceptable to travel on your own as a woman today than it was 20 years ago. I don’t think anything needs to change – I’m really excited about where things are today.

If it were possible to distill it down, what's the one thing you'd want women to know about traveling solo?

That anyONE can do anyTHING. Our own fears are our own worst enemies. If we had all been brought up believing in ourselves (and I wasn’t, I had to re-learn a lot of things) then we would be creating our own amazing adventures without doubt.

Where do you want to go next and why?

On tour for my book! Seriously. I love meeting and inspiring women to get out and travel. I’m planning a West Coast trip this fall. I am also planning to lead a trip to Bhutan in April, 2008 that I’m super excited about. Papua New Guinea and the Brazilian Rainforest are on my “wish list”. I’m saving my tax return to fund a trip to one of these places. As a side note, in my book I talk about not making excuses to travel to your dream destination. I’ve always wanted to go to Papua New Guinea and the Amazon but “it’s too expensive”. I figured I better start walking the walk and so I have my tax refund from this year placed in a special account to fund my dream trip.

What's the weirdest thing you've eaten and where?

I’m a vegetarian so it gets me out of a lot of nasty situations, but I did eat a honey ant in Australia. You have to suck the back end of the ant where they store honey. I was too grossed out to really taste it. Oh, and one time when I was the guest of honor at a dinner in Vietnam, I ate some part of a fish that I still don’t know what it was. It was the consistency of a lung, but it wasn’t a lungfish, so who knows. I almost threw up right on the spot.

What don't you leave home without? I'm not talking your standards like meds or clothing, I'm talking those odd little things that travelers glom on to.

As long as I have my passport, boarding pass and money, I don’t stress about missing something. But, I do have to have my eyeshade so I can sleep on the plane or in a hotel room with thin drapes. I love my iPod loaded with audio books and world music and I’d be SO bummed if I didn’t have a camera and journal. I have a terrible memory, so I have to document everything as I go.

Beth blogs at Wanderlust and Lipstick and the Seattle PI. You can get her book through her website. She's going on a West Coast tour this year, and she's planning to do all her overnights through Couch Surfing.

Pam blogs about travel and other adventures at Nerd's Eye View.