Transformative Travel

by Kate Benzin

Magic gave it 5 stars and " What an Adventurer!  Fantastic and interesting account of one woman's journey to the Himalayas. This story is well written and will encourage every well-intentioned traveler to get up off the couch and follow his or her dream ont he map of life. A gutsy trip that proves you can accomplish any goal you set out for yourself. An easy read that will put a smile on your face as you follow Kate's adventure."
Fullfilling a dream! Kathmandu. Nepal. The Himalayas. An exotic area of the world that many people dream about visiting. Kate made that dream come true.

A casual phone call to a friend sparked the fulfillment of Kate's lifelong dream of traveling to Nepal in order to trek in the Himalayas. She jokingly mentioned to her friend Kay who was planning to start a new exercise routine that they could get fit on a trip to the Himalayas.

Within just a few weeks, Kate and Kay found themselves on a plane on the way to the adventure of a

- seeing the gorgeous snow-capped Himalayas in person so close that it seemed that Kate could just reach out her hand to touch them 

- trekking for days into areas that only the most adventurous travelers ever reach.

What Kate learned about herself during the challenging and sometimes excrutiating, but always stimulating, adventure of trekking at high altitude over rough terrain truly transformed her in ways that often did not become apparent until many years later.

Follow along with Kate as she learns more about how to expand her limits so that she can truly fulfill her dream. And maybe you will find yourself motivated to fulfill your dream as well.

At the end, read a sample of Kate's book How To Find The Heart Of Bali , an introductory guide to social and cultural Bali.

Genres: Travel

144 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2012

About the author

Kate Benzin is a seasoned traveler and tour director who has lived in Indonesia for most of the past 30 years. Indonesia became her home when she took a 3-month work assignment to train Indonesians on word processing equipment, and she fell in love with living her life as an adventure in Indonesia. After working as a tour director for the past 15 years in many countries of the world, she now spends most of her time writing in her home/office which she shares with her three dogs.

Reviews

[Heather Fineisen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kate Benzin, trekker, gets 5 stars for putting herself out there, in this case there is Nepal. Out of shape and apprehensive, Kate treks through Nepal and is smart enough to recognize that she is tougher than she thought. At fifty plus years, she struggles with altitude sickness and self doubt to go farther than she imagined, inspiring this reader to add to my bucket list. This is a short read and would have been enhanced by more detail regarding the region, customs, and culture. The bits she does share are amusing and informative, making the trek seem that much more real.

[Madge · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book and really felt I was along with Kate as she trekked the Langtang Trail in the Himalayas of Nepal. I could feel her ability to do something she thought she could do, but until she did it, was not sure how it would turn out. Even though she was almost able to finish at 14000 feet (she was just short of that height)it was her ability to talk herself out of turning around. Amazing that she decided to do this at all as an overweight, 54 year old. Makes great reading on travels to Nepal. She didn't convince me to do it at 64 but I loved the spirit.

[L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! You are taken to the peaks of the Himalayas with a "real" person and you feel the pain and the excitement of doing something few people have ever done. The book is an insider's look at how hard doing something you really want to do can become, and how the heart and spirit can persevere over anything!

[Katharine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reads as though you're listening to a friend retell her experiences of challenges and amazing experiences - with unfiltered honesty. Kate didn't hang precariously from a cliff but it's still as harrowing and rewarding as Joan's trekking adventure. ;-)

[Janice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too short and could use a lot of fleshing out.

[Danics · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great and light story about a woman fulfilling her dream by trekking in the Himalayas. The bug of travel rose up me once again and I added a new destination to my "places to go" list.

[Gina · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read, as I enjoy travel essays. It could have used an editor's eye.