Introducing the newest member of the Gadling team… Catherine Bodry!
1. Where was this photo taken? In Mumbai. Some guy approached my friend and I at our guesthouse and asked if we wanted to be in a Bollywood pop video. So we left with him around 7pm. This photo was taken 12 hours later, at 7am, and we still hadn’t been in the video. Finally we “quit” and had a driver take us back to our guesthouse. Alas, we didn’t make it into the video. But we had some cool make-up done!
2. Where do you live now? In tiny Seward, Alaska. It’s about 2 hours south of Anchorage, on the Kenai Peninsula. It’s beautiful.
3. Scariest airline flown: I’ve been really lucky and haven’t had any scary flights that I can recall. I also haven’t been in a tiny plane, which are all over the skies in Alaska. Those scare me!
4. Favorite city/country/place: How can I pin it down?! Vietnam, the Loire region in France, and India top the list. But there’s also Cambodia, Guizhou province China, and Laos. And Alaska, of course.
5. Favorite remote corner of the globe visited: Kaili, in Guizhou province China. My friend was a Peace Corps volunteer there, and I spent two weeks exploring Kaili and the surrounding villages. I don’t think I’ve been anywhere more authentic or captivating.
6. Favorite guidebook series: I’ve blindly trusted Lonely Planet since I started traveling, and I always turn to them. However, I like a good dose of the dorky but enthusiastic Rick Steves when I’m in Europe.
7. Worst hotel experience: I can think of several in Asia that had rats. That was disturbing. I always slept with the lights on and tucked the mosquito nets in tight, sometimes putting books and whatever else I had over it to weigh it down. Nothing was going to get in there! I did it to keep the bugs out, but several times I woke up to a rat scurrying across the room. Ironically, I never had a problem with bugs.
8. Favorite foreign film: L’auberge Espangol. It’s also my favorite preview (I love previews). I also really like Amelie for it’s magical take on Paris, and the soundtrack. I love riding my bike around town to that soundtrack.
9. Worst place to catch a stomach bug: I imagine it’s on an all-night bus ride on a windy dirt road, when you’re traveling solo. And you forgot your toilet paper.
10. Next trip: I’ve got to get out of Alaska this winter. Don’t get me wrong; it’s stunning in the winter. But all that darkness and cold takes a toll. I’d like to go to Vietnam and have a new wardrobe made in Hoi An, but I’ll probably end up somewhere in Mexico over Christmas. I’m hoping for a longer trip in a year or so.