When I'm by myself, I'm not threatening at all. I get many more invitations than I would if I were traveling with anyone else, especially with a man. But I'm rarely alone. I sit on a park bench and I'm not alone because I pick a park bench where somebody interesting is sitting.

There were times that the kids were upset I wasn't there, those three times a year they needed me. The rest of the time, I'm sure that I wasn't in their thoughts.

When I'm by myself, I'm not threatening at all. I get many more invitations than I would if I were traveling with anyone else, especially with a man. But I'm rarely alone. I sit on a park bench and I'm not alone because I pick a park bench where somebody interesting is sitting.

Eat where the people eat, not the hotels and touristy restaurants. If a local teacher makes $50 a month and they're living decently, see what they do.

I don't worry about being a woman alone out there. My advice to people is to smile a lot, talk to strangers, accept all invitations and eat everything you're offered.

Stay away from Europe, stay away from Japan, Australia. If you go to the Western world, you're gonna pay more money. You can spend five months in Bali for what you'd spend in one month in Europe.

Take what happened to me in Bali. I planned on going to Ubud, then met a man on an airplane who told me it was too touristy. He gave me an address on the other side of the island, which turned out to be a palace where I lived for four years.