Travel Around The World With Savannah Grace

Savannah Grace

I love to hear about new and exotic places and today it’s great to welcome author, Savannah Grace, who has literally traveled to the four corners of the earth! She is now telling her story so that those of us who can’t go all over the world can travel through her books instead. Savannah, I believe your first book is currently on sale for only 99c until 15 April!! What’s it about?

"SIHPROMATUM" (Sip-row-may-tum) is a memoir series of my family's four-year backpacking adventure around the world. The first installment, "I Grew my Boobs in China", is the beginning of an intensely fascinating, sobering, and emotional memoir of an introspective and innovative family adventure.


Built around a backdrop of over eighty countries, "I Grew my Boobs in China" relates the family's adventures in China and Mongolia), this is a tale of feminine maturation - of the metamorphosis from ingénue to woman-of-the-world. Nibbling roasted duck tongues in China and being stranded in Mongolia's Gobi Desert are just two experiences that contribute to the exploration of new cultures and to the process of adapting to the world around me.

What do you have planned for the other books in the series?

There will be a few more books in the series to come. It would be impossible for me to wrap up the entire 4 years and 80 countries in one book. The next installment covers our overland journey through Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Western China, Tibet, Nepal, Maldives, Sri Lanka and India. The characters will continue to grow and develop, with the group dynamic ever evolving and fluctuating. New characters are introduced because a few friends from home flew out to join us for a few weeks each at different times. You will experience parts of the silk road, Tibetan monasteries, the strength of Nepali sherpas in the incredible Himalayas then live in the colors and chaos of India and then contrast this with the relaxing beauty of the Maldives. And of course with all the adventure, humour and excitement that was found in my first book too.

What made you want to write your story?

The idea of writing this book was put in the air early on in our adventure, as evidenced in journal entries I’d written in Mongolia. Once our adventure started developing into something bigger than any of us had ever anticipated, we were constantly being told by fellow travellers that we needed to write a book. We felt that telling the story from my perspective as the reluctant, youngest member of the group was the most unique.

Is there anything you feel that you have had to leave out?

I try not to leave anything out. I am very open and honest in my writing and feel that’s important in order to gain a real connection with my readers. I also have to be careful not to include the uninteresting details. In the first book I included nearly everything, because in the beginning everything is so fresh and new and made such an impact on me. The second book I will breeze through and pick out more of the highlights. Sometimes there are things that happened which just aren’t enough to form a story around, and those bits I’ve had to leave out.

Have you always wanted to be a writer?

I think that a part of me always wanted to be a writer but I never knew what I would write. When we went traveling, though reluctant at first, I really discovered myself. I suddenly had a thousand stories to share and amazing material to work with. I knew within the first couple of months of traveling that I wanted to write a book about it. I still have lots of material left for my Sihpromatum series but will likely branch out to fiction based on truth later on.

What do you like doing in your free time when you're not writing or travelling?

Hmmm, there pretty much isn’t anything to my life but that! I document every step I take. I love spending time with my boyfriend just running around doing errands, going out on dates and hanging out with my family. My hobby is pets. Before I went travelling I always had lots of animals, and now I’m starting to collect them again. I have snakes, fish, a turtle, tortoise, tarantulas and am planning to get a rat in a couple weeks.

Do you think you will continue travelling?

Yes, definitely. There’s just so much to see! Since publishing “Sihpromatum” I have been very involved with the traveling community on social media and feel I’m discovering new places every day. There is so much left to be explored. But it’s also nice to have a base and place to call home.

I recently got back from a fantastic trip to Guinea, West Africa where my partner and I have bought a piece of land on an island and are building a holiday home.

This year I plan to go to Spain, Italy in the summer, a trip home to Vancouver, Canada, another trip to Guinea to check on the progress of the building and I’m hoping we can squeeze the Philippines in too. Japan is definitely high up on my bucket list. I have yet to discover South East Asia. I have heard amazing things from family members about the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, etc. with their amazing sights, people and beaches.

Still need to go to Australia and New Zealand, and a South America trip has been in the air for years now.

Luckily, because I started young, I have my whole life ahead of me. Traveling is where I find most of my inspiration and it keeps me feeling alive.

What is your favourite country and why?

People always ask me what my favourite place was but I have never been able to answer this question. With so much natural beauty in this world it is hard to pick just one. How do you choose between deserts and jungles, mountains and beaches, historical sites and natural wonders? Some of my top destinations would be Nepal’s gorgeous mountains, trekking and people, Mongolia’s outback for its horses and extremely friendly people, Surinam’s jungles and multicultural atmosphere, Switzerland’s villages and skiing, Canada’s amazing nature with waterfalls, mountains and lakes, China’s beautiful authenticity and villages (my favourite was Yangshuo, one of the very first places I ever travelled so maybe I was easily impressed, but I still think it was amazing), Italy’s amazing history and artwork, Maldives’ priceless islands, blue waters and white beaches, India’s bright, lively culture and food plus many, many more!

How can people get in touch with you if they'd like to connect with you online?

My website is www.sihpromatum.com . Here, you can read the book while following along with photos. Just find them in photos- Asia - China and Mongolia albums. All of the interviews and media where I am featured are posted there as well as photos from the 98 countries I have visited.

There are stories from over 100 countries on our family blog which we started in 2005: including my latest trip to Guinea, West Africa.

www.watkinstravel.blogspot.com

Feel free to follow me @Sihpromatum : https://twitter.com/Sihpromatum 

You can connect with me, Savannah Grace, on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/savannah.grace.549

I really appreciate if you LIKE my FB page :  http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Sihpromatum-I-Grew-my-Boobs-in-China/367565703312088?fref=ts

You can also find me on Goodreads if you are interested in reading: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6520230.Savannah_Grace

I would love readers to take the time to review my book on Amazon.com once they’ve finished reading it: http://www.amazon.com/Sihpromatum-Grew-Boobs-China-Volume/dp/1479236659/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1352234800&sr=8-1&keywords=sihpromatum  

Author Bio

My name is Savannah Grace, born and raised in North Vancouver, Canada. I’m the youngest and probably least adventurous member of a very adventurous family. By the age of 7 they’d already dragged me through 30+ U.S. states on various family camping trips. At age 14 I was pulled out of school, this time to backpack around the world for an amazing 4 years. I'm 22 now and couldn’t be happier with the experiences I’ve had. I’ve visited 98 countries thus far and because of these extraordinary experiences I was able to follow my dream of becoming a writer and have finally released my first book “Sihpromatum – I Grew My Boobs in China”. I’m currently living with my Dutch partner in The Netherlands, where I continue to follow that dream.