I have been reading the book First Stop in the New World: Mexico City, the Capital of the 21st Century. It is a wonderful “warts and all” book about Mexico City and I would like to send you a copy. The author, David Lida, sent me 3 extra copies to give away and I would like to have a contest to give them away.

Contest Rules

Between now and January 31st write a blog post of at least 200 words on what is your favorite city and why. Think about these sort of questions:

• What makes this city unique?
• What was your favorite day in this city?
• What is the best festival or event in this city?
• Who is your favorite person you have met in this city?
• Where would you stay in this city?
• What would you city in this city?
• What would you do in this city to have an authentic experience?
• How would you meet the locals of this city?
• What should you not miss eating or drinking in this city?

To submit your entries you can either email them directly to me or:

• register on blog.amateurtraveler.com
• drop me an email and I will create you as an author on the blog
• post your story using the wordpress backend

You may:

• include one ad in your post of reasonable size
• write under your own byline
• retain rights to what you post to use elsewhere
• link to your blog, podcast, or the blog of your cat

You may not submit someone else’s work as your own or submit spammy entries.

I will give two books to my favorite articles and a third book to the article that gets the most number of valid comments.

Granted, not being a woman, I am not the target audience for this book, but I thoroughly enjoyed Beth Whitman’s guide to India. This is not a guidebook to the individual sites but more a strategy book for how to tackle India. It guides you through:

• what to pack
• how to secure your valuables
• what you did with your left hand back there in the toilet
• why you should sit on your left hand at the dinner table
• how to dress and comport yourself

Some of the information in the book is definitely targeted at women, but I found much of it to be useful to me as well. I have often been told by travelers that India is a challenging country. A first time visitor would be well advised to consult a tool like this book before their first trip to India.

For more about traveling to India as a woman listen to the recent interview with Beth Whitman on the Amateur Traveler podcast.