Today I am writing about all the travelling books. For all of you who have travelled but not gone to the places which the authors have written about or thinking to put these places in your bucket list. I have made a list of books which can fit any budget and can become a set of guidelines for your next trip, so here you go:
Dark Star Safari by Paul Theroux
It’s a voyage of travelling through the African Continent. His journey begins in Cairo Egypt; he travels through River Nile .He sees lots of countries like Sudan, Ethiopia and Kenya all the way till the end of the Continent in Cape Town South Africa.
His journey is filled with adventure as he travels in trains, Chicken Trucks etc. He comes across many incidents which are very dangerous and a treat to this survival. He never gives up, he continues his journey. He also meets lots of other travelers, missionaries, politicians. He comes to know about their political system which is filled with corruption. The poverty of the people is due to corruption. So the author gives us the details of this trip. This account is full of emotions. He makes lots of friends there. Later on he revisits his old friends.
He also gets the opportunity to visit his old students which he taught. The main reason for the author to visit that place was due to part of a peacekeeping mission in that place. This motivated him to visit and write everything he experienced during his visit to Africa.
The lessons which we learn from this book are that one should never hold back in travelling, The risks one may face may bring about the fruits. It helps us to learn about the real picture of any country. It’s culture, its people, transportation system and the governmental system.
Marching Powder by Rusty Young
It’s a true story about a British man named Thomas who landed at Bolivian airport. The officers found cocaine in his luggage. The author is a journalist who was planning to live in this city and hears about him. He then meets him, bribes the guards and lives with him in a nearly 5 years jail term. Both became friends. Rusty records the events in the jail. Lots of inmates run businesses from there. Thomas had to pay for the jail; he made his living from selling cocaine
The book gives insights of drug business, the rich lifestyle people enjoy because of it. Some prisoners even keep pets. Thomas also starts another job for the tourists and takes them through the jail, prisoners. The book was released in 2000.It could also give us details about the drug cartel, the people involved in it. Unfortunately the main people behind this always escape the trial or just live luxurious lives and die peacefully on their beds; the people caught are the poor people who spent their lives in jail.
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Santiago is the shepherd in Spain. He dreams about getting the treasure. He keeps dreaming about it for several nights. One day he meets a wise man called Melchizedek. He then decides to embark on a journey to the pyramids in Egypt.
On the way, he loses the money to thieves; he then decides to earn a living in order to make money to continue his journey. He then joined the caravans. On the way, in the desert, they were stopped by the landlords. They finally let him go. After a long journey, he reaches his destination. He is again robbed. Then one day he reaches the pyramids and is able to dig out these dream treasures.
The author emphasizes that living a routine life may make life more difficult. Life becomes more meaningful and rewarding when we come out of our comfort zone and aim for something bigger and greater.
Wild by Cheryl Strayed
The journey of Cheryl Strayed is in the Pacific crest trail. She started in 1995.1100 miles is the total distance. This book describes the set of bad incidents, which filled her life with sorrow, which were that she and her husband decided to divorce. She had to give up on her pregnancy. The main reason for this step was to overcome the sadness which was due to the loss of her mother because of lung cancer. The second reason was to ease her separation process.
She had to face more predicament than she expected. The time of the year she chose, was very cold, full of snow. She also didn’t bring along the equipment required for hiking. She met other fellow hikers. She takes other routes which are comparatively safer for her. Other people also encourage and praise her.
Finally she reached the destination Bridge of Gods which is in between Oregon and Washington. The lessons we learn from this autobiography is that being a woman and a series of losses may not stop her to achieve an awesome achievement of life which was reaching at the top of the mountain. She is the true source of inspiration for each one of us who may give up living with the loss of a loved one.
A short Walk In The Hindu Kush Written by Eric Newby
This story is about Eric Newby who works in the fashion industry and his friend who works as a diplomat in British embassy in Tehran Iran. They take a three day course about mountain climbing and set out to climb a mountain called Hindu Kush in Afghanistan. They set out from UK in their car. They go through Turkey, Iraq and Iran.
Finally they reach Kabul and set to Mir Samir which is one of the mountains ranges of Hindu Kush. He was fortunate to have a friend Carless who was familiar with geography and was fluent in Persian language. They hired three local men who helped in the climbing. The book is full of funny incidents, romance and adventure. It takes them 17 hours journey to reach the peak of the mountain. The local people encourage them to reach the top. Also, check out some fantastic sad romance novels to read while traveling.
This will be a handy guide, for anyone who wants to summit any mountain, learn from the author’s experience to achieve the goal which may look difficult at the beginning. It also teaches us companionship, teamwork and courage to achieve new heights in life
Vagabonding By Rolf Potts
It’s a book for those travel enthusiasts, who want an adventure at the same time are budget conscious. The author tells its readers to take responsibility for their travel. It teaches us to travel without restrictions. The main point is to keep it simple, enjoyable travelling experience. It helps us to understand that taking a break from a daily routine and set foot for a long term journey without earning.
How To Travel The World On $ 50 A Day Written by Matt Kepnes
The book is a set of strategies which may help a first time traveler to plan his/ her trips around the world. It give guidelines about the food that it should be cooked rather than to eat out as it will be a good idea to make some savings. It also encourages the traveler to come out of fears and myths that are stopping him/her to travel. The author has given real examples from life. He has called them myths. He discusses that the first hurdle in thinking to travel is being expensive. He also discusses his one decade of travelling, where he has never experienced any kind of violence or any natural disaster which is often promoted or highlighted in the media channels like CNN etc.
The third misconception about travel Kepenes sheds light is the age barrier. Many people stop themselves from discovering new places because of their age limits. He discusses a person who is 65 years old and travels from Europe to India. The fourth myth is that travelling is expensive. Here the Kepnes discusses to calculate the monthly expenses and then compares it with the travel expenses; he says that the later will be lower. He says that travelling as low as 50$ is just required.
In the end I just want to say that I carefully listed the books, which I picked after intense reading about the topics they cover, credentials about the authors and the ratings they got from the readers.
