Tag book review

For the past two years Lauren has been running a small book club in Beijing called Book Smugglers. From time to time publishers send books for review. Border Run, by Simon Lewis, was one such book. Below is a review composed by Sam Johnson.

“Looking for a new experience? Try murder.” This intriguing book by Simon Lewis picks you up, takes you running, and doesn’t stop till the end. Full of action and moral choices, you won’t want to pass this up.

Two friends backpacking in south-east China are given an opportunity to go off the beaten path or “mango-smoothie trail” when a friendly guide offers them a free ride to a distant waterfall. The promises of beauty and sex lead to an eruption of violence and a clashing of wills that keep you on the edge of your seat. Friendships are tested and morality is brought in to question in this Burmese jungle far from home. Will, the protagonist, is shocked when a series of events launches him into a deadly situation shared by his friend Jake and their guide. Can they keep this secret? Will’s actions and thoughts sometimes tend towards the implausible, but what would you do in his shoes? Will’s friend Jake at times seems to be his polar opposite morally; it is his decent into darkness that reveals Will’s character more fully. Can he be saved? And finally, what can be made of the chameleon guide. He is their friend one minute and a deadly enemy the next.

As the characters develop you may side with one, then the other in this deadly game of life and death on what was at first a simple Border Run.

Border Run from Simon Lewis, published by Sort of. 2012. 226 pages and available paperback for £7.99 and in the U.S. from $8.00 to $17.00. Amazon details here.

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If you have ever entertained the idea of long-term travel, or ‘Vagabonding’ as Rolf Potts terms it, then this book is an invaluable guide on how to get started with planning and logistics. It is a whimsical yet no-nonsense guide on how to take anywhere from a few weeks to a few years off to travel, and do so successfully.

Potts offers not only a philosophical journey through his decision to abandon his cube and travel, but pertinent information, like that on our resources page, about travel insurance, teaching English, and language software, etc. He makes the world of long-term travel see manageable ad available to anyone willing to try, and this is an amazing thing to achieve in around a hundred pages.

If you are already a life-long lover of travel than Potts witty and Buddhist-like rants about the necessity to experience the larger world will reassure you that the vagabond lifestyle you’ve chosen is not only zen-like, but largely practical and applicable in the ‘real world’ should you ever decide to return to it. Moreover, your blood pressure will rise and a smile will spread across your face as you eagerly turn the pages to devour more of Potts reassuring and inspiring rhetoric.

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This is the only book written about the Mongol Rally. As many of you know, we are participating in this 10,000 mile adventure across Europe and Asia this summer, so naturally we wanted to size up what the forerunners have done in this amazing race. Rising / Falling – Always Hoping offered invaluable insight into the inter-workings of a team undertaking the rally.

The book begins with the author and his friend solving the plethora of problems they encountered in registering their car, finding visas and making their ancient car ready to hit the road. Nevertheless, their team encountered an unnatural amount of problems on their route from the UK to Mongolia.

Throughout the race, their team had several breakdowns with their tiny car. It seemed 90% of the book was taken up with the team dealing with their failing auto. At one point they were left with no options on fixing the car, no parts, and no help in the middle of Kazakhstan where they had finally laid waste. In the end, the team was forced to abandon the race and just hope to find someone to haul their dead car into Mongolia. They succeeded in dragging the dead machine to Ulaan Bataar, only to discover that the finale they were hoping for did not exist. They simply left the wreaked vehicle in the appropriate parking lot, and had a Genghis Khan beer and then shrugged and flew back to the UK.

It was a bit depressing to read this tale of wonder and woe, simply because the author’s team had experienced such hardship on the route that it seemed they were not ever enjoying themselves, and always working overtime to achieve a goal that, in the end, was a let down. Nevertheless, the author proclaims the joys of the road only after completing the rally and returning home.

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If you have ever been to China, then Lost on Planet China will be full of inside jokes only you and other China travelers will understand. His insight into the psyche of the Chinese was amusing and comical, but hardly deep. It would be fair to say that more than half of the book was taken with Troost’s comical musings on the Chinese way of life, with the remaining bit concerned with telling where and what he was up to while romping around the Middle Kingdom.

Troost, who is perhaps most well known for his forays on lost islands, isolated from humanity. Now he has traveled from serenity to the world’s most populated country, and at times his frustration with the density of human life is apparent. While many may feel this is a drawback to the book, anyone who has been to China can laugh along with him as he remains frustrated at people pushing him in line, cutting him on the subway and spitting all over ever piece of bare land.

He considers briefly bringing his family to China with him, but decides against it due to the excessive amount of pollution he encounters during his travels, and that’s not to say he didn’t try to find a breath of fresh air while in Asia. Having lived in China for several years, Troost was apt in his assessment of the state of air in China, but he is also a bit jaded since he spent such a large amount of time on a tiny island in the middle of the ocean—aka the epitome of a fresh air location.

Troost has a very unique writing style. At first it was hard to get into, but after a chapter or two his cheeky textual habits become cute in a quirky way. Having read another book of his, The Sex Lives of Cannibals, which describes his time in Kiribati, I feel that not only has his writing improved, but his sense of humor has expanded a great deal, making his new book a pleasure to read.

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Chuck Thompson is an infamous name in the travel industry. He has been a long-time critic of how Americans perceive the rest of the world, that is to say – as a series of isolated resorts in various exotic locations ripe for development and full of charming tanned locals. Thompson’s uniquely bitter tone throughout the book lends to the overall sarcasm of his message– that the travel industry is flawed and presents only the best and most cheeky aspects of international forays.

In Smile When You’re Lying, Thompson gives perky little insightful tales from his own past that involve excessive amounts of cocaine and marijuana done with Alaskan State Government officials, various visits to go-go dance halls (aka brothels) and a ridiculous amount of drinking with all sorts of unsavory characters. Despite this, he manages to weave an attention-grabbing tale of what it is like to travel as a rogue (albeit flawed) writer, a tale that leaves me wondering what his wife (mentioned in only half of his trips abroad) thinks of his new book.

His brief stint as the editor of Travelocity Magazine gave him the push he needed to launch his travel writing career to new heights. While he has a job most travelers can only dream of, he does little but mock the industry, scorn the results of travel, and defend what “it used to be like” in Thailand, the Philippines and Alaska. Nevertheless, the book’s writing is top notch and the illustrious wordsmith has traveled to over 35 countries on assignment, making him one of the better researched travel writers in the business, and a very lucrative one for him at that.

Book Cover

Steve and Vali made a deal with each other. The first one to circumnavigate the globe by land would win a bottle of the most expensive scotch they could find in California. So, they purchased a bottle of scotch, poured two glasses and set them dramatically on the dining room table. Then they said their goodbyes (an event that left one in handcuffs and other excessively grumpy) and took off on a no-airplanes circling of the globe.

While the premise sounds amazing, and the concept of circumnavigating the globe by land enticing, the actual adventures Vali had were somewhat diminished by the fact that he chose to cheat and fly around the world, thus breaking the deal and cheating himself and his friend out of a true challenge. Meanwhile, Steve sits on a boring freighter for a large portion of his travels, participating in the challenge full on, but thus having less time to see the world.

This raises an important question for us at Abandon the Cube. Since we gave up flying, and have been traveling by land only for the past year, we’re wondering what we are possibly missing by scooting across the oceans and plains by land. While I sometimes think we could experience and see a lot more if we simply flew from place to place, for us most of the adventure lies in the “getting there” aspect of traveling. We recently traveled from Shanghai to Seattle by land, going through Central Asia, the Caucus, Eastern Europe, Northern Africa and finally across the Atlantic by boat to the east coast of the USA where we took a series of trains and cars to the west coast. Basically, we did the same trip that Steve did, minus one trip across the Pacific Ocean by freighter. We would not have done it any other way. Instead of flying from Xinjiang to Uzbekistan, we took a train through Kazakhstan. While we were extorted and robbed in Kazakhstan, and chased across the border in Uzbekistan, we would not lose those experiences for anything, including a cushy airplane chair complete with free drinks and pre-packaged food.

On the up shot, Steve and Vali are both comedians. One writes for American Dad and the other for My Name is Earl, along with many other accomplishments. Their sense of humor permeates The Ridiculous Race, making it a fast and delightful read. While their insight into the places they visit is minimal, the funny commentary along the route is amusing and delightful.

Geography of Bliss

If you are interested in social psychology and how the conceptual understanding of happiness varies between cultures, then The Geography of Bliss: One Grump’s Search for the Happiest Places in the World is for you. Weiner travels across the globe trying to find the world’s happiest locations. He travels to the Netherlands, Switzerland, Bhutan, Qatar, Iceland, Moldova, Thailand, Great Britain, India and America in search of this aim.

While the subtitle of the book is, “One Grump’s Search for the Happiest Places in the World,” this is hardly fitting as Weiner is nowhere near as grumpy as other travel critics like Chuck Thompson. His commentary, unlike Thompson’s, is not as amusing or funny, but is in depth and offers real insight into the nations Weiner travels to in search of happiness.

Weiner begins his search by visiting the Netherlands, where a group of sociologists study and document happiness. This concept seems not only wasteful (time, money, etc.) but ridiculous in that happiness cannot be quantified (or can it?). Nevertheless, these professors have found a way to measure and assess happiness across the globe.

It was discovered that the happiest nations are the Netherlands, Switzerland and, in general, Western Europe, while the least happy are Tanzania, Rwanda, Zimbabwe and former Soviet republics like Uzbekistan and Belarus. This is not very surprising, claim the sociologists, since there is an obvious correlation between happiness and financial contentment, wherein the poorest nations are hardly happy. Meanwhile, they have discovered (thank god for science) that people with unstable governments and piss poor economics tend to be grumpy (no kidding!) while those who do not live in fear of their government or financial ruin tend to be happier.

Americans rank towards the upper fringes of the middle of happiness, meaning they are somewhat content but don’t take it too seriously. This is not surprising considering Americans have a plethora of problems to deal with but usually manage to do so while laughing. Living in China, many Chinese would ask why Americans view everything as a game or a joke. I laughed in response, but seriously I don’t know the reason.

It is interesting to think of the places we travel through in terms of whether they are happy or not. Uzbekistan, which we spent about a month in last year, was hardly an easy place to travel, and the government and ridiculous policies kept us from enjoying ourselves on a daily basis. Meanwhile, the locals seemed less than content, which is not surprising for an impoverished Muslim nation without resources or sound allies run by a government that thrives on nepotism and corruption. Why are the pawns unhappy, I wonder?

China (along with most of Asia) ranks quite low on the happiness scale, which also does not surprise me. We have spent roughly two years in China and while I’m sometimes shocked and impressed with the Chinese sense of humor, most of the time I find it depressing that the Chinese put so much pressure on themselves all the time and, given the Confucian hierarchy, they hardly let themselves joke around or have fun. But then, the Chinese find themselves in the middle of their ‘industrial revolution,’ which can be an awkward time for anyone.

This is a great book for any traveler who hopes to gain deeper insight into the places he or she visits, but at the same time, happy or not, the world over can only be understood via experiences, so get out there and experience more of it!

Grant Lingel weaves a fascinating and modern coming-of-age tale about an American boy from New York fresh out of college who finds himself confronted by a world without choices. From grammar school to college, and even choosing a major, Grant found the path before him was already laid out. But, with seven credits to go to graduate, Grant abandons the world he knows and sets out to find himself, and defy the expectations American society demands.

Reading IMAGINE in the Woods

From working in Mexico on a resort to traveling with crazed Minnesotans in Guatemala, to working a hostel-farm as a volunteer, learning poi and experiencing everyday with an open mind. Grant travels around from place to place, meeting amazing people and seeing life in a new light. His adventures leave the taste of rum and coke in the reader’s mouth, and a yearning to be a part of the trip Grant created for himself.

Grant writes often of the camaraderie travelers feel when abroad, an almost instant friendship that develops the moment you hear someone else’ amazing adventure tale. Reading Grant’s book while on the ferry from Turkmenistan to Azerbaijan, I was struck with a feeling of knowing and empathizing with the trials and joys of Grant’s experiences in Mexico. While I don’t share his enthusiasm for countless nights of partying that would shock a rock star, I feel that Grant’s adventure is well worth the telling, and feel that his up-beat and emotional readiness while traveling is an example many a weary traveler can learn from.

The characters in Grants adventures are so real that one can imagine they are a member of the small pack of friends Grant travels with while abroad. From drunken parties to day-trip adventures and midnight food runs, the reader truly comes to understand the atmosphere of life in Mexico as an expatriate. A life on the edge with extreme sporting, extreme partying, and sucking the very marrow out of each day of life, leaves the reader wishing to buy a one-way-ticket to a sandy beach.

I hope that his book inspires other people to imagine the possibilities in their own lives. Anyone can abandon their cube to see what life is like on the other side of the office wall. Anyone can buy a one-way ticket to paradise. For some reason, it is a select few who chose to defy the norm, abandon the cube and imagine a more thrilling life. Grant chooses to spend time in Mexico, Guatemala and more living on the beach, working with locals and other expats, and losing himself in the moment with drugs, women and a seemingly endless supply of booze. While Grant realizes that the world he is living in is a dangerous one, he has nevertheless stepped off the plank and into a world that is mixed with good and bad. By making the initial choice, Grant accepts the consequences and as a result, lived a more fulfilling life—and one worth reading about.

From one traveler to another, I recommend Imagine: A Vagabond Story
as a great read into the psyche of a traveler living on the edge. The tale ends happily enough with Grant starting a new adventure on another continent, letting all of us be reminded that it’s the experiences in life that make it worthwhile, not the 7 missing credits or the lack of a decent salary.

Review written by Lauren Johnson, from Abandon the Cube (Republic of Georgia, September 6th, 2009)Though we were very kindly given a singed copy of the book by Grant, we passed the book onto an English traveler heading East in the Republic of Georgia, who will pass it on as she finishes it.