Last Updated: 10/12/20 | October 12th, 2020
The end of the year is just that time for favorites lists – and I’ve written about the best travel books many times over! I love talking about travel books. Why? Because part of the tool belt of any traveler is a good book. Long bus, train, or plane rides can get pretty boring and can give you a lot of “dead” time if you haven’t mastered the art of the 10-hour blank stare. Additionally, reading travel books helps you learn about the destinations you are visiting. The more you know about a place, the more you can understand a place.
I am a voracious reader and have even started a book club on this website to share all the books I read. Today is another one of those days where I share some of the books I’ve read recently! If you’re looking for some great reads, here are my current list of the best travel books to inspire you to travel far-off lands:
The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho
A books about following your dreams, this is one of the most-read books in recent history. The story follows a young shepherd boy from Spain to Egypt as he follows his heart, goes with the flow, and learns love and the meaning of life. The book is filled with wonderful and inspirational quotes. My favorite: “If you can concentrate always on the present, you’ll be a happy man… Life will be a party for you, a grand festival, because life is the moment we’re living right now.” I can’t recommend this book enough. Buy on Amazon | Buy on Bookshop
Love With a Chance of Drowning, by Torre DeRoche
This book is written by travel blogger Torre DeRoche, and, while I normally don’t like “chick travel love stories”, I couldn’t put this one down. It’s a beautifully written book about overcoming her fear of the ocean to sail across the Pacific with her boyfriend. The way she describes the scenery, the people, and her experience makes me want to follow in her footsteps. It’s powerful, vivid, and moving. It’s the best travel book I’ve read all year. Buy on Amazon | Buy on Bookshop
The Caliph’s House: A Year in Casablanca by Tahir Shah
Inspired by the Moroccan vacations of his childhood, Shah decides to buy a house in Casablanca. He moves his family from England in hopes of breaking out from the monotony of life in London as well as exposing his children to a more carefree childhood. I randomly picked this up in a bookstore and couldn’t put it down. Shah is an engrossing writer and I was glued to every word. While dealing with corruption, the local bureaucracy, thieves, gangsters, jinns causing havoc, and the hassle that seems to come with even the most simple interactions, Shah weaves a story that is simply one of the best I’ve read all year. It’s beautifully written and endlessly enthralling. Buy on Amazon | Buy on Bookshop
On the Road, by Jack Kerouac
Written in 1957, Jack Kerouac’s Beat Generation classic is a timeless travel novel. The story follows his character, Sal, as he leaves New York City and heads west, riding the rails, making friends, and partying the night away. The main character’s frustration and desire to see the world are themes that can resonate with many of us. What I especially love about On the Road is that through all his travel adventures, he becomes a better, stronger, and more confident person.
Buy on Amazon | Buy on Bookshop
Unlikely Destinations: The LP Story, by Tony & Maureen Wheeler
This tome chronicles the start and rise of the company whose guidebook is probably in your backpack or on your bookshelf right now. The story follows them from England in the 1970s to the beginning of the 21st century. In between, you hear all their travel tales and learn about their early business struggles. While the book drags in some parts, it is ultimately a fascinating read about the company that launched the travel guidebook industry. Buy on Amazon | Buy on Bookshop
The Lost City of Z, by David Grann
This book seeks to find out what happened to Percy Fawcett, who trekked through the Amazon jungle in search of the fabled lost city of Z. Blending history, biography, and travelogue, Grann intermingles information about Percy’s life and expeditions with the science behind the myth of Z and the possibility that there could have been vast advanced civilizations in the Amazon. I learned a lot about the region and history of the cultures that inhabited the land long before Westerners arrived. Buy on Amazon | Buy on Bookshop
The Beach, by Alex Garland
Besides The Alchemist, this is probably my favorite travel book. (I like the movie too, but the book is way better.) What I love about Alex Garland’s tale about backpackers and their search for paradise is that you can identify with Richard and his quest to “do something different and get off the beaten path,” but in the end see that as an illusion. It’s also a good tale about how backpackers’ search for the ideal can end up ruining that ideal. I love this book a lot!! Buy on Amazon | Buy on Bookshop
Vagabonding, by Rolf Potts
Written by the godfather of vagabonding, Rolf Potts, this book is a must-read for those new to long-term travel. Rolf spent 10 years on the road (he even walked across Israel), and his book contains valuable insights, interesting quotes, and a lot of practical information. From saving to planning to life on the road, this is a must for newbies. It’s an inspirational book and one that really affected me when I was planning my trip. It delves deeply into the why and philosophy of long-term travel that no other book has come close to doing. Buy on Amazon | Buy on Bookshop
In A Sunburned Country, by Bill Bryson
It’s hard to pick just one book by Bill Bryson that’s good, because they all are. He’s one of the most prolific and recognized names in travel writing. This book chronicles a journey through Australia and takes you from east to west, through tiny little mining towns, forgotten coastal cities, and off-the-beaten-path forests. Bryson includes lots of trivia in his tale as he travels around in awe — and sometimes in fear (thanks to box jellyfish, riptides, crocs, spiders, and snakes) — of this enormous country. This is the book that inspired me to go to Australia. Buy on Amazon | Buy on Bookshop
The Geography of Bliss, by Eric Weiner
Writer and NPR correspondent Eric Weiner set out on a yearlong journey to find the world’s happiest places. He heads to places like Iceland, Qatar, Denmark, India, and Moldova (the world’s most unhappy place) on his quest, and while he never finds the secret to happiness, his journey makes for an amazing and lighthearted read. In trying to answer the question “what makes a society happy?,” Weiner has some memorable interactions with locals. Buy on Amazon | Buy on Bookshop
Turn Right at Machu Picchu, by Mark Adams
This book recounts Adams’s tale of roughing it through Peru in search of Inca ruins and ancient cities while following archaeologist Hiram Bingham’s original route. The book taught me a lot about Peru, and I am inspired to visit a lot of the sites Adams explored on my trip there next year. Like him, I fully plan to turn right. It was the best travelogue I’ve read in the past year and has inspired me to visit a lot of the places he did in the book. Buy on Amazon | Buy on Bookshop
Cruising Altitude, by Heather Poole
This book by Heather Poole is about life as a flight attendant. I, ironically, picked it up at an airport and read it on a plane. It’s a quick, light read about what it’s like to work at 35,000 feet. You learn crew terms, about training, dealing with pilots, and the day to day life that takes place up in the air. It had some funny stories and gave me a new appreciation for just how hard those flight attendants work and how much crap they have to put up with! Buy on Amazon | Buy on Bookshop
A Year of Living Danishly, by Helen Russell
This was probably my favorite book of the year. When her husband gets a job at the Lego offices in Jutland, Helen Russell decides to head to Denmark with him, freelance write, and try to figure out why the Danes are so happy. From childcare, education, food, and interior design to taxes, sexism, and everything in between (turns out the Danes love to burn witches), Helen’s funny, poignant story kept me enthralled from start to finish. It’s informative, hilarious, self-deprecating, and tells a great story of someone trying to fit in. As someone who loves Denmark, has lots of Danish friends, and thinks Copenhagen is one of the best cities in the world, I couldn’t put this down. If you read just one book from this list, make it this one! Buy on Amazon | Buy on Bookshop
BONUS: How to Travel the World on $50 a Day, by me!
Ok I know I include this like in every list but my book is awesome so you should read it. Thos New York Times best-selling book was called “The bible for budget travelers” by the BBC and will teach how to master the art of travel so you save money, get off the beaten path, and have a more local, richer travel experience no matter your destination. It features detailed pricing and destination information so you can travel better and know what to expect when you visit places around the world. Meant for anyone who wants to save money, the book contains everything I know about travel! Buy on Amazon | Buy on Bookshop
Books about travel inspire us to go visit far-off lands and imagine us doing incredible things. Bryson’s In a Sunburned Country inspired me to visit Australia! I hope these travel books inspire you to travel the world and feed your wanderlust. If you have any suggestions that I can add to this best travel books list, leave them in the comments.
If you’d like to see some of the other books I’ve recommended (or are currently reading), check out this page I created on Amazon that lists them all!
You can also find them listed in our Bookshop store, which helps support locally-owned bookstores. If you’re in the US, click here to check out my Bookshop store!
How to Travel the World on $50 a Day
My New York Times best-selling paperback guide to world travel will teach you how to master the art of travel so that you’ll get off the beaten path, save money, and have a deeper travel experience. It’s your A to Z planning guide that the BBC called the “bible for budget travelers.”
Click here to learn more and start reading it today!
Book Your Trip: Logistical Tips and Tricks
Book Your Flight
Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner or Momondo. They are my two favorite search engines because they search websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is left unturned.
Book Your Accommodation
You can book your hostel with Hostelworld. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com as they consistently return the cheapest rates for guesthouses and cheap hotels.
Don’t Forget Travel Insurance
Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. I’ve been using World Nomads for ten years. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:
- World Nomads (for everyone below 70)
- Insure My Trip (for those over 70)
- Medjet (for additional repatriation coverage)
Ready to Book Your Trip?
Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel. I list all the ones I use when I travel. They are the best in class and you can’t go wrong using them on your trip.
Didzis
My best read so far:
http://thisbookisabouttravel.com/
Real and inspiring.
Carry
If you like books about Paris, I recommend The Paris Wife by Paula McLain. It’s less about Paris and more about the whirlwind romance of Hadley Richardson and Earnest Hemmingway, which largely took place in Paris in the 20s.
I love it for the characters’ interactions with the “Lost Generation” – Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, F. Scott Fitgerald, etc.
It is historical fiction, but it’s easy to imagine everything happing just as McLain writes about it. It’s especially poignant because we know that, in the end, Hemingway wrote that he would rather have died than fallen in love with anyone but Hadley.
Kjersti
I would like to recommend “One for the Road”. It’s a travel book about Antarctica, Southern Africa and the Trans-Siberian Railway. It tells you about the positive and negative sides of travelling to those destinations, and about travelling alone in general. It’s really entertaining and funny too 🙂
The author has made the whole book available for free as a PDF. It can be downloaded here: http://bjornfree.com/
Jonny Jenkins
A few suggestions:
Badlands – Similar to Unlikely Destinations, this book is written by one of the founders of Lonely Planet and speaks about his travels into places that are thought of as being to dangerous for travelers (Iraq, North Korea, Afghanistan, Libya, etc)… Very interesting tales and provides great perspective
Around the World in 80 Days – Okay, it’s cliche, but still a classic and definitely invokes that travel spirit and wanderlust.
The Heart of Darkness – This classic by Joseph Conrad gives you a different way of looking at the African continent, and the way that it was during colonial times.
NomadicMatt
I’ve read the other two but I’ll check out Badlands!
Adrienne Morton
Matt,
One of your BEST posts ever. GREAT succinct reviews that only wet my book palate more. (CANT WAIT TO READ THE ALCHEMIST, but SORRY, still reading your book!!) May I urge you further to read 100 Years of Solitude…….you won’t possibly ever, ever regret it. I gave it as a present to my then lover and he actually beat me- read it in a day! Its that meaningful, that sexy, that life-changing, and journey-filled. I found myself ignoring literally everything sophomore year of college, literally locking my door, and not coming out even for classes as I read it TWICE in a row.That is love. I would love to talk to you about it in Thailand, too. If not, just let me know and I will bring it as a gift.
Adrienne
Melissa Josue
You will love The Alchemist, Adrienne!! It inspired me so much. It is a rather short book. 100 Years of Solitude is one of my favorites. In fact, I would have to say…it was probably THE book that inspired my wanderlust the most. I read it before I spent two months abroad in Latin American and Spain. Funny it was a gift to your then lover; it was actually a former lover who had turned me on to Gabriel Garcia Marquez! Anyway, that relationship didn’t last (actually ended years ago but very painfully)…but a love for travel—and travel to explore the soul—was born. Ahh, namaste to life’s teachers and gifts…in all their forms.
Adrienne Morton
Melissa,
I dearly hope you get this msg. It meant *so* much to me read your comment this sleep-deprived morning. You have already made my day with what you wrote me about 100 Years of Solitude. You clearly understand what I couldn’t quite put into words- that the journeys in this book are so mind-bendingly moving through time and space because they are journeys of the soul. Journeys that somehow are written so erotically that they lie forever like paintings in the mind…naked urgencies, emergencies of love.
*thank you*
I will read The Alchemist immediately- as soon as I’m done with Matt’s book. I would love to meet you!!! Are you by any chance going to Thailand with us in Feb?
Adrienne
Melissa Josue
Hi Adrienne, So wonderful to see your note! And I was so moved by your description and experience…”paintings in the mind…naked urgencies, emergencies of love.” Your experience of 100 Years of Solitude is beautiful. I would love to meet you, too! What a joy it is to connect with other seekers who relish the adventure of both the inner and outer journey. Thank you for your note.
I hadn’t planned on going to Thailand in Feb…and I have prior plans during that time….but I do hope our paths cross at some point! Here or abroad. 🙂 Please keep in touch, Adrienne!
Best,
Melissa
Kate L.
Thanks for this list! I’ll be checking out several of these titles – anyone who loves Paris that much clearly has excellent taste 😉
In return, let me recommend Travels with a Tangerine by Tim Mackintosh-Smith. He’s a Brit who lives in Yemen (of course …), and sets off to follow the path taken by an historic Arab traveler on his way to Mecca. The trip started in Tangiers (hence the title), and the journey involved far more than just the intended destination. The author mixes in plenty of history with his travel, comparing his own journey and sights with the previous one. I found it a good way to get a taste of travel in the Arab world (which is a region I’m highly wary about visiting), and it’s written in a very engaging, conversational style.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll go see what other travel books need to be added to my list …
NomadicMatt
Thanks! Paris is great isn’t it? I’ll add this to my list too!
Thomas Dembie
Great list! After reading The Alchemist a few years ago I bought a ticket to SE Asia and spent a few months in the region. The Beach is now on my reading list for next month!
Kristin
Geography of Bliss is one of my all-time favorite travel books (love the section on Iceland especially– it gave me some great conversation starters with locals when I visited). I also second one of your other recommendation, Troost’s Sex Lives of Cannibals (along with all of his follow up books)– they are all laugh out loud funny (very rare!)
I always scour the travel essay section and have many great books to add, just a few here:
The Art of Travel by Alain de Botton– I’m not sure how de Botton manages to take every thought/fear/emotion you’ve ever had about travel and articulate in such a readable and witty manner, but this book is a must read. You will find yourself agreeing over and over again (see also his brilliant How Proust can Change your Life (a hilarious self-help book disguised as a philosophy) and Kiss and Tell (the anatomy of a relationship). Love his pithy twitter feed insights too.
The Lost City of Z (David Grann– retracing Fawcett’s Amazon journey)
Mukiwa, A White Boy in Africa (Peter Godwin about his childhood in then Rhodesia– utterly gripping).
Watching the English– Kate Fox (a fun look at English behavior and the class system)
Tales from Fast Trains– Europe at 186 mph (Tom Chesshyre)– I am jealous of Londoners who can hop on a train and see a different country every weekend–Times writer Chesshyre does just that.
Postcards from Europe– Rick Steves. Yes, Rick Steves– it’s unfortunate his followers who live by his every word have given him a bad rap– he actually has a great non-pc perspective (some of his observations in this book are actually pretty shocking).
The Lunatic Express– Carl Hoffman. Because this book combines my two favorite genres– “stunt” non-fiction and travel essay– and lets me live vicariously through his journeys that I would never take on my own.
NomadicMatt
Thanks for the list! I’ll add these all to my book list!
rebecca kroegel
what a great list! thanks for that! I just downloaded The Alchemist – starting reading it!
I love a good travel book that makes you think about life
Prasad Kopanati
The interesting part about this blog post is the highlights about each book and how each book may be relevant. Great post. Have to get the book, “Beach”.
Adrienne Morton
There is one other book missing from this fabulous list which was the first book ever read to me as a three year-old. That is TREASURE ISLAND! Read to me in the slums of (wonderful) Boston, in our awful apartment in Dorchester when I used to hear gunshots outside and wasn’t allowed in the front “yard”. My dad read it to me aloud, night after night, and it truly was the beginning for me as a traveller. I escaped. I went everywhere. My imagination bloomed. I went to sea, I struck gold. I can still hear my dad’s voice describing the exotic and wrecked places that formed the seeds of curiosity in my mind. If somehow this masterpiece has slipped through your fingers, grasp it! You will never be sorry. It’s magic.
Adrienne
sarah
Thanks for the list! I love the Alchemist and I recently read Love With A Chance Of Drowning. Before deciding to start our slow travel nomadic life by land my boyfriend and I were planning to buy a sailboat and sail slowly around the world. It’s still something we want to do but for several reasons we decided that we weren’t quite at that place and time….hopefully in a few years though!
Lisa Niver Rajna
Matt, Thanks for the great list. Vagabonding was one of the books that helped me leave on our first sabbatical in 2008. I also loved the Four Hour Work Week.
I am always looking for books on travel for my kindle so thanks for having so many great new ones to explore!
Lisa
We Said Go Travel
Kate
At LAST! I can’t tell you how long I have been searching for a travel inspired book that isn’t ‘Eat, prey, love’ which I refuse to read. I will definitely be downloading ‘The Alchemist’ which seems to be mentioned often and ‘Vagabonding’ which will hopefully help me plan my upcoming trip! Thanks a ton.
Andrew
Matt, I would add, Honeymoon with my Brother by Franz Wisner. One of the most entertaining travelogues I have read. Also, would add in the works of Paul Theroux including Ghost Train to the Eastern Star and Dark Star Safari.
Jean
Thanks for the suggestions. For some strange reason, old travel / exploration books inspire me to travel more . Charles Mann’s 1491(Revelations of the Americas before Colombus) was definitely a push to explore the world more. it shows that even centuries ago men inherently have that need to discover (although it was more “conquest” long ago). Lucky for us now, the reasons to travel are more to fulfill personal dreams.
As for modern travel literature, The Beach is a classic almost cliche one that still gives me that wanderlust feeling.
stellamarina
Just want to say that your new book about traveling the world on $50 a day would be on my recommended travel book list. Just read it …..got it at our local library!
For pure Pacific island book dreams I would like to add ” An Island to Oneself” by Tom Neale…..written by a guy who lived 17 years total on atoll island in the Cook Islands. It is a classic. I love Troosts books too about living on different Pacifi Islands…..very true but funny. Have to get around to reading his latest one about following in the footsteps of RLS in the Pacific….. aloha
NomadicMatt
Thanks for the suggestion! (And glad you enjoyed the book!)
Stuart Forster
Great to see tips on travel books, Matt. I’m always on the lookout for new suggestions and like the look of The Geography of Bliss. I’ve started reading from my Kindle while out on the road, so I can carry multiple books without the weight of the paper. That said there’s nothing quite as satisfying as sitting at a cafe holding back the pages and scribbling notes in a margin.
Kate
Thanks to this post I downloaded and read the alchemist in a day. Such an incredible book, very life affirming and positive.
It made me think of when I had my palm read by a medium 12 years ago who said I would travel and work for myself. I laughed at him but now it looks like it may be happening. Maybe Paulo was onto something.
LR Barker
Just realized that Heather Poole’s book is “Cruising Attitude [not Altitude]”. I enjoyed your interview and plan to read the book. As one who works in the airline industry (and enjoys non-rev travel) I’m looking forward to a fun read.
Rashad Pharaon
The Alchemist is one of my favorite books of all time. I’d have to add Elizabeth Gilbert’s book “Eat, Pray, Love” to this list – she journeys to Italy, India and Indonesia (Bali) and has great insights about travel+life. (p.s. if you saw the movie, don’t judge the book! The movie was abyssal!)
NomadicMatt
I dislike the book too. It was a pre-planned adventure. It was a pre-planned book proposal. Ruins the sense of adventure the book tries to portray.
Kaeli C
Hi Matt! Just read On the Road & really want to read your Paris picks next. I went to Paris for the first time in Oct and totally fell in love. Always wanted to go there since I saw Gene Kelly tap dancing around the city in An American in Paris when I was a kid. Going back in May for a quick visit but would love to drop everything and do the whole expat writer thing there someday. Anyway, great list & Happy New Year!
Mark Gilchrist
Matt, have you read much of Ernie Pyle’s work? Not about WWII, but before the war – and through the Great Depression – he traveled around the U.S. in a car for years, writing articles about the average person. Beautiful work, just beautiful. Try “Home Country”
NomadicMatt
I added it to my Amazon wishlist.
Joya Chrysyl
I recently read “Turn Right at Machu Picchu” and it was a fun and informative read about the author’s journey in following Hiram Bingham tracks when he “discovered” Machu Picchu. It’s inspired me to climb more mountains.
Scott Kim
You left out my favorite, the book that started it all for me. Richard Halliburton’s Complete Book of Marvels. As a child, that book was a magic carpet that took me all over the world and started my wanderlust. Back in the days before airport shuttles, handicapped walkways and ATMs.
Michael W
Another great, great book is “The wind is my mother” Molly Larkin and Bear Heart.
A Native American is telling about traditional tribal wisdom can help us maintain our spiritual and physical health on an everyday basis.
It may sound dull and too much of a cliche, but ain’t. Have read 4 times, (once a year for 4 years aprox.). But is full of brilliant wisdom frases which make sense right away. Hope you will enjoy it.
Sarah
I am an avid reader and love an excellent travel memoir! To add some of my favorites to the great list and fantastic additions in the comments, here are a few books I feel are worth the time:
*Excellent book full of travel life experiences — One Year Off: Leaving It All Behind for a Round-the-World Journey with Our Children [Kindle Edition] David Elliot Cohen
*Great to see what travel teaches us all about ourselves — The Wander Year: One Couple’s Journey Around the World [Kindle Edition] Mike McIntyre
*Fun read of their funny experiences dealing with living instead of just visiting — Happier Than A Billionaire: Quitting My Job, Moving to Costa Rica, and Living the Zero Hour Work Week [Kindle Edition] Nadine Hays Pisani
*If you liked or mocked Eat, Pray, Love then this is a funny MOCK memoir — Drink, Play, F@#k: One Man’s Search for Anything Across Ireland, Las Vegas, and Thailand [Kindle Edition] Andrew Gottlieb
*Story of a creative life solution to the expected path — Walden on Wheels: On the Open Road from Debt to Freedom [Kindle Edition] Ken Ilgunas
*If you thought RVing would be a breeze, laugh with or at —How NOT to RV; The Rvers Guide to RVing in the Absurd (The How NOT To Guides) [Kindle Edition]
Jennifer Flower
*Neat concept being dependent on others — The Kindness of Strangers: Penniless Across America [Kindle Edition] Mike McIntyre
I was thrilled Vagabonding came out on kindle and bought it as soon as I read my appreciated email from Matt!
Hope this adds to your reading enjoyment! Thanks for adding to my wishlist too.
NomadicMatt
Thanks for all the tips! I’ll check these out.
Georg
Even a step further than “On the road” –
The books of Jack London and Kurt Faber. The latter is a German that toured the US, spent 3 years on a whael cathcer boat and then toured the rest of the world like India and South America in the 19 hundreds.
You can get the book of both, Jack London and Kurt Faber for free on Amazon, but I’m not sure if there’s a translation for Kurt Faber.
Clifford
Just finished reading the Alchemist and man What a great book! I can see myself reading the alchemist more than once just because of how inspiring it is.
Jon Mendenhall
Probably my favorite travel book on Asia is Lost on Planet China by J Maarten Troost. As a frequent business traveler to Asia, I can assure you it is worth a read before a trip there!
Sonal
I want to suggest one more – City of Djins. I have not read a better travel book. However, you will enjoy it more if you have or are planning on visiting New Delhi.. 🙂
Ashley
Don’t forget Peter Matthiessen’s The Snow Leopard. Also an epic adventure read, absolutely love it. I came across, and read Vagabonding because of your blog – so Thank You!
Ryan Biddulph
The Alchemist is a time honored classic Matt.
Jake
Alchemist is the best!
Tresca
I like Jane Golden’s Eastern European travel mysteries. They are “laugh out loud” funny, especially her latest, Adriatic Allure.
Debleena Dasgupta
This is a very good idea for a post Matt. I would also suggest The Hungry Tide by Amitav Ghosh.
This book inspired me to visit the Sunderbans, a group of semi-inhabited tidal channel islands in the Gangetic delta, where regular life is at the mercy of the elements of nature, more often fearsome than kind. It is a few hours road journey from Kolkata.
For the local islanders, tourism is one of the means of livelihood and we took a daylong boat ride down the distributaries of the Ganges upto the Bay of Bengal and then back. We had lunch of freshly caught fish on the boat and spent a lazy day cruising through the waters in the cool seaside breeze. However, the calm and idyll is deceptive, as the locals are always wary of crocodiles and the Bengal tiger lurking in the muddy waters of the delta.
The delta is also home to the Gangetic dolphins but we were unfortunate and didn’t sight any. We, however, did see the forest officials take away a tranquillised Bengal tiger on a boat to probably a wildlife centre.
Staying overnight there is a thrill of sorts as one has to do without electricity and with only basic amenities at hand. That’s the plan the next time I visit there. Another plan is to try the local honey that the islanders collect from the jungles of Sundari trees, braving the threat of the tigers and cyclonic storms.
Overall, it is a place tucked away from “normal” civilisation and closer to nature in all the senses.
Freddie Hoose
I’ll list a few of my favorites. Note: Sometimes a novel can be a better adventure than an official “travel book”…
The Snow Leopard by Peter Matthiessen (classic introspective journey in Nepal)
River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze by Peter Hessler (knowing the Yangtze is a lifelong project)
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt (a novel through Vegas! NYC! Amsterdam!)
and of course…
Upstate Pizza Guy in India and Nepal: Notes from a Drifting Road by Freddie Hoose (a subcontinent-spanning loop of over 13,000 km)
Cheers!
Lisa G
I was a big fan of Eat Pray Love because I find that in my own personal experience that travel is soooo very eye-opening and important in finding my sense of self as well as appreciating and understanding other people and cultures. A book that I read recently that 100% needs to be added to this list is “Journey: A Novel” by Andrew Zimmerman (http://andrewzimmermanbooks.com/). This book had me from the very beginning because it’s about a guy, Paul, who is stuck in the routine of his life. He climbed the corporate ladder, he has a family, he is successful and yet, he’s not happy. His work has taken over and there is no more joy or wonder or excitement UNTIL he goes to a small village in Glastonbury England to visit friends. It is a place for spiritual seekers of all kinds! He finds a whole other side of himself he didn’t even know was there. I really related to the main character and once he started to dive into his spiritual side the internal struggle he faced when going back to “normal life.” I usually feel that sense of displacement and wanting “more” after coming home from traveling abroad. I highly recommend this book. Happy reading and happy traveling