The most delightful travel book I've read in years.
924737
No Baggage is better than The Accidental Tourist or Eat, Pray, Love--both of which I also loved.  Clara meets Jeff, a quirky college professor through a dating service. On a whim they decide to travel to Europe with no itinerary, no luggage.  They have only the clothes on their backs,(one change of underwear for Clara).a ticket to Istanbul, and a return ticket from London 21 days later.  Through their adventures, we discover that both are also trying to free themselves from personal baggage.  But how do you start a new relationship without acquiring more?  That's the true question.  With delightful characters, wonderful writing, and extraordinary insight, readers are in for a charming wild ride.
4564381
This is a travel book of the "Rick Steves" genre. It tells of the author's nostalgic travels about Asia.
To start with my description I will notice a "negative" virtue but one too seldom found. It is not an ax-grinder. It has little complaining or advocating and almost no contrived historical allegory. The past is loved in all the grandeur and romance that adheres to distant time the way beauty adheres to a mountain far away. And it is loved for itself, not for it's "lessons". Related to this is the book's cheerfulness, amiablity and love of life. Love of sights, of food, and of people.
The author describes as much his travels in his mind as his physical travels and as always the human mind can go farther. He gives anecdotes and folktales of all sorts from the places he visits. Not just Marco Polo tales by the way, but a splendid variety from all about the places he travels. The "mind travels" are really the most interesting parts. Naturally, not many today can travel to the end of the world and return with riches the way Marco did; somehow airplanes take the romance out of the idea(probably Marco, practical Venetian that he was, would have preferred to go by plane but that is another story). But one can always dream and one can always share another's dream.
Those that wish to travel far away can follow Brian Lawrenson's travels both physically and imaginatively and find it worth the trip.
1304638
Aficianados of travel books will delight in "Dead Men Don't Leave Tips".Travel is truly an art mastered by few and Brandon Wilson reveals an expertise that inspires. His rich descriptions transport the reader into the unfamiliar and his ability to delve into the cultural core of the humanity he encounters is sure to nourish the spirit. His writing style is a hybrid of Paul Theroux and Tom Robbins, combining the raw frankness and keen observation of Theroux with the intelligent humor and playful language of Robbins.

Africa offers travelers the height of potentiality and Brandon Wilson embraces opportunity with constant relish. Readers who have a penchant for traveling will happily devour this book and be sorry it ended. I was!
1672053
Traveling has always fascinated me. Ever since I was a little child growing up in rural Guatemala, exploring has been my dream. I always dreamed of doing what P.J. Parmar is doing: traveling around the world with not much more than the clothes he has on. Going from one exciting and unpredictable place to another yet more exciting and unpredictable.
Parmar amazes me with the simplicity and acuracy of his narration. His appreciation and respect for other cultures and civilizations is evident in every page. You will definitely get more out of reading this book than you will from your glossy travel agency guides and magazines.
I enthusiastically recommend this book to all travelers around the world, especially to those interested in more than the spas and beach resorts of a country.
Reading this book makes me want to go back to the times when I could afford being adventurous. Maybe that time is not gone yet, maybe it never will.
414656
A unique, refreshing, and sometimes jarring book with a brilliant new voice. What struck me first is how humor and anger are so inextricably intertwined from page one of this "couldn't put it down" novel. Sometimes you literally don't know "whether to laugh or cry". This makes it both compelling and entertaining.  This book is about a voyage on so many levels, much of it the kind of universal journey we are each taking in our own way; and yet, in this book, the trip is so engagingly culture-specific that you both empathize and learn some new perspective time and again.  Most of all, this delightful book is about the intractable, maddening, and sometimes hilarious nature of human nature.
937387
Delightful! I keep luxuriating over each page and dreaming of trips I might take. This book is both lovely and practical.
1980397
This book epitomizes the pure joy of reading.  When you combine a fascinating travelogue with the unsurpassed Australian sense of humor and a magnificent writing style, how could you go wrong?  My hubby and I both read this and treasured every word.  And sooooo interesting.  The author transported me to the far places of the earth, showing them in all their exotic and colorful detail, while cementing in me a fervent desire never to go to any of them (well, most of them).  Especially by sea!!!
4222024
I delighted in the armchair journey with David Monagan and his family as they embarked on their adventure to Ireland.  It's refreshing to read a travel memoir that gets past the stereotypes to relate what's truly special about Ireland and its people.

This book is a must read for anyone who has ever longed to leave the familiar to take on new challenges and adventures.  It also offers lots of delicious nuggets along the way and inspiration to book the next flight to Ireland.
4386982
This is an utterly delightful book!  I teach Italian and have a collection of "travel narratives," thus I was drawn to this book.  UP AT THE VILLA is absolutely replete with the writer's tone: humor, warmth, wit and adventure.  I smiled my ENTIRE way through this book, often chuckling along the way, not only at their adventures, but at her wonderful and clever writing. Linda Dini Jenkins is a born story teller. Her intellect, warmth and personality shine through every page of this book, which is filled with adventures regarding trips, not only to Italy, but many other exciting places, and are enhanced by her astonishing husband. Well worth the read.
2768659
A wonderful read, I have travelled to Goa for holidays and the book brings to life so much of Indian culture as seen through western eyes. It really made me want to return and experience the culture, the friendly people and the food. Don't be fooled into thinking we  have real indian cooking in our restaurants - the real locally cooked food is in a different league. I was definitely transported back to India and the sights and sounds and aromas all came flooding back as they were so well described. Lovely adventure - so I am going back there after reading this again.
146905
From the moment that I read the first chapter, I knew that this author was taking me along with him and his family on their journey . I enjoyed being the stow-away reader that was involved in their everyday adventure without ever having to leave the comforts of my home.
I've learned so much more about Europe being a fellow traveller myself like things that I didn't notice or do when I was physically there. Now when I visit Champagne, Moselle, Turin... I will be sure to enjoy retracing Joseph, Aurora and Cameron's  passage. The book has given me a bigger perspective of the finer things that Europe has to offer. The only disappointing part of the book was knowing that soon it would end. Therefore, I savored the experience one journey at a time.
Joseph's wit and gifted writing skills brought his book to be  full of humor, very informative and real. I cannot wait for Joseph Barry's next book to come out and to be a stow away again.
4416245
I stumbled across this book when it was on sale, and bought it because I love a good travel book, and the premise (traveling to several European cities armed with a decades-old travel guide) seemed like just the sort of thing I would do. I fully expected this to be a 3-star book: mildly amusing, and hopefully with nothing too annoying, but nothing more. The book totally charmed me. Maybe it's because the author and I seem very, very similar in personality, but I could totally relate to the author and the tale. I laughed, I cried. (Really.) The narrative itself is highly entertaining, but the author hits surprising depth with his insights on being a tourist. I didn't expect that. I would never in a million years have thought it when I picked it up, but I think this goes on my list of favorite books. I totally loved this book.

Seriously, it charmed me.
2589771
I've been savoring this book in pieces, which has given me the pleasure of several mini retreats in the French countryside with warm company (friends and dogs), touching discoveries of nature's little wonders and deep-belly laughter.  Ken offers this joy in his book through a fresh curiosity, a genuine appreciation for wildlife and simple pleasures in life, and an unpretentious, highly-amusing point of view.

Whether you are suffering from nature deficit disorder or simply need to recharge the batteries, this book is sure to please.
2190712
I recently re-read Seth Faison's marvellous book on a return trip through China. I was in Beijing, Chengdu, Shanghai and then Hong Kong all in the space of a week. Faison's book was like a becalmed harbor that I could return to -- every time I got on a plane or settled down to bed. His crackling prose and incisive view of China and the gentleness with which he explained what is a tangled and complex place were something I looked forward to each day. It's a great book and deserves the widest possible attention.
4214831
This book was a breath of fresh air and I couldn't put it down.  The travels and life experiences if the author flowed beautifully.  Traveling most of the world, visiting exquisite hotels, gourmet dining had it all.  Business associates came up throughout the book making me feel that I knew these guys and was traveling with the author whenever names came up. .. There is successes and failures,  comedy and tragedy,  and family. .. Most of the comical things written had me cracking up, where again, I felt that  it could happened to me. ....... This is perhaps the best book I've read in years.  I recommend this book to everyone of all ages. I'll give this book "5 stars".
Ed Connor
356660
I LOVED this book. It truly captures everything I love about other travel and experiences cultures. Potts packs the book with practical travel tips for transportation, eating, sleeping and survival. He steers clear of politics completely and just gives the reader a no-nonsense guide to long-term travel from earning money to avoiding cultural misconceptions and wrong attitudes to interacting with locals to a guidebook or riding taxis. Other guides give you hundreds of unnecessary pages of crap and unwanted detail that you'll never need. Potts doesn't. There is no fluff or advertising to be found. He makes it clear that the learning experience itself is invaluable. Above all, Potts shows the reader how financially feasible long-term world travel really is. I read few books more than once, but this one will be read again and again until be becomes deeply creased, tattered and scribbled in unmercifully.
1554632
A wonderful book chronicling fascinating travels and an interesting (certainly not ordinary!) life interspersed with moving insights into the author's psyche - past & present.

Those with similar travel experience will enjoy being taken back to favorite places.  Those who could never hope to travel so extensively are treated to remarkably descriptive memories that are an adventure in the reading.  A perfect "curl up in your favorite chair" companion that is charming, captivating, and extraordinarily touching at times.

I wish the author peace.