Posted on 25 August 2020

Sometimes we need a little reminder of how joyous travel can be - how a myriad different cultures and traditions are just waiting to be discovered. Even if two-week beach breaks are your thing, these books may help you see even the most well-known destinations in a new light.

“The Art of Travel” by Alain de Botton

The slick brochures and TV commercials for exotic destinations rarely match the experience itself. That's one of the central themes of de Botton's The Art of Travel. The founder of The School of Life looks at the realities of travel head-on, and encourages adventures to absorb the smaller details of their journeys, not just the headline attractions. While his views may seem a little unglamorous, they may allow us to enjoy a destination on a deeper level.

“A Woman Alone: Travel Tales From Around the Globe” edited by Faith Conlon, Ingrid Emerick and Christina Henry de Tessan

For some women, the prospect of taking a solo trip is a little daunting. But this collection of real-life travel tales by lone female travellers offers the encouragement needed to set aside any fears "and see the world all by yourself”.

“Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel” by Rolf Potts

Ditching your job and taking to the road for months on end might not be everyone's cup of tea, but Potts' detailed guide to showstring adventuring might make you give it a second thought. Packed with tips for the would-be nomad, Vagabonding will help you minimise your life and change your mindset towards money. In the age of Covid-19 this guide might seem a little redundant, but it's one for the armchair nomad at the very least.

The Great Railway Bazaar

First published in 1975, Paul Theroux's The Great Railway Bazaar is more than merely an ode to train travel. We share the writer's innermost thoughts as he boards famous and not-so-famous trains and makes his way from London across Europe, the Middle East, India and Southeast Asia, then returns on the Trans-Siberian. Highlights include a journey from Saigon to Bien Hoa while the Vietnam War is ongoing, and unwittingly happening upon a house of ill-repute in Madras. It's littered with pithy, often-scandalous descriptions: "As Calcutta smells of death and Bombay of money, Bangkok smells of sex." An eye-opening read that shows how much the world has changed in 45 years - and how much it has not.

“The Beach” by Alex Garland

Fiction has long-inspired travellers - and few novels have done it so as well as The Beach. We follow a British backpacker in Bangkok as he stumbles across a map to a near-mythical paradise island. Having found his tropical Utopia, things - of course - start to fall apart at the seams. After finishing this tome, one might decide the everyday facets of travelling in a strange land are far more fulfilling than the pitfalls of pursuing "heaven on earth".

Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy by Douglas Adams

"One Thursday lunchtime the Earth gets unexpectedly demolished to make way for a new hyperspace bypass." Thus begins one of the best-loved comedy sci-fi books of all time. We join the (apparent) sole survivor of the planet, Arthur Dent, as he travels across the universe with his trusty Guide. Meet a depressed robot called Marvin, a two-headed fun-loving narcissist called Zaphod Beeblebrox, and discover who really made planet Earth. It might not be real, but it may well give you a passion for exploring alien lands of the terrestrial variety...

“The Haves and the Have Nots: A Brief and Idiosyncratic History of Global Inequality” by Branko Milanovic

Shielded in a westernised bubble of comfy hotels and tourist-grade transport, it can be easy to forget much of the world is not as well-heeled as the average Western tourist. Learning about global income inequality may not sound glamorous, but it helps us understand a country on a deeper level - and The Haves and the Have Nots' is the go-to handbook on the topic.

Shantaram By Gregory David Roberts

If you've been to India you'll have found a good portion of fellow travellers with this book in their hands. It tells the story of an on-the-run Australian convict as he sets up a clinic in a Mumbai slum while simultaneously working for the local mafia. Apparently drawn from real-life experiences, more than a dash of creative license has been added. Nevertheless it remains a page-turning and thought-provoking read.

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