10 travel read suggestions for the road

by Jamie Rhein on

Ben Groundwater points out in his Sydney Morning Herald post “Travel Reads for the Road” that a good book is a wonderful companion to have while traveling. Not only can reading help fill up down time in a satisfactory way, a good book can enhance travel experiences.

In his post Groundwater lists ten perfect for travel books that range from serious to humorous and fiction to non-fiction. These are the best books he’s read this year. The neat thing about his list is that he pairs several books with locations where their settings will seem most poignant.

For example, if traveling in Africa, read Swahili for the Brokenhearted by Peter Moore and Blood River by Tim Butcher.

His pick for Thailand travel is The Beach by Alex Garland– and for Russia, particularly St. Petersburg, Groundwater suggests A City of Thieves by David Benioff.

If France strikes your interest, check out A Year in the Merde by Stephen Clarke and Almost French by Sarah Turnbull.

For travel in general, Groundwater recommends Holidays in Hell by P.J. O’Rourke, Rule No. 5: No Sex on the Bus by Brian Thacker, A Cook’s Tour by Anthony Bourdain and On the Road by Jack Kerouac.

The last travel related book I read was Step Back From the Baggage Claim. A review is coming your way soon. In the meantime, each of Groundwater’s suggestions are appealing. I’m particularly interested in picking up Rule No 5: No Sex on the Bus and Swahili for the Brokenhearted. The titles alone are intriguing. Thacker’s book is not new, but it sounds hilarious and Moore’s book has a similar theme to Franz Wisner’s book Honeymoon with my Brother where travel and self discovery go hand in hand.

David Sedaris with Rick Steves: Funny travel incidents and observations like when flight attendants pass gas

by Jamie Rhein on

Two of the things I remember from an interview I heard with David Sedaris on Travel with Rick Steves is that Business Class is known as ICU because passengers are in need of attention and flight attendants pass gas as they walk up the aisles because the sound covers the noise.

A flight attendant told Sedaris that. Not, Heather, our Gallery Gossip gal, someone else.

Here are two travel tips during the conversation that Sedaris passed on in his sardonic m wry wit sort of way.

  • When staying in a hotel, you don’t put your clothes in drawers because that’s how you lose things.
  • As a matter of fact, don’t let your belongings wander more than two feet from your suitcase.

And here’s a bit of irony that Sedaris has noticed when staying in high end hotels. He pointed out that these hotels have half-hearted attempts at going green. He points out that they may tout going green with missives like:

Save the earth. Don’t make us wash these towels, save the earth.

Then with the turn down service, they turn on the radio and the lights.

He also says that, “Sometimes, I turn on the radio and I think, “Who the hell was in this room?” . . .like if the music is heavy metal.

Both Sedaris and Steves talked up travel in Japan which our own Matthew Firestone who lives in Japan could verify.

About Japan, Rick Steves says, “People were so unbelievably kind. In Japan, ordering was terribly fun. Japanese are so gracious. Only country I’ve been in where people regularly stop me and ask, ‘You look lost, can I help you?'”

Living in Japan helped Sedaris quit smoking. He wanted to quit smoking because so many hotels don’t allow smoking anymore.

To listen to the Podcast between Steves and Sedaris, click here. What I’ve passed on are only tidbits of the wealth.

See Rolf Potts in person: Another Gadling connection at book culture

by Jamie Rhein on

As you’ve probably gathered we’ve geared up for a Rolf Potts extravaganza here at Gadling. Here’s just another plug for Potts, but more so a shout out to one of Gadling’s former bloggers who is bringing travel to your armchair through books.

Kelly Amabile, fellow world traveler and voracious reader –she created Gadling’s feature One for the Road–is combining those passions as the events manager at Book Culture, an independent book store in Manhattan. Considering that Kelly is a whiz at travel and books, who is more better for the job than Kelly? I’m thinking, no one. She’s gathered quite the line-up for October which is rapidly approaching.

For example, Rolf Potts is scheduled for October 21 at 7 p.m. He’ll be reading from his book, Marco Polo Didn’t Go There.

Also on the schedule are Stephanie Elizondo Griest who wrote the travel memoir, Mexican Enough (Oct. 8) and an encore with Rolf Potts on October 23. He’ll be appearing along with Pauline Frommer and Matt Gross to talk about how to make travel happen.

Whenever I read about events like this happening in Manhattan, oh, how I want to go there. If you do go, tell Kelly I said “Hi.”

Book Culture is on 112th Street and is a hot spot for browsing even if you can’t make one of the events. It’s an independent book store after all, and those are few and far between.

Co-author of “100 Things to Do Before You Die” recently died: Sad news and a reminder to not wait to travel

by Jamie Rhein on

If there was ever an indication that one should seize the day and not wait to take that wonderful trip you’ve always wanted to go on, it’s this story at msnbc.com.

Dave Freeman, the co-author of 100 Things to Do Before You Die: Travel Events You Just Can’t Miss unexpectedly died on August 17. He fell and hit is head in his own house. He was only 47.

As a person who is reaching a hallmark birthday this coming Saturday, I can say that the title of the book certainly gives me the sense that time can slip by if one is not careful. Freeman’s death, illustrates the point. It also points to how unpredictable life is anyway, so why not take chances?

Sure there are the health threats that may loom in the future: cancer, diabetes and heart failure that niggle at you to hit the road while you still can, but there is the truth that anything can happen at any time, so don’t fret the small stuff and travel. Take a risk.

A friend of mine once borrowed money, for example, to come to visit me while I was a Peace Corps volunteer in The Gambia when we were both single. Years later, she recently returned from a trip to Peru with her husband. They left their elementary age children at home.

Whenever I wonder if a trip makes sense, I think of my friend, and how her life has continued to be one open to surprises even though she is the most organized person I know. She’s the reason I applied to go to school in Denmark when I was in college. I partially tribute her to my life that is largely one filled with travel.

For ideas on where to start traveling and what to look for when you go, Freeman’s book is a place turn to for ideas that offer some extra umph. I’m sure Freeman felt the pull of urgency to not waste time which is probably why he picked this topic in the first place. I hope that Freeman was able to see and do the 100 ideas he wrote about.

If you pick up the book and hit one of the places Freeman and his co-author Neil Teplica recommends, tip your hat to the sky and give him a big thank you.

If any of you have used Freeman’s and Teplica’s suggestions already, please let us know. It would be neat to see just how many people Freeman influenced while he was gracing the planet with his presence. How wonderful that his influence can live on.

Great American Road Trip: Travel books for the road-4 of 4: Are We There Yet?

by Jamie Rhein on

When on a road trip with family–i.e., spouse, kids and possibly in-laws or parents, a travel book that delves into similar situations is a welcome companion. There is an uplifting quality to being able to recognize aspects of the life you are living to what you are reading.

If any of you with children wonder if your best traveling days are over, pick up the 4th travel book I read on my road trip to Montana from Ohio and back. According to this one, your best days are at hand, but only if you grab your family and head out to points beyond the familiar.

#4 Are We There Yet? Perfect Family Vacations and Other Fantasies–Scott Haas

Laura and I knew if we got out and saw the countryside, everything would be fine. The mountains are filled with sanitariums and spas where for at least two centuries the wealthiest, most miserable, worried, and confused people in the world have come to look at the snow-capped Alps and listen to doctors and therapists tell them everything will be fine. Everything will be just fine. I would have liked to hear a doctor say those words to me. But how could we get into the mountains? We couldn’t even see them through the rain and fog.
Scott Haas, the author of this book is a writer commentator for NPR, public radio who I have heard on “The Splendid Table.” He also covers food and restaurants in “Here and Now.” Besides knowing great food and the people who make it, Haas knows how to capture the essence of family vacations in a way that makes you think you are with him where he is, like the Swiss Alps as described in the excerpt.

Of the four books I read, his is one that fits an any one person’s experience. I don’t mean that the book is mundane, but what Haas does is show how people can incorporate lovely travel experiences into their lives with a family. It’s the having a family in the experiences that actually make them grand.

The book starts off with his first vacation with his wife right after their daughter was born. The goal was to head off to Switzerland to stay in a cottage in order to enjoy their new family group. It ends with the children at ages 15 and 12 and the knowledge that life is shifting. The 12-year-old is a son.

Throughout the book, Haas makes observations about himself and his wife, children and the people who periodically join them –and of course the food they eat. This is not a how-to book, but more of a memoir that is engaging and funny. There are travel successes and travel nightmares, such as the time the fog set in in the alps and they had to crawl.

Instead of trotting between many places, the Haas family tends to go to one country and stay put. They stay several nights at once place in order to soak up the scene and blend in. Although, they take in sites, the notion is to not be tourists.

They also repeat places that they’ve been before–not all the time, but the places they like the best. Italy and Switzerland are the most favorite. Greece was not a hit because the food was so bad.

One aspect I really liked about this book is that squabbles are part of the deal when traveling with family, but the Haas family doesn’t let that stop them from heading out. Haas shares his experiences so it feels as if you’re sitting in the room watching and thinking, yep–I’ve been there.

He also illustrates how everyone does not have to be on the same page going at the same speed. One advantage of staying in a place for a length of time is that people can go at their own pace according to their own pattern.

Because Haas also is a psychologist, he has a certain way of making observations that are engaging. As I mentioned, he puts himself into the mix. As a person with a six-year-old son and a 15-year-old daughter, I could relate to much of this book, although spending more than $400 at The French Laundry, is not in my realm of travel jaunts. That’s where being a writer for “The Splendid Table” comes in handy.

I read this one through Iowa and Indiana.