From Publishers Weekly:
Starred Review. Gilbert (The Last American Man) grafts the structure of romantic fiction upon the inquiries of reporting in this sprawling yet methodical travelogue of soul-searching and self-discovery. Plagued with despair after a nasty divorce, the author, in her early 30s, divides a year equally among three dissimilar countries, exploring her competing urges for earthly delights and divine transcendence. First, pleasure: savoring Italy's buffet of delights - the world's best pizza, free-flowing wine and dashing conversation partners - Gilbert consumes la dolce vita as spiritual succor. "I came to Italy pinched and thin," she writes, but soon fills out in waist and soul. Then, prayer and ascetic rigor: seeking communion with the divine at a sacred ashram in India, Gilbert emulates the ways of yogis in grueling hours of meditation, struggling to still her churning mind. Finally, a balancing act in Bali, where Gilbert tries for equipoise "betwixt and between" realms, studies with a merry medicine man and plunges into a charged love affair. Sustaining a chatty, conspiratorial tone, Gilbert fully engages readers in the year's cultural and emotional tapestry - conveying rapture with infectious brio, recalling anguish with touching candor - as she details her exotic tableau with history, anecdote and impression.
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Eric Hansen was the first westerner ever to walk across the island of Borneo. Completely cut off from the outside world for seven months, he traveled nearly 1,500 miles with small bands of nomadic hunters known as Penan. Beneath the rain forest canopy, they trekked through a hauntingly beautiful jungle where snakes and frogs fly, pigs climb trees, giant carnivorous plants eat mice, and mushrooms glow at night. At once a modern classic of travel literature and a gripping adventure story, Stranger in the Forest provides a rare and intimate look at the vanishing way of life of one of the last surviving groups of rain forest dwellers. Hansen's absorbing, and often chilling, account of his exploits is tempered with the humor and humanity that prompted the Penan to take him into their world and to share their secrets.
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"Ye Gods, old man--don't do it!" you're bound to shriek on page 1 of this hilarious travelogue, on which the author lists the hazards that may befall him--vipers, cholera, crocs, ticks, tuberculosis, malaria, rabies, and 1,700 types of parasitic worms among them. After all, portly, over-the-hill London Times literary reviewer Redmond O'Hanlon hasn't done anything more aerobic than flip the pages of a book for decades; he wasn't even a Boy Scout. It's hardly reassuring that his colleague, poet James Fenton--who had the big idea to trek in Borneo--was a Boy Scout. He hated it, and besides, aged, balding Fenton, whom O'Hanlon describes as rather worm-like, sounds like he's a likely lunch for a swooping black eagle. But on they trod--with the much-needed help of three Iban natives and an unseen, though oft-quoted river god--through jungle, across rivers whose height may rise seven feet overnight, and via native villages (where they often have late-night parties), with one goal in mind: seeing the fabled Borneo rhino. Fenton is nearly swept away in a whirlpool, they subsist on jungle-worm gruel, and ripping off sucking leeches is a near-daily occurrence, but cultural and natural insights and adventures abound in this rip-roaringly funny and deftly written travelogue that will have you chortling out loud. --Melissa Rossi
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Some women seek adventure to test their mettle, suck down jolts of adrenaline, and prove they haven't grown old and indolent. In Shooting the Boh, journalist Tracy Johnston identifies other motivations for joining a group scheduled to raft down a previously uncharted section of the Boh river in Borneo. "I am by nature a passive person who likes excitement; a person with no magnificent obsessions who loves to participate in them," she says. And, too, if she agreed to write an article about it, the trip was free. So began an arduous, ill-conceived journey that started with her losing a duffle bag of top-notch river gear and swiftly ran up against treacherous rapids, foot rot, hot flashes, Tarzan-like leeches, clouds of sweat bees, and other nerve-racking flora and fauna. While traversing a section of steamy rain forest, Johnston says, "a quarter of the things I touched had thorns or sharp spines and the rest were covered with ants." She replays the highs and lows of the trip in Technicolor, summing up her fellow travelers and their wild ride in fluid, punchy prose. --Francesca Coltrera
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Discover BorneoWake deckside to the whoops of gibbons on your orangutan-spotting trip, Tanjung Putting National ParkFind out what Queen Elizabeth gave the sultan who had everything at Brunei's lavish Royal Regalia MuseumJostle garrulous crowds at a Kuching market for some nuttle, stir-fried jungle fernIn This Guide:First edition, with more research time than any other guide: 110 days in-country, 50 detailed maps, 35 jungle adventuresNational Parks color section covers where to spot elephants, monkeys and the enormous, pungent rafflesia flowersSpecialists discuss local markets, the best Malaysian cuisine, ecotourism and conservationContent updated daily - visit lonelyplanet.com for up-to-the-minute reviews, updates and traveler insights
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The third largest island in the world, largely jungle covered and still relatively undiscovered, itâs easy to see what attracts adventurous travellers to Borneo. With itâs numerous pristine national parks, some of the worldâs best dive sites, and itâs unique flora and fauna, plus of course the Orangutan this is one of the worldâs last frontiers. Footprintâs 3rd edition Borneo Handbook has been fully revised and updated to help travellers get the very most from their trip, with detailed listings on where to eat, sleep and play, plus great maps to show how to get around and with a fantastic background and history section helping to ensure you really get to understand the islandâs rich and diverse culture.
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Whether you travel for business, pleasure, or a combination of the two, the ever-popular "Culture Shock!" series belongs in your backpack or briefcase. Get the nuts-and-bolts information you need to survive and thrive wherever you go. "Culture Shock!" country guides are easy-to-read, accurate, and entertaining crash courses in local customs and etiquette. "Culture Shock!" practical guides offer the inside information you need whether you're a student, a parent, a globetrotter, or a working traveler. "Culture Shock!" at your Door guides equip you for daily life in some of the world's most cosmopolitan cities. And "Culture Shock!" Success Secrets guides offer relevant, practical information with the real-life insights and cultural know-how that can make the difference between business success and failure.Each "Culture Shock!" title is written by someone who's lived and worked in the country, and each book is packed with practical, accurate, and enjoyable information to help you find your way and feel at home.
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It's been said a thousand times: Indonesia is an unlikely country. Of all the countries of Asia, it is the hardest to corral. There is no point in looking for a shared history prior to the colonial period, or a shared culture, or even a certain uniformity of environment. Divided between over 13,000 islands, hundreds of languages and cultures, several time zones, and spread over an expanse of sea linking Asia with Australasia, it is truly a kaleidoscopic place.
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You may go to Indonesia for puppet theater and white beaches, but you'll return dreaming of nasi goreng (fried rice) and opor ayam (spicy coconut chicken). Still, there are so many Indonesian treasures that you might have tried, if only you'd known how to ask for them, and felt reasonably confident of the ingredients. Happily, Joan and David Peterson are masters of conferring culinary smarts. They provide regional specialties, food market aplomb, restaurant phrases, a glossary of ingredients, and the main course--an extensive list of Indonesian entries with English translations. I wish this book had been available when I visited Sumatra and Bali.
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Detailed regional and town maps are presented, with dense town areas and prominent resorts shown at 1:10,000 to 1:25,000 scale for detailed coverage. Altogether there are 50+ maps for easy location of places, buildings and other places of interests.
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