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The Wander Year: One Couple's Journey Around the World
Journalist and author Mike McIntyre and his longtime girlfriend, Andrea Boyles, are in their early 40s and itching for a break. So they rent out their San Diego home—dog, cat and furniture included—and embark on a yearlong journey around the world. “We’re not out to find ourselves, or even to lose ourselves,” McIntyre writes early on. “We’re merely seeking a pause in our routines.” But the couple is soon swept up in the adventure of a trekking in the Himalayas, traversing the Sahara on camel, scrambling over the temples of Angkor, crossing the world’s largest salt flat in South America, scaling a New Zealand glacier. The book recounts the odyssey in 48 dispatches from 22 countries. Among birdwatching in Indonesia, a haircut from Vietnam’s oldest barber, touring a notorious prison in Bolivia, haggling over rugs in Morocco, on safari in Nepal. McIntyre taps his self-deprecating humor to convey the joys, perils and frustrations of prolonged travel. When the couple ventures into a cyclone in Fiji on a rubber raft, he writes, “The absence of life jackets and paddles meant more room for our lunacy.” And during a ride across India with a hired car and driver, he notes, “His passing technique was so precise, I could see my horrified expression reflected in the chrome bumpers of onrushing trucks.” He also writes eloquently of such poignant moments as sleeping under the stars in North Africa, flying kites with a poor boy in Bali, and the death of a female tour guide in China. By journey’s end, he’s shucked much of his journalist’s cynicism, and he stands in awe of a staggeringly beautiful world and the resilient souls who fill it.
The Wander Year is an expanded version of the popular series of the same name that ran in the Travel section of the Los Angeles Times. It includes an excerpt from the author’s first travelogue, The Kindness of Penniless Across America.
The Wander Year is an expanded version of the popular series of the same name that ran in the Travel section of the Los Angeles Times. It includes an excerpt from the author’s first travelogue, The Kindness of Penniless Across America.
217 pages, Nook
Published July 9, 2011
105 people are currently reading
767 people want to read
About the author
Mike McIntyre
6 books73 followersMike McIntyre was a late bloomer, latching onto journalism at age twenty-seven. He's been a travel columnist for the Los Angeles Times, a theater columnist for the Washington Post, and a feature writer for the San Diego Union-Tribune and the Budapest Sun. His first book, The Kindness of Strangers, was a Wall Street Journal bestseller and featured on Oprah. He's lived, worked and traveled in more than eighty countries. He spent much of his youth in Lake Tahoe, later earning degrees from the University of California, Davis, and the University of Michigan. These days he and his wife divide their time between San Diego and the world.
To learn of new releases and promotions, sign up for Mike's newsletter at www.eepurl.com/Jl_gn
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 102 reviews
October 3, 2012
The book is actually a collection of newspaper columns. In 2000, the author and his girlfriend colllected $40,000, quit their jobs, and traveled the world for an entire year.
The stories are charming, although it can be hard to remember when travel was so easy. It was pre 9/11 and security concerns were not so high. It was the cusp of the digital revolution, so the author hard to hunt down Internet cafes instead of typing his columns on a mobile device as I am now.
The world was different but much was the same.
This story is one of adventure but also getting over fear and complacency. The author was in bis 40s. He wasn't a student taking a gap yea. This trip was about rediscovering the world, not discovering himself.
Charming. Delightful. And a. Boook that will make you want to tame your own gentle trek across the world with your own adventure buddy.
The stories are charming, although it can be hard to remember when travel was so easy. It was pre 9/11 and security concerns were not so high. It was the cusp of the digital revolution, so the author hard to hunt down Internet cafes instead of typing his columns on a mobile device as I am now.
The world was different but much was the same.
This story is one of adventure but also getting over fear and complacency. The author was in bis 40s. He wasn't a student taking a gap yea. This trip was about rediscovering the world, not discovering himself.
Charming. Delightful. And a. Boook that will make you want to tame your own gentle trek across the world with your own adventure buddy.
October 29, 2012
I wish I had the guts (and a partner to follow my whims) to temporarily pack up my life and do something like this!
After finishing reading this book, it makes me realize that this is the kind of book I would love to write myself. It is full of the readers individual personality, what their interests are, their day-to-day life etc. AT times he reminded me of a middle-aged, male Carrie Bradshaw (that is if she wrote about travel instead of shoes!)
While I love reading travel books to get inspiration for my own future expeditions, I find it particularly interesting to read about other travelers experiences in Countries that I have also visited, for example while I was in Bali it never crossed my mind to go bird-watching or fly a kite.
Given that this book is made from excerpts of his newspaper columns, it glazes over many locations very lightly, so you probably won’t really enjoy this book if you want an in-depth view in to each different place, although the author does mention that you can buy the full list of articles for $200! I however, love a bargain so way happy with the condensed version on Amazon for $4.95.
Overall it was a good read with a good ending.
After finishing reading this book, it makes me realize that this is the kind of book I would love to write myself. It is full of the readers individual personality, what their interests are, their day-to-day life etc. AT times he reminded me of a middle-aged, male Carrie Bradshaw (that is if she wrote about travel instead of shoes!)
While I love reading travel books to get inspiration for my own future expeditions, I find it particularly interesting to read about other travelers experiences in Countries that I have also visited, for example while I was in Bali it never crossed my mind to go bird-watching or fly a kite.
Given that this book is made from excerpts of his newspaper columns, it glazes over many locations very lightly, so you probably won’t really enjoy this book if you want an in-depth view in to each different place, although the author does mention that you can buy the full list of articles for $200! I however, love a bargain so way happy with the condensed version on Amazon for $4.95.
Overall it was a good read with a good ending.
June 30, 2012
I read this one as a fluke, having picked it up from Amazon, but I really enjoyed it a lot. Because it wasn't written as a cohesive book, but as a series of assembled articles, I did find a few duplications of scenes or events - especially toward the end of the book- but not enough to be annoying or make me feel as though I was reading the same story over and over. As an armchair traveler, I was delighted to read about this trip. I know there are places they go here I would never have the nerve to manage myself, so it was like peeking into a room that would otherwise be off limits. The writing is evocative, as well as light-hearted or serious as the mood warrants. I have already recommended the book to friends and have quoted bits and pieces to my family (perhaps to their annoyance, but I don't care!) because I learned some great stuff, too. A thoroughly enjoyable read!
December 6, 2012
I preferred McIntyre's earlier book The Kindness of Strangers to this one. Each chapter of The Wander Year was written as a newspaper column, and I think it suffers from the constraints of its original format. It often feels as if McIntyre just skims the surface of each country, and every chapter is neatly wrapped up with a one-line witticism. I wish he had fleshed the book out considerably more than he claims to have done. Considering the length of the journey, I'm sure there was a lot more to tell.
January 15, 2019
Wonderful book that opens your eyes to different parts of the world through the author’s eyes. His writing about the year spent traveling the worse is from the heart and entertaining. He took me places I would not dream of visiting like Nepal and Chile someday.
July 20, 2016
3.5 stars
At first I absolutely LOVED this book. It's witty, it's well written, and the story is great--a 40-something couple spends a year traveling.
But this book isn't really a book at all--instead it's a collection of newspaper articles the author wrote during his travels, which results in some of the aspects that irritated me. Some details are repeated, since you can't count on people to read every column in a newspaper, but it's a bit annoying in a book.
What ended up lessening this book for me even more is it's surface level. It skims along, giving you little glimpses of a place rather than any sense of what it's actually like to be there. I was left with so many questions--how did the author come up with $40K to travel the world? What was it about India that pushed him over the edge? How did they decide where to go when?
I can understand the temptation to publish these articles in one volume, but I really wish McIntyre had written a cohesive narrative instead, because I do enjoy his voice and writing style.
At first I absolutely LOVED this book. It's witty, it's well written, and the story is great--a 40-something couple spends a year traveling.
But this book isn't really a book at all--instead it's a collection of newspaper articles the author wrote during his travels, which results in some of the aspects that irritated me. Some details are repeated, since you can't count on people to read every column in a newspaper, but it's a bit annoying in a book.
What ended up lessening this book for me even more is it's surface level. It skims along, giving you little glimpses of a place rather than any sense of what it's actually like to be there. I was left with so many questions--how did the author come up with $40K to travel the world? What was it about India that pushed him over the edge? How did they decide where to go when?
I can understand the temptation to publish these articles in one volume, but I really wish McIntyre had written a cohesive narrative instead, because I do enjoy his voice and writing style.
November 1, 2017
A collection of short dispatches, each about 3 pages long, which formed part of a regular travel series for the Los Angeles Times during 2000 detailing the author and his girlfriend’s year long trip around the globe.
The stories are written chronologically as they visit 20 countries as varied as Scotland, Nepal, New Zealand, Morocco, Bolivia and Cambodia. There is little by way of detail of each country they visit and major sights such as the Taj Mahal regularly receive only one paragraph. The narrative instead focuses on general travelling observations that could apply to us all in any situation.
I finished this in one setting, due to the engaging writing style and was disappointed when the book came to an end. Due to barely scraping the surface of each place visited, it did make me wonder, however, just how good this book could’ve been with a more in-depth approach.
The stories are written chronologically as they visit 20 countries as varied as Scotland, Nepal, New Zealand, Morocco, Bolivia and Cambodia. There is little by way of detail of each country they visit and major sights such as the Taj Mahal regularly receive only one paragraph. The narrative instead focuses on general travelling observations that could apply to us all in any situation.
I finished this in one setting, due to the engaging writing style and was disappointed when the book came to an end. Due to barely scraping the surface of each place visited, it did make me wonder, however, just how good this book could’ve been with a more in-depth approach.
November 23, 2017
This book is a collection of articles published in the LA Times. Despite the incredible adventure this couple embarked upon, this book didn’t draw me in. I’m not sure why. Possibly because each chapter was so brief. I also didn’t get a feel for this couple’s relationship while they were spending every minute together. I just think there wasn’t enough detail to make the book compelling. As the writer described taking pictures during their trip, I wondered why there were no photos in the book. This couple is adventurous for sure, but I didn't feel like I was along for the ride. I semi-enjoyed it, but I’m sure there are better travel books.
September 19, 2012
Mike McIntyre has compiled his newspaper columns submitted while traveling the world with his partner. And oh what fun they are to read! These small vignettes are perfect to read at night - read a couple and put it down again. In those couple passages you may read about the hundred modes of transport found in Asia, the spectacular scenery of Chile, the disgusting hotel rooms of India, the carpet swindlers of Morocco and more. Wonderfully told stories that almost make me want to throw on that backpack and hit the road. Well, almost.
October 14, 2012
A fun book about a year's worth of global travel. Not exactly a memoir or a how-to-do-it-yourself book, but it made my feet itchy.
February 20, 2022
Mike and Andrea left San Diego in January 2000 for a yearlong journey around the world. They saved $40,000 for the two of them to travel to 22 countries in 52 weeks but they spent $51,470. (In 2022, that is the equivalent of spending $84,034).
I thoroughly enjoyed this book! It gave me some awesome recommendations on cities and places I had never known existed- like the cities of Hay-on-Wye, Wales and Lijiang, China. I also loved how the couple started their adventure in a country that's off the beaten path-Fiji. This was a humorous and wonderful read.
Page 3:
“There are two kinds of vagabonds: those who make room in their backpacks for an inflatable clothes hanger, and those who don’t. The around the world journey my girlfriend, Andrea, and I are about to start will feature members of both camps. Andrea deems the plastic blow-up device essential, whereas the first thing I plan to pack is a sense of humor.”
Page 4:
“If we sound a bit aimless, it’s because we pretty much are. There is no grand purpose or point to our journey. The heaviest part of it, I suspect, will be our backpacks. We are not out to find ourselves, or even to lose ourselves. We are merely seeking a pause in our routines.”
Andrea: I don’t want to wait until I’m 65 to do the things I want to do. I may not live that long, and I may not want to do them then anyway.
Mike: If ditching work during a booming economy proves a boneheaded move and we end up flipping burgers into her 80s, we will have hurt only ourselves.
Page 67: Hiked Annapurna Circuit on a 13 day trek.
Page 74: The author sold me on seeing Royal Chitwan National Park in Nepal.
Page 87:
“When Andrea and I set out around the globe, we knew we’d spend a lot of time getting from point A to point B, and beyond. What we didn't for-see was the myriad modes of transportation we would use, most offering some level of discomfort, distress and danger. Traveling in the developing world is like visiting a run down amusement park. The rides are cheap, but you half expect the roller coaster to fly off the rails and slam into the cotton candy stand.”
Page 227:
“The cost of our journey was $51,470-about a third higher than our original budget. We may be foraging for food next month, but we will have no regrets.”
Times they wished they were home: Zero
#bookvoyagechallenge
I thoroughly enjoyed this book! It gave me some awesome recommendations on cities and places I had never known existed- like the cities of Hay-on-Wye, Wales and Lijiang, China. I also loved how the couple started their adventure in a country that's off the beaten path-Fiji. This was a humorous and wonderful read.
Page 3:
“There are two kinds of vagabonds: those who make room in their backpacks for an inflatable clothes hanger, and those who don’t. The around the world journey my girlfriend, Andrea, and I are about to start will feature members of both camps. Andrea deems the plastic blow-up device essential, whereas the first thing I plan to pack is a sense of humor.”
Page 4:
“If we sound a bit aimless, it’s because we pretty much are. There is no grand purpose or point to our journey. The heaviest part of it, I suspect, will be our backpacks. We are not out to find ourselves, or even to lose ourselves. We are merely seeking a pause in our routines.”
Andrea: I don’t want to wait until I’m 65 to do the things I want to do. I may not live that long, and I may not want to do them then anyway.
Mike: If ditching work during a booming economy proves a boneheaded move and we end up flipping burgers into her 80s, we will have hurt only ourselves.
Page 67: Hiked Annapurna Circuit on a 13 day trek.
Page 74: The author sold me on seeing Royal Chitwan National Park in Nepal.
Page 87:
“When Andrea and I set out around the globe, we knew we’d spend a lot of time getting from point A to point B, and beyond. What we didn't for-see was the myriad modes of transportation we would use, most offering some level of discomfort, distress and danger. Traveling in the developing world is like visiting a run down amusement park. The rides are cheap, but you half expect the roller coaster to fly off the rails and slam into the cotton candy stand.”
Page 227:
“The cost of our journey was $51,470-about a third higher than our original budget. We may be foraging for food next month, but we will have no regrets.”
Times they wished they were home: Zero
#bookvoyagechallenge
March 11, 2020
The Wander Year is unlike other travel memoirs. For one, it is short, it is a compressed journey of the world in 200 pages and that makes it lacking in depth. But it is factual, and the brevity of impressions it carries tends to make the author compare. He compares countries and people, all through his impressions of less than a week. Some countries are easier for Mike, where the culture may be similar to what he experienced, or may have a concept of welcome that other communities may not share.
I loved the epilogue, where 11 years down the line Mike writes how his travel perspective has changed. He questions his original impressions, did changing the local culture and practice for tourism imply that travel disrupted culture?
A good read that you can finish in a sitting.
I loved the epilogue, where 11 years down the line Mike writes how his travel perspective has changed. He questions his original impressions, did changing the local culture and practice for tourism imply that travel disrupted culture?
A good read that you can finish in a sitting.
February 26, 2020
Travel
The author and his girlfriend take time off work and send one year traveling g the world. Three are wonderful word pictures of the sights they saw, the people they met, they ate and they places they stayed. This was a fantastic book that I recommend. It was fun and relaxing.
The author and his girlfriend take time off work and send one year traveling g the world. Three are wonderful word pictures of the sights they saw, the people they met, they ate and they places they stayed. This was a fantastic book that I recommend. It was fun and relaxing.
October 21, 2020
Fun, engaging and satisfied that travel urge
The stories are short, relatable and the urge to travel and follow in Mike and Andrea's footsteps is strong. Super easy read and very inspirating travels.
The stories are short, relatable and the urge to travel and follow in Mike and Andrea's footsteps is strong. Super easy read and very inspirating travels.
June 26, 2025
Great book. Author journals his year traveling the world with girlfriend. Opens your eyes on how different the places are but that people are people wherever you go. How some of the least expensive places were most memorable.
January 27, 2018
I really liked his book. It’s a nice memoir of an amazing travel journey that made me dream!
Thank you.
Thank you.
February 26, 2021
It was ok. I little scattered and not really much story involved. Just a timekine of all the places they went to with a few paragraphs about their experience there.
May 23, 2021
Good read
Although is old (2000) and some things seem outdated. The book is an easy read. I like that they are simple and share their honest thoughts .
Although is old (2000) and some things seem outdated. The book is an easy read. I like that they are simple and share their honest thoughts .
December 6, 2022
This was an interesting book. It gave an interesting perspective on different countries, how to/not to pack (lol), and cultures, weathers, hotels/hostels experiences.
December 20, 2024
A lighthearted trot around the globe.
September 20, 2022
Funny travel book. A bit dated.
February 5, 2020
A quick read!
I liked that it was a relatively short tale, but that’s also what I didn’t like about it! The journey seemed to end too quickly!
I liked that it was a relatively short tale, but that’s also what I didn’t like about it! The journey seemed to end too quickly!
September 8, 2014
Mike McIntyre has captured my infatuation for travel in his remarkable “The Wander Year.” My wife Carol and I did a mini version of his year-long trip around the world: I merely wrote about ours while he absolutely turned his effort into a glorious song.
McIntyre and his adventurous girlfriend, Andrea, give up a routine lifestyle and spend a year schlepping around the world with backpacks and overloaded suitcases. There was no great purpose other than to take a break from their usual routines. But they made the most of their change in pace by sunning in the South Seas, rambling around in the Himalayas, being jockeys on Saharan camels, temple gazing, and climbing around on glaciers. Along the way there were encounters with an insidious stomach ailment, a dreary Bolivian prison, persistent rug dealers, a haircut from an old and nearly blind barber, a maniacal car driver, and a beloved Chinese tour guide they never met. Their adventures are captured in McIntyre’s sardonic, humorous, and descriptive journalism, recounting a voyage that will fascinates a rump-in-chair reader.
The author captures a myriad of incidents in explicit narration, never failing to give the reader great insight into a once-in-a-lifetime experience. You are there as money gets tight and travel arrangements get snarled. You are eating with your hands from a scruffy pot of unfamiliar foodstuffs as natives are dipping in with you. (Following that glorious event you suffer from a stomach ailment that is both painful and a test of Andrea’s devotion.) Sore feet, wet clothing, and mosquitoes big enough to hump a turkey are constant companions that make the reader cringe.
I greatly appreciate the silk travel cocoons we sleep in when beds appear gritty (Andrea, I apologize if I did anything frisky) but would prefer a better grade of airline than we sometimes fly in. I get frightened by the prospect of crashing in some of the remote locations we fly over, undoubtedly inhabited by people eaters.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and the author’s talent at getting the reader involved in the escapade. Travel writing is often caught up in too much attention to minute detail and bombinating about historical happenings and not enough information about the instant place and inhabitants. McIntyre has blended just the right ingredients to make his book an enjoyable read. I’m not able to make this type of strenuous journey at my advanced age, but having a writer who can take me there with his words is indeed a joy.
McIntyre and his adventurous girlfriend, Andrea, give up a routine lifestyle and spend a year schlepping around the world with backpacks and overloaded suitcases. There was no great purpose other than to take a break from their usual routines. But they made the most of their change in pace by sunning in the South Seas, rambling around in the Himalayas, being jockeys on Saharan camels, temple gazing, and climbing around on glaciers. Along the way there were encounters with an insidious stomach ailment, a dreary Bolivian prison, persistent rug dealers, a haircut from an old and nearly blind barber, a maniacal car driver, and a beloved Chinese tour guide they never met. Their adventures are captured in McIntyre’s sardonic, humorous, and descriptive journalism, recounting a voyage that will fascinates a rump-in-chair reader.
The author captures a myriad of incidents in explicit narration, never failing to give the reader great insight into a once-in-a-lifetime experience. You are there as money gets tight and travel arrangements get snarled. You are eating with your hands from a scruffy pot of unfamiliar foodstuffs as natives are dipping in with you. (Following that glorious event you suffer from a stomach ailment that is both painful and a test of Andrea’s devotion.) Sore feet, wet clothing, and mosquitoes big enough to hump a turkey are constant companions that make the reader cringe.
I greatly appreciate the silk travel cocoons we sleep in when beds appear gritty (Andrea, I apologize if I did anything frisky) but would prefer a better grade of airline than we sometimes fly in. I get frightened by the prospect of crashing in some of the remote locations we fly over, undoubtedly inhabited by people eaters.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and the author’s talent at getting the reader involved in the escapade. Travel writing is often caught up in too much attention to minute detail and bombinating about historical happenings and not enough information about the instant place and inhabitants. McIntyre has blended just the right ingredients to make his book an enjoyable read. I’m not able to make this type of strenuous journey at my advanced age, but having a writer who can take me there with his words is indeed a joy.
August 17, 2013
Anyone who has the travel bug dreams of having the time, money and skill to plan and navigate a whole year off of your daily routine - or even longer. I enjoyed this book so much that I read it twice, then loaned it to my daughter who is currently on her "wander year". Then I purchased McIntyre's earlier book "The Kindness of Strangers: Penniless Across America". I would definitely never travel penniless across America, but perhaps I will still get a chance for a wander year, or even part of a year.
McIntyre describes why and how they were able to plan a year off from their lives to travel the world. He incudes the details of booking an around the world open jaw airline ticket, as well as renting their house, pets and furniture included, for a year. Packing for a year-long trip was a big challenge, and he and his girlfriend took different approaches, shedding excess belongings as they went along.
Consisting of 48 dispatches written from 22 different countries (McIntyre was a newspaper columnist), the book is full of both practical advice and the daily details of their destinations, such as "you can't have too many locks". They used a stretch cable lock to secure their packs to luggage racks on trains and to lock the doors on their budget hotel rooms. As McIntyre said "when you travel with only one spare shirt, you guard it like the Hope Diamond". The book is not a comprehensive travelogue of everything they did in a year, rather just the highlights that were published in the Travel section of the L.A. Times.
Beyond the practical, we get a glimpse of their emotional and physical reactions to the places they visited. The author writes "It may be a crowded planet, but there's ample room for a multitude of lifestyles and beliefs". He also learned that it's an unfair world, and we Americans are born with advantages unknown in many others places. He suggests that if you can't face the unimaginable poverty and suffering endured by people in other countries, don't leave home. During a year of travel, nothing bad happened to the couple. They weren't assaulted or pickpocketed or had anything stolen. They faced benevolent acceptance wherever they went.
"Wander Year" has inspired me to travel more, though I think I would prefer my adventures in smaller chunks - perhaps 4-6 weeks at a time. A round-the-world trip is a real possibility, and I will be referring to this book again as I plan my future travels.
McIntyre describes why and how they were able to plan a year off from their lives to travel the world. He incudes the details of booking an around the world open jaw airline ticket, as well as renting their house, pets and furniture included, for a year. Packing for a year-long trip was a big challenge, and he and his girlfriend took different approaches, shedding excess belongings as they went along.
Consisting of 48 dispatches written from 22 different countries (McIntyre was a newspaper columnist), the book is full of both practical advice and the daily details of their destinations, such as "you can't have too many locks". They used a stretch cable lock to secure their packs to luggage racks on trains and to lock the doors on their budget hotel rooms. As McIntyre said "when you travel with only one spare shirt, you guard it like the Hope Diamond". The book is not a comprehensive travelogue of everything they did in a year, rather just the highlights that were published in the Travel section of the L.A. Times.
Beyond the practical, we get a glimpse of their emotional and physical reactions to the places they visited. The author writes "It may be a crowded planet, but there's ample room for a multitude of lifestyles and beliefs". He also learned that it's an unfair world, and we Americans are born with advantages unknown in many others places. He suggests that if you can't face the unimaginable poverty and suffering endured by people in other countries, don't leave home. During a year of travel, nothing bad happened to the couple. They weren't assaulted or pickpocketed or had anything stolen. They faced benevolent acceptance wherever they went.
"Wander Year" has inspired me to travel more, though I think I would prefer my adventures in smaller chunks - perhaps 4-6 weeks at a time. A round-the-world trip is a real possibility, and I will be referring to this book again as I plan my future travels.
November 29, 2015
It wasn't until I was a little bit into this story that I realized it was written by the same author as the book "Penniless across America" which I had read not too long ago. McIntyre is a journalist by trade and both books - though well written and with moments of humor and great description - do read like newspaper columns or posts. That is not a bad thing. It worked particularly well with this book as each chapter told of a different country and experience as he and his girlfriend traveled around the world for a full year. That takes courage and resources but definitely would not be a bad way to spend a year. I found the descriptions had me wanting to go immediately to a far away place (like New Zealand or Nepal) and avoid at all costs other countries (like India or Morocco). The author writes not only of the places but also of the people and of course that is what makes a trip of this kind so personalized. Though I have very little chance to travel myself, seeing how it can be done - and how eye opening it can be - treats the reader to a bit of wanderlust. the world is a big place and so many of us see so little of it. They were fortunate to have their wander year - and experience both the good and the bad to broaden their internal horizons.
February 2, 2015
This is so far the worst travel book I have ever read. Not only is so poorly written, but I was amazed at how bad was constructed and how inexperienced, naive and prejudiced these two people were. They completely miss the point of a year of wonder and related only their troubles dealing with hotels and transportation.
It infuriated me reading these two spoiled Americans, criticizing and being very insensitive to the struggles of other places and countries. If you are going to travel the world, truly leave your baggage behind, open your mind you heart and your senses and truly explore and experience all that the world and humanity has to offer. You don't need to take a year off and "wander" to just have a collection of bad hotels around the "poor countries" of the world.
I should have known how bad was this book going to be when they start their journey deciding on making Fiji their first stop, just because even at the beginning of their journey they were not ready -"to face the rigors of shoestring travel - incomprehensible tongues, mystery meals, the sweaty press of humanity".
Really?!
It infuriated me reading these two spoiled Americans, criticizing and being very insensitive to the struggles of other places and countries. If you are going to travel the world, truly leave your baggage behind, open your mind you heart and your senses and truly explore and experience all that the world and humanity has to offer. You don't need to take a year off and "wander" to just have a collection of bad hotels around the "poor countries" of the world.
I should have known how bad was this book going to be when they start their journey deciding on making Fiji their first stop, just because even at the beginning of their journey they were not ready -"to face the rigors of shoestring travel - incomprehensible tongues, mystery meals, the sweaty press of humanity".
Really?!
September 6, 2014
McIntyre writes in a lovely manner. He and his girlfriend (now his wife) planned to take off a year (2000) and visit exotic places neither had even been before (but for a couple of exceptions)budgeting for $75 per day, minus the airfare. Both were in their 40s.
It was fascinating to read how they planned: choosing destinations based on the weather and making their way around the globe with minimal backtracking, renting out their house, getting care for their pets, buying backpacks, choosing what to pack, etc. I loved how McIntyre could turn a phrase. In Waya Island, Fiji, a cyclone makes their departure by boat a life threatening event. He wrote: "The absence of life jackets and paddles meant more room for our lunacy." In Nelson, NZ, a viral liver infection caught up with McIntyre, most likely of Fijian origin. The trip stalled for several weeks as he took to bed rest. Prior to the diagnosis, he wrote: Each day, we traveled shorter distances between hotels, as I sought the security that comes with porcelain.
I loved traveling with those two.
It was fascinating to read how they planned: choosing destinations based on the weather and making their way around the globe with minimal backtracking, renting out their house, getting care for their pets, buying backpacks, choosing what to pack, etc. I loved how McIntyre could turn a phrase. In Waya Island, Fiji, a cyclone makes their departure by boat a life threatening event. He wrote: "The absence of life jackets and paddles meant more room for our lunacy." In Nelson, NZ, a viral liver infection caught up with McIntyre, most likely of Fijian origin. The trip stalled for several weeks as he took to bed rest. Prior to the diagnosis, he wrote: Each day, we traveled shorter distances between hotels, as I sought the security that comes with porcelain.
I loved traveling with those two.
July 18, 2016
If you have ever been on backpack do-it-yourself travels or would like to try one, then you might enjoy this book. I did, because I could perfectly understand issues with which he and his longtime girlfriend had to deal with. Of course, some things I wouldn't do the same, nor would be able to afford, but that was not the point of reading this travelogue (nor any other), to make such comparisons and critiques. The point was to admire the (mis)adventures one fellow traveller had, and to hear (and note for future reference) his advices and tips. These tasks the author accomplished so well, with healthy dose of humour and (self-)criticism, that I wanted to hear more of the countries he visited on his tour around the globe. That would probably have required a triple more pages than these available, so I had to satisfy myself with offered. Luckily, there's one more travelogue of his, that I'll gladly try to read soon too.
November 25, 2012
I enjoyed this book - Mike McIntyre's relaxed writing style made for a quick, entertaining read. His anecdotes of his travels are served with a good dose of deadpan humour which had me laughing out loud at times. As other reviewers have noted, this is not a factual travel book. You won't learn any history or detailed descriptions of the geography of the countries he visited. Rather it is an honest, straight-from-the-heart account of an American's observations of the quirks of different cultures and his reaction to them.
I would have given this book four stars, but it wasn't tightly edited enough. It had previously been part of a series in the LA Times, and read more like a collection of newspaper articles than a story. Nonetheless, it provided me with a fun few hours of escapism, and of course the urge to get out and travel...
I would have given this book four stars, but it wasn't tightly edited enough. It had previously been part of a series in the LA Times, and read more like a collection of newspaper articles than a story. Nonetheless, it provided me with a fun few hours of escapism, and of course the urge to get out and travel...
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