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Absolutely Faking It
For Tiana Templeman, travel has always meant hiking boots and hostels, so when she wins a trip for two to stay at thirteen of the world's most exclusive five-star hotels, it sounds like the chance of a lifetime, an opportunity to see how the other half lives. But with a travel budget stretched tighter than the straps on their bulging backpacks, Tiana and her man have no room for diamonds and designer clothing (if they actually owned any in the first place). From the Ritz in Paris to the Dorchester in London and the Peninsula in Hong Kong, Tiana is faced with questions of etiquette she never thought she'd have to is it all right to cook instant noodles beside the Chanel toiletries in the bathroom? How do you deal with tipping when you can't even afford a bottle of water from the mini-bar? And what on earth are you meant to do with a private butler? Through fourteen countries, over five months and with countless hilarious and mortifying adventures, Tiana learns that in establishments catering for those with champagne tastes, when you're on a beer budget life can be harder than it looks.
- GenresTravelNonfictionMemoir
Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
109 people want to read
About the author
Tiana Templeman
1 book2 followersTiana Templeman is an author with Random House, freelance journalist, radio presenter and recognised industry professional.
Her travel narrative Absolutely Faking It has been reprinted numerous times and translated for overseas publication. Tiana is the creator of the popular travel blog Good to Go and contributes to numerous media outlets both in Australia and overseas. She also appears as a guest presenter on ABC 612 Queensland and 4BC talking about where to visit, what to see and travel industry trends.
As a media spokesperson and specialist industry academic Tiana has delivered ‘Working with the Media’ courses for Tourism & Events Queensland and tutors journalism students at the Queensland University of Technology. She teaches face-to-face workshops and on-line for Queensland Writers Centre, has acted as MC for the 2 day RACQ Southern Queensland Tourism Industry Conference and is a regular panellist at industry events. She has also travelled around Australia and beyond as a specialist Destination Lecturer for Celebrity Cruises.
Tiana holds a Certificate IV in Training & Assessment, a Master of Creative Industries and is currently completing a PhD on ‘The Future of Freelance Journalism in Australia’. She has been an avid traveller since she was 18 and is always dreaming about her next big adventure.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
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August 27, 2007I finished this somewhere over the Pacific Ocean on either the 23rd or 24th, since I'm not sure which side of the date line I was on, between Brisbane and Los Angeles, California.
I absolutely loved this book, some of what resonated with me was stemming from my recent stay at the Westin Melbourne (more coming in my blog on that stay!), which may not be a member of the Leading Hotels of the World but remained far above my normal standard.
"We aren't cultural Neanderthals, but I start to wonder how we'll cope in accommodation where everything is geared to those with champagne tastes, not a beer budget."
Yep, that's definitely what I felt at the Westin. $8.50 for a bottle of water? About the same for an hour of internet access? I guess it's different if you have a significant amount of disposable income but those prices seemed exorbitant to me. I'd much rather spend that on a day's food or something. At times though I wished my budget did extend to upmarket places because the Westin was amazing! Like the author did at first, I struggle with the idea that a hotel can be a destination, but I'm learning it can be.
I loved the range of properties they stayed in, and how they came to realize each property really is an individual. I also liked how the author acknowledged that travel isn't always roses and different kinds of travel elicit different reactions. The feeling of not quite homesickness but something along those lines hit in Prague and it surprised me because four weeks is nothing compared to some of my trips. However it was a very different kind of trip, much the same as how Tiana was hit in this trip.
The mention of Big Apple Greeter was wonderful. Love that Jo took them to Grey's Papaya and that different situations resulted in different reasons for admitting where they were staying and why. Ultimately I liked that the revelations were because they wanted to and not out of a sense that they had to tell.
Website for the book, which comes with some great photos that complement the stories well.
I absolutely loved this book, some of what resonated with me was stemming from my recent stay at the Westin Melbourne (more coming in my blog on that stay!), which may not be a member of the Leading Hotels of the World but remained far above my normal standard.
"We aren't cultural Neanderthals, but I start to wonder how we'll cope in accommodation where everything is geared to those with champagne tastes, not a beer budget."
Yep, that's definitely what I felt at the Westin. $8.50 for a bottle of water? About the same for an hour of internet access? I guess it's different if you have a significant amount of disposable income but those prices seemed exorbitant to me. I'd much rather spend that on a day's food or something. At times though I wished my budget did extend to upmarket places because the Westin was amazing! Like the author did at first, I struggle with the idea that a hotel can be a destination, but I'm learning it can be.
I loved the range of properties they stayed in, and how they came to realize each property really is an individual. I also liked how the author acknowledged that travel isn't always roses and different kinds of travel elicit different reactions. The feeling of not quite homesickness but something along those lines hit in Prague and it surprised me because four weeks is nothing compared to some of my trips. However it was a very different kind of trip, much the same as how Tiana was hit in this trip.
The mention of Big Apple Greeter was wonderful. Love that Jo took them to Grey's Papaya and that different situations resulted in different reasons for admitting where they were staying and why. Ultimately I liked that the revelations were because they wanted to and not out of a sense that they had to tell.
Website for the book, which comes with some great photos that complement the stories well.
September 20, 2024
Interesting because I’ve had a lot of similar experiences, but the writing was uninspired
August 31, 2010
This travel book is about people as much as places. The travellers and the people they met, in grand hotels or dusty hovels around the world, found that it isn't the uniform or the smelly t-shirt that makes the person, it is the spark of friendship that counts.
Winning the holiday of a lifetime - stays in a dozen of the Leading Hotels of the World - with economy class airfare and enough spending money for a pizza now and then made for an entertaining trip. The holiday of a lifetime was certainly that, but perhaps not in the way originally envisaged!
Torture in Turkey, missed connections, encounters with assault gun-toting soldiers, lost luggage, sudden sickness, rustbucket boats and planes, soakings... This could be the holiday from hell!
But it's also fabulous views from vast suites, exquisite service, meals to die for, unexpected friendships, lazy days lounging around the pool, private tours of incredible sites. And sights.
This is a down-to-earth look at places most of us can only dream of, whether they are the Ritz or the Peninsula, waterfalls that make Niagara look sick or ancient cities stretching across the empty Syrian sands.
I learnt a lot about places and people from this book, and it's a pleasure to have a friendly Aussie guide.
Some readers have moaned a little about the trouble Tiana takes to try to fit in. A backpacker at the Ritz. Embarrassment and uncertainty are big themes in this book, especially at the beginning. But isn't that what this book is all about? If it was some jetsetter jotting down notes on the five star hotels along the way, it wouldn't be worth reading. It would be pretentious. It would be flung out the window.
The charm of the story lies in the unexpected serendipity of it all. The grand prize falling in the laps of two people who have to count every cent along the way.
As an aside, this book came to me quite by chance, at a Canberra meetup of BookCrossers, swapping books. You can always find the BookCrossing table - it's piled high with books, and the people who might have been strangers moments before are chatting about Jane Austen - or Dan Brown - and the adventures of the books rival the narratives.
The book was bought on a flying visit to Australia by New York based Cari. I first met her at a Canberra BookCrossing meetup, and since then I've gasped at her amazing travels. She's seen more of my country than I have myself, and when she showed me around Hiroshima and I was reduced to an emotional wreck, it was her fourth time and she was keener on capturing the pink perfection of the sakura cherry blossoms. Not unmoved, just making the best use of the moment.
It was fun to see her excited over being at the top of the Empire State Building. She pulled out her phone and called her Mom. Even though she was a New Yorker born and bred, it was her first time as much as mine.
And, in a fore-echo of this book, the last time I saw Cari was last July, when she took us out to a Mets ballgame and we showed her around our hotel room. Our room at the Waldorf-Astoria.
We might have checked in clad in cargo pants, our colourful nylon bags humbling us, smuggled in Subways and refrained from ordering room service coffee, but it was still the Waldorf, snapped up in an unbelievable online deal, and we HAD to show it off!
Since finishing this book, somewhere over the Pacific on a day made fuzzy by the dateline, Cari has passed it on to BookCrossers around the world. Netherlands, US, Poland, Japan, back to Australia... Absolutely Faking it
The book's travels mirror those of the author!
Bottom line? It's not great literature, and to tell the truth I find the sort of breathless-Aussie-girl-exploring-the-world style of travel writing a teeny bit irritating, but the story itself is well worth the reading. Why? Because why is that we've all looked at the competitions for these amazing prizes and dreamed of winning it. Well, Tiana won the prize, and she has shared it with us. We could be walking through those golden doors in our sweaty shorts and torn t-shirts, and the way she tells it, we are.
Here are the photographs that go with the book, including the glorious photograph that sealed first prize, taken by the photographer husband of the writing wife: Absolutely Faking It Photographs
And here is Tiana's travel blog. Looks like she has found her niche and loving it! Every Day is a New Adventure
Winning the holiday of a lifetime - stays in a dozen of the Leading Hotels of the World - with economy class airfare and enough spending money for a pizza now and then made for an entertaining trip. The holiday of a lifetime was certainly that, but perhaps not in the way originally envisaged!
Torture in Turkey, missed connections, encounters with assault gun-toting soldiers, lost luggage, sudden sickness, rustbucket boats and planes, soakings... This could be the holiday from hell!
But it's also fabulous views from vast suites, exquisite service, meals to die for, unexpected friendships, lazy days lounging around the pool, private tours of incredible sites. And sights.
This is a down-to-earth look at places most of us can only dream of, whether they are the Ritz or the Peninsula, waterfalls that make Niagara look sick or ancient cities stretching across the empty Syrian sands.
I learnt a lot about places and people from this book, and it's a pleasure to have a friendly Aussie guide.
Some readers have moaned a little about the trouble Tiana takes to try to fit in. A backpacker at the Ritz. Embarrassment and uncertainty are big themes in this book, especially at the beginning. But isn't that what this book is all about? If it was some jetsetter jotting down notes on the five star hotels along the way, it wouldn't be worth reading. It would be pretentious. It would be flung out the window.
The charm of the story lies in the unexpected serendipity of it all. The grand prize falling in the laps of two people who have to count every cent along the way.
As an aside, this book came to me quite by chance, at a Canberra meetup of BookCrossers, swapping books. You can always find the BookCrossing table - it's piled high with books, and the people who might have been strangers moments before are chatting about Jane Austen - or Dan Brown - and the adventures of the books rival the narratives.
The book was bought on a flying visit to Australia by New York based Cari. I first met her at a Canberra BookCrossing meetup, and since then I've gasped at her amazing travels. She's seen more of my country than I have myself, and when she showed me around Hiroshima and I was reduced to an emotional wreck, it was her fourth time and she was keener on capturing the pink perfection of the sakura cherry blossoms. Not unmoved, just making the best use of the moment.
It was fun to see her excited over being at the top of the Empire State Building. She pulled out her phone and called her Mom. Even though she was a New Yorker born and bred, it was her first time as much as mine.
And, in a fore-echo of this book, the last time I saw Cari was last July, when she took us out to a Mets ballgame and we showed her around our hotel room. Our room at the Waldorf-Astoria.
We might have checked in clad in cargo pants, our colourful nylon bags humbling us, smuggled in Subways and refrained from ordering room service coffee, but it was still the Waldorf, snapped up in an unbelievable online deal, and we HAD to show it off!
Since finishing this book, somewhere over the Pacific on a day made fuzzy by the dateline, Cari has passed it on to BookCrossers around the world. Netherlands, US, Poland, Japan, back to Australia... Absolutely Faking it
The book's travels mirror those of the author!
Bottom line? It's not great literature, and to tell the truth I find the sort of breathless-Aussie-girl-exploring-the-world style of travel writing a teeny bit irritating, but the story itself is well worth the reading. Why? Because why is that we've all looked at the competitions for these amazing prizes and dreamed of winning it. Well, Tiana won the prize, and she has shared it with us. We could be walking through those golden doors in our sweaty shorts and torn t-shirts, and the way she tells it, we are.
Here are the photographs that go with the book, including the glorious photograph that sealed first prize, taken by the photographer husband of the writing wife: Absolutely Faking It Photographs
And here is Tiana's travel blog. Looks like she has found her niche and loving it! Every Day is a New Adventure
August 2, 2011
Combining two of my likes (travelling and comping), I should love this book. I don't mind the occasional travelogue but far prefer ones that aren't quite so....um, nice. Absolutely Faking It is probably even more escapist than regular travel literature, but perhaps so much so that it was difficult for me to empathise. There are a couple of chuckles, a fair few "if only"'s and plenty more wishes for some mean-spirited sarcasm ala that of Bill Bryson.
August 9, 2008
Light read, a backpacker couple, travel to five star hotels in amongst, well backpacking... Around the world!
August 28, 2008
Great to let your mind travel between 5 star and most peoples realities around the world...I think having a budget allowed for them to have a better experience.
September 5, 2010
Like the story’s protagonists, I also took a photograph that won an international photographic competition. My prize was the return airflight from Australia to New York, three night’s accommodation in a Manhattan hotel and a dinner where I was presented with my award. But my hotel was three stars (although I was given a suite), not one of the world’s most exclusive five star hotels that the author and her husband got to stay in. I have been in the foyer of The Peninsular Hotel in Hong Kong that was part of their prize. It was raining (like in the story) and the doorman handed me a plastic cover for my umbrella with the hotel’s name printed on it, giving me a souvenir. But The Peninsular Hotel was beyond my price range and I stayed next door in the YMCA (it also took female guests). However, I was upgraded free of charge to a suite with curved floor to ceiling windows looking down on Hong Kong. It was the most upmarket YMCA I have seen, with two pools, one of them twenty-five metres long (and fluffy towels) and nice rooms of about four star standard. But it was not The Peninsular experience.
The author, Tiana Templeman, mentioned she was a well travelled budget traveller, but at times she came across as naive for an experienced traveller. Then she mentioned an organised bus tour she had been on. Was this the type of travelling she had done previously? Perhaps that’s why she still came across a naïve. She suffers from a great deal of homesickness. “A bout of homesickness was bound to strike sometimes.” (Why!?) Strange for someone who thinks they are well travelled and I found that hard to believe and relate to. Too much angst at times too.
Tiana has difficulty reading maps. I have never understood what is difficult with looking at the street where you are and matching it up with lines on a map, then matching up the next intersection with a line that joins the first line. I have cycled alone through Europe on back lanes and can’t remember getting lost, except for the day it rained so heavily I didn’t want to get the map out and have it destroyed in the rain. But when I asked directions it turns out I was headed in the right direction, sans the map (dry and safe in my pannier). And even after a full day of cycling I never suffered the tiredness Tiana and Trevor seemed to regularly suffer from.
Tiana and Trevor are always crying poor. But they both worked and had months to save before they left for their holiday. Their airfare and much of their accommodation was paid for. I wondered why they couldn’t have scrimped and saved to have had more money to spend. I don’t mean to throw around, but so as not to have to cry poor so often.
Tiana writes, “In Australia, most of the country is made up of bright colours – vibrant green leaves, deep blue ocean, golden fields of wheat.” That could describe the Brisbane area where Tiana comes from, but not a lot of Australia. I wondered how much she has travelled in Australia. Hasn’t she been in western NSW and Queensland during a drought? Not much colour then. And how can Australian’s dominant tree, the eucalyptus, be described as vibrant green?
I found the book an interesting read and I was pleased for their win. I too would have initially felt out of place in the splendour of the top hotels. But the writing could have been better and facts, figures, dates read as if they were taken straight from tourist brochures and off the internet. Worth a read though for the description of the hotels.
The author, Tiana Templeman, mentioned she was a well travelled budget traveller, but at times she came across as naive for an experienced traveller. Then she mentioned an organised bus tour she had been on. Was this the type of travelling she had done previously? Perhaps that’s why she still came across a naïve. She suffers from a great deal of homesickness. “A bout of homesickness was bound to strike sometimes.” (Why!?) Strange for someone who thinks they are well travelled and I found that hard to believe and relate to. Too much angst at times too.
Tiana has difficulty reading maps. I have never understood what is difficult with looking at the street where you are and matching it up with lines on a map, then matching up the next intersection with a line that joins the first line. I have cycled alone through Europe on back lanes and can’t remember getting lost, except for the day it rained so heavily I didn’t want to get the map out and have it destroyed in the rain. But when I asked directions it turns out I was headed in the right direction, sans the map (dry and safe in my pannier). And even after a full day of cycling I never suffered the tiredness Tiana and Trevor seemed to regularly suffer from.
Tiana and Trevor are always crying poor. But they both worked and had months to save before they left for their holiday. Their airfare and much of their accommodation was paid for. I wondered why they couldn’t have scrimped and saved to have had more money to spend. I don’t mean to throw around, but so as not to have to cry poor so often.
Tiana writes, “In Australia, most of the country is made up of bright colours – vibrant green leaves, deep blue ocean, golden fields of wheat.” That could describe the Brisbane area where Tiana comes from, but not a lot of Australia. I wondered how much she has travelled in Australia. Hasn’t she been in western NSW and Queensland during a drought? Not much colour then. And how can Australian’s dominant tree, the eucalyptus, be described as vibrant green?
I found the book an interesting read and I was pleased for their win. I too would have initially felt out of place in the splendour of the top hotels. But the writing could have been better and facts, figures, dates read as if they were taken straight from tourist brochures and off the internet. Worth a read though for the description of the hotels.
May 31, 2013
I was really excited to read this book and it started off interesting. I loved reading about the lavish hotels and the authors funny attempts at trying to pull off this trip on a budget. But after awhile, the writing becomes very 'samey' and each hotel seems to have the same idea of 'lavishness'. The cities begin to blur into one and whilst some are beautifully described, some are whispered over far too quickly, like a fleeting stop. The writing isn't descriptive enough that it is sometimes hard to imagine without a picture to support it. The authors feelings of inadequacy at not being rich and staying in these hotels gets a little tedious after awhile and all I can think is "quit whinging and enjoy your free five star hotels!" In all honesty, I ended up skimming through the last quarter of the book without any regrets on not really reading the last part in as much depth as I should have.
July 24, 2010
An Australian couple wins the trip of a lifetime - to stay in a string of 5 star hotels around the world. The only problem is that there are lots of other expenses that aren't paid for. The couple has the hilarious adventure of staying in expensive hotels but having to live like backpackers in every other respect.
January 5, 2012
A very interesting read. I was quite surprised by the author's constant need to fit in wherever she was, whether staying in a 5-star palace or in a 'regular' hotel. I was also a bit taken aback by her reactions and naivety sometimes, which were both unexpected in someone supposedly so well-travelled.
February 4, 2012
Loved reading about all the places and hotels, some descriptions actually helped me pick places to visit for my upcoming overseas trip. But I HATED her continual whinging in the first half of the book about how she was so embarrassed and felt out of place in the 5 star hotels. If I won an amazing trip like that I wouldn't complain about anything!
April 11, 2025
FutureCat gave me this at our meetup :D This was a great book! I really enjoyed all the descriptions of different places, and while I too wish the authors had figured out how to fit in a bit earlier, I'm glad they figured it out in time to have a good time for the rest of their amazing holiday. I'm so jealous!!
January 25, 2010
Leuk verhaal en leuk gegeven maar beetje saai geschreven. Typisch zo'n boek van iemand die iets meemaakt en daar graag een boek over schrijft. Ik weet niet of ze ondertussen nog andere boeken geschreven heeft of niet, maar dit was alleszins haar eerste (en hopelijk blijft het daarbij).
January 10, 2009
thirteen Luxury Hotels in 5 months ... No money
Thought it would be more juicy than it was.
Thought it would be more juicy than it was.
April 23, 2010
Another absolutely fabulous travel book.
December 17, 2011
Loved it!
January 28, 2017
I thought the author had an amazing opportunity spoiled only by her perceived need to fit in with the other half. Loved reading about the adventure though.
November 17, 2010
A fun read!
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews