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One Way Ticket: You Can't Get Lost When You Don't Know Where You're Going
One Way Ticket is the debut book from British travel writer Mark Phipps. Documenting honest, compelling, funny and often raw moments encountered from a life lived directly from a backpack all over the globe over the course of 12 years.
Follow as he departs on a solo trip to Australia at 19 years old to at one point ending up cold, alone and homeless on the airport floor in El Salvador. This part memoir, part how-not-to-travel-the-world-longterm guide will resonate with anyone who has traveled longterm, and be an awakening to those who are wanting to know what a life spent traveling looks like in-between the days hiking mountains and visiting famous landmarks.
Mark tells the story of life lessons picked up on the road that explores the highs and lows of longterm travel whilst rejecting the traditional nine-to-five path.
An inspirational tale for those seeking an extended taste of the modern nomadic life.
Follow as he departs on a solo trip to Australia at 19 years old to at one point ending up cold, alone and homeless on the airport floor in El Salvador. This part memoir, part how-not-to-travel-the-world-longterm guide will resonate with anyone who has traveled longterm, and be an awakening to those who are wanting to know what a life spent traveling looks like in-between the days hiking mountains and visiting famous landmarks.
Mark tells the story of life lessons picked up on the road that explores the highs and lows of longterm travel whilst rejecting the traditional nine-to-five path.
An inspirational tale for those seeking an extended taste of the modern nomadic life.
194 pages, Paperback
Published December 4, 2022
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21 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
January 16, 2023
This is an amazing read about a journey to travel and discover wonderful places and the personal experiences that come along the way about life and love. Connections with family and friends. I couldn't put it down. Makes me want to have a travel journey and my own adventure! Highly recommend this book.
December 4, 2022
Refreshingly honest, touching, and pretty catchy.
The author does not try to gloss over the truth or write in a documentary way. He unsparingly describes his experiences and thereby, allows the reader insights into his life. His highs as well as his lows and his most intimate moments and thoughts.
If you yourself have been a longterm traveler at some point in your life, you can probably relate to the feelings described; the joy of bending the rules, the high of being free in your decisions and responsible only for yourself with no predetermined pathway for you to follow.
These parts make me smile and remind me of some fond memories of my own travels.
However, this book is not only about paradisiacal destinations and other rewards that await you if you're brave enough to leave your comfort zone. It also reveals the downsides of "living the dream“. How lonely you can feel even when surrounded by hundreds of people. It addresses the surreal feeling when you get home after spending several months or years abroad, where you made enough memories for a lifetime.
This book unveils the full-on experience, which I really like.
Reading it gets me itchy feet. I've felt happy thinking back to my own travels, the excitement, freedom, and unconditional friendships. But it also calls the harder times during traveling to mind, the never-ending goodbyes, and moments of loneliness.
I definitely recommend this book to those who have been traveling, who are still out there, and those who plan on doing so.
It's written from a very subjective perspective, but this makes it so real and easy to relate to the authors' experiences and feelings.
The author does not try to gloss over the truth or write in a documentary way. He unsparingly describes his experiences and thereby, allows the reader insights into his life. His highs as well as his lows and his most intimate moments and thoughts.
If you yourself have been a longterm traveler at some point in your life, you can probably relate to the feelings described; the joy of bending the rules, the high of being free in your decisions and responsible only for yourself with no predetermined pathway for you to follow.
These parts make me smile and remind me of some fond memories of my own travels.
However, this book is not only about paradisiacal destinations and other rewards that await you if you're brave enough to leave your comfort zone. It also reveals the downsides of "living the dream“. How lonely you can feel even when surrounded by hundreds of people. It addresses the surreal feeling when you get home after spending several months or years abroad, where you made enough memories for a lifetime.
This book unveils the full-on experience, which I really like.
Reading it gets me itchy feet. I've felt happy thinking back to my own travels, the excitement, freedom, and unconditional friendships. But it also calls the harder times during traveling to mind, the never-ending goodbyes, and moments of loneliness.
I definitely recommend this book to those who have been traveling, who are still out there, and those who plan on doing so.
It's written from a very subjective perspective, but this makes it so real and easy to relate to the authors' experiences and feelings.
December 4, 2022
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book from start to finish. The author is really relatable and honest. As someone with a keen interest in travel and who spent time in Australia backpacking, I loved reading about all the ‘traveller stories’ which are funny and will probably resonate with a lot of people who have travelled previously and be eye opening to people who are looking to backpack the world.
The book keeps your interest as it isn’t just about travel but a young persons journey through life and finding themselves. The book is funny, sad and informative! Definitely worth a read.
The book keeps your interest as it isn’t just about travel but a young persons journey through life and finding themselves. The book is funny, sad and informative! Definitely worth a read.
December 5, 2022
Really well written book. Must read for any one who loves travelling or thinking about going travelling. Took me straight back to my own backpacker days.
The author writes about his own experiences being on the road for years.
A really feel good book. Perfect for a cold winter day. Dreaming of adventure and warm breezes.
The author writes about his own experiences being on the road for years.
A really feel good book. Perfect for a cold winter day. Dreaming of adventure and warm breezes.
December 22, 2022
A part of me couldn’t help but feel awakened by the authors story, a hunger for adventure and experience. I felt inspired by his resilience and adaptability. Moved by his appreciation for each part of the world by connecting to the land and it’s native people. This book not only follows his amazing journey but offers the reader many valuable lessons. The joys and heartbreaks he experiences on the road and across seas, the bonds forged and those let go, and the vulnerability and emotion written within the pages has the ability to breathe life into anyone.
One Way ticket is a beautiful, mind boggling, sometimes funny, other times heartbreaking retelling of the authors last 12 years spent venturing across the world. There where times reading this book where I forgot that it was non-fiction, that he actually lived this life and it wasn’t some traveling happy-go-lucky fictional fantasy. Lifetimes lived within one. How could one man endure and experience so much?
I admired his overall outlook on life, that it is what you make it. That it is pointless to react to your external environment and it’s events in a way that may bring stress or unhappiness. That won’t change anything, only bring you more of what you are trying to escape. You have no control over the external world, but the state of your internal world is within your control and makes all the difference.
Excitement was hard to contain at the mention of New Zealand, the land that has nurtured my growth from the womb. I’ve traveled up and down this country many times and I’ll be honest, being surrounded by its beauty constantly had stripped me of my appreciation for it. But allowing my being to become desensitised to its wonder is on me. Reading about my home, loved by a man and the woman he loved that both have seen the world, renewed and deepened my love for it all. So to the author, thank you. A reminder from time to time to adopt a pair of fresh eyes and see the world anew.
Humorous, honest, vulnerable and raw. I recommend this book for everyone, not just those interested in travel or are somewhat of master travellers themselves. Read the book, let his passion for adventure inspire and ignite you.
One Way ticket is a beautiful, mind boggling, sometimes funny, other times heartbreaking retelling of the authors last 12 years spent venturing across the world. There where times reading this book where I forgot that it was non-fiction, that he actually lived this life and it wasn’t some traveling happy-go-lucky fictional fantasy. Lifetimes lived within one. How could one man endure and experience so much?
I admired his overall outlook on life, that it is what you make it. That it is pointless to react to your external environment and it’s events in a way that may bring stress or unhappiness. That won’t change anything, only bring you more of what you are trying to escape. You have no control over the external world, but the state of your internal world is within your control and makes all the difference.
Excitement was hard to contain at the mention of New Zealand, the land that has nurtured my growth from the womb. I’ve traveled up and down this country many times and I’ll be honest, being surrounded by its beauty constantly had stripped me of my appreciation for it. But allowing my being to become desensitised to its wonder is on me. Reading about my home, loved by a man and the woman he loved that both have seen the world, renewed and deepened my love for it all. So to the author, thank you. A reminder from time to time to adopt a pair of fresh eyes and see the world anew.
Humorous, honest, vulnerable and raw. I recommend this book for everyone, not just those interested in travel or are somewhat of master travellers themselves. Read the book, let his passion for adventure inspire and ignite you.
March 14, 2023
One Way Ticket is a beautifully written book about a life journey, about travelling, about finding and losing yourself, about belonging. It is a really honest, genuine, relatable insight inside the author's life and I found myself really invested in their life adventure.
But this book is not only about the positives and good side of travelling, it also shows us the downsides about a life that a lot of us would see as a "dream". I touches loneliness, the feeling of never really belonging and the heartbreak of constantly having to say goodbye.
The story made me grateful for my life in the best way. I would love to quit everything, leave my rented flat and go travelling for the next few years, but Mark reminded me that sometimes, we take having a home to go back to for granted. Feeling like I belong somewhere and having someone by my side is the most important thing for me right now.
I would totally recommend this book to anyone that has travelled (or not) and anyone that is thinking of travelling, or not!
But this book is not only about the positives and good side of travelling, it also shows us the downsides about a life that a lot of us would see as a "dream". I touches loneliness, the feeling of never really belonging and the heartbreak of constantly having to say goodbye.
The story made me grateful for my life in the best way. I would love to quit everything, leave my rented flat and go travelling for the next few years, but Mark reminded me that sometimes, we take having a home to go back to for granted. Feeling like I belong somewhere and having someone by my side is the most important thing for me right now.
I would totally recommend this book to anyone that has travelled (or not) and anyone that is thinking of travelling, or not!
January 25, 2023
(gifted) Such a brilliant book to start the year with and a wonderful reading experience after having thoroughly enjoyed my travels in 2022!
After 12 years of travelling (and counting) Mark Phipps ‘One Way Ticket’ captures the highs and lows of being on the road, the thrill and freedom of travel, and the personal growth you experience.
He writes about lessons on love and relationships, friendships, family, coworkers, locals and those unexpected encounters. It was interesting to see how his journey backpacking unfolds and his course of growth from the beginning to the present day. The book serves as a nice reminder that we’re all on our own paths and “everything comes to different people at different times” and we should enjoy the variety of experiences that come our way.
It reads like a summer breeze, the pages brimming with endless adventures and it made me miss travelling a lot! The freedom of booking a flight, a bus, a train to wherever I wanted. It was the only time in my life I’ve been so unrestricted with what I do and where I go. It felt overwhelming at times, knowing the possibilities and destinations were endless but it really was a special experience. I think Mark writes about this brilliantly, recalling witty travel stories, the challenges and triumphs, and the cool journey that life is. Having also done tours in Thailand and Bali, with the tour company Mark works for, it was really interesting to read from the perspective of a tour leader and to relive the route and activities we did.
One quote that made me giggle and reminisce:
“If I had looked downwards out of the window, I could spot the local wildlife scurrying around the bins below. They might have been rats, but they were Thai rats, and this was what I had come to experience. Not comfort and safety, two things I could find at home, but discomfort and growth, adventure and exploration. That’s what I’d come all this way to find.”
The perfect book for those who’ve been travelling or are interested in going, to inspire, reminisce and fuel your desire for adventure!
- @bookclubdaisy
After 12 years of travelling (and counting) Mark Phipps ‘One Way Ticket’ captures the highs and lows of being on the road, the thrill and freedom of travel, and the personal growth you experience.
He writes about lessons on love and relationships, friendships, family, coworkers, locals and those unexpected encounters. It was interesting to see how his journey backpacking unfolds and his course of growth from the beginning to the present day. The book serves as a nice reminder that we’re all on our own paths and “everything comes to different people at different times” and we should enjoy the variety of experiences that come our way.
It reads like a summer breeze, the pages brimming with endless adventures and it made me miss travelling a lot! The freedom of booking a flight, a bus, a train to wherever I wanted. It was the only time in my life I’ve been so unrestricted with what I do and where I go. It felt overwhelming at times, knowing the possibilities and destinations were endless but it really was a special experience. I think Mark writes about this brilliantly, recalling witty travel stories, the challenges and triumphs, and the cool journey that life is. Having also done tours in Thailand and Bali, with the tour company Mark works for, it was really interesting to read from the perspective of a tour leader and to relive the route and activities we did.
One quote that made me giggle and reminisce:
“If I had looked downwards out of the window, I could spot the local wildlife scurrying around the bins below. They might have been rats, but they were Thai rats, and this was what I had come to experience. Not comfort and safety, two things I could find at home, but discomfort and growth, adventure and exploration. That’s what I’d come all this way to find.”
The perfect book for those who’ve been travelling or are interested in going, to inspire, reminisce and fuel your desire for adventure!
- @bookclubdaisy
March 1, 2023
He developed unique views on life. That one’s life shouldn’t be lived in one place. That there isn’t only one route through life, -school, university, job, marriage, house, family, then death. And that it’s ok to choose your own path through life. In Thailand again, Mark developed a philosophy of life; “Get paid to do something most people pay to do.” Although he didn’t really know what direction he was going, he avoided committing his life to only following one path.
This travelogue takes the reader on a journey around the world. Filled with life lessons, and humor. It seamlessly blends the funny into the struggle, just like life. I enjoyed reading this book. I felt the travel bug myself by the time I was done. His life lessons can be enacted in even non-traveler lives.
This travelogue takes the reader on a journey around the world. Filled with life lessons, and humor. It seamlessly blends the funny into the struggle, just like life. I enjoyed reading this book. I felt the travel bug myself by the time I was done. His life lessons can be enacted in even non-traveler lives.
March 31, 2024
My first real love gave me the book "Just Kids" by Patti Smith. I re-read that book and it was not as good as I remembered it. One Way Ticket is definitely a more relatable and better version and brings the whole world, memoirs of a life *lived*, and a love story for the 21st century right into our home. I'm sitting in Indochina again after 5 years away and this revives so many of the reasons I decide to travel. Simply, the world is our friend, and being afraid of our friend is silly. Love is hard, especially long-distance, and there's thousands of reasons to keep loving.
December 24, 2022
I highly recommend this book, especially if you are a big fan of adventure and travel. I met Mark while traveling through Indonesia for 10 days - he was our group travel leader. Still to this day it was one of my favorite memories I’ve ever had. I loved reading about his upbringing and all of his adventures in between. It will keep you on your toes but also have you appreciate the little things in life!!
December 29, 2022
An easy reading that takes you to “wonderland” and makes you discover the ups and downs that comes with it.
A genuine, honest writing that put a smile on your face, but at the same time, shows you that all that glitters is not gold.
I found myself in many stories around Australia and Thailand and enjoyed to be transported back in time.
I found that towards the end of the book there were quiet few repetitions that could have been cut, but apart from this, I really enjoyed the reading.
A genuine, honest writing that put a smile on your face, but at the same time, shows you that all that glitters is not gold.
I found myself in many stories around Australia and Thailand and enjoyed to be transported back in time.
I found that towards the end of the book there were quiet few repetitions that could have been cut, but apart from this, I really enjoyed the reading.
January 1, 2023
Loved reading this book!
It’s witty, but also shows the nitty gritty side of solo-travelling, highlighting the highs and also importantly the lows.
It’s an honest book that is written in a way which makes you feel like you’re there experiencing it yourself! Mark takes you along the journey of his travels over 12 different places in the world, showing the fascinating, fun and sometimes scary side of travelling.
If you are well traveled or wanting to be, this book is a must read.
Travelling is an important goal for me so this was a great read.
It’s witty, but also shows the nitty gritty side of solo-travelling, highlighting the highs and also importantly the lows.
It’s an honest book that is written in a way which makes you feel like you’re there experiencing it yourself! Mark takes you along the journey of his travels over 12 different places in the world, showing the fascinating, fun and sometimes scary side of travelling.
If you are well traveled or wanting to be, this book is a must read.
Travelling is an important goal for me so this was a great read.
March 3, 2023
Review coming soon.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews