Backpacking With A Bunion: A Journey of Discovery and Adventure in South East Asia

by Terry Grigg

Backpacking With A Bunion is a travelogue of discovery and adventure across the countries of S E Asia. The journey begins in Bangkok - where else; and ends up on the island of Flores in Indonesia. My story as a mature 'gapper' is outlined in the Introduction, as well as some of the highlights from my trip. The reader if so inclined could follow my journey on a map - it works quite well as a jigsaw, though I have certainly left plenty of room for flexibility and spontaneity. Travel, like life is not always straightforward, but that's the joy in it. Each chapter is given a descriptive heading to provide a unique flavour to the areas visited. They are roughly in chronological order to give a sense of continuity to my travelling over a period of eighteen months, but could stand alone as set pieces. I have tried to make the book as varied as possible with various quotations, travellers' tales and humour and more serious religious, cultural, political and environmental observations. I have included some facts and figures (where appropriate) on history, geography, transport arrangements, places of interest and personal experiences, thus painting a picture in words of sights, sounds and happenings. The book concludes with S E Asia in a nutshell, a summary of what the traveller might expect and emphasising that travelling changes the traveller. And hopefully reading this book will change the reader's perspective too.

332 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2008

About the author

Terry is a writer, environmental campaigner, gardener and vegan anti-natalist. But for much of the last twenty five years or so he has spent travelling the world. His first major trip was overlanding from Nairobi to Cape Town. Five months in trucks, buses, coaches, pick-ups and God knows what else.

He now has four travel books to his name; Backpacking With A Bunion, all about South-East Asia, Terry's Travels 1... Orcland to the Ottomans, a trip from New Zealand to Turkey, Terry's Travels 2... A Scam in the Ashram, a journey across the Indian subcontinent and Terry's Travels 3... The Dark Heart of Humanity, from the Canaries to Cape Town. The next in the series will be about the Americas, but meanwhile there's lots more travelling to be done.

Reviews

[Marcus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finding his footing. This interesting travelogue regarding South East Asia was a prelude to the Terry’s Travels trilogy where he would truly find his own voice.