The Dark Tourist: Sightseeing in the World's Most Unlikely Holiday Destinations

by Dom Joly

Ever since he can remember, Dom Joly has been fascinated by travel to odd places. In part this stems from a childhood spent in war-torn Lebanon, where instead of swapping marbles in the schoolyard, he had a shrapnel collection -- the schoolboy currency of Beirut. Dom's upbringing was interspersed with terrifying days and nights spent hunkered in the family basement under Syrian rocket attack or coming across a pile of severed heads from a sectarian execution in the pine forests near his home. These early experiences left Dom with a profound loathing for the sanitized experiences of the modern day travel industry and a taste for the darkest of places. And in this brilliantly odd and hilariously told travel memoir, Dom Joly sets out on a quest to visit those destinations from which the average tourist would, and should, run a mile. The more insalubrious the place, the more interesting is the journey and so we follow Dom as he skis in Iran on segregated slopes, spends a weekend in Chernobyl, tours the assassination sites of America and becomes one of the few Westerners to be granted entry into North Korea. Eventually Dom journeys back to his roots in Beirut only to discover he was at school with Osama Bin Laden. Funny and frightening in equal measure, this is a uniquely bizarre and compelling travelogue from one of the most fearless and innovative comedians around.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, Audiobook, Humor, Comedy, Politics, British Literature

279 pages, Paperback

First published September 2, 2010

Reviews

[K.J. Charles]

This rather landed for me like the Joe Lycett book, in that the 'amusingly annoying' schtick that works on TV does not land for me in book form. There are some good and insightful passages here, mostly about his home country of Lebanon, but more that I found incredibly grating, and very little of the humour worked for me.

Plus, when I find the copy editor who's letting all these people end every other paragraph with an ellipsis for no reason, we're going to have WORDS.

[Jenna Copeland Kristensen · Rating 2 out of 5]

While there were portions of this book which were interesting and indeed funny, the lion's share of the work revealed the rantings of a man-child who had never quite grown out of his boarding-school humor. Joly may have done a fair bit of traveling, but it hasn't done away with his prejudices as Mark Twain theorized. There are far more interesting travelogues to unusual places than this.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed it,not best writing but not meant to be,great descriptions of what can only be real events (you couldn't make em up) Very good travelogue.

[Josie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm still reading this book and I'm enjoying it so far. But I just got to the part where he visits the Air and Space Smithsonian and tells the NASA pen joke. It irritates me anytime I hear someone tell this joke. It proves that the person speaking has done no research on the topic and is just repeating something he or she heard. Also, like with all other urban legends told as truth, it makes the teller seems unknowledgeable and gullible.

I would really like to get this guy a copy of Packing for Mars by Mary Roach.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Pen

Other than that it's a great book so far!

After North Korea the book isn't as interesting. Still a good book though.

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dark Tourism is a subject I'm generally interested in, and I like books about travel to unusual destinations) particularly such that I'm unlikely and/or unwilling to visit myself. Parts of this were interesting and thoroughly entertaining, in others the author came across as ignorant and prejudiced, with the humour at times falling flat.

[Maura Lehmann · Rating 2 out of 5]

Whilst perfect for a light read on a travel day, I felt this story quickly went from witty and entertaining to ignorant and at times cringe-worthy. The main idea behind this book is brilliant, but sadly not backed up by enough research.

[Sonia · Rating 4 out of 5]

After the wonderful Stalin Ate My Homework and Bossypants, I decided that I would always try to get autobiographies as audiobooks wherever possible – as long as they were read by the author.

So, The Dark Tourist ISN’T actually a ‘proper’ autobiography per se, but it is still Dom Joly’s telling of his experiences – so it definitely worked the same way as an audiobook. I thought it was hilarious – but I can imagine that it wouldn’t have worked quite as well as in print. “It’s the way he tells them!”

It starts when he spots a photo in a Parisian magazine of a couple of women in full burkhas – on skis! The photo has been taken in Iran – and Joly decides that this is such an unlikely place for a ski resort that he HAS to go there…which brings about all sorts of amusing exchanges with officials and passport control etc.

Having been brought up in Lebanon, this also whets his appetite for visiting some of the ‘riskier’ parts of the world as a tourist, seeking out the unusual and hidden rather than the usual sanitised offerings. Hence the title.

His visits take him to Iran, Lebanon, Cambodia, Chernobyl, North Korea and America’s deep south.

His storytelling is brilliant – we were laughing out loud at some of the situations he managed to get himself into. He is extremely candid and this is occasionally slightly shocking. But in a good way! (there is a whole section where is tempted to buy Pol Pot’s shoes). I can imagine that these don’t necessarily translate into a particularly well written book – so if you get the chance, get the audiobook!

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting read which saw Dom Joly visit 6 different locations somehow considered "dark" places of travel. He visited a varied range of places from Cambodia to Chernobyl.

His style of writing was very easy to read and at some points I found myself laughing out loud! However, I did find the last two chapters a little boring and slow at times. The epilogue though was a fantastic end to the book. It showed a different side of Dom Joly and described why he desired to seek out places of dark tourism in a meaningful way.

I would definitely recommend it if you are interested in travel and want to learn more about some of the more unusual places to visit in the world for a holiday!

[Liam Ostermann · Rating 1 out of 5]

Maybe this book was funnier? more interesting? less banal? back in 2010 when it was first published. Maybe it helps? helped? if you are younger and more likely to have watched? enjoyed? Dom Joly's career as a comedian? I don't know and I don't care. The time for this book has passed. How adventurous is it to go and visit Cambodia these days? How about when Joly visited? Is it 'dark tourism' to visit Cambodian Death camps? If it is how is taking strictly choreographed tour of the monuments of the Kim dynasty of North Korea dark tourism? If he had done what Walter Duranty did in Ukraine in Stalin's time and toured, and ignored, a famine then that would be dark tourism, or at least tourism that deserves the name dark.

If you are a Dom Joly fan you'll love the book, if you're not then don't bother. If you are a dark tourist or thinking of becoming one go to Aberfan in Wales and photograph the site where 116 children and 28 adults were buried under a collapsed colliery coal tip. If your taste for the 'dark' survives that go and join Alex Hegarty and her colleagues digging up identifying the victims of various South American monsters, or better, read her book 'Still Life with Bones: A forensic quest for justice among Latin America’s mass graves'.

[Kasia · Rating 5 out of 5]

My first book of 2019 and it's a 5 star. It will make you think and laugh. I loved it, couldn't put it down, just what I needed for a cultural and travel-knowledge injection.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

As an avid traveler, this book appealed to me as an opportunity to get a another person's point of view on some places I've never been. After reading the book however, I think anyone with a good sense of humor and curiosity would really enjoy this book.

Between being narrated by the author himself, and the auto-biographical nature of the subject, it's an extremely personal account of this smart, funny man's experiences. I found his insights clever and the experiences with the different individuals in each place were very true to the experience every traveler has when meeting up with people by chance on the road.

He paints a vivid picture of each spot he goes to; Iran (to ski!), the US (famous assassination locations and 9/11 sites) , the Ukraine (Chernobyl), North Korea (State organized tour) and Lebanon (his childhood home).

In each location, something strange, shocking, or unique happens; from being stuck in the elevator from hell and his insanely difficult way of extracting himself from it, to being on the same tour to Chernobyl as a man that has a very bizarre reaction to the site, to heading home to Lebanon only to find he may have attended private school with Osama Bin Laden. Every stop of this fantastic tour had it's own twists and turns, and I loved them all.

I was sorry when it was over, and hope for another book by the author soon.

[Davek · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been a fan of Dom Joly since he appeared with on the Mark Thomas Comedy Product, dressed as a schoolboy kicking a ball over the garden wall at 10 Downing street and then going round the front to ask for his ball back!

This was as I expected a quick read and is written in a journalistic style of prose. There are plenty of excellent anecdotes Dom shared, from ordering a take-away pizza in Iran to the quality of US border control, to the motorways in North Korea with no vehicles on them.

The most depressing part was in Cambodia, when dealing with ex-Khmer Rouge people who had not been brought to justice, this was especially sickening when discussing the photographer who took pictures of people before the were executed.

The funniest bits for me were also around his description of men and women in Kiev and the lack of bars in the city. Kiev at the time would have been an obscure place, but not today in 2014 after the recent fighting.

The other dated part and the most personal, was Dom's return to the place of his birth, Beirut and Lebanon. This whole region has been dragged into the Syria/Iraq/Kurdish/IS fight and would probably be even more dangerous to get into.

An excellent read and for all.

[Haymond Lam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this book is really good. Dom Jolly takes on the seminal role of the 'Yes-Man' of dangerous travelling. Iran, North Korea (DPRK), Lebanon and even Dallas, Tx, are all covered in his trademark sardonic Brit tone. Understandably his country of upbringing, Lebanon is more unrestrained and personal, particularly in the parts where he meets his half-sister. Events in the other countries he travels through are just hilarious, particularly in the state censured media North Korea whereby he infuses pseudo greetings and infatuations to the party chairman, when actually he is writing an email back to his wife; his wife being endearing referred to as 'Dear Comrade'. Other misadventures occur such as the frequent power shortages (again in North Korea) and also being part of restaurant lock-downs after he has somehow managed to ski in the only resort in Iran.

I have a friend called Dacia, who is basically the female version of Dom. As far as I know, she has an ambition to visit all of the Stans, I definitely recommend she read this book, but not reenact the author.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is probably one of the most unique I’ve read in terms of concept, dark tourism and visiting the places most others would avoid is a great travel book idea and when the book focuses on the facts and the emotions of a place it does well. Where this book falls down, I feel, is in the bits between, with a plethora of accents (I listened to the audio book) that were at best a bit cringy and at worst kind of racist, and with all the man child joking around which, to be honest, sometimes made it difficult to judge whether some of the stories he told us were fully accurate and not jokes themselves. I also found it a bit difficult at times to swallow the amount of “I laughed heterosexually” comments which never failed to remind me that some of the places I’d love to visit would not in fact love to HAVE me visit since I’m not Heterosexual and not in the business of hiding that. I understand that it’s a reality of the world at this point but it definitely detracted from my enjoyment; I can understand something without being constantly reminded of it after all.

[Adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know how much of this book is actually true. Comedians often take some creative licence with the truth in order to concoct a joke ostensibly inspired by an anecdote: "Once, I was at the park and...", before they go off on something. Sometimes they're telling the truth and its innately funny; sometimes they're making a witty observation about said true story; sometimes they're completely fabricating a story and they know you know and we know they know that we know; sometimes they're embellishing to optimise the comedy. Either way, we don't care so long as they make us laugh. I think much of this book is the latter option but I had some throwaway fun nonetheless.

[Bookhuw]

So poorly written, and to be devoid of both research and wit is pretty unforgivable. At times I felt like I was reading the draft, written in a rush to be padded out later, but then never returned to. Some genuinely funny situations were described bluntly and with no flair. I couldn't finish this, and therefore can't really offer you an out-of-five rating, but its safe to say had I made it to the end, the stars would have been very few indeed.

[minnajee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oikein hyvä ja viihdyttävä matkailukirja, jossa kohteet on valikoitu varsin synkillä perusteilla. Pohjois-Korean osuus oli yksi kiinnostavimmista, kun kuvailtiin koko valtion johdattama kierros maassa. Kokonaisuudessaan vahvempi kuin tuoreempi Scary Monsters and Super Creeps.

[Ellesse · Rating 4 out of 5]

So this was my first experience of an audiobook! It was an interesting experience and one I would try again! Firstly I must say I loved the concept of the book, dark tourism. I’ll admit it’s not something you might find ourselves chatting about in the pub, but it’s a subject that intrigues me and I wanted to know more.

It did not disappoint. Personally, I didn’t know who Dom Jolly is, in fact I’ve never heard of him, and after he reveals the kind of programmes he creates I don’t particularly want to watch any of them, but saying that it didn’t distract at all from the content of the book. Just a quick side note if you’ve never heard of dark tourism it’s visiting sites where some form of tragedy has accrued and human life has been lost, normally at the hand of another.

Spending a lot of his childhood in Lebanon, Dom has a different view of countries than some would. He doesn’t seem to be fazed by counties that we would see was war-torn, places we might see as to be avoided at all costs. We first see Dom travelling to and skiing in Iran, but the country Dom portrays seems a far cry from the Iran we see often on the news, but perhaps it should be taken into considerations that the book is now a few years old and some countries have constantly changing political situations.

From Iran we are taken to Cambodia where Dom visits the death fields, hearing about the history and the trails taking place at the time he visited we also get to see a strange occurrence where a diplomat tries to sell him the shoes of Pol Potts.

Moving on to the States, Dom covered a few but it really wasn’t what I was expecting, the visit was more him visiting his friend and while he was there he would pop to a few places, it didn’t really work for me at all. I really hated the part condoned speeding and the only part that was remotely interesting was the ground zero visit.

Chernobyl was a fascinating city to learn about when the reactors sent radiation flying across the country and Europe the city was abandoned exactly was it was, leaving behind eerie sites including a fairground, school and theatre all which were explored by Dom. I was excited to find out tours are available to visit there as I’ve always been fascinated by documentaries on the topic so loved the way it was covered.

The second visit I found really interesting was North Korea, as westerners we don’t get to see more than the leaders want us as it is controlled what can or can’t be filmed. Dom gets glances of a world we never get to see but gets quickly moved on if it is not preapproved with images he takes being checked by a guard before they are allowed out of the country.

For me, the level of enjoyment I got differed depending slightly on my knowledge of the area he was visiting, I have no knowledge of the country of Cambodia so didn’t grasp the significance of Dom’s visit as well as I knew some of the others but Dom did an excellent job of explaining the horrific scenes that have taken place there.

The audiobook was fantastic, I really enjoyed it being read by Dom as you got the exact tone in the way he meant it. The book is by no means an autobiography, it’s a travel book showing different places, while I’d read/listen to more of the same from Dom I felt the last few chapters were not as good as they could have been, I think a few different locations should have been discussed and it would have improved the book greatly seeing Dom explore new places rather than him seeing places he has grown up in.

[Dennis · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I saw the unconventional cover of "Dark Tourist" by Dom Joly I was intrigued. I am a fan of Trigger Happy TV, I like Dom Joly in general, I like unusual, quirky tales and I like reading war correspondence. "That's worth a look," I thought; right up my street. And well, I did like it. Sort of.

Joly's first stop; Skiing in Iran delivers pretty much everything promised in the blurb. It has danger, comedy, quirkiness and above all, it actually shows Iran in a way I'd never seen before - it's fair to say that Western news coverage isn't exactly favourable. Next stop was also entertaining; USA on a tour of major assassination sites. A little disappointing given that America is a relatively "safe" place but it proves entertaining nonetheless. It doesn't offer much beyond things you've probably already read a thousand times about the country but Joly makes up for it by having a bit of fun by doing his mischievous Dom Joly thing. And so on to Cambodia for a visit to the Killing Fields. Easily the highlight of the book, we see some genuine emotion from Joly after meeting the locals and learning history of the bloody places he visits. You really get a sense of being there and the survivors' stories are very moving.

Unfortunately the rest of the book fails to reach the same highs. The Pripyat/Chernobyl chapter was particularly jarring as Joly does the stereotypical "British Tourist" thing of making fun of the locals and being generally very disrespectful of the very real tragedy that happened there. He offers nothing useful beyond a couple of photographs of him pulling stupid faces which is a theme throughout the book. Sadly the North Korea part of his tour is equally as bad. Worse in fact. I very nearly gave up after the "Brits Abroad Mode" kicks in roughly after the second page. And finally Beirut. Joly's homecoming seems promising initially as he attempts to track down Osama Bin Laden as a potential former schoolmate. But even this fizzles out with an enthusiasm-devoid shrug and a "I dunno, I guess, probably" conclusion. Well done, Dom. Fine insight there.

Overall it's not a terrible book. It is funny in places, moving in some and when it is good, it's very good. But the bad parts far outweigh these - Joly is mostly disrespectful wherever he goes and while his joshing around is funny at first is soon grates and the North Korea chapter is particularly dreadful. If you're after interesting insight along the lines of David Farrier's Netflix series of the same name, you won't find it here.

[Tiffany Zhao · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book for the wanderlust-afflicted! One of the best travel fiction I've read. Dom Joly was born in Lebanon, now British, and one of those reality TV comedians. He potters off to explore the oddest places:

1. skiing in Iran,
2. exploring Chernobyl, which he discovers to his fanboy astonishment that he has already visited the place numerous times in Call of Duty 4,
3. meeting Nhem En, the photographer in Toul Sleng Prison, being offered Pol Pot's shoes in Phnom Penh for half a million dollars,
4. visiting North Korea,
5. playing paintball with the Hezbollah, and golfing in Lebanon

But don't be mistaken, this dude isn't just jumping into reckless situations for the heck of it. He's just trying to get out of his comfort zone and examine why certain places make him uncomfortable and examine his own values.

For eg, in Phnom Penh, face to face with Nhem En, the official photographer in S21 Prison, he finds it hard to look him in the eye after realising that Nhem En must have taken a photo of Dom Joly's guide's father before he was tortured and killed. When attending Duch's trial, Duch happens to look him in the eye and smiles. He instinctively smiles back, then feels guilty for it.

I like it that he doesn't shy away from his discomfort, and examines why he feels a certain way. He also realises that traveling isn't just to document scenic spots. There's no checklist to tick off. The only way to get to know a place is to get to know the locals, and understand what makes a country such. Many tourists visit a place and do not bother to interact with the locals. What's the point? They wonder, we're only here for abit, not gonna stick around long, so why waste the effort?

Wrong. You could be friends for years and not know a person, yet forge instant bonds over a shared experience.

Dom Joly's style of writing is also very entertaining. Worth to read just for his wry humour. Like when he's in North Korea, he emails his wife:

"Comrade Wife - Greetings from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. I have arrived in this great, but, due to the indiscriminate actions of the Imperialist pig nation USA, divided nation, and all is well. I am happy - everyone is happy. Long live the Dear Leader Kim Jong-il. X Comrade Husband"

If I ever get a life partner, he MUST have a sense of humour, and a sense of adventure. Life would be unbearable otherwise :D

[Carianne Carleo-Evangelist · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read parts of this before, either the hard copy that was on my shelf and/or his stories collected into anthologies, maybe LP, because the days in North Korea were definitely familiar stories. His locations ranged from Dallas where JFK was shot, to Chernobyl and Ground Zero with a lot of history in between.
An interesting read, but some of his factual errors (he didn't visit the National September 11 Museum in NYC, it didn't exist when he visited) in cities I knew made me wonder about errors in those I didn't know. While I agree with the reviews that talked about him being an overgrown child, I also recognize he's a comedian first and that's a part of his shtick. I liked his look back at Lebanon having spent ten years there as a child and recognizing its role as the original Dark Tourism spot.

[Lee Osborne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wasn't really sure whether to give this 3 or 4 stars - I decided to be generous based on the North Korea chapter, which was both funny and disturbing in equal measure, and the Lebanon chapter at the end, where the story gets personal. Joly spent his childhood living there, and he's at his best telling his own story.

The rest is quite mixed, although there's definitely some good writing in there. The only disappointment to me was the Chernobyl chapter. I've been there myself and I don't think he did the place justice at all, but to be fair, he did go there long before I did, before particularly good tours and overnight stays in the zone were available.

The subject matter isn't for everyone, and some of it might feel like it's making light of tragedy, but there's no doubt that many places in the world have macabre appeal, and there's a good selection of them in this book.

[Steph · Rating 4 out of 5]

My hubby and I love adventuring (7 continent travelers, baby!) and when we are road tripping it's super fun to listen to travel stories or memoirs as audiobooks. This was an awesome read; learned lots about places we haven't seen much of and once we turned the audiobook speed up a bit the narrator (and author) was even more funny and his many snarky comments became even more entertaining.

My only negative about the book is that the last travels he discussed were a bit less hilarious than the others, but thankfully his epilogue following it was a good wrap-up.

Dark tourism is super interesting to me now, and this is a highly recommended read for those who love exploring and adventuring in our incredible world.

[Lynsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you want an insight in to all of those holiday destinations you’re too scared to actually visit in person then this is the book for you.
It’s written in a very factual way so isn’t exactly a tour guide but it is an interested read and insight in to the countries themselves.
By the end of the book I couldn’t decide if I liked Dom Joly himself or not but I guess that isn’t really the point.
Possibly I enjoyed this read a bit more than some people might as two of the locations (North Korea & Chernobyl) are places that I also have visited so it was fascinating on a personal level to read of his experiences at those destinations. It’s not really made me want to visit the other more war torn locations he visits though.
All in all a fairly good read.

[Briana Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Dark Tourist by Dom Joly
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Travelogue of peculiar holiday destinations which Dom Joly vacates including skiing in Iran 🇮🇷 on segregated slopes, spending a weekend in Chernobyl, Ukraine 🇺🇦, touring the assassination sites of America 🇺🇸 and becoming one of the few Westerners to be granted entry into North Korea 🇰🇵.

Genre: Travel | Non-Fiction | Biography | Comedy

Likes:
✅ Dark humour
✅ Interesting and insightful
✅ Crazy stories

Dislikes:
❌ Through interesting, stories could be drawn out at times
❌ Minimal history about the countries themselves

Recommend For:
🤓 Travel lovers
🤓 Anyone interested in learning about more peculiar travel destinations which you’d unlikely travel to

[Amy Alice · Rating 2 out of 5]

I heard Dom Joly talking about this on a daytime tv show and he mentioned North Korea. So I was in. Since reading about North Korea is going to be the only way I can see it before America blows it to smithereens, I downloaded it. It's fine. It needs an edit. It's informative, but nothing more informative than others I have read, that frankly did it better. I thought he would at least make it funny but it's just not. It's an easy enough read that I pick up if I'm absolutely desperate and need an e-book that can be read on my phone.

[Lindsay McClenaghan · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are good sections and bad within the book, don’t expect to learn a lot about any of the countries visited or understand more of the people, as most is about Joly’s own life or his opinions.
I felt often too much we were hearing how rude a receptionist was or about a hire car, rather than the feeling and significance of the places visited.
There are some poignant moments and certainly some chapters are brilliant as stand-alone but overall, disappointing.
The content of the epilogue was more feeling than the rest, I don’t think I’d read more of his work.

[Jacob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audiobook version read by Dom himself would probably get 4*.
Some funny personal stories and situations he got himself into. At other times he was a well financed annoying try-hard, yes going to dark places, but with the aim to write this book. Staying in plush hotels with drivers and organised tours that lacked the adventurous free bird spirit I hoped for.
If Dom and I had a drink, I'd have some stories to tell him, although I'm sure he'd be all mouth.

[Giles Burrows · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bought this book on special offer on a whim because I thought it looked interesting. It took a while before I really warmed to it and I think I only started to be engaged when Joly traveled to Cambodia and it got better from then on. A lot is made of his being a Dark Tourist but really it's not that dark, just slightly unconventional. I wouldn't say that there were any major insights, but it was interesting in its own way.

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Joly writes engagingly and it's difficult to resits his passion for the unusual, a passion I share, having visited half the destinations in the book myself. That said, there are moments when the book might have benefitted from a tighter edit (e.g. use of 'wet dream' twice in two pages), but that's a quibble. This is a quick and illuminating read. Maybe when we all get the chance to travel again this book will act as an inspiration for others to follow in his footsteps?