While the pantheon of travel literature is filled with accounts of journeys in, to and from Asia and the Silk Road, Latin America is less well covered. Perhaps it’s because writers have only ventured there more recently, or because it is perceived to lack much of the exoticness of India, China, Afghanistan et al. Trail… Read More
Author: Oliver Ralph
It’s hard to reconcile the Madagascar of Murphy’s 1985 travels with the tales of dispute verging on civil war that have been emerging from the country in mid-2002. The ravaging effects of the recent disputed election are at odds with the relaxed, apolitical country that Murphy presents. But 15 years is a long time, and… Read More
India in the mid 19th century was not a safe place to be, with violent resistance to the British Empire growing in strength. But more worrying for the traveller was the growth of the thuggee cult. This sect, so the legend goes, would befriend groups of travellers and lull them into a false sense of… Read More
Originally published in 1977, this is the first of Theroux’s travel books and it remains one of the best. This is a book about transport as much as travel: the train is the inspiration, the destinations almost an inconvenience. Theroux takes a circular ride from London via Iran, India, south-east Asia, Japan and Russia. The… Read More