Nothing can compare the lessons, adventure, and pleasure of traveling but when circumstances are not in favor and you can’t travel, here are 5 books that will take you on a journey to quench that travel thirst.
Into the wild – Jon Krakauer
Into the Wild tells the bizarre and tragic true story of Chris McCandless and his last great adventure into the Alaskan wilderness. Written by author and mountaineer Jon Krakauer who develops a strong interest in Chris’s personal life and what drove him to such a secluded and unforgiving wild with no more than what he carried in in a backpack. Drawing many parallels between Chris and himself who in his early 20’s also fell in love with the allure of Alaska. Jon went as far as to solo climb a new route up the Devil’s Thumb, located in Alaska is the largest rock face in North America with an elevation of 9077 feet. Jon does an incredible job retracing Chris’s past and events leading up to his Alaskan expedition. He sheds light on Jon’s upbringing and family life, his education, and resourcefulness to get by on next to nothing. He interviews multiple people who met and crossed paths with Chris on his journeys to give us a better understanding of who Chris McCandless was and his complex relationships with other people. If anything is clear, it is that everyone who met Chris liked Chris. They understood that Chris was a very complex but gentle and kind-hearted man who sought out knowledge, adventure, and the truth and they were able to appreciate him just as he was without judgment or ridicule. Any concerns they had over Chris’s lack of preparedness or personal choices such as refusing to contact his parents were well-meant honest concerns for his well-being. This is quite a different story told than that from the many critics who surfaced after Chris’s body was discovered by hunters in an old abandoned Fairbanks bus in the fall of 92. The bus which was located to the west of the Teklanika River on the Stampede Trail provided shelter and supplies left by the many other guests over the years which Chris marveled in calling the “Magic Bus.” It is here where Chris decided to set up camp and remained here in favor of moving on. Starvation was the most probable cause of McCandless’s death but the peculiar case caused many people to speculate the reasoning or underlying cause of this seemingly senseless death.
Buy it from here : https://amzn.to/3lKrcDM
The Motorcycle Diaries – Ernesto “Che” Guevera
“This is not a story of heroic feats… It is a glimpse of two lives running parallel for a time, with similar hopes and convergent dreams.”
The Motorcycle Diaries is about two friends who start off on a road trip around South America, but what begins as a carefree vacation turns into something more eye-opening, and sobering, as they begin to see the world beyond their medical classrooms. It’s a beautiful book about finding oneself, and in this case, one of these guys will find themselves all the way to leading a revolution in Cuba.
This is a wonderful story of adventure, high drama, the kindness of strangers, friendship, mischief, hitchhiking, and self-discovery.
For me personally, this book helped me become familiar with South American geography; and its history, especially on the Inca dynasty. It added Machu Picchu to my travel bucket list.
Buy it from here : https://amzn.to/3lHuJCJ
Eat,Pray,Love – Elizabeth Gillbert.,
I watched them, thinking that little girls who make their mothers live grow up to be such powerful women/
~ Eat Pray Love, Elizabeth Gilbert
This book shows the process of heartache, growth, grief, love, and kindness. It’s her journey.
Elizabeth is a writer in her thirties who is emotionally shattered by her divorce. To mend her broken heart and with a hope for some change and adventures, she leaves for a sudden trip. She learns about the pleasure of eating to one’s heart’s content in Italy. In India, she explores her spiritual side. In Bali, she discovers the secrets of letting go, healing, inner peace, and the beauty of falling in love again.
Elizabeth is torn between her love for traveling, exploring her inner self; and her failing marriage.
The novel is divided into three parts:
🌼 Italy – thirty-six tales about the Pursuit of pleasure
🌼India – thirty-six tales about the Pursuit of Devotion
🌼 Indonesia – thirty-six tales about the Pursuit of balance
The book is Beauty in its extreme form, the narration is like poetry.
It at no point feels like you’re reading about the life of someone else because the language is so well-knit.
Eat Pray Love reflects the writer’s journey of self-exploration.
The cover has my heart, at First I couldn’t understand it ( very common with books) but the readers will get to know the backstory of the cover as they transcend into the book.
It makes you feel positive, you start asking questions to yourself, you start retrospecting and you realize that the only thing we’ve been doing wrong for a long time is looking at the world from the wrong angle.
If you ever feel low, demotivated, lost, or feel yourself sinking through the hole of an identity crisis, PICK THIS BOOK !!!!
Buy it from here : https://amzn.to/3GnZGne
The Geography of Bliss – Eric Weiner
“Money matters but less than we think and not in the way that we think. Family is important. So are friends. Envy is toxic. So is excessive thinking. Beaches are optional. Trust is not. Neither is gratitude.”
This was such a delightful read!
Eric Weiner is a former foreign correspondent for NPR. In this book, he travels the world in search of happiness, to understand what makes certain places happier than others. He takes the readers to Netherlands, Switzerland, Bhutan, Qatar, Iceland, Thailand, India, Great Britain, and Moldavia, which was ranked as the most unhappy country in the world. He interviews several people in each place and presents his travel experiences with generous doses of humor and empathy.
“I’ve always believed that happiness is just around the corner. The trick is finding the right corner.” ✈️
Vagabonding – Rolf Potts
“Tourists don’t know where they’ve been. Travelers don’t know where they’re going.” This book is mostly about learning to appreciate and gather the resources/balls to go for long-term travel, yet I found the main lesson of this book bit different.
A vacation rewards work. Vagabonding justifies it.
If you don’t have your life sorted out then traveling becomes a mental form of escaping and not the discovery of the world or yourself, so sort your life out before going away long term.
Vagabonding is about taking time off from your normal life – from six weeks to four months to two years – to discover and experience the world on your own terms. Veteran shoestring traveler Rolf Potts shows how anyone armed with an independent spirit can achieve the dream of extended overseas travel. Potts gives the necessary information on:
– financing your travel time
– determining your destination
– adjusting to life on the road
– working and volunteering overseas
– handling travel adversity
– re-assimilating back into ordinary life
Not just a plan of action, vagabonding is an outlook on life that emphasizes creativity, discovery, and the growth of the spirit.
