Travel books that will give you serious wanderlust
Published on 8th December 2020
Level 3 restrictions might make the world seem smaller but there are plenty of ways to scratch that travel itch without leaving your home. These books set around the world will tide you over until it's finally time to dust off your passport.
North Korea Journal by Michael Palin
In May 2018, former Monty Python stalwart and intrepid globetrotter Michael Palin spent two weeks in the notoriously secretive Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, a cut-off land without internet or phone signal, where the countryside has barely moved beyond a centuries-old peasant economy but where the cities have gleaming skyscrapers and luxurious underground train stations. His resulting documentary for Channel 5 was widely acclaimed.
Now he shares his day-by-day diary of his visit, in which he describes not only what he saw – and his fleeting views of what the authorities didn’t want him to see – but recounts the conversations he had with the country’s inhabitants, talks candidly about his encounters with officialdom, and records his musings about a land wholly unlike any other he has ever visited – one that inspires fascination and fear in equal measure.
Although there were restrictions and official guides, he does try to ask ordinary people risqué questions. North Korea doesn’t come across as completely awful. Michael Palin gives his comments and impressions. The photographs are of a good quality.
Buen Camino by Natasha and Peter Murtagh
Have you ever dreamed about walking the Camino de Santiago? Join Peter Murtagh, acclaimed Irish journalist, and his teenage daughter Natasha on their epic pilgrimage across the Way of St James and experience their life-changing adventure with them.
They set out in July 2010 to walk the French Camino. I hoped to walk the Camino around the time this book was published, but it didn’t come to pass. They take it in turns to tell their story. The book describes the experience of walking the Camino. It also tells of the many helpful Spanish people and pilgrims they meet. And how to avoid the few unhelpful ones! But the book is also about the relationship between father and daughter. At one point he writes a letter to his daughter and she replies by letter. When I was reading it, I just wanted to keep going.
Whether you’re a seasoned ‘peregrino’ seeking to relive your glorious Camino days, a Camino novice looking for stories of Camino veterans or someone who’s never even heard of the Camino, Buen Camino! is a must-read, full of drama, exhilaration, love, laughter and spiritual and emotional revelations.
From her first life-changing solo trip to Australia as a young graduate, Rosita Boland was enthralled by travel. In the last thirty years she has visited some of the most remote parts of the globe carrying little more than a battered rucksack and a diary.
Documenting nine journeys from nine different moments in her life, Elsewhere reveals how exploring the world – and those we meet along the way – can dramatically shape the course of a person’s life. From death-defying bus journeys through Pakistan to witnessing the majestic icescapes of Antarctica to putting herself back together in Bali, Rosita experiences moments of profound joy and endures deep personal loss.
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Submitted by Liam in Terenure Library.