Losing Oneself in Remote Asia

Rating:
Summary: Stay Lost In Asia
Review: Anyone who has spent more than two weeks backpacking in Asia can easily detect the book's lack of adventure, curiousity and soul. After reading the first 2-3 chapters, I could not bring myself to read further. It is apparent that the author had lived a sheltered life prior his Asia experience and has yet truly lived life 'off the beaten path'.

Perhaps the author's next title will be: "Finding Oneself in Remote Asia."


Rating:
Summary: Don't Waste Your Money
Review: I purchased this book prior to my recent travels thinking that it would provide some useful insights. While it was a fantastic bug crushing device, I found it poorly written and quite generic.

Use the money that you would pay for this book to invite a local out to tea or to buy some pens/candy for children. That's the optimal way to meet locals and learn from their experiences.

Rating:
Summary: Look Elsewhere For Inspiration
Review: If you are searching for yet another travel book that is poorly edited, ghastly written, and offers a list of cliche experiences, then I recommend that you buy this book.

But don't take my word for it! If you want a book critic's opinion, click on the following link: http://www.qlrs.com/critique.asp?id=113

As a travel writer who has worked in the industry for over 10 years, I'm deeply disappointed by the writer's over-simplification, shallow content and overall lack of style.


Rating:
Summary: A refreshing perspective on Asian Travel
Review: If you're looking for a book to regurgitate a single experience or talk about how not showering for 6 weeks changed someone's perspective on the world's challenges, then this book is not for you. However, if you'd like a refreshing perspective from a thoughtful international traveler than I suggest you give this book a try. As you read it, try and consider how Asia must have felt to a Pakastani/Canadian visiting from America. If you're successful, you'll have grasped the depth of the writer's journeys.

Rating:
Summary: A Celebration
Review: Simply stated, this charming book changed my life! By serendipity, I found this book atop a coffee table of a friend. It was a time in my life, not too long ago, when I was licking my fresh wounds from a thorny custody battle. The weary, yet determined eyes of the boy on the cover invited me in. But I turned away from this powerful image that flooded me with bittersweet memories of my boy. When my friend returned, she caught me staring at the book and strongly recommended that I read it, citing it as one of her favourites. Wanting to take a vacation from my circumstances, "Losing Oneself in Remote Asia" seemed to be the perfect prescription. Like the idyllic Bhutan that Mr. Zaman so lovingly and vividly describes, this overlooked book captivated me from the start. Losing myself in this book, I've become more focused and take everyday vicissitudes of life more in stride. From the Jaipur Elephant Festival and the Orchid Garden to the high flying adventures of Danny Desai, I was elevated to new perspectives on celebration, living in the now, and an appreciation of life unfettered by the spam of frenetic, goal-oriented existence previously experienced by this New Yorker.