News from Tartary – Peter Fleming

A two stage read, but one I’m glad I persevered with – especially once Peter Fleming and Ella Maillart’s journey reached the far west of China, and headed over into the Hunza valley and into what is now Pakistan, what was then British India.

It’s a fascinating account of China and the North West Frontier in the mid 1930s, complete with what now read as antiquated spellings and opinions/perspectives. The book tell of the seven months Fleming and Kini spent on the 3500 mile journey from Peking to Kashmir, travelling by camel, donkey, horse and foot during a wartorn time for the far flung provinces of the Chinese world – and with the final rumblings of the Great Game still sounding loudly in this remote part of the world where Russian, British and Chinese empires met. As the intrepid explorers travel further west, they travel through a desert region populated mainly by nomads and warlords who view themselves as having more in common with their fellow Tatar tribes of Central Asia than the Chinese holding power in Peking.

Next: tracking down Forbidden Journey for Ella Maillart’s version! Maybe a read for this autumn’s Central Asia Overland trip…..

Amazon.co.uk link: News from Tartary – Peter Fleming

Tales from Nowhere – Don George (Ed)

A lovely anthology of short stories on the theme of “nowhere”, published by Lonely Planet.

Lovely though the collection is, I do have a couple of gripes:

  • Most of the pieces are written by professional travel writers, which was a bit disappointing as I’m sure most travellers have tales to tell of their own personal visits to nowhere. And the resounding theme was that one person’s nowhere is the centre of another person’s universe: not exactly an earth shattering conclusion.
  • Why are most of the travelogues written by Americans? Not that I have anything against Americans travelling – in my book, travel can only broaden the mind – but reading the biographies almost all of the contributors were born and/or based in the States, and I know the Americans can’t hold the monopoly on independent travel. Perhaps they do have a monopoly on travel magazine article writing, or self conscious self discovery.

Still, a highly readable collection – here’s my list of the most memorable six:

  • The most disheartening: On the trail
  • The one that won in the wanderlust stakes: A picture of a village
  • And one that didn’t: Postcard from the Edge
  • The one that made me well up: Meeting Echo
  • The one that triggered nostalgia: North of Perth
  • The one I’ll remember the most: A visit to Kanasankatan – you need to be reading aloud to appreciate it, and perhaps save that approach for a rapid reread.

Amazon.co.uk: Tales from Nowhere – Don George (Ed)

Bad Lands: A Tourist on the Axis of Evil – Tony Wheeler

Sue bought me this for Christmas – an excellent choice from my Amazon Wishlist, even if, as Sue said, it was “about the most unchristmassy title” there.

In Bad Lands, Lonely Planet founder Tony Wheeler, spurred on to look beyond and behind the “Axis of Evil” label applied by certain powerful Americans, visits nine of the world’s less, how shall we put it, ‘popular’ destinations: Afghanistan, Albania, Burma (Myanmar), Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea and Saudi Arabia.

His reactions range from the disappointed (Cuba) to openly cynical (North Korea) and are neatly drawn together in his chapter titled The Evil Meter TM. Mine ranged from the “Glad I don’t ever envisage needing to go there” (Saudi Arabia) to the “One day, I must get there” (Afghanistan, Libya and North Korea). The only caveat relating to this book, which I’ve been recommending left, right and centre, is the slight contrivance in including countries on the basis of tyrants of times past – particularly Albania and Iraq. With that forewarning, read it – I’ll even lend you my copy provided you promise to give it back…..

Bad Lands: A Tourist on the Axis of Evil – Tony Wheeler

Off the Beaten Track: Three Centuries of Women Travellers – Dea Birkett

Dad and Jean bought me this as a birthday gift when they were visiting last year, and I’ve only just got around to reading it. A tricky format for bedtime reading (large, square, hardback), but I persevered, and the bite size biographies of women travellers from the 17th to 20th centuries were fascinating.

The accounts are grouped in themes – from artists to adventurers – and illustrated with portraits and pictures from the National Portrait Gallery. Interestingly, Dea Birkett not only covers British women’s travels to far flung parts, but also visits to Britain by women from other countries, from Pocahontas to Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit.

Amazon.co.uk link: Off the Beaten Track: Three Centuries of Women Travellers – Dea Birkett

Yemen: Travels in Dictionary Land – Tim Mackintosh-Smith

Superbly readable set of highlights of Tim Mackintosh-Smith’s 13 year residency in Yemen, taking you to the highlands and lowlands, oases and deserts, mountains and coast, mainland and islands, cities and villages, and providing historical and cultural insights throughout.

Now, who runs trips there…..?

Amazon.co.uk link: Yemen: Travels in Dictionary Land – Tim Mackintosh-Smith