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I couldn't really tell, she says at one point that she thought she was above it and it was irrelevant then spent way too much time in many sections talking about it.The sample sent from Amazon was brilliant writing so I now she is good but I think it got to the point of filling up pages after awhile hence the three star rating. One of the most annoying was the obsession with whether or not she was getting ripped off or the maybe it was her condemning of people who thought they were always getting ripped of. This book had sections that were very original and insightful but others were tedious and repetitive. I ended up skimming sections where the same descriptions of different places started, they should have been eliminated by the editor.
Some people made her want to stay, while others gave her reason to leave and continue on her journey.To sum up the book, the countries she drove through were of my interest, as much as was the way that she wrote this book. Other adults throughout her bicycle trip were helpful, and many had questions. Some people tried to force her off ofher bike as she was riding it; and when in Vietnam, a group of children threw stones at her, illustrating that she and her strange looks were not welcome in their country.
The author of this book, Erika Warmbrunn, rode her bicycle throughout Mongolia, China and Vietnam, with a map, but in many situations, without a road sign that was supposed to be there.It is always interesting to read a book and learn about a different country's culture, and within each different culture.the people, the food, the level of education, and even the type of materials that were used in making a house.Luckily the author manages to 'bed down' in some of these native homes. Language barriers were a constant.So when available, she would bike to tourist centers and many times find people there from the Western Hemisphere, whom she could communicate with.I was a bit shocked by how bitter some people were at seeing a long hair, white Caucasian woman on a bicycle trip alone, in their land. If you are interested in this part of Asia, then this book would interest you.
In different places, she was ridiculed for looking the way that she looked and by being alone. She shared her feelings with us about her journey.for example her 'inside reaction' to how she felt about having children stoning her.and how angry she would become from being charged highly inflated, exorbitant prices for food, lodging or whatever she purchased, all because she was a foreigner, everywhere that she went.The settings that she 'rode into' were fascinating to me, whether she shared a bed with a Mongolian family in their home (with whom she could not communicate with verbally), to the curves in the road for her bicycle as she'd gaze out at the luscious colors of greens in the grasses, to the hues of blues in the sea, to how scared she was one evening when she was lost and had to sleep on the ground of a jungle.looming with tigers out on the prowl at night.This information I shared with you is what made this book 5 stars with me. She identifies that the foods, the languages, the physical attributes, and the domestic and occupational skills all separate these native Asian lands from one another.I liked Erika's writing style.
She let us know what she liked and what she didn't, as we peddled through these countries with her.
Setting out independently to explore countries alien to her, she exposes herself to physical danger, political intrigue, environmental challenges, and emotional reward.all from the seat of Green, her beloved bicycle.Through her experiences of Mongolian culture, and her reflections on their history, I learned more about that part of the world than through any history book I had previously read.I would recommend this book to anyone who has ever wanted to travel ANYWHERE, who has loved riding a bike, has wanted to be the hero in their own story, or who simply loves the skillful execution of a well-turned phrase. Far too often discretion is overthrown in favor of "attitude". I'd invite her to tea, or maybe we'd go to the theatre, and then after spinning around a model globe, which would stop when a finger was placed on it, we'd announce "Let's go there.", and then make plans to head out.Barring that grand experience, I console myself with her presence on my bookshelf, and hope that you, gentle reader, may do the same. Arm-chair and adventurer travellers alike will warm to this book.In my heart of hearts, I'd like to think Erika and I would become best friends. How refreshing to read a book that not only reflects thoughtfully on cross cultural respect and understanding, but avoids the self-indulgence that is all-too common in travelogues.Ms. Warmbrunn is, in a very real sense, an adventurer.
Attention to detail really enlivened the book. The chapter about the author's trip over a dangerous Chinese mountain on her way to Xiangning was loaded with suspense.
After her harrowing experience, we needed to see her actually arrive in Xiangning.The book needed an epilogue, with the author safely ensconsced in her apartment in Vladivostok or Seattle, observing her surroundings and providing the reader with a final sense of perspective.And it would've been great to have an index in the back, so the reader could easily look up a word or reference that might've appeared 100 pages hence. But then there was no resolution.
I enjoyed this book and oftentimes found the narrative absorbing. I always looked forward to the pictures, although I sorely missed a photo of Beijing.
I had to stick a post-it on page 42 so I could keep looking up the word "orom".I hope the author elects to do this again in a completely different part of the world. I was astonished by the contrasts particularly between Mongolia, with its frigid weather, expansive plains, and childlike adults, and Vietnam, with its tropical beaches and aggressive, war-weary toddlers.
I particularly liked the linguistic asides and descriptions of different foods.
She does not try to impress us about how many kilometers she rides a day or how difficult a particular mountain pass was to climb. Unlike so many books of this genre, the author parks her ego at the door. While riding a bike, especially as far as she does, is an athletic accomplishment this is not a book about an athlete. The good news is, I really liked this book. This is the story of a journey by an intelligent and introspective woman who is interested in getting away from the hippie travel circuit and seeing places she is told not to go and learning about people you will not see from the train or meet in the tourist hotel.How wonderful it must be to have all you really need with you on your bike and not really care that you don't know exactly where you are. From the priceless experiences she has with people who let her into their homes and into their worlds, to those who have had much more experience with wealthy Western travelers and make their livings from them, she captures the two sides of this kind of travel. The bad news is that when I finished it I quit my job, sold the house, drained my IRA and bought a bicycle.If you have ever traveled in the third world and experienced the mixed emotions of being a rich American in a poor country you will recognize yourself in this story. This is a book about a journey, not an expedition.
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