Book
Title: Travel Bites
Book Genre: Non-fiction
travel literature
Author : The Hungry
Traveller
Publisher : Wattle
Publishing
Travel
Bites is
a collection of anecdotal travel stories that crisscross the
globe. It is the first work by The Hungry Traveller who has combined
his two great life passions: travelling and eating! The Hungry
Traveller has been travelling for the last fifteen years and, along
the way, has experienced many different sights, tastes, and cultures.
Central to his travel experiences has been the role of food. Through
his unique and very personal style of storytelling, you too can share
in the highs and the lows of his stories from around the world. At
the end of each story is a recipe for a dish inspired by his
adventure. Travel Bites will capture your imagination and curiosity;
and will leave you yearning to plan your next holiday, adventure or
escape!
Print Edition
Amazon US | Amazon UK | Wordery | Wattle Publishing
Excerpt
The food looked good and the place seemed to be rather popular, so I went in. I walked up to the counter and ordered my food by raising four fingers, the number on the menu that corresponded to noodle soup with breast meat. Given that the shop was so close to the back packer area, the people who worked there were no doubt used to clueless tourists, and the lady taking my order seemed to understand what I was trying to ask for with a minimum of fuss. I also grabbed a large bottle of water and paid for my lunch.
A few minutes later, a steaming bowl was handed to me. I chose a stool at a bench that faced the street so that I could people-watch while I ate. As I expected, the broth was quite tasty but I struggled to pick up the vermicelli noodles with my chopsticks. However, given that everyone around me was busily slurping on their noodles, I did not feel so bad having to do the same.
After eating my food and drinking a lot of water I felt much better, so I continued with my walk. However, I soon found myself in trouble, as I came to my first busy road, where there was a constant stream of traffic. Although I was at a crossing that occasionally showed a green pedestrian light, traffic would continue to flow past. A cyclo driver, who had been watching me for a few minutes, took pity on me and came up to offer some advice.
“You cannot wait for no traffic. There is always traffic. You just walk and don’t stop.”
The look I gave him in response to this piece of advice, probably gave the impression that I thought he was insane.
“OK. Come with me.”
Waiting for a small gap in the traffic so we would not be immediately run down, he stepped off the curve and began pushing his cyclo across the road. I started walking with him. I noticed that once he started to walk across the road he no longer paid any attention to the traffic around him. I was not so blasé. However, as we moved across the road, I noticed that the motorcycle traffic just weaved around us. Once we had passed halfway and the traffic was now coming straight towards me, he saw my hesitation and called out,
“Keep walk! Keep walk! You stop. You get hit!”
That was all the motivation I needed to keep going. Then, and I thought rather unnecessarily, he added,
“They more scared of damage hitting you”
I turned, expecting him to be laughing at his joke, but surprisingly, he seemed to be quite serious.
Once we had safely crossed, I thanked him for his help. Then came the sales pitch I had been expecting.
“Have you been on cyclo before?”
“No.”
I tried to appear slightly uninterested. In reality, as soon as I had first seen one in the taxi trip over, I had wanted to have a ride in a cyclo! For the uninitiated, the cyclo looks like a reverse tricycle. A single passenger sits in a low, open front seat and the driver pedals the cyclo sitting to the rear and looking over the head of the passenger.
Review
I love this book! It's a wonderful blend of travel guide, memoir, and collection of recipes. The Hungry Traveller does a great job of sharing his experiences in world traveling, giving the reader a beyond the standard guidebook sight of the world. My all time favorite part were the recipes he included, because one of my favorite parts about traveling is getting to try new foods. On the flip side, when I fall in love with the unique foods and then leave them behind on my return, it makes me miss my travels; so, having some of his favorite recipes included was a fantastic touch.
Definitely a book to add to my library, because I want those recipes, and his fun take on his experiences, available for me to reread!
-Digital ARC provided by publisher, for reviewing purposes
Excerpt
The food looked good and the place seemed to be rather popular, so I went in. I walked up to the counter and ordered my food by raising four fingers, the number on the menu that corresponded to noodle soup with breast meat. Given that the shop was so close to the back packer area, the people who worked there were no doubt used to clueless tourists, and the lady taking my order seemed to understand what I was trying to ask for with a minimum of fuss. I also grabbed a large bottle of water and paid for my lunch.
A few minutes later, a steaming bowl was handed to me. I chose a stool at a bench that faced the street so that I could people-watch while I ate. As I expected, the broth was quite tasty but I struggled to pick up the vermicelli noodles with my chopsticks. However, given that everyone around me was busily slurping on their noodles, I did not feel so bad having to do the same.
After eating my food and drinking a lot of water I felt much better, so I continued with my walk. However, I soon found myself in trouble, as I came to my first busy road, where there was a constant stream of traffic. Although I was at a crossing that occasionally showed a green pedestrian light, traffic would continue to flow past. A cyclo driver, who had been watching me for a few minutes, took pity on me and came up to offer some advice.
“You cannot wait for no traffic. There is always traffic. You just walk and don’t stop.”
The look I gave him in response to this piece of advice, probably gave the impression that I thought he was insane.
“OK. Come with me.”
Waiting for a small gap in the traffic so we would not be immediately run down, he stepped off the curve and began pushing his cyclo across the road. I started walking with him. I noticed that once he started to walk across the road he no longer paid any attention to the traffic around him. I was not so blasé. However, as we moved across the road, I noticed that the motorcycle traffic just weaved around us. Once we had passed halfway and the traffic was now coming straight towards me, he saw my hesitation and called out,
“Keep walk! Keep walk! You stop. You get hit!”
That was all the motivation I needed to keep going. Then, and I thought rather unnecessarily, he added,
“They more scared of damage hitting you”
I turned, expecting him to be laughing at his joke, but surprisingly, he seemed to be quite serious.
Once we had safely crossed, I thanked him for his help. Then came the sales pitch I had been expecting.
“Have you been on cyclo before?”
“No.”
I tried to appear slightly uninterested. In reality, as soon as I had first seen one in the taxi trip over, I had wanted to have a ride in a cyclo! For the uninitiated, the cyclo looks like a reverse tricycle. A single passenger sits in a low, open front seat and the driver pedals the cyclo sitting to the rear and looking over the head of the passenger.
Review
I love this book! It's a wonderful blend of travel guide, memoir, and collection of recipes. The Hungry Traveller does a great job of sharing his experiences in world traveling, giving the reader a beyond the standard guidebook sight of the world. My all time favorite part were the recipes he included, because one of my favorite parts about traveling is getting to try new foods. On the flip side, when I fall in love with the unique foods and then leave them behind on my return, it makes me miss my travels; so, having some of his favorite recipes included was a fantastic touch.
Definitely a book to add to my library, because I want those recipes, and his fun take on his experiences, available for me to reread!
-Digital ARC provided by publisher, for reviewing purposes
The Hungry Traveller is a travelling
enthusiast who loves to eat! When travelling, he enjoys meeting new
people and engaging with locals to learn about their culture, history
and the food that they eat.
Wattle Publishing is an independent publisher. We
publish fiction, non-fiction and poetry. www.wattlepublishing.com
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