Wanderlust Envy

I have a serious case of wanderlust. Every once in awhile I have the fleeting thought of "What if I just took off. Just left. Traveled the world. Did odd jobs to make money. Went to see everything I've ever dreamed of seeing (Rome, Athens, China, Japan, etc) in person. People do it all the time. I could just disappear for awhile. It would be so freeing to just leave and go somewhere where noone needed/wanted/knew me." But...I know that's not possible right now. Damn ball n' chain of a husband. (Love you.)
So since I can't exactly travel as much as I want, I read books about it.

I just finished reading this book:


Smile when you're lying was an interesting read. The author, Chuck Thompson, has been a travel writer for many years. In this book he basically tells you about how big of a fraud the travel industry is. It was an eye-opening experience.

Thompson shares stories about travel from different points in his life. You learn about what happens when you get robbed in Thailand, what to do if you get into a run-in with the Mexican police, and that you really don't want to travel alone at night in the Philippines.
Thompson's writing style is what originally sucked me in. It's reminiscent of Hunter S. Thompson's rambling/run-on sentences style of writing. But what really sealed the deal on me picking up this book is the first few paragraphs in the introduction. Check out this excerpt:



How can you not want to read on and find out what other shenanigans this dude got himself into? Even if you don't like Thompson's travel tales, you will get some great tips about what not to do in a foreign country and how to spot tourist traps. It's definitely a book that I will keep in my collection.