All the Right Places

I expected to like this more than I did. I have travelled a lot (but not all) of the route the author travels, and the blurb on the back sounded interesting.

The book was broken into five parts, for the four locations travelled, plus ‘home' and they were quite individual.

We start after a divorce - papers to sign in 6 months to make it final - time for the author to hit the road to get his thoughts clear. Japan - this was the most enjoyable section of the book for me - it was probably 3.5-4 stars. The travel was varied, the writing engaging, and the whining about his wife was kept to an almost acceptable level.

Next stop - Hong Kong. The Hong Kong section was overshadowed by Amy. Amy was a girl the author met on a bus on arrival. He couldn't decide if he was in lust with her or not, and struggled with whether to sleep with her or not. Amy had her own problems - not lest being her junkie boyfriend, who she gave her passport to sell on the black market - and he has disappeared. The Hong Kong section of the book was focussed on Amy - and the authors hard decisions. Only 2 stars.

So into China (with Amy), and some actual travel. This section was better - some interaction with Chinese people, some cultural effort. This section was 3 stars.

And into Mongolia and Russia - although the author took a non-stop trip on what he calls the Trans-Siberian - but is actually the Trans-Mongolian (the Trans-Siberian runs from Moscow to Vladivostock, the Trans-Mongolian turns off after Lake Baikal and heads South to Beijing via Mongolia). Why the hell anyone would take such an excellent trip and do it without stopping I don't know. I did the same trip (starting in Moscow though - so in reverse) and took just over 4 weeks to complete, stopping frequently along the route. Why anyone thinks they have seen Russia when they have sat on the train I don't know. (Although Russian train culture is a big part of the trip too.)
Once the author reaches Moscow he actually does something - spends 3 days there and interacts and looks around - this salvaged him 2 stars.

So overall - I struggled to like this more than two stars, perhaps 2.5 stars. Too much whining about his divorce, too much adolescent behaviour over Amy. Disappointing.