Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven

Susan and her friend, Claire, set off for a round-the-world trip, but everything came to a screaming halt when Claire was beset with mental illness. This is the story of Susan's trip, taken over thirty years ago.

I love travel memoirs, but I really liked this one more than most of my recent reads. I'm amazed at the details Gillman provides; it felt almost like a trip back in time.

The story of two easy-to-dislike American girls who decide to travel the world, starting in China. I mean really easy to dislike. Hitting all the standard dis-likable cliches - one is trust fund rich, but also from a rich family and constantly has to tell everyone her father is a very important businessman, has lived a life of servants and holiday houses, and is tall, blonde and sporty too. Both are ivy league college students, twenty years old. The author however has worked hard, saving her money, but constantly falls back on her French speaking, and falls in love with every male she meets.
Both of them lacked the confidence to travel China, particularly the China of 1986, which was a lot more restricted than today. Roll out cliches - bad toilets, small hotel rooms, cold showers, etc etc.
Without the assistance of other travellers, and a few particularly helpful English speaking locals they would hardly have made it past Shanghai, if they had found a way to leave Hong Kong alone.
If you are interested in cringe travel stories, this book delivers.
There is not a whole lot else to say about this book without spoilers, as the actual story starts to unroll pretty soon after arrival.