Five books for world travellers
By now I am sure you are tired of hearing me say I fell in love with travel when I was twelve years old. My Father, the charming Mr Alfred Amodu started me on this travel journey by taking me to the United States at this time. I arrived at the La Guardia airport in […]
By now I am sure you are tired of hearing me say I fell in love with travel when I was twelve years old. My Father, the charming Mr Alfred Amodu started me on this travel journey by taking me to the United States at this time. I arrived at the La Guardia airport in New York with lights in my eyes ready for adventure, my first taste of International travel. My Father was on a scholarship from ABU Zaria, where he worked and he had been asked to take four kids along. I was lucky to be one of them but only for a short while, a long vacation as I was in school at Queen Amina college, Kaduna. My pocket money was not much but it was enough for those times and I spent a quarter of it on books. The year was 1974 and not many people had the opportunity of International travel at that time. The memories of that trip never left me. I returned to Nigeria after visiting my Father at the Ohio university, Athens Ohio with a bag full of James Hadley Chase novels, No orchids for Ms Blandish, Double Shuffle, The Vulture is a patient bird and many other books by one of the greatest thriller writers of all times. I was in Book heaven. That trip in 1974 opened the floodgates to many more trips around the world. China, Hong Kong, France, Thailand, Philippines, Malta, Mauritius, Sweden, Poland, Netherlands, Italy, India, South Africa, Kenya, Britain and the United States, Australia, Ghana and a host of West African countries and many more too numerous to count. I am still working on Latin America and Antartica.
My travels around the world has made me the woman I am today. Travel is education, make no mistake about it. It is also one of my greatest journeys, to visit a new city, to learn new cultures, to try new food and meet people who do not look like you and have never met you until the moment is almost spiritual. It confirms the awesomeness of God, the vastness of the almighty who created us all differently and yet made us the same. I therefore present you with five books for aspiring world travelers, current world travelers and exhausted world travelers who are tired but not retired.
Travel is an essential resource for knowledge sharing and some of the finest books I have read have been written by adventurers, explorers, world travelers and travel writers. Those who enrich us all by their travel.
Here is a selection. Enjoy!
1) The Adventures of Sinbad is an ode to all travelers big and small. Whether it is from Bauchi to Lagos or from London to Helsinki, this is the ultimate tale of travel adventure. I read it when I was about fourteen and read it again as a full grown woman. These adventures resonate with anyone in my generation who read Arabian Nights. The adventures of Sinbad is a fantastic story of a sword and sorcery adventure set in a land of myth and magic in the Middle East around the Persian Gulf. This is the story of Sinbad a ship captain, his brother Darbour and an interesting crew who set sail for a two-year adventure in the Ship, Nomad, from Baghdad his home town. Along the way, he faces witches, wizards, strange tribes and fantastic creatures. This book has been made into different media forms, TV, Film, more books, and cartoons. I am huge fan.
2) The Alchemist by Paul Coelho. This is a book about following your dreams and one of the most read books in recent history. The story follows a young Shepherd boy from Spain to Egypt as he follows his heart, goes with the flow and love and the meaning of life. The book is full of wonderful and inspirational quotes. Here is one “If you can concentrate always on the present, you’ll be a happy man… Life will be a party for you, a grand festival because life is the moment we’re living right now.” Great book for adventurers, travelers and those who cannot wait to see the gifts of a new city. It inspires everyone and is a positive resource for those in depression. Travel always lightens the spirit and chases away sadness.
3) Love with a chance of drowning by travel blogger Torre De Roche. This is a beautifully written book about the author and her fear of the ocean. Then she sails across the pacific with her boyfriend. This is such a vivid and powerful book. The writing is so true; it makes us all want to follow in her footsteps.
4) How to travel the world on fifty dollars a day by Marin Kepnes. This gives us an insight on how to manage the art of travel, so you save money, get off the beaten path and interact more with locals, no matter the destination.
5) Any James Hadley Chase book as a memento to my first international travel. Collect mementoes when you travel, books, artefacts, jewelry, first editions, vintage clothes and jewelry and mix with the locals. You may never go that path again, make the most use of it.
Bonus books:
The Geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner. The author went on a year-long travel to find the happiest nation on earth and On the Road by Jack Kerouac. One must never forget, Wole Soyinka’s poem, Traveller you must set forth at dawn