I just finished reading two travel books by Paul Theroux, Dark Star Safari, which describes with his overland trip from Cairo to Cape Town, and Riding the Iron Rooster, describing his train trips in China. This guy is a prolific writer and goes to places that a seasoned traveler [such as myself] has always dreamed of going to. Anat and I have been to many, many of the obvious destinations in Europe, South America, even Asia and the Middle East.  We have been adventurous to a degree, Cambodia, Botswana, Morocco, Bhutan, driving across the Sinai Peninsula. So, I have always dreamed of taking the next step to a truly out of the way place, the Silk, Road, India, Outer Mongolia, Tibet. Theroux goes to these places [and beyond] and he goes by the most arduous routes. No Aman or Four Seasons Hotels for him; no Abercrombie and Kent safaris. But after reading about his travels there are some places that just out of the question.

 

Take his trip from Cairo for example. He rode with truckers who had no food, no spare tires and barely room for him. In the Sudan he was shot at by robbers, stranded for days while the truckers tried in vain to patch a truck tire, and finally when the shocks broke he had to hitch a ride on some other passing truck. Now, I get upset if my flight is delayed or if I can’t get an upgrade to business class. In addition, the route thru the Southern Sudan is not exactly I-5 from Sacramento to L.A. There are no rest stops with Carl’s Jr., MacDonald’s, Pizza Hut, nice comfy motels with TV and pools. When Theroux was stuck he had to buy some local food and convince a local woman to cook it for him and his fellow stranded travelers.

 

The hotels he encountered along the way were primitive with a capital P. Most hotels were dirty, had little or no running water, intermittent electricity, restaurants with very little food [and no concierge]. If I can’t get 24 hour room service and no English speaking channels on the TV, I am upset. His description of Ethiopia was short of frightening. In Harare [an ancient and impossible city to get to], he was shadowed by hyenas.

 

Trains and boats in East Africa ran on no schedule whatsoever. Customs officials always expected a bribe, visa rules are incomprehensible and on most trains you need to bring your own food. If you go to any of these countries in East Africa, you better have plenty of time, patience, a thick skin and a stomach of iron.

 

My limited experience in Africa was on a safari mostly in Botswana and Namibia. Theroux expresses disdain for this type of travel. He claims you don’t experience the real Africa. Safaris are expensive and you are insulated from the discomforts he describes in his book [which I consider a good thing]. However, you do get to see the beautiful countryside and more animals than you thought existed in safe and comfortable surroundings. His book, Dark Star Safari, is fascinating and it did give me the opportunity to “visit” places I will never go. Call me a sissy but I like a comfortable bed and good food when I am traveling; and I have come to expect some level of reliability and timeliness in my mode of travel.

 

The second book I read by Mr. Theroux was Riding the Iron Rooster, which was about various train trips he took thru China.  One common feature of all of the trains was they were completely crowded whenever he travelled, the food was un-edible, the passengers were rude, inconsiderate and filthy. Garbage and trash built up as the train progressed. Sleeping conditions were unbearable and the coaches were often unheated. He went to the most remote places on the face of the earth. The hotels he stayed at were, in my opinion, uninhabitable, and the food, totally inedible [and I am very adventurous regarding food]. However, I thoroughly enjoyed the book because he took me to these remote places that I will never have the chance [or inclination] to visit. Western China was particularly intriguing. He visited the ruins of some old cities on the Silk Road that were once vibrant civilizations [1500 years ago] with large populations. They are now desolate ruins in the middle of nowhere near small Chinese cities, villages really. The present day citizens are descendants of these ancient races and religions long by-passed by the modern world.  The topography of these wilderness areas is also unlike anything I have ever encountered.

 

I would definitely recommend reading this book to experience these remote places without the physical burden of going there. Also, if you like train travel, which I do, you may want to rethink it in China. Only the best most luxurious trains would be doable for a Westerner.