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A review by halfmanhalfbook
The Backpacker by John Harris
3.0
Backpacking, such an innocent thing for those on a gap year to do. You may be slightly worried as you wave them off at the airport, but you think that they are fairly level headed and aren’t going to do anything stupid. Are they?
If you have any concerns at all then I wouldn’t recommend reading this one.
John Harris has just arrived in India with his girlfriend. Even though her parents are Indian, she hates the country, and after a bit of a row, she decides to head home. Harris is in a bit of a quandary about what to do, but his more pressing need is to do something about the man pointing a knife at him in the train station toilets. He is saved by Rick, who manages to persuade him that his present plans are a bit boring and he needs to live a little more. Next step Thailand.
The Thai island of Koh Pha-Ngan is a tropical paradise with its warm seas and golden sands; but there is a much darker side to it. The first time they visit, their new friends Dave finds a freshly severed finger in the undergrowth at the back of the beach. They soon forget about it though as the wild parties, drugs and beautiful women have much more appeal. They are pretending to be rich aristocrats, but soon the game is up and they are trying to get out of Thailand to escape the clutches of the mafia. They make it into Malaysia. They decide to keep moving, travelling to Indonesia and Singapore before making the most foolhardy decision of their trip, and steal a boat…
This is not a travel book for the faint of heart. Harris and his two conspirators seek hedonistic excess at any cost, indulging in drink, sex and drugs as well as theft and taking huge risks. It is well written though; at times it reads like a thriller as you race through the pages to see just what is going to happen next. There is the head in the hand moments too, when he does yet another dumb thing and you are sitting there thinking, why? I think that it reflects more of what happens on backpacking holidays too, much more that you will ever know as a parent. A good read, but also quite a worrying book.
If you have any concerns at all then I wouldn’t recommend reading this one.
John Harris has just arrived in India with his girlfriend. Even though her parents are Indian, she hates the country, and after a bit of a row, she decides to head home. Harris is in a bit of a quandary about what to do, but his more pressing need is to do something about the man pointing a knife at him in the train station toilets. He is saved by Rick, who manages to persuade him that his present plans are a bit boring and he needs to live a little more. Next step Thailand.
The Thai island of Koh Pha-Ngan is a tropical paradise with its warm seas and golden sands; but there is a much darker side to it. The first time they visit, their new friends Dave finds a freshly severed finger in the undergrowth at the back of the beach. They soon forget about it though as the wild parties, drugs and beautiful women have much more appeal. They are pretending to be rich aristocrats, but soon the game is up and they are trying to get out of Thailand to escape the clutches of the mafia. They make it into Malaysia. They decide to keep moving, travelling to Indonesia and Singapore before making the most foolhardy decision of their trip, and steal a boat…
This is not a travel book for the faint of heart. Harris and his two conspirators seek hedonistic excess at any cost, indulging in drink, sex and drugs as well as theft and taking huge risks. It is well written though; at times it reads like a thriller as you race through the pages to see just what is going to happen next. There is the head in the hand moments too, when he does yet another dumb thing and you are sitting there thinking, why? I think that it reflects more of what happens on backpacking holidays too, much more that you will ever know as a parent. A good read, but also quite a worrying book.