From London To LA

There are road trips and then there are road trips.

Nearly 2,500 miles east to west across one of the biggest countries in the world along one of the most famous roads in the world firmly puts Route 66 in the ‘you really need to do this’ category.

From London To LA is much more than just a travelogue. Not just a commentary of the journey itself, it also explores the history of places visited along the way as two blokes from London discover the big cities, the small towns, the real wild west and some really quite bizarre curios that couldn’t belong anywhere else other than along Route 66.

Full of information, observations and British humour, From London To LA is a must-read for anyone who is interested in travel, history, geography, Americana and, of course, the Mother Road herself.

Or if you just want a jolly good read…

From Navy Blue Knickers to the Driving Test

This book required a lifetime of experience and sixteen years to write. Mind you, there was an eight-year gap in the middle when the author had to return to full-time, salaried employment. The chapters are presented alphabetically, so in theory it is possible to take any chapter, and read it in its own right. Once a reader has read all twenty-six chapters, he or she will have a sum of all the parts: a completed ‘jigsaw’ of Hal T. Strapel’s story. Truth or fiction? Let the reader decide.

Jane C.:

“In ‘Turning Thai’, I think a very vivid picture of Thailand is presented — it all sounded very exotic to me sitting in dull old middle England. Lots of well-described local colour and all fluently articulated. The author met up with some colourful characters and gives an honest appraisal of how they affected him as a traveller in uncharted territory. There is definitely an eye for detail and the sights, sounds and smells leap off the page. I had a good laugh at the cockroach episode, which sounds very callous of me, but it resonated with me as I had a similar sort of experience in Sicily with a very large spider.”

John H.:

“I found ‘Bilious Belligerent Bowels’ highly entertaining, particularly when Hal was describing the attentions of the nurse and her colleagues.

Charlie H.:

“I found ‘Queenish Quirks’ an intriguing and easy read that connects cultures in a relatable way.”

Lee F.:

“I enjoyed reading ‘Lust for Lingerie’. It sounds voyeuristic in itself! As a man who spent his working life in ladies knickers I can see the author is knowledgeable!”

Johnny B.:

Greetings from Morocco

The collection of short stories gives the reader an insight into the Arab world with all its peculiarities and attractions. The author found the themes of the stories on her journeys in Morocco in the period from 2013 to 2018. In her book, she managed to perfectly capture the atmosphere of the various places she visited, as well as the types of people she met. Thus, the reader can get to know the crowd in a big city with its hidden places, as well as the endless and powerful Sahara desert and its inhabitants. Witty stories that are easy to read encourage the reader to think about the differences between the two cultures, about modern way of life in the Western world and his comparison with Arabic world.

Pavla Gambiraza

This is a story of life reflected in an amazing mosaic of colourful experiences. It is hard to say anything about what these pages hold without the risk of revealing too much and ruining the surprise. This book is not only about that surreal African country. It is about the warmth of human nature, leaps and depths of faith, ethereal strings that connect us all, bringing us to the same primordial truth whoever we may be, and from wherever we may come. This is a book you will never forget. So, sit back and enjoy, and welcome to Morocco!

Snježana Djordjić, Profis d.d.o

How The Ship Changed My Life

Due to the difficulty to find a job in his city, Goran chooses the type of career that changed his life. He started to work on a cruise ship in the hospitality industry in 2013. He has three contracts in three different cruise ships. He considers this experience the most difficult but also the most valuable that life has taught him.

Working on a vessel requires huge sacrifices like being miles away for more than half a year from family and friends, working with different nationalities and cultures, brutally heavy pace of minimal ten working hours every day and often even more without normal sleeping hours but on the other hand a piece of relaxation that makes it very special such as traveling to various attractive world tourist destinations and creating unforgettable friendships and adventures.

Because of his soccer dream, he left the cruiser in 2016 together with Elizabeth from Peru (back then his girlfriend, today his wife) and since 2017 they live in Munich, Germany. From the first day spent on the ship, during all the rich experiences and adventures until the last disembarkation, through magical Peru and a special proposal on the beautiful Machu Picchu to the current life in Germany, he continues to explore new places and shares his soccer passion.

Ship life inspired him to write this book and motivate people in achieving their biggest goals because he strongly believes that everything is possible if the person really wants it.

Islay and Its Whiskies

For whisky fans and their travelling buddies.

This insightful and well-researched pocket guidebook is all you need to enhance your Islay visit. It is the ideal companion for the Scotch whisky dreamers and those who share a passion for Scotland’s islands.

Pop it in your back pocket and set off. Information at a glance with no need to plan or study beforehand.  

There are 10 world-famous Scotch whisky distilleries to discover, all with useful insider tips clearly listed. Islay’s other treasures are not forgotten either: ancient history, archaeology and Islay’s amazing bird life also feature.

There are suggested daily tour routes around Islay highlighting what to look out for. There are also details of day tours to the nearby Islands of Jura and Colonsay.

The author has been guiding groups from all over the world for almost 20 years and is very much aware of what visitors actually want. This guidebook has it all!

Journey to Beijing

This book gives an account of some amazing places which the author was fortunate to visit in China--from magical Guilin to historical Zunyi; from the stunning Three Gorges to tropical Hainan; from cities of the eastern provinces to the Avatar mountains of Zhangjiajie; from relaxing Xishuangbanna to hectic Hong Kong and Macau; and in the north from the Mongolian grasslands of Nei Menggu to the heart of it all: Beijing. Many people travel today, with something approaching 10,000,000 people in the air on an average day. Yet this is only a fraction of those who travel by other means. Why? For relaxation? For education? To get away? Or simply to say they have "been there"? On his own travels, the author saw many tourists arrive at a scene, struggle to get to a vantage point, get there, take the obligatory photograph and move on. They have not even looked, let alone appreciated where they are. All they are doing is ticking off places on their "bucket list". In this book, the author is striving to delve deeper, especially when it comes to the significance of Beijing.

Little Orange Nightbook

Written in the first person, these stories are designed to be read in bed just before you go to sleep. The way to enjoy this book is to follow the author’s intentions: read one letter each night, put in your bookmark, firmly resist the temptation to turn the page and read the next one, switch off the bedside light and go to sleep. That way you have nighttime reading – hence the book’s title – for a month, more or less, and at quiet moments during the course of each day you can, if you so fancy, speculate about what’ll be on the reading menu tonight: which country you’ll be transported to, and whether he’ll be telling you about something which happened to him last year or half a century ago. To read it straight through would be the equivalent of ordering a three-course meal of, say, tomato soup, poached salmon with a side salad followed by chocolate fudge cake with hot sauce – and then putting them all on the same plate and eating the mixture with a spoon. Of course, it’s a free country. But courses are served separately so that different flavours may be enjoyed.

If you’re now sufficiently intrigued, turn to page one and the Introduction.

Notes of a Shorewalker

Unhappy teaching and spurred on by an obsessive attraction to a young student, Catherine took a job in a hotel on the North Norfolk coast. The beauty of what she found made her want to discover more about Seashore life. These are notes she made on her walks.

On the Trail of Saint Paul

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, monasteries and Orthodox churches, disguised as stone barns in the Troodos Mountains of Southern Cyprus, the remains of abbeys and Crusader Castles topping the jagged peaks of the Pentadactylos Mountains of Northern Cyprus, rock cut churches in the Taurus Mountains of Cappadocia or the impregnable, fortified Acropolis and Governor’s Palace of the Knights of Saint John in Rhodes – each is testimony to the success of the missionary journeys undertaken by Saint Paul, the disciples and their followers - primarily the Crusaders and the Knights of Saint John and bear witness to the determination of early Christians, who despite the ongoing threat of persecution continued to practice and defend their new found faith. These are just a handful of the remarkable places visited and brought to life by the author on her travels through the troubled regions of the Mediterranean On the Trail of Saint Paul.

“Adrienne Brady shows us how Saint Paul’s epic missions to spread the Christian religion left an indelible mark on the countries he visited. Her journey brings biblical landscapes to life and uncovers a legacy of conflict which remains to this day.”

Rodger Witt, Editorial Consultant

Strolling Through Three Counties

This book is Ian Falkner's masterpiece, a refreshing strolling adventure through three counties. Three people and a dog go on a short walk around the countryside of Edenbridge. Later, they penetrate into the depths of Kent, Surrey and Sussex. The author's words help paint a vivid picture in the mind's eye and ignite the reader's imagination. This book points out some of the most interesting landmarks and viewpoints that he and his friends come across. With information about routes, historical contexts, roads and path names, this gift of a magical and unforgettable tour acts as a useful guide for those who have the spirit of an adventurer and the attitude of an explorer.

Tales of Travels and Trains

Jim Nicholls takes readers on a journey like no other. Visit places as remote as the Zulu battlefields in South Africa, learn about an inventor who made the first heavier-than-air flight before the Wright brothers, and take in an Easter church service in a small Portuguese town.

All this and more are held together by tales of trains ranging from a tiny rail motor in the Queensland outback to a wild ride in Borneo. Experience Switzerland and America from the windows of a train.

Train travel opens a window on the world, allowing a visual eavesdropping and intrusion into a country’s backyard that, if done in any other form, would probably result in arrest. Trains have it all, they convert the journey into the adventure. Real people travel on trains.

Discussing with a young girl from New Zealand how one meets interesting and friendly people on such journeys, she neatly summed it up: ‘Yeah, how many nice people do you ever meet on an aeroplane?’

The Retire-in-Thailand Handbook (The First Six Months)

My first six months in Thailand were frustrating. When I dreamt about retiring in Thailand, I thought that when I arrived, I would get my retirement visa, rent a condo, buy a vehicle, then spend my time exploring my new country, going to the beach, going out for meals and meeting new friends. Unfortunately, reality took over and I spent most of my time dealing with Thai bureaucracy and trying to sort out the endless problems that arise when moving to a new country. Back in Australia, I already had a visa, my own house, my own car, medical insurance, driving licence, bank accounts, credit rating, doctor and dentist. Moving to another country, I was more or less starting my life over and I needed to establish myself within the Thai system. Government, banking, medical, everything that was just part of my everyday life at home, I had to recreate in Thailand. Hopefully, this book will give you the information you need to avoid most of the problems that I had and allow you to retire to this wonderful country with confidence and assurance, as well as saving you time, money and your sanity. I wish I had been able to read this book before I left Australia.