CURSE OF THE TRAVEL BUG
VOLUME 1
A story about one man's obsession with trotting the globe and his desperate attempts to not run out of money.
At 21, Chris falls victim to the travel bug. The big wide world is proving irresistible, and his only purpose is to trade armchair exploration for real-life adventures. The moment he packs his bag and sticks out his thumb, leaving his family and friends on that chilly British morning in November, 1998, his life is forever changed as he steps cluelessly into the unknown.
His first solo trip around the world is fraught with challenges, mostly of his own doing, nominating himself for the prestigious title of world's worst traveller. Upon his return to reality and routine, lost and in limbo, he realises that the travel bug is rather mean and manipulative, and the only way to rid himself of infection is to succumb to its irrational whims.
Having learnt from the reckless mistakes of his first world trip, he sets off on a second and, from the moment he touches down in Asia, expertly discovers a whole new set of blunders and faux pas that see him working illegally in Taiwan, breaking every scuba diving rule in Thailand and Australia, surviving on chicken burgers in New Zealand, and facing lockdown in SARS-infested China.
Follow Chris and his travelogue of triumphs, troubles, and tragedies over a 5-year span through Africa, Asia, Australasia, the Pacific, Siberia, Scandinavia, and Europe.
Packed with humour, drama, and suspense, Curse of the Travel Bug Volume One is a trove of unexpected encounters, transformational experiences, and the kindness of strangers and new friends around the world.
CURSE OF THE TRAVEL BUG
VOLUME 2
One man's long struggle to quench his wanderlust and shake off the travel bug until natural forces intervene, rendering travel impossible.
Absent from the travel community for 5 years to pursue university studies and permanent residency in Australia, Chris is eager to return to backpackerland. The travel bug is back, and it's a more aggressive strain. There's only one cure, and it involves difficult sacrifices and a machine-readable passport.
His first solo trip is to India and Nepal. It's the type of adventure one dreams of, but it's not without its hurdles. Delhi belly, four road accidents, and finding himself stranded within the Nepalese wilderness are stark reminders of the dangers that can befall the unwary traveller in foreign climes.
Still, Chris takes us to some of the most exotic and far-flung places in the world, flirting with death when he breaks a religious taboo in Varanasi and suffers the consequences, destroys a deadly hornets' nest in the Amazon rainforest, tries to outrun a tornado in Oklahoma, gets lost in bear territory in Alaska, and takes a hot bath during a magnitude 9.1 earthquake in Japan.
From the Himalayas and the Amazon to Route 66 and Europe's finest offerings, Chris serves up a titillating smorgasbord of misdemeanours, misunderstandings, and diplomatic incidents that will leave you scratching your head as to how he made it through North and South America, the Middle East, Europe, and Asia in one piece.
Compelling tales of adventure and nostalgia portrayed in down-to-earth language chronicle a personal odyssey as Chris attempts to exterminate the travel bug once and for all.