Asia Overland (Trekking Guides) [Paperback]

Mark Elliott (Author), Wil Klass (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1998 | Series: Trekking Guides

A survival guide for independent budget travellers in 34 Asian countries. With 452 maps and town plans, this guide gives all the basic information for a long-haul trip: visas, local transport, cheapest beds, the most interesting sights and best stopping off points. Includes the Caucasus.

Product Details

• Paperback: 576 pages
• Publisher: Trail Blazer Pubns (April 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1873756100
• ISBN-13: 978-1873756102
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.7 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,528,238 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Traveling with Asia Overland was a pleasure, April 20, 2000

By 

michael (Boston, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Asia Overland (Trekking Guides) (Paperback)

I used Asia Overland for the first 8 months of a 13 month trip and found it to be excellent. It is written by two guys who are just travellers themselves and have an excellent idea of what is essential when arriving to a strange new place where you do not speak the language.

At the core of the book are simple schematic maps of each country/area with notes written on them which rate and describe destinations, give travel times and costs, and even give recommendations of guesthouses or restaurants. More detailed maps are provided for large cities or areas particularily dense with things of interest. The format is very easy to understand and allows planning at a glance rather than by reading through pages of cross-referenced text. Again their grasp of what information is essential was nothing short of incredible. The book also contains a dirth of border-crossing info and tells you which visas you will need and where you can acquire them. From their own accounts they understood the border rules better than the border guards did on a few occasions.

More than the information it provides Asia Overland is a well written quidebook. Mark and Wil are extremely upbeat writers. Their senses of humor and personal accounts really made me want to go to all the places they wrote about. In summary the book is informative, accurate, entertaining and inspirational. If you are planning a trip to Asia, one country in Asia, or just trying to think of some destinations to visit, I highly recommend reading this book.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Where lonely planet doesn't go, June 29, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Asia Overland (Trekking Guides) (Paperback)

This book is excellent and essential reading for those of us who want to do an epic journey but also like to have help overcoming transport and beauracratic obstacles. I think the optimal would be to use this book in concert with a lonely planet style book as they cover different topics. This book is mainly a transport and visa stratgy guide with some helpful hints on routing. The LP books get the finer details on the budget accomodation for more cities.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My favorite travel book...., February 3, 2003

By 

"bakatrip" (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Asia Overland (Trekking Guides) (Paperback)

This book is fantastic for planning your trip between countries and used in conjunction with other travel books detailing the countries you're going to. I found myself relying more and more on it alone as a reference guide as I became more comfortable traveling, as it highlights the things to see / how to get there, and leaves the details to the traveler. I also found people fascinated by its hand-drawn maps (beware trying to get the book back from a crowd- including other travelers!). Now that I'm back, it's the only book that completed my journey with me, and resides in a place of honor on my bookshelf, tattered, dog-eared and stained.