The World Awaits: A Comprehensive Guide to Extended Backpacker Travel [Paperback]

Paul Otteson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1996

Photographer, musician, frequent traveler, and world citizen Paul Otteson passes along the lessons he's learned through many years of packbacking. Otteson shows what resources to have on hand, how to budget ahead of time, what to pack and why, and more. 75 b & w photographs. 12 maps.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Each year, many thousands of independent, adventurous Americans travel for extended periods in foreign lands. Passing into and out of the developing world, they follow itineraries shaped more by imagination than geography. They seek to discover and desire to be amazed. Most travel on a budget; all travel simply. For these people, the desire for freedom and experience is too potent to ignore. Featuring dozens of photographs, The World Awaits: A Comprehensive Guide To Extended Backpack Travel offers encouragement and practical advice for independent travelers of all ages with a spirit of adventure. Experienced globetrotter Paul Otteson provides all the details needed to plan a fulfilling journey, traveling only with what can fit in the pack on your back, teaching you how to do it yourself. Readers will lear about "travel goals", "travel approaches", "travel preparation", and "life on the road". Filled with appendices on foreign embassies and consulates, diseases of risk to travelers, packing check lists, and reference phone numbers, The World Awaits is a practical yet inspirational look at the ins and outs of worldwide backpack travel. Otteson also includes personal essays on the more intangible aspects of world travel and includes an ultralight handbook to tear out and take with you on the road. The World Awaits is also a treat for the armchair traveler as it immerses them in the daily thrill of life on the road and unique glimpses of the world. -- Midwest Book Review

Product Details

• Paperback: 266 pages
• Publisher: Avalon Travel Pub; 1st edition (June 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1562612778
• ISBN-13: 978-1562612771
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,355,718 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars practical information for long-term travel, September 4, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The World Awaits: A Comprehensive Guide to Extended Backpacker Travel (Paperback)

the only round the world travel book that specifically gives dollar amounts for travel, pre-trip guidelines for dealing with jobs and housing, and practical details for the many, many items one might never think of before departing. it provides very helpful, specific information lacking in other long-term travel guides.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book rocks - get it NOW, January 14, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The World Awaits: A Comprehensive Guide to Extended Backpacker Travel (Paperback)

With the virtual plethora of travel trash flooding the book market right now, it's hard to find a down-to-earth, practical, yet philosophically inspiring guide to backpack travel. This one emerges from the crowd as the THE go-to guide if you just want to get up and go. Don't read this book unless you're ready to drop everything and buy a plane ticket to Bombay. Bon voyage....

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars INSPIRING!, January 10, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The World Awaits: A Comprehensive Guide to Extended Backpacker Travel (Paperback)

Otteson writes in a down-to-earth tone so that by the end of the book, you feel as if he is your friend. He talks about the mental preparations involved in backpack travel, unlike any of the guidebooks, and helps you to define your true expectations for travel. I have just finished the book and have loaned it to a friend who is loving it as much as I did. Because my friend still has it, another friend of mine went out and bought it because she couldn't wait to read it---I raved about it so much. If you are having any qualms about backpack travel, or want some basic things clarified for you, such as where to do your laundry, this book covers it all in a real and personal tone. I was so much more sure of my plans after reading it. I felt educated and inspired!