Travelers' Tales: Thailand (Travelers' Tales Guides) (Paperback)

~ James O'Reilly (Author, Editor), (Editor) "THE TOURIST BROCHURES WILL TELL YOU THAT BANGKOK IS THE Venice of the East and that its Thai name translates as City of the Angels..." (more)
Key Phrases: soo khwan, pha khwan, mee grob, Chiang Mai, Mae Hong Son, Miss Siripan (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Winner of the Lowell Thomas Award for Best Travel Book, this newly designed collection paints a unique portrait of a complex and captivating land. One contributor lives as a monk for a month, gaining an inside look at monastic life. Another discovers Bangkok’s riverine pleasures, a world away from its car-choked streets. Yet another finds refuge as the houseguest of an isolated tribesman. Through these engaging personal stories, readers witness how Thailand satisfies just about any traveler’s hunger for the exotic, the beautiful, the thrillingly different. Writers include Pico Iyer, Norman Lewis, Diane Summers, Simon Winchester, Ian Buruma, Thalia Zepatos, and Tim Ward. “The breadth and color of the collective portrait [the contributors] provide of Thailand is remarkable.” — Los Angeles Times

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

From the Publisher

Travelers' Tales is a new kind of travel anthology, marrying the best of the guidebook and travel literature. Thailand is the first book in this series: a wonderful collection of place-specific tales previously scattered far and wide. Veteran travel writers James O'Reilly and Larry Habegger read hundreds of stories to select those that best capture the experience of Thailand. Thailand, one of the most intriguing travel destinations of the nineties, should satisfy just about any traveler's hunger for the exotic, the beautiful, the thrillingly different. A country of contrasts, Thailand is a microcosm of all that is right and wrong with tourism, including the traveler's role as pilgrim, adventurer, and consumer. As the editors write in the Preface: "The world is not our private zoo or theme park; we need to be better prepared before we go, so that we might become honored guests and not vilified intruders." To give readers a taste of this country and its people, the book is organized into five sections: "Essence of Thailand" contains stories that reflect some essential character of the landscape, the people, or the traveler's experience of the country. "Some Things to Do" has accounts of particular places and activities that previous travelers have found worthwhile. "Going Your Own Way" contains experiences that are farther off the tourist track, relayed by an author who interacted more intimately with the local people or was willing to travel farther afield. "In the Shadows" explores the darker side of Thailand; so that visitors might be aware of the complexities beyond the cheerful face presented to tourists. "The Last Word" has one last magical moment, to remind the reader just why Thailand is worth visiting. There is perhaps no better way to prepare for a trip, or to vicariously experience another country, than to listen to those who have gone before; Travelers' Tales Thailand brings the best of those voices together for the first time in "Essence of Thailand"; "Some Things to Do"; "Going Your Own Way"; "In the Shadows"; and "The Last Word." Awarded the "Best Travel Book" gold medal from the Society of American Travel Writers.

Product Details

• Paperback: 460 pages
• Publisher: Travelers' Tales Guides (December 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1885211058
• ISBN-13: 978-1885211057
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #380,725 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thus far, the best of the many Travelers' Tales books I've read, December 21, 2005

By	Odysseus "A Traveller" (Virginia, USA) - See all my reviews

I am a great fan of the Travelers' Tales series, which has added immeasurably to the pleasure of my travel, and to the recollection of those travels. But this is my first review of one of their books; reviewing collections of short pieces is tough, because you must limit yourself to overall impressions, there isn't space to describe every piece.

So here's the bottom line: This is still the best of the many Travelers' Tales books I've read, and I have read quite a few others, including a few of their "best of" compilations.

Some of the reason for this excellence seems to be that Thailand itself inspires great writing by westerners. In any general collection of travelers' tales, SE Asia is often the setting of many of the finer pieces. Thailand being the most visited of the SE Asian nations, it has produced an extraordinary outpouring of excellent literature.

The reasons for this are fairly obvious on reflection: it is well visited, yet it remains utterly exotic to western eyes, the people are warm, the cultures are fascinating, and the food, the landscape, the cities, the wildlife, the spiritual traditions -- all provide so much to write about.

This book is beautifully transporting. Many of the excellent pieces bring back to the reader the experience of a visit: the sensory overload, the favorite activities, the languid sway of palm trees on Thailand's beaches, the smell of basil brewing in coconut milk, the insane chaos of Bangkok's congested streets.

The first piece in the collection is an excellent overview: It covers the sensuous (note, that's "sensuous," not "sexual") stimulations of Bangkok: the humid heat that seems to tightly grip you by the arm, the honking of cars, the gazillion spices all clamoring for attention within a Thai broth, the shimmering golden roofs of the Grand Palace.

Other pieces deal straightforwardly and honestly with the hedonistic temptations that westerners find there (I remain innocent of these, yet I found these pieces fascinating reading). A very insightful piece entitled "Fooling yourself for fun" meditates on the peculiar Thai way of enticing the temptable without the land sacrificing its own soul and self-respect.

I also loved the pieces that reminded me of things I had done there. "In the Andaman Sea" recollects a kayak trip that I took with Sea Canoe, a company that (at least when I was there) was just as marvelous as described in this book. Another piece describes the joy of receiving a traditional Thai massage, lying on the floor of an open-air pavillion, at Wat Po, Bangkok's traditional school for such instruction.

Also wonderful are the pieces that remind the visitor of the warm hospitality and accepting philosophy of the people you meet there, the "mai pen rai" ("never mind") that you often hear, reassuring that everything is all right.

If you love Thailand, or if you think you would, this book is recommended without reservation.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Filled with happiness, August 10, 2000

By	Sara A. Abernathy (Fort Collins, Colorado USA) - See all my reviews

This book was filled with great tales of people who have been to Thailand. It was much better than any other travel book, I learned a lot about the history and places to go from other traveler's. I could not put this book down, it made me want to hop on a plane and go there to experience it all! This is a great supplement to any regular travel guide such as lonely planet or Frommer's etc...

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Read it before you leave, August 14, 2001

By	Gregory Eckhart (Nonthaburi, Thailand) - See all my reviews

I've been in Thailand for about a month now, and nothing could have fully prepared me for this country. Travel books tell you a few demographics, how to exchange money, and some places to go. They also offer tips on where to eat and which guest house to choose. Travel writing, however, let's you know, at least in part, what you will experience when you arrive.

I definitely had a few favorite articles in this collection. I really enjoyed Alan Rabinowitz, who wrote primarily about experiencing the Great Outdoors of Thailand. Tim Ward's pieces on the Buddhism of Thailand were especially insightful. But my favorites were the articles describing food. One tells of a traveller's experience in a Bangkok cooking school. The descriptions of Thai food were spot on!

The articles in this book are short, and it offers merely a glimpse of "Amazing Thailand," but this collection of well-researched travel writing got me more than excited to come here.