We all know the great “road movies” of America. Films like Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man, The Terminator and Little Miss Sunshine to name a view. These kind of stories often begin with a book or a short story. These books are about little or big tragedies, the people in them undergo big changes and the stories often end in a way that makes you think about them.
The books read by the “On the road” group are books that describe a journey on the road too but also one into the awareness of people and their situations. Situations the writers find themselves in but also of the people they meet along the way. When you want a shallow horror, fiction or detective story, skip these books, but if you want to read a book about real people, real lives and real events, do read these three books and you will not be disappointed.
Thursday 9 April 2009
Postcard 9: Incredible India
Dear Anke,
When I went to India, I thought I had seen it all. I’ve been all over Europe, so what could surprise me? Well, was I in for a culture shock! India is nothing like I have ever seen before. The bugs are ánd get everywhere, the searing heat is overwhelming and the always present music is beautiful for the first hour, it gets boring the second and then you get extremely annoyed by it. Since eating with your left hand is bad luck in India, I had to learn to eat with my right hand, which was difficult and hard to remember every time I got a snack. And than there are the beggars. Those people are everywhere! At first you pity them, but when you do, they think you want to give them the world and more and other beggars will see this and come running. In the end you feel rundown and angry at them, yet still you feel sorry for them. Incredible India indeed!
When I went to India, I thought I had seen it all. I’ve been all over Europe, so what could surprise me? Well, was I in for a culture shock! India is nothing like I have ever seen before. The bugs are ánd get everywhere, the searing heat is overwhelming and the always present music is beautiful for the first hour, it gets boring the second and then you get extremely annoyed by it. Since eating with your left hand is bad luck in India, I had to learn to eat with my right hand, which was difficult and hard to remember every time I got a snack. And than there are the beggars. Those people are everywhere! At first you pity them, but when you do, they think you want to give them the world and more and other beggars will see this and come running. In the end you feel rundown and angry at them, yet still you feel sorry for them. Incredible India indeed!
Postcard 8: Slumdog Millionaire
Hello Youssef,
I have not yet watched Slumdog Millionaire, but I will certainly watch it when it is out on DVD. The article you have sent me is about Bombay and how this city came to be. I know a little bit what the film is about and I think that everyone who lives in the slums of Bombay dreams of being a millionaire.
The article you sent me is about a traveller who is a Britt staying in Bombay. He is the one that has written the article. He describes the city like Marco Polo would have described the city if he would have been there.
Since I am reading Marco Polo at the moment, I would recommend this article to anyone who would be reading Marco Polo as well. Marco Polo would be comparing stuff in the city with places he had already visited. He would tell us about the origin of the city and about how it came to be so large. He would tell us about the things people do to make money like making movies, guiding tourists. He would tell us about the big stock exchange and the beautiful buildings and old architecture in the city. The spiritual beliefs people have is also something Marco Polo would tell about. That is what makes the writer of this article a modern version of Marco Polo.
I would also recommend it to anyone because of its relevance in regard to Slumdog Millionaire. In the article a taxi driver followed the writer around for more than ten minutes to get the writer in the car and show him Bombay. He would get a exclusive three hour tour of the city in which he would show the red light district, the slums, the famous outdoor laundry: in short, the “real” Bombay. Except this is the Bombay we know from the telly. Is this the real Bombay I wonder. I don’t think so, the only real deal you will get are the slums and of course your guide; with 35 dollars per tour a soon the become real slumdog millionaire.
I have not yet watched Slumdog Millionaire, but I will certainly watch it when it is out on DVD. The article you have sent me is about Bombay and how this city came to be. I know a little bit what the film is about and I think that everyone who lives in the slums of Bombay dreams of being a millionaire.
The article you sent me is about a traveller who is a Britt staying in Bombay. He is the one that has written the article. He describes the city like Marco Polo would have described the city if he would have been there.
Since I am reading Marco Polo at the moment, I would recommend this article to anyone who would be reading Marco Polo as well. Marco Polo would be comparing stuff in the city with places he had already visited. He would tell us about the origin of the city and about how it came to be so large. He would tell us about the things people do to make money like making movies, guiding tourists. He would tell us about the big stock exchange and the beautiful buildings and old architecture in the city. The spiritual beliefs people have is also something Marco Polo would tell about. That is what makes the writer of this article a modern version of Marco Polo.
I would also recommend it to anyone because of its relevance in regard to Slumdog Millionaire. In the article a taxi driver followed the writer around for more than ten minutes to get the writer in the car and show him Bombay. He would get a exclusive three hour tour of the city in which he would show the red light district, the slums, the famous outdoor laundry: in short, the “real” Bombay. Except this is the Bombay we know from the telly. Is this the real Bombay I wonder. I don’t think so, the only real deal you will get are the slums and of course your guide; with 35 dollars per tour a soon the become real slumdog millionaire.
Postcard 7: We bearly made it out alive!
Dear everyone,
We had hitchhiked through Germany, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania and after sixteen days we had finally arrived at Bulgarian border. While the Polish people were very rude and even hostile towards us, the Bulgarians welcomed us with open arms. At the border we feared the Bulgarians were evenly hostile as the Polish had been, but when we were eventually admitted into the country they proved to be very friendly and generous. We hitchhiked a great distance until we were dropped of somewhere in the middle of nowhere. Here we tried to hitch another ride, but after two hours the first thing we saw was a car with a bear in the backseat. We didn’t know when another car was coming our way, so we tried our luck with this one. I got in the front of the car next to the driver and therefore Rachid had to sit next to the bear.
Six hours later we finally arrived at Nesebor where we quickly got out the car. We thanked the driver, his bear and especially God for arriving at our destination in one piece!!
We had hitchhiked through Germany, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania and after sixteen days we had finally arrived at Bulgarian border. While the Polish people were very rude and even hostile towards us, the Bulgarians welcomed us with open arms. At the border we feared the Bulgarians were evenly hostile as the Polish had been, but when we were eventually admitted into the country they proved to be very friendly and generous. We hitchhiked a great distance until we were dropped of somewhere in the middle of nowhere. Here we tried to hitch another ride, but after two hours the first thing we saw was a car with a bear in the backseat. We didn’t know when another car was coming our way, so we tried our luck with this one. I got in the front of the car next to the driver and therefore Rachid had to sit next to the bear.
Six hours later we finally arrived at Nesebor where we quickly got out the car. We thanked the driver, his bear and especially God for arriving at our destination in one piece!!
Postcard 6: Don’t mind the Grizzlies
Hello Diana,
Since you have lived America I have to warn you. When you ever go back to the States you should really visit the Glacier National Park in Montana. I am saying this because I’ve read this article about a man hiking there and what he describes is just incredible. A beautiful landscape, breathtaking scenery and a lot of wild animals.
Now I am writing this down I remember something in the article that was causing some trouble for the writer. It had something to do with wild animals if I remember correctly… Oh, right, it was about the bears in the region. The native people told him that they don’t go there because of the Grizzlies. In the past Grizzly bears had attacked and killed people, but that was way back. Nowadays the bears attack two people a year with rarely a fatal accident. A good quota if you ask me considering the amount of tourists and hikers.
Yet scared to death, the traveller went on his hiking trip into the Glacier National Park and didn’t encounter anything larger than a very large brown squirrel. What I am getting at is that the Grizzly threat is very slim now.
The hiker hiked along the Highline Trail to the historic Granite Park Chalet, from which you have a very beautiful view on the grassy plains below. Judging on the things the traveller told me, the Chalet is a good place to hike from and to tell great stories to each other about the bears living in the neighbourhood.
Since we are also studying to become teachers, I want to tell you more about one other thing the traveller wrote about. There is this teacher who has lived there in the summer for ten years straight now at Swiftcurrent Lookout and the view is remarkable to say the least. It is also very cold up there, so that’s why not many people go there.
Now that I think about it, the teacher wasn’t in at the moment, but where should she have gone to? That’s strange. You don’t think that she… No, there is no way that a bear… Had she become one of the two people that year that belonged to the people hunting quota? Hmmm…
Diana, before you run off to Glacier National Park, read this last bit: Remember to bring your bear repellent pepper gas canister with you, just in case!!
Since you have lived America I have to warn you. When you ever go back to the States you should really visit the Glacier National Park in Montana. I am saying this because I’ve read this article about a man hiking there and what he describes is just incredible. A beautiful landscape, breathtaking scenery and a lot of wild animals.
Now I am writing this down I remember something in the article that was causing some trouble for the writer. It had something to do with wild animals if I remember correctly… Oh, right, it was about the bears in the region. The native people told him that they don’t go there because of the Grizzlies. In the past Grizzly bears had attacked and killed people, but that was way back. Nowadays the bears attack two people a year with rarely a fatal accident. A good quota if you ask me considering the amount of tourists and hikers.
Yet scared to death, the traveller went on his hiking trip into the Glacier National Park and didn’t encounter anything larger than a very large brown squirrel. What I am getting at is that the Grizzly threat is very slim now.
The hiker hiked along the Highline Trail to the historic Granite Park Chalet, from which you have a very beautiful view on the grassy plains below. Judging on the things the traveller told me, the Chalet is a good place to hike from and to tell great stories to each other about the bears living in the neighbourhood.
Since we are also studying to become teachers, I want to tell you more about one other thing the traveller wrote about. There is this teacher who has lived there in the summer for ten years straight now at Swiftcurrent Lookout and the view is remarkable to say the least. It is also very cold up there, so that’s why not many people go there.
Now that I think about it, the teacher wasn’t in at the moment, but where should she have gone to? That’s strange. You don’t think that she… No, there is no way that a bear… Had she become one of the two people that year that belonged to the people hunting quota? Hmmm…
Diana, before you run off to Glacier National Park, read this last bit: Remember to bring your bear repellent pepper gas canister with you, just in case!!
Postcard 5: “Germans raus!”
Dear everyone,
We had finally arrived in Poland through Germany. In Poland the women really had a weird sense of make up fashion. They did their eyebrows in such as manner that only a tiny stripe remained which is the top line of their normal eyebrow. It looked like every woman here looked at you with baffled amazement because of this. It was a very funny sight. Another thing is that although Poland has been admitted in the European Union, a lot of things in Poland were still a bit behind in development in comparison with the rest of the European Union. Take the for instance the public transportation. The buses were always late and I’m talking hours late and the people didn’t express hate towards foreigners, but they sure ignored you. Some people, who must have thought we were Germans, growled at us while saying “Germans raus!”
We had finally arrived in Poland through Germany. In Poland the women really had a weird sense of make up fashion. They did their eyebrows in such as manner that only a tiny stripe remained which is the top line of their normal eyebrow. It looked like every woman here looked at you with baffled amazement because of this. It was a very funny sight. Another thing is that although Poland has been admitted in the European Union, a lot of things in Poland were still a bit behind in development in comparison with the rest of the European Union. Take the for instance the public transportation. The buses were always late and I’m talking hours late and the people didn’t express hate towards foreigners, but they sure ignored you. Some people, who must have thought we were Germans, growled at us while saying “Germans raus!”
Postcard 4: Arctic demise
When I read this article, I knew very well what it was about. Who hasn’t seen the film Earth? The warming of the Earth is causing the polar bears to slowly go extinct. This process is almost certainly caused by us humans. We are polluting the world and making it not only inhospitable for ourselves in the long run, but also for the animals we share this delicate place with. The polar bears are not the first ones to perish by our hands and certainly not the last, but since it has been on the telly, we flock to nature-drama documentaries to know more about it.
We are all calamity tourists on a global scale. We act as if we care, but most of us don’t or not enough. We do care enough to feel sad about the cute bears for a moment, but do we do anything structural to prevent global warming? No, we don’t.
And then there are people who are even worse. These people want to see the drama with their own eyes. They feel sorry for the critters and think they are helping the bears by really seeing them in the wild. They go to this remote village to see the struggling bears with their own eyes. The bears come here to eat and to survive, but that is becoming more and more a problem now that the world is warming up. The big buggies move in between the bears and the people in the buggies pray on the bears like vultures on a almost dead animal in a desert. I find this very distasteful.
Though the writer doesn’t think there is something wrong with people coming to watch the animals and experiencing firsthand the effects of global warming, I think that these people should spend there money on fundraising and stop ruining the environment and habitat of the polar bear by flying to this village to see a starving species. Why don’t these people put there money where there mouth is. Why don’t they make this world a cooler place and a better habitat for the polar bears and eventually maybe for ourselves…
We are all calamity tourists on a global scale. We act as if we care, but most of us don’t or not enough. We do care enough to feel sad about the cute bears for a moment, but do we do anything structural to prevent global warming? No, we don’t.
And then there are people who are even worse. These people want to see the drama with their own eyes. They feel sorry for the critters and think they are helping the bears by really seeing them in the wild. They go to this remote village to see the struggling bears with their own eyes. The bears come here to eat and to survive, but that is becoming more and more a problem now that the world is warming up. The big buggies move in between the bears and the people in the buggies pray on the bears like vultures on a almost dead animal in a desert. I find this very distasteful.
Though the writer doesn’t think there is something wrong with people coming to watch the animals and experiencing firsthand the effects of global warming, I think that these people should spend there money on fundraising and stop ruining the environment and habitat of the polar bear by flying to this village to see a starving species. Why don’t these people put there money where there mouth is. Why don’t they make this world a cooler place and a better habitat for the polar bears and eventually maybe for ourselves…
Postcard 3: In Ireland the driver can hear you SCREAM!!
Dear Diana,
You know how I always told you I would like to go to Ireland some day? Well, I’ve been to Ireland!! It was really beautiful here with a very diverse landscape. I was there with our mutual friend Rachid. We had hired a car and had been driving around for some time, but driving these roads proved very challenging, especially for Rachid. Since I did’t have a drivers license Rachid had been driving the car on the small, winding and busy roads. With two hedges on either side of the road and cars coming from the opposite direction it was hard passing them at all, but imagine them coming at you with twice the speed you are driving. It scared the hell out of me, seeing those cars coming at us while everything about driving on the left side felt wrong to me.
I think that Rachid must have been deaf at the end of our holiday...
You know how I always told you I would like to go to Ireland some day? Well, I’ve been to Ireland!! It was really beautiful here with a very diverse landscape. I was there with our mutual friend Rachid. We had hired a car and had been driving around for some time, but driving these roads proved very challenging, especially for Rachid. Since I did’t have a drivers license Rachid had been driving the car on the small, winding and busy roads. With two hedges on either side of the road and cars coming from the opposite direction it was hard passing them at all, but imagine them coming at you with twice the speed you are driving. It scared the hell out of me, seeing those cars coming at us while everything about driving on the left side felt wrong to me.
I think that Rachid must have been deaf at the end of our holiday...
Postcard 2: Indian roads
Hello Rachid,
From the time you have told me you were planning to go to India, I have been afraid something bad might happen to you. You are now gone for two months and I haven’t heard the slightest. I hope you are well and are enjoying yourself.
Apart from this chitchat I also want to warn you one more time. I have just read a article about someone taking a bus from Goa to Bombay. He could have taken the plane or train, but they were out, so he had the choice between bus and hovercraft. By hovercraft was far more expensive, so he took the bus like you would do. He wished after the trip by bus he had not.
He paid eight dollar instead of 5,50 to have air conditioning which did not work. When out of Goa, the bus drove along a ‘highway’ which was barely a normal tarmac road. Single lane each way and when another bus or truck had to pass the bus in opposite direction, it had to be done very carefully.
In villages along the way this got even worse. The speed went down to walking speed, because of all the other people and animals who wanted to use the road. They made sure the driver had to drive very carefully and even at night there were people on the road The bus was hot and swerving every way as the driver avoided other road users. A good night sleep was not an option.
After leaving behind the lowlands, the bus headed into the mountains. Now the real ‘exciting’ part begins. The drivers manoeuvres the bus up and down the mountain roads in the pitch black night while avoiding upcoming busses and cars. To make matters worse the bus drivers going to Bombay raced each other, passing each other on those narrow roads. I must say that the bus driver switched with his co-driver half way past the night, but still.
The bus could have gone over the edge of the mountain road or hit an upcoming vehicle every few minutes. Of course it did not or I would not be telling you this story, but the danger on this bus trip was very real! You would say that THIS IS the proof that India is not dangerous, but please watch out for bad food, sharks, bad people in general and busses.
Hope to hear from you soon,
Your worried friend Mark
From the time you have told me you were planning to go to India, I have been afraid something bad might happen to you. You are now gone for two months and I haven’t heard the slightest. I hope you are well and are enjoying yourself.
Apart from this chitchat I also want to warn you one more time. I have just read a article about someone taking a bus from Goa to Bombay. He could have taken the plane or train, but they were out, so he had the choice between bus and hovercraft. By hovercraft was far more expensive, so he took the bus like you would do. He wished after the trip by bus he had not.
He paid eight dollar instead of 5,50 to have air conditioning which did not work. When out of Goa, the bus drove along a ‘highway’ which was barely a normal tarmac road. Single lane each way and when another bus or truck had to pass the bus in opposite direction, it had to be done very carefully.
In villages along the way this got even worse. The speed went down to walking speed, because of all the other people and animals who wanted to use the road. They made sure the driver had to drive very carefully and even at night there were people on the road The bus was hot and swerving every way as the driver avoided other road users. A good night sleep was not an option.
After leaving behind the lowlands, the bus headed into the mountains. Now the real ‘exciting’ part begins. The drivers manoeuvres the bus up and down the mountain roads in the pitch black night while avoiding upcoming busses and cars. To make matters worse the bus drivers going to Bombay raced each other, passing each other on those narrow roads. I must say that the bus driver switched with his co-driver half way past the night, but still.
The bus could have gone over the edge of the mountain road or hit an upcoming vehicle every few minutes. Of course it did not or I would not be telling you this story, but the danger on this bus trip was very real! You would say that THIS IS the proof that India is not dangerous, but please watch out for bad food, sharks, bad people in general and busses.
Hope to hear from you soon,
Your worried friend Mark
Postcard 1: To be honest or not to be
Dear Youssef,
I have just read this article which tells you what kind of rules to obey when writing a travel story. The article begins with telling how travel writing is in essence journalism except that it looks more at the places that you visit rather than events that occur. Doing this will also make you the narrator and the person from whom everything is perceived. You can of course tell about people you meet, but don’t wander of to far.
Travel writing is something that is unique, it says. It isn’t comparable to anything else. A travel story is a story in which real events take place, just like journalism. Yet the former has to be more. It must look at certain beautiful details the traveller sees and admires, but there is one thing which is the most important part.
According to this article a travel writer has to be able to tell vividly about remarkable events, sensations and emotion. When this is not present in a travel article, then it’s not alive, it is just one more tourist guide. A travel article has to recreate the right atmosphere in which the traveller found himself in. In doing this, the reader will be engaged in this journey, together with the traveller.
So after this explanation to travel writing, we now know that travel writers have to know how to put emotions and unique moments on the go to paper, but they should have mastered the delicate art of storytelling without going over the top. By this the article means that the emotions have to be genuine and the truth. If not, the reader will know this and the article is lost, so to speak.
When writing a travel story, make sure you know about what things you are going to tell, use tricks to pull the reader along, but don’t ever make things up. Be honest about everything, but do this in a special way, make the reader eager to know more so that he does not loose attention.
The article is a good read and when you should have to make a travel story of your one, remember these rules: Capture the special thoughts at just the right moment, make it a grand adventure but most importantly, be honest about it.
I have just read this article which tells you what kind of rules to obey when writing a travel story. The article begins with telling how travel writing is in essence journalism except that it looks more at the places that you visit rather than events that occur. Doing this will also make you the narrator and the person from whom everything is perceived. You can of course tell about people you meet, but don’t wander of to far.
Travel writing is something that is unique, it says. It isn’t comparable to anything else. A travel story is a story in which real events take place, just like journalism. Yet the former has to be more. It must look at certain beautiful details the traveller sees and admires, but there is one thing which is the most important part.
According to this article a travel writer has to be able to tell vividly about remarkable events, sensations and emotion. When this is not present in a travel article, then it’s not alive, it is just one more tourist guide. A travel article has to recreate the right atmosphere in which the traveller found himself in. In doing this, the reader will be engaged in this journey, together with the traveller.
So after this explanation to travel writing, we now know that travel writers have to know how to put emotions and unique moments on the go to paper, but they should have mastered the delicate art of storytelling without going over the top. By this the article means that the emotions have to be genuine and the truth. If not, the reader will know this and the article is lost, so to speak.
When writing a travel story, make sure you know about what things you are going to tell, use tricks to pull the reader along, but don’t ever make things up. Be honest about everything, but do this in a special way, make the reader eager to know more so that he does not loose attention.
The article is a good read and when you should have to make a travel story of your one, remember these rules: Capture the special thoughts at just the right moment, make it a grand adventure but most importantly, be honest about it.
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