This travel book chronicles a trip by bicycle in several parts through Central Asia loosely following Marco Polo’s path towards China. I’m always up for books about long term journeys, and as this journey took nearly a year I was excited to read it.
This was the first time for me to read about a trip by bicycle over such a long distance. Usually I read travel books with people moving by train, foot, cars and buses, even airplanes. Surprisingly traveling by bicycle introduces some factors that had a big impact on my enjoyment of this book.
The first thing I noticed was that traveling by bicycle through foreign lands meant less interaction with local people. Zooming by on a bike limited conversation – whereas the language barrier may not allow for deep and meaningful conversation, at least through some gestures and patience ideas can be exchanged. Not so when you flash by on a fast moving bicycle. I hadn’t thought about it before, but there wasn’t much interaction with local people during the long journey, and so the book was filled with a lot more introspection.
I understand that by riding a bike through the vast empty regions of Central Asia you’ll have a lot of time in your own head to think things through, and although it may be a good way to sort out personal thoughts and feelings, for me it wasn’t so compelling to read.
Much more interesting were the descriptions of the different areas of the countries she passed through, the interactions with her biking partner Mel, and the occasional run-ins with local authorities and rambunctious kids. The author’s writing style was very descriptive, although sometimes a little over-poetic for me.
One thing I like about travel writing is hearing about the local dishes that people cook and eat, and unfortunately most of the meals described in this book are ones that can be carried long distances on a bike. Oatmeal and instant noodles feature prominently here.
So in summary, I loved the journey, the ending of the trip was very satisfying to me, and hearing about the long term challenges of a trip through an area I’ve visited only briefly was definitely worth a read. A little more curiosity from the author might have made a deeper experience for herself and the reader, but I think most of her growth happened internally along the trip, and I certainly respect that. I think that when I write about travel in the future, I should strive for some kind of balance between what I think about my surroundings and also descriptions of external events.
The next book I’m reading is Factfulness, by Hans Rosling.
