Showing titles in Asia

Patpong, in the heart of Bangkok, teems with bars and sex shows, catering mainly to farangs - foreigners. Cleo Odzer, a young anthropologist, spent three years studying the area. Gaining the confidence of the bar girls and bar boys, she interviewed them at length, lived among them, accompanied several back to their families in remote villages. She also got to know their customers, those in for a night or in forever (many fell in love and stayed on in Patpong). From Odzer's account emerges a far different picture from the cliched image of the prostitute.

Take a trip to old Japan with William Scott Wilson as he travels the ancient Kiso Road, a legendary route that remains much the same today as it was hundreds of years ago. The Kisoji, which runs through the Kiso Valley in the Japanese Alps, has been in use since at least 701 CE. In the 17th century, it was the route that the daimyo (warlords) used for their biennial trips - along with their samurai and porters - to the new capital of Edo (now Tokyo).

Vincent Ebrahim, star of the Emmy and Peabody award-winning The Kumars At No. 42, explores his ancestral home visiting Mumbai, Gujarat, Delhi, Agra, West Bengal, Darjeeling, Kolkata and the Himalayas in this varied and vivid audio diary.

Uncover Japan's hidden gems with this comprehensive guide to unforgettable adventures that delivers travel tips for authentic, pocket-friendly experiences. Discover the Japan that exists beneath the surface, the Japan that only locals know. This guide is your passport to that world, taking you beyond the surface-level experiences and into the heart of Japan. It's a treasure trove of authentic, unforgettable, and budget-friendly adventures that are waiting for you to uncover.

We've specifically developed our language courses for audio learning, so you can complete other tasks while learning Hindi. You can learn while you are running, working out, walking, driving, or even when you are doing chores. Our parallel audio learning system teaches you wherever you are, without requiring a reference manual.

Persimmon Wind - part memoir, part martial arts history, and part travelogue - relates Dave Lowry's experiences as he travels to Japan to reunite with his sensei, visit the graves of others of his martial lineage, and explore a country and culture that profoundly influenced his life. Lowry's account reveals a Japan unlikely to be witnessed by the average Westerner. Drawing on his deep knowledge of the martial arts, Lowry acts as an interpreter of sorts, deftly describing for the listener the myriad ways in which Japan's subtle, yet rich customs and rituals inform and enrich the seemingly mundane practices of life.

Have you ever been to Vietnam? Vietnam attracts millions of tourists every single day, and the number continues to grow. In 2016 Vietnam had 10 million visitors; 2017 attracted 12.9 million; 2018: 15.5 million; 2019: 18 million visitors. Vietnam is a country in Southeast Asia, a beautiful country shaped like an S with a low cost of living and friendly people. From mountain hillside to the cities life. Tourists will definitely experience Vietnam like no other country in Asia.

It took Lawrence Bransby and his son, Gareth, three journeys into Central Asia before they were able to ride the legendary Bartang Pass. But it's another pass that becomes the focus of this story - Matts Pass in southern Tajikistan - and a motorcycle gets abandoned deep in the Pamir Mountains after father and son push the limits of their bodies and bikes just one step too far. Never before - across Africa, into the Russian taiga, or in the Western Sahara - have they had to abandon a bike and walk out...

As a teenager, Kate Harris realized that the career she craved - to be an explorer, equal parts swashbuckler and metaphysician - had gone extinct. From what she could tell of the world from small-town Ontario, the likes of Marco Polo and Magellan had mapped the whole earth; there was nothing left to be discovered. Looking beyond this planet, she decided to become a scientist and go to Mars. In between studying at Oxford and MIT, Harris set off by bicycle down the fabled Silk Road with her childhood friend Mel.

A classic of modern travel writing, An Area of Darkness is Nobel Laureate V. S. Naipaul’s profound reckoning with his ancestral homeland and an extraordinarily perceptive chronicle of his first encounter with India. Traveling from the bureaucratic morass of Bombay to the ethereal beauty of Kashmir, from a sacred ice cave in the Himalayas to an abandoned temple near Madras, Naipaul encounters a dizzying cross-section of humanity: browbeaten government workers and imperious servants, a suavely self-serving holy man, and a deluded American religious seeker.

Everything that could possibly be wrong with a city was wrong with Calcutta. When Kushanava Choudhury arrived in New Jersey at the age of 12, he had already migrated halfway around the world four times. After graduating from Princeton, he moved back to the world which his immigrant parents had abandoned, to a city built between a river and a swamp, where the moisture-drenched air swarms with mosquitos after sundown.

For decades now, Pico Iyer has been based for much of the year in Nara, Japan, where he and his Japanese wife, Hiroko, share a two-room apartment. But when his father-in-law dies suddenly, calling him back to Japan earlier than expected, Iyer begins to grapple with the question we all have to live with: how to hold on to the things we love, even though we know that we and they are dying.

Crimes are rare in Singapore, but when there's one that has the police baffled, it is Inspector Zhang that they turn to. From locked-room mysteries to murders disguised as suicide, Inspector Zhang is able to draw on his experience as a detective along with tricks he has learned from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie. See if you can solve the crimes before the Inspector - the clues are there!

In his ninth motorcycle journey, award-winning author Lawrence Bransby has chosen to travel through Vietnam. With the ever-present spectre of the war looking over his shoulder, Bransby travels throughout this fiercely independent country, meeting local people, riding sections of the Ho Chi Minh Trail close to the border with Cambodia, and spending time in a Vietnamese hospital after an accident–somehow inevitable after negotiating what are accepted as the second most dangerous roads in the world.

Culture Smart! provides essential information on attitudes, beliefs, and behavior in the Philippines, ensuring that you arrive aware of basic manners, common courtesies, and sensitive issues. This concise guide tells you what to expect, how to behave, and how to establish a rapport with your hosts. The inside knowledge will enable you to steer clear of embarrassing gaffes and mistakes, feel confident in unfamiliar situations, and develop trust, friendships, and successful business relationships.

Join Gordon Alexander in Nepal as he drags his "heavy ass" over the Himalayas in this hilarious, adventure-soaked account of the Three Passes Trek, culminating in a visit to Everest Base Camp. Together with guide Subash and porter Nima, Gordon tackles high passes in excess of 5,400 meters (17,700 feet) and explains how high altitude affects a mildly overweight road builder from sea level in the tropics. Each part of the journey brings new challenges, including sub-freezing temperatures, almost falling into a crevasse, and alarmingly warm beer.

Simon Andrews made the the legendary overland trip known as the "Hippy Trail to India" in 1975. Forty-Five years later comes the true story of that journey and its influence on future life. The difference between being a traveler or being a tourist will depend on why we go to where we go and the reasons for going. The first book is a frank and very honest "Traveler's Tale".

In 1271 a young Italian merchant named Marco Polo embarked on a groundbreaking expedition from Venice, through the Middle East and Central Asia to China. His extraordinary reports of his experiences introduced medieval Europe to an exotic new world of emperors and concubines, amazing cities, huge armies, unusual spices and cuisine, and imperial riches. Marco Polo also revealed the wonders of Xanadu, the summer capital of Mongol emperor Kublai Khan.

Growing up a 90-pound weakling tormented by bullies in the schoolyards of Kansas, young Matthew Polly dreamed of one day journeying to the Shaolin Temple in China to become the toughest fighter in the world, like Caine in his favorite 1970s TV series, Kung Fu. While in college, Matthew decided the time had come to pursue this quixotic dream before it was too late. Much to the dismay of his parents, he dropped out of Princeton to spend two years training with the legendary sect of monks who invented kung fu and Zen Buddhism.

Embark on an unforgettable journey through the enchanting landscapes and cultural wonders of Japan with our comprehensive travel guide. From the bustling streets of Tokyo to the serene temples of Kyoto, and the natural splendors of Hokkaido, our guide is your passport to a captivating adventure. Uncover the secrets of Japan's geography, immerse yourself in its rich history, savor the flavors of its diverse cuisine, and explore top destinations that define the essence of this extraordinary country.