Planes, Trains & Elephants

by Brian Thacker | Travel |
ISBN: 1865088846 Global Overview for this book
Registered by wingsakirmowing of Turku, Varsinais-Suomi / Egentliga Finland Finland on 12/30/2017
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4 journalers for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by wingsakirmowing from Turku, Varsinais-Suomi / Egentliga Finland Finland on Saturday, December 30, 2017
"Whether you're an explorer or a tourist, the journey often proves to be more exciting than the place you arrive at..." <-- well that quote is certainly true! I'm getting more and more lazy as I grow older, but many of my most memorable travel moments are literally from the road.

The book is somewhat amusing, but also at times embarrassingly non-PC (yes we get it, the Americans in your helicopter have gigantic asses, you might want to stop repeating it at some point). It's an okay read, but the author seems like just another wannabe-Bill Bryson who tries so hard to be witty that it sort of turns against itself... Enough of those in travel literature business already! I'm going to give him another chance though, as one of his newer books sounds too good to pass ("Tell them to get lost")


(Helmet -lukuhaaste #38: kirjan kannessa on kulkuneuvo)

Journal Entry 2 by wingsakirmowing at Bookcrossing Convention Bordeaux 2018 in Bordeaux, Aquitaine France on Thursday, April 12, 2018

Released 5 yrs ago (4/20/2018 UTC) at Bookcrossing Convention Bordeaux 2018 in Bordeaux, Aquitaine France

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

Bordeaux Convention release

Journal Entry 3 by wing6of8wing at Bordeaux, Aquitaine France on Friday, April 20, 2018
I accidentally picked this book up from the book buffet. It looked too interesting to pass up.

Journal Entry 4 by wing6of8wing at Bordeaux, Aquitaine France on Tuesday, May 29, 2018
I picked this book up at the International BookCrossing Convention in Bordeaux based on the title. I had intended to put it right back down after using it to make a conversational point, but it looked intriguing and I held on to it. One of the first chapters in the book includes a less than enthusiastic review of Royal Air Maroc and the Mohammed V airport in Casablanca. I read it aboard a Royal Air Maroc plane waiting to take off from the airport in question and laughed out loud because it was so accurate, even though 30 years had elapsed between the author's visit and mine. For that and his accurate review of Moroccan music, and a decent sense of humor, I am inclined to think well of this book. His language was a bit salty, he was way too eager to discuss naked female anatomy, and he made negative comments on overweight people he encountered, which did not endear him to me. So, a middle of the road review. The elephant chapter was hilarious, the taxi chapter was simply enjoyable, and the motorcycle chapter will make you question his sanity

Journal Entry 5 by wing6of8wing at -- Mail or by hand-rings, RABCK, meetings, etc, Virginia USA on Friday, June 15, 2018

Released 5 yrs ago (6/17/2018 UTC) at -- Mail or by hand-rings, RABCK, meetings, etc, Virginia USA

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

This book is going with me to meet-up and hopefully going home with someone else. I can think of one person who can almost always be counted on to snag a good travel book and he is planning on attending the meet-up. I think he would enjoy this book.

Any future reader or recipient of this book is encouraged to leave a journal entry here on the BookCrossing site to let prior readers know the fate of the book. You can make an anonymous entry without joining the BookCrossing movement, but if you are interested in joining, it is a free and spam-free community where your contact information is not shared with others. Best of all, members receive private messages via e-mail from books like this one when those books are journaled, allowing for long-term relationships between books and readers.

Journal Entry 6 by ResQgeek at Alexandria, Virginia USA on Monday, June 18, 2018
I picked this up at today's BC-in-DC meeting, to read (although it might take a while for it to come to the top of Mt. TBR).

Journal Entry 7 by ResQgeek at Alexandria, Virginia USA on Friday, December 4, 2020
Traveling has become one of my favorite hobbies. I love visiting new places, seeing new things, experiencing different cultures. But for me travel is about the destinations, not the journey (at least most of the time). Over the last couple of decades, the airlines have managed to suck all the joy out of air travel, and time constraints often limit my ability to travel in a more leisurely fashion.

But, based on this book, Thacker has a very different point of view. He seems absolutely fascinated by the journey. He is a connoisseur of unusual travel stories, the more obscure the mode of transportation, the better, so it would seem. Many of these stories are amusing, the best of them remind me of Bill Bryson at his best. Others are, frankly, hair raising. There is no overarching theme here, beyond appreciating the adventures that happen along the way.

Journal Entry 8 by ResQgeek at Alexandria, Virginia USA on Saturday, April 23, 2022

Released 1 yr ago (4/23/2022 UTC) at Alexandria, Virginia USA

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

This book will be availableat today's BC- in-DC meeting.

======================

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Welcome to BookCrossing.com, where we are trying to making the whole world a library!

If you have not already done so, please make a journal entry so we know this book has found a new home. You don't need to join BookCrossing and you can remain completely anonymous. However, we encourage you to join so that you can follow this book's future travels. It's fun and free, and your personal information will never be shared or sold. If you decide to join, consider listing   ResQgeek (or any of the other journalers) as referring you.

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I hope you enjoy the book!


Journal Entry 9 by wingMelydiawing at Rockville, Maryland USA on Saturday, April 23, 2022
Picked this up at today's BCinDC meetup. Looks fun.

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