Don’t Go There: From Chernobyl to North Korea—one man’s quest to lose himself and find everyone else in the world’s strangest places (Weird Travel Book 1) Kindle Edition

This is one of the most hilarious books I've read in a long time. Think Dave Barry meets Rick Steves. With some great life lessons thrown in for good measure.Fletcher is a balding Brit in his 30's who lives in Berlin. A self-described couch potato, he decides to get out of his rut and travel to places that will take him out of his comfort zone. Such as Istanbul during riots, Moldova, a Hare Krishna camp in Argentina, a 48-hour "overnight" bus ride in China during holiday season, Hebron, etc. His prose made me laugh out loud, over and over again (samples below). I felt like underlining the whole book.But it's really the self-knowledge that Fletcher gains that makes this more than an entertaining read. He concludes that being bored with one's own (first-world) culture is a luxury. Most people in countries that malfunction are struggling just to survive. He doesn't really try to analyze why countries malfunction; rather, he observes with a careful eye and lets us draw our own conclusions. "I'd lost sight of he extraordinary privilege inherent within boredom. Most people in the world don't get to decide whether or not to engage in politics. Don't feel so safe and secure and bored that they actively go out looking for danger, just to feel more alive."A few other gems:"That was what travel was for. The unfamiliarity of being where you don't belong frees you from any expectations about how things there are supposed to work, and, in turn, how you will react to them."[About food at an ashram] "It didn't leave you feeling bloated and guilty like the bloody crime scene that was the rest of Argentinian cuisine.""I was the sort of writer who talked about writing much more than getting around to doing any of it. Like an armchair sports fan, I preferred to cheer literature on from the safety of the sidelines, where I didn't have to get myself sentence sweaty.""He had a face that seemed to be able to produce thunder, amongst other bad weather, all of which could be unleashed upon you at his discretion.""Annett is not into children in the same way people are not into being hit with rocks."

Don’t Go There by Adam Fletcher is described as “From Chernobyl to North Korea-- One Man’s Quest to Lose Himself and Find Everyone Else in the World’s Strangest Places.” The subtitle probably suffers from a politically correct faux pas; in chapter one Adam is losing himself in Turkey but companion Annett is with him. It is not “one man’s” quest until Adam manages to piss Annett off. However, it is a travel novel and for the constant traveler such as myself, this book is automatically interesting. Reading this will introduce potential travelers to practices that might be a culture shock to the unprepared. For instance, in Chapter One Annett and Adam are in Turkey where during anti-government demonstrations they observe much of the population protesting in the streets by banging on kitchen pots and pans. Fletcher describes this as a time-honored tradition going back to 1923 during the time of Kemal Atatürk.The pair has an adventure on a bus in China that takes place over more than forty hours. That is forty hours on a bus that is not moving. Drivers are waiting for authorities to lift a barricade. There are lessons for the reader. When traveling in the lesser developed world (the countryside of China) take plenty of food and water. This was a familiar situation to me, one which I nearly copied a few years ago in Cambodia.Similar cautions apply when traveling in Africa. Adam and Annett traveled to Ghana. They toured schools run by a volunteer agency and discovered an interesting phenomenon. Locals assumed that the two could be the source of donations for further education. When they tried to explain they were in Ghana as tourists on a vacation, the answer was “You came to Ghana for vacation?” The questioners adopted a tone of amazement when asking this question.The excursion to Israel glosses over an important point. Travelers who previously visited several Muslim countries are going to have problems getting through immigration checks and procuring a visa. Adam and Annett even crossed from Jerusalem into Palestine controlled areas. This section is heavier on philosophy than humor but is still worth reading.The dialogue between Adam and Annett is hilarious. She is the sensible one, the one who believes in making plans and thinking before starting out. She is not shy about blaming Adam when things go wrong, in other words frequently. Her criticisms mostly contain a lot of wry humor. Adam is a guy who thinks about something, launches, and then reacts to the flow of things. Adam is also remarkably averse to work. He has found a way to make money as a nomad with a computer. Annett has a job which requires her physical presence; this also serves as an anchor for Adam so that he is not perpetually traveling. The pair has a residence hub in Berlin where they can recover from developing world realities between trips.This is a hilarious travel book. I don’t see any danger of revealing spoilers. I want to comment on some of the conditions they meet and how they deal with problems, but they are only samples. The book is full of practical issues and occasionally some philosophizing on the nature of war, income inequality, and what should be international human rights. Even the philosophizing is hilarious as it provokes serious thought.A part of any traveler’s journey, desired or not, is the wonderful interactions with other travelers and expatriates. I am being sarcastic; I avoid prolonged social engagements with other travelers. Adam and Annett have the benefit of supporting each other. This is also good advice, companions at least act in a predictable way. Again, there is a lot of humor as Adam and Annett meet some complete whackos.The Hare Krishna Ashram in Argentina experience broke up the Adam-Annett team as far as further travel outside Germany. Annett was tired of not having creature comforts available. Adam went on to visit Chernobyl, a couple of micro-nations, and Romania. There is an interesting section on his return to his hometown in England. There are very good observations on travel in general, the idea that you may be able to go home again, and the very decent idea that adventures are everywhere. It is just a point of view.If anything in the book is a spoiler, it is the details of a trip to North Korea. I won’t comment on it. It is worth reading for humor, philosophy, and information not generally known. I gave this four Amazon stars because the first part of the book was hilarious up until the time Annett went back to Germany. Adam traveling alone is not as interesting. But he does get his groove back so the novel ends on a high note (with humor) also.

With humor, pathos, and insight, Adam takes readers on trips to exotic and sometimes absurd locales they’d probably never choose to visit themselves. He is a delightful travel companion with a fresh, self-deprecating voice and a clever way of acquainting us with the little-known corners of the world. I especially appreciated his kind, forgiving views about the “different” experiences he had. I feel like I’ve been on a slow bus through China, North Korea, Russia and a few spots I had never even heard of before. I loved this quick, fun, humorous read and want to read MORE by this wonderful writer!

It's a funny read and the stories are entertaining. Some insights into travelling are quite accurate, in my view. It's not Tolstoy, but it doen't try to be either. Worth a read.

I particularly liked the author's wit and self-deprecating humour as he travels the world to places that are somewhat off the beaten tourist track. In particular, his visits to Chernobyl and North Korea stood out for the almost-surreal experiences he had at both places. The first few chapters has him traveling with his suspiciously witty and articulate German girlfriend, whose effortless ability to match his badinage leads one to wonder whether her dialogue has been embellished somewhat. Eventually, she tires of his thirst for visiting the less-than-salubrious places he favours, and his remaining travels are solo, joining groups of similarly-adventurous tourists. The result is an easy, entertaining read that will have you laughing out loud at one point and shaking your head in disbelief at another. The world we live in is a world of many contrasts, and he certainly captures a few here.

I loved this book, definitely for fans of Danny Wallace's personal experience books like Yes Man, Join Me and Friends Like These. The book is a story of a mans journey of dark tourism, weird and obscure destinations and personal growth. I have taken a lot from the book and cannot recommend it enough. Im now a firm Adam Fletcher fan!

Adam doesn't ever slow the book down when trying to tell the reader about which ever place he's in. There's no over done moments of realization instead it really just feels like were following a guy that could be any of us through these countries. I was worried it was going to be an eat pray love situation but instead was pleasantly surprised with Adam's British humour. Bought the second book already.

Easy reading but not fabulous.

This is a genuinely loud out loud funny book. But beyond the jokes it also makes you think about the weirder parts of our big human experiment. For example, I had no idea a bunch of libertarians were trying to create their own country on the Donau (Liberland), that North Korea has twenty thousand statues of their "Dear Leaders", or that it was Belarus that suffered most from the Chernobyl disaster.The author has a talent for phrasing simple, ordinary moments in a refreshing way. A few random examples:"Two boys appeared, like rabbits pulled from the situation’s hat. I have no idea where they came from. Possibly a pothole.""I didn’t want to tell Annett about my “protesters are always right” theory because she’d been known to argue using facts, while I came from more of an anecdotal background.""My brain scurried around unlocking the vaults of my memory, searching through all the things I’d ever done wrong, presumably, so it could confess to these upfront before the waterboarding really got going."Every page has a gem like these. It was a joy to read, especially the Israel chapter, where the author's airport ordeal actually made me cry with laughter (and possibly pity).I hope he keeps on travelling. If so, I'll be keeping him company.

The intial attraction of this travelogue was the roster of unusual destinations. The surprise was the author's ability to remain open-minded throughout the challenges that his travels and his travel companions presented. During his adventures he also thoughtfully examined his relationship with his longterm girlfriend as well as the myths he had created for himself about his past. His honesty was really refreshing. The result of his reflections could perhaps be summarised by the old phrase " Wherever you go, there you are." This seems to me to be a timely reminder that whilst travel can, of course, be educational it can also be a means to undervalue the responsibilities and/or the gifts of everyday life. I will most certainly be investigating the writer's other works!