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)

I bought this book by mistake. (Sorry Adam.) I thought Bill Bryson was the author. Then I started reading it and quickly realized my favorite author did not write the book but was only recommending it. However, with each unfolding paragraph, I found a laugh-out-loud, but highly insightful and informative book, with insight not only into the facts and absurdities of the places described, but insights into the author’s self-deprecating self. I thoroughly enjoyed the book, and immediately began sharing what I was learning with friends. I will buy a copy for my son, who has long aspired to be Adam, not knowing someone like Adam exists in reality. I will read the other books written by Adam, and look forward to his future works as well.

Bored, alienated by the comforts of modern First World life, feeling the need to look down upon people who are worse off than you? Become a disaster tourist! At first there seemed the possibility that the author would discover something meaningful and deep about traveling to disaster spots around the world, but ultimately, it felt like Paris Hilton visiting slums and going, 'That's so hot.' The author looks at people in disaster places like one would look at animals in a zoo. There's no empathy or sense of commonality or meaningful interaction with them, just a few waves and mimicking you might do with a monkey in a zoo. I was actually hoping the author would get drunk and steal a propaganda poster in North Korea. Maybe he'd get time to do some real deep thinking and realize by Germany is doing so well after losing two world wars while Turkey and Argentina are not. When you loot the world for centuries, a few lost wars aren't going to set you back much, especially when one of the looters, America, dumps money into your reconstruction in an effort to fight Communism. Is the author really this dumb?

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.

A must read! This book is a true eye opener. Mr. Fletcher and his girlfriend travel to places that are not recommended for tourism to find out why. And they do find out why. All are told with a lot of humor but are also well grounded in truth. Told in a way that makes you feel you are there with them. Mr. Fletcher paints a very vivid picture. I finished reading this book a couple days ago and I am still feeling the shock of their trip to North Korea and the description of what they saw there. There is nothing funny about life in North Korea. How in todays world can a place like North Korea exist? Very sobering.

This book is underpriced.I have recently read some overly serious and pretentious travel books. This is not one of them. This author has a lot of humility and ability to laugh at himself. And he has very good reason to be laughed at, frankly. He and his descriptions make this book so funny. I have laughed pretty hard reading it.Sometimes a book or movie will be good for further laughs a week, or a year later. I think this is definitely one of those books.I also identified with the unexpected events that happen while traveling. If you can laugh, it changes everything.

I really enjoyed traveling with Adam to places no sane person would visit throughout the world, from Chernobyl to North Korea. It was truly fascinating, with his romance with Anet a delightful sub-plot. The reader will see how Adam grows and evolves from an adventuresome guy to settling down to adulthood and responsibility, after his grand adventures. A truly good, highly recommended book for anyone who enjoys true non-fiction off the beaten path. I actually sat up all night to finish it.

I would not waste your money, despite the good reviews on Amazon I am not sure this chap is a published author? The book does not appear to have been proof read properly and is amateurish. No comparison with Bill Bryson can be made...Really disappointed.

If a much younger Bill Bryson went to weird and dangerous places, consistently chose the worst people to guide him and then made entertainingly misjudged decisions while there, this is the book he’d write. It’s great - really funny and eye opening, and sweeps you along at a great pace. The best thing is that I feel like the author's gone to all these places for me, so I can get the experience of having been to, say, Chernobyl or North Korea while sitting at home drinking tea.

Full of hyperbole about visiting very normal and safe destinations. Got bored listening to the author talk up regular destinations as dangerous. Opens with a visit to Istanbul during a demo. Very mundane really.

I am a voracious reader of travelogues/memoirs from every part of the world (and I have to say that the great majority of them make for somewhat hackneyed reading), but Adam Fletche r’s Don’t Go There is one of the few that are an absolute delight to read.The author has the light, poignant touch of a Bill Bryson, a David Sedaris or a Peter Mayle, and his style is fast-paced and witty, which makes the book wryly entertaining. But at the same time his tales are highly informative, and the oddities and disasters he experiences in the strange places he journeys through cast considerable light on the nature of the people and the way the countries are run.Interlaced into all his stories is a streak of fun that has you smirking throughout, and this is cleverly balanced with the occasional flash of philosophic or sociological insight of considerable depth.With talent such as this, I am surprised he has not yet been picked up by a mainstream publisher or journal.

Trying too hard to brush off travel experiences as an inconvenience to being back home on the sofa.....weirdly unfunny and shout inducing book....in the recycling bin after chapter 3......