Readings for the Road

Lonely Planet "Unpacked"

Travel disaster stories by Tony Wheeler and other Lonely Planet authors

Review by Carly Blatt

There are two kinds of people that will particularly enjoy reading "Unpacked", a collection of travel disaster stories by Lonely Planet writers. The first type are people that just love to hear about the bad things that happen to others - you know, the ones that get their kicks waiting for a friend to accidentally order brains for dinner. The ones that don't care to hear about your ride down the Seine, but have committed to memory the story about the kid who got stuck in a European port-a-potty for three hours.

The second type are people who can read about a disastrous situation and - strangely enough - wish they were there. These are the adventure seekers of the travel world that believe there is something inherently exciting about being stuck in strange cities, stranded on unknown roads, or lost afterhours sans guidebook or language dictionary. They look back on their travels and remember the times when things didn't go as planned as the best parts of the trip. This book can allow them to live out over two dozen travel disasters vicariously.

"Unpacked" is a collection of true stories by the same Lonely Planet penners that travel the globe to write and update the company's well-known travel guides. When you first start reading, you might first think you mistakenly picked up a fiction book. The detail and suspense used in the stories seem more the work of a novelist with a vivid imagination than a recollection of an actual experience. But make no mistake: in these cases, fact is definitely stranger than fiction.

Consider Dani Valent's story "Crash." A drive deep into Australia's outback with a curious collection of characters ends up with a broken-down car 60 kilometers from anywhere. Almost immediately, everyone's survival instincts kick into gear and the foursome does a quick assessment of their situation and supplies. In addition to some campsite meals, they include their Kool Mints in the inventory. Then, fearful of dying of thirst, they decide to collect their urine in bottles and have discussions over whether it should be combined or kept in separate bottles. I guess those are the thoughts that go through your mind if you're stranded? Dani frantically tries to remember survival lessons from childhood, without much success. Her account of the experience is both frank and funny. She brings you to the site of the crash, to the difficult thoughts that run through her mind - like worrying about her parents reading her diary if she died. The account makes you wonder how you'd deal with the experience, and at the same time, glad you're only reading about the experience.

Pat Yale's misadventures in Nairobi, though, aren't ones to envy even for adventure's sake. Pat's story "A Costly Trip" begins with her waking up alone of the floor of Nairobi Central Station. In the middle of the night, she'd decided to lay out her blanket with the dozens of others who'd done so after arriving from a night train. Somehow, though, during the night her fellow bunkers had left the station without managing to wake her. After discovering a nasty blister on her arm, she later manages to trip and have the full weight of her backpack slam down on her wrist. Bruised and blistered, Pat ventures to the Kenyatta Hospital, where a doctor sets her wrist. She asks him if she will be okay, he responds with a confident "I don't know." Pat's series of painful experiences and mishaps will certainly make you nostalgic for Western hospitals.

Ryan Ver Kerkmoes takes readers back to his experiences stuck in the Arctic circle in "Dissolute in Resolute." While on a proposed short trip to the small town of Resolute in Canada, the weather prevents any planes from landing to take passengers back. Stuck in a town Ryan describes as having "a population of under 200, is dark from November to February, has no Places to Eat, no Entertainment, limited Things to See & Do and just two Places to Stay", he anxiously waits with the other visitors anxious to leave town. Every thirty seconds, someone asks the agent if the plane is about to come. Every person focuses their full attention on the windows, looking for a glimpse of a plane, without luck. Ryan vividly recalls his three-day visit to the town, complete with descriptions of the two "Places to Stay", the killing of a beluga whale, and a non-stop storyteller named Gail. If you have any plans to take an extensive vacation in the Arctic, Ryan's story should effectively deter you. Or encourage you, depending on your idea of fun.

No matter what you're looking for, "Unpacked" should have a story suited to your particular brand of disaster. Whether you are hoping to vicariously experience a travel mishap or are longing for a story at which to laugh, the collection should have a travel account to satisfy your appetite for catastrophe.