The book reports we post here on Seatofourpants.com often deal with whatever books we happen to get our hands on – when traveling through non English speaking countries you often have to take whatever you get. This one is different – it’s a book report about a book about backpacking.
In ‘Are You Experienced’, William Sutcliffe has a field day making fun of almost all the backpacking cliches, from the over-enthused India lovers to the ‘experienced’ travel pros. It’s a light read – just over two hundred pages of dialogue-filled narrative. The main character, Dave, is a nineteen year old Londoner that goes to India for all the wrong reasons. He ends up going through the usual travel adventures: Delhi belly, conflicts with travel mates and raw culture shock.
In the end, it’s not how Dave deals with his misfortunes that makes the book a worthwhile read. It is Dave’s hilarious reflections that I remember most. He isn’t making excuses for himself – he goes through things and reflect upon them like an immature nineteen year-old would. While Dave is traveling through the culturally rich and bewildering northern India, he meets Ranj, a second generation Indian immigrant from South London. He reflects that:
“I’d never really had any friends from South London before, and it was interesting, because they really do have a different outlook on life”.
The interplay between these two characters make for unforgettable comedy, as when Ranj berates Dave for wearing Tibetan hippie clothes to try to blend in among the Southern Indians.
At the end of the trip, Dave, having gone through the transformative process of travel, re-invents himself as Dave the Traveler (having previously been Dave the mediocre North London schoolboy).
As a traveler, there’s plenty to laugh at, but the laughter is laced with an element of recognition. I’m pretty sure that I too have at times behaved like Martin the Traveler: a different Martin from, say, Martin the telecom worker.
If you’ve ever backpacked, you’ll get a few laughs reading this book. If you haven’t backpacked, don’t let this book discourage you!
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You know the saying, “to fly by the seat of your pants?” Well, that's been our philosophy for most of our adult lives – before and after meeting, falling in love and marrying. We're now taking that idea on an extended round-the-world trip. Follow us as we share the good, the bad and the downright nasty of life on the road.
